Fashion: My Formal Wear Haul for Summers

Summer is here and I am in process to revamp my wardrobe again to suit the season and my daily work wear requirement. Besides, we girls just look for reasons and excuses to shop. Aren't we? 

Cool! So while I am still trying to come in terms with my post wedding life, dressing and other things, I could not refrain myself from buying some cool formal wear for self. It has been quite a while that I have bought myself some pair of trousers. Normally I get my stuff stitched from my tailor back town. However this time, I changed the course and switched to ready-made trousers made with fine linen and how.

Catch 22 Situation

Dunno about you but for me, shopping has always been kind of a catch 22 situation. A lot of times I feel that I do not have enough shirts for self so I end up buying them in all varieties [Some that I do not wear more than once] and sometime when I feel I have certain good shirts but no matching trousers. This time I have to buy trousers and hence I ended up mall hopping at Infinity 2, Malad West, Mumbai.

See what I got myself here-

I went to buy one plain black trouser for self but end up buying buying these 3 cool Trousers in- Black, Grey and Khakhi Brown. Ah! Park Avenue, you spoiled me for choices. Now, who wants to team up the new brand new trousers with existing shirts? Even if they were bought a month or two back only. Result- a new formal shirt from same store and couple more from here and there.

Oh no, they are not completely formal but such is the beauty of some of these linen Shirts and Trousers that I often wear them on non formal occasions too. They fit quite well and are so much comfortable than my previous ones. Mom thinks its a good respite from my broad European trousers that were not doing any further good to my frame irrespective of how much in vogue are they. Do not agree any less with you mom.

So folks, what are you waiting for? Time to change your wardrobe, go ahead and treat yourself with some cool Shirts/ Trousers this summer.

You would love the feel and, will feel indeed good.

Happy Shopping!

Do Follow me on #Twitter #Instagram and #Facebook

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Wanderlust India and Kona Kona Kotak

India is a land of history, art, and culture. Every city is a new joy, an exciting marketplace, and stores some delectable, mouth-watering spots in it. Often we restrict ourselves to the luxury of big cities and tend to ignore some glorious kicks that small towns may hold for us. Less often, we at Haute Kutir, plan to take a trip to some of these such, not so widely known but glorious in their own, places, cities and chill the traveler in us. 

While you may have traveled around the world, let us go to some corners of our country that never cease to delight us with its own heritage, culture and like I said- Food. Ummm

Today, we will talk about the different corners of India we can visit and different things we can do there. Lets Starts with Bijapur

Bijapur 

Situated in Karnataka, Bijapur is known for its historical monuments of architectural importance. It is about 550 km inland from Mumbai, 530 km northwest of Bangalore and 384KM west of Hyderabad city. If you ravel in exploring ancient cities, Bijapur is known to be one. It is the land of five rivers and the domain of different cultures

I know Bijapur for its rich basalt rock carving. If you are visiting this city, then do explore seeing-

1) Gol Gumbaz- The largest dome ever built in India, and it's whispering gully

2) The Archaeological Museum is house to several curious objects like inscriptions, paintings, manuscripts, sculptures and more. It is near to Gol Gumbaz

3) Malik-e-Maidan- The largest medieval cannon in the world, brought all it's way from Ahmadnagar

4) Chand Bawdi

5) Narsimha Temple

6) Shree Siddeswar Temple

7) Basavan Bagewadi

You can reach Bijapur via road or train. I heard Hotel Basava Residency and Hotel pearl is a good place to stay.

2) Chikmagalur

My fascination with Karnataka does not end. It seems my trip to Tamara in Coorg was not just sufficient to cease the coffee lover in me. I wanted to explore more. And Chikmagalur fits the bill.

Chikmagalur is in the Southwestern part of Karnataka. Like I already suggested, here the major commercial crop is coffee and the place is known for the hill station and offers great summer retreat. Wow, what an interesting combination. Mountains, vegetation, scenic beauty and aha, Coffee.

Not just that, Chikmagalur offers a great haven for tourism and you can visit places like-

a) Mullayangiri- It is the highest peak in Karnataka and is located in the Baba Budan Giri range of the western ghats, at an altitude of 1930m above sea levels

b) Baba Budan Giri Hills- It is famous for its distinct forest range and is a pilgrimage site for both Hindu and Muslim.

c)  Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary

d) Kalahatti Falls

e) Kudremujh National Park

f) Hebbe Falls

g) Ayyanakere Lake

h) Sringeri Sharada Peeth

You can reach Chikamaglur by road or train from major cities.

Some of the Good resorts to stay in Chikmagalur are- The Serai [quite Romantic], Good Earth Homestay, Kalgreen Valley resort among others

While you are in Chikmagalur, do not forget to try Malanadu- a famous cuisine of the place made by spices and coconut milk. The other delicacies like Tovvu, Avare Kal, Gojju are worth exploring too

3) Bareilly- Let's move from down south to upper North and sing along me- Jhumka Gira re, Bareilly ke bazaar mein. Aha! So if you loved that super classic song from the movie "Woh Kaun thi" [who was she], I am sure you would be intrigued too about where was it AKA the "Bareilly ka Bazaar".  Historically speaking, Bareilly,. way pack during the times of Mahabharat was the "Panchal" kingdom [the birthplace of the key Catalyst Draupadi]. So if you visit Bareily, you would definitely like to go to- Bareilly Haat [to look for that famous Jhumka, Surma that even Shamshaad Begum could not stop crooning about]. My piece of advice- Do buy the songs with "Bareily" in reference and it does so much magic while you are traveling to that city. Do visit Punjabi market as well and who knows if you can find that legendary Jhumka that once fell down in Bareily ke bazaar mein . 

There is more to Bareilly than the market. The city is famous for "seekh kebabs" in terms of cuisines. For sports lovers, there's two sports stadium viz Dori Lal Agarwal sports stadium, Major Dhyan Chand Sports Stadium and, One Cricket Academy.

The city is also home to "Fun city and Boond water park" - termed as one of the best amusement parks in the entire Northern Belt. There are famous temples too in the city. And yes, do not forget to shop zari zardosi embroidered work handicrafts from there. 

Well, that was a quick wanderlust list of some of the places I would love to visit in different nooks and corners of India, along with different landmarks, arts and cultural activities, food and things to do at these mentioned places. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and splurge yourself in food, travel, and shopping. And with Kotak bank spreading across the nooks and corners, a la Kona Kona of India, you need not have to worry about your banking requirements and transactions. With #KonaKonaKotak, travel and enjoy hassle-free.

Bon Voyage!

Team Haute Kutir

#CCDSummerSlam with Cafe Coffee Day

Man! It is getting hotter by the day. Oops the city saw a sudden rise in temperature, and when the throats were getting dried up with thirst and beautiful faces turning lackadaisical, Cafe Coffee Day decided to change the game and how...

Well Read more to know more and yes, do not forget chanting- #CCDSummerSlam

Last Saturday, when the hem line were getting shorter and brow line turning squinted, CCD in their flavorful attempt, tried to beat the heat and quench the soaring temperature with launch of their new range of- #Smoothies and #Slushes

Summer Slam with CCD

I was invited by CCD to taste their all new, awesome range of flavors at their Bandra Outlet. It was a colorful meet, inundated with tastings, games, product session with Cafe Coffee Day's Shabri Prabhakar [and her lovely team incl PR], some more tastings and Photo ops with cool summer prompts and people. 

As we entered the venue, we were promptly greeted by the lovely team and given a different band each. I got myself a - Rajasthan Pink Lemonade. The session began with some fun interactions on how we bloggers like Bhakti for Fashion and yours truly, being a lifestyle blogger, deal with summers, tips etc in our publications. I spoke about my love to soak myself in Jacuzzi and watch TV while holidaying at a peaceful spot. I could not deny about having the variety of summer refreshing beverages to quench the heat with.

Blind Tasting with #CCDSummerSlam

We began with "guess the flavor" session wherein three of us, in set of two were called upon and were blindfolded. We were then given the respective newly launched flavors to taste and guess the ingredients. I tasted Pink Lemonade and it was slurrp yumm, heavenly

The same session was repeated for smoothies. Now before we march ahead here's a little thing about "Summer Slam"

Summer Slam is the line of ultimate refreshing new drinks- Rich smoothies and cool Slushes especially for Cafe Coffee Day. The beverages were deliciously cold, refreshing and bursting with flavors. The Smoothies are in range of creamy concoction with bite size pieces of key ingredients immersed,  bringing out the slurp effect.  The range consisted of-  Rasmalai Smoothie, Strawberry Pomegranate smoothie and Mango peach Smoothie. 

Whereas Slushes came in range of Strawberry Blast Slush, Tropical Spice and must to taste- Pink lemonade slush which was loaded with sweet and tangy pink grapefruit

My personal favorites from both the ranges were- Rasmalai and Pink Lemonade. Or wait was it Strawberry pomegranate smoothie and  Strawberry slush? Well I am spoiled for taste. How about you? :)

The session was then followed with further tasting where different flavors were being sampled to bloggers. There was a quick "tug of ball", well you read it right, session wherein few bloggers were called in and were divided in team of two. They were asked to hit their flavors with a soft ball and the highest scoring team won a beautiful coffee mug each. Ah I so much loved that mug and wished I had one too. CCD are you listening? ;)

We wrapped up the session with quick bites and a nice looking sipper. Overall, it was quite an interesting meet, filled with fun, food, aromas, chit chat, awesome flavors and Cafe Coffee Day;s hospitality. 

Now I know where to hit the "entry" buttons when I want to settle down for a good glass of Summer Beverages. Good part is, Cafe Coffee Day is spread across the length and breadth of city, including one below my office too.

Here's few Glimpses from the event, while I sign off.

See you around another part of this blog. Till then, Keep loving Haute Kutir

And yes, for live updates, do follow us at

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We love you, love your enthusiasm. Ciao!

Makeup- The Art of Contouring & Highlighting

The Art of makeup

There is a thin line between a good make and a bad makeup. That thin line is called- Art of Makeup.

Yes, no matter how expensive or well-known brand you may use. You need to choose and use wisely, to suit your skin tone and do justice to your face contour. Make-up in such a way that you look beautiful and not made up. Like Calvin Klein once quoted-

The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural.

And that my dear friend, is known as the- Art Of Makeup

Essentially it means-

1)     Using right products i.e. from kind of makeup products, shades to suit your skin type and tone. Also, the right applicator

2)     Using the product and applicator i..e Brush, eyelash curler etc in right manner, according to your face Contour.

In this post, let look at the second option wherein how with simple makeup products, we can contour the minus on our face and how to highlight our facial features. We call it- Contouring and Highlighting.

Contouring and Highlighting

Every individual face its own symmetric. Some have an oval face, some have long, while some have round and some, square cut. Given your face contour and skin condition like some has a tan, some has dark circle issue, you can use makeup accordingly.

Contouring is creating shadows or adding a depth to an area and Highlighting is making facial features look prominent, like cheekbones etc. The latter is often done by using a lighter shade.

While we may not able to cover different face cuts in this post, we can indeed look for some common and useful tips to understand the basic principle of “Contouring and highlighting”, including how to learn the same using some easily available yet highly popular brand. What better than to learn it from master AKA Lakme School of Style.

Here’s sharing a simple and very do-able video tutorial from #LakmeSchoolOfStyle featuring Sahiba Anand, who will take you through the art of “contouring and highlight” in most comprehensive manner. Here’s a dekko-

I hope that after watching this video, you would know simple and easy technics to highlight and contour your face including-

1)     How can you make your nose look more tall and prominent in a single stroke of the brush.

2)     Simple, horizontal strokes to highlight your lower chin area

3)     Contour using a mineralized powder or a bronzer, two shades darker than your skin tone

4)     Different brush kinds for contouring and highlighting

5)     The Art of “Blending”

6)     How to contour cheek bones making a fish face.

7)     Not using foundation 2-3 shades lighter than your face tone as it may go contrast with your contouring

8)     Flat brush for highlighting and puffy brush for contouring and blending

9)     While contouring, use a brush in circular motion than straight strokes.

10)  Blend using a bronzer, from start of top hairline towards the temple and below [cheekbones], in circular motion

Well, that’s how beauty sizzles. Hoping that this post was indeed useful, Here’s signing off.

Haute Kutir

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About #LakmeSchoolOfStyle

Lakmé School of Style is a first of its kind show that will not only bring the newest trends and happenings from the fashion world but in the process will also create new age fashionistas and idols. A fashion brigade led by Editor-in-Chief, Karan Johar himself will bring the fashion news, views and events from all over the world to the internet screen. 

About Fame

#Flame is a talent platform to promote and grow ytour talent. To know more about it, click Liv your #Fame

Fashion: Decoded Evelyn Sharma in Peppermint Diva

The gorgeous, young actress and model Evelyn Sharma recently visited Surat while promoting her upcoming movie with Mimoh [son of legendary actor Mithun Chakraborty and beautiful actress Yogeeta Bali]

She was spotted wearing Peppermint Diva outfit while promoting her film - Ishqdarriyan.

Here's a dekko at overall styling-

In the picture, Evelyn Sharma is wearing an Indian ensemble consisting of printed silk and net lehenga, with an embroidered blouse and Dupatta. [The pieces are available at AZA/ Fuel. Krsasaa]

Earrings by FancyPants
Ring by Aquamarine

Styled by- Agneesh Banerjee/ Moushami Rana

Here are more glimpses from the event at Radio Mirch.

In the picture, she is seen with her co-star- Mimoh. Isn't Mimoh looking dapper with that suit and his short cropped hair?

Hoping that this movie turns a huge success, making both the actors turn in to new sensation in Bollywood. Yes, we need more good looking actors around. The pairing is fresh and interesting. We so much look forward to watching Ishqdarrriyan. The lovely title isn't it?

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Beauty Review: Quench your Skin with Vedic Line Lychee Shake Cleansing Milk

It is summer time and along with my wardrobe, my beauty dresser is getting a makeover oops let me rather say- customization. Off late, I am swatch-ing lot of products, wearing quite some make up frequently and besides, needs to bring forth more suitable products to cater my skin regime. Hey, you would see lots of review following soon.

So to combat such makeup overload and meantime ensure that my skin is tended well, I was on a look out for an another good cleansing milk [ I was using TheNaturesCo currently] and came across Vedic Line Lychee Shake Cleansing milk.

Ummm now Lychee is one of my all-time favorite fruit and having a cleansing milk that is touted as lychee shake, got my curiosity bundling. I could not resist trying this lovely, simple stuff out. And must say, I really liked what I got. While the review follows, here's for the uninitiated-

Quench your skins with Lychee Shake

My experience: The product name got me all curious and given the fact that I do not recall trying Vedic Line's products earlier, I wasn't still any apprehensive. The cleansing milk came in an aptly designed, transparent round bottle. I kind of liked the simple "packaging" and opened the lid to pour in some "lychee shake " on my skin.

One word- It is worth it! The lychee shake cleansing milk is quite soft [you can use as a leave-in skin moisturizer as well], mild, thick and adequate. It has a very mild and pleasant built-in fragrance and spreads well on the skin. A small quantity [ a 5 paise squeeze] is good enough to cleanse your entire face, 

How to use: Post cleaning your face with water or other facewash or neither, dab a little cleansing milk on a clean cotton pad [not bud] and wipe your face using the same in even and if possible, upward circular motion. If require, repeat the act. Use another cotton to wipe the skin across your neck and neckline.

Pros:

1) Simple, Gentle and Mild

2) Soft and supple

3) Suited my sensitive skin

4) Cleans well

5) Leaves a moisturized feeling

6) Packed well- Sturdy bottle, easy to pour

7) Thick enough to not run through your face, neither stick at one spot

8) Mildly and pleasantly fragrance

Cons:

Did not find any as such.

Kindly note that my skin type is combination and this cream may have different experience with oily/ pigmented skin. However, in my opinion, it will suit dry skin as well. 

Haute Kutir Verdict: I have been using this since January and loved it from the word Go. The Vedic Line Cleansing Milk is working fine with me especially while removing eye make up as well. It is soft and gentle, so much that I double it up as a hand moisturizer before hitting the bed. 

Do I recommend? yes

Will I buy it again? Yes.

Haute Kutir rating: 4.75/5

Inglot Sleek 60 LipGloss Review, Swatched and a Cool #Giveaway

They say happiness comes in small packages, well I say- Girly happiness comes in Sleek Packages too.

#LipHappy is a new syndrome that has bitten the makeup and beauty arena. In simple words, if you have to brighten up your dull day- go ahead and wear a great lip color. Or if you want to make a girl happy- Go ahead and gift her a cool lipstick or if I may lustily say- Lip Gloss!

Yeah! On my recent Inglot Haul, I went to pick a good mascara [ I love Inglot Mascaras - review coming soon], I ended up buying few more products, including a complimentary Inglot Lip Gloss- Sleek.

Man! I was happy and so much smitten by the lovely test tube like the packaging of the product that I wanted to showcase here.

Inglot Sleek Lip Gloss 60

Paraben-Free | Not Tested on Animals | Foam Tip Applicators | Longevity Ensured | Easily spreads up | Pretty Colors | Vitamin E Treated 

Haute Kutir Review: The Lip Gloss is thick and more of actually a cross between a lipstick and Lipgloss. It is creamy, has a good coverage and sufficient staying power. The Foam tip brush applicator is easy to use and glides smoothly. The shade that I am reviewing here [including swatches] is Shade no 60. 

I liked the beautiful Sheer effect and does not dry your lips. I have used a cotton swab to do the swatches and review so results may vary with an actual brush applicator.

Swatches-

Overall Experience: I totally loved the product and believe it will be quite good for girls with fairer skin tones as the shade is quite nude, yet highlighting in nature. Frankly, this makes a good wear for evening parties including disc meetups. You may use this Lip gloss as a stand-alone product or for lip contour makeup [whatever suits your skin tone or makeup preference]. The only bad thing about the shade that I found that it has wear-ability for Select skin tones and occasions. I am an avid user of lip balms and lip glosses from Victoria Secret and L'Oreal. In spite, I found Inglot Poland's product noteworthy and indeed a #mustHave in a women' #LipHappy kit.

Would I buy Inglot Sleek Again? Yes!

The Blog #Giveaway

So, if you liked this pearlescent product and think the shade excites you, to participate in the #giveaway. To participate and be eligible to win, you have to do-

1) Follow Haute Kutir on Facebook and post about the giveaway on your page

2) Follow Haute Kutir on Twitter and Tweet about the giveaway

3) Leave a comment below answering a simple question - " What makes you #LipHappy"

The contest is open residents in India and even males can take part in it [we are not gender biased you see]

So, what are you waiting for? Join the #Giveaway and try your luck to win this beautiful shade. Even if this may not suit your skin tone, it will make an awesome gift for your special friend who may appreciate it. [Besides it is imported and not cheap, must tell you ;)]

Spread the Word, take part in #Giveaway, Be #HauteKutir friend. 

Team Haute Kutir

India's Digital Superstars

Don't cover it, Discover it!

Yay! so you have hidden talent?

Yay! you can sing

Ummm you have a knack for Acrobatics

Hey, you have a good comic timing!

So what are you waiting for? Do not tell me that it is hot outside and you are scared to step in the dark, unknown world or have no sugar daddy to mentor and hone your skill. What if I tell you that celebs like Anubhav Sinha, Salim Merchant, Anu Malik, Vishal Dadlani and hold your breaths, Sunny Leone will help you mentor? Whoa! isn't that big?

Well, keep your outdated worries aside and step into the digital world. Who knows you can be India's next digital Superstar.

India' Digital Superstars, Presented by Amazon, powered by Gionee, in association with Radio partner Red FM 

Freemantle India, best known for producing International Brands like Indian Idol and India's Got Talent, announces the launch of their brand new baby- India's Digital Superstars, the biggest digital talent hunt in the world. This is the first of its kind "Digital Talent Hunt" wherein the audiences will be judging the nest best Digital Stars across a span of 14 weeks. Whoa! Bunty te Binny de Uncle, it is time to uncover your potential and show the world, what you got.

The India Digital Star platform encourages participants to upload multiple videos of their talent. These videos will be then open for public access and will be judged by the audience [the kingpin of entertainment] through the numbers of views and Likes across YouTube, ZengaTV, and Facebook. 

The show has already received 1400+ entries within the month and it continues to play it's magic across demographics and talent genres. Now that is what we call- Being popular!

Talking about Popularity, let's check few of theirs #Trending #Videos on the YouTube Channel

Featuring, one of the funniest video featuring the Anchor Sahil Khattar and singing sensation- Shweta Pandit, wherein in this episode, Sahil would bug the lovely lady as for an April Fool prank. Umm, can't tell you everything and spoil the fun. So better watch this episode for more-

The gig by the Body Double was unassuming and yet hilarious. Thankfully Sahil breaks in to unfold the prank. Another highlight of this episode was recreating AR Rahman's soundtrack. Hey. that juggling was fun. It reminds me of the juggling that we do every day but not as adept as Kishanji.

This video was not just inundated with fun, humor and showcasing talented videos but also a soulful rendition from the "complete singer" AKA Shweta Pandit. I hope all the viewers have sent in their Selfies to stand a chance to Gionee goodies. Swell! Use your phone and click that impeccable selfie.

Another Celebrity Episode that you must watch is- Episode 20 with The Disparrows Ke Saath,  to watch the soulful rendition of Daniel Webber and his band.

The episode was special given daniel's presence and the Tanmay Mimani's Singing Halelujah and Kun Faya Kun was indeed melodious. Good luck to the guy. If you want to see/hear what he sang, here we go. Click the video and check out.

One thing is for sue, just hope our very own Indian Superstar Shah Rukh Khan should not watch the "Devdas recreation" by the drunk devdas. Lolz.


#MustWatch this Video by one of the participating team. Do Watch out!

Yeah, my friend, do vote and share across your friends, social circle.

In short it is a power packed digital show with non-stop auditions, non stop opportunity, 24/7 content and non stop fun.

To know more, do visit their official websites at- 

www.zengatv.com/Indiasdigitalsuperstar

www.Indiasdigitalsuperstar.com

So what are you waiting for? Last Entry date for sending your Videos is- 24th April.

So what are you waiting for Yaar?

It is time to honor your dreams 

and become

India's Digital Superstars

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Enliven Nail Paint Remover- Beauty Review

I love doing my nails occasionally. However, no matter how good a nail color is, after a day of wear, they start getting wearing off especially from the tips. At that stage, I get them removed with the help of remover. What kind of nail remover do I use? 

Frankly I have never given much thoughts to brands in this category ans was using products like Blue Heaven to one that they sell at Bharti retails to whatever I may pick. Given the properties of nail paint remover, they vanish [read evaporate] sooner than you use. The tiny size of bottle limit you purchase and replacement. Hence this time I decided to go for a bigger bottle. Recently, during my e-shopping haul at Flipkart.com, I stumbled upon a not so known brand- Enliven.

Enliven [dissolvant enrichi en provitamin b5] nail polish remover with strengthening Pro Vitamin B5. and added moisturisers has been specially formulated to help care of your nails whilst removing the nail paint. As claimed by brand]

Product Image- 

Key Ingredients

To know more, check their website- www.enliven.co.uk

Directions for use: Like any other nail polish remover, moisten cotton wool with enliven nail paint remover, wipe gently over the nail to remove polish.

Haute Kutir Experience: Given that this brand is "Made in England", I bought it with high expectations. What I liked about this brand most is that- it is not tested on animals

The package reached me within few days of ordering at Flipkart and the product looked exactly what it looked on the website. I have got myself some interesting colors from Maybelline and I could not wait experiment them. However, given the high expectation and my experience with other nail removers including the locally made ones and the one that I procured from Bharti-Walmart JV, "EasyDay" this product lagged low. In terms of removing the nail paint from nails, it is little ineffective. You have to use one wipe at one or two nails maximum and no matter the amount of nail paint remover you dunk the cotton into, it fails to clean as smoothly as others could do.

The spirit is light and non odorous though. However, that could not substantiate much for the effectiveness the product delivers actually. Yes the packaging is good. As it comes in a tall, capped plastic bottle [that reminds me of body lotions by Revlon]. The only thing is that I have to take multiple cottons to remove my nail paint, which I have done with the help of maximum two wipes hitherto with different brand. 

Would I buy it again? Not sure.

The product is priced at- Rs 189 for 250ml [8.8fl.oz]

Disclaimer: The review is honest and based on self experience. The product may different impact on different people. For more details, do Read the disclaimer in my blog's Portfolio.

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For more Beauty Reviews, do check blog's "Beauty" section. If you want to recommend Haute Kutir any particular product for review or if you are part of a PR and wants a review or coverage on Haute Kutir blog, do let us know at hautekutir@gmail.com.

And Yes, there's a lot happening at our social handles. Do not fprget to follow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Stay tuned for some exciting upcoming contests.

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In love with Dorothy Perkins- The Fashion Brand

 “Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year by designers. And style is what you choose.” — Lauren Hutton

Well, well ..we recently concluded with Lakme Fashion Week and Amazon Fashion Week too. In case if you were wondering, Haute Kutir may not cover either of them as of now and would rather talk about some brands/ designers in general, who we choose to style ourselves with. 

As the world becomes upwardly mobile and as fashion savvy, the distinction between brands and boundaries are lost. What emerges is the echo of your voice in your own style. Yes, you choose to vice your style by the stuff you wear. brands or no brands, we are on constant lookout for designs that echo our style and defines what we like to wear and be seen in.

I love their cuts, I love their prints. Hey, I am talking about Dorothy Perkins here.

I am quite a brand agnostic and like I mentioned hitherto, I rather go for designs that echo my style. Rarely do I find a brand that impresses me with its larger line. One such Brand is Dorothy Perkins. I have been fascinated with the brand and remember how I had to bribe my friend to bring me that lovely Dorothy Perkins ensemble during her UK visit as I could not find their merchandise in my city those days. When the brand was launched in India last year by Jabong, I could not contain my joy and started looking to translate my wishlist from the UK to Indian web store.

Dorothy Perkins= Clothing | Shoes | Bags | Accessories

Here are few of my favorites from Dorothy Perkins. While a few of them are already figuring in my wishlist [Birthday may be coming soon], am adding few more that I found on the Jabong Site, ready to order for self.

Khaki Deep back Hem Sleeveless Top 

White Denim Jacket

I love Denim and had been on a lookout for a new, good-looking Denim jacket. Amongst the cliched Blue, this looks uber cool. With minimum detailing and good color [white denim], I am all enticed to buy myself one from Jabong

Dorothy Perkins Blue Frill Sleeve Bubble

I recently [well after a long time] bought myself a pair of white denim. Given my fascination for Royal Blue, I loved this blue number from Dorothy P. Now waiting for my shipment to arrive

Black And Bone Mini Tote Bag

I so much loved this Tote from Dorothy Perkins. The twin grab handles add more chic-ness to it, thus making it #MustHave for #Formal Usage. What say? Ain't that Lovely and chic?

Blue Lace Up Ghillir Court Shoes

It was "love at first sight" with this light Blue glitter Ghillir court shoes with lace-up details, made up of 100% Polyutherene. Summer is onset in India and these shoes, with a pair of 3/4th denim, would look chic, elegant and absolute charming.

So, what are you waiting for? Go pick your choice, your style from Dorothy Perkins today and do share us your Selfies.

Happy Dressing up!

Team Haute Kutir

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Chef Watson and Cognitive Cooking with Chef Kedar Bobde, Hotel Hyatt Regency

IBM invited Haute Kutir on media briefing of Cognitive Cooking during IBM Analytics Conference at Hotel Hyatt Regency, Mumbai.

From Molecular cooking to Cognitive cooking, I am getting curious about the sudden trending change in the world of gastronomy and food. Few days back when I was at MasterClass with an Ice cream major, I discovered some nouveau in chocolate baking, and soon after that "Cognitive Cooking" took my inquisitiveness to another level and I could not help but steal some moments from my schedule to check it out. What I saw, is what I liked. Totally. Here's more to the crumble...

Chef Watson and About Cognitive Cooking

Cooking is not just an art but a lovely science. You can no more attach the word "cooking" as a domestic activity. No, my dear Watson, no more. Cognitive cooking is about assimilating the power of computing, cognitive sciences and kitchen IQ all together in a place, rather into the hands of the home chefs to inspire and change the way they think about creativity in the kitchen. 

To make it simpler, the Watson that is bringing innovation and creativity to financial services clients, retail cos, and healthcare organizations, is now taken a leap ahead to inspire chefs and cooks to discover never before seen recipe. To make this happen, Watson is using its understanding of the chemistry of different ingredients and how they interact together.  It is nothing, but an app that intelligently [using database intelligence] generates million of ideas out of the, in their own words "quintillions" of possibilities, and then predicts which one offers the most novelty and the best food pairing. 

So like me, if you are an intrigued viewer and regular watcher of MasterChef, it is time to move to another dimension and give substance to our curiosities with a little help from Chef Watson learn to combine different ingredients towards making new dishes.

Who is Chef Watson and How does it work

Chef Watson is actually an app, that has been trained over a database of about 9000 recipes, helping learn about dishes and ingredients combinations. This knowledge is combined with Watson's understandings of what tastes people prefer, and how the chemistry between different ingredients go along to make a dish. 

You may say, the same is available through a search engine. However, in contrast to a search engine that simply sifts through existing data to serve up a list of already published recipes; Chef Watson reasons about the big data behind recipes and flavor compounds as well as human perception, to design highly creative recipe ideas. The app gives users the tools and inspiration to cook great food, not just telling them exactly what to cook.

Using this app, you can create "novel" recipes by selecting ingredients, dish type, dish style. It will also assist in inclusion and exclusion of an ingredient to suit your requirement and palate. I am yet to try this app as I believe it is in Beta stages. Once I get a hang of it, we can feature it here. 

For benefit of your curiosity, here's a detailed process that you may refer to-

My Experience at Grand Hyatt for Cognitive Cooking

Chef Kedar Bobde churned out two recipes, demonstrating the concept of Cognitive cooking. The dishes were-

1) Salmon Roll - NonVeg

2) Jackfruit Salad- Veg

Now Jack Fruit is an interesting vegetable cum fruit for vegetarians esp the ones in Madhya Prades, UP, and Bihar. The Fruit is considered as nonveg for veg, a concept that I always mildly debated and a dish that I barely endorsed or like. Off course, we are known to have two popular recipes of cooking a dish out of it. And none of it support the idea of serving it as hours de oeuvres or starters to formal guests. Now if you throw a search option in regular engines for a recipe [this is what I am assuming, knowing that I may be wrong], you will come up usual variants. {needless to say,  Well, that is where cognitive cooking comes into the picture.

Well talking about pictures, seeing is believing. Here's what we tried at the cognitive cooking masterclass-

I totally loved the flavor there and would soon post the recipe on this blog. Do stay tuned. Here's few more glimpses from the coverage and dishes covered-

Overall, I liked the initiative and could not wait to try it soon. The idea that you have the option to throw  away ingredient's name, specifying the kind of dish you want [Salad, Soup, Curry, Dry etc] and select the dish style [Indian, Thai, Continental] and get options ranging from beginners to an expert to maneuver your gourmand spread.

I would love to get hold of it some time and shall share with you. Till then, happy living and keep Reading.

Haute Kutir

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Accelerating the #DigitalIndia Vision through Technology and e-Governance

Reaching The..Unreached

Randhawa, a paddy farmer at the hinterland of Surguja district in Madhya Pradesh, had been making rounds at local Patwari and district collector's office to claim his ancestral piece of land. In spite of having owned this land by the generations, every year, a new incumbent rise as a threat to him. Being the simple, uneducated farmer at the sleepy village of Rampur, MP, Randhawa could do little to save his land, if not for eGovernance, his land would have become a thing of history. eGovernance and technology had come to rescue for poor Randhawa. Using e-governance, he could get his land registered in no time and also got the officially stamped papers, including his ownership recorded in a government database forever.

e-Governance came as a ray of hope in 60-year-old poor Kamla's life as well. Kamla lost her husband in an unfortunate action and with the help of e-governance, she could not just obtain a death certificate for her husband but also could claim for her widow's pension. Not just that, e-governance has also provided employment to Kamla's younger son Chirag wherein he helps other poor villagers get their mean achieved using e-governance and the digital revolution.

Using Technology to bridge digital Gap

For quite a long time, developing countries have carried the burden of colonization and slavery, which resulted in the lack of confidence in developing economies and also beliefs that they are not at par with rest of world. This is nothing but "lack of access". This "Lack of Access" has curtailed people's ability to develop and compete. To enjoy any economic and social benefit, "access to resources like "Education", "health" and employment has become critical.

With the advent of technology, the Internet has born. And if you want to bring more economic and social benefit, the Internet, is one key solution and read as "Boon" to help achieve the same. Rural Information and Communication technologies i.e. ICT can be used as an effective tool to bridge the digital divide and help the developing nation like India to drive the digital revolution.

The total rural population of the developing world is about 3billion [est], with their average per capita income being no more than $200 per annum, India has 750 million rural people located in around 6,00,000 villages. So any plan or program that is implemented in 100, 1000 or 10,000 villages is still very minuscule with barely any contribution to the entire rural economy. It may be good for pilot or experimental purposes, but if we want to drive real growth and empowerment, "Scale-ability" is a key that we must look at. And to harness Scale-ability, Connectivity is vital.

With new modes of terrestrial wireless and satellite solution, the connectivity has been largely evaluated and provided, even at economical cost. Important is the content and the intent. DO not worry, we will not talk about the technology and cost of deploying technology here. Well, Intel has already taken a beautiful responsibility on that, making the dream of "Digital India" viable and possible via its "Digital Skill for India" and "Innovate for India" initiatives. What shall we talk here is about e-governance.

What is e-governance and how it can accelerate the growth of Digital India through technology
Technology is a great enabler and Internet is a boon. Gone are the days when technology was restricted to top cities. Today, in order to be more successful and widely reached, technology is penetrating to the larger part of India, largely through Internet.

eGovernance is one important tool and helps India in-

Good Governance

• Bringing more transparency and harnessing a democratic society
• People's participation, ensuring that governance reaches every part of India and not just restricted to the center.

Public Services and Utility

• Creating citizen access to greater information
• Convenient and faster services to citizens and businesses via "Governance to business" and "Governance to citizens"
• Efficient cost effective, accessible and highly responsive governance
• Government accountability for public delivery

Better Management

• Manage voluminous data for a highly populated and diverse country like India
• Information Services to one and all
• Creating Simplicity in government processes and schemes 
• Bringing efficiency and accountability

One such roaring example is "IRCTC". Today you can book your railway tickets at comfort of your laptop, computer or mobile screens

How innovation will fuel up "Digital India" Revolution
The success of an idea is measured in end results or no of end user case it develops successfully to widen the reach. What I mean that if you want to drive high penetration of a specific initiative, you need to cater the wide requirements than just a niche segment. Like we spoke earlier about how experimenting a project for 100 or 1000 village would still not bring much difference. Similarly, e-Governance needs to have addresses different issues and the governmental requirement to be a successful model. Hence, innovation is a must!

To accelerate the vision of digital India, eGovernance should target healthy innovation at-

G2G : Government to Government
G2C: Government to Citizen
G2B: Government to Business
G2E: Government to Employee



Some innovation and initiatives in this field-
1) Computerization of records likes land records and other important documents like birth/death certificates, pension scheme
2) Healthcare: Information on personal healthcare and details on government support programs like Universal Immunization program, National Health programs, and others
3) Education
4) Agriculture
5) RTI

e-Governance is nothing but the use of Internet as a tool to approach and link directly to the government for all kinds of problems and support. The success of this service largely dependent on technology and local administration like active participation of district collectors, who needs to drive this service. Like in Tamil Nadu, in a place called Thiruvallur, wherein the district collector started a "weekly web darbar " with villagers through which he connects to 50 plus village simultaneously and conducts sessions wherein he answers queries and addresses grievances,

Similarly, if you heard about the story of a handicapped person who sent a complaint to the chief Minister's cell, complaining of unfair termination of service. He need not have to run pillar to post at government units for his grievance. But he got redressal wherein he got his job in less time post his complaint posting.

Such success stories and the good help from technology majors like Intel makes the wonderful concept of e-Governance, not just a drive but a beautiful beginnings and proceedings for a new era to come, new #DigitalIndia to shine through.



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For more info visit- http://www.intel.in/