A walk through Sephora India

Last evening the Indian beauty industry took the first step towards a monumental change with the inauguration of Sephora in Select CityWalk, Saket, New Delhi. Shopping for makeup and grooming will now be a whole new experience and that was clearly announced by the subtle yet confident opening of the first store of Sephora India. From early evening curious, enthusiastic and almost hungry shoppers and beauty enthusiasts knocked at the store's shutters and waited till 7:30pm for the doors to open. And open it did, in style, with energy, warmth, and fun overflowing out of the store and it's staff. Those who witnessed the opening will tell you that just when shoppers outside were getting restless, from within the store (at the ground floor, central atrium of the mall) notes of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance floated out and the Sephora team dressed in their trade mark black danced to the tune as the shutters rolled up.
To say it in short, it was electrifying and the wait for The Beauty Authority to finally make it's appearance was worth the while. It was an experience that we, the ones who witnessed it, will not forget in a hurry.
So that was the opening, now let me walk you through it and tell you a little about what you should look out for.
As you step in, you will see two showcases, displaying "Hot Now" products, take a good look at them and remember them to test them when you reach the brands' counters. Then when you turn to your left you will find your favourite ayurvedic brand Forest Essentials. You may have already tried their products but do take a couple of minutes to once again linger over their Date and Litchi Cream and the Soundarya Serum. Since last evening, I have fallen in love with them all over again. Next as you move ahead you can't but miss the "propah" English grooming brand, Crabtree&Evelyn. You can't leave this counter without indulging on their fabulous pomegranate handscrub and those men, who are sulking and "just" hanging around, may want to check out the Nomad and Sienna ranges.
From here also starts the rows of grooming  brands that you will only see in Sephora India and they are Soap&Glory, Burt's Bees and The Face Shop. From this area you must also check out Sephora own bath and body range available in several variants. My favourite is of course their Chocolate and their Cotton Flower range. My advice: Please spend quality and quantity time exploring this area. The staffers are just right there to help you when you need, but you can is to explore the beautiful brands on your own as well for as long as you want. Pick up the black baskets kept close by and fill them in with what you like. Keep them with you and think over your choices as you walk through the rest of the store.
Once done with this area, move over to the fragrances segment. And, and here we have Tom Ford fragrances that are again now available in India exclusively through Sephora. After perfumes hop over to makeup and Oh My God! what a variety to choose from. I can spend an entire day just exploring this place. What do they have there? Ask what they don't! Ummm yes... Urban Decay, Nars, and Smashbox are awaited but there is Sephora's entire makeup collection and there is Stila, NYX (check out their Nude on Nude eye shadow palette) and Benefit. Oh, here they also have a gondola for men's grooming products. Must take a look at Zirh. On the right wall you will find an interesting collection of haircare and skincare products. For hair check out Ouidad and Oscar Blandi and in skin my recommendation is Peter Thomas Roth and NUXE.
Walk further ahead and you shall find your favourite brands like Shiseido, Clarins, Guerlain and Dior. After you cross Dior don't miss the "Skin care Wall". This smart wall display helps you choose skincare products as per your skin needs. All you need to do is look at the column head for the type of product you need (cleanser, scrub, moisturiser, serum, mask) and the row for you skin need (whitening, anti-ageing, acne etc). You know these are the little smart and thoughtful things of Sephora that makes you fall in love with the brand. It is organised, it's easy to navigate and it's not imposing. It offers you choices but never takes over your decision. In short it gives you the freedom to explore and make a choice.
I'll sign off with that today and with the hope that your Sephora experience is as good as mine.

Sephora India

Makeup, beauty, grooming is encoded in my genes. Thanks to my mother, I grew up in a world many girls would want to - in a glamorous beauty salon! Where every hour my mother showed women how to love looking good and taking pride in looking their best.
So my earliest memories of childhood include exploring my mother's dressing table, sniffing her delicate perfume bottles, running my little fingers over her brilliant nail paints and wondering when will my hands and nails be long enough to flaunt them as she did. I also remember watching her awestruck, dress up brides during the busy wedding season. In fact, I am till date mesmerised by her art. Girls walk in in simple T-shirt and denims and leave as resplendent goddesses. And who does that? My mom in her salon! What pride I feel in that can't be explained in words.
In short, what I am trying to say is that all my life I have been a worshiper of beauty. So when for the first time I walked into the beauty haven - Sephora, Champs Elysees, Paris - the feeling was that of sufi finding her kaaba. Yes, for me it was as poetic as that. And trust me it has taken me three years to come up with an appropriate expression for that experience. In trying to explain what it felt for a makeup enthusiast to walk into Sephora, I often described it as Alice walking into the Wonderland, or a child entering Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. However, every time I went back to a Sephora store my love/passion/obsession whatever you may call it grew. I have no shame in saying that I have visited Paris four times and have never been to the Eiffel or the Louvre. I have waved at them and quickly walked into Sephora! My main attraction to go to Singapore is to go to the awesome Sephora store in ION mall (and of course China Town for food). In fact, on our my wedding anniversary this year, we were in Singapore, and I spent three hours in the store. I was delighted but my husband was.... just accepted it.
I know, I know, I am mad! But you have to be a little eccentric to love beauty.
Therefore, therefore... Now that the beauty haven is all set to open it's doors in India (Select CityWalk, Delhi) you can just imagine my state. Being a part of this moment is what I have been dreaming of for the major part of this year.
So you may ask what will I do when the store opens? What else? Shop!
And here's my list of must-haves from Sephora India
1) Sephora Heated Eyelash Curler (eye makeup will look a 100 times better with the help of this amazing tool)
2) Sephora Nail Patch
3) The Face Shop Tissue Specialist in Olive (it's the best face wipe I have ever tested)
4) Sephora Instant Nail Paint Remover (I can't think of a life without this smart product)
5) Burt's Bees Lip Balms (Oh there are so many varieties that I still can't decide which one I love more)
6) Benefit Porefessional (perrrrrrfecttttt primer, I challenge you, find me one that beats it)
7) Benefit They're Real Mascara (gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! apply it after curling lashes with Sephora lash curler. Your lashes can stir up a storm after that!)
8) Soap&Glory Breakfast Scrub (when I am watching calories, I satiate my craving for sweets by giving myself a rub down with this delicious scrub!)
9) Soap&Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumper (just buy it girls, take my advice on this blindly)
10) Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer (So my friends, that's the secret to my glowing skin - now you have the answer?)
11) Oscar Blandi Jasmine Shampoo and Conditioner (hair just speaks differently with these)
12) Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme (just the perfect foot treatment for this weather)
13) Forest Essentials Madhulika Honey Lep (that mask is a must this winter)
14) Burt's Bees Sensitive Facial Wash (it's so delicate and lovely)
15) Soap&Glory Clean On Me Body Wash ("Cleanliness is essential when godliness is improbable)
16) Burt's Bees Daisy White Moisturizing Cream
17) Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria (I have spotted a gift set, and am dropping hints to my husband that maybe he wants to get that for me as a Christmas present from Sephora)

Ummm, so that's all for now. Will get back with more soon.
Till then I will leave you with a thought - "A truly beautiful person is one who's good at discovering beauty," Daisaku Ikeda

Kashmir

Dal Lake, Srinagar

Yes, I know I have been away for a while... quite a while. But, can you blame me? I had been to paradise! I know, I know poets, authors, lovers etc have often described Kashmir as paradise on earth, but you know what it is not a bit exaggerated or overrated. It is heaven on earth. It is beautiful. And this time when I visited this heavenly land I realised that in my soul I carry a little part of the soul of the place. I mean like if you can have a soul land like a soul mate, then for me I guess it would be Calcutta (my homeland) and Kashmir (the land from where I get my name).

They say what's in a name and I have also always thought, really what's in a name? However, after I visited Kashmir this time (this is my third visit) that I realised that perhaps there is a lot that a name can mean or do. Perhaps my affinity for the place stems from my name. Or perhaps this land has this intoxicating and mesmerising effect on every romantic soul. 

Beginning of October, the localites explained, is not the ideal time to visit Kashmir. There are neither beautiful blooms nor the stately snow. It's barren and cold. But even in this emptiness I found something longingly beautiful. Pahalgam, which I have seen before in it's youthful, lush greeness; was a somber shade of brown with strokes of warm orange and mellow yellow. The apple orchards stood bare with the luscious red produce neatly arranged in heaps near the gates - ready to be weighed and sold to distributors. The days had suddenly become shorter and the evenings longer and chillier. Yes I know I am sounding like an incurable romantic but trust me while sitting in the lawns of Woodstock Hotel in Pahalgam and watching the gentle Lieder river flow by I couldn't help but recall John Keats' poem To Autumn. So all I did in my three-nights stay in Pahalgam is eat, laze and dream, and of course shop (can't ever forget that, can I?). One of my best memories of Pahalgam from this trip is the breakfast that we had in Cafe Log Inn. It was the most delicious fish and chips I have ever tasted in my life! Fresh river water trout and crisp chips, it made even the dated music of the cafe seem fresh and new.

The last three nights of my stay in Kashmir was in Srinagar - one night in Clermont Houseboat just opposite the university and two nights at Shahenshah Hotel at the boulevard overlooking the Dal Lake. While at the houseboat I lazed and lazed and lazed a little more and had numerous cups of kawah while greedily catching up on reading books that I have been meaning to read for months. At the boulevard I became active. I shopped, shopped and shopped...till I dropped. Those delicate pashminas, colourful kani embroidery, intricate wood carvings and bright and fragile paper mache are just irresistible for a shopaholic like me. In between shopping I took breaks for eating and on a particular afternoon when I was scanning the shops on Residency Road we discovered the famous Adhoos restaurant, which had been highly recommended by friends. The rich and scrumptious meal (purely non-vegetarian) was in itself the taste of paradise. Even after days, I just need to close my eyes and the delicious aroma and flavours of gushtaba, tabak maas, rista and biryani envelop my senses. 

So while I relish and relive these memories till my next visit to paradise, I urge all those reading this space, that if there is a place that you must visit in this lifetime then it is Kashmir. Do make it!