Lush Dark Angels Face Cleanser {Product Review}

Price: Rs 700 for 100 gms (approx.)

Ingredients

Rhassoul Mud, Cold Pressed Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima), Glycerine, Powdered Charcoal, Black Sugar (sucrose), Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Perfume, *Linalool, Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album), Rosewood oil (Aniba rosaeodora)

 

Pros

natural ingredients

makes the skin really soft

exfoliates amazingly!!

Cons

doesn't control oil production

doesn't remove oil or cleanse really well

very expensive!!

My Experience

I got this in June and have been using it on and off since then. I had been wanting to try the product since a very very long time so was very excited to try it out. So, how to use it a very big problem and trust me when I say its damn messy!!! It will blacken your washbasins and everywhere else it touches. 

How to use? Take a pea size amount and pour a drop or two of water on it and make a paste which will be a little watery and cleanse with it thoroughly. Though, I would like to say that it doesn't really cleanse well. I use oil to remove the traces of sunscreen from my skin and this product doesn't cleanse that oil as thoroughly as I would like. 

But, its a damn good exfoliator. It leaves the skin soft and smooth and removes the whiteheads but it didn't really have any noticeable effect on my blackheads. I use it on alternate days to scrub my face properly. Its not at all harsh. Oh btw, avoid looking in the mirror or you might frighten yourself :D Yes, it looks like black paint on the face!! 

 

Its definitely expensive and would last two months at max if used regularly which I think is way too less. The expiry period of the product is probably four months from the date of manufacture but I do have issues with this date things in Lush. They provide date of packaging and expiry but the date of packaging is date when you buy the product. So, how do they calculate the date of expiry? Honestly, Lush is not really working out well for me!!

Have you used Dark Angels?

Other products I love or hate from Lush:

Lush Caca Noir

Lush Aqua Marina Cleanser

Lush Gorilla Perfumes - Short Description

Update on Lush Caca Noir

Lactocalamine Deep Cleansing Face Wash {Product Review}

I know this product has been there in the market since quite long and it wasn't a buy either. I got it free with the lactocalamine bottle. Initially, to be frank, I wasn't interested in using it and was wondering "will I get one with every lactocalamine, yikes!!!" Anyway, let's get on with the review and let's see if I really would mind getting it even for free :)

Price: Rs 65 for 70ml

Ingredients

Pros

- it feels really cool when you wash your face, the best part

Cons

- it has SLES
- doesn't really control oil for long time

My Experience

The gel is light purple in color and smells awfully like a bubblegum!!! I don't really like the smell but its not exactly offending. Whenever I apply the face wash, there is an immediate cooling effect like you have applied menthol or something on the face. That's what made me write this review :) Definitely a very useful thing in hot summers :D Right??? It has menthol and raspberry extract too which is pretty interesting. 

It does make my skin feel a little dry after the wash but then, it is meant for oily skin and mine is a little quirky kind which oscillates between dry and oily. So, wouldn't really blame the face wash and even then, it doesn't leave my skin stretched or anything. I can easily grab a light moisturiser and I am good to go. But, the biggest thing is that it doesn't help me with the oil on my nose and chin :( They get oily in an hour or two after washing my face.

Have you used this face wash? What do you like or hate about it?

Other products from Lactocalamine:

Always have a bottle of calamine lotion

Groundnut oil for skin {Ingredient}

I have a bad habit of removing labels *feeling sheepish*

I had bought it for culinary purposes but unfortunately, it expired without getting completely used up and I don't think I'll ever buy it for culinary purposes ever again coz it gives too much of a nutty taste and smells very strongly of peanuts and I don't fancy the so-called aroma. Anyways, so I thought I would use it up for skin before the oil turns rancid. Well, here you might argue that it has expired but vegetable oils (not hydrogenated) don't really go bad so easily so if its only external usage, I don't really mind. Of course, I'll never eat it. So, how did it fare for my skin.

Groundnut Oil

Ok, first let me describe the texture and benefits. It is thick like other culinary oils and mine is organic (USDA certified) which I had bought from the 24 letter mantra I had talked about long time back. The groundnut oil is generally preferred for cooking because it has high smoke point and is a very stable oil and also has a long shelf life which is why I don't pay heed to the expiry dates of oils unless they are hydrogenated oils. Groundnut oil is highly rich in proteins and is also very nutritious. And, its essentially very high in fatty acids which are responsible for keeping the skin young.

Its major component fatty acids are oleic acid (46.8% as olein), linoleic acid (33.4% as linolein), and palmitic acid (10.0% as palmitin). The oil also contains some stearic acid, arachidic acid, arachidonic acid, behenic acid, lignoceric acid and other fatty acids.  [Wikipedia]

You can read about its nutrient profile here.

How do I use Groundnut oil?

I use the oil mainly for cleansing purposes after I finished up with Nivea Cleansing Milk. I massage for few minutes with the oil and I do take a generous amount for face and neck and exposed chest (if I have applied sunscreen there). And, massage for sometime. Then, I leave the oil for few minutes (around 3-5) and then, wipe it off with the cleansing wipes or baby wipes or even cotton (wipes are easier but lot costlier and have all lot of chemicals in them but then cotton has pesticides too and organic cotton is way too costly which is why I prefer wash cloths but oil on wash cloths would ruin them). Then, I simply wash off my face and moisturize.

Since I have been using the oil, I have noticed that my blackheads are far fewer in number (which had becomes really pronounced in between). That's why I say "go for oil cleansing".  Ok, not easy while traveling but when you are at home. And, if I am not wrong, I have noticed my face skin has become healthier in the sense of supple and healthy skin since the past one month and, for the record, my habits are as irregular as they can be. I think groundnut oil behaves just like castor oil and has cleansing properties because you can see the dirt and all your sunscreen and foundation coming out of the pores while cleansing the face. And, no breakouts too which I had with almond oil.

Makari Clarifying Exfoliating Antisceptic Soap {Product Review}

So, I had said that I would review the soap on 30th. I am a little late in posting the review coz I am not well these days. The heat is so bad here, I just wanna get out of Hyderabad. Anyways, so getting back to the review.

Price: 800 INR for 200 gms

Ingredients

Sorry for the bad pic but the lighting was horrible and I couldn't keep the camera stable or something. Some of the ingredients of the product are natural. It has mulberry root extract, palm kernel acid  and palm acid (which in common terms means palm kernel oil and palm oil, anyways palm oil is an endangered product now so these ingredients should not be encouraged) and apricot kernel oil. 

My Experience

The first thing you will notice about the soap is its unique shape which makes it pretty handy too. I used the soap mainly on the face and arms. The soap is very creamy and foams a lot. The company advises to leave the foam on the skin for 5 minutes for better whitening effects so I followed that advise. Since, I had said that these days I am having a combination skin so sometimes the foam tends to make my skin dry and sometimes it leaves it moisturized. It does make the skin very soft and leaves it looking a little brightened. It cleanses the skin very well and also reduces the blackheads and whiteheads. My whiteheads had disappeared pretty quickly and blackheads had reduced to quite an extent. 

The best part of the soap is yet to come. I had an acne attack a few weeks back. So, there was a little bump left on the right side of my cheek since the acne cyst had not burst out. The bump had been there since quite a long time. And, since I have started using the soap, the bump disappeared within a week or so. So, yup the soap is antiseptic and it really works. And, I did not get any more acne also. Now, coming to the look and feel of the soap, the soap feels creamy, lathers quite easily and it smells really nice. The small granules which you can see in the soap are a little harsh when they are inside the soap but when they drop out in your hands, they are not at all harsh. So, that can be a little problem. But, the soap exfoliates well and leaves the whole body squeaky clean without leaving any residue or film on the skin. It doesn't even make the skin feel stretchy like some soaps do. So, overall, I really liked the soap. It even lasts long. I have been using it regularly since 3 weeks and half of the soap is still left.

My Recommendation

I am kind of two minded about the soap because of its price. It is definitely very costly by the Indian standards. Makari de Suisse is a high-end line in UK and US and it has been specially created for colored skin to reduce the melanin content. They do have a great product line which looks pretty tempting. Well, it does sound pretty racist to me but can't blame the company for that. It was the sentiment of the people. Otherwise, the soap is really good and worth a try coz it does control tanning. 

PS: The product was sent to me by the brand for consideration. All opinions are from my own experience.

Honey as face cleanser

Happy Karwachauth to all of you :)

Well, I did nothing innovative today. I was just feeling like pampering myself and the only thing I had was honey. So, tried to use it as a cleanser. Today I used it after my scrub but a few days before, I used only honey to cleanse my face after a very long day. And, it worked so wonderfully :)

You do not have to do anything except take a little honey in your hands and rub it into your face in upward massage movements. I did the massage for around 15 minutes and then left it for 5 minutes. You should apply honey even on the eye area. Do not miss it out. It is good for wrinkles. After waiting, I washed it off with warm water followed by water at room temperature. My skin was amazing. It was glowing and had perfectly even skin tone. 

Note: Try to use organic honey. 

My blackheads did not disappear though. But, I did not expect them to. They need a little more work than simply working honey into your face. So, happy cleansing with honey and do share your experiences :)

Oil Cleansing Method {DIY}

A few days ago I had talked about OIL CLEANSING. Well, let me introduce to you something which I stumbled across a few days ago. I tried it and trust me, its amazing. I do not know how well it removes make up but it makes your skin squeaky clean without drying it. Rather, it leaves your skin smooth and supple. And, your skin glows the next day. You would love yourself.

Procedure:

• Start by keeping everything close to you. You would need a dry wash cloth (not too harsh for your skin), a bottle containing castor oil and olive oil mixed in a proportion suitable to your skin* and running hot water.
• Apply oil generously to your skin and massage the oil into your skin well using firm hands for around 5-10 minutes. It feels relaxing and is soothing for your face muscles. Exercise your cheek bone, jaw bone, nose, chin, forehead and eyes (use ring finger for eyes). The finger movements should be outwards and upwards towards the ear from the chin, cheeks, nose and upper lip area.
• After massaging to your heart's content, soak the wash cloth in hot running water and apply it on to your face. Keep the warmth of wash cloth to the point you can bear. Keep it on until it cools down and then wipe your face nicely with the same wash cloth. 
• Wash and soak the same wash cloth under hot running water for sometime to clean it and saturate it. Again apply it your face, keep till it cools and then, wipe away your face. Repeat this cycle till you feel your skin is clean. 3-4 times should be enough. 
• You can apply moisturizer according to the need of your skin. In place of moisturizer, you can apply a drop of the same oil used to cleanse your face. If it does not feel dry and tight, do not apply anything on to your face. Your face needs to breathe. Go and have a nice sleep.

Next morning, you need not cleanse your face. A wipe with a wash cloth is enough to clean it. Your skin would be glowing. Oil cleansing not only removes grime, dirt and make up from your face, but also, the blackheads and blemishes. This procedure should not be done too frequently. I think 2-3 times is fine in a week. Care should be taken not to scratch the skin.

Go and check it out for yourself. Have a happy cleansing.

* Remember, castor oil is quite thick and can be drying for the skin if used in large quantities. It has cleansing properties but is too strong on skin if used alone. That is why you need another light oil to dilute it. You can also use jojoba oil. For the mixture of oil, you can use 75-25 castor-olive oil combination for normal skin. You can experiment with different proportions till you find the one suiting your face.  The proportion of mixture should be such that for dry skin people, castor oil should be less in proportion like 50-50 or 60-50 and people with oily skin can have 80-20 as the proportion. But, since every skin is different in its needs, you should find out the right one for yourself. It would take trial and error but remember one rule, do not use too much of castor oil. It will dry your skin irrespective of its type.