October for all Indians means only one thing! The most vibrant Quarter of the year is here! Every year I remember as a kid, the whole atmosphere at home and at school used to undergo a shift when October sets in and I realize the same excitement has transcended well into adulthood as well!
Hailing from a city called Palakkad which lies almost on the line dividing Tamil Nadu and Kerala has its own strange perks! We get to celebrate Keralite festivals without looking like a South Indian going on Karva Chauth fasts (er…yes I have some such friends! :P)
Being a blogger has its tiny perks! Wait! scratch that! Being a blogger has really cool perks! Last week I was contacted by the Page3 chain of beauty parlours and was invited over to try the new Kerastase Fusio-Dose Instant Hair Ritual and boy did I have an ultimate pampering session! 😀
It just struck me like literally a minute ago that I have never done a weekly skincare routine post so here I am starting my rambling about what I do on a weekly basis to take care of my skin!
Now first things first, I got to get one thing straight! I’m a very lazy person! Waking up 1.5 hours before getting out of bed type of lazy! So my routine is pretty basic and bareminimal and only if you are a lazy person, a routine this simple will appeal to you!
So my weekly skin care routine is a simple two step process! Here they are:
1. Exfoliate
Exfoliating helps my skin so much! I do this for the face and body once a week. Exfoliation not only removes dead skin cells but it also cleans the pores and leaves you feeling squeaky clean! Though I have oily skin on my face I don’t like my face feeling dry after exfoliation and so I use the Kama Ayurveda Brightening Ayurvedic Face Scrub. This is gentle on the face but does the job pretty damn well!
For the body I just go by whim and try new Body Shop scrubs every time because I honestly feel they all have pretty much the same effect on the skin!(does that make me crocodile skinned?) So currently I’m using The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Body Scrub and it smells like heaven in a jar 😍
Ensure you use exfoliant which suit your skin type! You’ll know when the scrub isn’t your type if it leaves you feeling raw and red! Also, there are a tonne of DIYable scrubs in the Internet using white or brown sugar and products like honey, essential oils etc which do the job just as well! So if you aren’t sure about store bought scrubs DIY away and pamper your skin!
2. Use a face pack/mask
A face pack is literally like having a mini spa-facial at home! Face masks are an absolute must for everyone because when rightly used they help keep the face hydrated, reduce the size of pores and remove excess oil in the face.It is unfortunately an expensive process of trial and error until you find a face mask that suits your skin type! While there are many face masks in town and I have tried a handful myself I have finally zeroed in on the one which best suits my skin! It is the Plum Goodness Green Tea face mask. 
It’s such a pity I decided to do this post when my face pack was almost over! That explains the half empty plum jar!
This is the two step skin care ritual I try to regularly follow for decent maintenance of my skin!
Now if you paid attention to my title I said skin care routine I do and will do! So incase you are wondering, that one step I intend doing once in two weeks atleast henceforth is a detox! 😛 Detox is as its name suggests, to flush the toxins out of the body! While many think detox is good only for weight loss it is great for the skin too! It’s basically my version of detox where I go one whole day with eating just vegetables/fruits or juices – I have done this once before and it was so doable I kid you not! So I intend resuming that habit and I’ll keep you updated on how that goes! 😀
That’s all from me folks! Hope you enjoyed this post and have decided to have a weekly skin care routine for yourself too! If a lazy person like me can stick to it, you too can!!
Hey Ladies!I am so glad to write this post for Shilpa, our friendship goes back long in time, about 5 years back when we used to be colleagues. I still remember her suggestions to me for wearing formal clothes to a client in Delhi, haha! I knew there was something in this girl even then 😉 Shilpa has given me a great opportunity to write a post on makeup after seeing my collection! I want to thank her first for noticing my interest and giving me a stage to share my thoughts. Okay, now right into the post!
I never really thought too much about makeup until I decided to do my own makeup for my engagement and wedding. I was inspired by one of my close friends who did this and I was closely helping her. It was so much fun and you don’t need to be worried thinking what some random person will do to your face on your wedding day! That thought used to scare me a lot, so I stepped into the makeup world myself to explore and decide the way I want to look myself! (I make it sound like some big venture, LOL)
I am not going to be talking about bridal makeup of course; it is a wideeee topic and involves many products! However, as I learnt that, I discovered how to use few products to make yourself look bright – where people can’t say whether you have or do not have make up, just that natural look, highlighting your best features! I thought it would be best to share those tips here 😊
I will try to keep the number of products as minimum as possible, but please pardon me if I go overboard in a few places 😀 I am going to split it into face, eyes and lips as usual.
Face
From left to right: Milani baked blush, MAC studio fix foundation powder, MAC petal power blush
Those are the two basic things for the face. If you have lot of under eye circles, sorry I have to say that you need some sort of a neutralizer and a concealer (like me :/) But I don’t use it for a natural look, they are a part of my face and I won’t let it bother me too much for an everyday look!
Eyes
From left to right: MAC eye shadow palette, Lakme 9 to 5 series eye shadow palette
From top to bottom: Benefit they are real mascara, Lake eye liner, Maybelline master precise eye liner, MAC black Kohl
Lips
From left to right: Revlon lipstick, Lakme lipstick, NYX Lip liner
From bottom to top: NYX lip liner, Lakme lipstick, Revlon lipstick, All blended – notice this color is between a nudish peach and pink – I thought this perfectly suited my skin tone and the lip liner has given a strong base to the two lipsticks which make the lipstick look flawless.
Oh and one last thing, I didn’t mention about brushes I used, mostly for this look I used the small brushes that came with the palette and also my hands of course. If you are interested, I suggest owning a couple of brushes for the face and one for the eyes (mostly for blending the eye shadows)!
Finally in the pictures below.. The natural everyday no make-up/ make-up kinda flawless look I created for a casual Saturday shopping with all the above mentioned products, but I used a concealer since this post is too special and I definitely wanted to make the make-up special, haha, anyway all the other products are just the ones I have listed above (P.S. you can see that the blush on my cheeks becomes a bit glowy when the light hits my cheeks – the last pic was taken in the night in front of lights, please ignore my bag behind 😋)
Overall, I hope this post was useful for you people out there and I hope it inspires you to try on make-up and feel dressed up and festive about yourself during special occasions or even daily to office!! I am not suggesting going overboard, but believe me a little of it will make you feel good 😃
Oh and I hope you guys had fun reading! Take care you all!😊
A note from Shilpa : Deepika has explored makeup from scratch in a span of couple of years and I thought she ll be able to teach all girls (like me) who want to start their makeup journey but just don’t know where to start it! Recently I saw this picture on Deepika’s wall on Facebook and that’s when this guest post idea struck me and we got talking and the rest I would like to grandly claim is history! 
Plum Cosmetics Giveaway!
A couple of weeks back I had reviewed the Plum NaturStudio All-day-wear Kohl Stick (read review here) And Plum found the response so overwhelming that they decided to host a giveaway on my blog! This giveaway runs for seven days (winners get announced with the post next Monday) Giveaway is open through my Instagram profile, blog and Facebook profile.
All you got to do is follow my blog/Facebook page Click here/Instagram profile (@frillthrills_fashionblog/Instagram) and subscribe to the Plum mailing list here. Once you’ve done that comment in this blog post saying done and add one home remedy beauty hack you follow for your eyes and skin. One lucky winner gets a NaturStudio All day Wear Kohl and the second and third winners get the Choco-Latte creamy body wash and Choco-Latte luxuriant body lotion respectively!
Giveaway open to Indian Residents only! Do enter and stand a chance to win these amazing products 😊 have a nice week ahead !!
You know how they say “things just fell into place”? That’s what happened to me with this post! I was not going to post this week because I had nothing going on and I really wanted more articles in my skin and beauty theme! But miraculously, late last week Plum Cosmetics sent me their newly launched Plum NaturStudio Kajal cum liner for a review and the review is Readyyyy!!
So Plum Cosmetics is a brand I have been loving for a while now. I have tried their Green Tea face mask which works very well for me. As a brand they stand for a couple of things : it is india’s first online cosmetic brand which is always free of parabens, phthalates, SLS and other harmful chemicals.
This Kajal-cum-eyeliner came to me last Thursday and they sent it with a Dual sized pencil sharpener and a complimentary face wash too (yayyy)
I have been using this pencil through the weekend and on Monday I wore to office conducting a small experiment of sorts where I took pictures of my eyes in regular intervals to show you guys how the liner and the kohl hold up!
The pencil itself looks something like this:
It is a pencil but gives a highly pigmented and dark gel-like finish which I love! The brown area which is usually wood in normal pencils is PVC-free plastic and that makes it a little tough to sharpen.
The plum website has the following words about this Kohl liner
For the first time in India, an ophthalmologically approved kajal pencil with a gel-liner like performance. 100% smudge-proof, water-proof single-swipe brilliant black kohl-cum-liner that’s also gentle on your eyes.
Ingredients used:
Hydrogenated Castor Oil : Highly hydrating and nourishing for skin and hair with healing properties. The hydrogenation makes it stable and compatible with the other ingredients.
Rice Bran Wax : A relatively unknown but amazingly effective moisturizer that lends creaminess and hydrating properties to any formula!
Natural Vitamin E : Needs no introduction as an antioxidant skin care specialist that’s essential for hydrated, younger looking skin.
Do note that owing to its high performance benchmark, this product is not all natural – but is 100% safe and tested by dermatologists and ophthalmologists.
Moving on to my experiment and then to the pros and cons:
On application
It took me roughly three minutes to complete the eyes – kohl plus liner. The same stick is to be used for both purposes. Now I am a liquid liner junkie and I find gel based liners very tough and impossible sometimes to apply but this pencil does the trick very well giving a dark and beautiful finish to it. It is your perfect friend for a smokey eyed look!
Four Hours later
Until four hours I swear there was no difference in the way the kajal and the liner held up and I found no use in uploading those pictures (which is a good thing by the way haha!) and hence moving straight onto the fourth hour 
By the end of the fourth hour this was the look. The eyeliner and the kajal look just the same except that the kajal had slightly come out of the waterline. I have a pretty watery waterline and I am guessing that happens with time with any good liner.
Seven hours later
Now here was the where I found fading. The eyeliner on my left eye and the kajal on both eyes were gradual fading by the seventh hour. But the liner on the whole was still holding up well, just that the bright dark black had become lesser intense.
Nine Hours later
At the end of nine hours the kajal had faded a little more and spilling more out of my waterline and into my lashes and right outside my eye and the eyeliner a little more faded. I would be lying if I said it was just like when I applied it cause that’s not true. The fading is pretty obvious but I have never ever used an eyeliner or kajal for so long anyway!
Now moving onto the pros and cons in bullet points
Pros
Cons
So I would give this NaturStudio All Day Wear Kohl Liner a sure 4.5 on 5 with a 0.5 negative only for the second point on wastage because it truly scarred me guys! (😂) Here’s a link to the Plum website where you can order this Kohl Liner for yourself. For a limited period they are giving off the sharpener free for every order of the liner so hurry! 😍
http://plumgoodness.com/products/naturstudio-all-day-wear-kohl-kajal
Have a beautiful rest of the week my beautiful readers! ❤️
Ever since the last post came up about skin care people have been asking me to share my skin routine! And I thought the only routine I religiously follow is the nightly one and so it would be only fair to talk about my nightly routine in detail with you guys 😊
The thing about skin routines is that whatever you read up about it on the internet it is in the end a rigorous trial and error before finding the products that work and don’t for your skin. I for one tried three brands before finding something that worked for me! So let’s get started!
For the past six to eight months I have shown unwavering loyalty to one brand for my night time routine – Kama Ayurveda! Now I know this is not so friendly on the pocket but this was pretty much the only brand that worked for me so I have learnt to love it despite its price!
My routine is the usual CTM -cleansing – toning – moisturizing because that helps my combination skin breathe easy all night!
Step 1 : Remove Make up
The first step would be to remove the make up that has been working on your skin through the day. I use the MAC Gently off Eye and Lip Makeup Remover because it works like magic to get off the almost goth like edgy eyeliner and kajal I have on through the day!
Step 2 : Cleanse
To wash my face I use the Kama Ayurveda Rose and Jasminr Face Cleanser. Of all the Kama products this has to be my absolute favorite one! I have never used a face cleanser which doesn’t lather much but still removes the oil and grime just fine like this one! The lazy me loves the fact that literally two splashes of water does the trick 😝
Step 3 : Tone
For toning I use this light and lovely Kama Ayurveda Pure Rosewater. I spray it on my face and let it on for a minute to sort of sink in. A chemical toner should at this point be wiped onto the skin with a cotton pad and not be allowed to stay on the skin I suppose but this being natural rose water I quite like it to remain in my skin so that’s where it stays.
Step 4 : Moisturize
Once the toner rose water has sort of sunk in I Moisturize my skin. I alternate between two products in this step. One day I use the Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion and the on the next day I use the Kama Ayurveda Kumkumadi Miraculous Beauty Fluid.
The Blemish Fade Night Lotion does exactly what it claims. It calms down the acne and irritated skin and even closes open acne scars. I love the pump packaging it comes in. The trick in moisturizing is more to do with the massaging rather than the actual product itself. Take a small quantity of the moisturizer that works for you and ensure you work it into your skin in wide circular motions on your cheek forehead and in up down motions on and below the sides of the nose and your neck.
The KumkumadiMiraculous fluid is a potent oil which works it’s magic just like that! Just two drops of this liquid does the trick for the entire face. It doesn’t matter that you have oily skin. This fluid works on your skin through the night and gives it a beautiful glow the next morning once you wash it off. The packaging and smell are a slight put off but the results make up for these shortcomings.
Step 5 : Moistize the Lips
The last step is moisturizing my lips. Now this step I have added to the usually prescribed routine because I’m a person who eats up the lip balms I use through the day 😐 I also have a tendency to chew my lip while concentrating at work which really makes my lips a wreck! So I apply a lip cream or balm through the night so that my lips are back to a chewable condition the next day 😋
Step 6 : Sleep Tight!
Ya that doesn’t need a picture does it! Haha 😉
So guys that’s my nightly routine. It’s always good to have such a night routine because that’s the time your skin gets some solid time to rest and the least we could do is make it feel better with this simple CTM routine! 😃 all the best finding the products that work for you! Honestly it’s a long drawn process and finding your skin’s calling could take months! So do it slowly if you must but start off soon all the same because trust me it does make a difference!
Have an amazing week ahead readers! Hope you enjoyed this post! ❤️
A selfie just because! Haaaa! 😘
I know I’m a day late but hey hey hey I’m here now! 😎😍😎 Today I bring to you a really cool guest post by the Fashion for royals team ! Now I have made it pretty vocal on my blog and my Instagram account that makeup wise I’m highly unwise but that’s not all together true when it comes to skin care. I have a detailed nightly routine (what!! I promise!) and I take whatever steps possible to keep my shiny oily skin from running into too much problem! Since skin care is a topic I absolutely love I was thrilled to hear from the Fashion for Royals team who wanted to do a guest post on my blog about their five tips to beautiful skin! Now Fashion for Royals is a fashion blog which has been trying to get the latest and greatest of anything and everything in vogue to its readers. Fashion for Royals is fun, creative and extremely informative and I love checking on their blog regularly! So without further yapping here is what this team thinks are the five most important skincare tips!
A Hi-5 to Better Skin!
We all want better skin, but the problem is that achieving it seems to be becoming increasingly complicated. The fact though, is that it really doesn’t have to be so confusing. Bettering your skin comes down to five simple steps. We all know them, but sometimes we just need reminding.
1.Drink
Drinking enough water is the first rule to having healthy skin. Not only does water help to keep you hydrated, but it’s great for your metabolism, too. Make sure that you’re not substituting your water intake for caffeinated drinks, though, as the caffeine content is dehydrating and pretty much counteracts any goodness you’re getting from the water. Herbal teas are fine, as they are caffeine-free.
2. Eat
Eating clean is crucial when it comes to achieving clear, healthy skin. Processed foods containing high levels of refined sugar and salt can be just as bad for your skin as forgetting to moisturise. Get rid of those nasty processed items and restock your fridge with lots of fresh fruit, veg and meat. When it comes to condiments such as mayonnaise, it’s always better to make your own so you know exactly what’s going into it. The same goes for baking.
3. Sleep
It sounds simple, but we lead such busy and stressful lives that sleep actually moves further and further down our list of priorities. Every adult needs 7-8 hours of proper, quality sleep every night. Set an alarm for half an hour before you need to be in bed, and start your bedtime routine then. Try to avoid screens for the last hour before you go to bed, and make sure you don’t eat too close to your bedtime.
4. Sweat
Sweating is not only good for your body since it usually comes with a workout, but sweating is actually really good for the skin as well. It opens the pores, drawing out and releasing all the dirt and grime in the skin, also releasing all those toxins. Just make sure you wash your face after a workout, though, as the residue will otherwise just sit on the surface of your skin and seep back in over time.
5. Work
Working out your whole body is great for your skin, but you can also work out your face alone. We often end up neglecting the hundreds of muscles in our face, which can result in headaches, poor circulation of blood and even an increase in wrinkling. Working out the face increases the blood flow to the skin, making it appear more radiant and keeping the skin fresh and healthy. Relaxing all of those muscles will also keep you looking younger and relieving any tension you hold in the face.
Contributed by Archana Bansal
Archana is a Marketing Expert by profession and a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger by passion. She currently writes for FashionForRoyals.com – a blog through which she pursues her love for fashion and all things beautiful.
Thank you so much Fashion for Royals team for these beautiful tips and reminders! As you said we might know most of these tips but it often takes a little nudging like this to actually implement and work on the tips we know! Please head over to fashion for royals through the following media and show them some love guys 🙂
Website: fashionforroyals.com
Facebook: FashionForRoyals or
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fashionforroyal
That would be all from me! Until next Monday this is me signing off! Have a lovely week peeps 😍😘
shilpaviswesh.com 