Feb 12 , 2012 Hello India !

Okay............we're stepping out after a long time and finally after the drop till last minute packing and cleaning, finally we're waving "Hello India" in Emirates, so I have a mixed feeling of being back. I'm sure that I will be missing out our fav spots of Alviso and Santa Clara!  Moreover it's gonna be my first Valentine's Day in Chennai :)) Let's see what our trip holds !!

Korres Wild Rose Lip Balm

 I recently bought a Korres gift set from Sephora  (the shower gel set ) and included was a full size 6g Wild Rose lip butter. I was so excited to try this as i have read a gazillion rave reviews about the product.
The tub is nice and sturdy and a nice, clean simple design. The colour of the lip butter was a lot darker than i expected, but it came out as a perfect yourlipsbutbetter shade (sorry, i hate that phrase, oops), and is very buttery and smooth and very nourishing, as well as providing a nice healthy colour to your dry lips! 

The Wild Rose scent is very subtle indeed, and once on the lips the smell doesn't transfer to a taste. The smell reminds of of the Rose Turkish delight, yummy!

This is definitely my favourite lip balm compared to the Palmers and Burt's Bee.

January 28,2012

It's our 5th wedding anniversary & Dan-Sharon's wedding reception @ ICH Milpitas. We had fabulous time with the bhangra - the ever best US Bhangra team dancers whom had the privillege of performing for the President! Shakabooom boom... if only Bee  could dance :)

Beauty from kitchen !

You can easily make homemade face masks from natural ingredients which can be found in every kitchen. In your own kitchen, you will find all the necessary ingredients to make a great mask. No expensive brand name products are necessary to get glowing skin.

Banana and tomato are very effective to refine your skin. It's  simple to make a banana mask and this can be very useful for you if it can be used regularly. You will need a ripe banana for this beauty mask. The banana is needed to be crushed and then mixed with honey to get a creamy mixture. You can use this mask on your face, neck and even in your hair. This mask has another usefulness too. This mask can be used to tighten the breast area.

Tomato mask is very useful for skin specially for the oily one. If you want to get rid of oily skin problem, this tomato mask is the right solution for you. Take a fresh tomato and crush it well to get better result. Then apply the crushed tomato on your face and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Then remove the mask smoothly with lukewarm water. This mask will remove the dead skin cells from your face and make your skin clean and healthy.

Sephora Supreme Body Butter

I've ordered the Ren Glycol Mask online and received a free sachet of Sephora Supreme Body Butter. Nice, rich cream that's not greasy, and is absorbed quickly. It's a great price for a paraben-free product. I barely notice the scent; it's very light and dissipates quickly. It's an awesome product. I'm planning to purchase it after my trip back from Malaysia. I cant be carrying all my beauty products on flights with these days restricted baggages. The bottle is quite big and I'm just waiting to be back to Sephora again!

Romantic walk again!

2010 and 2011 was one of the most memorable years. Despite good and bad, we've understood what relationship is all about  and that we need our "time together". Currently , this is our heavenly place we love holding hands and walking together!

Caudalie Crushed Cabernet Body Scrub

I'm as much a fan of a tempting glass of vino as the next person but incorporating it into my beauty regime? It's actually nothing new as Caudalie, one's of France's best loved beauty brands and purveyors of all things Vinotherapie, have been encouraging us to utilise by-products of the wine making industry since 1995. One of their bestselling products is Crushed Cabernet Scrub which I've been looking forward to trying for quite some time.

 

I really like how kilner jars look in the bathroom, however, (and I know I bang on about this) tubs simply aren't the most functional presentation method as far as I'm concerned.
The scent is an unusual blend of citrus (it contains lemon and lemongrass essential oils) but also warming, almost medicinal oakiness which hints towards the Cabernet name.
The course granules of crushed Cabernet grape seeds are definitely noticable and it's one of the most effective scrubs I've ever used, although I'm pleased to say that I didn't find it harshly abrasive.
I'm so impressed to note that my skin wasn't just left smoothed, but wonderfully soft also, most likely due to the inclusion of honey in the formula. It's a slight bugbear that the product is described as having slimming effects as let's be honest, how much difference is exfoliating twice a week really going to make if you sit around eating burgers and chips all day? Even taken in context, when used alongside the recommended complementary products, it's a bit of a stretch to claim that this is going to have any more of a slimming effect than massaging in any other scrub on the market.
My other complaint is that, like The Body Shop's Black Olive & Argan Oil Scrub, the granules don't dissolve and therefore, leave a mess in the shower. However, both of these are minor issues which certainly wouldn't put me off repurchasing. At $29.00 for 150g, it's pretty pricey but I do feel that it's worth every penny, particularly given that a little goes a long way.
Overall, I absolutely love this and can't rate it highly enough.

Sharon's hen nite

Twas a fabulous girls day out for all of us. We needed this break from the routine , ever stressful life in  California. Yeah, it's time for a wild nite out @ Roux Louisiana , Santana Row. Bring that sexy back and nope , I;m not gonna let you see the crazy pix!

Trashing Out

Most  of  us will definitely go through a phase of  life thinking of  the past. After all,  we are just human beings , we cannot be super extra ordinary without any emotions, be it good or bad. The question that always ticks on my mind is 'how long should I hang on to the past' ? I know it's going to be "FOREVER THE GOOD AND NEVER THE OTHER".  The first half is done without any efforts but think about the second half.

Sometimes, we will never get an answer for the questions we search for. The toughest thing on earth is being able to live with oneself ! I know this is so absurd but self consoling works most of the time. I think I have started to count on my blessings than the problems I've faced, like I said the second half of the phrase takes a lot of determination.

I have had very good memories growing up and hardly any bad. People always loved us, respected my parents, laughed together, cried with us, and so life was good. People I met later in life were different; they didn't love us as much, didn't care for my parents much, no laughing or crying together and life was a little rough.

From time to time pride comes in between demanding self dignity or worse yet self pity comes in between suggesting aloofness and indifference. Lately I feel there needs to be an end to such "dangling references" and so I have started the process of "trashing out" to clear the system. What good is it to hold on to the past that brings fresh tears and a broken spirit? It will only reprieve the joy of present, and the peace of future.

Unless we help ourselves to do the 'spring cleaning' , we cannot live in an healthy environment. I strongly believe that you would agree that renting a space in our mind and heart for the trash of the past makes does no good. It's time to trash out the garbage of life and travel light to seek fresh air and build a happy home.The karma train may arrive late but it will never miss it's  journey.

REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Mask

When it comes to face masks I’m not hugely experimental nor am I particularly that bothered. When I was younger I did the odd ‘peel-off’ tea tree face masks but more cause I liked the sensation of pulling it off rather than the results! In more recent years I’ve been using the Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask, but I just didn’t really feel that it was potent enough. So two months ago I picked up the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask and have been using it weekly (and usually on a Sunday) ever since, here’s the breakdown…

 

REN is definitely a skincare brand that I wish to purchase a few more bits from. Their products are formulated to be free from parabens, sulpahtes, mineral oils, silicones, synthetic colours or fragrances and whole other bunch of bad stuff. I got a sample sachet from Sephora and I may have to pick up the full size.

 

Their Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask contains natural fruit acids from passion fruit, lemon, grape, pineapple and papain from papaya to exfoliate the outer layer of the skin, encouraging cell turnover. So it’s basically a lightly exfoliating mask treatment, which helps to remove dead skin making the complexion look more radiant and combating congestion. Sounds amaze right?

 

When I first used it I was surprised by the consistency, it feels like smothering marmalade over your face – not great. It also tingles quite a bit, and REN do recommend that this isn’t the best mask for sensitive types, however I always just feel like it’s the mask ‘working’, and it wasn’t so bad that I had to remove it.

 

The main thing is how your skin feels when you take it off – and you know what, it feels fab! After using this religiously once a week for two months now, my skin feels smoother and definitely looks more radiant on a Monday morning after using this. It’s something I’m going to continue with and probably repurchase when it’s finished!!