Dove Elixir- Rose and Almond Oil (Hair Fall Rescue) Review

 Yesterday we went to Jal-Mahal to witness a Diwali celebration by Rajasthan tourism- Deepotsav. The setting was perfect with the grand Jal-Mahal and Mansagar Lake in background. The whole venue was lighted with more than 4000 diyas. The cultural programs presented by folk artists were good but the Sarkari arrangements had many glitches. We did not stay till the fireworks but I liked the show. Sharing an image-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Now the review- Many of us do not like the idea of oiling our hair. Though I oil my hair once a week, I don’t like it much owing to my oily hair. I always keep looking for light hair oils. So it was obvious for me grab the precious hair oil by Dove which works in just 30 minutes. I got my first bottle in February this year, which still has some oil left.

Product Claims

Elixir is a luxurious blend of precious oils by Dove. Infused with real ingredients, it nourishes your hair from root to tip. This potent blend of oils has the power of overnight oiling in 30 minutes.

Price and availability- INR 185 for 90 ml. This hair oil is easily available.

Ingredients

Mineral oil, sesame seed oil, cetyl dimethicone, coconut oil, sunflower seed oil, sweet almond oil, olive fruit oil, rose extract, perfume, rose flower petals, Palm oil, BHT, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, tocopheryl acetate. Contains: 16% w/w vegetable oil and 78% w/w mineral oil.

Type of material- type 3 hair oil

My thoughts

The hair oil comes in a big glass bottle with pump dispenser. Bottle is too heavy to travel with. The oil is clear and you can see rose petals floating in it. The packaging looks nice.

Dove Elixir Rose and Almond hair oil has a pleasant fragrance but a strong one.

I usually oil my hair once a week. On other times I just wash my hair without oiling it. This product claims to reduce hair fall due to breakage, dramatically. And I’m glad to say that it works though not dramatically :D. It reduced my hair fall to some extent. But it became helpless in rainy season when I experience bad hair fall.

It is lightweight and I keep it on my hair overnight as I don’t get time in the morning for oiling my hair. It does not feel overly oily and is washed off easily.

This oil can also be used as a hair serum after wash, though I’ve never tried it that way.

The Positives-

·         Reduces hair fall a bit

·         Hygienic and easy to use packaging

·         Easily available

·         Cheap

·         Lightweight

The Negatives-

·         Strong smell

·         Does not reduce hair fall ‘dramatically’

·         Not travel friendly

·         Contains too much mineral oil and less natural ingredients

Summing it up- You can try this if you have some hair fall. I don’t think that I’ll buy it again as I get bored of using the same product for a long time.

Rating- 3.5/5

My Monday Experience- Thanco’s Ice-cream and Shilpgram

Hey Guys!!

This week is turning out to be really busy for me. We are shopping and cleaning. Monday was for shopping. We went to Raja Park to shop some dry fruits from Kajuwallah. Adjacent to Kajuwallah is a beautiful Ice-cream parlour- Thanco’s Natural Ice-cream. This time we decided to give it a try.

 

 

 

The interior was minimal and lovely. A lot of flavours were on offer. I chose Tender Coconut. Hubby wanted his fav Vanilla, but had to settle for Choco-Vanilla due to unavailability.

The frozen treats were tasty. The flavour was dense and rich. My tender coconut was all coconut-ty and very delicious. Choco-vanilla was okay. The price points at the parlour were nominal, just around Rs. 50 per scoop.

The ice-creams were not as great as my dearest Baskin Robbins. But considering the price, we got a good deal.

From Thanco’s we went to Shilpgram- an exhibition in Jawahar Kala Kendra.

I had high expectations as I shop a lot from various exhibitions in Jaipur. But as soon as I entered the ground I was disappointed, as the setup didn’t look inviting. I even forgot to click. We searched all the shops. Jewellery, kurtis, suits, dupattas, handicrafts etc. were on offer. There was not much variety available. I bought just two things- a pair of earrings and a pair of pearl bangles. Prices were good but I want variety and quality.
Still I enjoyed my Monday, more so as I was with hubby dearest. He is on leave this whole week so I can’t be happier. Yesterday he was busy grilling in balcony and I loved each piece- paneer, apple, pineapple, capsicum, banana etc. so smoky and sumptuous.
I’m having a good time and wish the same to all!!

Aloe Vera Uses and Patanjali Aloe Vera Gel

We all know that Aloe Vera gel is a fantastic product. And all of us have heard about its various uses. I started using Patanjali Aloe Vera gel on my face earlier this year to get rid of tan. Recently when we shifted in our new apartment, hubby became a gardener and bought an Aloe Vera plant among others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though he sometimes uses the gel straight from the plant, I’m yet to try it. Currently I’m happy with the Patanjali one.

Price- INR 75 for 150 ml. I think this is the cheapest Aloe gel around.

Shelf-life- 18 months

Ingredients- Aloe Vera 90%, Base material q.s., Permitted colour, Vitamin E, Fragrance and Preservative q.s.

My thoughts-The gel is packaged in a clear tube with orange flip-top cap. Pack is kind of boring and bulky but cap is tight and prevents spilling. The gel is green in colour and is neither runny nor thick.

 This gel blends easily and doesn’t cause greasiness. It helps in tan reduction. One tube lasts really long, making it even cheaper. I like this product.

Aloe gel can be used in numerous ways-

·         Make a body scrub by mixing 2 tbsp Aloe Vera gel, 1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp sugar. I prefer brown sugar as it is not very coarse.

·         Make a good under eye cream- 4 tbsp aloe vera gel+  squeeze one 1 Vitamin E capsule (e.g. Evion) + 1 tbsp almond oil. Mix these together and you will get a milky green cream. Store it and use to reduce dark circles. I use it daily and like it.

·         You can aloe vera gel instead of body-lotions. It hydrates without stickiness.

·         Make your own face-primer- take aloe gel and your favourite moisturizer, add a pump of foundation and mix. Store it and use it as your makeup base. This one is perfect. Just make sure to add more aloe vera gel and comparatively less moisturizer.

·         Aloe gel is a good makeup remover and can be used to remove eye makeup as well.

·         For better hair-growth massage aloe gel on scalp and wash after 30 minutes. It can also be used as conditioner. I’d suggest to use gel straight out of plant for this purpose.

It also helps in treating minor burns, pimples and suits every skin type. Aloe Vera juice is good for digestive system also. There are many more benefits of Aloe Vera, so make it a part of your regimen and keep glowing!!

(The first image has been taken from internet)

Loréal Professionnel Vitamino Color- Color Protecting Shampoo Review

How are you people doing? Well, if you ask me, I’m getting in the festive mood. I’m really excited about celebrating Diwali in my new house, though there will be just the two of us but it is going to be fun.

In my last post I wrote about getting my hair highlighted :D. So it is obvious that I’ve to change my shampoo and opt for a colour protecting one. Loréal Professionnel has some great products and I’ve been using its Volume Expand Masque for almost a month. I love the mask and will review it.

I picked color protecting shampoo from this range to soothe my hair. Read on to know more

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product claims- Gently removes residues and helps protect color-treated hair.  Double-protection system for colored hair with incell hydro-resist, a UV filter for hair and derivatives of vitamin E and magnesium. Dual action formula to reinforce the fiber and protect color-treated hair.

Price and availability- INR 500 for 250 ml. I bought it from purplle.com. This is a professional range so the products are not easily available.

Shelf-life- 3 years

Ingredients-

 Water, Sodium laureth sulfate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Dimethicone, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamide MIPA,PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Glycolate, Salicyclic Acid, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Carbomer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Linalool, 2-Oleamido-1,3-Octadecanediol, Magnesium Sulfate, Methyl Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance

My take- The packaging looks professional. The shampoo comes in a sturdy, pink plastic bottle with grey flip-top cap. Cap is tight so there is no spilling. Shampoo has thick consistency and is white in colour.

My hair is fine, straight and silky so apart from oiliness, it behaves well. But it is not easy to predict the effect of colour on hair. Dryness and increased hairfall can be seen in many people. So I had every reason to be scared. But this shampoo has made me happy.

 

 

 

 It lathers well and makes my hair clean in second rinse. I should add that I have a very oily scalp and usually oil my hair before wash as well. I’ve used it twice and I like the fact that it doesn’t make my hair dry and frizzy. I don’t see any increase in hair fall. It is early to say about its colour-protect effect but this shampoo is protecting my hair well.

The Positives-

·         Does not make hair rough

·         Enhances hair volume a bit

·         Cleanses well

·         Protects from UV rays

·         Contains Vitamin E

·         Travel-friendly packaging

 

The Negatives-

·         Not pocket-friendly

·         Not available easily

Summing it up- Loréal Professionnel Vitamino Color- Color Protecting Shampoo is a very effective product. It is expensive but the results are worth the price. If you have got your hair coloured then this one is a great option.

Rating- 4.5/5

My Karwa Chauth-nama

Hallo Pretties,

I know that u had a lot of fun yesterday. I enjoyed my day thoroughly.

We girls spend lot of time to make sure that we look our best on Karwa Chauth. I took a salon appointment on Sunday and got a haircut and the usual deforestation. For enhancing my looks I got some highlights in my hair for the first time. But sadly I couldn’t go for any facials as my skin is not completely free of pimples these days L.

On Monday I applied heena on my hands. The beautiful design was taken from Wiseshe. After an hour of work, I felt so sleepy that I kept the mehndi on for just one hour and washed it. Results were OK as you can see-

 

 

And yesterday was dedicated to the Pooja-preparations. I cooked everything alone except Puris. Here hubby helped me as he took a half-day. I was done by 4 in the evening so we watched a movie chatted, I did my green-gold manicure in the meantime. (Images are not great as I clicked with my mobile)

At 6 I took a quick shower and then started the decorations and other arrangements. I finished it all at 7:15 PM and then settled in front of the dressing-table. I was quick and got ready at 8:30, so I didn’t have to wait for the moon as it was already there by that time :D. We performed the pooja and I broke my fast. Then was the time for photo-session after which we enjoyed our meal.

As I didn’t have my wedding-lehanga with me, I wore a very pretty maroon, net Saree with silk-thread-embroidery (hubby’s choice). I went heavy (green+orange+silver eyeshadows and green kohl with mascara) on eye-makeup and gave my lips a subtle orange shade using my Astor Red-orange lipstick. You can read my review of it here on Wiseshe. I left my hair open which were in a twist-bun since morning. This gave my otherwise flat hair some volume. A red rhinestone bindi and gold maang-tika along with matching bangles completed my look.

What you guys did on Karwa-Chauth?

(Hubby has mistakenly deleted the pics that I took for my next review, now I’m going to make him click another set for me)

Healthy Choco bites

Hi,

Weekend is here finally, so I decided to share something that is an instant mood-lifter- a chocolate dessert. You can treat yourself to this delicious delicacy and share it with others (if you feel like sharing such a treat). I know that you want to relax on weekends and this recipe gets ready without much ado and takes hardly 15 minutes.

I read the recipe yesterday on the fitness blog Missfit and was tempted to try it today itself. The results were so delectable that I HAD to share it with you guys.

This chocolate dessert has the enjoyment of the dark choco and nuts but comes without the baggage of high calories. These bites have no added sugar. Take a look at the ingredients list-

 

·         ½ cup almonds

·         2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

·         2 tbsp dessicated coconut powder

·         10-15 raisins

·         3 de-seeded dates

·         One drop vanilla

·         A pinch of salt

 

 

 

 

 

Walnuts can be added if you like; I opened the box then closed it as I was skeptical of their somewhat bitter aftertaste. Next time walnuts are going in it.

Method- No cooking needed……..yay!! Just take all the ingredients in a grinder and……grind them!! Hehe :D

 

The mixture turns out little coarse and just perfectly sticky. Take desired amount in your palm and make balls. I made ½’ balls and the quantity was 10. I rolled a few of the balls or laddoos in coconut powder for some variation in flavour.

I couldn’t wait to eat them and popped two right away. These choco balls have  just the right blend of bitter-sweet flavour and I must say- No one can eat just one!!

The almonds without the outer shell are devoid of nutrients. I always buy high quality almonds that come with hard outer shell. It is a task to crack them but we do it in an entertaining way- sit on floor, keep cracking the almonds and keep chatting with each other. One kg is done real fast and we get to talk a lot..

For details about the nutritional-value of these choco-pops, you can check Missfit

Do try them and share your experience.

 

Pond’s Pimple-clear White Multi-Action Facial Wash Review

Hi People!!!!

It rained too much in my town this year. So much so that, the usually dry weather became extremely humid annoying my oily skin. Pimples started raising their white heads on my face after a long time, leaving their footprints oops…..marks behind.  So I had to think of something to overcome the problem.
Facewashes from Pond’s have always been my darling after Neutrogena. I gave a try to the latest Pond’s Pimple-clear white facewash which claims to fight ten oil and pimple problems. Let’s see how good a soldier this facewash is-

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Pond’s Pimple-clear White Multi-Action Facial Wash-

·         Oil absorbing clay

·         Pimple fighting Salicylic Formula

·         Brightening Essence

Price and Availability- Rs.75/- for 50 g

Its easily available everywhere.

Shelf-life- 2 years

Ingredients-

Myristic Acid, Glycerin, Water, Propylene Glycol, Potassium Hydroxide, Palmitic Acid and Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, Glycol Distearate, Decyl Glucoside, Polyethylene, Glyceryl Stearate, Silica & CI74260, Salicylic Acid, Niacinamide, Polyquaternium-7, Disodium EDTA, DMDN Hydantoin & IodopropynylButylcarbamate, Fragrance, Azadirachta indica Leaf Extract & Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Flower/leaf extract, Kaolin, CI 17200, CI 19140, CI 42090

 

My experience- It is a general perception that gel based products are best-suited for oily skin. It is true in my case as well except in case of facial washes. My skin doesn’t feel clean after a wash using gel facewashes, it remains sticky. Surprisingly for me, the creamy Pond’s facewashes work really well. I’ve been using their Oil-control facewash for the longest time.

This Pimple-clear white facewash claims to clear pimples and blemishes as well as to give a bright skin. The Packaging is the usual Pond’s facewash type with a flip-top cap.

The facial wash is light green in colour with very fine green granules in it. It works well as a mild scrub and makes skin smooth while removing oil. The fragrance is little strong but pleasant.

 I can see that the pimples are reduced but marks are still there. So I’m not sure of its ‘reduces blemishes’ claim. Skin remains clean for at least 2 hours so I guess it tightens pores a little. Redness is also gone. I have many black/whiteheads but it has not been successful in reducing them. Brightening is instant but short-lived.

But I am happy to see that my pimples are less in number now. For blemishes I use Lotus Oatmeal and Yogurt whitening scrub and will review it.

What I like-

·         Removes oil effectively

·         Reduces pimples

·         Smoothens and tightens skin

·         Reduces redness

·         Pocket-friendly

·         Easily available

·         Good packaging

What I didn’t-

·         Brightening effect does not last

·         No effect on black/whiteheads

·         No reduction in blemishes

Rating- 3/5

Overall Verdict- This is an OK product which works nicely on oily skin. But it obviously is not a must-buy.