Second Chance.

'Give me one more chance da. I promise to play well'.

'Okay, I will give you three more chances. Only three. Then it is my turn to bat'.

I was watching the kids play One Tuppi cricket beneath my balcony. An unused, corroded scooter served as stumps. One of them was repeatedly getting clean bowled, and he was pleading for another shot. The other players huddled together and then the captain, the oldest player, a full five years old, held up three fingers. Three chances! 

The batsman repaid this generous gesture with a lofty six which hefted the ball into the swimming pool. The kids ran to the pool, distracted into a new activity which involved water and sand.

I marvelled at munificence of the children. At the abundance of second chances they had stock piled in their heart. But I was more amazed by the persistence of the child asking for another chance. Like it was his birthright. Like his tenacity merited it.

We stop being kind to ourselves as we grow up. We are less assured about worth and thus feel less entitled to a reprieve. So, we are less inclined to be magnanimous with the people around us. No second chance for them! 

Our rigid education system hardly warrants second chances. In fact, it gives the children enough rope to hang themselves, as they test their ignorance and not their knowledge.

Our society does not believe in respite. Thus, the inability to get into an IIT or an AIIMS in the first attempt becomes a talking point. A pink slip becomes the end of the road. And a broken  marriage becomes the end of life. 

The Laws of Nature encourage rejuvenation. Leaves dry and fall. Fruits ripen and burst. Lions are ousted from their pride. The praying mantis is devoured by its mate. But life reincarnates. Without fail. Every time.

 We must stake our claim to the second, third, fourth, fifth chances that life holds out to us. One need not die to avail the benefits of rebirth.

GLAMEGO - NOVEMBER, 2018

My excitement with receiving a box at the start of the month has actually gone! Once upon a time I used to eagerly look forward to it. Now, I hate repeating in every post that products are being repeated. I am annoyed because I have been receiving this box for over a year now and they are already running out of ideas.  Hence I’ll get straight to the review.

The box this month, comes in the cyan shade and has a lady adorned with ethnic jewelry. One product didn’t quite fit into the box hence the edges of the box had ripped.

(Price and product details are mentioned in the Product List)

#5FactsAboutUs

1-Lulu and I became friends at a camp in the year 2005 even though we were acquainted with each other since 2002.

2-Lulu and I have a serious disagreement on “Capital Punishment”.

3-Lulu and I both speak French.

4-Lulu and I love twizzlers!!!

5-When street shopping Lulu understands what the vendor is saying and I am good at bargaining.

The products for this month:

Activated Charcoal Powder for Natural Teeth Whitening by Health Vit:

This is my favourite product this month. I actually am looking forward to using this because I am scared of going to the dentist’s for a teeth cleaning session. I’d rather opt for an option that I can use at home. This is an Indian brand and is made and manufactured in India. On opening the cap the bottle is sealed with foil. The instructions mention dipping your wet brush in the powder. I’d instead recommend using a spoon and taking a certain quantity in your palm for usage to prevent clumping. I will definitely be writing a thorough review of this product.

SESA Mud Hair Spa Kit:

This spa kit helps nourish your hair, prevent hair fall and stimulates hair growth. This is a product that we had earlier received in July.

The kit comes with a sachet of shampoo and hair serum each and two packs of hair masque. Now, I don’t really go to mess with my hair too much for fear of damage. Hence I am not sure how I feel about this product. I know I will end up using it. My love for experimenting has no limits. As I mentioned in our post from July, store bought hair products are way out of my comfort zone.

Water Lily Body Mist by Bio Bloom:

               

Like the Valley of Flowers perfume we received in the July GlamEgo box this perfume too smells like men’s perfume and that is not a bad thing. This product is paraben and alcohol free and can be used on all skin types. People sensitive to strong smells may want to stay away from it. The smell though initially strong, gradually mellows down with just a lingering hint on your skin.

Ulti Matte Liquid Lipstick by Bella Voste:

We had the option of choosing a shade we wanted. I chose No.4 Cinnamon and Lulu chose No.1 Gothy Plum. This is my first liquid lipstick. I had read a whole bunch of reviews on liquid lipsticks and had stayed away from them as a matter of choice. But since we got this in the box I thought, “Oh well might as well try it out.” Usually I just know that a product won’t suit me because I know what suits my skin and I am extremely careful about what I will put on my face.

This lipstick claims to be Silky Smooth (It’s just smooth.), give full coverage with full matte finish (True.), long lasting and transfer proof (Absolutely true.), vitamin-E for moisturizing lips (A big fat lie.), excellent coverage and intense colour pay off (Very, very true.), one stroke application (Yep.), perfect adhesion (Of course.), Colour does not bleed on lips (True again.).

The lipstick does almost everything it claims but it is not moisturizing at all. In the picture you can see lines accentuated on my lips. I prepped my lips by exfoliating it with a lip scrub by Neemli and then used the Mango butter lip balm by The Body Shop (This is the best balm to moisturize your lips and keep them hydrated.) I Let it stay on my lips while I photographed the products for the blog and once I was done I applied the lipstick and it set really quickly and in under two minutes it made my lips so dry that I could feel the lipstick tighten on my lips. It was like wearing a clay mask on my lips. Since it is transfer proof it is very difficult to remove as well. I am currently typing this post after applying coconut oil on my lips and around my mouth so I can easily remove the lipstick without being too rough on my lips because excess exfoliation on lips is not the best thing.

I love the colour, I love how a little product gives such deep colour and I love how it makes a difference to my face but I don’t like how dry my lips feel. I don’t like dry lips but all liquid lipsticks tend to dry out ones lips and hence I’d recommend this only after one has properly prepped their lips. I in fact recommend that one skip blotting of excess lip balm and directly apply the lipstick.

Use this product if and only if you have a lot of time before you get ready and have ample time to take it off before going to bed.

Cocoa Butter Formula by Palmer’s:

                 

The final product is a sample sized moisturiser that claims to keep one moisturised for 24 Hours. I haven’t tried this product and will be giving it to my mom to use as she has a lot of travelling to do and likes carrying travel friendly products.

Like I mentioned in last month’s GlamEgo review, even in this month’s box the Bella Voste Liquid lipstick contains SLS and Parabens. What do you think about GlamEgo not sticking to bringing us SLS and Paraben free products?

GLAMEGO - OCTOBER, 2018

(Price and product details are mentioned in the Product List)

As always GlamEgo unveiled this month’s products at 12am on October 1^st. Was I excited about the box? Not really. I think my excitement is slowly ebbing away. (Probably because I have other exciting things happening in life.) This month’s box has the same theme as the one my mom has for the home. With Diwali approaching, house cleaning and getting rid of things is the theme and GlamEgo box echoes the same. This month the theme is “Deep Clean”. This is a nice concept. We all love our make-up but we also like boasting of healthy skin. Hence, the contents of this month’s box will help with just that.

The box has blue feathers against a black background and looks very pretty. Until last month I had personally liked the Baby animals box from the Mother’s day theme but this box is definitely Pretty!

The products for this month:

Votre Face & Neck Scrub:

This “Spa Exfoliant” boasts about reducing wrinkles, scars, evens skin texture and colour. Now GlamEgo’s USP has been the whole concept of bringing to their subscribers products that are Sulphate and Paraben free. Yet, this product has both of them. (After a quick check of other Votre products we have received in the past, none of them mention parabens and sulphates.) I am now not sure how to feel about this.

Detox Face Mask – Activated Charcoal & Gentle Face Mask – Four Clay by Neemli:

Last year we had received the activated charcoal mask in our box and back then I remember we got a generous pack of 75gms which was a full size product unlike the one received this month. The card says it’s a T Zone mask but you can use it all over your face. Having used this product previously I can vouch for how fresh it makes one feel post usage. It is actually a summer essential because that’s when your skin is at its oiliest.

                    

The Four clay mask is yet another sample size product and the card says it is for the cheeks. This mask is a clay mask and helps detoxify and clarifies skin while keeping it hydrated. Since multi-masking is the latest trend I guess GlamEgo decided to send both masks as a way to help people with combination skin. I haven’t used this product before. I do plan to use it in the near future after I finish using my older sheet - masks and masks!!!

Elenblu  - Crayon Gel Eyeliner (We get to pick either Regal Blue or Emerald Green .)

This is my second Elenblu product. I had liked the Mascara we received in our July box. As it happens, I had started using eyeliners by the time I was 16. My friend had taught me how to use it and I have had an eyeliner with me at all times since then. Of course with so many brands coming up with products and so many colours to choose from one tends to hoard. Hence, when I saw an eyeliner I wasn’t too excited especially since we had only two colour options to choose from. Since I already had two green liners and only one blue liner I obviously chose the Regal Blue liner.

I tend to draw wings that make my eyes look feline. Therefore the outer edge of my eyelids have a thick line that becomes pointed towards the end. Let me tell you, it is a task to achieve that with this crayon as the line is thick and you can’t really get the same precision as you do with liquid liners or liners that have thinner cores. It also took me at least 3 swipes to get the colour to look as dark as it does in the picture. The crayon consistency is powdery and it smudges. You could probably use it as an eye shadow instead. I would certainly not recommend using this on your waterline. Furthermore, the crayon is not retractable and needs sharpening. Going by how powdery it is I doubt it will survive a sharpener. I am actually very disappointed with this product because there are far better products out there at prices much lower than this.

Seer Secrets - Lip Scrub :

When I saw this product I just laughed at what Lulu and I had spoken about just a day before the box contents were revealed. We were sure that we would get yet another product which we had received in a previous box. Further more Lulu and I both got our boxes today and what do you know!

The product had hardened and was like a block! I of course pursed my lips and sent Lulu a picture of this.

Then, Lulu sent me a pic of her scrub and we laughed it off!

Since we got this product in May I have already used it and like it as a quick remedy for chapped lips. If you have a lot of Matte Lipsticks or Gloss in your collection you can use this scrub to prep your lips for smooth application and as it happens smoothening your lips helps glide the lipstick easily preventing it from accentuating lines on chapped lips.

What are your thoughts on the box this time? Did the label on Votre surprise you too? Did you want something specific in the box? I actually predicted getting a repeat product, a mask and the newly launched Foundation by Bella Voste.

GLAMEGO - JULY 2018

Products in the box!

Fun fact, ever since we started blogging we have stayed loyal to GlamEgo and written honest reviews about them and thanks to that a large chunk of our friends and other readers who read our blog have told us that they subscribed to the box after reading our reviews. We hope what we have to say now won’t disappoint our readers.

On 3^rd of July last year I landed my very first subscription to the GlamEgo box thanks to Lulu, who got me the 6 month plan as a birthday gift😄. Once the subscription expired, I renewed it in January for 6 more months and then did so again on 1^st of July. When we started out with the box, we used to get 4 products but since March of this year we have been getting 5 products. Of course the Bella Voste nail polish in the March box was supposed to be a ‘return gift’ as GlamEgo was celebrating its first anniversary. Then in the following months we got the Natural Bath and body – vital nourishment cream, Bella Voste Nail polish. Therefore when I saw the product list this month, I was slightly disappointed because we have once again received The Nature’s Co.’s Saffron day cream which we received in our February box. Hence I left a comment on GlamEgo’s official Instagram account asking them why we have been getting repeat products. GlameEgo direct messaged us to inform us that it was a complimentary product. For all lay persons let me elaborate on the word “complimentary”, it is an adjective which means something given or supplied free of charge. Here is the thing though – IT AIN’T FREE!

For those who have been subscribing to this box since last year will know that the subscription was priced at INR 1794. Now the subscription is priced at INR 1914. There was no mention of change in tariff!

The price change isn’t even an issue for me because I love the products we get in the box but I do have a problem with the box itself. I cringe every time I go through the product list and see gross spelling or grammatical mistakes. I wish GlamEgo would take time to proof read their captions, stories and cards.

The final issue that has bothered me in the past few months is how late my box has been arriving. The disappointment is immense when all the excitement is gone😞. I have also noticed a lot of people complaining about the same.

With that I end my rant because Lulu and I both received our box today! (We don’t stay disappointed and angry too long. 😎)

Here’s a glimpse of the box. This time around GlamEgo has collaborated with Zariya an organization that is reaching out to help women facing violence. Hence the box with the depth of the neck line and with each centimeter we see a tag associated with the depth. Necklines used to be the most discussed topic between Lulu and I and we were such ninnys back in college and through our mid 20’s that we wouldn’t even bother dressing up (even though we love doing that) unless we were accompanied by our parents! Yes, you read that right. We were little puppies who hid behind our parents except now if anybody passes a comment we know how to respond and if anybody stares I stare back at the woman’s cleavage or the man’s crotch. See, this trick has made people put their eyes down in shame and I haven’t caught them staring at me after this dose of staring contest.

 

Price and product details are mentioned in the Product List

As always we have the product list and a card with information about Zariya.

Price and product details are mentioned in the Product List

The products for this month are:

The Nature’s Co Red Wine Face Gel:

I love how it smells!!! I like products that smell so good that you want to taste it. This gel smells nothing like wine. This gel is to be applied before sleeping on the entire face in upward circular motions and left overnight for vibrant, moisturized and perfectly rested skin every morning. I am looking forward to using this product. Fun fact, GlamEgo continued last month’s trend of revealing the product to have people guess what brand it was. I was betting on Innisfree as I have eyed that for the longest time I even had their price list memorised😑.Hmmm… I wonder why GlamEgo didn’t continue revealing the products after this one. ✌

The Nature’s Co. Saffron Radiance Face cream:

I love Nature’s Co. products. In the February segment I had gone on to rant about how their signature square hard plastic bottles result in excess wasting of product. I have since checked their products to find that they are now in round pet jars!

The Saffron cream is amazing. This cream has a very mild smell and is perfect for all seasons. I like how just a little bit makes the face feel well moisturised. This jar is easy to carry around in your purse or when you travel.

SESA Mud Hair Spa Kit:

This spa kit helps nourish your hair, prevent hair fall and stimulates hair growth. The kit comes with a sachet of shampoo and hair serum each and two packs of hair masque. Now, I don’t really go to mess with my hair too much for fear of damage. Hence I am not sure how I feel about this product. I know I will end up using it. My love for experimenting has no limits. As I mentioned last time store bought hair products are way out of my comfort zone.

Valley of Flowers Body Mist by Bio Bloom:

        

This perfume smells like men’s perfume and that is not a bad thing. This product is paraben and alcohol free and can be used on all skin types. People sensitive to strong smells may want to stay away from it. This Orchid and Marigold combo won Amma over, who promptly took this product and handed back the Vert solid perfume from last month’s box back to me.

Elenblu High Volume Waterproof Mascara:

This is my second mascara. I first used mascara way back in 2009 straight out of college. I remember purchasing the one by Lakme and I remember that it didn’t make much difference to my lashes and hence I never went back to this product. Now that I have this mascara I tried it on and I love how nice just a single coat looks. 

I don’t like making my lashes look too thick as they are already thick and using mascara only clumps them together and that’s why I have never been drawn to this product.

This mascara is light, dries quickly and doesn’t make the lashes too stiff.

Lulu though has a contrary opinion. Here’s her take on this product.

"I use the Benefit Roller Lash Mascara and every other mascara pales in comparison with it. However, that mascara is reserved for special occasions ONLY. Unlike Bob who has naturally thick lashes, my thin lashes needed two coats of the Elenblu Mascara and even that didn't do much for them. I do not like the shape of the Mascara Wand (traditional shaped bristle). The 'comb shaped' wand works best for my lashes. But I suppose, it would work well for daily wear as it doesn't give a dramatic effect to the lashes and washes off easily."

I am looking forward to the Wine Gel the most from this box and we will definitely write a product review after we have used it enough number of times 😄