An Indian's Makeup Blog

My latest it thing is powder SPF. I discovered this one from RAW Minerals back in November last year but didn't use it until summer came along.

Every time I start to write something about sun protection, I feel like I don't know enough. It is such a controversial topic. Over the years since I started my blog ( we will be three soon !) I've educated myself on various sides of the story. I am just curious like that and can never blindly stick to one party. I like knowing everything and making a regime that suits me from the knowledge I have.


Few Facts I've Learned

1. We need Vitamin D. From grade school on it is drilled into us that sun provides us with our daily dose of Vitamin D and our bodies cannot generate Vitamin D without the help of sun.
But there is more here
- you need have at least half you body exposed
- exposed for at least 15 minutes.
- the time differs based on your weight, skin color,location, age and many more factors.
to get your daily dose of Vitamin D.

2. UVA / UVB - there is a lot to talk here. Its mostly boring but keeping in with #1 - UVB is necessary for Vitamin D generation. Sunscreens block the UVB and hence the vitamin does not get generated.

3. You need to apply a shot glass full (4oz) of sunscreen for the SPF to be effective.

4. Higher SPF is not directly proportional with higher protection. "SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. (SPF 30, that old-timer, holds its own, deflecting 96.7 percent)"

5. "If you apply half the amount, you get the protection of only the square root of the SPF. So applying a half-ounce of SPF 70 will not give you the protection of SPF 35, but 8.4" - NYT

6. You need to reapply sunscreen after every two hours - generously. Refer to #3.

7. Many sunscreen lotions out there contain toxic ingredients. Look out for ones that are paraben free and oxybenzone free.

8. Continued beauty of our skin has more to do with diet than just watching out for sun damage.

9. We all need to get some sun everyday in moderation.

10. In addition to UVA / UVB protection with sunscreens, antioxidants play a major role in protecting our skin from harmful rays that come with too much sun exposure. Invest in skin care and foods that are high in antioxidants.

11. Products with additional SPF like moisturizers and others are said to be more volatile / unstable compared to the ones without SPF. So always remember to keep them in a cool dry spot where the sun does not reach it. And since we are not going to apply 4 oz of moisturizer better buy one without sunscreen, one with antioxidants and plenty of other goodness.

What Am I Doing

If it smells like chemicals and feels like chemicals - its probably chemicals. That's the way I feel about sunscreen lotions. But these are chemicals we need to keep our skin from burning during prolonged sun exposure. So I keep from slathering 4 oz of chemicals on my body unless I absolutely must. The best things to do is to avoid baking in the sun for long hours and I do just that. I avoid the sun as much as possible.

And I've taken a liking for powder sunscreen. I've realized I don't need SPF 100 everyday for what little sun seeps into my day. Most sun exposure I get is when I'm in the car traveling back and forth during peak sun hours. So I apply hand cream with SPF on my hands and powder SPF on my face. These are great for so many reasons.

They are light
I can apply them over makeup.
I can reapply as many times as I want without ruining my makeup or looking oily.
I feel good that they are not the first layer on my face. They sit on top of moisturizer and tinted moisturizer.

The powder SPF I am currently using is the one from RAW Minerals - Active Veil SPF 18. It is paraben, oxybenzone free and contains many additional naturally derived antioxidants.Though it looks a white-ish powder, it leaves no white cast on my brown skin. Its just like a good translucent powder. I use it all over my face and neck just before I get out. And if I'm gonna be out again - I keep a kabuki brush and reapply. It makes me feel happy that I get just as much everyday protection as I need and I don't think I need a whole lot !


One other thing I must start doing is taking Vitamin D supplements and get a little sun at least during weekends uniformly. I've been getting loads of antioxidants from the 2 pounds of organic blueberries I picked up last weekend ! Yay for good skin days !

Reading Material

I've learned a lot about the SPF numbers form this article here in NYT . I urge everybody to read it. Also follow Kimberly Snyder's blog - she is an amazing raw food writer who writes a lot about beauty through food !

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.

Love,
Indian Girl

The Getaway Collection is the newest offering from Three Custom Color Specialists. The collection consists of five vibrant, long wearing shades named after popular destinations. I was sent tiny samples of all five shades and I fell in mad love with three. Today I'll talk about this one color that I am wild about - Bora Bora !

Bora Bora is a cool fuchsia with a very very sheer blue opalescence. The blue appears in very few angles and looks like its reflecting off your lips. The shade is this super fun , 80's inspired fuchsia. I think the 80's was a great time for makeup - people had fun then. Unlike now when mostly its all about nude. I am no different I have 20 different nude shades of lipstick and this makes Bora Bora the most fun lipstick in my collection. I want everybody to own this shade because it makes you feel so cool !

Never in a million years would I have thought that I'd wear a shade as vibrant as this and love it ! But I do. Its a great fashion accessory and will get you noticed (in a nice way) even if you're just wearing a pair of skinny jeans and tee.

Color apart the formula is just as brilliant. They are so pigmented that even after a shower and dinner I still had a faint stain from my application in the morning. I've had no dryness and you'll notice the satin finish in the swatches. Overall for a fairly big number like $21.50 its worth every penny !


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.

These are ten things I do because I like doing them. Turns out they are pretty good stuff that are good enough to recommend even. But more than anything it is just me writing my personal story that would help anyone looking to

Maintain your weight
Make overall easy healthier choices without turning into a raw foodist
Do something food wise in addition to working out to lose weight.

Important Note : I am not a trained nutritionist. I am merely a budding enthusiast in the field of food. Do not take anything from my fitness / diet posts any more seriously than you would take something that comes up in a conversation with your friend. Talk to a trained professional / physician before starting out on any exercise / diet routine.

Lets get on with it.

1. Water Is The Best Drink

Every time I eat out whether its at Subway or a nice little Italian restaurant my drink of choice is water - no ice. Nothing wrong with cold water, I happen to like room temperature better than cold and full of ice. Water is just pain ol water - zero calories.

Regular soda -12 oz, 10 calories. Too much sugar and don't like it
Diet soda - zero calories. Still bad, can tolerate but wont drink it.
Beer - Have liked only one beer all my life. But not enough to add 200 calories to my meal.
White wine - 6oz, 120 calories. Cant stomach wine.
Cocktails - cant stomach alcohol.

2. No Deep Fried At Home And Outside

I hate the taste of oil gushing out from food. If I had a penny for every time I heard someone say - add more oil it adds taste to the curry. No it does not - it only adds fat. Rolls and rolls of belly fat.

I also cant stand oil fumes. I almost will pass out if I stand in front of oil fumes that come from deep frying things in oil. Also its too much mess to clean up - so I never deep fry anything at home.

There is no nutritional value in deep fried breaded chicken. All the oil that the bread soaks up goes straight to those thighs. Wings taste best when they are not breaded - to me.

3. Eat Lots Of Vegetables, Beans And Bake Everything

I load up on veggies on every trip to the grocery store. The seasonal ones are always marked down so its not very hard on the wallet either. I pick up a few frozen veggies that make cooking easier - pre cut and all. Veggies are low in calories, fill you up and you can eat loads of it. Three cups of cauliflower which is probably one whole head of cauliflower is only 75 calories !

Eat beans. Canned are fine too - lots of protein, fiber and they fill you up. I love all kinds of beans.

I throw everything into the oven from kale to green beans to zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, falafel, potatoes - anything. Take a baking tray, add a sheet of foil ( makes it easy to clean), spray PAM, lay your vegetables, add salt +pepper and throw them under the broiler. Five minutes and you have cooked, tasty food without the effort of cooking or the addition of oil.


4. Decisions At The Grocery Store

All my food decisions are made at the store. If I want to pick up a bag of chips...am I ready to add all that fat into my body that already jiggles - No. So I make a pout and drop it.
Never buy any food that comes in a cardboard box and is frozen. No ready made meals for me.

5. Home Made Salad Dressing

This is the best thing since sliced bread. Store bought salad dressing are drenched in oil and are super fat. Almost all regular dressings at the stores are almost all fat - calorie wise. The fat free ones taste like corn syrup and are made with so many unknown chemicals.

Home made dressing are the best. You take four or five clean ingredients and make tasty dressings. I add oil sometimes but limit to one table spoon - excellent taste and very low on calories ! Lemme know if you would like a few dressing recipes - I am all about sharing !

6. Lean Organic Protein

Food Inc taught me to buy organic meat. I taught myself to buy only lean, mostly poultry meat - bacon aside.

7. Eat Light

Make one meal a day - a light one. My lunch is almost always light - a deli salad / sandwich / wrap. I choose fat free deli slices, lots of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, mustard, olive oil mayo and good cheese slices. None of that fat free singles. I used to get em all the time but now I'm into good tasty cheese. One slice , may be even half per sandwich is way better than a couple of fat free blah slices.


If for dinner try going raw for a change ! Slice up some zucchini, peppers, onions or carrots. Squeeze a lemon on top and enjoy the refreshing salad. Or try some miso soup - loves it !

8. No Desserts

After eating a whole entree at the restaurant I almost never have space for a dessert. My friends are the same way so its not a problem. Unless the dessert sounds really exotic - like something we've never eaten before. Some folks like to bag half the entree and go for the sweet stuff. That works too.

9. Snacks

Not big on snacking but I love raw almonds and dried cranberries. They are my snack of choice. Together I love the sweet and sour cranberries with the crunchy sweet almonds. Sometimes if I'm really really hungry , I eat cereal or watermelon or cucumber.

10. Fruits

Its the berry and melon season which means its time for everybody to indulge on fruits. Hit COSTCO for cheap , organic berries and watermelon. I usually go to COSTCO once in four months but now I go there often just to load up on berries. Add them to your oatmeal, salads or as snacks. I love eating say 6-7 strawberries / black berries or half a cup blue berries with some honey and walnuts after dinner at home. Or bite into a big slice of watermelon.

Unnecessary Information

I don't want to give the idea that I get it all right or even mostly right because I probably don't. I haven't been working out consistently. Once a week does not count , too bad. I always eat dinner after eight and my berries go in at about ten. So Oprah's no food after eight is not happening here either. I love my white bleached basmati rice.

But I am not downplaying my better choices either , I am secretly proud of them. I haven't eaten a donut in over 18 months. If you knew me, you'd know I LOVE DONUTS. But nothing adds pounds on me faster than donuts do so I've kept away. I ate burger and fries for dinner a couple of days back. It was my first in over 6- 8 months.

What are a few simple choices you make to stay healthier ?

My second favorite lipstick from this line - Seashell Nude.


As much as I despise brown lipsticks , I am coming to believe that brown looks good on brown. Just as with any other color finding the right brown makes all the difference. I grew up seeing my beautiful aunt wear the most jarring brown lipstick that almost looked black. Of course it was the 90's and people world over loved brown makeup. She'd be an NC 40 too but that dark brown lipstick had a lasting effect on how I looked at brown lipsticks.

The newest term for brown lipstick is of course deep nude and you can call this lipstick that. Its a bronzy deep nude / very earthy shade on my lips. The formula is so very luscious that for $9 it is one of the very best formulas out there.


The shade is gorgeousness personified. I cant think of anybody that wont look good wearing it. The shade changes depending on your lip color. If you have pale /pinkish / light lips it appears less brown. I have mauve tones / medium pigmented lips and it looks more brown on me. On browner lips it will be a sensuous nude !



Love,
Indian Girl

The bikini season is one the most pressure-full season of all. There is pressure to look great, lose the extra pounds, have hair free flawless skin all while combating the torturous sun that wrecks havoc on everything.

Lets get started on easing your worry !

Hair Free Skin

Get waxing on your own. Pick up the The Shobha Sugaring Kit ($30). The kit conveniently provides everything needed for hassle free hair removal at home. It is all natural & vegan. Plus its only you using the wax. The wax is gentle enough for sensitive skin including the bikini area and face. Plus those reusable denim strips are the bomb - they are dense and heavy so majority of the hair gets pulled out with minimum pain.

No more worries about booking appointments, fear of who the wax was used on, if everything is sanitized and most of all - you can get the hair free legs even at midnight if need be.

Kit Includes:

Shobha Sugaring Gel (8 fl oz)
Talc Free Powder (2 oz)
Denim Strips (6)
Sugaring Instruction Booklet
Spatulas (2 - one small for face and one big for legs)

Bump Free Skin

Just when you thought waxing was done with and you were on your way to smooth skin paradise the ingrowns start to appear. Lets cover that too. Check out this nifty little product called The Bikini Bump Plaster($32)

These pads are made with 5% Glycolic Acid and 2% Salicylic Acid to banish dead skin cells and prevent bacteria buildup that clog pores, block hair follicles and ultimately cause the painful, unsightly ingrowns. All you have to do is swipe one Bikini Bump Blaster pad over the skin, four to five days after first waxing or shaving. Repeat daily to keep skin smooth and ingrown-free !

Acne Free Skin

For facial acne there are plenty of products out there from cleanser, moisturizer to zit busters. My favorite has to be Neosporin. It was recommended to me by a dermatologist several years back and I swear by it.

As far as back acne goes - its a major pain. I used to know somebody who had a major issue with back acne but was also one of the most confident people around. She wore backless clothes almost all the time without any inhibition. I could never do it and for people like me there is the Glytone Back Spray ($28).

This is a 2% salicylic acid spray-on treatment for acne that works by sloughing off dead skin cells, unclogging pores, treating the acne and post-inflammatory hyper- pigmentation. All you have to do is spray it all over your back acne !

There you have it - worry free skin finally ! Happy Summer y'all !

Love,
Indian Girl

I've tried a few heat protectant sprays in the past. They are the only other hair product I use apart from the regular shampoo/ conditioner and a frizz/shine product.

But I've had a few issues with Heat Protectant sprays in the past - they make my hair crunchy and take a long time to dry. I hate the Tsk...Tsk...noise that comes when you press your iron against wet hair. And by the time some sprays dry, its made my hair crunchy and very hard to style.


This was my big concern when I tested out Pantene Heat Protectant & Shine Spray For Medium / Thick Hair. Right off the bat my concerns were put to rest. It dries in mere seconds and leaves my hair just as soft as it was to begin with. Very light in weight and adds a hint of shine. I am so happy that I've straightened my hair out for three weeks now. Its something I very rarely do, but I'm comfortable enough with this spray to use it often.

If Pantene asked me what I'd change about the spray I'd ask them to make a more energetic pump/spray so it would go Psst Psst Psst instead of pss...pss...
What that means is its a little on the lazy size. At least the one I received was.

Overall very good product for a very good price - $6.

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.