Category Archives: General Topics

My Top 5 Nail Polishes for Monsoon 2013

by Adi

Hello lovely ladies! 🙂
The rains are here (well most places!) and one mantra for monsoon that doesn’t change is bright, bright and brighter! Colour blocked outfits, bright sandals and flip flops, funky accessories and of course, fun nail polishes! Bright colours on nails are like the trademark of monsoon fashion. Think bright corals, blues, greens and tangerines!

So here are a few lovely nail polishes (Monsoon 2013 Affordable Nail Polishes) that’ll really make your nails stand out in the dreary monsoon! Plus they’re pocket-friendly! Enjoy the pics 😉

My Top 5 Nail Polishes Available in India for Monsoon 2013:

1. Streetwear Color Rich Nail Enamel Olive Drab No. 36:

Olive Drab from the Streetwear Color Rich Nail Enamel range is a slightly muted yellow pastel nail polish that’ll make your nails the center of attention and the fact that it’s just for 50 bucks is an added reason for you to go get this lovely shade!

2. Lakme Color Crush Nail Polish in the Shade No. 03

This is a lovely minty green shade with a lot of shimmer. It’s a very wearable pastel shade of green. Another one of my favorites for the monsoon! Lakme Color Crush nail polishes are a bit pricey at Rs 150 but the formula and shade selection is worth it. (Sorry for the short nails! I took this photo a while back!)

3. Avon Nailwear Pro+ Nail Enamel Coral Beat:

This nail polish from Avon has also been reviewed by me on MABH (Read here) and it’s another one of my favorites for summer and monsoon. It gives a lovely splash of neon orange colour to my nails and is really perfect for making a statement with your nails! This is priced at Rs 159, but it’s often on discount.

4. Streetwear Color Rich Nail Enamel Purple Magic No. 01:

Another lovely shade from the Streetwear Color Rich range is Purple Magic, a gorgeous plum colour that looks very vibrant and pretty on the nails! It’s a dark colour that’s still not too goth or dull. This is also for Rs 50.

5. Avon Simply Pretty Nail Enamel Mango Mania:

Mango Mania is a rusty orange with hints of red that will look great for monsoons! It’s not as loud or as orangey as Coral Beat but definitely is as pretty. I’ll be reviewing this lovely nail polish soon 🙂 Price: Rs 85

So those were my top 5 nail polishes for the monsoons! If you ask me, the rainy season is time to fight the grey clouds with bright manicures 😉 If you don’t have access to or you don’t like the brands mentioned above, you can always look for similar shades in other brands. I just wanted to suggest some fun colours that are in tune with the season.

I hope you all liked this article! Any shade that you think should have been here but is not? 🙂

Let me know which one you liked best out of these 5 nail polishes!

Also, what’s your favourite monsoon nail polish? 🙂

Silicone for Hair ~ Good or Bad?

19 Replies

by Mansi

So, the new trend ‘Avoid Silicones’ is rising nowadays. I have girls saying I want to get silicone free hair products so as to avoid damaging of my hair and thus I wanted to know how silicones harm your hair and is it really true that they damage hair or it’s just a myth. I did lot of research and I would love to share it with you girls!

What are silicones?:

Silicone is very common ingredient used in styling products of hairs whether it is shampoo, conditioners, serum or hair gel. They are basically polymers that layer your hairs with a thin hydrophobic coating which is NOT water-soluble. That means once silicone layers are there in your hairs you can’t get rid of it with water as they are waterproof. Phenyl trimethicone, dimethicone, Lauryl Methicone Copolyol and other “hard to pronounce” words or the words ending with “con”, “col” and “cone” are silicones. But as people are getting aware of the harmful effects of silicones, companies are trying hard to avoid the damage they cause. Thus, they are designing such silicones that not water proof and they won’t harm your hairs much.

Advantages of Using Silicone products:

Silicone coating in your hairs makes your frizz-free and manageable.
The coating also helps in detangling your hairs which ultimately reduces hair fall.
As silicones layer up in your hair they help in protecting your hairs from heat i.e. straightening tool, hair dryers, Curling iron etc.
It is also said that they protect your hairs from harmful radiations of UV-rays but I don’t know why I do not believe it but it claims to do so.
Silicone products add shine to your hairs and make them soft and smoother.
Basically silicone products do what every girl desires for. Right?

Disadvantages of Using Silicone Products are:

Silicones don’t penetrate your hairs from roots and thus they make your hair roots weak.
As I already told that silicones wrap up your hairs which is water-proof and that is why your hairs can’t breathe which eventually leads to dullness of hairs. Your hairs become brittle and lifeless.
Girls will curly hairs lose their curls with regular usage of silicone products.
Hair treatments like coloring your hairs, oiling them etc will fade away soon or will not work as your hairs are coated by silicones.
Once silicones gets build-up in your hairs it’s HARD to get rid of it.
How to avoid silicone layering up into your hairs?

You can avoid silicones to layer up your hairs by using ‘good silicones’. Yes, you must use silicones that not water proof and they can be easily washed away with water or use silicones that won’t build up in your hairs. Dimethicone copolyol, Lauryl methicone copolyol, Polysiloxane these are three water-soluble silicones which I’m aware of that don’t damage your hairs much.

Avoid silicone or not??

According to me, yes you should definitely avoid silicones as they damage your hairs from roots. Start using clarifying shampoos which will help in removing silicones from your hairs. But if you love your hairs with silicones then opt for “good silicone” so that your hairs can also love you back. 🙂

Do you use silicone based hair styling products and shampoos?

L’Occitane Shea Butter Rose Petals Hand Cream Review

23 Replies

by Sushmita

I love rose and I am sure every girls do. When ever I think about rose around me I head towards my L’Occitane Rose Shea Butter Hand Cream. Last time when I was at L’Occitane Store and wanted to get a good hand cream from their range.

The SA swatched so many hand creams and after I sniffed each of them I fell in love with this one. He insisted me to use this as it has 20% – 25% of Shea Butter in it and meant for dry skin. L’Occitane somehow always tempts me towards their products but I never got a chance to use any. But this time I garb and quickly paid for this hand cream and yeah this is my first L’Occitane product 🙂 I have always wanted something with rose fragrance and I so love it…!

Today I am going to review one of my favorite hand cream. I am a hand cream freak just because I have dry skin, my hand needs extra care. Many girls and women do travel a lot, do multipurpose work like job, work, cook, taking care of kids etc.. Hence don’t get enough time to take care of their hands. After which it’s tend to become super flaky and dry. Like skincare a proper hand care is also must. L’Occitane Rose Petals Hand Cream is such a savior for dry skin ladies..

Claims of the Hand Cream:

This Hand Cream, enhanced with a floral fragrance evoking sugar-coated rose petals, is highly concentrated with Shea Butter to help protect, nourish and soften skin.

Ingredients:

Direction to use: Apply on washed and clean dry hands especially at night before bed to get soft and smooth hand (according to L’Occitane SA).

Price:

Rs. 530 for 30 ml.

My Take on L’Occitane Shea Butter Rose Petals Hand Cream:

I have been using this L’occitane Rose Petals Hand Cream for more than 2 weeks now and I am lovvving it. I was confused regarding why anyone need hand creams separately when there is so many body lotion, body cream and body butters available in market. While ours hands also belongs to our body isn’t it? Then what’s the need?

Thanks to my friend Savita for introducing and explaining the fact behind hand creams. They help in repair and provide intense moisturization to tired and dry hands. Till then I am using this Hand cream religiously and I now can feel the difference. Less dryness, stretchiness but smooth, supple and moisturized hand. I am so addicted towards it smell. 😀 Yyaay!!

What I like about this Hand Cream:

As I already mentioned above, I love how its smell like an original rose, no artificial odor.
The texture of this cream is light to medium good for dry skin ladies
Little goes for a long way.
Absorb quickly. I hate creams which feel sticky or greasy on me. But this hand cream gets quickly absorb into skin leaving behind a soft supple hydrating feeling.
The smell again which last for almost 1 hour and then fade away..
Makes my hand moisturize, soft and smooth. You can feel the effect next morning.
The good part is you can even use this hand cream in day time when you feel your hand need some moisture.
The packaging is sleek and handy, easily to carry.
So small to adjust in your purse easily.
Those who like rose smell fragrances will definitely like this cream.

What I don’t like about this Hand Cream:

The price is much high for such a small quantity.
Will not provide much moisturization in winter season.
Oily skin beauties may find bit greasy.
Didn’t work on my cuticles.
The smell may be annoying for someone with sensitive nose.
Do not help in removing tan.

MABH Rating: 3.5/5

Final Verdict:

I like this hand cream simply because its contain shea butter which is good for dry skin and rose smell in it. Otherwise it’s a ordinary everyday kind hand cream. I may not buy such a expensive product for only 30 ml which is a big drawback according to me. I am in search of another rose smelling hand cream 😉