Life Upgrades 2020!

Tell me if you’ve felt this before: It is new year’s eve and you might not have been a rock star like you wanted to this year but you still made it! It sure was a rocky ride but this bloody year you picked up Thor’s hammer and smashed all your resolutions like the thunder God! And this is the evening you lazily hang that hammer on your back, tilt your head at 45 degrees on your left and nod to yourself with those cool bling-y shades on!😎

If your answer to my question is a ‘yes’ then I HATE YOU! COZ I’VE NEVER FELT LIKE THIS EVER! Buddy, this is the year I gave up making new year resolutions coz I couldn’t really do anything about the ones I made the previous year!

I Effed Up! 😔

Remember my 2019 new year’s post with milestones, goals, challenges, resolutions and sh*t? Yup! The sh*t still continues and I still struggle with laziness and it is always nap-time in Oomphville! Throw in some Netflix addiction to the mix and tada! You’re the flag-bearer of unproductivity!

This really hit me bad! There was literally one thing that I wanted to do last year! JUST ONE! And I screwed up! It was not like I was too busy doing something important, I just picked lazing around with my green tea and marveling at life, over writing!

I ended up feeling so unaccomplished that I cribbed about it to everyone I met in January, or, as Ram says “ATUL banke kyun ghoom rahi hai?!” (For full form, check out 8th (last) answer on answers.yahoo.in! The word Ram uses for L is a slightly different version with the same meaning….n he adds an ‘i’ in the end to highlight my femininity!) 😛

Well, It did take a while but I am getting back to my usual happy self! How? Let me get to that in a bit! But right now it’s time to share something awesome! A list of 5 amazing personal care products that I stumbled upon in 2019!😃

Life Upgrades 2020

These are the things I totally can’t imagine my life without and I wonder how I survived without them until now! I’m gonna call ’em life upgrades 2020! (Well, you probably already know about these stuff but you can’t sue me for jumping on the bandwagon a little late, can you?!)

1. Sonic Toothbrush

I’m a tiny person with tiny teeth so cavities reach the nerve faster than a normal person! Plus, I am a lazy person (which I clearly established in previous paragraphs!) so brushing is quite a task, let alone brushing for full two minutes twice a day! So for all the folks with either teeth issues or/and laziness issues, presenting this amazing Wurze Super Sonic Toothbrush!

Why a sonic toothbrush and not an electric one?

When we brush manually we generally do it at 300 strokes per minute, with electric toothbrush it goes from 2500-7500 strokes per minute, while a sonic toothbrush vibrates at 40,000 strokes per minute! Since a sonic toothbrush brushes 10 times more than an electric toothbrush, it cleans more effectively in your regular two minutes brushing session!

Also, another cool thing about using sonic toothbrush is that it offers secondary type of cleaning coz of something called ‘fluid dynamics’. Since a sonic toothbrush moves at a very high speed, it agitates the fluids in the mouth ie. water, saliva, toothpaste and transforms them into cleaning agents which further reaches the places where normally your toothbrush won’t, like in between the teeth and below the gum line.

What does a Wurze super sonic toothbrush pack contain?

It comes with one toothbrush, two replacement brushing heads & one charger. Since I bought it, I have charged it just once and it has been more than a month already! Also, you get extra brushing heads on amazon which they recommend changing every three months.

Why Wurze super sonic toothbrush?

This awesome toothbrush has 5 different modes: White, Clean, Sensitive, Polish, Massage! The difference being in strokes per minute for each mode. It also has a 2 minutes (4×30 sec) timer!

Once you start it and pick the mode, it will exactly work for 2 minutes, while stopping every 30 seconds, prompting you to shift brushing the next quadrant of your mouth. Now all you have to do is glide the brush head across your teeth in back and forth motion, making sure to reach in between teeth too! Simple right? It makes brushing so easy and gives exact prescribed amount of brushing to each quadrant!

Well, you got to be a little careful when you use it for the first time! Use it in sensitive mode first, just to get your teeth used to the brush movement & Speed. I got that part right but screwed up later! Being a sucker for massages, I immediately used it on massage mode and regretted! My poor teeth which were not used to even two minutes of brushing, got full four minutes of sonic cleaning AND massaging! Needless to say, my gums were sore all day!

Price

This bomb of a toothbrush costs ₹1499 which is a steal! This one has way more features at a very good cost compared to other brushes in the same segment. I bought it after intensive research and I couldn’t be prouder! 😊

Note: My little Frankensteins wanted to have a fancy toothbrush too since I had one, so I ordered Colgate PROCLINICAL 150 Sonic Charcoal Battery Powered Toothbrush for ₹719 which is perfect for kids, it just has on and off button. It vibrates at 20,000 strokes per minute and comes with 2 minutes timer. Easy peasy!

2. Water Floss

The second awesome product in the list too comes in Dental hygiene category. Since brushing teeth is not enough to clean the food particles, plaque and bacteria in between teeth, dentists advice to floss every day to eventually reduce the risk of tooth decay.

Why water floss and not traditional dental floss?

Since I am all about extremes, I either go cleaning like I have an OCD or I don’t clean at all! So when I floss, I tend to get a little too obsessive and excessive which sometimes makes my gums bleed. Also, I’ve been using dental floss for almost a decade and I feel flossing increases the gap in between the teeth. And for some weird reason, I feel that flossing will make my gums recede! So I desperately wanted to find an alternative.

After a bit of research, I found water-flosses! In a water floss, a pressurized stream of pulsating water is used to clean the inter-dental spaces. It is either battery operated or electric. Waterpik is a famous brand of water-floss which I should have bought but I am a gujju! I couldn’t bring myself to spend 3-8K on something that I was not sure would work!

So I bought THIS! This is sasta-sundar-tikau version of water floss! It does the same job, only downside is that it is manual, almost like a water gun you use in Holi!

Price

This is the best part, it costs only ₹349! Ain’t I smart!?

Bummer

On my trip to Baroda this Uttarayan, when I put the flosser to dry in sun, some jerk of a kid removed and misplaced the pipe inside the flosser! No wonder adults hated us when we were kids! While I intend to re-order this balam pichkaari since it does a decent job, Ram is pestering me to buy a proper water floss! Let’s see when I will muster enough courage to buy waterpik, I’d rather go buy two lovely dresses instead! (On second thought, I don’t think I would look pretty with a beautiful dress and a horrifying smile!)

7th May 2020: Ended up buying Caresmith Professional Cordless Oral Flosser upon recommendation of a friend who did his own research after reading my blog! I got it for ₹2099 from Amazon and have been using it since 4 months now. It is absolutely the best water floss you could get for the price!

3. HairTronic Super Super Shaped Detangler

This one is truly a miracle product that I regret not having in my childhood! It was so annoying to have tangled long hair! While my mum tried her best to not hurt, it eventually did and there was no other way! I’m so glad that my little one doesn’t have to go through that now! She was the main reason I wanted to find something that would make combing long hair easier!

This hairTronic Detangler from Nykaa makes combing process pleasurable like they show in fairy tales! It is like a normal comb but with combination of long and short bristles which will untangle your hair in a jiffy! I actually wanted to buy this glossy golden one but I was worried it will lose its shine and start looking scratchy and old after a while, so I bought this leopard print one! There are other design options too, not that it really matters! 😛

Price

It costed me ₹299 in sale while it actually is ₹349. Make your life easier, buy it now and thank me later! (Especially if you have a daughter!)

4. MCaffeine Naked & Raw Coffee Body Scrub

Well, make up & cosmetics are not really my thing but I do like to look presentable if not pretty! So, my relationship with self care has been love-hate types! I take it easy for a while and the moment I start looking too shabby I start doing the right thing! So my self-care routine comprises of the Olay drill for my skin and nothing at all for my hair! (Which changed recently & I’ll get to that after this!)

Recently, my cousin told me about this MCaffeine Naked & Raw Coffee Body Scrub and well, everything coffee is all hearts, right?! 💖 So I ordered one from Nykaa and I’ve been in love with it ever since!

The moment you open the glass jar, the intoxicating aroma of the coffee just fills the room & your senses with bliss! As you apply it on your moist skin it has some kinda cooling, melt-in-your-hand feeling which is amazing! The raw coffee particles are so perfectly sized that they clean gently and do not irritate the skin! The cold pressed coconut oil in the powder scrub keeps the skin hydrated and nourished!

What all does it fight?

Blackheads, tan, uneven skin tone, impurities, cellulite, stretchmarks & premature aging .

How does it effect your skin?

This body scrub is the best I’ve ever used! You could feel the effect right away! It leaves you with such baby soft, supple, smooth skin and the glow is a bonus!

Price & Freebies

It costs ₹449 but I got it for ₹349 in Nykaa Sale! Without a doubt, this one is product of the year! So, go ahead and order it here! Guess what! They’re also giving Miniature Body Polishing Kit complimentary along with this product! The kit comprises of two cute little glass jars, one with the scrub and another with Choco Body Butter which is great too!

5. Vedix Ayurvedic Hair Care

If you’ve been on Facebook for a while, there’s noway you haven’t heard of this one! Internet is full of good reviews for Vedix! Vedix is a brand which offers customized ayurvedic hair care products which is parabens free and all that glitzy mumbo jumbo! With Bangalore’s hard water trying its best to mess up my mane, I decided to do some good for my hair and ordered this one!

Customized Hair Care

For ordering vedix, you got to fill out a questionnaire where they would ask you general questions and based on your unique Dosha profile, your hair care products will be recommended. They believe the Doshas: Vata, Pitta & Kapha influence your hair and you face issues like hairfall or dandruff.

Vedix’s Hair Care Regime

Vedix hair care box consists of three things: Shampoo, Serum & Hair Oil. It also comes with a schedule which is something like this…

Me being a lazybug, I struggle to keep up with the routine! I did have a blast when I used to watch one episode of ‘Big Little Lies’ every night either applying & massaging the serum or the hair oil on my scalp but the moment it got interesting I just binge watched and gulped it all down!

And then came my Uttrayan Trip to Baroda where I deliberately missed putting the products in my bag coz it was stuffed with extra extra number clothes! (And I still ended up wearing same two pairs, alternate days, through out the entire trip!) So basically my Vedix routine got screwed up but gonna start again soon!

How does it effect your hair?

Well, experts say that you need to use it for at least 3 months to see the effect and it has been only 1 month for me but the change in my hair has been fairly good! They feel healthier and happier! The reduction in hair fall is not significant yet but looks like will have to wait for a few more months to see that!

Price

It costs ₹999 per month when you opt for yearly subscription of these three products but they are very flexible with timelines!

Note: It is a struggle when you use all those all-natural-shampoos coz they don’t lather up well so you end up using more quantity to have the ‘clean’ wala feeling! But I’ve heard your hair gets used to it! So let’s hope for the best!

Aaaalright! That was my life upgrade list of 2020 & now back to the most important question!

How did I forgive myself for being SO disgustingly unproductive the entire 2019?!

The fact is, if I don’t, who else will? It is just me who has to forgive myself and I will because I can! 😀

On hindsight, 2019 has literally been the best year! It was filled with so many beautiful moments worth cherishing with Ram, Riddh & Dhruvi, hearty family reunions, amazing get together(s) & parties with crazy bunch of friends! So many travel plans materializing into amazing trips! Kumarakom, Coorg (twice), Baroda (twice), Indore, Chikmagalur and biggest of all, GOA WITH FRIENDS!!! How often does that happen, eh?? Finally a “Goa Chalein” post party ritual turned out into a crazy trip to Goa!

Off the track, I hadn’t told my parents about the Goa trip which they eventually figured when they heard a call back later message in Marathi! My mum literally blasted me on phone for travelling so much with our house being (still) under construction! According to her we should have been saving for the interiors for the house and she is right too! But…umm…ZNMD, right?! 😀 (Well, the Goa trip was sooooo worth the lecture!)

So basically, counting my blessings, practicing gratitude & self love is what got me back to being my happy self again! 🙂

Isn’t it kinda sad that I associate happiness with accomplishment? Isn’t being happy an accomplishment in itself? But again, doing something I love doing should give me happiness and it does too! Damn, I am just lazy AF! Basically, I do need to write more but not feel guilty for not writing. In a way, this too was a life upgrade!😃

And then I also found this lovely “How to stop feeling guilty for not being productive” list by @meeraleepatel on Instagram!

On second thought, it is okay for Meera to not feel guilty since she is already bestselling author & artist while I, on the other hand, struggle to write even one blog per month!! But getting back to the second point in her list: Let’s not compare, hon! (Btw, you should check out her work! She’s a rock star in her own right!)

Okay, your turn! Tell me all of this or any of this!

1. Did you ever feel guilty for being unproductive? How did you get over it?
2. Which fun product that could go in ‘life upgrades’ category, did you find in 2019 that I should be trying?
3. Please tell me that you’re glad to see me alive & kickin…err…alive & blogging!🙈 😊

And now let’s get to the most important part!!!

Happy new year, Sweets!💖

My wish for this year too remains the same! I wish this new year brings US innumerable warm hugs and passionate kisses, genuine smiles and hearty laughs, soulful travels and crazy adventures, more than a few precious moments worth cherishing and may we become the best versions of ourselves in 2020!

Loads of love & luck,

Chandani

PC: Nirav Bajaj (Thanks a million for the amazing pictures, buddy! 😀 )