Books This Week 7

Absolutely crazy weather in my city- endless rains & a sun on holiday. Perfect weather to curl up with a good book & that's exactly what I did.

The Cuckoo's Calling- Robert Galbraith

I couldn't wait to read this one after finishing the second book in this series last week. Fabulous book - right amount of suspense & intrigue. Good enough but I liked The Silkworm a lot more.

Shiny Objects- James A Roberts

This book delves into why we shop the way we do & how shopping habits have evolved over time. Every single statement & theory is backed by solid research & tests conducted on a large number of people. Although the book talks about shopping habits of America, I felt it could be applied to just about any country. Shopping seems to be a global pandemic. Fascinating read.

That's all for this week. Read anything good lately?

Books This Week 6

Hi all, these are the books I finished this past week

The Silkworm- Robert Galbraith

What a cracker of a book! Thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. I picked it up without realizing that it was the 2nd part of the series. It didn't take away anything from the book. I'm turning into a die hard J.K Rowling fan. Can't wait to read the 1st part.

The World's Best Kept Beauty Secrets- Diane Irons

Picked this up on a whim. It has a lot of 'secrets' about skincare, makeup etc- some commonplace & some that I had never heard of before. It's a good book for teenagers who are just starting out with makeup & beauty.

Women's Fitness- 4 Weeks to Skinny Jeans

Love this. While in college, my one vice was buying magazines I could ill afford & then cutting the pages I liked. The second biggest pile of pages was fitness & exercise. I really like how this book has everything in one place- exercises, diet tips & helpful suggestions. I can see myself dipping back into this one.

DIY Sleeping Mask

Ever since bloggers started reviewing Memeboxes, the one thing that instantly caught my attention was the Overnight Sleeping Mask. It seemed like a godsend for a time strapped mom like me. Imagine slathering on a face mask as you get ready to sleep- you get your beauty sleep & the mask works its magic at the same time. Win- win. Since I was on a No Buy & then Low Buy & No Buy Challenge again, I never got around to buying it. My No Buy Challenge afforded me plenty of time to research & analyze every product that interested me. During one such foray, it hit me - sleeping mask was just glorified night cream. Almost everybody who used it claimed that it was like a rich night cream. Which means it's easily dupable & the beauty of DIY is that you can customize it to your skin needs.

I used the following 4 things to make my Sleeping Mask-

Lacto Calamine Reneu (anti- aging cream)

Regular Lacto Calamine (cuts down the greasiness & soothes the skin)

Khadi Herbals Facial Massage Gel- Aloe vera, Neem, Basil (claims to prevent pimples & soothe the skin)

Kamadhenu Laboratories Kumkumadi Oil (fabulous skin brightener)

I mixed it in the ratio 2:1:1 & added 5 drops of Kumkumadi Oil. Mix it till it comes together & store in an opaque container. I have repurposed an old Biotique lip balm container. I use it about twice every week & wake up to glowing skin. The only downside is that the mask makes your face a little oily & sticky. My husband complained about the chip chip the first time I used it. So now I just apply the mask about an hour before bed- this gives it time to absorb into the skin & the stickiness is also significantly less. You can increase the amount of Lacto Calamine to lessen the stickiness too.

I quite liked this DIY. Next time I plan on using Aroma Treasures Golden Glow Oil instead of Kumkumadi Oil.

Cheers.

My Very Own Box- November- Facial Oils

Hello people, new month means a new box. Its time for another edition of My Very Own Box. I've been intrigued by facial oils ever since they burst onto the beauty scene a couple of years back. What held me back was my super oily skin & a vague fear of oil induced pimples. I finally decided to take the plunge with these beauties. Read on

Kamadhenu Laboratories Kumkumadi Oil

INR 80 for 10 ml

Every few months, I keep getting bitten by the natural bug & only want to use age old or ayurvedic products. This is one such. I'm currently mixing this with my night cream. Still haven't worked up the courage to use it in the day time. Thankfully, it doesn't smell too bad & mixing with night cream seems to further dilute the smell.

Aroma Treasures Golden Glow Oil

INR 303 for 50 ml

I got this a couple of months back & was waiting for winters to start using this. The instructions say that it should be used within 4 months of opening. Planning on using this till February end. Will update with results then.

Vedic Line Anti Pigmentation Blend

INR 150 for 10 ml

I wanted to try the 'Radiance' blend but it was always out of stock. So settled for this one. It smells wonderful & I can't wait to try it.

Animate Facial Oil

INR 300 for 60 capsules

Who doesn't love ampoules? I can't seem to get enough of them. This one claims to contain aloe vera & vitamin E. Planning to use this once a week.

Do you use facial oils? Which ones worked best for you- keep me posted. Cheers.

Books This Week 5

Been a while since I did this series. Time seems to have grown a pair of wings & is flying like crazy. Anyhoo, these are the books I finished reading

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up- Marie Kondo

This one's an utterly hyped up book. The author recommends decluttering by category not by room & to discard first, organize later. Also discard everything that doesn't "spark joy" in you. She has a specific order in which decluttering has to take place & claims that you'll have to do it just once. It sounds too good to be true but the success of the KonMari technique lies in how much you can throw away. I don't see this working for me.

Casual Vacancy - J. K Rowling

Absolutely loved this one. I was a bit prejudiced about the author thinking she could only write fantasy. Never did I think that she could come up with something so dark & gritty. I was hooked from the beginning & thoroughly enjoyed the suspense. You know it's a good book when you finish reading it & you still feel like you are living in the make believe place inside the book. This is one of those. Go for it.

Mrs Funnybones- Twinkle Khanna

Funny, funny stories from the land of celebrities. This is an easy read- you don't have to invest too much time or attention. One time read.

I don't usually finish every post with a question but have you read any good books lately? I really, really want to know (Yeah! Even more than which lipstick shade Deepika wore recently) See ya.

October Empties

October has gone by so fast, I felt like it only had 15 days. Maybe that's why I was surprised to see so many empties. October also saw the untimely demise of my 100 Days No Buy Challenge. I lasted for all of 54 days before shopping mania took over.

Let's begin

Khadi Ayurvedic Vitalising Hair Oil
INR 350 for 210 ml

I had bought this with high hopes but it did nothing for my hair. It's a pleasant smelling oil with thin consistency. I didn't notice anything extraordinary & I developed dandruff in the colder months despite using this. Dud. No repurchase.

Patanjali Kesh Kanti Shampoo
INR 65 for 200 ml

My go to shampoo. I always have atleast 1 bottle of this shampoo with me. Obviously repurchasing.

Vaadi Herbals Sun Shield (2)
INR 64 for 110 ml

Phew! Finally finished using this one. Never again.

Gururaja Kumkumadi Taila
INR 150 for 100 ml

I wanted to try Kumkumadi oil from a long time but there's no Arya Vaidya Shala near my place. So picked this up from a nearby store. It stinks & I only managed to finish using it by mixing a little bit with my body lotion. No way am I repurchasing this.

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

Good enough. I quite liked this one. Repurchase

Ayur Herbal Deep Pore Cleansing Milk
INR 85 for 200 ml

This is the only cleansing milk that doesn't sting my face & effectively removes all makeup. Have bought & used umpteen bottles. I think I'll continue using this.

Lacto Calamine Reneu
INR 799 for 50 gm

God! This one stinks like rotting fevicol. It's quite rich & i thought it would be super greasy on my oily skin. Nevertheless I  used it for 2 weeks & it broke me out twice. After that (because I was on my No Buy Challenge) I mixed it with equal quantity of Lacto Calamine & used it up. No repurchase.

Vaadi Herbals Enticing Lemongrass Scrub Soap
INR 38 for 75 gm

Smells super fresh but the charcoal scrub particles are too harsh. I still have 2 more of these (I think). No repurchase.

Oatmeal powder NOT PICTURED

Love using this to cleanse my face. It really makes a difference on red acne marks & soothes skin. Definitely making again after I finish my stash.

That's it for now. How many of you post about Empties? Has it made a difference to your shopping habits? Let me know.