Empties - Jan 2014

Before my trip to Kenya, I packed away most of my skin care/ makeup stuff and stored them away carefully. After i came back I started using it again as they all had about a year to expire. I'm happy doing this post as it gives me a sense of satisfaction that I'm not wasting money.

1. Lakme Eyeconic Kajal:
I'm in love with this kajal... It's amazing... kudos to Lakme for coming out with this wonderful product. I bought the Loreal kajal and didn't like it as much... cant wait for it to get over so i can run and buy this one again.
Would I repurchase?
Absolutely... Black and brown.. Requesting Lakme to come out with a plum colored one...

2. Oriflame Coconut & Ricemilk Hair Mask:
This is also somthing i loved so much that this is my 2nd container, i took it to Africa and i credit this and coconut oil for me coming back with some sparse hair on my head. It smells damn good and leaves you're hair soft and shiny.
Would I repurchase?
In a jiffy....

3. Oriflame Milk & Honey Sugar Scrub:
This is the best scrub i've ever used... the smell, consistency, quantity and the price impressed me very much. it's also my second tube.
Would I repurchase?
Yes... After i finish the new scrub i've bought (review coming up)

4. Avon Naturals Strawberry and White Chocolate Body Lotion:
I bought this just for the name... and i loved it. Light fruity fragrance, easily absorbed, price, etc, etc
Would I repurchase?
No... i have too many body lotions to use up.

5. TBS Spiced Vanilla Body Scrub
I hate this scrub, i abhor it. The black particles in it don't dissolve at all, even after you poured copious amount of water it stubbornly refuses to leave you're body. And then you'd have to clean the bathroom floor because it gets stuck on the floor and this is the final straw... you're towel gets messy... esp if you're using a light colored one, read pink. It was a struggle for me to finish this one and i'll have to admit it that Mom used it a bit and she didnt like it as well.
Would I repurchase it?
HELL NO

So what are you're empties this month?
Have a nice week end!!!
Lovlyn,V

Rave: I love..... Strawberries & Milkshake Body Butter.

How many of us agree that certain smells invoke memories? Let me see your hands.... In Kenya the smell of freshly cut coriander leaves would take me back in an instant to my mom's kitchen and the yummy food that she prepared for me and i would be grumpy the whole day..... wishing i could Apparate all the way to Chennai, eat her food and be back.

When i opened this container i was immediately transported to 2003... going on long rides in my then-boyfriend-now hubby's car, I was then wearing Lakme Fundamentals Strawberry Body Creme and as soon as i got in.... he would ask "What's that smell?" wrinkling his nose.... "Is it that bad?" i'd ask.... "No no... its nice, u smell like strawberry ice cream" he would say grinning.....

I love this body butter... it's amazing and for its price, the quality is perfect... I bought this from purplle.com during GOSF and i do not regret it one bit.

Description:

Don't you want to just grab it and run.... Btw i write the expiry date in the front.... its not going to last until december of this year because its already half empty... I live in Chennai and this can be used only during the cooler months(Nov & Dec) and i'm keen on finishing it by mid feb as it's already getting hot here.

It has the mild smell of freshly squeezed strawberries and the texture is thick and creamy. Once applied it will leave you're skin feeling amzingly soft and smelling yummy. And you need not reapply it again (I tested this by scratching my arm after nine hrs and there were no white lines ) For a pink lover like me the color of the body butter is an added bonus, it's of the lightest shade of pink.

Yays:

• Smells amazing and the fragrance lasts a while,
• Moisturizes all day long, absolutely no need of reapplying,
• Neatly packaged... i know some of you might find it unhygienic but if you're a hand sanitizer lover like me then you have no problem and i find it therapeutic this way. :)
• A little thick and takes time to absorb(notice this is not a con, since rubbing vigorously promotes better circulation and makes you're skin glow)
• Inexpensive... Rs.229 for 200 ml 

Nays:

• Contains Parabens

My rating:

5/5..... Clap Clap Clap....

Would I Repurchase? 

Definitely.. but only next Sept as Chennai is toooooooo hot for a body butter...

Psssttt:

I felt that this was much better than TBS's body butters but i know many of you would beg to differ...

Till next time.... 

Lovlyn.V

THE BIG REVEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Before/After pics included)

Please bear with me this is going to be a looonnnngggggg post......

Jambo everyone.....

That's how they say Hi in ki Swahili.... Well today i would like to put a face to the author of this blog........ OOOOHHHHHH my hands are cold and trembling as i type.... I'm afraid as to how the readers will react.... I'm not beautiful........... except to my husband(who tells me that even before we met that he always had a thing for dusky curvy girls........ a pucca pucca tamil guy i guess...) and my Dad who always tells me that i'm the prettiest in our entire Kathir Parambil Royappan Clan which consists of like 125 members and counting.... and i just nod and try hard not to giggle at the expression of Bee(my younger sister) because he's my dad and i'll always be his chellam... or as he calls me (guddy) short of gudiya...........

Before i put the pic.......... here a few "Terms & Conditions" :)

• Don't judge....... (You're not entitled to do that)
• I'm writing this blog for me and the posts i share here are my personal views.
• I need not be Anna Wintour or Mickey Contractor to write about fashion or makeup
• There might be things here in this blog(my experiences in Africa) that some might feel unsettling but Boo-freakin-Woo, life is not all pink glittering fluffy clouds.... It's gray and rusty sometimes.....
• And finally for all you haters out there.... Your life sucks that is why you make other's lives miserable so I-Dont-Care.

Well here's the before:
Weight: A big whooping 112 kgs...

The biggest question will be............... How did I get to this weight?

Well I've always been a chubby child........ When I was in College I was a reasonable 66 kgs(i can many gasps.... that's also overweight some say but here in Chennai it's not)... It all went downhill when i went to study PG in Pune.... The surroundings, being away from home, etc, etc.... made me get "the freshman pounds" i was 75 when i came back and got married. Then the "after marriage bliss" added another 8 kgs....

It all started going further downhill when i suffered a miscarriage and that started in me a severe bout of depression. I didn't care as to what i was eating... I didn't exercise... i became lazy... i simply stopped caring... My weight ballooned and my confidence shrank......... I stopped going out and meeting friends, me who loved going to weddings, faked sickness and started staying in bed.

My family was so worried.... dad tried talking sense to me but i just didn't bother... my husband was my entire strength.... he never once talked cruelly commenting on my appearance nor was he ashamed of taking me out........ but he was so worried about my health......

It was during the birth of my beautiful niece Candy that i secretly stole away to the digital weighing machine in the hospital and climbed on it after years.... Heart pounding.................        112.......................        I was trembling and gasping for air......... I knew i had to do something............. God may not have blessed me with a child but he gave me a beautiful niece and i wanted to live long and watch her grow........ i wanted to be the best Aunt for her............

And that's when the call to go Africa came..... and i decided to go after my hubby and dad agreed. I cried so much that i'll be missing out the best months of Candy's life.... every time she smiled at me..... i would start sobbing....... but i hardened my heart and i went....

On arriving there i realized that this was a God-Sent Opportunity............ I would secretly start losing weight and surprise my family... and so it began... the journey was filled with sweat (lots of it), tears(much much more) and blood(don't even want to go there) and it was a struggle.... Here's what I did.......

• I took a leaf out of my Mom's book and i became a VEGAN..... Yes you're reading correctly... me a Malayali/Tamil Christian girl gave up chicken, mutton, fish, eggs, milk and curd.
• I took only two meals a day. (Breakfast/Lunch)
• I stopped eating in between completely... Nothing in between... not even a fruit or a peanut... Nada... Zilch...
• I drank 4lts of water with lemons squeezed into it every single day
• I took very long walks.... the Hills of Shimba would still be echoing with my deep breaths... :)
• And i did FARMING...notice that i did not say gardening because what i did was 4hrs of farming everday... It was compulsory... 70 acres of land.... and we produced our food... I cant tell you the satisfaction of eating the fruit of your labour... Ladies finger, cabbage, brinjals, Zucchini, Kale, onions, spring onions, tomatoes, pumpkins, herbs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, casava(a variety of tapioca), etc, etc were some of the things we harvested.
• I woke early and went to bed early...
• And everday i never gave up... I always pictured a thinner me jumping into my hubby's arms in the airport whooping in delight....

The first month i lost 6kgs....  I stayed there for 6 months and lost 32 kgs.....

Here's the After pics:

This pic was taken exactly after 21 days of me arriving..... The very next day i landed i was admitted in the Hospital for 20 days due to gallbladder stones (according to the doctors the weight loss was to blame)......
My hair was so bad ,the African sun and wind taking its toll along with some very strong antibiotics including Morphine because the pain would not subside even after six hours(even after giving painkillers) during which i screamed that i would have delivered triplets normally(seriously the pain was that bad), that my Mom made me go to Naturals the minute i stepped into the house after being discharged from the Hospital...

Yep....... That's Candy on my hips... She's one year and six months old and I adore her... She calls me Penna. (Short of Perima(her mother's elder sister)) And she can speak about 300 words, recite around 14 rhymes, hold conversations and sing in multiple languages (English, tamil, malayalam, hindi and i taught her a Swahili song) I'm not lying nor am i boasting it's the truth.




Hope this post encourages everyone.... more new things coming up... until next time... bye ladies.....


P.S: My husband was shocked....... Dumbfounded, gob smacked when he saw me come out of Chennai Airport in a black and white dress... He did not know what to say and he kept glancing at me every two seconds on the drive home... My dad hid the tears slipping out beneath his specs, mom was openly sobbing in joy, Bee was laughing and crying at the same time, Sam(my BIL) patted me on my shoulders multiple times but i had eyes only for Candy.... I said Candy baby girlu ma and she jumped into my arms.... (you see i spoke to her everyday on the phone)...What more could i ask for??????

This pic was taken on new years eve.... my very first selfie.... I still have a long way to go... my aim is to reach into the 60 kgs...  On June 3 i.e Candy's second birthday I want to be 68 kgs.. or 66kgs ..... and I will be.. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE....