My Skin Care Routine {Skin Care}

Being a beauty blogger, many of you would be thinking that I have a very elaborate routine and am very diligent about it. Nothing could be farther than truth. I am the most lazy person you will ever come across and I can ignore my skin or hair for a long time. 

The maximum I have ignored my hair is a week, after that I have to at least wash it. I do many times skip conditioning or oiling as well. And, skin, I can ignore for months together except for basic cleansing and moisturizing. Right now, I am passing through that kind of lazy phase. 

Cleansing
Obviously, can't ignore it. Ok, there have been days I have done that. But, these days, I do follow that coz I am having my bath twice a day. Having a geyser at my disposal is actually harming my skin more. Why? I used to stay in a hostel earlier which had just one common geyser for the entire floor. 

I used to use a heating rod to heat the water [was too lazy to carry buckets of water from the bathroom to my room!] But, now, the geyser is right there in my bathroom. I like hot baths and, now, I am trying to control the temperature of the water I use so that it doesn't dry my skin too much.

Moisturizing
I am using the Lotus White Glow Emulsion for day time and for night, I generally use Rustic Art Aloevera Gel and follow with a drop or two of any facial oil. Sometimes, I prepare my own. Yup, I know I haven't done any DIY in a long while but I lack inspiration and patience both!!!

Sunscreen
If I actually see the pattern of last month, there have been many many days when I have blatantly skipped the sun protection. Ok, let me confess, I don't really like applying it and it takes too much of time and effort and it increases my getting-ready time exponentially. 

But, let me also add that when I skipped the sunscreen, my skin has perceptibly darkened and since I have started it again, I have seen my skin come back to its original color gradually. So, yup, its an unavoidable nuisance. I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer.

 
Lips
I have been using Nivea Pomegranate for lips in the morning and at night, I have been using Aloe Veda lip balm. But, my lips are really getting dry coz I miss out using lip balms generally and in the office, its really difficult for me to remember. AC is also taking a toll.

Body Care
I do tend to skip the morning miniaturization coz of the scarcity of time. Currently, I am using the Nivea Express Hydration lotion. And, at night also, many times, I skip but do not do that!!! Otherwise, I am using The Body Shop Polynesian Monoi Oil. And, if need be, follow with the nivea lotion again.

That's it!! Yup, there are a lot of things missing. Exfoliation or Dry Brush which I totally love. I haven't exfoliated my face since like ages and dry brush, trust me, I am missing it desperately but I misplaced it while shifting and I am afraid I lost it!!!

Anyways, so you have seen my routine, you would want to ask how is my skin feeling? Its become dry since August and I can't really do without moisturizing. I have to be a regular at it. Otherwise, my skin is soft and good enough. So, what's your skin care routine?

Nivea Whitening, Cell Repair & UV Protect Body Lotion {Product Review}

Price: Rs 225 for 950ml

Pros

gets absorbed really quickly into the skin

keeps skin hydrated and moisturized for a long time 

very thin in consistency and you don't require much

has UVA protection

Cons

doesn't have UVB protection

I am not sure about the whitening claims

can't be applied at night coz of UV filters in the product

My Experience

To start with, the consistency of the product is really thin so it gets absorbed very easily but do not underestimate its moisturizing or rather the hydrating properties of the product. It keeps the skin in a great supple condition for almost 6-8 hours and that's the max I have used this product because I remove it in the evening.

I had read somewhere (in someone's review, don't remember which!!) that it helps curb tanning but I don't think I really saw anything like that. The product boasts of 40X Vitamin C but I really didn't see it do anything extraordinary. I think the reason may also lie in the fact that I used it only while going out and not at night or otherwise.

I think it would have been better if the product did not have UV filters so that it can be used at anytime and probably might show some effect on tanning.I totally don't like the whitening claims and regarding UV claims, I always prefer to use sunscreen. I tend to stay away from products which say they moisturize as well as protect. So, I used to layer this upon the sunscreen.

Overall, I am not really sure about the product so I guess they should launch the same in a variation which doesn't have sunscreen. Have you used the product? How did you like it?

PS: Product sent by brand.

Other products I love or hate from Nivea:

Winter Skin Care Lotions 

Nivea Fruity Shine Dragon Fruit vs Pomegranate 

Nivea Refreshing Cleansing Milk

Nivea Repair and Protection

Nivea Nourishing Body Milk

Nivea Sun Moisturizing Lotion SPF 50 PA++ 

Nivea Sun Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30 PA++

What happens when you do not use Sunscreen? {Sunscreen}

This post is specially for people who have not yet adapted this routine thinking it to be just a frivolous stuff. Well, may be it was and that was the doubt which made me do this little experiment. I forgo-ed sunscreen for almost two weeks and now I am putting up these findings.

I have been using sunscreen more or less regularly since a year. And, I apply sunscreen only once in a day. But, I do apply a good amount of it for proper protection. And, yes, I do go out in the peak time of 10 AM - 4 PM as well. So, lets get on the with my findings.

My arms are back to whatever state they were tanned prior to my use of sunscreen. Interestingly, I observed the tanning only after a couple of days without sunscreen. The first day I didn't apply sunscreen, my skin was looking more or less the same. 

Talking about the face and neck, yes, they are also tanned. Not as much as my arms coz I did use sunscreen on and off. And, I am using a lightening oil as well at night to combat this tanning but still I know that my complexion has grown darker. 

So, now that I know that sunscreen is extremely important to preserve my skin complexion, I would try not to skip it. And, this is my first advise to everyone who love their skin. Oh! Btw, please remember that the benefits of using sunscreen are apparent only if you use the proper amount and after around a month of use. That's when you will see changed in your skin, be it color or texture. 

So, what do you think? Do you find yourself getting tanned whenever you skip sunscreen? 

Related Posts:

How to remove tanning on arms?
5 Steps to get fairer skin?

How many times do you avoid sun at noon? {Your Opinion}

This has been my issue since quite long. So, I thought I would pose this question to you all. How easy or difficult do you think is avoiding sun at the peak time in the noons? For me, its always the noons when I can get my works done or find time to go out for shopping or anything!!! Especially, when on a vacation, you are always out in the noons. So, how do you exactly avoid the sun in the peak time of 10-4? 

For me, I do put on a lot of sunscreen which gives me protection and use umbrella and scarf both to avoid the sun. But, sometimes, its just not possible!! Anyway, reapplication of sunscreen is very important when you tend to stay out so please bear that in mind. Also, its very important to follow with an after-sun treatment so as to control some of the damage done to the skin. But, it is advisable to avoid sun at the peak time at any cost. 

So, what do you say?

Related Posts:Sunscreen: Role in anti-aging Skin Care
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock
How much sunscreen do you apply?
Use sunscreen 365 days a year
Sunscreen Ingredients

Nivea Sun Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30 PA++ {Product Review}

Price: Rs 299 for 125ml

Pros

gets absorbed really easily

no white cast

is non-sticky as it says

also, water resistant

doesn't get greasy!!

Cons

the ingredients are not stable so has to be reapplied every one to two hours without fail

less on UVA protection coz its just PA++ and not PA+++

My Experience

When I had started using this after its counterpart, I was very happy because of no white cast issues. Its of the same consistency but gets absorbed really easily and can be applied in any amount. It doesn't even get greasy and doesn't feel sticky which is one of the best features of the product.

This time, I took out time to analyze the ingredients. Check out the image but I noticed that they do not have any stabilizing agents. [Read about sunscreen ingredients here.] Because of which, I did notice tanning on my hands because I do not reapply the sunscreen (which is very important) and I do go out in the noons, at the peak times when sun's rays are strongest.

Why there was no tanning with the SPF 50 counterpart? Probably because spf 50 provides more protection and it left a white cast which prevented the sun's rays from directly hitting the skin. I didn't analyze the other's ingredients either so this is just hazarding a guess!!

PS: Product sent by brand.

Other products from Nivea:

Nivea Sun Moisturizing Lotion SPF 50 PA++

Nivea Nourishing Body Milk

Winter Skin Care Lotions

Reminiscing Life through Beauty Products

Nivea Fruity Shine Dragon Fruit vs Pomegranate

Nivea Refreshing Cleansing Milk

Nivea Repair and Protection Lip Balm

Nivea Sun Light Feeling Daily Face Sun Fluid 50+ Very High {Product Review}

PS: There are no pros and cons in this review!

Actually, I am very good at adjusting with products. I never really end up hating anything but I do feel very disappointed when I use a product and I am not happy with it!! Doing a review while not bashing up the product entirely is a tricky situation. Anyways, you might as well have guessed that this is one of those products! 

So, let me start with the claims and packaging. The biggest claim of this product is the instant sun protection as compared to the other chemical sunscreens which need a 20-minutes incubation period on the skin before they start protecting you.

Honestly, I have no idea about the formula and anyways I am not a chemist so I will not talk about that. The problem which I have with this product lies more in the application part. 

It says a few drops would suffice. Now, in all of my knowledge of sunscreen, it takes quite a lot of product for adequate protection. So, this claim was a bit difficult to digest. I, however, tried to use the regular quantity. And, my face was like a pan of oil.

I am guessing that the base of this sunscreen is basically oil because if I do not shake the bottle, a transparent solution comes out which feels oily. So, its probably an unstable emulsion. Whatever it is, it really does not get absorbed into the skin and makes the face really oily which is a huge disappointment. 

I tried using only a few drops which also did not bode well for my face. That was fine for my hands, though. But, then, I have doubts about how much it really protects. And, re-application is a forgettable job.

As to protection, honestly I have not used the product for more than a week overall because I could not bear the oiliness so I can not really comment on the protection aspect. And, I do feel very guilty about that but I couldn't just do it. I will keep the product for now and will give it a try again when my skin goes dry in winters.

Price: Rs 449 for 50ml

How do you feel about the products you end up disappointed with? How do you manage to review them?

PS: Product sent by brand for consideration. 

Related Posts:

Nivea Repair & Beauty Lip Balm
Nivea Aqua Effect Skin Refining Scrub
Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion

Get from flipkart:

Prominent Skin Conditions {Infographic}

Specialized Ingredients and Skin Care {Skin Care}

PS: Please spare time and write honest testimonials about my blog here and make Perfect Skin Care for you one of the winners in Indiblogger Awards. You will have my undying gratitude :) Now, let's move on to today's discussion. 

So, I had decided early this year that I would resort to anti-aging skin care but unfortunately I am not really doing anything except trying to use sunscreen without fail! That itself is of such a big help that you do not really need anything else. 

But, of course, you must have come across the information suggesting Retinoids, AHA's and all kinds of things to get rid of wrinkles and other aging signs! Well, I totally agree that they work really well but I am of the league that better not try them unless you really need them or use them sparingly!

Retinoids and sisters/brothers are very strong!

I have heard retinoids being used for the eye area to prevent crow's feet and fine lines around the eyes, majorly. They might also be useful for frown and laugh lines. But, the issue with them is that they make your skin extremely photo-sensitive and if you do not use adequate amount of sunscreen to protect your skin, you might be doing more damage to your skin!

Moisturizer Havoc

I have an example to quote in this. I had reviewed my mum's long-time moisturizer, moisturex, long time back. But, soon after I had read the ingredients, it struck me that the product might not have been as good for her as I am supposing. The product has 10% of lactic acid and daily application of it has probably made my mum's skin sensitive. Many of the reader's comments also suggested this perception!

My mum has very sensitive skin and now I have realized that she can not even use something else because nothing else suits her! I once tried giving her a pampering treatment using Pond's flawless white face mask sheets. After keeping it for like 10-15 minutes, she removed it and let the gooey stuff on the mask seep into her skin. But, soon after she started complaining that her skin was burning! I have tried those same sheets and never have I felt it doing anything to my skin, good or bad, lest burn my skin or tingle it!

May be I am presuming too much when I think the product has made my mum's skin sensitive! Her skin often flushes when she comes back from being in sun but I do not remember if she had the very problem before using the above-mentioned product. So, I can not really conclude that the product made her skin sensitive or photo-sensitive!

Usage of Fresh Fruits on Skin

Ohk, not only the products but also the home remedies which we try out on a daily basis might not be a great idea! Few months back I had done a post on pH levels of citrus fruits to determine how safe lemon is for daily usage. And, turns out, it can make you age faster even if you see great results because it is very acidic!

Same goes for fruits rich in AHA's like papaya or pineapple. They should NOT be used on skin for more than 5 minutes and should be used at most twice a week! AHA's are very strong acids which no doubt are really beneficial to skin but they can be dangerous if misused a lot! In fact, in higher concentrations, they can cause skin peeling.

Vitamin C serums

There are a lot of DIY's I have been seeing over-time using ascorbic acid or like. I have thought of doing them myself as well. But, may be they should also be used occasionally like once or twice a week for a skin prep instead of making it a daily routine.

Salicylic Acid Face Washes

No doubt, they are amazing on acne-prone skin but they do dry out the skin a lot, the effects of which might not be felt immediately. I have never really prescribed to the usage of such products but lately I had used Garnier Pure Active which has the acid as one of its ingredients. No doubt, I loved it but it fails miserably on dry skin and I am not using it in the longer run! 

Long back I had talked about the aspirin face mask, DIY's for which can be found immediately on googling but should not be used in more than a concentration of 1-2% because they can result in drying of skin and hyperpigmentation, not to say photo-sensitivity!

Thus, these are my personal observations and opinions that any product having specialized ingredients should be used with care and caution and exactly as prescribed. Any deviance from the instructions can actually be really harmful for skin. 

Please note that this post is entirely my opinion and observations put in words. I would love to know what you think about the issue. So, comment on!

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Have you tried Aloe Vera?

How to take care of eye area? {Eye Care}

I hardly talk about eye care separately. Honestly, I have never really bothered using any particular eye cream or took special care of my eyes. So, consequently, hardly any post was dedicated to it. But, then, sometimes when I am low on moisturizing, I notice that the fine lines around my eyes become very pronounced.

And, consequently, it would add a year or two to my age :D So, then, I would get around to moisturizing again. So, I thought I would list down a few things I could follow on a regular basis, not making my routine very involved or crammed with lot of serums.

Sunscreen and Shades

Huh...have you ever skipped on a sunscreen and checked out how your skin looks in a few days? Trust me, you do not want to do that!!

Btw, while applying sunscreen on the eye area, make sure you use your ring finger and pat the area around instead of rubbing the sunscreen in. Try to apply 2-3 coats!!

And, unless you are specy, you could do well with investing in shades. And, not forget to wear it as well. I know people who do!  

Moisturize 

Almond oil has worked the best for me till date but I do keep on using some or the other random oil - just a drop of it, however.

Of course, if you have decided preference towards eye creams, go for it and do not forget it even for a day.

Dark Circles, Dryness or Wrinkles

Again, almond oil will be my answer.  And, the best part is it helps with eyelashes as well :)

Puffy Eyes

It happens rarely with me but I simply splash lot of cold water on my eyes and rest my eyes a lot so they gradually lose their puffiness.

Drinking a lot of water or intake of salt at night results in puffy eyes so avoid doing that unless you have been drying your eyes out in which case the remedy would be to be happy :) 

Clear Bright Eyes

Well, for starters, some are just blessed with the clear bright baby eyes and for those who are not, follow all the above advises and get good sleep. For the starters, its only a good night sleep which makes my skin look hydrated and young.

And, of course, washing eyes in the morning is a very important ritual, not only to clean them but also to wake you up! Probably a walk in the morning sunlight will help as well. And, keep strict technology off-limit times in your daily schedule.

How do you take care of your eyes?

Related Posts:

How to choose right pair of glasses for your face?

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Re-application of Sunscreen {Sunscreen}

Treat this as the second part to yesterday's sermon on sunscreen. Sometimes I do feel my posts sound like sermons? It's ok. You need not be polite :P Anyways, lets proceed.

So, where was I? Yeah, I was talking about how much sunscreen to apply. I finished with that and left you to think about re-application! This is probably one of the most frustrating routines of skin care. And, there are quite many roadblocks to reapply sunscreen.

I have makeup on!

Sunscreen is supposed to go under makeup and not over, right? So, how can I reapply it? Well, fair enough!

Its so yucky!

The two finger rule itself not being enough, you have to apply the same amount of sunscreen every two hours. How many layers of stickiness should I have on?

Fortunately, quite a lot of high-end sunscreens are coming matte. So, you can probably go with reapplications. But, seriously, I am the wrong person to answer this.

I use Marie Veronique Organics Moisturizing Face Screen and one pump of it itself makes my face oily after a few minutes and using more of it is way too difficult. I have tried re-application but honestly my work place also doesn't facilitate the process.

Taking a sunscreen bottle to the washroom kinda looks weird to me. I don't do touch-ups there so I have only one application and the days I try re-applying, the tint gets too much for the skin and either it shows up as patches or white cast!

One of the ways to reapply the sunscreen is by removing the previously applied layer. Well, there is a huge hitch in that. If you have makeup on, you can obviously not remove the entire thing and reapply so that goes a little impractical as well.

So, the answer again comes back to the same thing - apply according to your schedule and amount of time you would be spending outside. If you stay inside, there is no need for re-application. But, you might go for just one thin layer so as to protect yourself from the light and computer radiations. 

But, you have a team outing or a shopping spree planned, you can go for a thick application. In such cases, always make sure you have applied a thicker-than-usual amount of sunscreen and follow with lighter makeup. Also, make sure that the loose powder you do touch-ups with has adequate protection. 

Though, I would like to make another point here. Just as a bit of sunscreen doesn't really provide any protection, a bit of loose powder dusted on the face doesn't give spf 25 amount of protection. For that much of protection, you need almost 1/4th of the product quantity.

What do you do? Do you re-apply your sunscreen? How do you protect yourself when outside all day long?

Related Posts:

Application of Sunscreen

What happens when you do not use Sunscreen?

Sunscreen Regulations in India

Application of Sunscreen {Sunscreen}

How can any summer pass-by without me talking about sunscreen :-O That would be a travesty :D Anyways, the reason I did not write about sunscreen till now is first because I wasn't serious on the blog and second I have written so much on the topic last year. So, if you missed it, you can check out the entire list of posts here.

Anyways, coming back to today's topic, one thing I have always remained indecisive about is how much sunscreen should be applied. Last time I wrote about this topic, I mentioned the two fingers rule. But, that is actually impractical and I had realized it long back. But, I still tried my best to keep up with it!

But, I was always skeptical and I read a lot on that topic. So, here are my pennies on it.

Two finger rule holds

Yes, you actually have to apply that much sunscreen to give yourself optimum protection. But, re-application is necessary.

Apply according to the Day's Schedule

If you know you are going to spend the entire day in hot sun, you SHOULD follow the above rule. And, if you already know you will sit inside the house or office and roam only till the in-house canteen or washroom, you can apply enough to cover yourself for the time you are outside.

So, decide according to your needs and schedule. Do not follow any rule blindly but don't take things in a stride and ignore them either! Its a very delicate balance.

What if my day is unplanned?

Yes, this is worst of the situations! And, always remember that applying sunscreen doesn't prevent tanning. And, just like you are always ready when it comes to waxing your legs or getting your facials done on time, same rule applies here as well.

Apply sunscreen everyday whether you go out or not and if the outing is sudden, just make do with as much application as possible in the bare minimum of the time. This is where physical sunscreens come more effective as well.

They start working as soon as you apply them whereas the chemical ones need 20-30 minutes of incubation to start working. And, then, when you are outside for the entire day, make sure you reapply the sunscreen every two hours and follow the two finger rule on all parts of the body, specially which are naked.

So, how much amount of sunscreen do you apply everyday?

Related Posts:

What happens when you do not use Sunscreen?

Sunscreen Regulations in India

Sunscreen and Myths