Nish's 19th Birthday

The home's youngest a.k.a Bansoori @ Soori's 19th Birthday. After all the years missing out birthdays and wedding functions, we had the opportunity to celebrate her birthday. I still remember feeding her 1st year birthday cake  right after my high school days. All the good memories are somehow attached to our old home. The gift for the birthday girl ------- Estee Lauder eye shadow pallette, Marc Jacobs roll on , Estee's lip gloss , Swarovski crystal earings and the birthday cake of course ! I knew that was never  too much from a lovely sister like me ? :P

Banjara's Almond Lotion

I've always loved the natural way of  looking good. These days girls are willing to spend $$$$ to look beautiful on their special day. Well, I must say that I've always had a mixed feelings on not doing any facials, bridal , make up or any sort of  paid service for my wedding.

I have seen lots of  brides appearing with a white patched skin on their beautiful day. That really scared me of. Secondly, I did not have much knowledge about beauticians in India/Malaysia. Thirdly , I've always felt comfortable in the way I dress myself.  Anyways.......I was surprised to hear my Indian friends stating that they've spent a bomb of  Rs.1.5 lakhs at Anoos and VLCC for their big day!

Well...it's time I come back to the point on my review of  the Indian beauty cream. Banjara's product recently became a hit in India especially Hyderabad,Chennai,Bangalore.

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I purchased this in Chennai and thought of  giving it a try since it claims to be made of  almonds and saffron (kesar) which is known for it's own health benefit.

The creamy lotion smells so good, truly moisturizing. It's slightly pinkish and disappears in few strokes. I just love the way it gives a glow on my skin. Alas, I found what I really require during the winters months in the US.

Vadapalani & Journey to Vijayawada.

Vadapalani is a special place just to worship Karthikeya/Murugan. Vadapalani is quite a famous place as most of  the cine crew members chose to dwell on. We had fun bus journey and  must I describe that the buses look like Malaysian buses in 1960's :) Raggy baby followed us and I enjoyed the fresh juices of Vadapalani stall.

Now, it's time to visit home. After all the long years taken by California lifestyle, I felt so happy to see the trains. Train journeys in India have always been fun packed picnic for me. I still remember the memories I carried when I'm married to my hunny bunny Bee. He surprised me with the Good Day biscuits ! Yes, 2012 Valentine's Day was a fun filled one.

We're the backbenchers!!

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.