Hello Beautiful, I am back with this month's Envy box Unboxing & Review. I am battling with a heavy cough and fever. So I guess my unboxing video will be either delayed or will be shelved this month. Nevertheless, here's what I have got inside My Envy Box, February 2016. Theme: Indo-French
I have lived in different parts of the country and everywhere I went, I looked for a house, a home that I can call my own. Living in a new city is no that difficult as difficult it is to find a proper house where you can live in. Notwithstanding the rising rates of real estate, the location also determined the property selection.
I have spent hours and days to find a right accommodation at a right location. While proximity, convenience and economy were my priorities, it was an overall safety that counted.
Living in a rental accommodation and owning a place are two different things. While I always tried to personalise the places I lived in, I always ached to have my own place that I can completely personalise and call my own. I spent months to get adjusted to a place but leaving it always betrayed my heart. Living, loving and then leaving a place is no child’s play.
Owning Your own House
If there is one thing that I ached whole through my life, it was to own a place, a home all in my name. No matter how to profile a place it was where I lived or am currently living, I always craved for a place, however modest it may be, that was all mine.
I am sure a lot of you too will feel the same.
As a woman, we always lived in our parents or our husband’s place. Very rarely do we have a place of our own. It is not to say that our parental or in-law house are not ours, but owning a house on your own merit is a pleasure outside this world.
And why not? We are today’s women. Educated, suave, independent and capable. We are running businesses, driving revenues, rearing a family and some of us are even travelling to the moon. Then why not buying our own house?
To me, it is a type of liberation, a next step in being responsible. Real estate is evolving and changing every day. There are a plethora of properties, amenities and options. There is no dearth of information or opportunities.
Atika by Origin Corp
I am not a cause crusader but my eternal dream of owning a property that is niche and women friendly drew me to Atika.
Atika is a real estate initiative and project by Origin Corp, that can help you materialise your dream of owning a house and bearing your nameplate on it. It is not a “women-only” property but one can live with their family including members of the other gender. No gender bender here. However, what separates it from others is the virtue of its concept. What I learnt is this building provides female security services and help in building a mutually growing community.
Located at Mira Road, this property indeed worth our consideration. I am planning to check it out. How about you?
It was a fine Saturday morning. I have attended a Zumba meet at NSCI Dome wherein I participated with more than 1000+ people to create a record in the Guinness Book. It was an exhilarating session wherein we performed Zumba for almost 40 minutes. Every muscle in my body was paining and aching to go home and take a power nap. Back of my mind, only one thing was running- Indiblogger #BergerXP Meet.
I dropped my idea of leaving home, skipped the lunch and boarded a cab with fellow bloggers to reach the venue- Taj Vivanta, Colaba that was almost at the other end of the city wherein I lived. Practically, it was not a great move but I was so emotionally bound that I momentarily sent practicality home to take that power nap while I headed for the Indiblogger event. It is after all Indiblogger Event!
My Experience at #BergerXP Indiblogger Meet
Better late than ever, is an adage that I always follow. I followed my heart and reached Taj Vivanta when the show was already started. I steeped in to watch their audio visuals, followed by an interesting round of Q&A with Mr. Chandrakanth B, service head of Express Painting.
Berger XP has come up with some new easy, DIY Home Painting Tools. These tools are technical innovations to make your painting experience personal and more enjoyable experience. You must check their website to discover more.
There is Never a Dull Moment With Indiblogger
Anup from Indiblogger is an event smith who never lets a dull moment seep in. In his usual cherubic self, he conducted some fantastic tweet contests, sanding contest and an amazing painting contest.
Participants were divided into 6 teams basis the table they occupied. I was part of this table with all the lovely bloggers Viz- Amreen from AKATheVersatile, Jayshree, Varsha, Tina, Anu, Bharat, Tina, Kritika and Priyanka.
You guessed it right. We were a team of 9 girls and 1 boy. Talk about Gender ratios. Aha!
Paint Your Imagination
Yes, that was the name of our team and together we nailed all the tasks. The first task was to clean a 9 grid white plywood using sand paper before the other team. It was as if a "Swachch Bharat" jingle played in our mind and we scrapped clean the wood within seconds, leaving behind the cloud of dust. Ah! that tells me how I should check Berger XP Sanding Machine which provides a faster and cleaner, dust free vacuum function at regulated speeds.
How can you end a paint event without painting anything?
Well, living the adage, there was a group painting contest. Wherein a designated captain of the team need to pick a blind slip and select one theme to paint. My team selected me and the chit that I picked had two options-
1) Mumbai Meri Jaan
2) Go Green
I left the decision on my team and unanimously we selected "Mumbai Meri Jaan". Team is known, theme is selected and we were dead sure that 5 other teams would also be doing the same concept. So what shall we do that will bring the best from all of us while standing unique and meaningful too. Yeah, my subconscious desire for "uniqueness" and a multi-talented team mixed brilliantly like the Berger XP Primer and the colour stainer.
After 10 minutes of idea storming, 35 minutes of painting and 10 minutes of selfie-ing, here's what we painted-
Our idea was to paint the town in Joyous colours with Bergers XP DIY kit!
The competition was quite strong and seeing what other teams painted, their ideation was quite a joy!
Needless to say, we won the contest. Yay! My only win for that day. Even the 3 hours+ journey back home did not fade the glory.
A few days back I visited the Advanced Hair Studio that introduced me to a new hair technology called Flashpoint.
I know of Flash, Powerpoint, Spreadsheet and even Flash Gordan, but Flashpoint was totally a new concept to me. Had it not been Advanced Hair Studio, I would have dismissed it thinking another terminology from the stock and trading market.
While English and Chemistry have different meanings to for this word, it thankfully meant something different for the AHS [Advanced Hair Studio] who have worked on a breakthrough technology to make all women and their beautiful manes, look even beautiful, richer and denser without any chemical intervention.
If you were not stalking me on Snapchat or Instagram stories, you missed it live in action. Oh yes, I did my first Instagram Live too there with the lovely Ameesha. Nevertheless, you can watch the trial video on my Youtube and Read ahead...
What is a FlashPoint: It is a chemical free, artificial hair extension technique where you can add additional volume to your hair with Flashpoint extensions.
The beauty is, they are available in different colour shades, suiting your hair colour or in contrast giving you that streaky effect.
What is the Longevity of the Technique?
Well, once the flashpoints are pinned to your hair, you can continue using them as long as you want. However, you need to visit the incorporating salon every month for the maintenance. Why the maintenance? Well, due to normal hair growth, your existing extension can move an inch down and need to be pulled back and clipped.
Can I colour or Style My Hair with Flashpoint?
As per the brand claims you can do all the usual stuff with your hair like washing, styling, blow drying and even colouring, except oiling. Oiling makes them loosen their grip. I have not used the product for more than 30 minutes so it will be difficult for me to tell the pros and cons related to it.
What is Estimated Cost?
The deal is that you need to buy a minimum of 50 extensions for your hair. Each costing Rs 800 + taxes. Roughly saying Rs 40,000 + Taxes.
The cost does not stop there. There is a maintenance fee that you need to pay every month.
Who can go for it?
Anyone, largely women who want to add additional volume in their hair, making it look denser and style ready. It is a good option to try different hair colours on your hair without damaging them with chemicals.
My Experience at AHS
I was kicked about the idea. I have never used any hair extension as such and wanted to explore. Besides, I wanted to play with colours on my hair and this seemed a good bet. You can check the entire experiential video here-
Given the shortage of time, the team decided to give me 15 extensions. They chose 5 strands of normal black colour and 10 of this beautiful looking blonde coloured, coded as B9.
The flashpoint process started by sprinkling water on my hair and transposing the strands one by one, using a silicon cylinder. Since the number of strands was less, the process got completed soon. They parted my hair and clipped the strands. This is how it looked like-
They chopped the additional length to match my existing hair length before they could start the styling process.
I was very excited to see what they plan to do. They wanted to give me party hair with curls and a victorian rose. The styling process took quite a lot of time though but I wasn't somehow happy with it as I felt it did not suit me. I never liked tight curls and felt they diluted the entire idea of using extensions. I would have loved if they have given me open, wavy, volumized hair or hair style. The existing one was quite flat and did not match my face or dress that day. Besides, I do not like that kind of hot iron on my hair and felt worried about my hair.
Unlike a regular product review, wherein you use the product for few days to establish its merits and limitations, I have to return it back immediately. Though the unclipping part was quick too, my hair was left feeling a hot mess. So clearly I did not like it even though I had fun during the process.
Haute Kutir Verdict: I found the overall idea good and fun to try. However, given the limited preview and ambiguous experience, I could not actually tell you if I liked it or if it is a good investment to make. It appears to be a good technology but is quite expensive and am unsure how will it work in real life, out of salon scenario.
If you are facing hair loss issues, I would rather suggest you try the salon's other solutions wherein they have worked with some global celebs like Jacques Kallis and others to restore their hair. You will see many such brilliant "hair rising" examples on their office walls. Oh yes, they have a courteous staff and wonderful infrastructure, though.
Your car is an important part of your lifestyle and reflects a lot about your personality. A clean and well-organised car, however, small it is, suggests your hygiene levels and responsible nature.
Those who love their cars, take the time to keep it clean and well maintained. For more on keeping your car clean and fresh, read- How To Keep Your Car Clean & Fresh
There are people who go a step ahead and get their interiors customised these days. For rest others, there are some bare minimum accessories that are a must-have in their car/s. I have compiled a list of top 5 essentials.
How do you break the daily monotony?
Simply, by partying on Tuesday evening, with a bunch of food blogger.
And where was that?
#MasalaBar on Carter Road, Mumbai
When I met the pretty Salloni at the Cadbury's Oreo Masterclass, we spoke about breaking free, over a cup of nice wine and unwind.
Little did I realise that it will happen in next two days.
My Monday blues were the tad too blue, Indigo and all colour dark. I totally loved the idea of a "Big Bang Night"
Big Bang Night at Masala Bar
If you lived in Mumbai or visited Carter Road, you will know the party emotion it stirs in you. Aptly located right opposite to the sea, the place is a perfect place for evening soirees.
The facility is located on the first floor of the plaza, overlooking the beautiful Carter Road and the Sea.
The candle lit, yellow lite setting set the tone for the evening and, the bartenders started turning some interesting laboratory style beverages one after other. Did we drink from the test tube? well, no there were more interesting beakers and mugs. Check it out-
If you have party in your mind and looking to experiment with your drinks, check out the Masala Bar, Mumbai.
It is wedding season in India and I can see lots of exciting, yet anxious faces around. Tell me, as a wannabe bride, what troubles you most?
Off course, you are daunted about the life ahead, adjustment into new family/home extra, et cetera. However, the current focus must be on getting the wedding and its rituals did successfully, blissfully and in a manner that you always dreamt about.
Every girl has certain dreams for her wedding. Irrespective of her social status, she wants it to be best. As in dressing in finest bridal wear, wearing classy jewellery, perfect makeup, keepsake memories and what not.
After all, it is one of the most special days of her life and she wants nothing but the best for her.
At Haute Kutir, we understand what you aim for, your internal emotions and your heartfelt desires that are linked to your wedding and life ahead. We know how much it matters to you and hence, from time to time, we try to work on addressing your lifestyle related concerns including showcasing the latest and greatest in the beauty and lifestyle.
Bridal Trousseau and Wedding Masterclass
Some time back, we attended a wedding masterclass organised by Weddingsutra and JW Marriott Mumbai, wherein we met some of your lovely brides to be. [Do Follow me on Snapchat & Instagram for Live Coverage] One common concern among a lot of you was with regard to the Bridal Trousseau.
What is a Bridal Trousseau: A Bridal trousseau is a set of things/items that a new bride needs for/during and after her wedding. It comprises of dresses, jewellery, glory box, makeup and more. Some people also use it to refer dowry but we like to abstain from that word. Essentially, it is the list of all the beauty/fashion/feel good items that she carries with her to her husband's house.
Shopping for a bridal trousseau takes a lot of time and efforts. In a bid to make the most of it, brides often tend to overspend in buying "trivial many over essential few". Well, buying things that you may not use not just block your money but also a lot of space in your wardrobe. Hence it becomes imperative to buy smart and wise. After all, there is no dearth of shopping opportunities in life for women, right? :)
Essentials of Bridal Trousseau
To make your Trousseau shopping simpler and organised, I have come up with a list of 5 essentials of a bridal Trousseau.
