FASHION

FASHION
FASHION

BEAUTY

BEAUTY
BEAUTY

FOOD

FOOD
FOOD

GOLDEN HONEY BALAYAGE - NEW HAIR COLOR





I am in love with my New Spring Hair. Golden Honey Balayage to refresh my look for the upcoming warmer months. Not to mention ,it was a treat for my 7th Marriage Anniversary. I have been coloring my hair since I was 16. Over the years I have realised that blondes and honey golds suit me better than reds or pinks. They just gel better with my warm undertone. Usually I get chunkier Blonde highlights as its a good contrast to my natural dark roots. But this time around, I wanted to try something different. My air had some remnants of the old blonde highlights and I was liking the way they looked against the dark regrowth. I wanted lighter ends and darker roots. Almost like a graduated ombre.

Balayage is a French word, which means to 'Color Freehand'. Unlike traditional highlights, where a weave pattern is created by coloring strands, whether fine or chunkier . The hair is then wrapped up in foils . In Balayage, sections of hair are surface painted, like you would paint on canvas. Sections are selceted to color, to create a more natural effect. The best part of Balayage is that it looks great even when its growing out. We decided to create Balayage with two different shades of Honey and Gold, to create more dimension in the hair. My roots were to be my natural dark color, to create the necessary contrast I was looking for.

Its always important to discuss with your hair stylist what you want for your hair. Inspiration pictures are very helpful. But you have to realise that the existing color an condition of your hair will determine how much of your Inspiration can be recreated on your hair. I had been discussing with my hair stylist Amanda Pogue, Owner and Lead Stylist of Studio A Salon, in Overland Park Kansas, by exchanging notes and pictures. She had an idea over what I wanted and I told her to lead me on, based on my inspiration.
BEFORE 
Like a magician, she whipped up her potions. In this case, her colors and lighteners.She used the L'anza Healing Hair Care Hair Lightener. Next came in Olaplex, Bond Mulitiplier no 1, which was mixed in with the color. It helps to reduce breakage with every color service. Its almost like and insurance for your hair. 



Amanda sectioned off my hair, and started free painting sections of hair as part of Balayage.





It was time for the color to process and create its magic.


Then the color was washed off with L'anza Healing Color Care Shampoo  and L'anza Keratin Healing Oil Conditioner, and Blue- Purple Toner was applied to tone down the colors to the desired shade. If you've going blonde , then you are aware of the importance of Purple shampoo. Purple is the exact opposite color to yellow in a color wheel. so in order to prevent blonde hair from gong brassy , its important to use purple shampoo. The Blue-Purple Toner was a step ahead in that genre. Along with the toner came the Olaplex  Bond Perfector no 2 , to seal in the cuticles of the hair.





Toner washed and time to blow dry the hair. Amanda used Keratatherapy Nourishing Styling Foam to my hair before blow drying it.  Getting one's hair blow dried is one of the most luxurious feelings for me.

I am in love with the Kardashian Waves which Amanda had created on me, during my last appointment. If you want to read about it, then click Here. So we recreated the Kardashian waves again. Amanda used Keratin Healing Oil Hairspray before she started curling it.




I love how it all turned out. Its just perfect for Spring Summer. Thank you Amanda for yet another magic touch to my hair.

 If you want to know how I take care of my Color Treated Hair, then click Here. 

Products mentioned: 
Olaplex Bond Multiplier No 1
Olaplex Bond Perfector no 2
L'anza Healing Color Care Shampoo
L'anza Keratin Healing Oil Conditioner
Keratatherapy Nourishing Styling Foam
Keratin Healing Oil Hairspray

Studio A Salon - Amanda Pogue 
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COLOR OF THE YEAR- ROSE QUARTZ: KCFW FW'16 FINAL NIGHT OOTD













Planning outfits for Fashion Week is always so much fun. Of all the days of Fashion Week, the last day is when people are at their fanciest best. I love my monochromes and would have stuck with black again to pair with my ivory white midi skirt. I know black and white are always timeless together. Somehow Pantone's Color of the Year seemed to win this fashion dilemma in my mind. It was the perfect Rose Quartz or Blush crop top I have come across. And trust me, I have gone through dozens of tops in putting this outfit together. It was an ideal match with my floral heels and my rose gold Zara bag.

Outfit Details :
Blush Crop top from Windsor(Sold Out). Similar Here and Here 
White Full Midi Skirt from Express(Sold Out). Similar Here
Floral Strappy Sandals from Off Broadway Shoes(Sold Out). Similar in Pumps Here

Pictures by Debashish Dasgupta and Samantha Goble of 'Of Life and Style '. Thank you !

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CHOCOLATEY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES - MAKE IT YOURS COOKIES



My foodie friends kept ranting that they were missing my recipe posts. So here's one for them. I was approached by Influenster for their #MakeItYours  Cookie Campaign with Country Crock Spread. I had never used Country Crock before, so it was a challenge for me.

The main ingredient , the Country Crock Spread was provided by Influenster through their Influenster Vox Box. Thank you !

It was pretty soft and easy to spread. And the fact that color of the spread was so close to regular butter, it kinda fools the eyes . Even after baking 4 dozen cookies, I still had some left for spreading on my toast for breakfast. I had received a coupon in my mail and I redeemed the coupon at a retailer of my choice. selected the Original style. The cookies were pretty good and it tasted great on my toast. This will surely find a place in my grocery list when this tub runs out.


As I had never baked cookies with a butter alternative, I decided to stick to something safe. Chocolate is always fool proof. Add to it more chocolates and maybe a smidge more, you are basically on very safe ground. The #MakeItYours Campaign comes with a basic cookie recipe, which cane be altered to many varieties. From confetti to bacon chocolate, the possibilities are quite a few. My pick was the Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Cookies. There are many cookie recipes ,which call for the dough to be chilled before being baked. I liked the fact that the #MakeItYours Recipe did not call for an extra chilling time for the dough. It just called for the Butter Spread to be kept in the refrigerator before mixing in the ingredients.

The cookies were soft and quite tasty, to be honest. Nowhere did I feel that they were not made with regular butter. My husband had already polished off four from the first batch while I was busy in the kitchen with the rest of the batches. It made exactly 4 dozen cookies. So its a good recipe if you want to make cookies for goodie bags or cookies for a kid's birthday birthday.

My only alteration to the original recipe was that I had used Dark Brown Sugar, which has a larger molasses content. It made the cookies a bit chewy and soft, and that's how I like my chocolate chocolate chip cookies. You can stick to Light Brown Sugar if you don't like chewy cookies.



MAKE IT YOURS COOKIE RECIPE- CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP : 
Recipe adapated from : Country Crock Make it Yours

Ingredients: 
Country Crock Spread : 1 cup (cold from the refrigerator)
Granulated Sugar: 3/4 cup
Light Brown Sugar : 3/4 cup
Egg: 1
Egg Yolk: 1
Vanilla: 2 tbsp
Salt: 3/4 tsp
Baking Powder : 1 tsp
Baking Soda : 1/4 tsp
Unsweetened Cocoa : 3 tbsp
Chocolate chips : 12 oz( 1 1/2 cup)
All purpose flour: 3 cups


Procedure: 



Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

In a large mixing bowl, mix in the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, cocoa and vanilla.

Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda until well incorporated.


Mix in the chocolate chips until every spoonful of the dough has some of the mix ins.




Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the dough in the ungreased tray. Leave a gap of around 3 inches in between the dough balls.




Bake in a preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the out edges are light golden.

Cool one minute on a wire rack. Remove from trays and cool completely.

Enjoy ! Bon Appetit !


Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Influenster and Country Crock. The opinions and views are those of my own, although the product was complimentary .






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HERMES SCARF : KCFW FW'16 FRIDAY NIGHT OOTD



  









My Hermes Scarf was my inspiration in planning my outfit for Friday Night of KCFW Fall Winter '16. It was a Valentine's Day present from my husband, just before I gave birth to our daughter. I had just worn it once with a black maternity tunic and black tights for a dinner then. It lay in my closet in its fancy box, waiting for another occasion. I always felt I needed the perfect blank canvas of an outfit to do justice to this wonderful scarf. Its the Tutankhamun Scarf by Hermes, which is now sold out. Honestly its an asset and an investment.

I came across this suede dress with eyelet details and a scalloped hem at Target while doing groceries one day. I know suede dresses have been around since last season, but I loved the detailing and thd cut of this dress. Somehow it seemed to be the blank canvas I was looking for to bring out my Hermes Scarf out of hibernation. My Lauren Tote from Ralph Lauren, MAC Ruby Woo , leopard pumps and some bronze eyes. I was all set.

Outfit Details :
Hermes Tutankhamun Silk Scarf 
Brown Suede Dress from Target(sold out), similar Here
Leopard Pumps from Nine West(Elise)
Lauren Tote from Ralph Lauren (sold out)




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