Browse our ‘reviews’ section to find the best beauty products, new hair ideas, makeup looks, skin-care advice, lifestyle trends, hottest apps and more. Get personalized app reviews, fashion reviews, recommendations on the best eye creams, acne concealers, foundations, best restaurants and nightspots. Trendspotters’ editorial team helps you to cut through the clutter and discover the best.
Peter Pan is one of the greatest children’s stories in western literature. All of us have grown-up relishing its delicious fantasy narratives in the realm of Neverland! Based on the classic adventure by J.M Barrie, Pan movie tells the story of an orphan who seeks to learn more about his mother who left him at an orphanage, but ends up being whisked away by a pirate in a magical flying ship. Starring Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Levi Miller as Peter Pan, Cara Delevingne as the Mermaid and Garrett Hedlund as Captain Hook; this star-studded movie is all set to make your summer spectacular!
Featured images and banner image sourced from imdb.com
If you’re looking for an outfit inspiration for that perfect weekend look, download ‘Fashionfreax’ on your smartphones. Click, upload and share your outfits with the world or just keep scrolling through different outfits and get inspired! Take a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqQEYT0FRIU
With its easy to use interface (something very similar to Instagram), the app enables you to upload and share your outfits with different users. You can also follow your favourite fashion bloggers around the world through FashionFreax to get your daily dose of inspiration!
The damage that comes along with the task of washing long hair every day has been bothering womankind for years together. For all the busy (or lazy) women out there who experience hurried mornings or quick gym sprints on a regular basis, here’s a solution. Dry shampoo soaks up excess oil and dirt on the scalp leaving your hair clean, without any damage. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out on one of the most versatile hair products ever.
Apple rolled out its third major update to iOS 8 recently and we…..kinda love it. Amongst various minor updates that improved performance & fixed bugs, this new installment of the operating system has started making headlines especially for the new Emoji keyboard.
The first of its kind keyboard that allows you to change skin tones of human emoji’s along with various family options (including gay couples with kids) is now available to all iPhone, iPad, iMac & iWatch users with the iOS 8.3!
What’s more, is the range of new emoticons that incorporates flags of different countries (including India) along with different symbols and expressions.
The download is fairly hassle-free depending on the user’s internet speed!
Snapchat’s January update (see here) did away with the ‘Best Friends’ feature making a lot of people happy and now it’s back. The good news is that only you get to see who sends you the most snaps and who you don’t reply to as often. And all this with the help of our beloved EMOJIS, YES! Here’s the scoop on everything new.
Snapchat’s recent update has a new way of intimating its users about their relationship with their snap-buddies. With the help of various emojis (each one having its own meaning); Snapchat users can now find out which one of their friends they message the most and the ones that ‘need love’.
If you see a ‘gold heart’ next to a person’s name on your Snapchat friends list, it means you message this person the most.
If you see a smiling face with it’s teeth out (Grimace) then it means this person and you have a mutual best friend – both of you send snaps to a common person almost all the time.
If you see the smirk face emoji next to a friend’s name it means that they send you a lot of snaps but you are not generous enough in replying back.
If you see the cool emoji (face with sunglasses) next to someone’s face it means that one of your best friends (a person you send a lot of snaps too) is one of their best friends.
If you a see a smiley face next to a friends name, they are one of your best friends.
The fire emoji means you’ve begun a ‘snapstreak’ with this friend and you’ve been snapping back and forth for consecutive days.
A ‘need love’ section has also been included in your list of friends to remind you of friends you don’t send snaps to. Apart from the above, there’s a low-light camera feature that improves picture quality for snaps clicked in the dark or poor lighting.
Using foundation everyday can be harmful to your skin and expensive too, hence comes our saviour ‘BB cream’ and ‘CC cream’. Just a hint of colour is fine to cover up unevenness during casual days with an added benefit, these creams actually help you work on your skin related issues be it redness or blemishes. Here is a simple guide on what these creams are all about and which one is the best for you.
BB cream
‘BB’ stands for ‘Beauty Balm’ or ‘Blemish Balm’. It has an all-in-one formula that moisturises, evens skin tone, conceals blemishes and protects from the sun with a luminous finish. It is best suitable for dry to combination skin. It consists of light reflecting components making you look dewy and providing the apt amount of coverage. BB creams have a thicker consistency and give a second skin like result, only better. This product is best suited for women looking for just a little more coverage than tinted moisturisers. For people with oily skin, this product tends to make skin a bit oily, so we suggest setting it with powder to prevent greasiness.
CC cream
An advanced sister of the BB cream, ‘CC’ stands for ‘Colour and Correct’. It consists of a primer, moisturiser, serum and sunscreen and is packed with benefits of vitamin C and E. CC cream targets redness, dark spots, uneven skin tone, wrinkles and sun protection. It provides lesser coverage as compared to BB creams. CC creams are suitable for all skin types, effective for people with a little mature skin as it is packed with goodness of anti-aging compounds.
Difference between BB and CC creams
To begin with BB creams are a basic version of everyday-use tinted moisturiser with a few extra benefits. CC creams are an advanced version taking care of your anti-ageing needs as well.
BB creams give a wee bit heavy coverage whereas CC creams give lesser coverage.
Both contain SPF.
BB creams are best suitable for people with dry skin whereas CC creams are the ‘Holy Grail’ product for people with oily skin.
CC creams help fight against acne, redness and aging whereas BB creams are a toned down version that look after your skin’s everyday needs.
Bronzers imitate the healthy look of the sun on to your face and warm up the complexion by adding definition. With summers around the corner, it’s time to flaunt that perfect sun-kissed look with these oh-so-awesome bronzers. Here are three bronzers available in the market that you must try.
1) Chanel ‘Soleil Tan De Chanel’
Chanel has improvised their formula and re-launched their bronzer with a new name and it is better than ever. ‘Soleil Tan De Chanel’ will be your best friend if you love to contour or to get a hint of tan on your face. It has a velvety matte cream gel formula that is soft and smooth and perfectly blends into the skin leaving a natural dewy look. It can be used all over or just for the purpose of contouring.
‘Soleil Tan De Chanel’ is sheer and light weight, comes in a plastic packing unlike other Chanel products and is very handy. For heavy coverage use your fingers or simply buff it on to your skin using a brush for an air brushed look. This product is recommended for all skin types and is a sure value for money as the jar will last you forever.
Bobbi Brown’s bronzing powder is a soft smooth matte powder bronzer that instantly brightens up your face. It is a wonderful product for that extra oomph and makes you look healthy and extremely natural on the skin without any shimmer or sparkle. This bronzer’s consistency is smooth and blends into your skin easily without getting chalky or excessively powdery. Bobbi Brown’s bronzing powder is suitable for all skin types but works especially well on oily skin without making it look patchy or uneven. It is highly pigmented and adds warmth to the face. Moreover, one swipe of this product is enough to build up a strong intensity.
If you’re looking for a bronzer that is easy on the pocket then MAC’s bronzing powder should be your choice. MAC Bronzing Powder as the name says is a pressed powder bronzer extremely smooth with a lightly frosted shimmer that gives a sheer natural highlighting effect perfectly suitable for Indian skin tones.
Dust the bronzer on the forehead, cheeks, nose, chin and neck; it is very pigmented, just a light swab can go all the way. It is sleek and compact, comes handy with a mirror and is ideal for every day contouring and sculpting. This product gives a nice fresh glow without looking cakey, doesn’t give an orange tint like other bronzers and stays on your skin for long.
There are very few women in this world who don’t have a concealer in their makeup bags. With growing awareness and availability of makeup products, the concealer has made a special place for itself in vanity kits and rightly so. Concealers help in hiding blemishes, covering dark under-eye areas and evening out skin tones. They can also be used as a base for your eye shadows and lip colours. If you still don’t have a concealer, here are 3 superb products available in India that you must try!
While using a concealer you need to keep the following points in mind; a) Always apply concealer right after the primer and before the foundation b) If the concealer is not blended properly, it will not stay for very long so blend, blend and blend away c) Set your concealer using a loose powder to keep it in place for longer d) While choosing a concealer, go for a colour that is one shade lighter than your foundation, not your skin colour. A lighter concealer shade works on hiding blemishes better and the foundation will eventually match it to your natural skin tone.
#1 MAC Studio Finish Concealer
This concealer can classify as slightly creamy and comes in a small pot which is sure to last you for at least six months (if used daily). It’s perfect for acne-prone skin, provides medium-full coverage and comes in a variety of shades. If you walk into a MAC store, they’ll help you with the perfect colour for your skin type. Use it with a brush (preferably) and dab it on to your blemishes and under-eye area first and then start blending it. This product needs a little more blending than usual but if applied correctly it easily lasts for six-eight hours. It is thick in consistency which does mean more blending but also makes it ideal for people who don’t like using a foundation.
This is a liquid concealer with light-medium coverage, great for people struggling with uneven skin-tone and light blemishes. The concealer is easy to apply because of its packaging. It comes in a tube with a slanted tip. Just apply two small triangles around the cheek bones and blend in with your fingers. Use the extra product left on your fingers on the forehead and the chin area, if needed. Apply foundation evenly after this step and set both with loose powder to make it last for six hours easily. It doesn’t cake, flake or settle into fine lines and smells great because it is made of natural food extracts.
Revlon PhotoReady Concealer comes in the form of a stick and stick concealers are best suited to cover under-eye dark circles. This concealer provides light coverage and is a little shimmery, best for evening wear. It works very well for dry skin and needs to be applied along with a moisturizer because of its thick and dry texture. Moisturise your face first and then apply the product on to blemishes and in the under-eye area. Blend with your fingers or with a brush and follow this step with some loose powder. This product stays on for four-six hours, comes with SPF 20 for sun-protection and is light on the pocket. However, it is not recommended for people with problem skin.
A perfect hair styler is one that has mutilple styling attachments and is not too heavy on the pocket. If you have also been looking for one then here’s your answer – ‘fun style 8 in 1’ by BaByliss. We ordered it from Flipkart (here) and did this unboxing just for all of you. Take a look.
A new makeup essential in your vanity kit is a highlighter. A highlighter basically makes your skin glow just like it does under candle light without the obvious noticeable impact of shiny sparkly shimmer. It is an amazing product to emphasise your best facial features and draw attention away from the ones you aren’t very happy about. Here are three face highlighters in India that you can choose from.
Before you buy a highlighter make sure you choose the right highlighter type according to the amount of glow you want on your skin. Please refrain from over-applying the highlighter as that just burns the light on your face and makes it look very shiny. Here’s a tutorial by Reiva Cruze to help you learn how to apply a highlighter properly.
A liquid highlighter works best for full coverage. You can also mix it with a moisturiser and apply it all over your face. Liquid highlighters add dimension to your face and prevent dullness and are a great product for dry skin.
If you’re looking to highlight your cheekbones, brow lines, chin and the bridge of your nose for that daily, dewy look, Benefit Cosmetics’ High Beam should be your go-to product. This liquid highlighter is perfect to use after you’ve put your foundation on. It blends with the skin and does not get absorbed into pores. Moreover, it does not clump up and lasts for a good 6-8 hours. The only two problems with this product are its packaging and price. It’s packaged just like a nail polish which can sometimes result in a messy over-application and it’s priced high at INR 2,990. You can buy this product online here www.elitify.com
A more affordable option is Colorbar’s Radiant Glow Illuminator pen. Its tip is in the form of a brush that is not the most suitable option for applying a highlighter so we suggest you get some product on your finger tips to avoid slathering too much of it on to your face. This product is very good for special occasions and parties because of its champagne colour like sheen finish. Just pat the product on to the skin, do not rub it in as it just vanishes. You may buy the product at any ColorBar store for INR 525 or order it online here at www.nykaa.com
Powder Highlighters are our personal favourites. They are easily available, inexpensive and amazing to use at home. Powder highlighters are best for everyday use as they give just the right amount of glow that’s ideal for daytime. You can just use a brush and dab it all over your face or use it on specific areas to highlight them. These are very good for under-eye application as they make your eyes stand out too. Bobbi Brown’s Pink Quartz Shimmer Brick is a very good powder highlighter for both day and night time. It offers five different shades in the form of a compact brick which you can either use individually or together. The different shades can be used alternatively as eye shadow and blush too. This highlighter is perfect for oily and combination skin as it does not cake up and lasts for very long. Please do not drop the compact on the floor because once it breaks, all the shades get mixed up and it becomes very difficult to use. This product is easily available at all Bobbi Brown stores.
If you would like us to try out any other products for you please let us know, we would be happy to try it out and review it.
The new essential in your makeup kit is a face primer. For those of you who are not aware of the importance of a primer, it’s the new step that is followed by the age-old regime of CTM (Cleansing, Toning and Moisturizing). Not only does a primer hold your makeup for a long time, it preps your skin for absorbing makeup, minimises pores and fine lines and acts as a protective layer between your skin and your foundation. Here are three face primers in India that you must try.
If you need to learn how to apply a face primer, here’s our favourite (very simple and easy) Youtube tutorial by BlushBeautyTutor;
#1 L’oreal Paris Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer
Recommended for oily skin, the ‘L’oreal Paris Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer’ has a mattifying effect. It takes away any signs of oiliness, fine lines and pores like magic. It has a slightly rosy shade that covers imperfections and gives a perfect base for your foundation coverage
Benefit Cosmetics’ ‘The Porefessional’ is best suited for women with large pores. This oil-free primer with Vitamin E extracts minimises the appearance of pores and leaves the skin feeling silky and smooth. It also holds your makeup together for a very long time.
Benefit The Porefessional is one of the good face primers in India available at Sephora stores. If you are lazy to go to a story you can also get it online on www.eBay.in by following this link http://goo.gl/9byvmK
#3 Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer
Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer is a light-weight product, good for everyday use. For people with acne-prone skin this primer’s creamy tint covers blotchiness and redness perfectly. It also controls oil and refines skin texture. You need to allow two-three minutes for this product to settle into the skin and it’ll keep your makeup on perfectly for around six hours (on a greasy summer day).
Here’s the hottest find in the city for authentic Lebanese cuisine. Visit Zizo in Connaught Place and explore the refined cuisine that is as intricate in its flavours as the inter-weaving of cultures that influences it. Meet Fouad Abdel Malak, the CEO of Zizo and find out what he thinks makes his restaurant stand out.
Fouad Abdel Malak:Basically I found out that there are no really good Lebanese restaurants in India and I thought how amazing would it be to bring something authentic from Lebanon to India.
Fouad Abdel Malak is the CEO of the authentic Lebanese restaurant Zizo, located in Connaught Place, New Delhi. He talks of his commitment to the myriad flavours of his homeland and the unique nuances of his eatery in the capital.
Fouad Abdel Malak:I come from a village it’s called Abadieh, it’s about 20 minutes from Beirut and it’s all green and there we eat great food everyday! It’s organic, its healthy, its nutritious and everything is picked from the garden so I thought how great it would be to offer the same thing to people in India. We’ve brought together like unique things like Mulberry juice which doesn’t exist here. Organic mulberry juice, we brought together Fatte which is a yoghurt with chick peas and a bed of crispy bread and we have some good grills and some very very traditional foods like Hummus but done the proper way!
The team at Zizo believes in establishing customer relationships which go beyond just a hospitable environment. It’s almost like they are brand ambassadors of a beautiful culture defined by its warmth, vibrancy and a certain indescribable elegance.
Fouad Abdel Malak:We are not trying just to make money, we want to make friends and that’s what is really important to Zizo. It’s about making friends and introducing people to the beautiful culture of Lebanese cuisine and beautiful habits of hospitality that we are famous for in Lebanon and the great healthy food we bring to India is something that I hope people will appreciate.
Carving the restaurant interior into four different sections, Fouad explains how the restaurant setup is a like a journey with different facets that cater to diverse customer preferences. The one theme that runs in common is a delectable Lebanese experience accentuated by a rich and varied burst of flavours.
Fouad Abdel Malak: I wanted this place to be like a journey. And every area to represent a different facet of that journey.When you come here, you feel like you’ve gone to Lebanon. We’ve got books; we have movie nights on Tuesdays where we bring down the screen. We have documentaries about Lebanon; we have pickles the way we make in Lebanon – the same way, the same taste. We have the same way of making traditional Pita bread which kind of inflates and it’s very very fresh.
And here’s a little insight on the specialties at the restaurant from the horse’s mouth.
Fouad Abdel Malak:I think we have the best hummus in India by far and it’s not an easy thing to make good hummus and I would like you to know that our hummus which chef Dany with Chef Maroun sells for 20 Euros in Monaco, and here it sells for around 250 rupees. So I think what we tried to do is we tried to get that top level food here. And something else which is very unique is the Man’oushe, it’s the Lebanese flat bread pizza, which has various toppings and is very typical of Lebanons street food.And the last thing I would like to talk about is the guest favoured – Falafel. We went to a crazy length to get the Falafel as good as the best places in Lebanon.
Amongst the specialties, Fouad believes that the ‘Lebanese leg of lamb’ trulystands apart and is a must-try at Zizo.
Fouad Abdel Malak: We have a Lebanese leg of lamb, we call it Oriental leg of lamb or the King’s feast. It’s a leg of lamb and .it’s cooked to perfection on a bed of rice with some Arabic nuts and a peppery Lebanese sauce which is very famous in Lebanon and it is a really unique dish.
Where: Connaught Place, K 18,22, Connaught Place, New Delhi & M 23, 1st Floor, Greater Kailash (GK) 1, New Delhi
Must Try: Lebanese leg of lamb, Man’oushe, Falafel and Traditional hummus with Tahini
Since Smokey’s opened in Delhi’s GK-II area about a year ago, it has been as influential as every other iconic restaurant in the city. Not only is it famous for its smoke-infused food and cocktails, its flamboyant hospitality and vibrant ambience is what bringstrue connoisseurs back to this restaurant. Restaurateur and owner Shiv Karan Singh walked us through the journey of this now-beloved Delhi haunt. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Shiv Karan Singh:I feel today every place has to be for everybody, kind of a feel good factor.Smokey’s is more than a restaurant; it’s an activity space where people can engage and have a great time without pinching their pockets. Yes of course we want everybody to come but I want everybody to remember me for my food more than anything else to be honest.
One look around the restaurant’s lofty wood and brick decor and you can guess the type of food they serve. From American style barbeque steaks to grills; this restaurant has something to satiate all kinds of palettes.
Shiv Karan Singh:I love all my food, my steaks, yes I love my steaks and I think what we offer is a very different palette of things whether it’s from the European to the little twist of the Indian taste. So I think we guys must be the one of the first ones to start with burger sliders and burger hot dogs, we do a lot of steaks, we do a lot of good fish; we have ‘red snapper’ we have ‘John Dory’, we have three or four different types of steaks which we offer which is quite known amongst the people out here.
The entrance of the restaurant is decked with a shot bar and the side wall is decked with coloured arty bottles. Smokey’s takes pride in the innovation they’ve introduced into the preparation of their cocktails.
Shiv Karan Singh:So we’ve used the smoke element with the liquor so we have a lot of smoke based cocktails out here. Whether you call it a smokey martini, a lock stock, old fashioned, all these are very new with lot of smoke with wood being used with a lot of things infusing together. My personal favourite cocktail here is the ‘smoking lock stock’ which is a vodka based cocktail thatI love, and then John does a ‘Johntini’ its a single malt cocktail which is one of my favourites out here.
Where: Plot 2, VIPPS Center, Masjid Moth, Greater Kailash (GK) II, New Delhi
Must Try: Cocktails – ‘Lock, Stock & A Smokin’ Barrel’ and ‘Burn Bourbon Burn’
Food – ‘John Dory with Smoked Shimla Chili’ and ‘Slider Dogs’
Cost: Rs.2,000 for two (approx including alcohol), taxes and charges extra
Opening hours: 12 Noon to 1 AM (All days of the week)
As the name suggests, ‘The ChatterHouse’ is a European-style gastro pub where everyone’s welcome to walk in and have a great time with friends over food and drinks. Here’s an insight on the diner by its Head Chef, Tara Chand Joshi. He tells us what makes ‘The ChatterHouse’ so special. Take a look.
Located at the Food Mall, Epicuria, Nehru Place in New Delhi, The ChatterHouse ignites the magic of an Old English Pub offering a variety of mouth-watering cuisine and cocktails.
The head chef Tara Chand Joshi, with International experience at multiple restaurants in the past explains the idea behind the pub and it’s specialties.
Tara Chand Joshi:The idea behind The Chatter House is community bonding. The ambience is such that you would instantly want to leave everything behind, soak in the relaxed retro vibe and simply have a great time. So while you enjoy the food here, you can bond over endless conversations, have a round of beer pong, play a game of darts, move over to the pool table or just enjoy the retro music.
The keyword behind our food menu is comfort. It’s a mix of European, Italian and of course Indian.The beverage menu on the other hand has a simple and fun thought – Booze for Big Kids. What you should try here are the wood fired pizzas and our signature molecular cocktail, ‘Golden Chatter’
The Chatter House menu indulges your guilty pleasures, light cravings and peckish moments besides dishing up hearty meals at very affordable prices.
Where: The Chatter House, Epicuria, Nehru Place
Must Try: Wood fired Pizza & Golden Chatter (Cocktail)
Cost for two: INR 1,200 plus taxes (without alcohol)
The Imperial Salon and Bio Sculpture organised a ‘Wine and Nails’ evening for select bloggers from across Delhi. The extensive range of toluene free, DBP and formaldehyde Bio Sculpture nail polishes at The Imperial Salon strengthen and protect the nails and last up to three weeks. Find out all about the extravaganza here.
The Imperial Salon celebrated the launch of Bio Sculpture nail care at The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi and the event was an extravagant affair. The celebration was complete with pampering, wine and delicious canapes complimenting the event perfectly.
Bio Sculpture’s gel range offers up to 200 gel colours with matching nail polishes designed for different types of nail beds. They are smudge proof, don’t chip and last for almost three weeks without any signs of fading. The event provided free manicures, pedicures and nail art to the attendees so they could try the product and we absolutely loved it!
