Swathy and Sky

Lass Cosmetics Lavender & Ylang Ylang Soap {Product Review}

· · 4 Comments

Lass Cosmetics product reviews at Perfect Skin Care for you
Price: Rs 65 for 125gms
Ingredients
Lass Cosmetics product reviews at Perfect Skin Care for you
Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Olive Oil, Almond Oil, Cotton Seed Oil, Rose Water, Sugar, Aloe vera, Lavender Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil – its full of oils!!!
My Experience
This smells really lavender and ylang ylang have been mixed and it smells strong of that but it doesn’t really hurt your nose. It fills the bathroom with its smell and it will instantly refresh and relax you. And, I am loving the ingredients. They are all natural and the soap doesn’t really foam a lot but it does only when you have added hot water to it. In hard water, it doesn’t lather well.
It cleanses the skin well and doesn’t really leave it feeling stretched. And, I went without moisturizer for an entire day after using the soap in winters which is a thumbs up for a soap. Of course, you do need a moisturizer after using this, though. I will not recommend you to pass the moisturizer on though I do it many times because I am too lazy. I did like this soap and the best part is that the soap doesn’t just melt off. It does stay on for a month if used by a single person.
Availability
Have you tried anything from this brand? Pin It
PS: I have bought the product but I was also given a percentage of discount. And, the brand definitely looks promising.

Healthy Cooking Oils {Health}

· · 4 Comments

Oils are not entirely bad and you can not cut down on oils completely. So, it is essential to be aware of the healthiest oils which are safe to use and do good to your bodies.
Refined Vegetable Oil
These oils are available under various brand names and are supposed to be extremely healthy and cholesterol controlling and many other benefits. But, in a nutshell, all these oils are processed in industrial conditions under high heat and pressure and refined to a lot of extent. Now, I have said again and again that cold processed oils are the best otherwise they lose their nutrients. And, in the industrial environment, the oils undergo a process called hydrogenation.
In this process, hydrogen molecules are added to the unsaturated fatty acids of the oils to convert them to saturated fatty acids. While the oils with saturated fatty acids are healthiest and stablest of the cooking oils, in practice this process of hydrogenation is not taken to its completion. Because of this, the oils are partially hydrogenated. Partially Hydrogenated oils have molecules which are inflammatory in nature and are main reasons for diseases of heart and cause burning sensation in the body.
What is termed as a ‘Healthy Cooking Oil’? 
So, now the question is what is healthy? As I said above, saturated fat oils are healthiest as they are stable and generally have a high smoke point. You do not want to have an oil which burns and turns to smoke very soon because frying brings the oil to a very high temperature. And, if the oil reaches its smoke point, the oil loses its nutrients and its chemical bonds undergo changes on its own because of which oil may become entirely unhealthy.
Now, coconut oil has the highest amount of unsaturated fats which is why it is an extremely healthy cooking oil. But, excess consumption of coconut oil in a day leads to high calories in the body. But, coconut oil has a high smoke point because of which it is a good oil. Similarly, safflower oil, pure ghee (made at home and not from animal fat), groundnut oil, mustard oil, rice bran oil and sesame oil are healthy cooking oils.
Olive Oil
If you love olive oil to the core, you must be infuriated that how come it has not made it to the list? Well, actually, it does. But, there are certain points regarding olive oil which I wanted to clarify. It is an monounsaturated oil.
Now, I have seen it often and have personally also probably recommended that Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) should be used. But, that is not true. EVOO is actually very delicate oil whose, if subjected to high heat, chemical structure changes rendering the oil useless and unhealthy. So, use EVOO only for salads and cooking at low temperatures. Virgin Olive Oil should be used for cooking at high heat as it is more heat resistant but it is little less nutrient when compared to EVOO. And, Pomace is the grade of olive oil which is actually suitable for Indian Cooking as it’s structure doesn’t get altered with high temperatures.
Which oil do you use? I personally like Sesame and Mustard oil.

Homemade Vanilla Oil {DIY}

· · 16 Comments

Vanilla Pods

So, I have a very interesting DIY today 🙂 And, this one is making me pretty happy. I just hope the results turn out as good. I was on a trip to Kerela last year and I got vanilla pods from there (only 6)!! I was entirely unsure of how to use them. And, then, I decided to make some toner or some skin care product but discarded the idea. Then, I checked out online and I needed Vodka to make a perfume from that so I decided on this finally. I infused the oil with vanilla pods. 

Ingredients
  • Vanilla Pods
  • Carrier Oil (I preferred almond oil though apricot oil is better, I read somewhere)
  • Knife
Method

Split the vanilla bean pods length wise and cut them into small pieces
Put them in a clean glass jar (preferably sterilized and entirely dry)
Pour oil over the pods. Store it in a dark warm place for a month or two. Occasionally, take it out and shake to maximize the infusion.
My Notes

The color of the oil is already dark in just half a day of infusion. Compare with the second snap above.
  • I did this yesterday night so the results will be out in one or two months when I shall put up a post to tell you about how it went. 
  • While you are infusing, you have two choices – either put the glass jar in a dark place or in sunlight. I wasn’t sure which one to choose so I chose dark place as I don’t really get much of direct sunlight here. 
  • One more thing I goofed up on was to use almond oil. Actually, I read somewhere that apricot oil is good at absorbing plant essences so if you are making infusions, use apricot oil instead. And, I do have apricot oil. I forgot all about that and remembered it the moment I finished pouring almond oil. Anyways, I shall remember this the next time.  
  • I am so excited about it that I have shaken it 2-3 times till now 😀
  • The smell is divine. I can’t explain it. And, we are talking about real vanilla smell, not the food flavorings.
What do you think?