Swathy and Sky

Winter Skin Care Lotions

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Hey People!!!
I do not know about you all but I did miss my blogging these all days and I am glad to be back but I am not still sure if I will be posting regularly. So, I wanted to write about something which will be useful for people with dry skin in the just-at-door-step winters.
I am sure you all are busy stocking on all the creams and lotions for the winters. I do have 3 recommendations for those who might want to give a try. All of them are my personal favorites and worked fabulously for me in the temperatures of 7 degrees.
Biotique Winter Cherry Body Lotion
Ohk, so I’ll begin with describing the situation first. I got this bottle of winter cherry a year back during the starting of winters just around Diwali when I was just walking down the cosmetics aisle and a bottle of Biotique with pink color content caught my attention. I instantly wanted to buy and did. I needed a really good moisturizer for winter weather in a really cold and dry climate. And, for a change, this body lotion really worked for me.It made my skin soft and kept it moisturized all day long. I always loved to massage this cream into my body right after the shower.It is pale pink in color, is light in consistency (not too thick or runny), smells really awesome (even you will smell of winter cherries half the day) and the best part of the lotion is that it was great in removing the stubborn tanning on my arms. I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for normal to dry skin moisturizing. It costed 180 INR for 210 ml (last year).

Nivea Smooth Body Milk with Gingko and Shea Butter
My love of this season. Absolutely fabulous for people with normal to dry skin. Sorry, but I really do not have stock for oily skin but if you feel dry, you can give this a try (nice rhyme!!). Smells really pleasant and keeps your body oh-so-soft. I loved it so much that I can not stop raving about it and the only thing I would say is get the product ASAP!! It definitely is costly. I bought the smallest size of 75ml at 109 INR to give it a try and I will get the bigger one as soon as this gets finished. It is thick in consistency and gets absorbed easily and I am sure it will suit normal skin too. It kept my skin moisturized all day long, no itchy feely which I get at a temperature less than 10 especially in cold climes and soft, most importantly. Can’t wait to finish the teeny tiny bottle which would not last you for more than a week if you use on your entire body.
Nivea Creme
The original Nivea which was released in 1911 and stays the same still in the same old container and same sizes. My father bought the biggest size of the creme and kept it in the bathroom. I was intrigued and wanted to try it. So, gave it a try. Do not ask me for my experience. I would not say it was horrible because it is the best product for people with extra and over dry skin. This is not a statement-in-the-air but a personal experience. It helped me when no body used to suit me. So, if you do face some same situation, you should give it a try.
If you ask me, it is really thick (the same consistency for which Nivea is famous). Scooping it out of the container itself is a task. And, then spreading it is a uphill task again. I could not even moisturize my arms when I used it. It simply stuck to my hand and refused to spread. This was my first experience. Next day, I needed something really thick to moisturize my legs because it has a really weird bees pattern (which I guess is due to extreme dryness). So, I used this creme. I scooped out a really large amount, nicely rubbed it in between my palms (to warm it) and massaged it in my legs for 5 minutes. The result was a fabulous and moisturized leg. The effect lasted all night and the next day till I took bath. My legs were really soft and smooth in the morning.
I know it sounds scary but do not get afraid of this experience of mine because I definitely do not need this product except on my legs. Just because a product is thick and takes really long to apply does not really become a negative point if it gives results. So, if you feel that nothing else is helping you, I would ask you to give it a try. This creme is especially useful for people with extremely dry skin. In winters, sometimes, some parts of your body become especially dry so you can use this creme there too. The best time to use this creme might be at night as far as I think because you can sit and take your own time to massage the product in and it will help the skin while rejuvenating too. If I use this product again, I’ll surely let you all know about it.
Disclaimer: I have not been paid by Nivea or Biotique for pleading you to buy their products. The reason for my message is that I have seen a lot of people miss out on products which can help them just because of some trivial reason like their consistency and smell which in the first place should not be a criteria for judging the products. And, yes, I am partial to Nivea products because that is the only product which brings nostalgic memories of my childhood and also because it suits me better than others. 

Hamdard Rogan Badam Shirin {Product Review}

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Okay, so I love this product. I came to know about this product through my friend. She advised me to use this oil for my hair when I was going through one of the worst phases of hair fall. My hair had thinned to an extent of alarm. Still it is not as thick as I want to be but, definitely, my hair quality is better. And, since I have started using this oil, it has stayed on my ‘must buy’ list. I am sure many of you would already be aware of this oil and its benefits. I do have certain complaints like I am not sure if the oil is cold pressed or organic. But, still, I can not get rid of it. I thought of writing about this product after reading about its review somewhere else. This has become so part of my life that I forgot about this completely.

The product does claim to do wonders to your brain and intellect along with relieving the muscle cramps and other pains in the body if taken internally. Well, I did take it internally (just two drops in milk every night). But, I was not very diligent in it so did not see the results. I shall try it again this Diwali and report back if I really see any difference. But, let me tell you, it tastes real bad. That was one of the main reasons I discontinued it. Anyways, regular application (twice a week) on hair made my hair soft and long. I also use it as body moisturizer too sometimes. It does feel raw in your hands (the oil is not soft to touch like the refined oils are soft to touch, if you know what I mean) so my guess is that it can be cold pressed or not completely refined. I am not even sure if they do have preservatives in the oil because it has a long shelf life (I forgot how exact and if it is just a year, I’ll edit this line). It is a great makeup remover. I am not a makeup user but I do use almond oil to remove the sunscreen (if you remember I had mentioned that you need to use a makeup remover for removing sunscreen too). It does not sting much if it gets into your eyes accidentally. You can also use it to smooth out your wrinkles or to make your own lip balm at home.
Cost: 25ml of bottle costs 75 INR which makes it pretty costly but it is the best almond oil I have come across and a small bottle does last long enough.

Make your own colors for your Rangoli

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Rangoli is an integral part of our festivals. While in North India, people generally make Rangolis only during festivals where as it is a daily routine in South. Every morning you will find ladies waking up, cleaning their porch and making a beautiful Rangoli with rice flour. Of course, they do not bother to color it every day but yes, we do love colors. Right?? Diwali is almost there and of course, your designs for Rangolis would be improvising day by day. So, have you decided on how will you color your Rangoli. No, not the Holi colors please!! They are chemically processed making them unhealthy not only for the skin but also they can cause asthma and cancer. Skin allergies from Holi colors is nothing new. I stopped playing Holi because of the very reason and many of you must have too.
So, how do we go about making our own colors? I am sure many of you must already be aware of it. But, for those who do not, I’ll recount certain things and your own imagination will also give you exquisite results on the D-Day. Lets start with things already available.
  • Turmeric – yellow. Mix turmeric with rice flour (off-white in color) or even maida (all purpose flour) and create different shades of yellow. Besan can be used for pale yellow too.
  • Orange peels are already lying for your daily scrubs. Use them for orange color.
  • Sindoor can be used for maroon. The orange shade of tika is also available. It will do beautifully for orange.
  • Beetroot – shade of magenta. Dry the peel or a single beetroot cut into pieces and then grind them for a beautiful and vibrant shade of something ranging from pink to magenta. You can vary the color using the white flour.
  • Pomegranate – something between red and orange. Dry the peel and grind it.
  • Carrot – Peel it, cut into pieces and dry and then, grind. Carrot red.
  • Rose Petals – which ever color is your rose. General colors are pink and red. Dry the petals and grind them or you can use them as they are.
  • Marigold petals – a vibrant orange. Petals can be used as they are.
  • You have a wide array of choices for green. Go for mint, spinach, fenugreek, corainder leaves or leaves from the plants from your garden or you can dry the peels of your green veggies from the gourd family and powder them.
  • Blue is a difficult color. You can go for small blue flowers which is the best bet. Or, if you can get indigo, you can create blue color of your own. But, this would be rare. So, I am giving this a miss!! You have lavender flowers. They would do beautifully and impart fragrance too.
  • Hibiscus flowers – would again give red.
  • You can use cinnamon and other spices for brown. I would go for cinnamon because it has a fragrance too.
  • Use mustard seeds (rai) for black. I know black is not used or preferred but using mustard seeds in the middle or small pockets of your Rangoli would give a different look to it.
  • Jasmine flowers, jasmine buds, rose buds can also be used (as in the pic). It is just made of all the flowers you can get at the florist shop. Why not use them? The green color is made form the ferns stems.
I am not able to think of any more colors but I am sure you can make out some from your own imagination and kitchen and beauty ingredients. There are some tips which I can give on your Rangoli decorations:
  •  Mix rice grains with the respective colors to make them look more appealing. My mom had made a complete Rangoli from the rice grains mixed in different colors and believe me it was fabulous. It was in a competition she participated and won the first prize!! Using rice grains makes your Rangoli stay for longer.
  • Do not have the time to dry the ingredients and powder them. Just crush the things, make a paste and mix with rice. You will need more quantity and little patience to mix with rice because it takes time.
  • You can use essential oils in your colors to make your Rangoli smell exotic.
  • Use the diyas for decorating and illuminating your Rangoli strategically.
  • I do not have to tell you this but make Rangoli at a strategic place where it is visible to all but not in anyone’s way so that no one disturbs your hard work.
  • You can place small Ganesh ji’s in your Rangoli. That looks chic and will utilize the numerous Ganesh ji’s coming your way. (We do get lot of Ganesh ji’s during Diwali and I love it!!)
Wish you all a very Happy Diwali!! May it bring you and your family all the prosperity and happiness you wish for.
[Do you have any tips on Rangoli decoration or color making?]