2 day itinerary for Munnar || Best places to visit || A Travel Guide

Just today I was thinking of getting into a train and set out for a long unplanned journey. How exciting that would be!! Can’t tell you how much I am missing the mountains given that I have been stuck at my home for 7-8 months now. Hence, thought of completing the blog on my Munnar trip. Atleast this way I will get to recap my memories. We visited Munnar in February 2020; just a few weeks before the lockdown started in India.

Munnar is a hill station in the Western Ghats mountain range in Kerala, India. The entire town is surrounded by luscious tea plantations. It is also a very popular tourist attraction because of its diversity of nature. You will get to see mountains surrounded my misty clouds, enjoy the serene views around the lake banks and also soak your eyes with the greenery around.

I am not someone who likes to put a tick mark on all the tourist spots recommended in Google when I visit a place just for the sake of it. I like to take my own time to explore, relish and cherish the beauty of a place. So please expect the travel guide to Munnar to be written in a same tone 🙂 Here we begin!

How to reach Munnar: Munnar does not have an airport. The closest airport is at Kochi. So anybody can take a fight till Kochi and then take a cab till Munnar. Kochi to Munnar takes almost 3.5 – 4 hours by road including the time to explore a few roadside tourist spots or just for a quick stop to enjoy the freshness around. Also, you can take a bus directly till Munnar from Bangalore or nearby cities but the bus journey is around 11-12 hours which can be difficult for elderly. In our case we visited Alleppey first. So we took a cab from Alleppey to munnar. We started sharp at 9 am from the alleppey boat jetty and stopped 3-4 times to visit the beautiful spice gardens on the way. We had our lunch at a place called ‘Rasa’. If you are looking for authentic Kerala thali or want to eat on banana leaves please pay this place a visit.

Finally we reached our hotel in Munnar at around 4 pm. Usually Alleppey to Munnar takes 3.5 -4 hours but because we stopped at many places on our way it took us more.

Where did we stay: We stayed in Le Celestium which was pretty close to market yet at a relatively quieter place. The staff and managers were very helpful and they gave us a room at the top floor with a mountain view and also quickly arranged for a local taxi for sight seeing and airport drop at a reasonable price. The room and the washroom was very clean and came with 2 balconies where you can just sit and enjoy the view.

First Day at Munnar: Our hotel was at a walking distance from the KDFC Floriculture Centre where you will get to see loads of beautiful flowers, exotic cactus, rare plants etc. Since we reached Munnar at 4 pm we just walked around and found this place within 1 km radius of of our hotel. There was a very minimal entrance fee (Most probably 40-50 Rs per person; not sure).

We came back to our hotel and ordered some snacks. For dinner we just went out and found a decent place called Gurubhavan and ordered a kuttu paratha which was mentioned as a special dish of the restaurant. Now let me warn you here; it is nothing like a usual paratha or bread rather it was like paratha crumbs along with egg and chicken chunks and I guess you can spot the chillies from the photo itself. It was SPICY; so eat at your own risk :p

Second Day at Munnar: So the hotel arranged for a sedan for entire day sightseeing at INR 1500. After breakfast we started our tour. Now I need to mention that the taxi driver gave us tour packages of 3 types but we could not visit the Eravikulum National Park as it was February and the park was closed for some reason (They said it was the animal’s mating season but I am not sure. So do check before planning in case you want to go to Eravikulum for sure).

We saw plenty of tea plantations on our way and the view of the mountains, occasional clouds and the greenery was just breathtaking. Munnar’s weather is really unpredictable. It can look all sunny and bright and suddenly it can get cloudy and start raining. We stopped here and there and clicked some pictures.

Our first stop was at Blossoms national park which is again a botanical garden with lots of exotics cactus, flowers, plants. They also had a shop inside the park where we bought coconut oil, spices, tea samples, homemade chocolates etc. I must say the price was cheaper if you compare it to online prices. I have been using the coconut oil and spices and all of them are really good.

Next stop was the Mattupetty Dam. The car dropped us outside the dam and we took a walk around the place. The dam is used to conserve water to create hydroelectricity. The view was really serene and the cool breeze took away all my stress. The great part was that on the other side of the dam you can see the tea plantations as well. We went a bit uphill inside the tea plantations. There were also boating activities available.

We next visited the Kundala Lake which also offered a very relaxing view on our way towards Top Station.

We did a lot of souvenir shopping in between. One tip to share here. The street side shops outside the Mattupetty dam were particularly delightful as they offered us good discounts and I found some knick-knacks for gifting which I didn’t see anywhere else in Munnar:)

We also visited Echo point which was basically a valley where people were screaming just to hear their sounds back. We saw a lot of college goers there enjoying with there friends. I probably have surpassed that age and hence quietly sat there for a while :p You can give it a skip if you are not interested in hearing Echo of your own voice.

One thing I wanted to mention is that Kerala is a very popular tourist attraction and hence they have actually a very strong selling strategy for all their locally produced products of small sellers. So you will find that the drivers or guides or hotels will always push you to take you somewhere where they can sell you stuff. So be careful and use your own judgement.

Now we started for Top station which is little far from the Munnar town (around 30 kms). It falls between Tamilnadu and Kerala Border. It is famous for the Neelakurinji flowers which blooms once in twelve years. As mentioned earlier weather is Munnar is rather unpredictable and our driver told us to visit top station before 1 pm otherwise it will get too cloudy. Sadly when we reached it was very cloudy. We could only get a glimpse of the panoramic view. The clouds surrounded us and we couldn’t move further.

Now again we started coming down and stopped at the Kannan Devan Hills Tea Museum. We had to buy a ticket to enter the place and see how tea leaves gets processed and also got some useful tips on how to brew different varieties of tea like green, black and white which I had no clue earlier. There were some entire day tea planation tour available as well where they will take you to the plantations and show you how they do it but we did not have time for that. If you want to buy some tea you can buy it from their store outside the museum. Before buying we tasted a few options as well. Again it is worth mentioning that the tea we bought were cheaper than what we get in market for same quality.

We stopped for lunch at a traditional Kerala Home style Food. It was pure veg and they gave us a thali with rice, sambar, curries, papad, some sweet for INR 100.

And that was the end of the day for us. Rest of the day we just took a lazy walk around the markets and had dinner at the hotel.

Next day after breakfast our driver came. We booked a sedan for Munnar to Kochi airport drop for INR 3000. It took us around 5-6 hours to reach the airport. Usually Munnar to Kochi airport takes around 3 and a half hours but we stopped in the mid way, clicked pictures around the tea plants and a few waterfalls which were almost dry. We also stopped at a spice garden again and went inside for a jeep tour of the entire spice plantation. We saw amazing spice plants like cloves, cardamoms etc. and even the neelakurinjee plant (without the flower). You can see the green cloves in my mom’s palm (in the pic below) which turns black after getting sun dried. We bought a bottle of Kerala special herbal hair oil from their shop. The oil turned out to be great later.

So yeah that’s the end of my Munnar trip. Hope you enjoyed reading about it. Happy Sunday 🙂

Monthly Reads

Monthly Reads Series – August 2020 Recommendations

It is 1st September today. Another month of staying indoors and working from home is successfully completed. One good habit that I picked up during the COVID times is reading a few pages of a book regularly. Magazines or random internet articles do not count. So I decided to write a monthly series on the books I have read and what I felt about them. This will motivate me to keep the momentum going.Initially my aim was to complete at least 4 books in a month but I could read only 3 but all 3 of them were pretty good in their own ways. Let me give you a mini review of my reading list in August.

Reading list August 2020:

Nudge: : Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler; Cass R. Sunstein
Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair
Legend of Suheldev by Amish Tripathi

All the books that I mentioned above belong to completely different genre.Let’s start with the review.

My take on the books:

Review of Nudge: Nudge is a book on fundamentals of behavioral science and belongs to non-fiction category. I read my first book on a similar subject – ‘Thinking Fast & Slow’ by Daniel Kahneman long time back and recommended that book to everyone interested in behavioral psychology/Economics. Nudge is written by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. Thaler is a very prominent name in Behavioral Science and Kahneman and him were friends as well as colleagues.I could see a conspicuous similarity in the examples provided in both the books but Nudge is a quicker and easier read than Thinking Fast & Slow in my opinion and ideally I should have read Nudge first and then Thinking Fast & Slow. Nudge is around 250 pages read excluding appendix etc. and is divided into 4 chapters – Humans and Econs, Money, Society, Extensions and Objections. Although I am a student of Economics this book is written for all and the language is pretty lucid. They have used a lot of daily life examples of people across different walks of life to make things more relatable. It talks about effective choice architecture to improve a person’s decision making ability.These kind of books actually make anybody be it politicians, Bureaucrats, students or just any human more aware about every smallest decision we are making about our health, money, food or even at a bigger level like national policies. For me personally it just made me to stop for a moment and reflect and then there was this moment like ‘Ahh right; this is what I do and I actually should do this in this way to make it a daily habit.’ These books on behavioral sciences are not just another self help book.These are well researched and written by credible authors to make us think and make important changes on the ways we think or we choose our words or make our financial decisions.

Now let’s move on to my next book.

Review of Ladies Coupe: Ladies Coupe is a fictional novel by Indian Author Anita Nair. The story starts with a 45 year old income tax officer, Akhila who is the sole bread earner of her family and had to ignore her own happiness and desires to make her family survive the difficult financial times. Akhila’s father’s sudden demise pushed her to be responsible to provide for her and to put up a strong face in front of the world so that nobody can understand her vulnerability.Her sacrifices were not acknowledged by her siblings and they continued to use her for their own benefits. Getting really tired of their behavior Akhila could not tolerate anymore and bought a one way train ticket to Kanyakumari (the southernmost point of India). She met another 5 women of different age groups(all from southern India) and societal structures in the ladies coupe and tried to seek answers of many questions she had from these women.They opened their heart to her and let pour all their vices, longings, insecurities and vulnerabilities. For the first time in her life Akhila found a sense of camaraderie in that overnight journey with these five unknown women and gathered her courage to live her life in her own terms. All the 5 stories are very different from each other and very intricately woven and it showed a gradual transition in Indian women’s thought processes and their willingness to have equal say in decision making of their families. I also liked Anita’s attention to details about clothes, Indian household designs and every little emotions.Her love for food (I stalked her insta account) is also very visible in her writing. The only complaint is that the ending was little predictable.

Review of Suheldev : Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy was something that I absolutely loved and treasured during my college days. I used to warn my friends whoever borrowed them to take care of them properly. I did not get a chance to read the Ramchandra series but bought the legend of Suheldev quickly as it was just a single book and will be easy to complete. Coming straight to the point it did not leave that mark on my mind.I really adore Amish’s knack for writing on mythological or historical protagonists and then weaving an enthralling fictional tale around those characters but Suheldev was a miss.If his aim was to make his readers be familiar with Suheldev’s bravery which was not really highlighted in the history we read; then definitely he did a great job but this book lacked his exceptional storytelling ability.It felt like a formula book which first fixed a few concepts and characters and then just linked them somehow.I noted that this was not his work entirely and actually a writer’s block assisted him and I guess this is why I did not feel attached to the character or his story as much as I did for Shiva trilogy.

Hope you liked these mini reviews of the books. Of course these reviews do not have any literary value and not crafted with carefully chosen words.This is just a series that I am starting to keep my reading habit on.

Thanks for reading this.Have a nice day 🙂

Product Review, Skincare

Innisfree Jeju Cherry Blossom Lotion Review

I always wanted to try the Jeju Cherry Blossom range from Innisfree because of my love for the word ‘cherry blossom’. How silly… I know!! Whenever I think about cherry blossom it transports me into a beautiful picturesque world full of colorful flowers :p

Okay I need to come back to reality and do a proper review of this product.So as many of you already know Innisfree is a very popular Korean brand and I have used many products of them and liked them as well. So I obviously had a certain amount of expectation from this brand.Usually their products are little on the higher price side for Indian skin care market but if you compare it with other luxury skin care brands their products are affordable.

Price and Quantity: This lotion retails for 1200 INR and you get a 100 ml tube.I got it in a sale for INR 870. Also, I discovered a new website Boddess which gives pretty good discounts/freebies on Innisfree products.

Product Description:

Innisfree Cherry Blossom Lotion delivers abundant hydration to dry and dull skin for a moist and revitalized look.

A lightweight creamy lotion goes on smoothly without feeling greasy or sticky
Adds ample hydration and glow to the skin
Cherry Blossom extract helps heal irritated skin, even out dull skin tone, and lighten dark spots

Ingredients:

Water / Aqua / Eau, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Methyl Trimethicone, Dicaprylyl Ether, Niacinamide, Betaine, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydrogenated Poly (C6-14 Olefin), Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, C14-22 Alcohols, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Arachidyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Fragrance / Parfum, Palmitic Acid, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Arachidyl Glucoside, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium Edta, Propanediol, Sorbitan Isostearate, Myristic Acid, Prunus Yedoensis Leaf Extract, Lauric Acid, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil

My take on the product: I am not a dermatologist and have limited understanding of the chemical effect of the ingredients in the product.Whatever I could make out was that this a water based product with Glycerin and it also has Niacinamide and Betaine. I have recently seen a lot of influencers cum reviewers praising Niacinamide a lot. So I did a little research and found that it is basically a type of Vitamin B3 and it is quite a multitasker when it comes to deal with skin pigmentation or inflammation like redness reduction or giving our skin a bit of extra hydration.Some of the researchers actually praised it more than retinols or AHAs/BHAs or even hyaluronic acid because of its diverse skin healing properties.Okay so I am impressed.Also, just a little tip, we can include niacin into our diet by eating fish/meat/pulses which will then be converted into niacinamide inside our bodies.Quite cool!

Now the next ingredient is betaine. This is also good for anti-ageing and has skin healing properties.So much knowledge I gathered today! Happy puppy 🙂

But, sadly this product also contains fragrance which I am not sure why they included.I am absolutely fine to use a lotion without any smell and to be honest I did not like the smell at all.It did not remind me of cherry blossom atleast. It also includes various alcohols like C14-22 alcohol and Arachidyl Alcohol but I looked for them and found that these are fatty alcohols and mostly used as an emulsifier or like a waxy material to maintain the natural moisture of our skin. So they are not bad for our skin.

Moving on, let me talk about the product itself.It is a very light textured white colored serum like lotion which blends into my skin easily.It did not make my skin look oily or sweaty even during the hot summer. Even when I am working in an air conditioned environment I did not find my skin to be drying after application. So I felt this will work for both dry and oily skin in summer and in winter. It does not contain any SPF which is good actually. Not every lotion or face moisturizer needs to contain SPF. A small amount is enough for your face. A 100 ml tube will go a long way. It did not give me any acne and definitely I can see a glow in my skin. I haven’t noticed any impact on reducing my old dark acne marks. This range has other products as well which I haven’t tried. Yeah so that’s it.This is a travel friendly tube.You can just throw it in your bag and whenever you feel like a little hydration for your skin you can go for it.

Hope you find this review helpful.Stay safe 🙂

Skincare

2 Amazing DIY eye masks that will make your under eyes perfect

While doing my regular window shopping of beauty products I recently came across a turmeric based under eye cream by the brand FARSÁLI and it costs a bomb! For 15 ml product you will have to pay INR 3500. I must say I was intrigued by the composition of the eye cream. So I did a little research to understand which ingredients do wonder for the under eye area and tried a few of them at home. In this post I will be sharing the ingredients I used and what results I got.

In general all the popular eye creams available in the market are quite expensive but we also need to take good care of the most sensitive area of our face. So here are a few pretty easy home remedies you can try.I did it for myself and it worked really well for me.

Coconut oil and vit E mixture – Coconut oil has some amazing health benefits if you cook your food with it but it has also showed proven results on the skin and hair. I have been staying and travelling around southern part of India and noticed that each and every part of a coconut tree is used here.It can be used as cooking oil or hair oil or as a natural facial oil as well. Coconut oil will instantly increase the moisture content of dry under eye area and vitamin e is known to work as an antioxidant and fights UV damage. Here in India, at a normal temperature(20-30 degree Celsius) you will find coconut oil to be in a liquid state but during winter it turns into solid. I have seen stores selling coconut oil in an exorbitant rate but actually it is quite cheap if you are buying directly from a genuine source. Before buying please make sure that it does not contain paraffin or palm oil etc. I got myself a 1 litre bottle of pure coconut oil without any adulteration from Kerala.If you are buying from a store please look into its license or any government certification to be sure that what you are getting is absolutely pure.

Now coming to the mixture you need to get 1 tablespoon of pure coconut oil and 1 capsule of vitamin e and gently massage your under eye area in a circular motion. If you are in India you can buy a strip of Evion Vitamin e capsules for 20-30 Rs. Remember to always use your ring finger to ensure you are applying right amount of pressure.Under eye area is so delicate a little bit of extra pressure can really make things worse for you.It will take some time to get fully absorbed. Just close your eyes and play some nice music and relax. I will recommend you to apply this before taking a shower. You can also take a bit more oil and vit e and mix it well in a glass jar and keep it in fridge.the mixture will solidify and you can use it as a balm.How fun that is! This mixture is so good that you can apply it anywhere in your body like chapped lips, elbows or knee.

Turmeric and yogurt mixture – The other one is definitely my age old favorite which is a turmeric plus yogurt or curd mixture.This mixture as well can be used on any part of your body and face as a natural moisturizer. You can mix two tea spoon of turmeric with 3 table spoon of yogurt or even home made curd and put it in a jar and store it in your fridge for at least 4 days. Turmeric is known for its anti oxidant and anti inflammatory property.It is known to bring a natural glow to skin.In India at least before the rapid growth of cosmetic industry turmeric or ‘haldi’ was the best known ingredient to every Indian household to get that instant glow.Even till now there is a pre-wedding ceremony dedicated to celebrate turmeric at almost every Indian wedding.On the other hand fresh curd or yogurt contains lactic acid which reduces the appearance of wrinkles. This mixture worked wonders for my tired under eyes and I will recommend you to try them for yourself.

Hope you liked this homemade inexpensive DIY tricks for under eye care which will give you definite results without burning a hole into your pocket. Stay happy 🙂

Product Review, Skincare

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Sleeping Pack Review

Hello Everyone!! Happy Tuesday 🙂

Today I will review the Moistfull Collagen Sleeping Pack from the Korean brand Etude House. So, let me tell you this is the first sleeping pack I am using and I did not have much idea around what a sleeping pack is and also this is my first product from this brand.I have been using this product for last 2 weeks and will share my experience with you in this post.

Price & Quantity: You will receive a 100 ml tub for INR 1000.If you compare it with the Laneige water sleeping pack which costs for INR 1850 for 70 ml; this one is definitely cheaper. I have not used the Laneige water sleeping mask so won’t be able to compare it based on quality/effectiveness.

Product Description:

Contains 14% Super Collagen water, which is easily and softly absorbed into your skin,
and 5.3%water extracted from baobab trees, nicknamed “water reservoir”.Enriched in small Super Collagen water particles and baobab tree essence, this moisturizing sleeping mask protects skin moisture from evaporating or being dried out while you sleep, to provide a hydrated, elastic, and gelatinous skin appearance during the daytime.

Water-gel texture with densely packed water drops promotes soft absorption without leaving any sticky feel. The moisture barrier is lightly and smoothly spread onto your face to protect your skin from being dried out during the night and even until the following day.

My Take on the product:

Packaging: The product comes in a glossy peach plastic tub and you need to use your fingers to take out the product.I wish they packaged it in a pump like bottle.

Ingredients: Water, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Butylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Alcohol, Glycerin, Cyclohexasiloxane, Trehalose, Adansonia Digitata Fruit Extract, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Polysorbate 20, Dimethicone, Polyacrylic Acid, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Propanediol, Dimethiconol, Fragrance, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Stearyl Behenate, Disodium Edta, Polyglyceryl 3 Methylglucose Distearate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide Mea, Linalool, Limonene, Beta-Glucan, Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, Geraniol, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Phytantriol, Poloxamer 407, Tocopherol

Ingredients: Etude House Moistfull Collagen

So it contains fragrance and alcohol. Hydrolyzed Collagen is the 2nd ingredient which is good.

Texture: Texture of the product is very light; gel/serum like but looks like white cream.It does not make my skin oily/greasy after applying.I have oily skin and it did not cause any trouble like break – outs.I did not know what sleeping packs are like and imagined it to be like a serum.Recently I came across some articles and youtube videos claiming the ‘Sleeping packs’ to be a very essential element of night time skincare routine.Sleeping packs basically gives you the hydration for the time you sleep and when you wake up you see a dewy supple skin.So now coming back the product it definitely is very hydrating on my skin and suitable for a humid weather.I can easily sleep after applying it.My skin breathes for sure.It did not give me a single pimple.So very happy about that.

Including Collagen in your skincare is very much needed when you are approaching your 20s. Atleast that is what I learnt.There are so many products claiming to reverse your age and all.Don’t know how true those claims are.Do not expect any magical transformation from this sleeping pack.If you someone who does not like to put thick creams or moisturizers before going to bed and want something lighter for your skin to breathe; you can use this one.I will try to use the Laneige water sleeping mask as well for a better comparison.

Hope you found this review useful.Stay blessed 🙂

Product Review, Skincare

Dot&Key – Skin Awakening Moisture Boost Serum AND Illuminating Glow Moisturizer in Serum – Review

I remember I first came across the brand Dot & Key sometime last year and within a year you can tell that the brand has grown from its increased product line.I must say their products are quite unique at least for Indian market.

I recently tried my hands on 2 of their serums and this review is about them.The first one is the Skin Awakening Moisture Boost Serum and the second one is the Illuminating Glow Moisturizer in Serum.

Product Description:

Skin Awakening Moisture Boost Serum:

Boosts Collagen Production
Gently Soothes Sensitive Areas
Rejuvenates with soothing Lavender
Contains Shea Butter to moisturize
With the healing of Argan Oil
Calms Irritated Skin

Illuminating Glow Moisturizer in Serum:

Glow Serum for normal to dry skin
Contains Skin conditioning Actives
SPF 15
Ultralight Moisturizer in Serum Technology
Hydrates deeply
Reduces signs of dullness

Price and Quantity: Both the product retails for INR 695 and comes in a 50ml beautiful bottle.I got them for 10% off on each of them at Nykaa.

My take on the product:

Packaging: Firstly, let’s talk about the packaging. The outer packaging of the products came with a box made of thick paper or like a cardboard kind of material.You can re-use them to store small knick-knacks.The bottles containing the product is very cute and aesthetically pleasing. All of their bottles or tubs come in sea green or lavender or baby pink or chromatic yellow shades.

DOT&KEY MOISTURE BOOSTING SERUM

DOT&KEY MOISTURE BOOST SERUM

DOT&KEY ILLUMINATING GLOW MOISTURIZER IN SERUM

The bottles have small pumps which will help you to get exactly the amount of product you need. They have recently started a drive on their official website where you can send back the empty bottles and get rewarded.

Ingredients: The moisture boost serum contains some amazing ingredients like Vitamin C & E, Lavender essential oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, Argan Kernel Oil and Shea Butter. None of their products contain Paraben /Sulphates/phthalates and they are not tested on animals either.The illuminating Glow Moisture in Serum contains Frangipani Flower Oil and Ylang Ylang Flower Oil.

How they feel on my skin: So I bought the Skin Awakening Moisture Boost Serum First and completely fell in love with it because of its very light; almost airy texture.I don’t like to put on thick creams on my skin as I feel that my skin will not be able to breathe.This serum is an absolute dream.It did not cause me any break out.A little product like one pea size portion is enough for your entire face. The smell is like camphor.It does not look like usual transparent serum.It looks like a lotion but feels like feather on your skin.Due to peppermint oil there is a certain tingling cool feeling attached to it.

Moisture boost serum: Consistency

It instantly gives me the morning hydration that my skin needs in a very dry weather (where I stay).This product will work for all skin types. I have been using it for almost 2 months now and I can see that there is a very clear glow in my skin without making my skin look oily or causing me any acne.

The Illuminating Glow Moisturizer in Serum is rather new in my collection.As it says moisturizer in serum it actually is a face moisturizer than a serum. So keep your expectations right. It is definitely thicker than the moisture boost serum in terms of texture although not too thick.It does not have that airy feel but it feels like an actual moisturizer. Good! because that’s what it is!

Illuminating Glow Moisturizer in serum : Consistency

This one as well did not cause me any break outs but I use it every alternative day after shower.It contains mild SPF (15). So I guess it’s best to use it in daytime.The smell is floral but not over powering.It definitely gives you the instant glow and makes your skin supple.I think this one works better for people with dry skin.For combination or oily skin I will recommend it to use it in a regulated quantity but yes definitely this serum will feel more relaxing and light on your skin than the thick creams or lotions.

I will recommend you to try both of these products based on your needs as they are quite affordable and definitely good for your skin.Hope you liked this review. Have a nice day 🙂

Product Review, Skincare

Aroma Magic Juniper Berry Oil free Moisturizer Review

Hello!

I recently picked up the Juniper Berry oil free Moisturizer from Aroma Magic. Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic is the largest Aromatherapy brand in India. With over 170 signature aromatherapy—based products including skin care, hair care, essential oils and curative oils. I have been particularly following Dr. Blossom Kochhar’s articles in various magazines where she introduced the concept of Aromatherapy probably for last 10-12 years.Yes She is a pioneer in this field. I use Aroma Magic products because it is completely free of petrochemicals, phathalates,paraben,artificial fragrances and colour. Also,this brand is very affordable and students/ college goers can totally afford them.

Now let’s do the product review.

Price and quantity: 100 ml pump bottle comes for INR 190. The 200 ml variant comes for INR 345. Packaging is nothing fancy but just useful. I struggled with the pump for the first time but just that.

Product Description: The Aroma Magic Juniper Berry Oil Free Moisturizer protects, moisturizes and brightens your skin. The multi tasking extracts of Juniper berry and Cucumber act as efficient anti ageing, anti inflammatory and anti oxidant agents protecting the skin from the sun by guarding it against harmful free radicals. An exotic blend of Patchouli and Lemon essential oil helps regulate the oil level in the skin. Together with Aloe vera juice, the non greasy gel formula of this potion helps heal acne and lighten blemishes leaving your skin well nourished, refreshed and brighter.

Features:

Has SPF 15
Infused with the goodness of wondrous natural ingredients
100% free of petrochemicals, phthalates, toxic ingredients, parabens, artificial fragrance and color
For Oily skin

My take on the product: The product looks like a transparent serum but the consistency is little thinner than usual serums.It has a herbal smell which I did not like that much but it does not stay for long. The moisturizer feels very light on my skin and I can put it on easily whenever I want; be it day or night; and it gives a quick hydration. The product is water based and contains essential oils along with hyaluronic acid.

It perfectly worked on my oily skin in summer when I can not apply any heavy moisturizer yet want some hydration for my skin.There is a blend of Patchouli and lemon essential oil which helps to regulate the oil concentration level in the skin.I am not sure about its anti-ageing or anti-blemish properties as I don’t have wrinkles or blemishes on my skin right now but I guess it contains some really good ingredients like hyaluronic acid which are good in maintaining the hydration level and making your skin look soft and plump.

As I mentioned the consistency is like a light runny serum and just a little product gives you the right amount of moisture and hydration for 5-6 hours.You will not feel like re-applying again and again. I stay in Bangalore where the weather is very dry and this light moisturizer really suits in such weather.

I have not used it in Winter. So will not be able to comment if it will be super effective as a winter moisturizer.It did not cause any irritation or break outs in my skin as it does not contain any harmful chemical.It does not feel greasy at all and the claim of it to be an oil free moisturizer is really true. I really feel like my skin is breathing. You can easily use it as a base before putting on any make up. I am not sure if it will turn out to be really effective for dry skin beauties but for oily skin or combination skin it does its job brilliantly.

Hope you found this review helpful. Take care 🙂

Travel

A guide to a 2 day weekend trip to Kodaikanal || Places to Visit || Stay||Eat

I know how much each of us is craving to travel at the moment; given the ongoing lockdown. I was just going through my travel photos and thought of sharing my Kodai trip with you guys. I don’t know when the world will be again safe heaven for all the travellers out there but in the mean time we can all cherish and reminisce the sweet moments we spent with the mother nature.

Last year, in mid-July we suddenly planned for a short weekend trip to Kodaikanal. Kodaikanal is a cozy city in the hills of the Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means “The Gift of the Forest”. Kodaikanal is referred to as the “Princess of Hill stations” and has a long history as a retreat and popular tourist destination*.I heard so much about Kodai’s lush greenery and waterfalls from my family and friends but the craving to go there became strongest when one of my friends visited the place and could not stop talking about it.That was the point when I thought let’s explore it!

How to reach Kodaikanal: We started from Bangalore on an overnight bus journey.We booked our buses just one week before the journey from Redbus. Bangalore to Kodai distance is almost 466 km. So we started at around 8 pm on Friday and reached there before 7am on Saturday. The bus journey was not super comfortable and I would prefer going there by car but we were on a tight budget. So can’t complain! If you are coming from any other part of India or abroad then Madurai National airport is the closest from Kodai (around 120kms). You can get a taxi from there.

Where we stayed in Kodai: We made the booking quite last minute and I will advise you to plan your travel atleast a month back to get good deals. We stayed at Altius Nest. The place is quite close to the Kodaikanal Lake (Tip: Try to find accommodation near the Kodai lake because then you will be able to check out a few tourist spots and eateries just by walking). Anyway our hotel interior was quite minimalist and neat. The rooms were quite large with a serene view. They had a small collection of books, magazines and local products. The most amazing part was that the hotel is kind of in the midst of a residential area and hence, quite soundproof. I loved to take a stroll on the sloping streets around the hotel and click the pictures of the amazing flowers there.

Now coming to the places you can cover in 2 days or we covered in just one and a half days. Also I will share some tips from the mistakes I made. Read on.

Transport: This is the most important thing if you did not bring your own bike or car and will have to depend on local travel agencies. Once we got down from our bus atleast 15 travel agents suddenly appeared with their small leaflets describing travel itineraries. There were 3 types of itineraries on their list -Trekking tour, Forest tour and the lake and pine forest plus pillar rocks tour. We skipped the forest tour as we would have to take passes the day before. Sleepy eyed and hungry; we just wanted to go to our hotel and freshen up.They offered us a free drop to a hotel and promised to come back after 2 hours for local sight seeing.We agreed.The rate seemed little on the higher side but as we did not have any idea of the map; we were just clueless. So we took their car along with a driver but soon we realized that they started charging us for a lot of stuff without any receipt. We were in a trap but just wanted to enjoy our trip rather than brooding. Anyway for the next day we booked another travel agent from our hotel desk and that was really good. So my small tip will be do not book any random car or driver when you arrive at the airport or bus-stop. Always take help from your hotel desk even before coming to Kodai.

Day One:

Coaker’s Walk: Now first thing first. Coaker’s walk, Kodai Lake and Bryant park are all very close to each other and you can easily cover them by walking. Coaker’s walk is around one km long well paved pathway for you to take a stroll and enjoy the amazing view of the mountains surrounded by dense clouds.

There are plenty of places to sit and sip a cup of tea or munch on corn or buy small knick knacks. There is an entry fee of around 30 Rupees per person. Oh by the way this place was created in 1872 by Lieutenant Coaker and that is where the name comes from.

Kodaikanal Lake: After you are out of Coaker’s walk there is a quiet street connecting the Bryant park and Kodaikanal lake; straight from there. Kodaikanal lake is the most crowded place in the entire Kodaikanal for obvious reasons. There are plenty of home made chocolate and spice shops surrounding the lake. I remember the white chocolates to be really good :p. You can rent a cycle from there or ride a horse as well. There were some double seater cycles as well and those were really a joy to ride! Of course there are boats for you to pedal or row through the lake.

Bryant Park: Just beside the lake you will find a botanical garden named Bryant Park (named after an army officer).The park has a splendid collection of rare species of cactus, amazing flowers,shrubs and trees. There are plenty of places to just sit and click some photos or just take a stroll and inhale the fresh air. There is an entry fee around 50-60 Rupees per person.

Pine Tree Forest: Next stop on our itinerary was the dense pine forest.I got to know from our driver that this place is used to be quite popular for shooting. I enjoyed the calmness even when there were quite a number of people around.There is no entry fee and you can take a quick ride on horses.I preferred to take a quiet walk away from the hustle bustle and collected a few pine cones for my DIY projects 🙂

Pillar Rocks: When we were deciding on exploring Kodaikanal, Pillar rocks was on top of our list because of its intriguing misty view.There are three mammoth granite rock pillars stand shoulder-to-shoulder, around 400-ft-high. The chambers between the pillars are referred to as the devil’s kitchen (quite scary huh!) I think the fog makes it look more mysterious.The shady woods beneath the rocks serve as perfect picnic spot for locals as well as tourists. Close to Pillar Rocks, there is a beautifully manicured garden where you can find a wide variety of flowers blooming.

Guna Caves: So basically, these caves are actually caverns formed between the three boulders of the Pillar rocks; the ‘Devil’s Kitchen’ as I mentioned earlier. Apparently the name ‘Guna’ came from a South Indian movie shot here. Also according to Hindu Mythology; Mahabharatha; the Pandavas used to cook meals inside these caves and the word Kitchen came from that reference.There is a mysterious and enthralling appeal of this place; can’t deny that.However, most of the area was locked because some accident happened there. So we could not explore the inside of the caves.

There were some enormous tree roots (As you can see from the picture).

Well, after covering all the places the driver dropped us at Hilltop inn for having lunch. They have two outlets side by side; one for vegetarians and another for non- vegetarians. We could not enter the non-veg one as there was no seat available.However the veg one was quite empty and the taste was not that great.I was expecting to discover some great South Indian delicacies but there were not many to offer. Anyway after lunch we spent some time around the lake and did some shopping for souvenirs, oils and spices and then went back hotel. There was a local liquor shop,however, there were very few options. So let me give you an idea of how much time we spent to cover all the places mentioned so far.We started around 11 am and by 3 we were done with sight seeing for the day.We chilled and ate dinner at our hotel for the rest of the day.In the evening it started raining. So don’t forget to carry a rain jacket if you are travelling during monsoon.

The next day we had complimentary breakfast at our hotel and checked out at around 10.30 am. Our new driver cum guide came on time to receive us and he took us for the trekking tour.

Day Two:

Dolphin’s Nose and Echo point: If you are an experienced trekker this trekking will be nothing for you. Please carry proper shoe and clothes suitable for trekking. No need to carry food or water.There are a number of fruit juice and snack stalls at every juncture. The Dolphin’s Nose viewpoint is where you can experience Kodaikanal at its best – green valleys, rugged terrain and mysterious sudden fogs embellishing the scene. As the name suggests, this viewpoint is shaped like a dolphin’s nose at the height of 6,600 feet.

This destination will add an adventurous touch to your otherwise laid back trip. Just as you walk past the Dolphin’s Nose you will reach the tree which directs you to Echo Point(I guess I found one Echo Point at every hill station In India :p). The path here too changed with a narrower one with more trees surrounding you. I will not recommend to bring older people with breathing difficulties here. I exactly don’t remember how long the trail was but even if your are not experienced in trekking this one is much easier and you will find plenty of places to take rest.

Vattakanal falls: There is another small trek to Vattakanal falls.This was the only one where we found water. A lot of other falls dried up.You can just park your car outside and then take a few steps downhill.The trekking trail is pretty narrow and you may have to jump here and there but it will be fun.This one as well is not at all a difficult trek.

The sound of water : On our way to Vattakanal falls

The waterfall was not huge but beautiful; surrounded with greenery.We even saw a few people taking bath in the crystal clear water.The breezy cool weather was adding a level of charm into our trek.There was no entry fee.This waterfall is also connected to Guna caves but I think the road was blocked.

These two treks took almost half of our day and we stopped at ‘Ten Degrees’ for an amazing lunch and also explored the local vegetable and fruit market and sipped in coffee at Aby’s Cafe.

Look what we found from a street vendor in Kodaicanal: Rambutan

A sumptuous lunch at Ten Degrees,Kodaikanal

At 6pm on Sunday our bus picked us up and we came back to Bangalore by 5am on Monday.

We missed the Berijam lake which was inside the Kodaikanal life sactuary as we had to take a pass standing in a queue early in the morning and we could not get up 😦 Anyway there is always a next time.

Hope you liked the blog! Thanks for reading 🙂

Product Review, Skincare

Plum E-luminence Deep Moisturizing Cream review

Hey Guys!!!

So I have been using a few products from Plum Goodness and I wanted to write a quick review on one of the products by the same brand – the e-luminence deep moisturizing cream. So Plum is an Indian beauty brand and offers some really greaaat products (especially theirs kohls and kajals) and all their products are vegan! I will add my reviews on their other products as well but for now let’s start with this one.

Price: The product retails for INR 575 and comes in a 50 ml tub.It is available in Nykaa and in the Plum goodness website.

Description: The e-luminence creme offers the hydrating power of Vitamin E and 12 phyto-nutrients boosted by a dozen potent plant nutrients, to provide unmatched hydration and nourishment to dry & damaged skin. The result: bouncy, hydrated skin that exudes a happy, dewy radiance.The cream comes in a thick milky white texture and has a mild scent.

So one thing I did not realize before buying this product was that it is best suitable for dry skin.If you look at the main ingredients, this product contains

1. Vitamin E – possibly the best hydrator out there

2. Jojoba oil – nourisher of choice for dry skin

3. Calendula flower extract – heals damaged skin

4. Red clover flower extract – reduces itching and calms down skin

5. Elder flower extract – helps fade wrinkles for a smoother, younger appearance

6. Rose flower extract – helps soothe and reduce inflammation

7. White willow bark extract – natural exfoliant, helps skin renewal

8. Plant-derived betain – controls water balance and maintains supple nature of skin

9. Kokum butter – a “solid” emollient brimming with micro-nutrients

10. Grapeseed oil – a top source of antioxidants for skin

11. Sea buckthorn oil – one of the richest sources of Vit C in nature

12. Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride – emollient, non-sticky ingredients derived from palm

13. Chamomile flower extract – calms & soothes skin

Well all these ingredients sound awesome but the formula is just not apt for someone with oily or combination skin.It has a very thick consistency. Especially if you have acne prone skin then it is an absolute no no product. Same goes for me as I have oily skin! Actually I was so amazed by their Tea tree night clarity gel that I did not do enough research before buying this one 😦

Anyway I somehow wanted to use the product because my mom also has oily skin.So what I did was to wash my face first well with a facewash and then apply very minimum amount of the cream like 3-4 dots over my face and then just massage it gently.

I could apply it only during winter.It got absorbed quickly and thankfully did not feel greasy. Its thick consistency is not suitable for applying during summer as my skin started sweating because of its very oily texture. I applied it mostly after sunset because it does not contain SPF. It gave my skin a beautiful glow.That is for sure!

I think this will work wonders for dry skin beauties; especially during winter.

Hope you found this review helpful 🙂 Stay healthy! Take care!!

Skincare

5 Skincare Products I absolutely loved during Quarantine

I have been in quarantine for almost 2 months now.I guess most of you are as well.Staying home for such a prolonged period was unprecedented but anyway I could put the time into some productive use as well. Also in these last 2 months I have not used a single make up product and mostly focused on my skin care regime.So here are a list of 5 products that I used almost everyday or every alternate day.

Facial Mist: I never really used facial mists/sprays earlier and did not have an clear idea what they are used for. So these facials sprays are absolute blessing during a dry summer. Just a few quick splash and I feel all rejuvenated. So I use Rose water spray from Kama Ayurveda (INR 275) and the most pocket friendly Dabur Gulabari. Both of them are available in a 100 ml spray bottle.There is another one which I recently discovered is from the brand Urvija. It is their Lavender Mint Facial Spray with clay sage.

It is a home grown brand and the product retails for INR 190 for a 100 ml bottle.The uniqueness about this particular spray is that along with an amazing smell they it gives an amazing glow and a cool refreshing feeling even if you don’t refrigerate it.

I also made some DIY facial sprays all by myself and it is actually pretty easy and does not cost much. First one is a lavendar and aloe spray – I just took an empty 100 ml spray bottle and filled 80% of the bottle with distilled water.Then added 5-6 drops of lavendar essential oil and just one table spoon of aloe vera gel. You can use your home grown aloe and extract the gel from it as well. Now coming to the other spray this one is also very simple to make. Just extract some fresh cucumber juice (around 2 table spoon) and add 1 spoon aloe vera gel in it and fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water.

Face serums: I am currently using 2 face serums alternatively and both of them are from the brand Dot&Key One of them is their GLOW REVEALING VITAMIN C SERUM CONCENTRATE and another one is their WATER DRENCH HYDRATING HYALURONIC SERUM CONCENTRATE.

Both of them cost around 900 INR for 30ml of the product and trust me if you have oily skin or if you don’t really like to use all those thick creams these 2 serums should be in your shopping cart. Hyaluronic acid is also much talked about these days because of its anti-ageing property.I love to apply these serums and then massage slowly using my ROSE QUARTZ FACIAL GUA SHA stone for my night time skin care routine.

Hair oil: I will have to admit I was kind of really reluctant to use hair oil but because I got to stay at home during this lockdown period I got plenty of time to apply hair oil.I am currently using BRINGADI INTENSIVE HAIR TREATMENT OIL from Kama Ayurveda.It retails for INR 650 for a 100ml bottle.

Kama Ayurveda Bringadi Intensive hair treatment

This product is meant to prevent hair loss, dandruff and premature graying. It is also a natural conditioner for lush hair growth. In addition, it cools the head. The herbal formula includes indigo (neeli), Eclipta Alba and gooseberry to promote hair growth; liquorices which acts as an anti-fungal agent; and balloon vine which prevents scalp infection. I have very thick wavy hair and this oil never made my hair sticky; not even a greasy scalp.It has definitely given me volumes and the smell kind of de-stresses me everytime I use it.

Eye cream/gel: Because I have a job which requires me to constantly look at the screen for atleast 7-8 hours and even if I don’t include that my screentime is definitely not less than 12 hours everyday. Although I don’t get deep dark circles around my eyes; I have noticed some dryness and hence, I started using an eye gel from the brand Aroma Magic.Most of the available eye creams/gels cost a bomb to be honest but this one is really pocket friendly.It costs just INR 195 for 20gm product and does its job too.

I am not sure if it will be that impactful for heavy dark circles but if you just want an eye cream to refreshen and moisturize your under eye area this product will work for you.

Lip masks: I have already talked about this Laneige lip sleeping mask and how amazing it is. So obviously it is part of my lipcare routine. Also I used the organic juicy chemistry lip scrub twice a week for exfoliation.It retails for INR350 for 10gm of product and goes a long way.

Hope you liked this post! Stay healthy!

The Peach Diary

Skincare || Makeup || Travel

Author Archives: Solutionshala

2 day itinerary for Munnar || Best places to visit || A Travel Guide

Monthly Reads Series – August 2020 Recommendations

Innisfree Jeju Cherry Blossom Lotion Review

2 Amazing DIY eye masks that will make your under eyes perfect

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Sleeping Pack Review

Dot&Key – Skin Awakening Moisture Boost Serum AND Illuminating Glow Moisturizer in Serum – Review

Aroma Magic Juniper Berry Oil free Moisturizer Review

A guide to a 2 day weekend trip to Kodaikanal || Places to Visit || Stay||Eat

Plum E-luminence Deep Moisturizing Cream review

5 Skincare Products I absolutely loved during Quarantine