It says illuminare and brightening so the 13 year old in me assumed sparkles. I guess she also got a little excited about it. But then the more practical 26 year old in me went - no way do I need that. Sparkly hands which then rub sparkles off on my face making me look like the glittery 13 year old who began this whole thing in the first place.

Smooth & Soft - Naturally !

But curiosity kicked in and I checked the ingredient list - lots of natural extracts like olive oil, licorice, grape seed (great moisturizer), lemon ( natural brightener) , licorice (helps with discoloration) and a bunch of other scientific names of plants. Apart from this I also saw collagen known to keep skin younger, firmer and healthy looking. I couldn't miss out on all this goodness, so I decided to try it at night and pulled the bottle out. Two squirts later - I had super soft hands which guzzled the serum in ten seconds and no sign of sparkles. I tried it on the next day and no sparkles in day time either ! Thank you, 13 year old.

The product gives me sparkle free, soft hands into which the serum sinks almost immediately. No greasy or slippery feeling either. Something else I noticed was that it gave my hands a smoother look - almost like what a face primer does but without the powdery feeling. That being said, I wish it didn't come in a glass bottle. I have a hard time carrying any glass container around. Its too delicate for me. Also, I am still looking for that radiant glow it promises.


This Illuminare serum was especially created to help with minimizing dark spots and uneven skin tones on hands. Though I am a little young for dark spots I am rather happy I tried this for its non greasy moisturizing and smoothing properties ! I know my mom will like this one !

Borghese products can be found at Ulta, CVS, Walgreens.

Have you ever mistaken a product based on its name alone ? Tell me I'm not alone y'all .

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

Yeah...don't ask me why I inserted a hair before the braid. I mean what else is braided ?

I don't know.

But I thought it would be a safe idea to make it clear what we are dealing with here.

If you had anything else on your mind shooo away, we ain't talking about it here.

And now I have no idea what I am talking about.
But I know its not that.
Whatever that is.

The Sun Lord has shoneth the heatth upon usth. That means summer is here in full force and nobody, absolutely nobody cares if I want it here or not. And I am learning to come to terms with it.

The easiest thing to do to my long (again) hair is to braid em. In India, braiding is one of the most popular hairstyles. Almost all women from my mom's generation / generation before that braided their hair. So for folks in my generation braids are decidedly passé.

I don't belong to my generation.
That doesn't make sense. But nothing does anymore....

Braids are my thing. Yesterday I pinned my hair into a fish bone braid. Its almost been a year since my shoulder length hair cut and the hair has grown back. You'll see...Last time I got a few layers done - bad idea if you love braids. The hair keeps poking out from the braid making it loose and results in a messy braid unraveling from all sides.

To keep my braid intact I followed the braiding session with a good amount of hair spray. I used L' Oreal Studio Perfect Fix Ultra Fine Finishing Hair Spray. Though I've had it for a while I hardly ever do anything elaborate with my hair that requires setting with a hair spray. I simply sprayed it all along the length of my braid. This spray is excellent at keeping my hair intact. There were still a few mischief mongers who escaped the braid but over all it looked good. And after I loosened my hair it wasn't crunchy or stiff. Things got back to normal fast !

If you are looking for a spray to hold your hair braid in place this summer, check this one out. I have a lot of hair on my head and if it managed to keep mine intact it should do well in general.


Love,
Indian Girl

Key Word : Foam

Dear old readers,

No, not by age.

Just by how long you've know me.

Now that we have that cleared, lemme try again.

Dear old readers,
By now, you probably know why I am writing a post on How To Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap. You know all about my love for foam. So I promise I wont go into it again.
Love,
IG

Dear new readers,
Hi ! My name is Indian Girl and I love foam. So follow on if you wanna learn How To Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap or if you simply want to get more out of your shower gel.
Love,
IG

Things Needed

1 empty bottle of previously used foaming hand soap
1 bottle of your favorite shower gel
water

Process

This is how we do it.

Take your empty old foaming hand soap bottle.
Haha. I used the empty bottle of my beloved Korres foaming cleanser.

Fill a quarter of it with your favorite shower gel.
I used the Papaya Shower Gel from Qtica. Its got a pleasant fruity scent.

Fill the rest of it with water. Screw back on its pump.

Done ! Get ready to enjoy your favorite shower gel as a foaming hand soap !

Love,
Indian Girl