My favorite products

Hi. I am going to review some of my favourite personal care products. I would not give them up easily. Sure, trying out new ones is part of the experience but I tend to go back to them sooner or later.

1) L'Oreal Professional Liss Ultime Masque:

I was recommended this when I got my hair straightened 3-4 years back. It was expensive- the small pack available in salons cost Rs 500. I have the bigger pack whose MRP is Rs 900. You should find it in wholesale market. I love this masque. The packaging is jar shaped and easy to remove. The jar is filled to the brim and product is of creamy consistency. A small quantity goes a long way. You just have to apply it after shampoo, leave it on 2-3 minutes and then rinse properly. Do try it even if it is hard on your pocket.

2) Matrix Biolage Anti Dandruff shampoo:

This is the only Matrix product I have used. Matrix is a poor cousin of L'Oreal Professional and I am more of a Professional gal. I face dandruff issue and have few shampoo options. I would use Head and Shoulders earlier. The problem was if I shifted to another brand, the dandruff would come back. On moving back to H&S, the dandruff would take a few weeks to go away. Not a very healthy sign. I tried this product and like it a lot. The MRP for 200 ml is Rs 190. Slightly more expensive than H&S but lasts longer. I am a fan and will not shift for quite sometime.

3) Chambor make up remover:

There are many make up removers in the market but most of them are for eye and lip make up. I think Lakme is the only other brand which has a face make up remover. I am not into Lakme products. They are good if you have just started using make up but not otherwise. I came across this product at the counter in Shoppers Stop or Lifestyle and decided to try it. It costs Rs 400 (approx) for 75 ml. I remove eye and lip make up with a Maybelline/L'Oreal remover, splash my face with water, take a small quantity in my palm and then massage it on my face into a lather and then rinse off. Initially, I was a little skeptical. What if it is not effective? How will I know the foundation has been completely removed? To test it, I used the product, dabbed a cotton with eye make up remover and swiped on the face. There were no trace of make up, my skin felt clean and soft. A small quantity of product goes a long way. It has granules which are very soft and spongy and exfoliate the skin too. Also, it acts my face wash. So, 3 in one- make up remover, exfoliation, face wash.

1 tube lasts me a month or more and I use it every night to remove make up. It is pricey but worth it.

4) Oriflame foot cream:

I do a home pedicure/manicure every weekend to keep my hands and feet well maintained. I had purchased a VLCC foot cream which was trash. After finishing it (which took a long, long time) I was looking for a good foot cream. I came across this Oriflame one. It is priced at Rs 229 for 75 ml. The best part about it is the non greasy formula. I cannot sit still and having to wait for the cream to get absorbed or worse, it sticking to my foot is too much to expect from me. A small quantity goes a long way and gets absorbed within seconds. This tube should last me 6 months.

Tomorrow, I will do a review of mascaras. Good night.

Agneepath- Then and Now

Hi... by now you would have already watched the movie or atleast the reviews. So, my review is quite belated. Nevertheless, here my 2 cents. I will do 2 reviews- one for the new movie assuming it is entirely different- just to be fair and second will be a comparison between the old and new.

Btw, do check out Dipta's review (link in sidebar), it is bang on.

Review 1:

I had not watched the old Agneepath when I watched the new one. So, I saw it with an open mind and no reason for comparisons. Of course, I have seen a lot of movies with Amitabh as "angry young man". So, I knew what it must be all about.

The movie begins on a very depressing note- with Hrithik's dad getting falsely implicated and hanged to death by Sanjay Dutt- Kancha Cheena. He takes him mother to Mumbai where she delivers a baby girl. Vijay's life spirals into a life of crime henceforth. He is obsessed with revenge and joins the gang of Rishi Kapoor. He double crosses Rishi and takes revenge from Kancha. He dies in the end.

It is funny how nobody in Hrithik's family has green eyes- not even his childhood. How difficult can it be to cast a kid with green eyes or cast his sis with green eyes? Hrithik looks like a male model in the slum- no Mumbaiya lingo, well dressed, deliberately unshaved... very out of place. The sad truth is there is no actor today who can play a realistic tapori. Gone are the days of Jackie Shroff, Mithun or Anil Kapoor. Actors today are too image conscious to play to the lower class. The exceptions are Salman (I do not like him, so lets ignore) and Aamir. I think Aamir's tapori act in Rangeela exceeded expectations. Which hero today would agree to wear yellow pants and jacket? (Salman, excepted). Sad.

Priyanka plays a giggling, talkative bimbo. I hate such characters. I wanted to reach out and slap her hard. And then the crying- there was too much of it. After all, it is a Karan Johar movie. Hrithik was either crying or getting beaten up. I cannot imagine Amitabh like that. No ways.

I do not like Sanjay Dutt and watching him look uglier than ever did not help.

Please avoid. Save your hard earned money. It ain't worth it.

Review 2:

All curious, I downloaded the old Agneepath and watched it on Sunday. The best characters- Mithun, Neelam, Shetty etc have been edited out of the new version. Why? Mithun was so much fun and Neelam is so cute. I loved Amitabh's rasping voice, the way he survived 4 bullets in the chest, how he swam in the Mauritius waters when bombed. Its unreal and ENTERTAINING. He did not cry and yet managed to exude the anguish and pain. Oh, the best part was Kancha Cheena... he is not some bald, ugly, psycho man. He is a suave, sexy, chic Danny. I have never seen him look this handsome. Thats what a don is supposed to look like.

You know my verdict... loved the old one... hated the new one even without watching the old one.

The Week that was...

Hiya. This week has been nice. I love mid week holidays. They are non chore days. I cannot wake up on Thursday with a list in my head. The lists are for the weekend. We had nothing to do on Republic day since we could not get passes for the parade. I was told tickets are for losers. Anyway, 26th Jan'12 bright, early and sunny. The day was beautiful. My friend AB told me he was going for a picnic to Lodi Gardens. I decided to head there as well. We had planned to go to the garden last month but it didn't work out. To avoid checking, we took the metro to Jor Bagh. The garden was crowded... all the Delhi families had come there to soak in the sun. And they had come with preparation- home made food, cards, cricket gear, badminton rackets, liqour, floor mats etc. I got to know later that Lodi gardens and India Gate are a draw during the winters. It is the ideal place to hang out. It was quite nice. We walked around the garden and visited the monuments. I was shocked to see people drinking liqour. Lodi Gardens is the most posh place in Delhi. Dignitaries live around there. If decent families can drink liqour in the open on Republic day, anything can happen. I mean, what are we teaching our kids? Sigh!!!

After an hour, we met up with D who lives near Khan Market. After a Vanilla Oreo shake (please try it) and pasta at Big Chill we tried to get tickets for a movie, any movie but were unsuccessful. It was a day well spent.

Yesterday was the Winter Workshop at Sirifort Auditorium. My day was filled with "to-do" items- buy shoes from Sohna Road Bata showroom (the only store in Gurgaon which stocks shoes worth 250 bucks), go to the bank, buy groceries, go to the parlour, have lunch, leave for workshop. The workshop was fine. Our performance lasted for barely 1.5 mins. We went on stage, did our stuff and came out. It was unbelievable- 2 months practice for only 1.5 mins. During classes, I don't interact much with anyone. I dance and leave- like everyone else. Anyway, 90% of the class has school going teenagers. During the workshop, I had the misfortune of interacting with them. We had to wear checked skirts given by the company. They were knee length skirts. ALL the girls found them TOO long. And then, they proceeded to fold them to less than half their length. For some reason, most of them have accents. I do not understand this. They don't look like NRIs. Where do they get accents from?

Lesson learned- Have kids but do not educate them in Delhi.

Movies...

Arthur Christmas. Last weekend there were no movies to watch. We decided to go for this flick. How wrong can you go with animated movies? I love watching such movies on X'mas on TV. It gives me a warm, woozy christmasy feeling. Thats X'mas for me. It is a nice, cute movie about Santa and his kids. The 3D is quite good. I like the new 3D movies. The previous issues have been sorted out. Earlier, some parts would be in 2D and I would have to remove my glasses to watch clearly. Catch this when it comes on TV.
I had not so great reviews about this one and missed it over the weekend. KC and I had watched the first part few months back. We decided to catch the 2nd part over the week. I had free passes which were expiring on Thursday. We really enjoyed it. It is good entertainment. I do not follow Sherlock Holmes. I grew up on Nancy Drew and any other detective is just not interesting enough. So, I do not know if this sticks to the original series. My perception of Sherlock Holmes is of a meticulous man who misses nothing. In that sense, the character does not match the perception. But thats ok. Don't miss it.

Cold...

Hiya. Its been a busy week. Any week where I have to go to Faridabad and Noida/Ghaziabad is hectic. I have not had a moment to breathe. Also, the Sunday dance classes just add to the stress. I do enjoy them but it does get tiring and I like my Sundays free.

Anyway, the performance is next Saturday. Hope it goes off well. If it does not, its ok. I am not planning to become a professional. Today I had to go shopping for the outfit- checked skirt, puffed sleeves top and skin colored stocking. Stepping into Promod is really hard on my pocket. I cannot leave with only 1 outfit. Sigh!!!

There are things I have been meaning to talk about:

• Arranged marriage: 2 of my friends have started looking out for partners through arranged marriage route since their own search has been unsuccessful. In a way, arranged marriage is a convenient thing in India. It is not looked down upon. What about people in the USA? They have to find their own partners. What they cannot find anyone and want to get married? Anyway, these friends are educated, broad minded people but when it comes to arranged marriage- the rules remain the same. A grounded, good looking girl who is well educated and has a career but is not ambitious to pursue it strongly. Also, someone who can cook and will "blend" with the family. Everything is skewed towards the males. Can a female have "cooking" as a desirable trait in her partner? Naah... people will laugh at her. She is only supposed to compromise. Totally unfair. KC and me were discussing. I think the whole concept of a female moving in with the guy and taking his surname is very old fashioned. Can she ask her guy to move in with her parents? No, right? And why not? Are her parents not important? The whole concept worked when women were not working and males had to support wife, kids and parents. That does not apply anymore. Of course, KC did not want to argue or agree with me. Men!!!
• Last month when I met my cousin, she told me she had quit her job. I was shocked. Even though we are in 2012 (when the world is supposed to end), my family does not consider financial independence of the female to be important. Strange since there have been many incidences where arranged marriage has led to fatal consequences. This cousin- lets call her L, was one of the few females in the family who was working. She had completed her engineering in a reputed college of Mumbai and joined a reputed company. Her parents are looking out for a groom and decided that she should stay home and lose weight instead. I was sickened by the whole thing. Of course, my arguments were shot down by my mom who thought anything is better than giving girls so much independence that they marry against parents' wishes. Argument over. Case closed. If things have not progressed for my family, what about the majority of the population? Will females ever get their due?
• Met a friend last month. We had discussions on variety of topics. I had forgotten how much fun that can be. One of the topics discussed was fidelity or infidelity. We decided that a person does not cheat because he/she is dissatisfied by the other partner. It is always because of lack of something in the person and not the relationship. There are people who cheat and there are others who do not. It is a matter of character and will power. Anything else is an excuse. No, I am not moralizing. This is an opinion of someone who has been there. I am quite familiar with my dark sides. I think it is quite important to make mistakes so that you realize their consequences. Life is all about experimenting. There is a time to play with fire and a time to play safe. I have played with fire and have moved to the safe side.
• I want to feel warm- if only for 5 minutes. Last weekend, there was sunshine and it was barely cold. I was so happy. I thought winter is over. Monday began with fog and rain. What is worse than cold? It is cold+rain. I just want to be warm... and nothing makes me warm enough. And I want to feel the sun. I miss the sun.

I will be back with movie reviews tomorrow. The cooking is on hold right due to lack of time and energy.

Food... food... food

I wanted to write about some restaurants we have visited in the last few weeks:

• Barbeque Nation: I have been to the Bandra and Thane outlets. Finding the outlet in Gurgaon was a major pain. It is located in a residential area so my GPRS could not locate it correctly. And asking for directions is not an option here since most people do not belong to Gurgaon. After searching for 45 mins, we found it and it was full. There was some private party and waiting was for atleast an hour. Starved and pissed, we turned back. But some other day. Btw, it is located 15 mins away from my house
• Crazy Noodles: I had seen the board at Galleria but never tried it. The place is quite different... it has a glass exterior. The walls are all glass and the view is quite good since it is located on the 1st floor. They have these funky glasses which stay tilted. For a place called "Crazy Noodles" there is very little variety in noodles. We had stir fried noodles and liked it. A place we will visit again 'coz it cost less than 500 bucks for 2 people
• Choko La: I have walked by this place many, many times 'coz I thought it sells chocolates. I entered it in Subhashnagar mall and ordered the tiny, expensive cup cake- cream, cheese and cherry cupcakes. It has a cherry stuffing and cream cheese topping. Lovely. Pricey at 90 bucks. This Sunday we went for their all day b'fast. Good part is that the b'fast is not till 11 am... but all day. We ordered omlette, scrambled eggs, toast, muffin, croissant, tea and juice. Omlette was great... scrambled eggs were served with a parmesan wafer on top and mushrooms on the side... masterchef quality. The muffin was nice and warm. We had a filling b'fast and it cost less than 500 bucks for 2 people. We will go there again... maybe, every month.
• Asia 7: This restaurant is located in Ambience Mall. The first time we went there, we had the buffet and it sucked. The problem with most buffets is that most items are mediocre and the menu has items which will appeal to most. In Gurgaon, we stay away from buffets after 2-3 bad experiences. This time we went a la carte, we had Thread chicken with cherry dip. It was masterchef quality... a really, soft juicy chicken was covered with threads of wheat batter. The dip was a good complement. For main course, we had Pad Thai noodles. It was genuine with the bean sprouts and peanuts. Please don't try the cocktails there- we didn't finish ours and wasting liquor hurt our pocket bad. Cost is 1700 for 2 people with liquor.

All in all, a good food experience in the last one month.

Happy New Year

Hiya... sorry, I have been gone too long. Life has been busy and the winter is making me lazy. Moving means letting go of the conserved heat and I try to do less of that.

New year's was good. We didn't do anything on 31st, for obvious reasons. But I have never done much on 31st- ever... no partying or boozing for me, well, except for this one time.

As a kid, I spent 31st at home... all of us (sis, bro and me) would be up till late at night watching TV. We would make some Maggi when hungry.... those were the days when we looked forward to TV programmes on 31st night. Once our parents dragged us to a party... not a dance and liquor party (How I wish!!!) but a get together of doctors and their families in a restaurant on the highway. Ghazals were playing live, there was chaat and stuff for dinner, cake was cut and we were all so bored. We cribbed like hell 'coz it was the night when Titanic was playing on Star Movies for the very first time. The next night we refused to go to any party and watched the movie at home. Bliss.

When I was in my B-School, we spent 31st night on KMC (Kasturba Medical College) greens with friends. In the 2nd year, we took a trip to Turtle Bay- a beach resort near Manipal. It was good fun. On the way back, I joined a friend for a party. The plan was to stay there for sometime and return before midnight to KMC greens. Unfortunately, the friend was there to DJ and I didn't know anyone too well. I ended up getting seriously drunk and puked my guts out. 1st Jan was a complete hangover for me... and I missed meeting friends at greens.

KC's and my first new year was at Mulund. I had to go to Bhiwandi warehouse on 31st. I got stuck in traffic on my way back and by the time we reached Mulund it was crowded and 10 pm. There were no empty restaurants for dinner. We ended up at Dominoes at midnight. Not the best new year.

We did the same this year- had dinner at Dominoes and stayed in. Not bad.

The best surprise in the morning was the delivery of the gas cylinder. I had been following up like crazy for a week.

Coming to the present,

• I had the best Jazz class last week. The senior instructor P is amazing... she has to enter the class and I feel good. I look forward to seeing her... she dances like a dream... and she inspires. WOW!!! And its not just talent... but also loads of hard work.
• So many sales are going on right now. Please check out Promod. I have never entered the store 'coz it is pricey. On Saturday, I just checked out the sale and it was a genuine one. Upto 70% meant actual clothes at 70% off. I bought a skirt priced at 3650 bucks for only 1090 bucks. How cool is that? I shopped like crazy... went back the next day too. And again the 3rd day (did not find anything I had not bought on the 3rd day).
• Mango sale sucks.... they just bring trash from somewhere. Clothes look like seconds. Please avoid
• My company just gifted us a Sony Home Theater. I have wanted one for quite sometime but we didn't want to splurge. Watching movies is a whole new experience. I do not fall asleep watching movies anymore
• Sunday was quite hectic. We stayed up till 1 am on Saturday night watching movie on Blu Ray DVD (Scarface) and then a marathon session of Big Bang Theory. Waking up at 11 next morning was torture. I will never go against my body clock again. Sleep by midnight, at max. After a late and lazy b'fast at Choko La (details in next post) I rushed for my dance class... after which we rushed to buy groceries, shop and have dinner. Too much rushing around
• Gym has been ignored completely 'coz of dance. We have the winter workshop performance on 28th Jan'12 at SiriFort. From 3 hours a week, I have to attend classes for 5 hours per week (1.5 hours on 2 weekdays and 2 hours on Sundays). It gets hectic but is a lot of fun.
• I am tired of feeling cold all the time, waiting for 2-3 days for the clothes to dry, not seeing the sun for days, waking up to foggy mornings... I want the sun and the warmth. Will this cold end already?
• What is worse than a Delhite telling you it is not cold enough? A mumbaite telling you it is not cold enough.

New year resolutions....

Naah. I am doing away with resolutions this year. I was going through last year's resolutions (Thats why a blog is so useful... you can chronicle your life and go back to it anytime)... grow hair and lose weight. I have done none of them. Instead, I went and chopped my hair real short... the shortest they have been in a few years and I like it.

Of the year gone by I only want to remember the good parts 'coz thats what matters...

There were 2 big changes... the most important ones... life changing ones...

• KC and I moved in together. He was in Karnataka earlier and I was in Mumbai. We met every weekend. 2011 is the year that we started living like a married couple... and it has been amazing... Ups and downs... but I love it... so much so that being away for even 2 days is a drag. I start getting bored... if I come home even by 7 pm, there is nothing to do. I do
  like living alone... but I also like living with someone. Since we moved in together, we always made some long term decisions like buying a house. Our finances are screwed up but we are living one month at a time.
• I went home during Diwali after more than 2 years. I used to dream about my room, my bed and it was so nice to see it. Home is still the same, unfortunately it is no more the place I can go for solace at a whim.

There were other good things and I want to remember them:

• Jazz classes... how my life has changed 'coz of them. Right now, we are preparing for the workshop on 28th Jan'12. It is so damn difficult.. remembering all the steps for one whole
• song... and also trying to perform. Today, finally, after 6 months... my instructor actually praised me. All this time I thought she probably hates me. Yippie.
• Cooking... 2011 is the year when I got more into cooking... and have tried so many things. I am still not doing half as much as I want to but then I am not superwoman and something has to be on the back burner.
• Leh/Ladakh trip... Goa trip... Sariska National Park... all the trips... new experiences...
• Downloads... more downloads... and so many more... True Blood... Gossip Girl... 90210... Vampire Diaries... The Big Bang Theory...
• Bryan Adams concert... so what if we missed half of it 'coz of traffic
• The new couch and having a room only to lounge around...
• Roasting in the Delhi heat... and now snuggling in the cold weather... love the cold
• So much good food... Little Italy, Pind Balluchi, Kake ka dhaba, macaroons at L'Opera, Big Chill
• Make up... discovering it...
• Back to Nokia .... Blackberry sucks
• Incentives... contests won.... 2 of them...
• New haircuts... good ones (for a change)
• August Osage County... 2nd celebrity play (1st was Vagina Monologues)
• Online shopping at fashionandyou.com... my addiction
• So many movies and books... what would I do without them

I hope 2012 can have all the above ingredients ... and maybe more.

I leave you with a perfect picture of what 2011 has meant...