Confessions of a Cola Addict: February 2016

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BEAUTY | 3 PRODUCTS THAT ARE MAKING ME SWOON

Ever so often, even lazy, uninvested girls like yours truly comes across a product or two (or three) that changes life beyond expectations. At said times it is our moral responsibility to share this information with fellow comrades fighting for time and good skin.

2015 ended with 3 incredible skincare / beauty finds and after putting them to good use for almost 3 months, here's some honest review of my current favourites.

INNISFREE GREEN BARLEY BUBBLE CLEANSER
Korean beauty was having a serious moment in 2015. Among the few brands I registered, Innisfree was on top of my wish list along with The Face Shop and Missha. I was on a frantic hunt online but these brands are hard to come by locally. So imagine my delirious delight when I happened to spot a full on outlet in Gurgaon, NCR! I basically lost my shit.

The stores are only in the NCR: Delhi: Khan Market & Gurgaon: Galleria Mall. Lucky NCRites!

I came out with three purchases: Green Barley foam cleanser, the Jeju Volcanic Pore Scrub Foam and a capsule pack of the Jejuja volcanic clay mud. I am yet to try the pack, but the cleanser and scrub have my heart.

Last year, I stopped using soapy (sodium based) cleansers and my skin has been super thankful for it. I have tried everything from Cetaphil to Vichy to Avene last year, and this one is the clear favourite. It is super gentle; a little lathers up a long way and I love how squeaky clean my face feels without the horrible dry, taut feeling.

My weekly TLC is now super special thanks to this guy. Once a week, I skip the above cleanser and use this to clean my face and follow it up with a mask. The grains in this scrub are super super fine, leaving no abrasion on the skin. The face feels incredibly clean and soft- prepped for a good mask. Added bonus: I LOVE the smell!

Yet to try this out

PRICE:

GREEN BARLEY CLEANSER- Rs. 650/-
JEJU VOLCANIC PORE SCRUB FOAM- Rs. 750/-

VICHY NORMADERM HYALUSPOT

After a momentary respite from breakouts thank to my dermat, some recent skincare experimentation coupled with horrible dietary practise has birthed a fresh crop of juicy nasties on my face that are a piss off to deal with in winter. On one hand my skin screamed for hydration and then next morning I'd wake up to plumped up boils! I kept my moisturiser to a basic water based one, but to no respite. Desperate measures were needed and I decided to finally try the La Roche Posey Effaclar Duo. I always thought that it is a spot treatment product for acne and blemishes, but apparently the ones available in India are more like topical moisturizer for acne prone skin. Seeing me all gutted, the sales attended recommended I try the Vichy Normaderm Hyaluspot. I have tried the Vichy Normaderm Purifying Gel last year and loved it, so I was warm to the brand. And seeing that I was about to spend 1500 bucks on the Effaclar Duo, I didn't hesitate too much to give this a shot at almost half the price.

Now before I spend the words, here is some visual aid

If you see, I had to zoom into the last image a little to show the remains of the zit. I am floored! Day 1 was last Monday and today, i.e. 9, I have a faded white spot in place of the Day 1 monstrosity. What impressed me more was the lack of blemish; my skin is super super blemish prone, therefore this is a killer benefit that I realistically hadn't hoped for.

I have read a plethora of mixed reviews but for my skin (which is combination and sensitive to harsh chemicals) this worked as you can see above. It didn't burn me at all when applied on the pictured boil, but recently I am experiencing very very minor prickle on a new nasty. I will take that happily if the result doesn't waver.

PRICE: 750/-

MAYBELLINE FALSIES BIG EYES

You know what's better than finding a product that blows your mind? Finding an unconvenional use for a product and blow your mind! That's the case with this mascara. I am too new to the beauty game to be a mascara fan. But this guy, with the genius lower lash wand is my current favourite, wait for it, brow product!

I am blessed with decent brows and I use this mascara to just straighten the hairs out and make them neater. Life changing hack! The mascara is black, so are my brows; but it doesn't give me painted, over dramatic look that I love. Now ever since I got into this roll, I skip the eyeliner, put on some lip colour and I dig the freshness of the look. I am still shy to post my pictures so can't exhibit a before and after.

I also got into using it conventionally and with a little eyelash curl and one swipe, I can totally skip liners for day time. I love that it doesn't clump up, as was the problem with the VOLUME EXPRESS FALSIES one. Hooked!

PRICE: 599/-

Phew! So much gushing! I'd love to know if you have found anything new lately. I am on the hunt for a good night cream. Any suggestions?

(INNISFREE product pictures from their website)