Why Less Is Not More

Less is not more. Not any longer. Look around you. Can we afford to be less slim? less nice? less pretty? less ambitious? less loving? less “updated”? less “responsive”? less rich? If we could have it our way, we’d want a lemon to be more than yellow. As more as a rainbow, no?

And so, some weeks ago, I decided to invest more into a luxury ayurveda lip balm. The Sweet Narangi flavoured-dibiya from the house of Forest Essentials. In fact, I gave into the let’s-get-more-out-of-life story and opted for the combo pack which included a Cane Sugar scrub.

We’d want our lemons to be more than just yellow

Together, the two beauties that came packaged oh-so-elegantly from a store that reeked of a royal janana experience, promised me that my exhausted lips, and in turn my tired soul, would be spoilt with some serious royal treatment. A royal lip spa, if I may.

Two months down the line, this is what I have to say: The experience has been special but far from royal. While the sweet smell of narangi made my mornings a fragrant affair and the petroleum-free balm was truly soothing, it fell short of being the awesome knight-in-shining-armour I am still looking out for. While the scrub is a definite keep-sake and works like a charm, the balm refused to blend in. It sat on my lips like a coat, guarding them of all external evil, but not doing much to fill the existing cracks. Perhaps royal husbands must have meted out similar treatment to their queensfolk? Them being the protective coat and those doe-eyed maidens being the ones with cracks in their hearts? (Or atleast that’s what I’d like to think and convince myself that after all, I did get the royal treatment)

And precisely because of its inability to heal the dryness caused by those rare Mumbai winters, these two months saw me reaching out for the tiny jar of orange as often as the cuckoo comes out of the clock.

Verdict: Less is just not more and definitely so, if you are investing in a lip balm that positions itself as a luxury ayurveda product and comes with a price tag that makes the premium claim only more believable. Folks at Forest Essentials, if am investing more, you’ve got to give me more for it!