Review: Aura Vedic Skin Lightening Mask and A Funny Little Story

Dear Mr. Sun, as you are here in full force, hence I am braving myself very well to battle with you throughtout the next 3-4 months. And my weapons are:

RITUAL Cleansing Ubtan Mask and RITUAL Skin Lightening Mask by Aura Vedic (I received these as samples for review purpose).

And now Mr. Sun you must be curious to know how will they provide a protective armour to me against you right? Read further to know more about the natural properties of Skin Lightening Mask by Aura Vedic.

Okay the mention of this product reminds me of the lovely aroma of sandal, saffon and turmeric that greets you as soon as you open this round pot. The aroma itself tells you that this is a purely natural product.

The Skin Lightening Mask is a readymade mask, that you can apply straight onto your face. Something that is ideal for busybees like me. The formulation is like a sticky paste and the company recommends you to apply it daily for best results.

And this is how it looks. Now how to apply it? Well, I followed the directions on the pot. So I applied it onto my face, after washing it and then left it for 20 minutes.

When the pack was semi-dry, I first scrubbed off the pack with gentle movements and then remove the last traces of the pack with water.

The results were there to see. After washing off, I could feel my plump and nourished skin thanking me for the favor I just did and saw my face glow too. There was a visible difference in the skin tone too! The dullness and tan was reduced to a great extent.

My verdict- I loved this mask which is completely naural and yeah I would continue to repurchase it for sure!

The only drawback I would say, which can be overcome though is, the product leaves a yellowish cast on the face, due to the presence of turmeric. So ideally, this pack can be used in the night before, so that the yellowish cast subsides in the morning.

Price: A 200 gms pack costs 200INR. And you need very less of the product, making it last for a long long time indeed! I highly recommend.


So Mr. Sun, am completely armed this summer you see! Now, try and find out new ways of damaging my skin tone! :P

PS: Product sent by company. Review totally mine!

Cool Tips: Tip to Apply Liquid Eyeliner Easily

The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural. - Calvin Klein

I didn't mean to spark off a debate here, with such a contradictory (yet true) line. ;) And without much ado, I'd like to tell you that this post marks the beginning of a new section in this blog, where I'll share cool beauty tips and tricks only for you pretty pretty ladies.

Titled 'Cool Tips' , these tips would help you sort regular and not-regular issues that you face while applying make-up. It may also include some basic problems we women face like dark circles, puffy eyes etc. As the title suggests, the tips that I'd share here, would not be limited to the ones we all know. Instead, you would get to read tips that are relatively easy, but rarely heard before. Sounds exciting right?

And to add to this excitement, here's what I propose. 

You can also send in the tips that you know of,which have always fetched you great results for you. Due credit would be given to all the tips sent in by the readers. 

Ain't it cool? So without much delay, inbox me the cool tips that have always eased the most difficult task of yours.  

Here's the first cool tip that I found on the internet. And I'm 100% sure this will bring smiles to all the women reading this post: 

Liquid eyeliners! The very name petrifies many many girls and women, only because it smudges. Another reason is, not many have steady hands and hence they never manage to draw perfect lines at the edge of the upper/lower eyelid (I think upper eyelid is more like a smudge-prone though). So what do you do?

1. Keep your eyes wide open firstly as closed eyelids lead to uneven lines when you're applying the liquid eyeliner yourself. 

2. Now, draw three small dashes—one on the corner, next in the middle, and the last on the inside corner of the eye. Draw small dashes leaving blank spaces in between. 

3. Lastly, connect these three dashes to get a smooth smudge-free line and voila! you're done in 3 mins! 

Try it and let me know the results . I'd love to see the EOTDs or read your comments in the box below. 

Stay beautiful always! 

Pics courtesy: Google

Celebrating Indian Women # 2: Sharmila Tagore

Confession Time: Yeah yeah I know its confession time! I have been MIA for a lot many days now and all I've been doing during this time was work and sleep. Seriously hate the time when work overtakes everything in your life! To make things worse, I can feel my tonsil glands playing havoc. This is making me wonder how come I’m struck with such bad cold when everyone’s complaining about the heat!

Continuing with the Celebrating Indian Women Series, let’s see which Indian diva we talk about today!

Today I’ll be talking about an actress (do I need to say she is extremely beautiful?) who charmed everyone with her ohhh sooo lovely dimples! And wooed every young man with her pairing and wonderful performances in some of the best romantic movies in the late 60s and the whole of 70s. Ah you got it! Yes she is none other than the charming and very elegant Sharmila Tagore.

And before I begin, let me tell you that I’m a HUUUGE Sharmila Tagore fan. [So don’t blame me if I seem biased. (wink wink) ]

Sharmila Tagore: 

Tagore, the name’s Sharmila Tagore. Yes she is related to the notable Bengali poet and playwright Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore. She is his great grand niece and her grandfather G. N Tagore was a notable painter of Bengal.

Tidbits: She is related to the Tagore family from both her paternal and maternal families. Born 5 years after Tagore’s death, Sharmila received formal (school) education in those times, which was not common.

She is perhaps among those few women during her times, to have chosen acting as her profession and not just to earn her livelihood. She became an actress because she wanted to, not because she had to. She began her film career at the tender age of 14.

Memorable for: We all know what she is memorable for! She is memorable for 2 distinct things—her famous bikini scene in An Evening in Paris (AEIP) (totally unimaginable during those days!) and her successful pairing with Rajesh Khanna that catapulted both of them to stardom and, ushered in the wave of romanticism in Bollywood.  

Here I would like add one more point—I loved her in a scene in her debut film Apur Sansar (Apu’s World, a Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray) where only her eyes are visible through a hole in a torn curtain. 

And, you must have read a lot about Kajol breaking the jinx –of married women can be successful heroines. But this jinx was originally broken by Sharmila Tagore. In fact, she landed the best roles of her career, after she became a mother.

What I like about her? I told you already that I’m her fan! So I like everything about her, her expressive eyes, her acting abilities, her screen presence and lastly her dimply smile. According to me she embodies the ideal Indian woman both in terms of her beauty and her achievements. And her perfect pair with her husband the late Tiger. For me they are the FIRST COUPLE of Indian Cricket.

Also I feel she is one of those rare breed of actresses who exceled in all type of roles, starting from a beautiful belle (in Kashmir ki Kali/Araadhna) to a prostitute woman who longs for her foster son (in Amar Prem). Her body of work speaks volumes about her talent and acting prowess.

As my dad opines: 

‘… when she cries onscreen, her crying seems most authentic out of all the Bollywood actresses of her time.’

She comes across as a very assured person, and knows what’s right for her. This is what she shared in an interview: 

‘Once Saif was born, I started doing fewer films. I think it's important to be a hands-on mother. It is worth putting your work on hold for a few months. To keep awake and change their nappies.' Here's what she has to say to young mothers: 'You'll get to know your child well and begin to understand his or her temperament in those very first few months of their lives.' As a young working mother, Sharmila began to edit out all that was not strictly necessary from her life. 'If you sincerely want to do something you find the time for it,' she says. Though she continued to act in films - Amar Prem after Saif was born; Griha Pravesh after Saba's birth; and New Delhi Times after Soha came along - it was on her own terms. She stopped attending premiers and after-shoot parties, gave no interviews, and became even more fastidious about the films she signed. 'I realised a few films less, a few lakhs less, simply didn't matter.'

I also admire her for her penchant of breaking the norms and being rebellious. Here are two examples: Shakti Samanta was in for a shock when he learnt that his female lead wanted to wear a bikini in a song in AEIP. He cajoled and requested her many times, not to do so, as he felt this would not go down well with the audience. But she refused and threatened to walk out, if she was not allowed.

In Anupama, she sported the stylish bouffant despite Hrishikesh Mukherjee advising her against it.

One more (yeah this is the last one) remarkable thing about her is her sense of style. She is extremely stylish and you can see how it has evolved over the years. She dresses her age and manages to catch attention instantly and charms one and all. In her late 60s now, though she sticks to sarees mostly, yet she manages to look extremely stylish. I wonder how one can manage that!

Other Achievements: Until recently, she was the chief of the Censor Board (CBFC) and played an important role in keeping films away from political pressure. In several of her interviews, she did clarify that the Censor Board should be separate and should not bow to the whims and fancies of the ministers and the government. 

Critics Say: Sharmila received flak for her portrayals of the conventional flimsy Bollywood heroine and was termed a dumb bimbo (audacious hun!!) . But all that changed with films like Araadhna, Amar Prem, Mausam etc. She was also at the centre of a huge controversy for entering films, and wearing a bikini. She could not continue studies because her teachers told her she was a bad influence on other girls.

When she wore a bikini in AEIP, she was only supported by her husband the late Tiger.

Trivia: Before attending Sharmila’s wedding, Satyajit Ray and his family were in a dilemma about what to gift her. They did not know what would be a good gift to the to-be-Begum of Pataudi. Suddenly Ray had a brilliant idea—'Can't we give her a 16 mm print of Apur Sansar? She clearly has no dearth of saris and jewellery; this would certainly make for a unique gift!' That was her wedding gift from her first director! 

What do you think Ladies? Isnt she a gorgeous diva and a super woman in her own right.