My (almost) first experience with hair colouring!

When someone said "There are no free lunches in this world" boy was he wrong!! If you know me well then you would know that I love freebies. And I keep trying my hand and my luck on all the contests that I know of. Recently I got twice lucky. One was with an online contest run by Grazia India where I won a free hair styling session at Jean Claude Biguine. Which also happens to be my favourite salon in the city for a) the stylists know their job and do not funk up your hair that gets to difficult to maintain b) the stylists do not hard sell any services nor products unlike many other experiences I have had with stylists at other salons.

And the second contest that I won was conduct by BPBWeekend on Twitter which was again sponsored by Jean Claude Biguine. This one entitled me to free hair colour session. Barring one home experiment several years back I have never got my hair coloured professionally. Only reason being - I thought it's high maintenance and what if my hair ends up looking ashy or henna covered. But since Biguine is a salon of high reputation I didn't mind going ahead this time.

Aishwarya the rep from Biguine was kind enough to accomodate me and give an appointment during this hectic festive season. The only condition being I had to go to their newly opened Ghatkopar branch in R city mall as against their busy Juhu and Bandra salons that i had requested for. I accepted the condition.

So I started off my referencing. My skin has yellow undertones and I read somewhere on the net that warm colours will suit me more.Also, I wanted something subtle and natural. You know something that does not stand out much but is prominent enough for people to notice that you've done something different to your hair. So after looking for some reference pictures here is what i decided on - Dark brown (with slightly reddish tint) highlights.

Image courtesy: makeupandbeauty.com

Image courtesy: videos212.blogspot.com

The stylist assigned to me was Shayan Merchant a Sr Stylist there. I showed him the reference I had the Anushka Sharma pic and coincidentally he said he had worked with her for the same movie.So then he showed me a L'oreal shade card and we decided to streak my hair in two colours in equal numbers. We selected L'oreal Majirel 11.60 (Mahogany) and 12.50 (name I don't remember).

Pre colour; Waiting for the stylists to finish mixing colours

So after some 3 hours of  wait where there was some applying, processing and washing. I could see the final results. Shayan and his colleague gave me a fabulous blow dry too that lasted for like 3 days :)

This is how my hair looks post the colour. It is exactly like what I wanted subtle, natural, merges well with my original hair colour. Although it has not got captured in the camera well, it much more prominent in person. And what more can I say. I love it!

The mahogany plus light brown highlights

A place's service can be best judged when they are doing something without charging for it as a lot of places offer such services with lot of terms and conditions attached to them. But this wasnt the case here. Nowhere did I feel that the staff did not give me their 100%

Charges: For me it was free but normally they charge above Rs 4500 + taxes for streaking

Colours used: Loreal Majirel 11.60 and 12.50

Where to shop online in India

Recently my best friend who has moved to London after marriage came to Bombay for a visit. And just like any other Non resident Indian she was too bombarded with friends, relatives their friends and other not very friendly friends bothering her with shopping requests, which i failed to understand mainly for two reasons.   A) Poor girl can't keep shopping for 20 odd people ( so what if you are going to pay her) she has better things to do. B) In the last two years the Indian shopping scene has changed a lot!

Agreed it is no where comparable to the London scenario but we all know that most of the high street (read Zara, Forever 21, Forever New, Mango, Veromoda, Bebe) brands have definately entered India except for say H&M, Topshop. And I don't think girls really care a lot about brands as much as they do for the style and  the colour.

What I also gathered is that if they are asking someone else to buy stuff for them then they would be quite confident of not having any size and fit issues then why not buy these clothes online. Apart from ASOS that houses most of the popular UK brands like River island, Lipsy, Oasis etc and ships everywhere worldwide there are a lot of our own Indian sites that sell clothes that are as fashionable and in vogue as the firang brands. These web portals are started by young Indian girls who either design on their own or import from China/Hongkong. Have a look at these sites and decide by yourselves.

Stylefiesta.com

What I liked

Image belongs to stylefiesta.com

Image belongs to: stylefiesta.com

Shop here for

Straight classic fitted dresses. This website started by very popular blogger Masoomi Minawala offers clothes that stick to the latest trends like houndstooth print, peplum skirts etc. Although a little on the expensive side (dresses between 2500- 4000) the quality seems worth it.

Cupcakes and Closet

What I liked 

Image belongs to: cupcakes and closet facebook page

Image belongs to: cupcakes and closet facebook page

Image belongs to: cupcakes and closet facebook page

Shop here for

Casual, girly and frilly stuff. What I like the most about the site is besides the clothes being reasonably priced the collections change every month ( or is it every 15 days) and they areseason specific.

Cupidity

What I liked

Image belongs to: Cupidityonline.com

Image belongs to: Cupidityonline.com

Image belongs to: Cupidityonline.com

Shop here for

This website the brainchild of  Karishma & Masumi, offers purses, bags and statement acessories designed by them. Be it colour blocked slings, envelope clutches in neons and pastels, box clutches blingy ones for weddings and non blingy ones too, you ask for it and they shall have it. They also custom make as per your colour of choice

Vivacious in Vogue

What I liked

Image belongs to: Vivacious in Vogue facebook page

Image belongs to: Vivacious in Vogue facebook page

Image belongs to: Vivacious in Vogue facebook page

Shop here for

Although they stock clothes, accessories and shoes what caught my eye was their shoe collection. I am sure after seeing the images above you'll agree too! Shop for ankle booties, wedges, block heels here.

Chalk Studio

What I liked

Image belongs to: Chalk Studio facebook page

Image belongs to: Chalk Studio facebook page

Image belongs to: Chalk Studio facebook page

Shop here for

They have just started out and their debut collection had only flats. Don't know if this is their policy. But i loved their first collection. Buy your stock of flats for casual wear and office wear. they have some lovely colours and everything is priced very reasonably.

So here's my list of site to shop clothes, bags and shoes from. If you know of any more, please mention in my comments box. Shall do a similar post for Indian wear as well.

When in Bangalore, shop here

You know what I really like about my new job is that it allows me to travel to different parts of the country every month. Being a marketing professional, one needs to be in constant touch with her consumers all across the country. So whenever I travel, I try to make some time for checking out some famous places in that city for shopping and eating.

This time around I went to Bangalore. so after Googling a lil bit I had 3 options to choose from UB City Mall, M G Road and Commercial street. UB City as you may know is a mall that houses all luxury brands from Jimmy Choo to Zegna it has it all. Thus, besides window shopping and checking out the architecture I wouldn't really have been able to buy anything. So I finally decided to go to Commercial street as I also wanted to check out the Mysore Saree Udyog (as I feel that one should buy things that are usually famous in that particular place, case in point Mysore silk sarees). Besides Commercial street also has some street shops, tiny handicraft stores as well as Silver jewellery shops where you get silver for lesser.

So below are the things I bought:

Mysore silk crepe saree with chiffon wrinkling effect bought from Mysore Saree Udyog. This gorgeous sea green saree although plain will look very elegant when paired with a gold tissue blouse and a statement necklace or a string of pearls ( a la Maharani Gayatri Devi). Priced at Rs 2070 it makes for a good gift for moms/sisters incase one is not much into wearing sarees. They had a lot of shades in this and there was another pink shaded saree too in the same style that caught my eye.

This multi coloured light brocade material will make for an excellent blouse and the best part - It will match most of the sarees one has.All one needs to do is place a plain light gold border on the sleeves and give some danglers on the back. This again was bought from Mysore Saree Udyog. Price - Rs 630 per metre.
what I really liked about this store is that it has a lot of variety in terms of the designs, embroidery work and price range. And they have lot of things to offer to also those who are not interested in Mysore silk like Lucknowi, Kantha work materials etc

There are also KSIC and Deepam silk sarees stores at M G Road for people who are looking out for something more traditional and have more money to shell out

I was looking for a statement ring since ages and have fully searched stores like Aldo accessories and Forever New. However nothing seems to fit my thin fingers. So when I finally chanced upon this butterfly silver ring at a silver shop in the jewellry street I readily bought it. Priced moderately at Rs 900 for pure silver.

As I mentioned earlier Commercial Street also has some street shopping to do. I have recently joined Zumba in which I need to wear shoes and I have run out of socks. When I saw these cute colourful socks being sold at Rs 100 for 3 I just couldn't stop myself from buying them.

Here's my last buy were these nude chappals with some sequins from good ol Bata. Price - Rs 499. Pair them with anything and wear them casually or at work.

P.S. - While you are there please don't forget to have those thick but soft dosas that are a far cry from the thin crispy ones that you get in Mumbai and some Filter coffee. I went to Kadamba veg for my dose of the same and must I say I just devoured my food,

Care for a weekend out?

So after a gap of some 2 years I decide to revisit my blog and give it the attention it needs.And a lot has changed in my life since then. I am now almost a year into my marriage :) and a month into my new job. Yes! settling into both these new aspects of my life have kept me busy and also given a couple of good topics to write about. But that shall come a little later. What I really want to talk about is about travel in this post.(Remember I had written about doing a post on my love for travel here? Well, here it is.)

So I was looking at some options on the net for a weekend getaway from Mumbai, something romantic to celebrate a special occassion. The options available under the best romantic places are the regular and may I say a little boring namely Lonavla, Matheran Panchgini etc. So I researched a little more and got some interesting options from here and there and decided to put down my small list here. Although, I have never been to any of the places mentioned below, thought it would be of some help to couples looking out for a short break close to Mumbai.

Malhar Machi, Pune



What works?
This resort also known as Mountain Resort is built near the Mulshi Dam around the Sahyadris and is close to Pune. What appealed the most to me about this place is that it is rustic, natural and yet a little modern in terms of its amenities and architecture (Check out the 4 poster bed in the Maharaja Room to know what I mean). It was also recently covered by Lonely Planet.

For more info visit http://www.malharmachi.com

Beyond @ Sula Vineyards, Nashik


What works?
This may not be a full fledged resort but it definitely is one of the rare wineries in the country that provide a stay option this good. Combine it with an infinity pool (claimed by their website), a romantic view of the hills and some cycling/walking in their vineyard makes it a must visit for all wine lovers and a good option for couples. They also have a villa with a private pool for groups.

For more info visit www.sulawines.com/Stay/

Fort Jadhavgarh, Pune


What works?
This heritage fort built in the 18th century, provides for a beautiful backdrop to your weekend getaway. Apart from exploring the Maratha fort one can also visit the nearby forts and temples. The fort provides stay options in terms of tents and rooms. Going by the reviews I would recommend people to opt for the rooms. The fort also provides some fun activities on request.

For more info visit www.fortjadhavgadh.com/

The Machan, Lonavla



What works?
The Machan is a luxury eco-resort with unique tree houses rising 30 - 45 feet above the forest. This place is apt for nature lovers and will give them an excellent opportunity to get close to it with their partners. Whether it is enjoying the sun rise/ sun set from your private deck, or going on nature trails or bird watching, the resort sure gives you umpteen options to escape into your surroundings.

For more info visit www.themachan.com

So ya, this is my list. Do feel free to add to the list in my comments section :)