My Very Own Box- September 2015

I'm really enjoying putting these boxes together. Shopping with a theme is FUN. This month's box will be full of anti- aging stuff. Once you hit 30, you start panicking that you might have missed the anti-aging bus & want to make up for lost time. Here's a list of the things I got.

Lacto Calamine Reneu Anti-Aging Cream INR 800 for 50 gm

Wanted to try this from a long time since I tend to trust products from pharmaceutical companies more than regular skincare brands. It's a pearly white cream which seems to be a bit too rich for my oily skin. It comes with fancy cardboard strips to measure before and after wrinkles. I'm using this at the moment.

Nature's Essence Seramide Anti wrinkle Cream INR 70 for 40 gm

Seramides are supposed to be the next big thing in anti aging & Nature's Essence products always work for me. How fun does this package look? Yet to use it.

Biotique Bio Carrot Seed Anti-Aging After Bath Body Oil INR 135 for 120 ml

Almost all anti aging stuff seems to be concentrated on the face. This was the only thing available for body. I'm using this from past 1 week & have finished 1/3 rd of the bottle. Will update with results in a few days.

Vaadi Herbals Anti aging Cream INR 55 for 30 gm

This has got to be the most cost effective anti aging cream ever. Will try this once I'm done with Lacto Calamine Reneu.

Do you use anti aging products? When do you think is the best time to start?

Days 11-20 of No Buy Challenge

Hi all, this is just an overview of the past 10 days in my No Buy Challenge

Day 11 - Used honey as a face mask before bath. Skin felt so smooth & moisturized from within. Want to do this more often. Drank close to 700 ml water.

Day 12 - Finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. While the points may be valid, I don't see this working for me. Water intake : 500 ml

Day 13 - Filed & shaped my nails after forever. Hopefully will paint my nails this week. Success! Guzzled 1 litre of water today.

Day 14 - Did a at home facial with Nature's Essence Diamond Facial Kit. Love the way my skin feels after this. Drank about 700 ml of water.

Day 15 - Read some reviews & was tempted by a few. Have added the products I liked to my "Want" list. If I still want the stuff at the end of the ban, I will buy them. Totally forgot about the water thing- just drank 2 glasses of water.

Day 16 - Wore Streetwear Pink Persuasion lipstick after a long time. Wow, Streetwear has come a long way- lovely lipstick. Back on track- 1 litre of water today.

Day 17 - Used my Nature's Essence Bridal Glow Face Pack. Watched Drishyam to distract myself from shopping. Drank 800 ml of water

Day 18 - Girls Night Out! Wore Streetwear lipgloss in Party Melon. I had been alternating between Maybelline MAT 1 & MAT 2 lipsticks from a long time. Poor water intake at just 200 ml.

Day 19 - Finally tried oil pulling with castor oil. My teeth are looking rather yellow due to my black coffee habit. Exceeded my limit by drinking 1.2 litres of water. Yay!

Day 20 - Yes! Yes! I'm gonna make it through this time. I feel it in my bones. Wore blush (Faces Pink Topaz) after an eternity. Level up!

Rules for the next 10 days

Learn to use a beauty accessory that I've ignored so far. I think I'll start with the eyelash curler. This thing scares me & has been sitting in my beauty drawer since 4 years.

Reorganize my wardrobe. I've been hanging all my clothes willy nilly but I only have 1 rod in my wardrobe. I think stacks are the way to go especially for t-shirts and kurtas.

How far have you gotten in the No Buy Challenge?

August Empties

It's time for another empties post. I decided to target my tiny bottles of shampoos etc from hotels this month. I always pick up those tiny bottles from hotels but NEVER use them. They just sit not- so prettily on my dresser & die a quiet death. I'm forcing myself to use these this month, even the stinky ones. Hopefully next time I won't pick up what I don't like/use. What else did I finish this month? Read on

Vaadi Herbals Heavenly Lavender Soap INR 38 for 75 gm

It's no secret that I love lavender scented products & this one's no exception. It cleans well without drying out my skin like other soaps. I'm slightly disappointed that it doesn't have the same ombre look as shown on the website. Nevertheless, repurchase.

Biotique Bio Dandelion Ageless Lightening Serum INR 199 for 40 ml

I love this stuff. It's like magic in a bottle. Read my full review HERE. Definite repurchase.

Vaadi Herbals Sun Shield INR 64 for 110 ml

This was part of an epic Vaadi Herbals haul. I didn't use it on my face but on my arms and legs. Nothing spectacular. Still have 2 more of these to go through.

Parachute Non- Sticky Hair Cream INR 44 for 50 gm

I really like using this as a leave- in conditioner for my curly hair. It has a very masculine fragrance but considering that it's targeted at men, no complaints. Yup, buying again.

Biotherm Aquasource Skin Lotion SAMPLE

This one's a toner, no idea why it's called lotion. Anyhow, works okay.

And now, the piece de resistance. I managed to finish 7 Body Lotions, 2 Shampoos & 1 Bath Foam from the hotel stash. I'll be honest- I used up the shampoo and bath foam by cleaning my bathroom tiles.

Decluttering part

Streetwear Mono Eyeshadows in Bombshell,  Cutey Petutti, Silver

These were the eyeshadows I started out with. They are ancient, dunno why I kept them for all these years.

Lakme Eyeshadow Quad in Peacock

Loved this one to bits when I first got it. I don't use it anymore.

Diana of London Classic Ultra Shine Eyeshadow Duo

This was a gift with purchase. Sorta chalky

Deborah Milano Eyeshadow Trio inTruly Diva

Poor colour payoff, hardly shows up on my eyes

Diana of London Juicy Plump Lipgloss in Cherry

This one's almost like a liquid lipstick & also my first red. Throwing it away because it's about 6 years old.

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipgloss in Plum- tastic

This one hardly shows up on my lips.

Chambor Flowing Lipstick in Passion Rose

I HATE these kind of clickety click type products. Click, click nothing; click, click, sea of product. I never quite got the knack of getting the right amount of product. Also it settles into lines on my lips.

Maybelline Moisture Extreme lipstick in Plum Perfect

Another pet peeve- glitter in lip products. I haven't used it even once in the past 4 years.

Colorbar lipstick in Glamour

This one's smelling off. Time to get rid of it.

Done for this month. What have you got rid of this month?

Days 1-10 of No Buy Challenge

Day 1 - Used 2 brand new, unused products. Sorely tempted by the Phillips Bikini Genie review. Maybe I'll get a cheaper one after the no buy.

Day 2 - Weekend! Pigged out at Burger King to take my mind off the ban. Was looking at store displays & lamenting about lack of nice stuff when I realized that I can't buy anyway.

Day 3 - Had to go to a store for emergency stuff and saw a tub of Lavender Body Butter. I actually picked it up but then I reminded myself that I can't lose this early on in the challenge.  That tub will still be there when I finish the challenge or finish my stash, whichever is later.

Day 4 - Marked all shopping related stuff on gmail as spam. Less temptation. Did a facial at home with the Vaadi Herbals Lavender Facial Kit. Also changed sheets & cleaned up room in general. Started reading "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up " by Marie Kondo of the famous KonMari technique.

Day 5 - Started to inventory my stuff. I didn't know it was this bad. Done with skincare inventory. Tonnes of unused stuff. Did a fair bit of laundry too

Day 6 - Deleted the purplle app from my phone. This used to be my favorite way to pass the time. Browsing will lead to wanting, checking reviews & eventually "Poor me, can't buy xyz because of the ban". I want to change this stupid attitude. I have plenty, actually more than plenty. I should be bloody grateful.

Day 7- Had to go shopping with a relative. I didn't pick up A SINGLE THING. So proud of myself.

Day 8 - Wore eyeshadow after forever. Have actually forgotten how to apply- it looked quite patchy before I blended it properly. Also wore Rimmel lipstick in Cutting Edge as a stain. I bought this over a year ago (after lots of people said it was a dupe for MAC Rebel) but had never dared to wear outside

Day 9 - Wore a full face of makeup after atleast 6 months. Felt good. Makeup and beauty had become a sort of chore off late. Had forgotten how much FUN it used to be.

Day 10 - Yes! I reached the first milestone. Gave myself a pedicure as reward for finishing the first stage.

Looking back on my 100 Days No Buy Challenge Rules, I have done pretty much everything except for painting my nails. Ah well...

Rules for the next 10 days

Do at least 1 at home facial

Use 2 face masks- one natural & one store bought

Drink more water- start with 1 litre per day. Off late I've only been drinking about 2 glasses of water

Try to finish Lakme lip balm in Siren ( I think). I didn't use it for the longest time because it was so cute.