by Pearl

Hi girls! How is life? I hope all are doing well. 🙂
Today, I will be talking about how we are so careful while buying products for our skin. How particular we are regarding our regular Salon visits and how we shell out so many bucks for beauty and skincare products BUT fail in maintaining and using our cosmetics hygienically! I doubt that anyone would confess that the above is true. (But it is, right!!!) Not to worry, I hope little facts, tips and tricks in this article would change your habits a little 🙂

Rules to Maintain Hygiene of Your Cosmetics:

1. First and foremost, please do not share or exchange you cosmetics. There are some very logical explanations to this:

• A product used by a person usually harbours germs from that person. By sharing their cosmetics, you are transferring those germs on your skin. Associated with sharing cosmetics are infections like herpes, common cold and dermatitis.
• Different products are meant for different skin types. If you share and use a product meant for dry skin type on your oily or combination skin.. You are going to have a super oily skin day!! (Editors note: With breakouts the next morning.. Experience speaks..ughh) 😛
  
• Your skin may be allergic to particular chemicals in a product that suits somebody else’s skin type.
• Foundations, concealers and compacts have different shades as per the skin tones. Something that blends in well in their skin type might look bad on you.

2. Always, discard your cosmetics after expiry date. Shelf life of products is almost always mentioned on the products beyond expiry dates, the chemicals in the beauty products disintegrate and deteriorate and might actually harm your skin. Please take special care with eye products, since they are very sensitive and susceptible to infection.

3. It is always a good idea, to wash your hands before you start applying your make up or better still, also use a hand sanitizer.

4. Make up brushes and compact sponges should be kept absolutely clean. Wash them regularly with an antibacterial soap/hand wash; at regular intervals and let them air dry. If you can manage to keep them in sunlight for drying, even better. Make sure that these are absolutely dry before storage. If left damp or laden with old make up, they are sure to provide a habitat for germs to grow. If possible, try to use disposable applicators.

5. Always store make up products in a cool dry place.

6. Keep your combs clean by immersing them in warm water containing Dettol liquid, overnight.

7. Sanitizing Lipsticks: Spray with surgical spirit and then wipe off the surface layer with a clean tissue. There are some wipes available for this purpose too.

8. For compacts, blushes etc. It is best to simply wipe the surface with a clean, dry tissue. This helps remove the contaminated layer.

9. For products like lip glosses, moisturisers or hair creams etc that come in a tub or tube packing, always try to dispense some product on a plate or any other clean surface and use. It is advisable to use clean spoons to dispense products from a tub.

10. Try to use eye pencils that can be sharpened. This way, you will be able to regularly discard the superficial contaminated layer, before use.

Do you have a hygiene-makeup idea to share from your side?

Hey All!

Are you also out of those who are very particular about smelling fresh and fragrant all day long?? Well if yes, same pinch. I have a 9 to 6 job. It is so tiring already and in such a long schedule if at the end of the day, you are smelling bad. It is such a mood spoiler!

I am going to talk about something different here. It’s not about any perfume in particular. These are general guidelines on how can you make your perfumes and sprays last longer. I am really looking forward to your feedback after trying out these tips and tricks! 😉 I have also included pictures of some of the perfumes I own.

1. First thing, do take a shower before stepping out in sun. Anti Bacterial soaps are the best if you have a normal to oily skin. The reason being, it is not actually the sweat that produces odor but it is the bacteria that do it. However, those with dry skin can skip ant .bacterial soaps or try the variants with moisturizers.

2. You can add essential oils to your bathing water. In summers, mint oil is really nice as it has a cooling effect. Also during monsoons, you can add tea tree oil to water as it is a mild anti fungal agent. Instead of adding these oils to the entire bucket I suggest to add it to the last portion of water left.

3. Using a talc in summer is always an advantage. Since, it helps to absorb sweat as well as masking the odour.

4. Apply a neutral/mild smelling moisturizer or olive oil in small amounts on your skin before spraying perfume. These oils would trap the fragrance and help it stay longer, thus reducing the need of frequent sprays throughout the day.

5. There are certain ”pulse points” in your body which are the best for the fragrance to retain since, perfume scent is stimulated by warmth. These pulse points are the regions where the blood vessels are closest to the skin. The best areas to spray your perfume are the neck (where you can feel the pulsations), wrist, the upper fold of the elbow, the back of the knee or behind the ears.

6. Layering of the perfume. This is a rather interesting technique. Here you basically have to pile up the same or similar fragrances in multiple layers..
For example, I often do it with my Lavender collection.

• Add some drops of lavender essential oil to your bathing water.
• Use lavender shower gel on a loofah/lavender soap.
• Use Lavender talc, which serves a dual purpose of absorbing sweat as well as adding another layer of fragrance.
• If you have a lotion with lavender; Great!! Dab it on. I presently do not posses any such lotion. So I choose a mildly fragrant lotion.
• Apply additional petroleum jelly to the pulse points and spray your perfume/deodorant on top of it.
• This completes your layering and makes sure the fragrance would retain 😉

7. This Layering  technique can be used for fragrances like rose jasmine, sandalwood, musk etc. which are usually available in multiple forms like soaps, creams, lotions, talc, deodorants, essential oils and perfumes.

8. Another thing I did not know until recently is hat freshly washed damp hair trap and retain smells really well. So, you can spray some perfume in damp hair and enjoy the fragrance all day long 🙂

9. Fruity and citrus-y fragrances usually disappear faster while deeper scents like musks and sandalwood tend to stay longer, since these are oil based.

10. The staying potential of a perfume also depends on how concentrated it is. ”Parfum” is the most concentrated followed by ”Eau de parfum” and ”Eau de toilette’, which is a more diluted one. ”Eau de cologne” is the most diluted. Last of course are the deodorants. Last but not the least, do not overdo it!!

Products I Use Currently:

Stay fresh and fragrant! 🙂

by Mansi

Summers are back and it’s time to show off some skin. 😀 I love wearing shorts and skirts but if can be a bit frightening after months of ignoring our precious legs. So, to achieve great summer legs pay a little attention towards them. Following are few tips that would help you definitely!

Hair Removal: Waxing is the most essential and effective way of getting rid of those unwanted hairs. Many women prefer shaving their legs which is also a nice alternative.

Exfoliation: Get rid of the dead skin and make them smoother by exfoliation. Use Gram flour with natural oil and get smooth and shiny legs, trust me it works like a miracle for me. You can also rub lemon and sugar on your knees for even skin tone.

Moisturize: Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize, this is the key to beautiful legs. Pick up a super rich moisturizer with SPF and apply right after shower from top to bottom to achieve SEXY legs. 😉

Pedicure: Do your pedicure at home by taking warm water adding salt and shampoo in it and then soak your legs for 20 minutes. Also apply lemon and sugar and scrub your legs. After washing your legs immediately moisturize them and wear socks. Now you are ready to wear open toes sandals and wedges.

Exercise: To keep your legs toned like Bipasha Basu it’s important to exercise. But if you’re busy or lazy you can opt for walking since it is the best exercise for legs and you can do it almost anytime and anywhere.  So, next time you go out take stairs instead of lift.

Avoid Allergies: Scars, bruises or mosquito bites can ruin all your hard work, so it’s better to stay away from them by protecting skin all the time. Check the ingredients list and use the product ONLY if you are not allergic to any of them. Use Lacto calamine to get rid of scars and then show off your sexy legs..

Few Homemade Leg Scrub Recipes:

1. Mix equal amount of baking soda and rose water. Add few drops of pepper mint oil to this mixture. Your 2 minute leg exfoliating scrub recipe is ready to use!

2. Love oats in your skincare? Get them into your leg care too! Combine oats with pureed papaya. Scrub your legs with this recipe to get super smooth legs. It also contains tan removal properties.

3. The mixture of brown sugar and olive oil makes an excellent knee and leg scrub for people with that dry skin all-the-time no matter what the season is.

So, keep your legs “Picture perfect” all summer long by following these tips. Great legs are just a matter of protection and soon it’ll be a part of your daily routine.