Even amidst all the festivities, this year has an element of stress and sadness lingering in the air for all of us. Coronavirus has taken a toll on everyone. So, we cannot go out and have fun like we used to do in the earlier days. However, it is during these days, we need to stay calm and hold on to the positive thoughts that we are capable of overcoming these days and move towards a positive time. Each of us has our own way of calming down, meditation, listening to songs, reading, and the list can go on and on. Often it takes a very calming shower to get the much needed peace and positivity. That is precisely what I get from the Lily of Valley Shower Gel from Good Vibes. This post is going to be a dedicated one to this wonderful shower gel.
Packaging Very basic packaging of transparent plastic with a golden lid. Nothing out of this world, but simple and understated. It has the image of the lily of the valley flowers on a white sticker that is pasted throughout the bottle. For the packaging, a decent 7 out of 10 is good enough. Quality and Consistency There are two main ingredients in this shower gel, glycerin and lily of the valley and they are good enough to create a calming showering experience. There seems to be some element of lemon in it as well, which lends to the freshness of the shower gel. It is not only calming, but gentle on skin as well. It is mildly cleansing and softening, making the showering experience quite pleasurable. It is delicate, yet rich in the foam that gets created in the process of lathering up. It has a gel like consistency that fits every skin type. So, you don’t need to belong to a specific skin type to use this shower gel. What’s more? It is cruelty free, paraben and sulfate free. That means your skin is exposed to only goodness of these ingredients and no harmful chemicals. And to top it all, this shower gel has a beautiful fragrance that is reminiscent of the scent of incense sticks. Well, I quite enjoy this fragrance, in case you don’t then I will suggest you to stay out of it. Quantity and Price Point You get 100ml product at the price point of Rs. 125. This is already super affordable, but if you check Purplle.com during the various sales, you can bag this product at much cheaper rates. So, basically, you pay not a huge amount, but definitely get huge calming, refreshing, and enjoyable experience with this shower gel. Final Thoughts Only calm and happy thoughts come out of me when I think about this shower gel. More so given the price point, this shower gel is definitely highly recommended from my side. Everyone needs serum, we know it right? Serum for frizzy hair is what breathing is for humans. They make hair look alive, tangle free, and shiny. These are pretty much what is expected out of a serum, right? I have an additional requirement. It should not increase hair fall. If you have hair fall issues, then this might be an additional requirement for you as well. So, the serum that I love completely and have been using for many years is the Matrix Biolage Smoothproof 6-in-1 Deep Smoothing Serum and today I am going to look about this serum from every angle.
Packaging A plastic bottle with a plastic cap, which is ideal for carrying around such a liquid substance like serum. It has an orange colored bottle with a white cap, which is a basic packaging. Nothing astounding about the packaging, but the plastic bottle is of good quality so that a slight hit of any sort will not lead to any bump. Overall, quite decent in this category. Quality and Consistency All serums are supposed to be watery and this is no exception. All you need is a bit on your palm, warm it up by rubbing your hands and then apply the serum on wet hair. Of course you can use it on normal hair as well to keep the frizz away. I do it all the time but for this product, a little goes a long way. It has a beautiful faint scent that makes your hair smell great as well, which is always a great factor for me. The consistency is runny as serums are, but they make your hair super soft, shiny, and tangle free completely. It didn’t increase my hair fall which many popular serums have done to my hair. So, am completely in love with this serum. Quantity and Price Point For a 100ml bottle, you are supposed to pay Rs. 295. However, there are always discounts running online and offline at local stores as well, which ensure that you grab this product at a much lesser rate. So, overall it is a great purchase for anyone who tries it. Any website that sells cosmetics will surely have a stock of this one. So, you can check out any. Final Thoughts Definitely a good product and I highly recommend it for everyone. If you check the market you will always find great moisturizers that are rich and hydrating for normal or dry skin. I mean, the market is swamped by them. But, it is very hard to find one good moisturizing product for the oily skin in the market. Of late, I have been completely in love with the Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Water Gel as it suits my skin in every possible way. However, this one burns a hole in the pocket and is definitely not a product that everyone can afford. So, I was on the lookout for a similar performance for on a budget. I happen to stumble upon the Super Light Gel from Ponds and thought let’s give this one a try.
On the other hand, I was skeptical because it was Ponds. Ponds has never suited my skin and broken me out every now and then. Regardless of what product I use from Ponds, the result is always breakout. However, there were tons of reviews on various beauty websites that spoke about how good this product was for oily skin. So, it was decided I had to try. Keeping aside my past experiences with the brand, I was ready to give this product a second chance. Let’s find out how that went. Packaging Before I delve into a product review, I always explain the packaging. This one will be no exception in this matter as well. It is nice study plastic tub; a flat one but nice. With light blue and white as the color scheme, it is quite indicative that they are trying to say the product is light weight. The tub cam securely shut with a thin foil to cover the product inside. Overall, the packaging is nice. I like it and it is easy to keep on your vanity as well. Love the work here. Quality and Consistency Coming to the actual product, it is indeed a light blue colored gel. This kind of reminds me of the color of the moisturizer from Neutrogena. Yes, it is a straight up dupe from the color of the gel at least. The product is also very light weight. After application and blending, you can hardly feel it on your skin. So, good there as well. But like all other Ponds’ product, this breaks me out, but with a twist. If I apply it on say Sunday, it will not break me out that day, it will break me out on Tuesday. After which if I continue to apply, the acne that has come that goes and then a period of no acne. And then suddenly, next week sometime it will break me out. It is like it has a mind of its own. The moment I feel yes this suits me, it kind of says, “I don’t think so”. It has hyaluronic acid, which is great for oily skin so I believe that is why I can still use it. But what I didn’t notice while purchasing was that it has Vitamin E. This vitamin doesn’t like my skin at all. I have tried Vitamin E creams from various brands and the result has always been same. Except maybe The Body Shops’ Vitamin E cream. I tried a small pouch which came as a free gift and that didn’t break me out but it is too expensive that I don’t want to buy it to check if it really doesn’t break me out. Coming back to this product from Ponds. It does everything it claims. It is lightweight, non-greasy, easy to apply and all good things. But I have mixed opinion towards it. I love it and hate it at the same time. I think it would be good for oily skin but not acne prone skin. That’s it. Since I belong to both, it breaks me now and then. Quantity and Price Point There are two sizes in which this gel is available. 73 gm, which retails for Rs. 149 and 147 gm that retails for Rs. 299. I would recommend you to always try the smaller pack. Check if it suits you or not and then buy the bigger one. If you check Nykaa, Amazon, and Purplle during their sales, you may even save some more money while getting this. Final Thoughts I know it breaks me out. It also has a slight fragrance which is not as good as Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Water Gel. However, if you have just oily skin and you do not break out, do try this one out. It have similar formula like the Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Water Gel, but at 1/3rd price. So, yes I recommend this product for oily skin people but not for acne prone skin people. Have a small pack with you, try it, and find out whether our thoughts match or not. We all know that EDTs are EDPs are quite expensive. Especially if you are buying a fragrance that is not made in India. That is the exact perception that we have in our minds, right? In most cases, it is true. However, I have come across a brand called Dorall Collection which hails from UAE or United Arab Emirates that offers perfumes at great prices. Yes, like I mentioned in the title you can get your hands on these fragrances from Dorall Collection at less than Rs. 300 depending on the discounts. The fragrance under microscope today is Golden Dew Intense for women and you will get all grounds covered in this review.
Packaging The packaging for this perfume is nice but it is quite similar to Gucci’s Guilty. If not entirely as this has a transparent bottle quite opposed to the opaque Gucci bottle, but the structure and look and feel is quite similar. However, I am not complaining as it is okay to get inspired and come out with a design of their own as this is not a straight copy. The lid is of good quality as decently weighted. The bottle is not flimsy in any way so yes, overall quite nice. I can rate a 7 out of 10 in this category. After all it is not an entirely original idea, right! Scent This is where the magic happens. Once you open the bottle and spritz in on your pulse points and body, you are engulfed in a fresh, floral, spicy, and strong fragrance. This being an intense version can come across as a bit excessive at first for people who have sensitive noses and experience headache. So, only if you are strong nosed, you will find this quite pleasurable. Having said that I can also say that the fragrances from Dorall Collection are strong but not as strong as Ajmal’s fragrances. Compared to Ajmal, they seem milder to my nose. The notes for this fragrance includes pink pepper at the top, geranium, peach, and lilac at the middle, and amber and patchouli at the base. With Patchouli as a base note, it is expected to be strong, but the pink pepper, peach, and lilac give it a different character. The concoction is quite good and am totally loving it. I can rate 8 out of 10 in this category. Longevity and Silage Being EDT, this lasts not more than 3-4 hours and in the first 2 hours, the silage is decent. After that it becomes a skin scent that you alone can smell. It will project again only after reapplication of the perfume, so you will have to carry this around. I would have rated average this category, but given the price point, I am ready to ignore that. After all there are a lot of expensive fragrances as well, which doesn’t project or last well. So, there is nothing to penalize this affordable fragrance in this category. So, I can rate 7 out of 10 in this category. Quantity and Price Point You don’t get various sizes in this to try out. Only 100ml is available which retails for Rs. 599. Yes, that is the marked price for this fragrance. When I bought it on Myntra, I paid Rs. 263, which was a whopping save. So, regardless of how many hours does it last on the skin or clothes, I am quite happy with this scent. After all, even fragrances from The Body Shop doesn’t last that long but it is their scent that drives people to buy their fragrances, even at the high prices at which they are offered. So, at this price, am not complaining at all. I give a 10 out of 10 in this category. Anybody can wear this and anybody can afford this. Final Thoughts If you are ready to try a fragrance that lasts decent, doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket, comes in a beautiful bottle, and makes you feel good, then you can try this. I liked this fragrance quite a lot, so can happily recommend it to everybody. The Ever Cheerful and Merry Fragrance – Japanese Cherry Blossom Body Mist from The Body Shop9/23/2020 I have never come across a person who doesn’t like the scent of Cherry Blossom flowers from Japan. I know, in India no one gets to smell how the original cherry blossoms smell like in Japan. However, the versions that we get here are the ones that we have to do with. From body lotions to creams, body mists to perfumes, Japanese Cherry Blossom always wins the heart of fragrance lovers across the country and the world. Being no exception to this huge craze around cherry blossoms, I tend to reach out for every cherry blossom fragrance and the body mist from The Body Shop has been my longtime companion in this love for cherry blossom. Believe it or not this was my first Japanese Cherry Blossom fragrance so I cherish it more than any other brand’s version of this scent. So, here is every detail about this fragrance.
Packaging Every TBS body mist has their classic packaging of transparent cylindrical glass bottle with a black lid. The lids are usually made of very thin type of metal, but they are not super sturdy as they can come off easily. I love the fact that The Body Shop doesn’t use plastic for fragrances and glass bottles. To few people, this maybe an inconvenience as carrying a glass bottle around is risky. However, my bottles have been perfectly safe during my travels or regular visit to the office. So, this is never an issue for me. All over the bottle, there is a sticker with transparent floral patterns in black and at the center of the bottle, the name of the fragrance is written against a pink background. Overall, from the packaging perspective, I can give this fragrance 9 out of 10 strictly because of the flimsy lid and nothing else. Scent A classic cherry blossom fragrance is something you can never go wrong with. Same goes for this one. It is delicate, sweet, and floral fragrance. The top note in this body mist comprises cherry blossom petals, at the heart you get a hint of magnolia, while at the base you get a touch of hinoki wood accords. Together, they create a subtle and surreal fragrance that you will go sniffing all the way. It is an amazing fragrance that is great for sensitive noses. This will never give you a headache as it is mild, gentle and comforting to the senses. It is kind of a fragrance that can instantly cheery you up and make you feel happy. For the scent, I can give this fragrance 9 out of 10. It is kind of a safe fragrance to use and gift as well. Longevity and Silage This is where the fragrance’s rating in my eyes drops slightly because the lasting power for the body mists are not incredible. I have heard and read tons of reviews where the reviewer has mentioned about the lack of longevity in the body mists from The Body Shop. However, on my skin these last for something around 3hrs – 4hrs, which is great because there are several EDTs or eau de toilettes in the market with that kind of lasting power. So, I am not complaining much on this ground a lot. Yes, definitely if the lasting power and silage is worked upon, it will be great. The silage is decent but after a while people won’t recognize or smell this on you at all. After reapplication, definitely you get the same performance cycle from the start. For this category, I can give 8 out of 10. Quantity and Price Point All The Body Shop’s body mists come in 100 ml bottles and their prices vary. This one in particular is expensive as it retails for Rs. 1,195, which is quite a lot for a body mist. The price point would have been a bit better justified if the fragrance lasted or projected sufficiently for long hours. Since that is not the case here, it is overpriced. The fragrance is fabulous but the price should have been lesser. This is a category where I can give 6 out of 10. If you consider this to be lenient then I may say that their products are organically made or the elements are organically procured. Which is why, this is the least I can go for them. After all, organic stuffs are expensive. Final Thoughts Hm... My final thoughts is not hard to guess I think. The cons are the price point and longevity, but I am ready to overlook that as the scent itself is stunning. So, I would recommend you to try this fragrance for sure. However, be a smart buyer and order in your fragrance during the discounts that keep on running on The Body Shop’s website. You can enjoy their fragrance and save some money as well. |
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