Do's and Don'ts of Skincare in Monsoon

The Do’s

• Cleanse adequately, as during monsoon infections spreads fast.
• Let your skin breathe free. Wearing full sleeved clothes and closed footwear will make our skin sweat more, in turn which will lead to fungal and bacterial infections. Wear waterproof footwear and fabrics that will get dry easily.
• Have nourishing meals as during this time of the year our body tends to lose immunity because of the changes in weather.  Also, the vitamins and minerals are very important in repairing the damaged and withered out skin.
• Make sure all your grooming tools like razors, nail cutters, tweezers, etc. are sterilized. Check all the tools are disinfected. 

The Dont's

• Don’t take steaming hot showers. It will make your skin more fragile.
• Don’t scrub too much.
• Don't ignore foot care, as we torture them the most
• Don't forget to apply adequate amount of sunscreen.

Apollo Pharmacy Aloevera Gel : Review

Apollo Pharmacy Aloe Vera Gel is a green translucent gel. Guys, you can always choose the natural aloe vera gel which is the best but for me it is a bit difficult to get hands on to the natural aloe vera gel anytime. So the packaged aloe vera gel which works pretty well like the natural and fresh aloe vera is a must try. This one is available in any Apollo Pharmacy.

It comes in a transparent sturdy plastic tube with a flip-top opening.I got this from Apollo Pharmacy. It is cheap and pocket friendly, extraordinarily good for skin and travel friendly.

 

I have been using the Apollo Aloe Vera Gel as a mask on the pigmented areas and infected areas. I have been using it for about three years and it is totally amazing. Below is why I love it so much!

 It cured my fungal infection like magic and also removed the scar.

Goodys :

• Heals infections and insect bites
• Helps with sunburns and reduces tan
• Reduces acne and blemishes
• Prevents skin aging
• Moisturises skin

Not so Goodys:

• Couldn't find any

Price- Rs 75 for 120ml

So people, no second thought needed.. just go, give it a try!

Bengali style Fried leftover rice for Breakfast

It is the easiest breakfast recipe I have tried and literally takes just five minutes to cook!

Ingredients :

• A plate of left over rice
• 3 Potatoes
• 3 Onions
• 1 Green Chilli
• 3 Eggs
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• A pinch of Garam masala
• Salt and Sugar to taste

Directions :

• Bring yesterday's rice out of the freezer and let it come to normal room temperature.
• Slice potato, onions and green chilli and any other veggies you want to add.
• In a separate bowl, break eggs (say three for the amount of rice I took). Season to taste with salt, pepper, etc.
• Using a little ghee in a frying pan, fry the veggies. Add salt and sugar to taste.
• Add the eggs and scramble.
• Mix them together.
• Add the rice and sprinkle a pinch of garam masala and fry for a few minutes.
• Serve hot.

Patanjali Saundarya Kesar Chandan Aloe Vera Gel - Review

I had been always a great fan of Patanjali Aloevera gel, the original green one! I had been looking for the Kesar Chandan one literally everywhere in my locality ever since the release , but could find it nowhere. Availability issue you know! The original variant was phenomenal and showed extraordinary results with time. This is why I was damn inquisitive for this improved version. I finally got my hands on it about a month back.

I have oily and sensitive skin. The ingredient list though provided a little hope of it working on me. It's almost a month that I have been using the Patanjali Kesar Chandan Aloevera Gel, and here is my take on the product.

Patanjali Saundarya Kesar Chandan Aloe Vera Gel : Review

The Patanjali Saundarya Aloe Vera Gel with Kesar Chandan comes in transparent tube like the previous one with the golden flip open cap. The tube looks cheap though easy to handle. The product doesn’t spill or leak while travelling, the tube is quiet travel friendly. The golden gel has a slightly runny consistency. It has the fragrance of Kesar and Chandan, artificial though. However, it does soothe your skin.

It is great for sensitive and sun burnt skin. I, mostly, use this on my sun burns and the moment I apply, it gives such a cooling sensation and a radiant touch to my skin. The gel takes some time to get absorbed and does not feel greasy on the skin.

Now coming to the claims, it is definitely a hyped product. No Girl! It isn’t going to make you fair, but definitely make you lovely though adding hydration and radiance to your skin. And the acne marks, dark spots and pigmentation, well, they will only go with a lot of time. The amount of Kesar(Saffron) and Chandan(Sandalwood) present in the product is too less in quantity to show distinctive results overnight.
Goodys:

• Pocket friendly
• Travel friendly packaging
• Does not leave skin oily
• Hydrates the skin
• Adds a healthy glow to the skin
• Improves the skin texture
• Adds radiance to the skin
• Contains Kesar, Chandan and Vitamin E.
• For all skin types
• Multi-utility product

Not so Goodys:

• Might not the quench the thirst of dry skin
• Not completely natural (added preservative, colors and artificial smell)
• False claims
• Availability problem

Price : Rs.50 for 60 ml, Rs.100 for 150 ml

Patanjali Aloe Vera Gel : Review

The Patanjali Aloe Vera Gel comes in transparent soft tube with an orange flip open cap. The tube looks cheap though easy to handle. The product doesn’t spill or leak while travelling, it is quiet travel friendly. The green gel has a slightly runny consistency and almost no fragrance.

It is all you need for your skin. Plus contains 90% aloevera gel.

It is great for all skin types. I, mostly, use this as my sleep over mask and the moment I apply, it gives such a cooling sensation.. it's like rejuvenation that you can feel instantly. The gel takes some time to get absorbed and does not feel greasy on the skin, it's a bit sticky during the time of appliction.

Goodys:

• A great moisturizer for all skin types
• Helps get rid of fungal infections
• Helps to reduces hyper pigmentation and tanning
• Treats dark spots, acne scars and dark circles
• Pocket friendly
• Travel friendly packaging
• Does not leave skin oily
• Hydrates the skin
• Adds a healthy glow to the skin
• Improves the skin texture
• Adds a healthy glow to the skin
• Multi-utility product
• Easily available

Not so goodys:

• Might not the quench the thirst of very dry skin
• Not completely natural (added preservative and colors)
• A bit sticky

Price : Rs.40 for 60 ml, Rs.80 for 150 ml

Dear hair, Take care.

Take care of your hair this summer.

Summer is really tough a season for our hair. The high humidity levels here in India becomes even more harsh. It is time to show extra care to your hair. And here are few useful ways to care for your hair this summer :-

• Hydrate yourself. Drink a lot of water. This will keep not only your hair but your full body healthy.
• A hot oil massage is very essential in the summers. Before or after shampooing your hair, heat any natural oil (coconut, almond or olive) slightly and apply it to your hair from the tips to the roots. Your hair will feel soft and healthy instantly. Oiling seal the moisture in your and avoid breakage.
• Avoid too much shampooing your hair ; it strips off your hair's natural oils. And while washing your hair use a clarifying shampoo.
• Condition you hair; it helps de-frizz during the humid season. Also, try deep conditioning treatment at least once a week.
• Don't forget to apply the leave in conditioner to your hair after the wash.
• Try to air-dry your hair as much as possible. Blow-drying makes your hair frizz up.
• Don’t brush your hair vigorously , use a wide-tooth comb instead for untangling your locks.
• Give heat styling a break. Accept that our hair has a tendency to curl and opt for natural styling instead.
• Keep your hair in a loose hairstyle. It will help your hair to breath and prevents accumulation of sweat in your scalp and keeps the hair dry throughout the day.
• Try to cover your hair with a hat, scarf or use an umbrella during summers. This will protect you and your beautiful hair from the harmful UV rays of the scorching sun and it also helps in retaining moisture.
• Trim your hair regularly to get rid of splint ends.
• Your hair is a reflection of you. Start a balanced diet and healthy exercise regimen to add a healthy sheen to your hair.

Easy Egg Biryani

Egg Biryani is the most easy Biryani recipe I have tried.

Egg biryani recipe | biryani recipes | easiest egg biryani | pressure cooker biryani

Biryani is a dish of exotic spices that satisfies your taste buds. It is a very renowned dish of the Mughlai cuisine. Egg biryani too holds a powerful place in the biryani family only using eggs in place of meat or chicken preparing it with all the same traditional spices. This is a very preferred dish for celebrations. Biryani can offered with onion raita or a plate of green salad.

Ingredients

• Basmati Rice 500 Grams
• Pinch of Saffron soaked in 4 tablespoon milk
• Eggs 4 nos. (boiled and fried)
• Potatoes 4 nos (boiled and fried)
• Onions (2), Ginger(1/2 inch), Garlic(4 cloves), Tomato(1/2) and Green chillies paste
• Green Chillies (according to how much spicy you want your dish to be)
• Fried sliced onions 2 nos. and ring cut onions 2 nos
• Plain Yogurt 1 tablespoon
• Whole Garam Masala
• Turmeric Powder 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin powder 1 teaspoon
• Biryani masala powder 1 teaspoon
• Kashmiri Mirch powder 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste
• Oil 1 tablespoons
• Clarified butter (ghee) 1+2+1 tablespoons
• Handful of mint for garnishing

Directions

• Wash and soak rice for exact two hours.

• Boil the eggs and shell them. Fry them slightly golden.

• Boil the peeled potatoes. Fry them slightly golden.

• In a kadai, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee. Fry the ring cut onions for biryani garnishing. Add salt and sugar as per taste to the onions. Keep aside.

• In a kadai, heat the oil. Fry the sliced onions until golden brown, then add onion, ginger, garlic, green chillies and tomato paste. Cook for sometime and then add curd and cook the masala. Add kashmiri mirch powder, cumin powder, turmeric and salt to taste. 1 cup of hot water to the cooked masala. Let it cook until the water dries a little. Add the fried eggs and potatoes to the masala, stir a little to coat the eggs and potatoes with masala. Sprinkle a pinch of powdered biryani masala, cover it and keep aside.

• After exactly two hours of soaking, strain the rice.

• Take a pressure cooker. Put two table spoons of ghee in the cooker on mid-flame. After the ghee melts add the whole garam masala to it. 

• Let it cook for sometime, ghee will extract the flavours from spices. Add the soaked rice to the the cooker, stir well to coat the rice with the flavoured ghee. Add 750ml water to it and mix well and cover with the lid of the cooker, let it cook on high flame. After the very first whistle, remove the whistle of the pressure cooker, switch off the gas. The vapour will evaporate out of the nozzle and rice is done.

Garnishing

• Add 1 tablespoon of ghee to a large pan and rest of the biryani masala powder it.
• Add a layer of rice, then a layer of cooked egg, then rice again egg, and finally rice, 
• Add the kesar soaked milk to colour the rice and 1 tablespoon each of keora water and  rose water.

• Cover the pan with lid, put it on low flame, for five minutes.
• And your Egg Biryani is done!

Feel free to share your experience!

Sleep well Stay healthy

Sleep makes us feel better, but its important to go beyond it. Just enhancing our mood or removing under-eye dark circles is not enough. Adequate sleep is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, here I share some benefits of sleep.

• Memory booster

During sleep you actually strengthen memories.

• Live longer

Less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per night affects our quality of life as well as span of life.

• Delay aging

People who get less sleep six or fewer hours a night have higher chances of premature aging.

• Boost creativity

Get a good night’s sleep before getting out with your creativity be it with paintbrushes or the pen. It may result in you creating more as well.

• Be a winner

If you are a sportsperson, sleep be the one simple way to improve your performance.

• Weigh right

If you are thinking about going on a diet, you should plan an earlier bedtime too, as lack of sleep ends up in bloating you.

• Defy depression

A lack of sleep can contribute to depression. A good night’s sleep can really help a moody person decrease his anxiety. One get more emotionally stable with good sleep.

Be a better you, Go snooze! 

Goodbye Winter, Welcome Spring

The changing season affects our skin the most. Our skin is very delicate, and is always exposed to environmental changes and pollution. During winter we tend to become more dehydrated, our skin feels dry. While, with the approaching spring and summer, we need to start taking care of our sunburn, hyper-pigmentation as well as oil and sebum secretion. Spring brings a sudden mix of warmer winds and sunnier days than Winter, taking care of skin should begin with understanding the season change.

End winter with supple skin:

• Use a SPF 365 days a year, the sun is never off-duty. During winter, even though we can't feel the heat of the sun, the UVA and UVB rays prevails and they are quiet damaging.
• Avoid hot water and use lukewarm water instead. We may crave for a hot shower in winter, but that results in drying out our skin even more.
• Stay hydrated. The cold weather makes us feel thirsty, but our skin craves for the hydration as much as in the summer.
• Exfoliate twice a week. This helps in getting rid of the built up dry and flaky skin. Though moisturization is the next step to be followed to keep dryness at bay.
• Use oil-based moisturizers. They will keep your skin keep soft and supple for a longer period of time than that of the water based and gel based products.
• Avoid topical medication, as they seem to dry out the skin even more.

Prep for spring:

• Using SPF is a compulsion. Start using at least SPF 40 or above to protect skin from sunspots and hyper pigmentation.
• Balance oils. Instead of heavy oil based products, start using gel based moisturiser. This will help to balance the oil and sebum level of our skin.
• Mask is a relief. An oatmeal mask or rice mask is the way out. It refreshens as well as nourishes the facial skin from winter torture.
• Swap from body butters to lotions: It may also be time to switch up your lotions. No matter the type of skin you have, everyone must wear a moisturizer. Use light moisturizers for oily skin or creamier versions for dry skin
• Tune up toners. It cleanses the left over dirt or makeup on the skin, helping the skin breathe. It also closes the pores reducing the amount of oil secretion and chances of breakout.