Hyderabad- the last chapter

I am going to miss Hyderabad sorely. No, I haven't lived there forever. Or lived there for a stretch of more than a weekend but there are just some places in this world which form an instant connect. And those are the places you love visiting, hail or sun. Those are the places which you associate with happy memories. And the land of the Nawabs, the delish kebabs, the bangle bazar, the cupcake bakery we love so much, that favourite grilled food restaurant, those shoe stores I love shopping at, will always remain a favourite.
If it wasn't a sentimental enough ode to this gorgeous city, I promise I shall be back soon. Can't say when but whenever time permits. :)
Till then, enjoy the pictures from a slightly nippy, yet a happy, cheerful day in Hyderabad.
Wearing:
White shirt: Benetton
Light blue skinnys: Diesel
Floral cropped cardigan: Forever New
Nude envelope clutch: Aldo
Golden bauble: Aldo
Turquoise cuff: Accessorize
Pearl ring: Sports Girl, Purple ring: Republic of Chic's blog store (CURRENT OBSESSION :) )
Oxfords: Shoe boutique, Bangalore
Favourite elements of this outfit: Messy fishtail braid (Done by BFF), Round Metal sunglasses (John Lennon-esque), Shiny bauble on the braid (Sister's pick from Venice :) )

Share the love :)
XOXO

Anastasia-Beverly Hills

I love those posts where I'm bubbling with excitement to tell you about an absolutely fantastic find. Sometimes its just the most ridiculously obvious idea I might have come up with, but what the hell, its my little reason to bounce off the walls!
Anastasia Beverly Hills has been kind enough to offer me a place in their blogger appreciation program. I was even more excited when I read this about them:
Anastasia has long been the definitive eye and brow expert for icons such as Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah(made me go all *eeeee*) as well as hip up-and-comers like Diana Agron, Selena Gomez and Kristen Cavalari and has recently expanded into colors that match their superior standards for skincare based cosmetics.

Anastasia of Beverly Hills products have recently been added to all Sephora stores in the United States. "Our make up plus approach always has the importance of skin care at the base of our clinically tested cosmetic formulas".

Then I took the liberty to go through their website and some of these make up products look undoubtedly impressive.

Beauty Express- Open Palette

Sun Kissed Bronzer

Get Blake's Look with their products

So while I keep the surprise alive and kicking regarding the blogger appreciation program, why don't you take a little stroll along their website?
XOXO

Once upon a time

I don't think I could explain the birth of this outfit. I mean I could always try. But a better idea would still be to tell you that this outfit is very vintage-inspired. The influence of the frills, polka dots, butterfly print along with bits of modern and luxe thrown in for good measure. Note the Eiffel Tower earrings and pink suede wedges.
When it came to adding a bag to it, I decided to add a pop of coral to the outfit I had already planned. It was almost an impulse. But stress free, I think I can say it turned out fairly alright.
I loved how I felt very- Parisian the whole day when I trotted around in this outfit.
On another note, what is with people staring when you walk around in heels in the middle of the day? It almost makes you feel like you forgot to put on an article of clothing. If looks could kill >-<
To happier things, wearing:
Dress: Fifth Avenue
Blouse: Forever New
Pink wedges: Forever New
Eiffel Tower earrings: Forever New
Cuff: Forever New
Coral clutch: Aldo

 

On another note, ODigMa is launching a series of E-books which are priced at 4$ per month and bloggers alone have the opportunity of receiving promo codes which you can share with your reader base and allow them to access those amazing E-books for free. Bloggers interested, please drop in your email addresses :)

Hope you had a good weekend lovelies :)

XOXO

Indians love a good reason to celebrate

A very Happy Rakshabandhan to all my Indian readers :) For all the international ones, its a brother-sister festivity and its obviously got a lot of history attached to it. To cut the long story short, its a day when siblings pamper each other with fancy lunches, pretty pressies and lots of good wishes ( that's my definition, at least :D)
I'm lucky enough to have my first cousin in my city and I loveeee our day together and doing all those fun things that I just mentioned above :)
I am usually very kicked about the whole affair and I kick start the preparations and all that jazz a couple of days before. Getting my outfit together, jewelery to go with it, shoes and most importantly the mehendi (henna application) on the palms :) For all you guys who follow me here, you probably saw what my mehendi looked like before it dried up and now for unveiling the big, fat Indian celebration outfit and the mehendi :)

 

Some tips to make your mehendi color set better. And these are tried and tested! :)

• You will know the usual lemon and sugar deal. Apply it at least twice when the mehendi is on.
• Rub a lot of vicks vaporub on your palms post scraping off the dried mehendi. Its my most workable tip ever! The color rises for atleast 24 hours so you can keep re-applying it within 24 hours.
• The vapours of cloves help a lot. The idea is to create a lot of heat so it helps to warm your hands over the vapours and the clove acts like a catalyst.
• Mustard oil can also be rubbed on your palms as an alternative to these.

On another note, when life gives you lemons..squeeze them. Think about it :)
XOXO

A Postcard from Hyderabad

The Land of Nizams has a lot to offer. From the the greatly influenced architecture that you see in the monuments like Char Minar or other minarets to the absolutely scrumptious biryani and kebabs. Not wanting to sound like an advertisement for Incredible India, I will still tell you that I'm in love with the city. Before this weekend, I went to Hyderabad as a child and apart from some memories of the Salarjung Museum, plucking imlis (Tamarind) off the trees in my aunt's sprawling lawns and some crazy torrential rains, I do not remember much. So this time around, I decided to play tourist again. The following pictures are from the Ladh Bazar next to the Char Minar, which is popular for its gorgeous Hyderabadi bangles and other assorted jewelery. When you enter these shops you actually might want to wear blinders to save yourself from buying the entire shop!The shiny, blinding colorful stone encrusted bangles and also the metallic ones with enamel work in beautiful colors, call out to you. You can't help but give them a home! :)

The fab 'jhumkas'

P.S: The pictures have been clicked with a phone camera and might not be of the desired quality but what the hell! :) This Travel and Living-esque series on Hyderabad will continue and I shall share with you some more postcards :)
Wearing:
Tee: Tommy Hilfiger
Black lace waistcoat: Vero Moda
Silver coin necklace: Gifted by sister (Venice)
Black bag: Guess
Please do not judge my expressions. There is a myriad of mental expressions and if I wanted to increase my reader base I shouldn't have shared them here but I thought you deserve to know me better! :D
Hope you'll had a good weekend :)
XOXO

The Nature's Co. goes Rakhi

Is there anything in life that is constant? Is there anything that you can count on for being around like a permanent fixture in life without any contingencies? Just a thought. I've been thinking about it, maybe you should too :)
Moving on, Rakhi's around the corner and all my readers who follow me on twitter would know how excited I have been buying rakhis and getting my outfit together and fixing the mehendi appointment for the 12th!
That said and done, how about celebrating an unforgettable Rakshabandhan with Nature's Co.?
Indulge your sister with some holistic products!

The Nature’s Co. presents a special offer this Raksha Bandhan to help you pamper your caring sister. Stop by any of The Nature’s Co.outlets and purchase mainline products, worth Rs.750 or more, and get a luscious lip balm worth Rs.225 along with delightful chocolates absolutely free. What’s more The Nature’s Co. will have all these gifts packed in a specially designed attractive packaging as well.
To further enhance the entire experience, The Nature’s Co., is also giving out 15% discount hair cut vouchers for a renowned salon ,to the first few customers.
So come down and let The Nature’s Co. and make this Raksha Bandhan a truly memorable indulgent experience your sister will never forget!

Offer Valid from 10th – 15th August 2011 . T & C apply.

Available at all The Nature’s Co. outlets-
For further info you can visit: The Nature's Co.

Mumbai Store Address:

Unit No. S-15, 2nd floor Block No. 34/14B,

"Palladium" Phoenix Mills Compound, 462,

Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel,

Mumbai - 400 013

T: +91 22 32211771

E: helpdesk.mumbai@thenaturesco.com

Store timings:

Weekdays / Weekends: 11.00 am to 9:30 pm

Delhi Store Address:

Shop No S-12(b), 2nd floor, Plot No. A-3,

Select CITYWALK,

District Centre, Saket,

New Delhi - 110 017

T: +91 11 46150600

E: helpdesk.delhi@thenaturesco.com

Store timings:

Weekdays: 10.30 am - 9.30 pm

Weekends: 10.30 am - 10.00 pm

Chennai Store Address:

Shop No. S-012, Ground floor,

Express Avenue, 50L, Whites Road, Roypettah High Road,

Chennai - 600 014.

T: +91 44 31900070

E: helpdesk.chennai@thenaturesco.com

Store timings:

Weekdays: 11.00 am - 9.30 pm

Weekends: 11.00 am - 10.00 pm

Ahmedabad Store Address:

127, Ground Floor, Iscon Mega Mall,

Sarkhej Gandhi Nagar Highway,

Ahmedabad - 380015

E: helpdesk.ahmedabad@thenaturesco.com

Store Timings:

Weekdays: 11am - 9.30pm

Weekends: 11am - 10pm

Kolkatta Store address:

Unit no. - S010,

Ground Floor, South City Mall,

375, Prince Anwar Shah Road,

Kolkata 700068.

Store Timings:

Weekdays: 11am - 9.30pm

Weekends: 11am - 10pm 

Pune Store Address:

Unit NO. F-38, 1st floor,
Phoenix Market City Pune,
Viman Nagar,

Pune-411014

Store Timings:

Weekdays: 11am - 9.30pm

Weekends: 11am - 10pm

Are you going? Tell us about your experience at The Nature's Co.! :)
XOXO