Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Soap Review | Handmade Anti-Aging Product | Beauty Review

Ever since I reached my teens and realized that God had blessed me with the most problematic skin and hair, I stopped using soaps of any kind on my face or hair. After all, the commercial soaps are mostly full of bad chemicals, fragrances, fillers, that only increase the dryness of my sensitive skin and sucks out all the essential oils. But over the years, so many brands have come up with handmade soaps that many beauty bloggers rave about, that I started feeling enthusiastic about trying one of these. Finally, 2 months ago, I took the plunge and bought a good batch of Soulflower soaps. 

Among these is Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Soap that claims to be awesome for anti-aging purposes, let us see how it fared :)

Packaging of Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Handmade Soap is simple and secure, a big thick chunk of soap with clear instructions and ingredients list.

Ingredients list is full of tempting ones such as Fresh Apple Pulp, Mangosteen Peel Powder, Olive Oil, Castor Oil, Palm Oil, Vitamin E. It is completely SLS free.

Claims that this aromatic Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Handmade Soap exfoliates, lightens fine lines, hydrates skin, works with anti-wrinkle properties, and is fit for both face and body.

Availability of Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Handmade Soap is good online as well as offline. I bought it from Amazon for Rs. 250 for 150 grams, thanks to generous sale going on, otherwise the price is Rs. 400.

Quantity is good enough to last about 20 days when used everyday on face and body.

Usage - Like a soap. Wet the bar, create lather, use it all over face and body, rinse off. Easy-peasy.

Effect - My facial skin is combination-dry, ultra-sensitive and acne-prone while my body is dryness prone, thank God I do not get pimples and acne on my hands, legs, or shoulders. So I am very careful about the products I use on my facial skin while I can experiment a bit on my body. 

Firstly, the Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Handmade Soap melts away very easily so it is recommended to cut it in 4 smaller pieces for easy usage. It has a grainy texture that works well as an exfoliator. I took a little piece, wet it, got a little bit of lather and grainy bits and applied all over my face. I could feel the little bits doing gentle exfoliation on my skin without hurting it. When I washed it off, I felt my skin to be squeaky clean. This means that those with super dry skin will not like it at all. I followed it up with a layer of aloe-vera to give some moisture back to my skin. After 2 days I decided to just use Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Handmade Soap on body and not on face.

I had better results using it on body since it worked as a deep cleanser plus mild exfoliator and also the fragrance is really pleasing, making shower a happy experience. I always use a heavy-duty body lotion after shower so I never had to feel super-dry Sahara desert like skin after using this soap, but yes you cannot skip using a body lotion here unless your skin is very oily in which case this soap will work fantastic for you.

As for its anti-aging claims, I did not see any such result overnight but then truthfully I don't think a soap can give any kind of anti-aging effects. We use a soap for a couple of minutes, how much effect can it have on our skin in that little amount of time? A soap is supposed to cleanse skin and Soulflower Apple Mangosteen Handmade Soap does it well. If you are planning on using it on face, make sure that your skin is oily and not dry.

Overall though, I am happy that I tried it because I wanted to know what is the difference between a normal soap and a handmade soap. It definitely feels premium and different from any commercial soap. The best thing is that it did not give me any rashes or bad side-effects when used on face either. 

YES 

• No SLS or harmful fillers/chemicals/preservatives
• Pleasing natural fragrance
• Works well for body
• Did not give me pimples or rashes on face
• Can be bought from Amazon or other online e-commerce sites

NO 

• Expensive
• Not good for dry skin

Recommended -MAYBE. It is a good soap, but also on the expensive side. Rating is 3.5/5.  

Easy Cappuccino Bandra Mumbai | Coffee Pizzas Croissants & More | Restaurant Review

Some of the most beautiful food haunts of Mumbai masquerade as quaint coffee shops. Sweet and cute little places, unfazed by the super-duper hustle of everyday life right outside their doors, serving delicious coffees and knick-knacks throughout the day. Makes it easy for dreamers to congregate and relax for hours altogether... Easy Cappuccino in Bandra is one such place for dreamers and coffee lovers. 

A small place on Pali Hill, can accommodate around 12-15 people on a good day, with super-fast service and excellent staff. Compact menu with hot coffee, green coffee, cold coffee, innovative shakes, mini pancakes, pizzas, and croissants. Everything reasonably priced, considering that this is located in Bandra, the queen of over-priced suburbs (or is that Juhu..well, we can focus on Mumbai's geographical economy later), suffice to say that Bandra is one heck of an overpriced place and to get a cup of steaming hot coffee in less than Rs. 200 here is nothing short of a miracle.

So here we were, my mother and I, relaxing on a Wednesday evening, contemplating the moods of nature (will it rain during this Diwali or not!) and helping ourselves to some amazing offerings of Easy Cappuccino.

-HOT CHOCOLATE- Good. Did not taste completely like Bournvita like many other places, had appropriate balance of sweetness and density, and served steaming hot. If you are a child like me who tends to burn tongue while drinking scalding hot beverages, remember the Indian sudki your parents took when drinking their morning tea. #SaveTheTongue #IssuedInPublicInterest

-IRISH COFFEE- Brilliant. Bitter and satisfying for a true Irish Coffee lover. Topped with whipped cream and caramel that brought that interplay of sweet and bitter profiles. LOVED.

-MOCHA with added Caramel on top- Me loves caramel so me puts caramel in every coffee me has. That is me trying to explain my caramel love to a 3 year old. Even if you don't love caramel as much as I do, you will like Mocha. A shot of espresso, a shot of chocolate syrup, some milk..what's not to love!

-TIRAMISU CROISSANT- Buttery flaky croissant, among the best I have ever had. But I thought the tiramisu flavor would be more ingrained from inside-out. Turns out it was normal butter croissant with some added tiramisu flavor along the sides and whipped cream served alongside. Just okay.

-PERI PERI PANEER PIZZA- Simple pizza with some paneer, peri peri sauce base, some condiments, and lotttttttts of cheese. Mini in size, just enough as a filling snack for a medium-eater. A hippo like me would need 3 such pizzas for lunch. Delicious, but mind you, this is no gourmet pizza. If there was a pizza school, this is the pizza the pretentious pizzas won't share their lunch table with, but hey we love our cheesy pizzas, right? LOVED it, because I am not pretentious :P

CINNAMON & CARAMEL PANCAKE CASSETTES- Little, and I mean, really little versions of pancakes, easily the most delicious items on the menu, but got over too fast. Beautiful balance of cinnamon, mon amour caramel, honey in a melt-in-mouth version. Would be back here for these...but I want moooooooore in one serving :D

Oh, also love how they serve little sides such as a dairy milk bar with hot chocolate and a pair of cookies with Mocha. Easy Cappuccino is heartily recommended by this happy hippo :)