Monthly Archives: November 2019

Review – Bryan and Candy Cocoa Shea Bath tub spa kit

This entry was posted in Product/Service review on by

I am a bath and beauty products junkie and love trying out new stuff. Especially stuff that smells as good as food! Bryan and Candy, New York is one such brand that creates great smelling bath and beauty products. Recently I was contacted by them to try out their Bath tub spa kit. There are several variants in the same, namely, Cocoa & Shea, Strawberry, Mango Frutti, Orange & Mandarin and Green tea. I chose the Cocoa Shea bath tub spa kit (which comes in its own tub) .

The Cocoa Shea Bath tub spa kits has the following 5 items:

  • Cocoa Shea bath & shower gel 300mL
  • Cocoa Shea hand & body lotion 125mL
  • Cocoa Shea body polish 100g
  • Cocoa Shea sugar body scrub 100g
  • 1 luxury loofah

All these items come in a cute looking tub which can be conveniently arranged on the side of the actual bath tub.

Review of Bryan and Candy Cocoa Shea Bath tub spa kit:

The attractive & bright packaging is quite eye catching and all the products are delicious smelling. They have a pretty good shelf life (36 months) compared to other brands.

Cocoa Shea home spa kit

Cocoa Shea bath & shower gel:

The shower gel is Aloe Vera infused and has a refreshing chocolate fragrance to kickstart the day. As we all know, Aloe Vera has a soothing and cooling effect to give you supple and soft skin. Apart from concentrated aloe vera extracts, it also has natural oils. It can be used daily with a loofah and it doesn’t make the skin dry. It has a press button cap so that a small amount of gel comes out at a time and there’s no need to cap or uncap the lid repeatedly. It is paraben free.

Cocoa Shea bath & shower gel with luxury loofah

 

Cocoa Shea hand & body lotion:

It’s a nourishing lotion with essential oils and it is hyaluronic acid enriched. Hyaluronic acid, also known as hyaluronan, is a clear, gooey substance that is naturally produced by your body. The largest amounts of it are found in your skin, connective tissue and eyes. Its main function is to retain water to keep your tissues well lubricated and moist. The lotion can be used daily after the shower. As expected the fragrance is delicious. I like applying it on my hands just before going to sleep so that I can keep sniffing it while I doze off :). The lotion is meant for all skin types. The moisturization lasts quite long and it is free of Sulfates, Paraben, and other harmful ingredients. One can gently massage it till it’s absorbed all the way.

Cocoa Shea hand and body lotion

Cocoa Shea body polish:

This is a gentle exfoliant more like a gel and can be used daily. Its natural microbeads help to clear clogged pores thus helping the skin to breathe and eventually improving skin tone. It’s good to see that it has no plastic microbeads and instead consists of microcrystalline cellulose which is natural. As expected it is deliciously chocolatey and even looks chocolatey. It has avocado extracts and D-panthenol that soothe the skin and help fight ageing. Apply small amounts of the scrub on to damp skin and massage lightly. Rinse with water.

 

Sugar body scrub along with Body Polish

 

Cocoa Shea sugar body scrub:

This scrub can be used once a week to exfoliate dead skin cells and it cleanses skin impurities. The scrub consists of sugar and is not made with salts. While sugar helps to hydrate the skin, scrubbing helps to improve the blood circulation of skin. It is enriched with Argan oil and oatmeal extracts. The soft chocolatey sugar scrub is made of natural sugar, cocoa powder and 100% natural cocoa and shea natural butters. Natural plant extracts soften the skin while Argan oil and oatmeal extracts give intense moisturisation. The delicious smelling scrub actually looks just like chocolate so better not eat it! Apply small amounts of the scrub on to damp skin and massage lightly. Rinse with water.

The Bryan & Candy home spa kit

 

Luxury Loofah:

The loofah is made of spongy material which is a little rubbery. It’s quite smooth and especially soft on the skin unlike the nylon loofahs which may be harsher on the skin. Consequently the lathering is a little less comparatively.

I quite liked the trendy design element here. And there is extra packaging so that the tub kits don’t spoil while transferring the contents.

Bryan and Candy, New York

Receap :

  • Good shelf life (36 months).
  • Colourful bottles, easy to open lids.
  • Have already harped about the smell but can’t help repeating – it smells delicious!
  • Smoothen & moisturise the skin.
  • All products are Paraben free.
  • All products are animal testing free.
 Rating : 4/5

In my experience The spa kit was a great way to Indulge the senses with these delicious smells and textures, and can be a blissful way to start the day. It’s also a great gifting option especially since this is the festivity and gifting season. The products are available at Bryan & Candy website, Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart and Snapdeal.

 
Disclaimer: I have not been paid for this review, but I did receive the samples of the product. This is an unbiased review of the same.
 
 
 
 
 


New Technologies in Health Insurance Industry

This entry was posted in Health on by (updated 1845 days ago)

Technology’s managed to enter our lives in every way possible. Now with new advancements in health care and tracking of one’s health parameters, could health insurance players have been far behind? Along with several wearables focused on fitness and well-being, we now have devices that track blood sugar, abnormal heart rhythm, stress levels etc.

 

This data is relevant especially to feed algorithms — which is a first step before launching digital health insurance products.

 

Health insurers across the world are launching several new tech initiatives. The key to face this challenge is to change their existing relationships with customers. By trying to collect more customer data, they hope to better understand the health needs and accordingly increase the level of customised engagement.

 

To go deeper in prevention, health insurers are now gathering data from many sources (wearables, mobile tracking)  and focus on preventing stress & lifestyle related diseases. They also leverage AI to make real-time ECG interpretation and allow doctors to monitor their patients online. This is a combination of prevention, where the technology helps have a healthier behavior, and cost reduction by avoiding unnecessary doctor’s appointments.

 

For such prediction and prevention of disease, organisations require a huge amount of data to be relevant. The first challenge for insurers here is to make people agree to share their personal data. Customers have to really feel the benefits to allow access to such private data. The next challenge is to secure that data against Cyber attacks. Hence Cybersecurity plays a big role here.

 

Tech like AI, big data analytics, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT) technology and blockchain play a big role now. The set of challenges, includes development of high performance and scalable delivery models.

 

There are health insurers who try to reward a healthier behavior. People may get rewarded with gym lessons, sportswear items, or wearables, etc. Some also offer discount on health insurance policies to those who agree to share their health data. An Indian Health Insurance company recently tied up with Mobikwik to tap into millennials and first-time buyers for bite sized insurance. The company also collaborates with GOQii to track health score of customers, based on which they provide discounts on health insurance premiums.

 

Instead of a reactive approach, the need is to be proactive and develop algorithms which help in prevention, risk scoring, early detection etc. This in turn helps the huge amount of data be relevant and keeps health insurance payouts at a minimum.

 

Within the customer service arena also, things have moved much beyond just paperless claims.  Teleconsultation or video calls with a doctor using mobile apps, & use of AI to collect symptoms to pre-qualify diseases before any interaction with a real doctor – are required to make the process smoother & quicker for customers. Chat Bots are used to answer queries on claim status and policy copy requests. Self-claim settlement up to a certain monetary limit also helps keep overheads at a minimum. 

 

As one can see, health insurance in India is changing in a big way.