grapeseed oil: uses, benefits & products

In my last post, I talked about my acne story and what were the tips and tricks that worked for me.In the same post, I talked about grapeseed oil and a lot of people texted me or DMed asking if it really works and how they could incorporate it into their routine.So, I thought instead of answering everyone individually I could write a post about it and also recommend some products that worked for me.

what is grapeseed oil?

The oil is a by-product of winemaking and is extracted from the seeds of grapes typically winemaking grapes. It is a polyunsaturated oil and contains beneficial compounds such as linoleic acid(around 69%), it (linoleic acid)is a common ingredient in skin care products as it contains many beauty benefits such as anti-inflammatory properties, reducing acne, retaining moisture in the skin.

benefits & uses of grapeseed oil?

Say goodbye to panda eyes!

It helps you in reducing your dark circles. It has powerful antioxidant properties that can help you in this aspect. You can use it as an under eye treatment in your night routine.

 

Skin – Balancing

It might seem counter-intuitive to use an oil to treat oily skin but that is exactly what grape seed oil is used for. It is one of those miracle products that can be used for every single skin type, using a non-comedogenic type of moisturizer such as grapeseed oil will provide the nourishment your skin needs and help to rebalance your skin.

 

Perfect for sensitive skin.

Many people with sensitive skin can’t use regular moisturizers or lotions as they’re packed with ingredients that can cause itchy red inflammation. But grapeseed oil is safe and should not cause allergic reactions in most people, as it’s considered one of the hypo-allergenic oils.

 

Skin tightening

It contains natural astringent properties, it results in skin toning and skin tightening.

 

Helps reducing wrinkles and scars

A large number of cosmetic companies use grapeseed oil as a base of their creams and lotions, this is because the oil contains vitamin D and antioxidants that will help to reduce fine wrinkles and lines over time without making the skin feel heavy.

 

Healing & prevention of acne

The oil has polyphenols which contain anti-inflammatory properties that would help the blemishes in healing up, while the astringent properties of the oil help in preventing the acne from reoccurring.

Products that I would recommend?

•  
  

  Soulflower grapeseed oil

  

  Plum grapeseed & sea-buckthorn glow-restore oil

  Soulflower grapeseed oil

• Plum grapeseed oil & sea-buckthorn glow restore oil

 

Comment below if you try these products or if any other grapeseed product works wonder for you!!

Until next time, XOXO!

My skincare story, what worked for me!

This (before side) is how my skin used to look like a year back and (after side) is how my skin looks right now. Before, you accuse me of wearing makeup on my current picture let me tell you that I am wearing a lipstick, a little bit of eyeliner and that’s it. No, my skin isn’t flawless but I am liking it where it is right now and this post I’ll be sharing my skincare story with you all.

Truth be told, I never really had good skin and I never knew how having that felt like but last year in January I started gaining a lot of weight and that was when my skin started to get worse. Initially, I started getting breakouts on my left side and as time passes by I saw my face being covered with acne marks & regular breakouts, the saddest part whenever one pimple dried up another one popped onto my face.

To cure it I tried everything-night creams, regular clean-ups, aloevera, a helthish diet plan, tons of face packs and masks and I even stopped wearing makeup out of the fear that it might clog or suffocate my skin any further but it just didn’t get any better. Friends and family also recommended different products and techniques but nothing worked, the weirdest one being applying your saliva to your face as soon as wake up (although I never had the guts to try it, if you have tried it and it worked for you then please let me know in the comments below),I was constantly looking for things that could improve my skin and after a lot of errors I was finally able to crack what my skin wants.

In July 2017 my skin finally started to get better, I felt as if I was given a new life. It felt like a miracle, waking up and realizing nothing new has popped on my face  (I know, I sound melodramatic but please bear with me).

Ooh btw, my skin type is Dry and acne prone.

Now that I have built up the suspense let me start my decoding what helped me in getting my skin back normal:

• I finally visited a dermatologist

Seems like a no-brainer, right? But it took me forever to understand that the reasons I was breaking out like crazy were not a bad diet or weight gain or the heat or the pollution but A FREAKING INFECTION that was inside my body for the past six months and do you want to know how the doctor cured it? He gave me a tablet for 10days that helped in killing the infection and a tube to apply on the pimples just in case it popped again.

My breakouts did decrease but I was left with a face that was full of scars and that was even more haunting.

• Followed CTM (cleansing-toning-moisturizing) religiously

I always found it very hard and kinda useless to follow a skincare routine but after the treatment my skin was left in a horrible state and to bring it back to normal one the things that worked for me was following a proper CTM routine and in my case I used to double tone (I have acne prone skin usually the products that help me control acne are even more drying on my skin, so balance it out I use a hydrating toner after I am done using a toner that prevents or controls acne.)

• Changing my pillowcase

This seems like a minuscule task, right? Trust me; it makes a lot of difference. Pillowcases accumulate a ton of bacteria in a very short span of time so it’s best to change them every week for a healthier skin.

• Steaming my face

I started steaming my face back in July 2017, it helped in cleaning my pores and it made my skin glow the next morning then one day I was watching a video on YouTube in which Farah Dhukai was describing how she gets clear skin in 5 days in which she incorporated it with face packs and cleansers and I must tell you that it worked like a charm for me. whenever my skin feels suffocated or weird I do this routine at night before sleeping and wake up with good skin the next morning.

• Using grapeseed oil

This is something that I discovered a month and half back and it has already made a lot of difference to my skin. Grapeseed oil is famous for its various properties such as controlling acne &pimples, balancing oil secretion which makes it a ideal product for both oily and dry skin people. I use it after toning my skin and before putting on my night cream.

• Other things that worked for me:

Eating fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C

Drinking a lot of water (you can also try Detox water)

I am not an expert and I just wanted to share the things that worked for me, I hope you find it helpful.

Thank you!

Ever wondered if you are cool,warm or neutral?

Imagine a scenario-you see your friend wearing a beautiful shade of pink ( for example- MAC’s Mehr is a beautiful everyday pink colour with blue/cool undertones), you-being-you compliments her and ask her “which shade?” You order the lipstick right away and your excitement is beyond anything when you open the package, you remove the packaging and apply it on your pucker with precision but to your utter disappointment you look washed out and sick.

Now, I am pretty sure this scenario is not new to anyone who buys makeup online.

Digging deep into the matter to understand why does this happen? Why two people who have almost the same color-tone, look entirely different in the same lipstick or in the same shirt? Why does bright blue top adds a glow to your friend whereas you end up looking sick in it?

This is due to the undertone that your skin has; undertones are not about your complexion. It is about the color that comes from within; this affects the overall tone of your skin.

Undertones can be further classified into:

Cool

Your skin has pink, red or bluish undertones
Warm

Your skin has yellow, peachy, golden undertones
Neutral

Your skin has a mix of warm and cool undertones (you can rock anything you want!! A lot of your products would depend on the kind of base products you prefer wearing.)

 

Now that we are aware of the various undertones that one could possibly have, we are yet to figure out which undertone do we really have.

The following methods can be used to figure out your undertones:

• Pull up your sleeves & Check Your Veins
  look at the veins on the inside of your wrist; do they appear blue or green? If blue, you are most likely to have cool undertones and if they appear green then you are more likely to have warm undertones. If you have a mix of both blue and green veins or they appear purple then you have neutral undertones.

 

• The Jewelry Test
  do you look better in silver or gold jewelry?Girls with cool undertones look better in silver and platinum jewelry whereas warm-toned girls look better in gold.
• The Neutral color test.
  Which neutral shade flatters you the most?  Do you look better in bright white and black hues, or ivory, off-white, and brown/tan shades?If you nodded your head in the former one then it means you are probably cool-toned and if you look best in the latter on then you probably have warm undertones.
• Do you tan or do you burn?
  Does your skin turn a golden-brown or does it burn and turn pink first when you are out in the sun? If you were able to identify yourself in the former category then you are warm-toned, while cool toned girls tend to burn. Also, fair-skinned cool girls will simply burn while medium-skinned cool-toned girls will burn then tan.
• The color palette that flatters you the most
  there are certain palettes colors will make you look better regardless of your skin’s undertone. Warm-toned girls lean toward earthy colours such as yellows, oranges, browns, yellow-greens, ivory, pastels and warm reds whereas cool-toned girls lean towards blues, greens, pinks, purples, blue-greens, magentas and true “blue-based” reds.

This picture represents how colors are divided between cool and warm undertones.

I hope you found the post helpful, for any further questions leave a comment down below.

Thank you!!

5 minutes,6 products and you step out of the door looking chic AF!

I am one of those people who would prefer 15 mins of extra sleep instead of using that time to actually get ready for college. But, then I am also one of those people who always want to look presentable.

You see the scenario is pretty tough, I usually have 5 mins to look awake and somewhat NICE. I have come up with a 5 min routine that works well for me.

Let me start by decoding it, the products you’ll need are:

• moisturizer
• sunscreen
• eyebrow pencil
• brown or black liner/ gel eyeliner
• BB or CC cream
• blush
• lipstick

Start off by applying moisturizer to your freshly washed face, then comes sunscreen (depends whether you are going out in day or night). I usually use Neutrogena- ultra sheer dry sunblock, it works perfectly for my skin by providing me with ample amount of protection plus the formula is super light and sets matte on your face.

I quickly brush my eyebrows and fill in all the bald spots with Maybelline fashion studio cream pencil, I personally believe that good eyebrows make a whole lot of difference as it makes you look awake and put together.

Then I move on to the eyes, I quickly line my eyes with a brown liner and then smudge the edges because it looks more natural that way.For this I use –Maybelline New York Lasting Drama Waterproof Gel Pencil – Glazed Toffee, in brown, I am a big fan of brown liner and liners and I firmly believe that this is one of the best formula available in the market plus it lasts for about 6 hours.

Once, I am done with my eyes I quickly apply Sugar cosmetics – goddess of flawless BB cream, this is the best BB cream that I have ever tried and I tried every single BB cream available in the Indian market.It gives my faces a light to medium coverage, evens out my skin and minimizes my pores to a great extent.

Now, I quickly apply my Maybelline dream touch blush shade 07 on the apple of my cheeks. It contains fine shimmer particles that will give your face a subtle glow.

Completing the look by applying a lipstick, my current favorite is Faces Ultime Pro Matte Lip Crayon – Wrapped Up.

So, this is my version of the 5-minute look. If you try this, let me how it works for you.

Also, do comment on your version of the 5-minute look.

Thank you.

THIS SUMMER, BE TAN FREE!

Truth be told, I love summers but stepping out in the sun not so much. I am one of those people who gets burned with just 30 minutes of sun. So basically, if you are blessed with uneven skin tone and pigmentation and you loathe stepping out in the sun then I might have found the perfect solution for it. 

 I tried various ways by which I could remove my stubborn tan. Some of them worked, some of them failed miserably but between the trial and errors, I found something that works like a charm every time. 

You’ll need the following ingredients, to prepare the face pack:

• rose water

It contains astringent, which will work as a toner and will help maintain the ph levels of your skin.

• oatmeal

Oatmeal acts as an exfoliating, smoothing and moisturizing agent. This not only will improve the texture of your skin but will give you a subtle glow.

• lemon

This act like a natural bleaching agent, Lemons are rich in vitamin C and citric acid, so they help brighten and lighten your skin when used over time. Vitamin C is a great antioxidant for neutralizing free radicals and boosting collagen production.

Now, repeat after me-that you’ll never apply lemon directly to your face. It contains citric acid which can lead to irritation and redness.

• Multani Mitti (fuller’s earth)

Multani Mitti is my holy grail; it does not only freshen but also absorbs excess oil from my faces which reduces blackheads as well as helps me prevent acne.

Tip 1– I apply this mixture once a week at night as I feel my skin reacts better that way.

Tip 2– Make the paste in a plastic/ceramic/glass container or bowl instead of a metal bowl as they can alter the reaction of various ingredients when mixed.You should remember this tip whenever you prepare a face pack at home and if you notice all the companies use plastic/ceramic/glass containers for packaging when it comes to face packs.

Step 1-

Mix 2 teaspoons of grounded oats with rose water.

Let in soak in for 5 mins

Step 2-

Squeeze a lemon into the mixture and then add 3 spoons of Multa mitti. You might need to add some more rose water to make the paste a little smooth for application.

Mix the paste properly.

Step 3-

Apply it all over your face and keep it for 15-20 mins (till it dries).

Step 4-

Gently pat your wet hands on your face or spray water on to your face, now start scrubbing it. You’ll see that the particle of oats will act as a scrub.

Continue doing this for 2 mins.

Wash your face with a gentle face wash, don’t forget to moisturize it properly as Multani mitti can be a bit drying.

Let me know, in the comment box if it works as beautifully for you as it works for me!

Hello World !!

Hello everyone! this is my first post and I must tell you, I am very nervous writing this probably my insecurities are taking over me but now that I have started let me introduce myself, I am Divya Sapra and I love everything related to beauty and fashion, I can talk about it for hours but then I don’t usually find the right audience so here I am trying to find the right audience who shares the same love and passion as me.