So Productive!

If you see this label on your product, feel assured that the brand is a member of a 350 member leading ecological and organic cosmetics professional association dominant in Europe. The brand would need to adhere to an "Ecological and Organic Cosmetics" charter. 

I went through a phase when any face wash seemed too chemical for me to handle - this was a purely emotional battle with face washes, in reality, most products are carefully manufactured by companies and I truly believe that if you can match the right product to your skin / hair type, learn how to use it the right way and use it as directed you will see desired effects. 

Anyway, during this "I'm off face wash" phase, I spotted the Biguine Bio Verbena Milk which is a make up remover and a daily cleansing milk. A stylist at the Jean Claude Biguine salon recommended that I use the cleansing milk with a toner and a serum ( I will write about them in another post). She had replaced her face wash routine with the cleansing milk for 2 months and her skin was radiant!

I tried it out for 2 months and I was in love. It felt like a handsome lover - resilient yet gentle. Before I explain how to use it, let me tell you that I have combination skin and at that point in time I lived and worked in a polluted, hot and humid metropolitan city ( Mumbai) - so this was beautiful for my skin.

Adherent to the COSMEBIO charter the product contains 99% plant ingredients which are organically grown. 31% of the total ingredients are from Organic Agriculture and 100% ingredients are from a natural source.

It contains - water, palm oil, hazel seed oil, lemon peel oil, verbena leaf oil, Olibanum oil, yarrow oil and ingredients which are naturally present in the essential oils. There is this one chemical sounding  ingredient "cetearyl alcohol cocoglucoside" , however, my research indicates that this is certified as a personal care ingredient by the Natural Products Association. 

How does one use it? You need to take a small pump ( just one tiny squeeze of the tube) on a cotton wool or cotton pad and wipe the grime off your face. Ideally you should follow this up with the Biguine Bio sunflower seed cleanser ( will write about it later), however its okay to wash it off with water too.

I replaced this for my face wash and I live in a humid city, so I need water on my face just to make me feel fresh, so I followed it up with water. 

Cost - INR 1860 

Where can you buy it - these products are only available at Jean Claude Biguine salons in Mumbai 

What I love about it - silently does it job without any side effects on a combination skin. Does not leave your face dry or unnaturally clean after usage. Its quite resilient on any grime on your face. Ask me, I'm an Indian woman - this got rid of a vermillion spot on my forehead after my visit to the temple in one swipe. Its perfect as a cleanser. It works so fabulously well for removing any kind of resilient make up. 

Flip side - lasts only for 3 months after opening, guess thats the price you pay for buying natural products. It has a rather unpleasant odor - I loved it because it felt earthy but my gal pal hated it when I got her to use it. Also, its only available at the salon, you will need to visit the salon and may need to over come the embarrassment of not being a regular customer there to buy this product. 

Rating - 5/5 ( I love natural products ) 

What's missing - I would so totally use a face wash, I need a face wash emotionally. Its like using those shampoos that don't foam up. I love the feeling of soap suds on my face and I don't care if they're chemical , please pretty please? A face wash? 

For more information you can visit these websites ( I've sourced the product photo used in this post from the Jean Claude Biguine website)

http://www.biguine.com/gamme-bio/visage/?langue=US

http://www.franchise-biguine.com/biguine-annuaire/index.php?p=7

Are your lips ready for some tender loving care? Okay, let's face it, we love our lip products and spending hours in our air conditioned offices ignoring our dry lips.

We love avoiding that sip of water just to give our lips an occasional lick when it needs moisture, but has all this lack of care left your lips dry beyond repair?

Stop feeling guilty, I've found this awesome lip balm which is so basic, so nude and so scrumptiously honest that its mouthwateringly irresistible. I don't have a fancy product name, its just called Honey & Bees wax lip balm by Last Forest which claims to be one of the largest known network of organic and fair trade products in India. 

Quickly - its ingredients are bees wax- which is oh so good for your lips, olive oil ( you can taste the olive oil in it ) and essence - this is very mild and undetectable. Once you use the product, you will know that its just this and nothing else, no complicated chemical stuff. 

Costs - INR 40 ( that's less than 1 USD but its worth more than every fancy product I've ever sealed my kisses with) 

What I like about it - no product build up, I really mean it. ZERO product build up on your lips.

Plus it isn't jealous of any other product you use along with it, it just mixes well and adds to the color and glow.

How do I know that its not jealous? I've used this as a base for lipsticks for all important events where I would need to wear lipstick through the evening/ night. In fact, this helped seal the product too! 

Its not addictive - I mean , my lips don't dry out if I don't use it. Its extremely effective on chapped beyond recognition lips. 

Flip side - so difficult to source! its not on every counter at every shop but it really should be. 

Star Rating - 4/5 

What's missing - can be a little more stylish, can't we have some interesting name already? That's one of the reasons we love products, don't we? 

Flavors I haven't tried but wouldn't miss based on my experience : strawberry, mint & orange - these just sound so wholesome and good. 

To know more visit : http://lastforest.in/products-page/bees-wax-lip-balms

This blog is your one stop shop for all you need to know about skin care, hair and beauty products. I am not talking about make up here. I am talking about skin and hair care - beauty creams, face washes, shampoos, conditioners, serums and more. 

I am a product enthusiast. I used to build Nivea's brand in the media space professionally and thats where I fell in love with the skin care category. I realized there so many products in the market which suit different requirements.

Through  my consumer research and competitive studies for the skin and hair care category, I realized that consumers treasure honest product reviews from actual consumers over mass media advertisements.