PRODUCT REVIEW: AVON'S RED ROSE AND PEACH SHOWER GEL

Ratings for reviews:

1 – No! No! No!
2- Just about average.
3 –Good. Can give it a try.
4- Great!!
5 – Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it.

I am on a mission. I am looking for that perfect fresh ‘just after bath’ scent that a product can give and one that lasts. There is nothing like just stepping out of a bath and dressing up, smelling heavenly and where the people around you notice too!!

I have that indescribable dream scent that I want to own, one that makes me smell heavenly throughout the day, not a perfume but a shower gel or soap. I have tried loads of shower gels in the market but none that has met my standards.

Avon’s Red Rose and Peach shower gel.

The first thing that caught my eye was “Instant Freshness.”

Then the drool worthy description: “Indulge in the sultry fragrance of romantic red rose petals kissed by luscious peaches and delectable plums. This moisturizing shower gel leaves skin cleansed and conditioned”

My experience with the product:

The up side is I liked the packaging with its images of roses and peach (see pic). My skin did feel cleansed and soft. The fragrance is mild and definitely makes you go mmmm!!

The down side is that is how I would like to keep smelling for at least a few hours, if not the whole day and the fragrance doesn’t last. Not even for a reasonable while say an hour or so. So if you are looking for a nice shower gel that smells good and leaves you feeling clean, then this is it.

Me? As I mentioned before I am still hunting for the elusive dream scent that lasts and lasts!

Product rating: 3 out of 5.

I have recently taken up paper quilling. This is amongst my many other hobbies ranging from embroidery to drumming sessions. It began an interest to learn a new art. I also started making my own jewelry to kill time.

At first I started out not feeling much other than creating something to show off to my friends after all it is a great feeling when someone compliments and says nice earrings and I can smugly say I made it myself!!:)

Over time I began to feel changes in myself. It was more than pride in the finished product. I began to feel

Less stressed.

Less anxious

Elevated mood

“Healed.”

Improved concentration.

Less dwelling on petty things.

Energized.

Deal with people better post any such creation.

Content (A very powerful feeling).

Spiritual.

This made me want to read up and discover more about why working with hands can be one to the ways to calm yourself inside out.

I did read up that creating or tending things by hand enhances mental health and makes us happy (full article here http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-creativity-cure/201205/creativity-happiness-and-your-own-two-hands).

The article is bang on especially when it mentions about altering the inner life through creating something. I absolutely love this “Take it out of your mind, through your hand and into the world.”

I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t experienced it myself.

Attaching my “creations” as photos and currently this is how I am getting my “high.” :)

I recently went to watch Kasturi Nivasa the famous 40 year old Black and White Kannada movie in the theater again and this time in color. What I felt sitting in the theater was something i cannot describe in words. All i can say is i can do with one such movie every month and I can live on that high for the rest of the month! I wanted to write an elaborate review. Then I realized that if I did that, it would run into pages. That is the power of the movie. So I challenged myself to strictly write just one word which to me best describes the different categories in the movie. So here we go!

The Actresses – Ageless

The Acting – Effortless

The props –Measureless

The story - Fadeless

The Songs – Deathless

The Humor - Flawless

The dialogues - Timeless

Dr. RajKumar – Words fail me! And only a true Kannadiga would understand:)

I miss Roald Dahl.

I feel some people especially some authors shouldn’t leave this world and continue writing and we can continue to read their awesome work and continue to be enthralled.

No one till date has ever come close to Dahl’s kind of writing or so I thought. While I have no intentions to compare his books to that of any other author, Horrid High by Payal Kapadia comes close.

There are bad schools. There are Rotten schools. And then there is Horrid High. Think of all things rotten about a school. In fact if each one of us put our nightmare school from our minds into words, Horrid High it is…complete with horrid teachers, grossly delightful descriptions, quirky characters, unpredictable twists and turns …the book was un-put-down-able. :) I so love this author!!

What kind of Kids would one find in Horrid High? Well…kids with special powers, born to unbelievable parents, resilient kids who come out tops against the worst conditions.

What kind of faculty would one find in Horrid High? Completely Bonkers! Though they consider themselves normal with a misplaced arrogance that only teachers who are bonkers have.

Teachers - who loathe kids and set out devious ways to make their life and the whole learning process as miserable as they can. Teachers, who can only be described as living nightmares. Throw in a cook who is really vile with her even viler cooking. I must say I lost my appetite for a while when reading the descriptions of what she dishes out to the students:)

Who is the good egg here? Who is the savior of them all? Who is all that a teacher should be? Well…read the book and I hope you feel as lucky as I did and experience the “high” that only good reads can give.

I thought of writing a detailed book review on this book but words failed me. So here is my “review” about the book:

“I wish it had never ended.”

:)

What Safety means to me in my city – Bangalore.

To catch a late night movie, a play, a concert and never have to worry about how I am going to get back home.

To not have a male “chaperone” to accompany me should I decide to go to a concert or outskirts of my city.

To walk in parks at leisure, anytime and take in the sights and smells rather than worry if there are any perverts lurking about.


To walk confidently in crowded areas and not always be on high alert for fear of being groped.

To wear what I like and not be judged and stared at.


To never hear the words “she asked for it” or “nice girls don’t….” from anyone.

To be able to smile in friendly way at a guy at a mall, the bank or anywhere – just from one human to another and not have it misinterpreted as a “come on.”


To be able to get on public transport – autos/buses/metro any time morning or night and feel one hundred percent secure in doing so.

To not carry an increasing supply of weapons – pepper spray/knives/scissors instead just fill my purse with the usual girlie stuff like I once used to.


Most importantly, to wake up and not read/hear about yet another atrocity committed against women every single day and instead, the opposite would make my day!!!

Bangalore Boring???

I am tired of people who come from other cities to Bangalore and complain endlessly about how boooooring Bangalore is and that there is nothing to do here and

methinks oh reeeeaaaaally???

Yep, we don’t have a beach here but we have an awesome weather to make up for it and I wouldn’t compromise THAT for anything!

Here’s a check list of all the things one can do in Bangalore

Malls and Multiplexes: Every area has ‘em – to hang out, to catch up on the latest flick, or just simple window shop.

Pubs and clubs – no need to expand on this.

Endless Eateries: From offbeat quaint theme based shops to Roadside stalls to posh hotels – from the north, south, east and west – Indian to international cuisine we have them all here.

Hobby classes and workshops : From quilling to belly dancing there is something for everyone happening continuously.

Theatre: Every weekend and sometimes even weekdays there are enough and more plays to watch.

Shopping: This one is for the ladies – you can explore defined shopping places like commercial street or brigade road or check out the by lanes in lesser known areas and you’ll find something you like

Markets and santhe’s: Everything is available from the time a person is born till the person dies…. it’s all out there!

Okay so you may say that all this costs a bundle here are some stuff that come without a cost

Activities that not only are fun and different but also gives one the exposure to learn a skill or simply make friends like:

The community drum jam every month or unique events like the blind walk

The parks – Lal bagh, Cubbon park or just any local part that offers peaceful walks or to day dream or just soak in the greenery. I could spend hours in these.

Exhibitions and museums – one every weekend from painting to history.

And besides the above lists there are always cricket matches to catch up on, there are temples and religious places to go to, go karting, bowling alleys and leisure zones, walkathons, marathons, … there is always something happening.

To sum it up, if a person really wants to crib, there is no dearth of things to find fault with. My response to them would be to get a life!

I gotta live mine and I have got a variety of stuff to choose from in namma bengaluru!;)

This incident really moved me. In an age where there is a price tag attached to almost everything, the sheer innocence of this child was great to experience.

Years ago, when my neighbor’s child was just three or four years old, my mother and I went to a sweet shop and bought some sweets. We gave a box to the child because we knew he was fond of them.

Overwhelmed by our gesture, he felt he simply had to give something as a return gift to me (I was then one of his good friends despite the age difference of more than a decade!!).

And the gift he decided to give me was…a packet of noodles!!:)

Till date, it is the best gift I have received.

Here was a person who didn’t attach a price to the gift, didn’t expect it be presentable, dint think that it has to be “socially appropriate” enough to impress anyone.

He was crazy about noodles and felt that he had to pass on his love for noodles to his friend through a return gift.

Quite sums up the words in the picture above eh?