Micromax Canvas Tab P666 with Intel Inside™

We are on the last day of the year 2014 and it is time to embrace New Year and New Beginnings. 

While the year 2014 was quite a spectacular year in terms of innovation and technology, with telecom spectrum re-allocation, strengthening of existing telecom service providers and also the year when some of the old yet mighty telecom operators [in Mumbai] like Loop Telecom closed their shops and their existing subscribers who were not yet moved in to other service providers offering 3G Internet capability unlike Loop, too made their much awaited movement to the two topmost telecom operators of India- Airtel and Vodafone. 

Basis my experience, the game changer was the Data aka Internet services that made consumers spoil for choices and a greater bargain ensued in the marketer with lesser sold operators like DOCOMO making a beeline to poach the "Loop residual" consumers by luring them with attractive, read Free Data services. Indeed, it is the new generation in telecom and computing and Internet is indeed a game changer in this field. 

While India is slowly moving from 3G Internet to 4G Internet, subscriber penetration is still quite a big challenge that many a telecom operators face while selling their premium Data Services. In simpler words, lesser number of Internet supporting, smart devices in the market acts a major hindrance to a higher penetration percentage of mobile Internet users in India. Is it a purchasing power parity issue or issue related to lower availability of right handset or something else? 

If you ask me, it is primarily due to "lower smartphone/ device" penetration that is preventing the increase in number of mobile data penetration in India. Is Device availability really a challenge especially when e-commerce sites like Flipkart closes sales of a Chinese newly released handset within few seconds of launch? Well, I think the market is laden with multiple devices and often these device brands are competing against each other to win what I call "whatever readily available" device market share. To cut the story short, the consumer today is looking for not just smartphones/ smart devices but "high quality and lower priced" devices. Perchance the major reason how Samsung succeeded in Nokia Led market and now, Micromax is giving brand like Samsung a big run for its money with their attractive bouquet of feature laden, good looking handsets with competitive pricing and high reliability factor. 

Micromax is indeed one of the high selling brand in the open market and is on its way to soon replace the position/ grab the high market share of high selling brands like Samsung. 

Coming back to our original reference to New year, we need to realize that apart from the other fields, Mobile Internet has some huge plan up on it's sleeves with Reliance Gio gearing for their LTE Launch and Airtel spreading its 4G offering in Mumbai. Forget PK, Data is the new God, new God of the year 2015. While there is "One God" for the spiritual world, the telecom and computing world of 2015 will have 2 gods- Consumer and high Speed Data / Devices. New beginnings are all about discovering your passion. Device brands are not leaving stones unturned to capture this new phenomenon even better in coming year. So why would a giant like Micromax be lagged behind?

Micromax Canvas Tab P666

Micromax, in order to expand its product offerings[ strengthening market share] and living up with it's promise to bring "high end feature smart devices under competitive cost" has recently launched- Micromax Canvas Tab P666.

The device is targeted to high Internet users like the gaming Buffs, brand promises to provide mobile experience at lightening speed. The promise is supported by the rich feature including Intel processor. The feature includes-

Processor

• Intel® Atom™ Processor (1.2GHz)
• Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology for Smooth Multi-Tasking
• Intel® Burst Performance Technology for Better Performance
• 1GB RAM

Camera

• 5 MP Rear Camera
• 2MP Front Camera [ awe bad news for selfie takers though]
• 1080p HD Video- recording and playback

Battery

• 325 hours* stand by time
• 6 hours* browsing time 
• 7 hours* video playback time

Storage

• 8GB ROM
• Expandable up to 32 GB

Design: The tab is a chiseled 7.9mm sleek encased in  an exquisite glass finish with aluminium rim on sides.

Now coming to the main feature that we started our post talking about- The speed factor and connectivity. The tablet offers 3G connectivity with Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, Voice call support, GSB and Micro USB support.

Well if you are beginner than these speed and specs works for you. If you are still latched to your old world 2G handset where you use WAP or BREW as platform to browse Internet or wonder if the iPhone and Samsung of the world is too expensive a proposition and you aim for a better battery life, this device is for you. What are you waiting for? Start exploring the wide world of Mobile Internet with your new Micromax Canvas Tab P666. At RS 10,999 it is a low risk device to begin with.

What can I achieve with it's promised lightening speed?
I am a a gaming freak who loves social media and loves big screen. I love reading while travelling but damn small screen smartphones, they make reading slow and difficult. Imagine a whole big screen to play all those wonderful car chase games with? Whoa! And Music? Yup, with upto 32 GB expandable memory, I can store more, live more.So pictures, musics..no more constant deletions. Lets shot some videos with a wide tab screen.

Did I tell you the screen size? Well it is 20.32cm (8) WXGA IPS screen. Further specs may confuse you. So here's embedding a demo video of the same. Do go through it and given the fact that a lot of demo devices are available at MBOs Multi Branded Outlets for your to personally experience, you can live the adage- the proof of pudding is in eating.



This New Year, I am aiming to go 4G from 3G. I wish if this tablet was available 2-3 years back. Even earlier this year when I wasted my hard earned money purchasing a not so well performing tab from Lenovo. Husssh lets talk about Micromax here. To know more about the product checkout this link- Micromax Canvas Tab P666

Oriss Swiss Watches, a 110 year old Luxury Brand

Time is indeed a luxury. Hence I like to add a little luxury to the way I see my time. A trait that well reflects in the watches that I chose for self or family. Hmm, and who makes watches better than Swiss-smiths? :)

While the Swiss are known to perfect the art of timekeeping, given the sea of wonderful brands and designs that they offer, it has become very difficult to swim through and pick a watch. The specification makes me no better person especially when it comes to buying a watch for a male member of the family. Cause specification is endless. Then comes the look factor. The wear-ability factor and most importantly, would he like what I choose for him? Will it make sense? To top the confusion, if the male member happens to be a "high flying" fighter pilot of the family? yeah, the confusion becomes worst and you look for something that would not just entice him but make sure that he uses the product.

And men! going by my experience, give them good watches, they love it. It does what chocolates and flowers do to women. It is also a safe buy :)

While the market is inundated with brands here and there including the clothing major foraying into this arena with products flaunting in their signature collection. I stumbled across a name that has been there. Been there from a century and a decade plus. The name is- Oris.

Watchmaking takes to the skies with The New Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter

The histories of watchmaking and aviation are inextricably linked. Flying was the future of the 20th Century. It was fast, exciting, dangerous, and the men and women who took to the skies became heroic figures. Like the aircraft themselves, early navigational flying aids were very basic and gave birth to the need of quality timekeeping instruments for Pilots so they could depend on when planning routes and maneuvers, and undertaking airborne missions. Though Pocket watches rule the trend during the early flight years at the beginning of the 20th century. However, if you see that pilots, who would be gloved to protect them from the elements, fumbling around in a pocket for an important reading was totally impractical and a bad idea. 

In the sea of innovation came Oris that developed Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter to serve as a high-performance instrument for pilots, mountaineers, explorers and research scientists, who work at altitude. Its sturdy 47mm multi-piece stainless steel case houses an Oris automatic movement, and a Swiss mechanical barometric altimeter and barometer movement. Phew!

The story continues in 2014 when ORIS introduced the Big Crown ProPilot collection, a series of mechanical watches designed to cope with the extremely complicated and demanding life in the cockpit. After the initial 3 models a date, day/date, both with an enlarged font sized, and a chronograph, ORIS has recently unveiled the most complicated pilot's watch it has ever made- the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter. 

I am told that the new watch is a pioneer innovation demonstrating the brand's exceptional watchmaking knowledge and horological ambition, both being built supremely over their 110 years of watchmaking history. 

The moment Is aw it, I was like- yes this is what I want for my fighter pilot. But why?

How the patented Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter works-

It has 2 crowns. The crown at 2'0 clock is a conventional crown to adjust time and date. Also to wind the watch [the automatic movement has 38-hour power reserve].  The second screw drew crown at 4'0 clock operates the altimeter. It has positions rangings from 0 to 2 ro calibrate the altimeter. Once set, the watch shows the current altitude via the yellow indicator and the corresponding air pressure via the red indicator. Phew! That is a lot of know-how I gathered while researching through this watch. In the end, all that I could reminisce and tell was that the watch is the world's first automatic mechanical altimeter watch developed for ambitious explorers. <moment of victory, a sudden triumph]. 

This has alone made Mr Fighter Pilot aka my cousin smile broadly, ear to ear and, me heaving a sigh that Phew! the efforts paid and gift was accepted by the receiver. 

The watch is very much available in the market [since September 2014] and if you ae interested, here's few specifications that you may like to know-

• Oris automatic mechanical movement Cal. 733, based on SW200 with date window at 3 o’clock 

• Black dial with printed Arabic numerals filled with Super-LumiNova®, same as hour and minute hands 

• Screw-in stainless steel crowns. Patented Oris altimeter adjustment and venting crown, incl. a PTFE vapour barrier

• Integrated Swiss mechanical barometric altimeter and barometer movement 

•  Sapphire crystal domed and with anti-reflective coating on both sides

•  Multi-piece stainless steel case. Water-resistant to 10 bar/100m 

• Screwed case back 

• Altimeter hand made from laminated carbon fibre 

• Textile strap with stainless steel folding clasp. Also available with leather strap or metal bracelet 

• Swiss Retail Price CHF 3,300 with textile strap, CHF 3,500 with metal bracelet 

Price: On request

Beauty Under Review

Good afternoon folks and all my readers. I know I have been keeping away from this space and in spite of being an active beauty reviewer and watcher, I am struggling for time and time to bring upon my discoveries, experiences, reviews, etc from my dresser to Instagram to the blog. Time is indeed luxury! Well, that reminds me of another luxury and lifestyle brand under review. The details will follow later. 

Here's a small list of different products that are currently under review and would soon find their details on www.hautekutir.com. Here we go-

1) Lakme Absolute Gel Stylist

I am not a stickler for nail paints but off late, I often found myself drooling over different shades and painting my nails with. One shade that I have been drooling since the past month is- Lakme Absolute Gel Stylist in Blue.

2) Epique Advanced UV protection System

Well, the Swiss luxury had already made their foray in the Indian Market. And I love all things that claim to be biological. I have heard some rave reviews about it from a family member and could not wait to try it up. However, my allergy to SPF prevented me from immense experimentation, I could not wait for more to try it out and share a review. 

3) Schwarzkopf BC Hair Therapy Range.

I love their products in the Salon specialist category. I heard they are much better than what I tried with some L'Oreal Salon treatment products. Hence I am keeping this month reserved for Schwarzkopf BC products. I would like you to stay on this page for further updates. Disclaimer- exciting things up!

4) The Tamara Resorts Coorg

Umm if you follow me on Instagram, you would know what I am talking about. More to come :)

There are more products in the offing, lying happily in the kitty and some being a part of my regular Beauty and makeup regime. Lakme, Oriflame and Victoria's Secret to name few. 

Like I said, keep tuned to this page. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter [@Numerounity] and Facebook Page to see what am I trying on a daily basis.

I am more active on Instagram and you can follow me at @Ektakhetan 

Show me your love and we may soon go up on Viber too [if only time gives that luxury].

Also, I am loving all the emails that you have sent me to Gmail. I go through each of them and do expect a reply from me or Team HauteKutir. Keeping sending me your unspammed love at hautekutir@gmail.com 

Like I said- Exciting things up with www.hautekutir.com

Beauty Event- When Himalaya Created a New Guinness World Record in #Facials

On 29th November, India witnessed a new Guinness Book Record created. This time, the record was not for the tallest person on the earth or maximum nos of run scored. This time, the beauty and personal care industry had taken a leap of faith and shown to the world, that Indians once make up their minds, can work wonders too. Even in the field of beauty and cosmetics, we are no inferior to phoren brands. The maestro in this swan song was- Himalaya Herbals.

Himalaya Herbals is one of the India's leading herbal health and personal care brand. It had a super fun, trendsetting activity at the Jashoda Rang Mandir Grounds, JUHU, Mumbai, wherein the brand had set a new Guinness World Record of successfully conducting not 1, nor 5 nor 100 but total 286 facials at the same time, simultaneously at the same location.

Woo Hoo it is quite a feat considering the last record [if I am not wrong was around 230 facials. 

The #PureSkinFacial

The event was very graciously hosted by and under the expert guidance of Beauty expert Veena Desai who not just conducted the overall facial ceremony but also shared ample beauty tips and tricks during the session throughout. While she was instructing the facial experts and beauticians who were performing live facials on their assigned clients, she also suggested them to focus on client satisfaction, a trait that many big Salons and Beauticians miss these days.   She also addresses the importance of regular and healthy skincare routine that women need to adapt at the early ages of their life. 

Beautician Veena Desai in Action. Picture Courtesy www.hautekutir.com

Beauticians at work.
Picture Courtesy www.hautekutir.com

The Himalaya Products that were used for the Facials.  

The record-breaking session was certified by a very gorgeous and accessible Fortuna Burke, the Guinness Adjudicator. Fortuna was very excited about being in India and was looking ahead to her time in the city of Mumbai that she found quite urbane and chilled out.

That's yours truly with Adjudicator Fortuna Burke discussing flea market shopping in Mumbai and Celebrate Bandra

#PureSkinFacials and the Lovely Shraddha Kapoor

The final award ceremony was graced by the affable looking, a super gorgeous Shraddha Kapoor. Shraddha was a delight to watch as she was not only sporty about the whole engagement but she looked resplendent in her apt green Knee length dress. Her dress was extremely apt for the event and everyone around couldn't stop taking their eyes off her. 

On dressing and appearance, she scored 10/10.

She was a doll to watch and unlike many other young celebs, quite in command of her way with words. She quoted-

Being a part of a world record is so exciting! A healthy regimen must consist of cleansing, toning ,and moisturizing followed by using products that are healthy and natural. All these aspects were clearly demonstrated today. Guinness World Record! That’s very cool!

Shraddha presented the certificate from Guinness World Records to Executives of Himalaya Herbals. 

 The event was followed by the personal interaction with PR and the digital team of Himalaya Herbal. Post discussion, the visiting bloggers, media, and journos with "Media Only" tag were treated for a lovely and delicious lunch by the Umang caterers. 

I attended the event with my friend Aarti and Meghna whom I invited to join this moment of victory that Himalaya created, making the nation proud. I must applaud the event managing media and agency for their flawless execution of a large scale event like this. It is no mean feat to gather more than 400 people and conduct such an event while trying to make a new World Record.

Thank You Team Himalaya for such a lovely event and the fabulous gifts. 

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Bottega di LungaVita launches ‘LINFA – AGE’ skincare line for this fall

Tradition, Science, and Innovation

Well, that's what is the philosophy of Bottega di LungaVita, an Italian brand for natural cosmetic and dietary supplement company. The brand has come up with a new range of skincare for both face and Body- LINFA- Age.

The LINFA AGE line, contains phytotherapeutic extracts and has been formulated for the daily care of skin, both on the face and body. It is claimed to be suitable for some of the more common dermatological complaints, such as sensitive and reactive skin, dry and devitalized skin, senescent and thinned skin and greasy and impure skin as confirmed by the brand.

This new product line is amalgamated with herbs, ingredients, and formulations from ancient Roman times and science in India for the first time. According to the company, these formulations were used in the invention of cosmetics. This best-ever range fulfills the need of every individual going through smog, dust, pollution and oxidation that threaten skin and hair every day. This line offers a specialist dermatological approach providing a perfect solution for wellness and skin care.

This Italian brand is similar to the essence of India, rooted in its rich territory and general natural assets, their products endow with a mixture of bountiful fruits, biodiversity & precious reserve for pharmacological ingredients. These products reassure the sense of living that has been lost. Coming directly from Italian formulations, science & technology, and an attractive packaging, these products are specially made there and are brought to India at competitive price points so one can live an Italian way of Life. 

This is the LINFA – AGE brand's first steps in the Indian market and it offers an array of Shampoos, cleansing milk, night creams, tonic lotions, facial masks to wrap the body gracefully with a hint of perfection. LINFA – AGE is for all skin types and for both men and women.

Recommend this energizing shower bath tonic containing ginseng and Hypericum for Daily Cleansing of the skin, stimulating and reinvigorating the body. Good news is it is "Paraben Free".

So this autumn, make every day a sparkling experience for your body with the LINFA – AGE line and keeping the world guessing the reason for the ever-glowing YOU! If you have used these products, do share your experience with us here and also what has been your favorite range as well. We would love to hear from you.

Price starting from INR: 990/- onwards

TG: Unisex

My Fabbag Special Anniversary Edition

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.

John Keats

Fabbag, India's no 1 "Beauty subscription bag" has completed it's 2nd anniversary in the month of September. As a special Anniversary edition, they have chosen a leopard print bag for all the special edition subscriptions. Here's what I got in my Fabbag-

 I was very excited to receive my Fabbag. It's been almost 2 years since I first discovered it and have been loving it since then. Fabbag involves an element of surprise and joy of receiving different products curated for you in the bag. Curated? well off late, the personalization had been missing. Still Fabbag brings a special joy every time you receive them.

What's in my Fabbag this time?
Well, here we go-

1) Skin Yoga Sandal Wood Saffron Face Mask

I just loved this differently designed small bottle for sample. I have not used any of the skin Yoga products in past and quite a gung-ho about trying it out.

2) Bellapierre Mineral Foundation

I am little lazy when it comes to using make up and the creamy, liquid foundations always put me off.  I have been using Oriflame loose powder for face and loving the effect that it creates on my face. This foundation is also in a loose powder form and that's what attracts me to it. Yes, I am kicked to try it out soon.

 3) Sally Hansen Natural Nail Growth Activator with a Gift 

The product came in full size. and seems to be interesting. I will try this too. I hope given the chippy quality of my nail and my own personal inconvenience of growing my nails long, would get some help from this product. Ah! The free gift i.e. nail filer makes sense but did not entice me much.

4) The Scarf
This product really put me down. I loved the quality of the scarf though but the print is so not me. I don't think I would ever wear the heart shape printed scarf. Wish they could have sent me a better print that I could use.

No, I did not received the magazine as promised in the bag.

Haute Kutir Verdict: Overall the bag made for a nice gift concept and I look forward to gifting few to my friends and family soon. Detailed product reviews will follow soon.

Do I recommend this bag to others? Yes
Would I buy from them again? Well depends as in what is the offer and what lies inside.

My overall rating for this month's bag- 3.5/5

What I liked- Full samples and array of brands
What I did not like- Not so personalized brands and if samples are outdated.
TG: Youth and teenager who wants to try new products without spending much or want to try something before buying them as beauty sampling is still very nascent in India

Prize: Subscription is for Rs 599 per month and is also available on 3 months, 6 months and 12 months subscription basis. Off course advance subscription brings down the cost of bag upto Rs 399/ month

Special Offer for Haute Kutir Readers- Pl click this link to subscribe and avail 5% discount on your first ever fabbag- http://curebit.com/x/R8RSv5 

To read my posts on other Beauty Subscription bags, visit these links-
NaturesCo Beauty wish Bag
Enchantess Bag

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All the pictures used in this post is a copyright property of this blog. Please refrain from using without seeking permission from the team. 

Pl note, this post is a personal experience and not a paid post nor does the owner of this blog believes in writing biased reviews. All reviews are purely non biased irrespective of paid post, PR samples received or not.
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Food Tips: How to Prevent Pasta from Sticking

I am a known Pastafarian and I love my Pasta. Contrary to popular availability, I love my Pasta Al-Dante. So when I avoid eating a highly gooey-mushy pasta at dinner outside, I take all precautions to avoid making my pasta a way too soft while cooking at home.

I believe a lot of you too wouldn't want that. So for people who love to eat Pasta and also cook at home but always wonder how to stop making it sticky, here's "self-proclaimed foodie" Haute Kutir brings some tips upon her apron sleeves for you.

How to Prevent Pasta from sticking while cooking-

They say- well begun is a job half well done. So keeping the beginning in the mind here are some tips that we use, and you can use too while boiling/cooking your pasta-

1) Take a nonstick pot and boil the water before adding Pasta to it

2) Add 1/2 a spoon of oil [pref Olive] while boiling the Pasta

3) Do not over boil the pasta or keep it too long out from pot post boiling in open

4) Strange as it may sound, place a spoon in the boiling pot while boiling the pasta

Someone told me about using nonstick spray before boiling the pasta. However, since I have never tried it, I am not sure how well it works or how healthy it could be.

The above tips hold good for all kinds of Pasta- Penne, Ribbon and even Fettuccine as well. 

If you have any other tips to share, do let us know. Till such time- Happy Feasting, Happy pasta eating!

pic credit: Self! Copyright!
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Review of Khadi Mixed Fruit Soap

We all have heard about the brand Khadi and wide range of products it offers in beauty, Spa and Toiletry range, from Soaps to Oils to Body Lotion to Hair Cleansing products.

When I first used Khadi's coconut soap with glycerin and the Neem soap, I have taken to the fancy of Khadi and wanted to try all other variants. Hence using Flipkart, I ordered few more variants. One being, the tempting and gorgeous looking Mixed fruits soap.

I didn't bat a eye lid and ordered 2 of them in one of my latest flipkart haul where I ordered other Khadi soaps and nail paint remover among other products. The fact tat I ordered 2 Khadi Mixed fruit soap and flipkart delivered just one and the second one was Rose water based variant, made me little upset on the online e-commerce giant's order mishandling. I comforted myself that since Rose water is my all time favorite variant in all beauty products and there's always next time I can order more pieces of "Mixed fruit". Anyways, time to use and review. Well, read more to know more

I could not wait for trying it out and unwrapped the big bar and diligently placed in my shower soap dish. Here's my review of the product, let us first begin with what I did not liked -

What I did not liked about this soap-

1. The soap is very rough in texture baring the unevenly placed pieces of colored bars
2. The white base of soap has a chalk like feeling and ends up drying your hands
3. The soap has mildly fragrances and unlike the other Khadi soaps wherein the entire shower area is filled with sensuous smell of the soap, this one goes totally unnoticed
4. The soap did not nothing good to my skin rather than making it dry

What I liked about the soap-

1. None that I think of except the fruity part of it

Haute Kutir Verdict: The soap priced at Rs 60 is not worthy the prize and hype. The soap is harsh to touch and it's usage leaves skin dry and broken with blisters on face. Do not use on face. I am very happy that Flipkart goofed up wit my order and instead of sending 2 mixed fruit variant of Khadi soaps, it sent only one.

Will I buy it again- No

Do I recommend this to anyone? NO! Unless they want to wash cloths

My overall rating: 1.5/5

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Bloggers Event- #ArtOfOiling with Parachute Advansed & Nargis Fakhri

I am a beauty reviewer and writer who loves her hair dearly. My hair care regime is simple-OCCC

O- Oiling

C- Cleansing

C- Conditioning

C- Covering [when traveling in an open window scenario]

I am a stern believer in oiling my hair especially before washing and it is a ritual that I have been doing since my childhood. I still remember how my Grandma insists on oiling my hair every day, especially with coconut oil. Needless to say, Parachute was the most preferred/ used brand since those days. 

Parachute is one of the flagship brands of Marico Group, the pioneers in Oil and allied industry. So when Parachute invited me for a DIY Blogger's event on rediscovering the fading #ArtOfOiling with International Massage Expert Moses Chundi and the Gorgeous Nargis Fakhri, all my childhood memories of Parachute [different logos, packaging] came reminiscent and I canceled my Hair spa appointment with my Salon to attend the same. 

The event was not just a tick in the box but was a very well planned, conceived and organized one. In spite of the unexpected rain, the organizers and the team at Venue 69 managed to pull up a wonderful venue, ambiance and a setting that was just perfect. Here's a top view Dekko-

It was an open-air setting with a small stage, a colorful sitting arena for bloggers and media with a table consisting of oiling essentials, for each and hair wash booths at the end, and of course Camera all around.

Rediscovers the fading art of oiling with a line of ‘Do It Yourself’ (DIY) oil massage techniques that are quick, easy & fun developed for daily rejuvenation

Most of us are juggling with our multi-faceted daily life with multiple challenges and roadblocks. At such times, it has become imperative to invest quality time in ourselves to let go of any of our daily niggles, knots, and stress. #ArtOfOiling with Parachute aims to provide rejuvenation with quick and easy to "do it yourself" 10 minutes massage techniques. The vested benefits include- distressed, relaxation, rigor and rejuvenation- All in a Jiffy!

Moses Chundi, the noted massage expert, who mastered this art under the "Guru of Indian Head Massage and Founder of London Center of Champissage", the late Mr. Narendra Mehta, had developed his own signature line of DIY massages and demonstrated the same with the gorgeous Ms. Fakhri for the Parachute Advanced Knowledge Center.

Moses is not just passionate about this therapy but apparently, he endorses the #ArtOfOiling so much that he oils his hair every day. 

They spoke out and demonstrated techniques like-

• Tapotement- A technique from the "Art of Instant Energy" that invigorates and boosts energy levels.
• Slow Pinch and Release- From the "Art of Facial Glow" to increase blood circulation and release facial muscles tensions
• Thumb Press- From the "Art of Office distressing that helps in loosening up the tightness due to work stress.
• The Art of Bridal- He spoke about this technique that is a must for all "brides to be". I will post the video and details on another post soon.

As I mentioned, all the bloggers were given a table each with beautifully laid out oiling sets to not just witness the demos but also try it on themselves. The oiling sets consisted of Parachute coconut oil, a bowl, a lovely wooden comb, potpourri, lights some towels and tissues along with strands of Sandalwood. Yup, the expert asked to soak the sandalwood in an oiled bowl and with help of cotton, he demonstrated to apply it all over the scalp and only the scalp.

Hair Fact by Haute Kutir: When you oil your hair, you need to oil your scalp alone with the help of a cotton ball. Avoid oiling strands unless it is really necessary.

Post the session, there was a video booth and selfie booth for the photo/video enthusiast. Nargis was a great sport throughout the event and unlike other "ivory tower" celebs, she was more engaging, responsive and collaborative.

The event was followed by photobombing sessions, "paint your own graffiti" and dinner. The lovely PR handed each blogger a lovely cane box consisting of Oils from the parachute and a beautiful oil lamp by Bombay Store.

The parachute had also flown bloggers from Delhi, Kolkata, and Pune. I met two lovely bloggers Tanya and Pallavi from thatDesiGirl.com along with other blogger friends like Dollie From Indian Shringar, Bhumika, and Vipra.

Overall the #ArtOfOiling was a fulfilling experience. Thanks to my Grandma, I was aware of most of those techniques taught there. In fact, for me, it was like self-reassurance on my long-standing belief of oiling hair and the technique too. 

Here are more pictures from the event-

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Thank you Team Parachute. 

Happy #ArtOfOiling

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Make your Dream 24K Home with Porcelanosa

Home is where the heart is. And the heart of the home is people who live in and the design. Yes, the design is the heart of the structure. No matter how big or small your house is, unless cemented with a good design and accessories, it does not speak for itself, neither for the people who live in. SO as to say the at the heart of a home is, it's designed and at the heart of the design is- Porcelanosa.

Recently when 24kliving asked me to pick as many items that I want from the Porcelanosa website, I could not stop going gaga over a range of products and designs over there. From floors to walls to designer washrooms, Porcelanosa has everything that you wanted, dream and envisaged for your home. Don't know what I am talking about? Well, you must check the site for yourself to believe. 

Porcelanosa and my house

I love doing my house and my husband echoes my passion. However, I have been working at different lengths and breadth of India, and so I am staying in a rented house. There's a lot of things that you cannot do in your rented house. So we do them at my in-law's house in MP. And there's a lot of things that you can still do at your rented house, that I am already doing up picking up furniture etc. Do stay to my blog for more updates on that.

After hours of surfing and dilly-dallying [read confusion to pick one from almost all the best designs] Here are a few of my preferred [finally] items that I picked from there and wanted to highlight on Haute Kutir. Let's have Dekko-

1) The Anti Slip Tiles from Porcelanosa- We are re-doing the tiles for my in-law's house and given their senior age and mobility, I loved these anti-slip tiles in wood finish. It will not just add a new look to the whole house along with comfort factor, it seems to be easy to clean and maintain as well. Perfect flooring for the drawing-room and the bath areas. Another best part is, unlike other anti-slip tiles, I am told this one does not "fade away" with cleaning agents. Ain't that a good investment?

2) Wardrobes and chests of drawers by Gamadecor- I fell in love with this design the moment I saw it. I can see my husband smiling as he is the one most baffled with the way I treat my room [s] while getting ready. I have a tendency to change more than twice, throwing clothes and accessories around, messing the cupboard while dressing up or getting ready. I always need an exclusive space for self and do not like storing wardrobes or multiple chests in my bedroom. Now I have a spare room at my rented 2BHK [such a luxury in Mumbai after palatial houses of Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Gurgaon] which I use as "dressing room" and a design like this would transform that into "one-stop" destination for all my "getting ready" needs. Girls out there know what I mean :)

3) Krion® Ras collection with new washbasins and bathroom units- Isn't this basin looks neat, lovely and comforting? Yes, I loved the super ergonomic design of this bathroom unit that sees outside at greens, making the morning a lovely time. I loved this design cause it is not just a clean design but also had the minimalist approach to it, hiding away the waste pipes et all. The open window and pots adds to overall look and elegance. And the Flat, board surface of the washbasin provides ample space to prevent the water from running down to the floor. 

4) PAR-KER® Ceramic Parquet for walls- I loved the look this ceramic parquet is creating for the study floors and the walls. The material used is highly resistant to wear and tear caused by continuous usage. The surface finish is unaffected by the sun and hence makes a perfect material for my long-planned study that I love to frequent on a bright Sunday, taking a lot of Vitamin Sun and Shine, without worrying it impacts on my decor.

I love to keep my walls neat and absolutely loved these "Decorative Profiles" by Porcelanosa. The color play between subtle black, grey and white took my heart away and I am totally sold on these trendy wall sets that provide a superior finish for any kind of setting. The silhouette is neat and adds to the design. I loved the way it blended and I would be happy to use them in my bathroom or kitchen.

5) Kitchen- The Food Blogger and Foodie in me absolutely loved this trendy kitchen design in black and white. The design looks accommodation enough with ample storage space and also space for stacking the regularly used kitchen appliances. The wide countertop, cooking area, large capacity drawers with oak finish and above all the unit with the audio-video area made me go weak on knees for this design. I especially loved the "orange angle" into the whole decor.

Well, this is among the top few in my wish list as of now. Do go through the website and let me know about the items that you may have liked. I would be happy to hear from you. Also, for those who are wondering if Porcelanosa is accessible for Indian consumers, the good news is this Spanish Lifestyle venture has joined hands with Kotle-Patil Developers to make a Foray in Asia for their luxury brand 24KLiving. 

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Handset Review of HTC One - Eye M8

17th November, HTC a global name in handsets, launched the all new HTC One [M8 Eye].  I attended the launch of this latest addition to the HTC One family at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai amid the star/media studded event. HTC had invited Actor John Abraham to grace this launch along with Chialin Chang, Global President of Sales and Chief Financial Officer, HTC Corporation

The handset is positioned as a top of the range, advanced handset with intuitive and lightning fast network data, blazing speed and a brand new 13 megapixels Duo Camera. Now, doesn't that sound interesting and definitely- “Eye-catching”?

HTC One [M8 Eye] Beautiful Design, Precision Crafted

HTC M8 Eye is a beautifully designed GSM smartphone with 5 inches, 1020 X 1980 display, powered by the 2.3Ghz processor. The handset is precision crafted design with a single block of metal, with smooth zero edge finish that wraps right around to the screen. The form factor is high with very slim, sleek and attractive to hold metal finish. 

HTC One [M8 Eye]

Phone Specs-

Haute Kutir Reviews

Needless to say, with the listed features, form factors and superior camera technology, HTC M8 was one of the most awaited phones of the year. It was my first HTC phone and given the high touchscreen performance reviews about HTC handsets, I could not wait but to try this handset, even though that made me run around to get my sim swapped from Smart sim to Nano sim and installing all my Apps and contact list in the sleek, Greek god version of handset.

Apart the technical specs and brilliant features that everyone is raving including me] about this handset, following are my two pence basis my 2 weeks of usage-

1.  Form Factor:- I simply loved the metallic body, finesse, and the lovely touchscreen. The phone was not very heavy while holding and could easily fit into my trouser pockets. Brilliant job HTC. Rating 5/5

2.  Camera:- Camera is the highlight of the phone. The phone is high “selfie-friendly” and with the 13MP camera at both rear and front, it has become the best “Selfie” camera phone among all smartphones.  It offers interesting features like- Crop me, Split capture, Photo Booth etc. The camera autofocus operates at a speed of 300 seconds and the intelligent LED Dual Flash automatically selects the exact color tone and light intensity whenever flash is required. Results- Professionally shot pictures are captured. Rating 5/5

3.    Battery Life:- Battery life is good however, I found the “time taken for charging” the phone on a slightly higher side. It took me almost 2-3 hours to get the phone charged 100%

4.  Heated up device:- The device gets heated up too soon and sometimes to an alarming level even though not being in charging, in use or in confinements. Well considering the proximity of the handset to the user that did not help me much.

5.     Pricing:- The handset is priced at around Rs 39,000 is slightly on the higher side of premium pricing that may discourage the possible penetration in iPhone and Samsung Laden market. With the technology changing/updating every month, the pricing unless targeted at only niche “urban- high value” customer serves as a big constraint to probable buyers who may choose HTC over iPhone. Pricing could have been better and more inviting in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 INR max.

6.   Text Input:- How much we all still love our qwerty or 2G handsets with type-pads. Ask any “high text” user and they will vouch for it. The phone’s text input gets hanged [even for a smaller fraction of time] and the intuitive input method serves pain. However, one good thing is that phone text has an option of typing into various language including Hindi and that works seamlessly fine and may work well for people with lesser proficiency/comfort typing in English. I wish they should have the “swing” text input feature as available with Samsung handset and some of Lenovo too.

7.     Seamless navigation and ease of accessing apps including phone book: This one is a big Yes. And unlike the popular notion about HTC phones- that they hung up a tad too fast, HTC M8 Eye provided a good “User Interface” and “ease of operations”.

8.  Easy Settings: The phone comes with easy, one click, 12 at 1 setting panel accessibility feature that can help you activate mobile data, power saver, DND mode, Active Printscreen, GPS etc hassle free. I loved the “extreme power saving” feature too.

9.  The “Trim” Feature: Good news for all people who love to customize their ringtones. HTC One comes with the TRIM feature using which you can select the portion of any song as downloaded in your device as your ringtone.

10. Amazing Sound: HTC One gives an amazing song clarity while listening to songs or watching live videos on youTube.

Well my experience with HTC One M8 was not one written straight away from fairy tale but it has suffered a biggest failure that all “App Savvy” population rues. I named it- Restart Debacle.

Restart failure: One of the setback and the biggest setback that I found with my HTC One M8 handset [and that caused me high Internet usage/ loss of data/ time/ money] was that on restart, the entire phone was set back to factory setting, deleting all the launched apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, Pictures [if not saved on SD] and other apps. When checked in settings, no such option was found. Even when you restart the phone, there was neither any prompt nor notification saying that restarting the phone will delete all the installed apps including your “contact list” [even though it was sync with google] and phone ringtone as well.

Now this happened not just once but both the times when I have to restart my handset. Kaboom and all that was saved, synced was gone! I checked at Playstore and it showed in my “App history” and not the “recently installed list”. Now if it happens once, you may discard as some seeding failure. Trust me without SD card, it would be total lost. But if the same thing happens all the time you restarted your device, then I have a concern to highlight here. I have communicated the same with team, let’s see if this was one of the rare case.

HK Verdict: The phone is highly accessible is majority of the cases however certain setting are rigid and in spite of option to remove pre-installed apps, it did not allow to remove certain apps like "Demo" that unceremoniously start playing on your screen without waiting for the hat to be dropped. Even while tying to restore factory settings, the phone did not allow to restore the same unless you "un-sync" each account individually and "restart". 

Do I recommend this phone sot others?

Yes provided the “restart debacle” is taken care of.

Overall rating: 3.5/5