I am a big fan of masks. They may not be part of everyday skincare regime for me. However, when I include masks in the regime my skin not only enjoys it, but also feels relaxed and nourished. I prefer homemade masks with multani mitti any day over other branded products. However, there are few masks here and there that I genuinely enjoy. So, nowadays I try using new branded masks as well. The latest in the list of my masks is Pore Perfect Clay Mask from Nykaa’s Clay it Cool range. Let’s find out how this one performs.
Packaging This product comes in a tub which is quite befitting for any kind of mask. All the masks from this range is color coded to indicate the components inside. The one in question here has elements of pink and green. I can understand why the green, as it has cucumber in it. However, don’t know why it has pink on it as well. Is this due to the witch hazel extracts in it? Don’t know, as I don’t even know what does this ingredient do or look like. Am assuming it will have hints of pink and that is why they have included this color in the packaging. The lid is black in color which gives the packaging a nice contrast and when you open the product, you get a green colored lid to keep the product secured inside. But the tub is kind of deceiving as the quantity of product inside and the interior base of the product doesn’t seem much. Although from the outside, it looks quite big; kind of indicative of the quantity stored inside. This is one aspect that I didn’t like otherwise the packaging is nice. Consistency and Quality This one has a rich and thick texture, which is a bit difficult to apply on your face, if you are using your fingers. However, with brush it performs quite well. After keeping it on your face for some time you can experience a tingling sensation and when you wash it off, you feel fresh and your skin visibly looks glowing. Witch hazel extract, one of the main ingredients in this mask, claims to help reduce your pore size, fight acne, and minimize damage of your skin that was caused from sun exposure. I don’t know if reduced my pore size much, but yes the pores felt cleaner. I didn’t break out due to this so am happy for that. If I have an active acne I will check how it performs, but minimizing sun damage is something not easily accountable. So, cannot talk about this last bit at all. The other ingredient in this mask is cucumber, which is universally accepted cooling agent for your skin. So, it keeps your skin cool, hydrated, and soothed. Pretty much what was expected out of this ingredient. Hence, can be considered a good mask. Quantity and Price Point You get a 100gm product for Rs. 599, which is expensive in my eyes. After all, this performs okay and not something out of the blue. It is not supremely good for which I would love to pay this amount. I definitely bought it from Nykaa on discount but then also, it feels pricey. Solely because of the fact that there is nothing exceptional about this mask is what makes me reconsider this purchase. Of course I will use this tub as I have invested money in this one but I will not repurchase this at all. Final Thoughts It is just about an average product. You can use it and you may skip it; completely your choice. It didn’t make a lot of difference to my skin so there is no recommendation on this. Moreover, what bugs me is the name. Why is it called clay it cool? Where is the clay involved in this? Not sure that I have answers to any of these questions but this is definitely an okay product. It is not great not bad, just about okay. Flower courtesy:Flower photo created by Racool_studio - www.freepik.com Monsoons are the times when everything around you is wet and damp. It gets kind of depressing for me personally to look at the gloomy skies and the continued downpour. Things get a bit more unsettling if you are living in humid countries as the rain amps up the already existing humidity in the air making the entire environment stuffy. To break free from this moist environment and get a boost of freshness and liveliness, I find the NIVEA Waterlily & Oil Shower Gel a great help. A shower with this gel is quite capable of uplifting your spirits and making you feel fresh. So, let’s get into the details of this shower gel, shall we? Packaging All NIVEA shower gels come in beautiful see-through plastic bottles. The one that is particularly in discussion here, has a pink colored see-through bottle with white and blue cap; quite the signature colors of the brand. On the front of the bottle, you get an image of waterlilies and oil to indicate what the shower gel is going to be all about. Lightweight and easy to travel with, the packaging for this is nice. Quality Talking about the actual shower gel, it has care oil pearls that are yellow in color and hence quite visible from the outside as well. That doesn’t mean that they are huge but they are definitely noticeable. These oil pearls are the source of moisturization that helps you keep your skin soft and supple. The beautiful fragrance of this shower gel, which is due to the waterlilies can stimulate your senses. Lather the gel with water and you get a silky soft foam that is gentle on your skin, but capable of effective cleansing. Any day it is better than any soap. The only drawback though, is that the scent doesn’t last on your skin for long. You can enjoy the scent of the waterlilies for some time after which it fades away and sadly, doesn’t linger on. If this can be improved, this will turn into a great product as it is favoring to the pocket as well. Quantity and Price Point For a 250ml bottle, you pay the price of Rs. 199. While for a 125ml bottle, you pay the price of Rs. 125. Now these are already smooth on the pocket and if you check various online portals, like Nykaa, Myntra, Amazon or Flipkart during various discounts, you can save some more money. Final Thoughts Overall a nice product, just that if the scent lasted longer it would have been better. Nonetheless, floral scent, gentle on skin, effective cleanser and easy on the pocket. Quite a good combination here, which I will definitely recommend. Tea happens to be the first beverage that I fell in love with. From black tea to green tea, milk tea to chamomile, I like almost all varieties of tea that I have come across. So, it is nothing but a pleasant surprise when I came across a face wash that has white tea and chamomile in it. I simply had to try as it claims to be suitable for all skin types. So, it was kind of a safe buy. After using this face wash for a month now, I am quite happy when I sit down to write a review on this. Let’s dive into the details, shall we?
Packaging This face wash comes in a beautiful sky blue colored tube with the image of chamomile and white tea flowers on it. It is a translucent plastic tube, which is convenient to carry around. The lid is a transparent white lid, which is neither flimsy nor super tight as it has been the case with some of the face washes from the Aroma Magic range. Quality The face wash claims to be able to deep clean your pores with white tea. There are soy milk extracts and micro beads in this face wash that help you to exfoliate your skin. The beads are blue in color and are visibly of decent size and they are quite gentle on face. They are not in the least harsh while exfoliating, which is something I love. This face wash surely deep cleans your skin, as after washing your face with this one, you will have to apply a moisturizer even if you have oily skin, like me. It is supposed to protect the skin from free radicals and is good to prevent the harmful effects of pollution on skin. This part am not quite sure about, since we are in our homes due to COVID situation. So, practically didn’t get a chance to test this one out. Since chamomile essential oil is a major component in this face wash, it calms your skin like no other and makes you feel relaxed. Typically what chamomile is known to do to you is successfully done here as well. It claims to prevent ageing too, but I cannot vouch for this either as I haven’t seen any huge difference to my skin on this part. Usage All you need is a tiny bit in your palm. Lather it up with water and gently massage on your skin. Then rinse it off well. From the first wash itself, I could feel a difference to my skin. It felt calm. Even when I have skin irritation and redness on skin, this helps to calm my skin down. Quantity and Price Point This face wash comes in a 100 ml tube which retails at Rs. 170. However, if you check various online stores, you can get this at a greater discount as well. You can check Flipkart, Nykaa, Amazon, Purplle and aromamagic.com to save some money as well. Although, it is already priced well, but there is no harm in bagging some extra discount on anything. Final Thoughts Would I recommend this face wash after rambling about this above? Of course yes. It suits every skin type regardless of gender. The price point is good and there is no downside to it whatsoever. So, whoever tries this is a win-win situation for them. Who doesn’t want skin that looks healthy and bright? Who doesn’t want to shield their skin from the harmful effects of pollution? Who doesn’t want a skincare product that suits all skin types? Almost, about everyone looks for a product that can keep their skin bright and healthy-looking for a long time. Steps in a serum enriched with Vitamin C which can not only handle the mentioned skin care concerns, but also deal more than that. I was not looking for a vitamin C enriched product until someone requested me to review Vitamin C serums.
It is my first requested content, so I was extra careful about the product I choose and how it works. After all, I cannot recommend anything just for the sake of it. So, I check a few Vitamin C serums available online and my first concern was that it is expensive. I wondered that shouldn’t be the case. Something that allows healthy and bright skin should be available to all and accessible to all. So, I checked a trusted brand, Good Vibes and I was pleasantly surprised that they have a variety of serums where Vitamin C is infused with other vitamins as well. However, I was looking for an exclusive Vitamin C serum. Then I stumbled upon the Face Brightening Serum from Good Vibes. What’s the main ingredient? Orange and the orange peel extract happens to be the main ingredient of this serum. Everyone knows the brightening properties of oranges and its peel, so this was kind of the product I was looking for. Something natural, without paraben and possibly cruelty free. I found all of these together in Good Vibes’ Vitamin C Face Brightening Serum. Lemon, orange oil, orange blossom, lemon oil and lemon citrus oil blend together to come up with a zesty fresh scent. So, if you love these ingredients, you will enjoy this product from the olfactory sense as well. However, I don’t like the scent or the fruit orange in the first place. So, I was concerned as to whether I will like it or not. Only one way was there to find out that I would try. I purchased and it is over a month now that I have used this product and trust me it was a cake walk from the very beginning for me as well; someone who doesn’t like oranges. How does the product fair? Coming to the quality of the product, there is only one word – Incredible. I never knew Vitamin C was capable of so many things. It tones the skin, shields from the effects of pollution, improves hydration, and keeps your skin looking younger. What’s more? It takes care of blemishes, dark circles, dark spots, pigmentation, dullness, flaky skin, signs of ageing, wrinkles and tanning. It boosts collagen production in your skin to prevent ageing and skin damaging. Being a serum, it is light-weight in formula that absorbs into the skin quite easily. It is mildly sticky but it doesn’t make your skin greasy; otherwise I couldn’t have used in the first place. I have oily and sensitive skin. If it suits me, I hope it will suit many people. Can you carry it around? It comes in a compact bottle with a dropper of its own. You need to remove the lid that the bottle comes with initially and place the dropper on top of it. Being a compact packaging, you can carry it around in your skincare kit. However, this is not to be treated like a lipstick and carried around on a regular basis. You can apply it twice a day, in the morning and at night; that’s it. Nothing more is required. Does it burn a hole in the pocket? For a 10ml, you will have to pay Rs. 275. But if you check goodvibesonly,in or Purplle, you can get it on a discounted rate. Considering the tiny amount required to use on your skin on a daily basis, this feels like a good price. I have used it regularly for a month and I have a lot of product still there in the bottle to last another month or more. Finally, all I can say is that am thankful to the follower of my page on Facebook, who requested for a review on Vitamin C serum. I have only discovered a gem due to her request. It is a must buy for anyone looking for plump, bright and glowing skin with the good feeling that you are supporting a brand that is cruelty free, paraben free and made in India. I am not a person who is usually confused about stuffs; especially about products. Few uses and am usually quite clear about how I feel about those. However, one product has got me stumped for many weeks and as I write this review, am still sitting on the fence on whether I like it or not. I am talking about a product called ubtan face wash from mamearth. Let’s delve deep into why so much confusion.
Confusion 1 Mamaearth happens to be one of my favorite skincare brands. I have tried their hair masks, face masks and serums. I have nothing to complain from any of their products. Then why come up with such a product that baffles the mind completely? Was it just to add a product in its ambit? Just for that sake? What is the purpose of the product? Why I am asking the last question, you may wonder. To understand that let’s move on to the next confusion. Confusion 2 The product is called ubtan face wash. That’s bit of an oxymoron in the first place. If you look up the meaning for both of these, you will come across something like this. A face wash is supposed to help you cleanse off dirt, oil and gunk from your face. Whereas a ubtan is supposed to be act like a mask which you put on your skin, leave for some time to work its wonders and then rinse off. So, the name itself is kind of misleading what is the purpose; a wash or a mask. Confusion 3 Now when I received the product, it appeared like a face wash from the exterior; after all, the name says so too. When I open the tube and try to squeeze out the liquid, a thick yellowish product came out in spurts, which is never the structure of a face wash. Even with the most moisturizing face washes this can never be the structure. So, my first thought was this is a mask that I need to apply and leave on. But when I added water to it, the structure of the product started melting slowly creating a medium lather. So I apply it on my face and work it in. Confusion 4 Then comes another weird thing. It is not just an ubtan type face wash, but it has small scrub particles which exfoliates your skin. This was more than what I had bargained for. I wanted a simple face wash, which has natural elements of turmeric and saffron. These add natural brightness to the face and that is precisely what I was looking for and not being this confusion cocktail of an ubtan, face wash and scrub all in one. However, after I washed my skin, it felt great. It felt rejuvenating, fresh, clean and bright; everything what I was looking for. In addition, it removed tan a bit as well, just as it claimed. So, that part at least serves the purpose as mentioned on the packaging. Final Thoughts So, this works on the skin for sure, but what category of product this is, is completely uncertain. Even the product inside is so thick that it should have been packaged in a tub rather than a tube. The packaging is just not justified for a product like this. Easily available at Nykaa, Purplle, Amazon, Flipkart and mamaearth.in, if you want to try this product you can go ahead. I can hardly place a consolidated feeling on this product as it does its job but in a weird and unexpected way. Keeping aside every good aspect mamaearth stands for like, paraben and sulfate free products and without artificial fragrance, I don’t understand the purpose of this product still. I think they could have launched three separate products in their befitting packaging, instead of cramming up everything in one. |
AuthorA professional corporate writer, writing outside the box. Categories
All
Recent Posts |