LwW Loves: Cascading Braid

LwW Loves cascade braiding. Its quite simple and relatively quick (once you get the hang of it) and looks intriguing and amazing at the same time! 

To re-create the cascading braid, here's an attempt towards a tutorial:

• Try to comb out or straighten your hair a little bit so it doesn't tangle. Needless to say, if you're lucky to have straight or fine hair go on to step 2.

• Grab a big chunk over the top of your left ear and your parting and divide these in two for your top and middle strands of the braid.

• Take the remaining lock of hair behind your ear in your other hand. This should be the bottom most and longest strand that will go all the way around the back of your head. 

• Start with braiding these strands by taking the middle strand over the top strand. The top strand should fall over the bottom strand. This is so you can take the bottom and cross it over the middle strand that you've already braided. The result should look like the picture below where the bottom and middle strand cross each other in an X. The bottom strand should be straightened out to look like the top part of an X and the middle strand the bottom. (Phew!)

• Since you've left the top most strand hanging, take another chunk from the crown of your head (preferably a similar sized chunk so that you have about 5 to 6 top strands in your braid) and follow step 4. 
• Repeat with with all the top strands until you reach your right ear. Cross the middle and bottom strands twice to tighten your braid and use bobby pins to fasten the braid.
  Tip: Try using two (or in case your hair is as thick as mine, three) bobby pins and try to create an X. This way the bobby pins keep each other in place and dont undo. Use a third right through the center just to make sure.

The final product should look something like this: 

And from the front.

I like keeping it on the side since its so hot and humid these days and keeps my hair timid. Otherwise it becomes a nest. 

Photo Credits and Copyright: All photos have been taken by Gayatri Kumar and belong to Look who's Wearing (LwW)

Giveaway Results!
Here are the results from LwW's giveaway! Congratulations Sonam Puri! You have won the Ed Hardy drawstring bag! Please send me an email with your address so I can ship it to you immediately!

Thanks for participating everyone! 

Prize ID	Winner ID	Public Info	Private Info	Random Sorting ID	Weight
1: bag	2	Sonam Puri	----------	dc5ef608-df70-4a24-bbc1-0c20dd14359e	1

Generated by: www.randompicker.com

Giveaway (Closed)

Oh wow! Such love :) 

If you've been to LwW's Facebook page, you'll see that I declared that if LwW reaches 100 Likes I would host a giveaway. It reached 100 Likes! Which, I must say, is very exciting and I am overwhelmed with all the love! 

Right, the important thing. On Wednesday, 31 August 2011, one lucky winner will be picked as the proud new owner of this very handy (and pink!) Ed Hardy Drawstring Bag! Personally, I'd love to take it along to the beach because of its great water-resistant material or to the pool! Its still summer in India :) 

So you're probably thinking how you can participate. You can choose any or all of these options to participate. Every comment counts towards one entry. The more options you choose, the more entries, the higher your chances of winning! So, the maximum number of entries you can have is 4! Woot! The winning entry will be picked randomly via Random.org and announced on Wednesday along with the next LwW Loves post! Giveaway closes Tuesday, 30 August 2011 at 11:59 pm IST (Indian Standard Time)

To enter:

1. Just leave a comment below this post!

Bonus entries: (If you do the following - remember to come back and leave a comment for each type of entry letting me know what type of entry it is!)

1. 'Like' Look who's Wearing Facebook page and then post about the giveaway in your FB status by tagging @LookwhosWearing. You can even use the quote mentioned below!  
   
   
2. Tweet this for another entry: 
   
   
   "I just entered to win a fabulous Giveaway on @LookWhosWearing! Comment, Like or RT for a chance to win! http://tiny.cc/ldp40"
   
   
3. Follow LwW on Google Friend Connect (on the left sidebar) and leave a comment below! 

Remember: You need to come back and leave a comment for each kind of entry!

Photo Credits and Copyright: All photos have been taken by Gayatri Kumar and belong to Look who's Wearing (LwW)

Foodie Fridays: Banana Bread

This is my first recipe post! Yay! (Applause) 

No, really. I'd like to think I'm alright at baking/cooking. I do enjoy it. Though, for some reason its a little tougher to bake in Delhi unless you have access to amazing ingredients meant for the job. I enjoy cooking and feeding people rather than feeding myself (except when I make red thai curry - that's all mine.)

However! Using domestic ingredients (Go India!) I tried preparing this loaf of Banana Bread... and my parents loved it! I'm glad they did, they're my biggest and best critics! And I made it just for them :) 

I followed this recipe, but because I couldn't find Creme Fraiche in Khan Market, New Delhi, I used sour cream and it tasted just as good. Did I mention how easy it was! It goes really well as an addition to your everyday breakfast, like porridge or cereal, and a great snack to have cold as well. Try it out :)  

P.S. : I also tried to make muffins out of the batter, so I used a muffin pan and stuck Hershey's kisses right in the center and let it bake. Do remember though, if you're baking the loaf and the muffins together, to take the muffins out once they're a bit golden-brown on the outside (basically cut down baking time by 10-15 minutes depending on your oven) or they'll look a bit burnt around the edges like mine. *looks away whistling*

Anyway, Happy Reading and have a great weekend! 

Photo Credits and Copyright: All photos have been taken by Gayatri Kumar and belong to Look who's Wearing (LwW)

LwW Loves: Red Rose Handbag

Hello!

I finally decided to bring LwW Loves to my blog. Well, not really.

I made the decision a while ago, but I finally decided to implement it now. For some, it might seem repetitive. But, it must be done. So here you have it! First LwW Loves on LwW! Hee.

LwW Loves: Red Rose Handbag by Great Plains

Photo Credits and Copyright: secretsales.com

Its a pretty way to brighten up any outfit and go from day to night just by adding this bag. Its small enough to fit into a bigger 'day' handbag and big enough to fit all your necessities - small camera, phone, card holder, money, lipgloss and keys! 

Since its red, it goes with all colors as well. I like pairing this with a black dress and grey boyfriend blazer for a night out. Its chain is long/short enough for it to comfily sit on your shoulder while you dance. Very functional, convenient and pretty! 

Wait till you see this paired up in the next LwW Loves! You can see more LwW Loves here. 

Happy reading!

Minty Fresh

Hello! What do you do on a rainy day when you're locked inside?

Well, I painted my nails and baked. The results of my baking will be up shortly... on Friday. If you haven't already caught on from my FB post... well maybe you can expect something to do with food. On Fridays.

Anyway! Coming back to nail paint. I know its almost fall in many places of the world. In India though, its hot. No, not warm... Hot. There's still quite a bit of summer left and to remain cool and calm one needs some minty freshness once in a while. So I thought, if I'm outside and I'm feeling warm, may as well pretend to feel minty, cool and fresh. Or at least portray.

Confession: I really wanted to write about how amazing the Model's Own Primer is, because it really is... amazing. But then I didn't want to write an entire post on Primer. Blech.

So here goes, one of the yummiest colors this summer, very reliable nail paint and an amazing primer. Keep reading. There's more below!

Photo Credits and Copyright: All photos have been taken by Gayatri Kumar and belong to Look who's Wearing (LwW)

The Rimmel Pro enamel is pretty good. It has a wide brush and application is very simple. Its no Chanel but it works. In fact, I find this lasts longer than Chanel enamels. Its meant to stay-on up to 10 days. I've got on 500 Peppermint.

For the base and top coat I've got Model's Own 3-in-1 Base Coat, Top Coat and Gloss. It really helps the nail polish stick on, even the flimsy ones. Thus, its amazing, as I've been repeating myself so much.

Happy reading!

Birthday Birkin

Recently, there was some excitement in my family. An uncle of mine very generously gifted my Aunt a Birkin on her birthday. A bag for which he to wait a long while. I'm sure you've heard the rumors, that there's a waitlist and even Posh had to be on that waitlist. Well, he waited and waited and finally got his hands on this beautiful piece of art. Its completely handmade, which reflects in its price, and has been named after the actress/singer Jane Birkin, since it was custom made just for her. And as they say, the rest is history.

Someday I'd like to do a "What's in your Birkin" post.

Heh.

But until then you can find my conventional "what's in your bag" post here. 

Thanks for reading everyone! 

Fancy Storage D.I.Y.

This is not an ingenious DIY post, nor is it very difficult. Wait. Aren't DIYs supposed to be easy? Good point.

Sick and tired of the boring plastic storage boxes you get in markets in Delhi, and not being keen on venturing out in this hot and muggy monsoon weather into crowded markets searching for the perfect box, I improvised on the one available in my own room. I hopped over to the nearest stationery store (Narula's in Khan Market, New Delhi) and bought a can of acrylic spray paint in Gold. I took this red plastic basket (bought in Lajpat Nagar Market, New Delhi) which fits nicely into the open cupboard in the bathroom.

(Before)

I spray-painted it Gold to go with the old colonial look of the bathroom itself and the yellow lights. I feel it also blends well with the soft lightwood of the cupboard. Its advisable to let it dry for a good 24 hours before you put it to use. Its paint and it needs to dry. Oh, also dont use it when its windy outside or you'll get spray paint on your eye-glasses. Ahem. I meant you'll get paint everywhere else. Hehe .. Ahem.

(After)

Photo Credits and Copyright: All photos have been taken by Gayatri Kumar and belong to Look who's Wearing (LwW)

I would love to see your DIY projects! 

Secrets in a Bag

Photo Credits and Copyright: All photos have been taken by Gayatri Kumar and belong to Look who's Wearing (LwW)

A good friend, Cat of Take Courage Blog, asked me sometime ago to do a "What's in your bag" post which is what I'm doing today! You can find Cat's what's-in-your-bag post here. I've been planning to pen it down for a while (would day dream about posting during exams!) It is also IFB's Project #9. So I thought if you want to do something, do it now! Here goes!

My current bag - since I'm the kind of person who when in love with a bag carries it around until it wears out - is, well wait for it... The Le Pliage Longchamp Sac... in Rouge! You can find out more about it in my very first post here.

They say you can tell a lot about a woman from the contents of her bag. I'm not sure who "they" are, but lets see what you infer from mine!

So, what's in my bag (Left to Right; Top to Bottom):

1. Le Pliage Longchamp Sac in large which I used as a book bag and now use as an everyday bag because it is just so convenient and functional.
2. Warby Parker Eye-glasses case which I use to store and switch between my Warby Parker eye-glasses and my dark tortoise shell Ray-Ban Wayfarers (coming up next!). 
3. My Ray-Ban Wayfarers that I need to shield my eyes and migraine-prone head from the sun.
4. Sennheiser HD 238 Precision which was a gift from the boyfriend. It has excellent bass and precision sound which I use with my phone and iPod. 
5. Cath Kidston Coin Purse that I also use as a money bag. You will soon see my obsession with Cath Kidston products! We should probably play a game of spot how many times "Cath Kidston" appears on this blog! 
6. Cath Kidston Ticket Holder for my Oyster card and "young persons" travel card, which I used constantly while in London/Oxford, but won't be anymore as I'm back home but still can't let go of it. My bag just seems empty without it!
7. J. Crew Magic Wallet for small currency notes and important cards. Also, a very thoughtful gift from the boyfriend.
8. Cath Kidston Key Fob (chain). Notice the obsession yet? No? There's more! 
9. Thin Mints! These were very generously provided by Morrison Foerster (A law firm). Cannot leave the house without these. Doesn't matter what company/what kind - as long as they're minty.
10. My trusty LAMY pen that stays only in my bag for all kinds of pen-type emergencies (which rarely happens)
11. Cath Kidston Travel Make-up Bag for all my lip-glosses, brushes and Kohl. Can't have the make-up run amok in my bag now, can I?
12. Lancome Blush, 03 Brun Roche for emergency touch-ups for pink cheek-bones to go from day to night if its a long day.
13. Clinique Face Powder in 20 Invisible Blend to give some balance to my complexion. I prefer this to wearing liquid foundation and find that it works really well with Clarins Fix Make Up Primer to hold it in place for longer.   
14. Regular Safety-pins for clothing emergencies. 
15. MAC Kohl sharpener for my Kohl liner.
16. MAC Big Travel Brush 187SE for the Clinique face powder 
17. MAC Sculpting Travel Brush 168SE for the Lancome Blush 
18. Topgraf medical skin cream because my skin is very sensitive to metal and spices. 
19. MAC Kohl Eye-liner which is an everyday must.  
20. Clinique Chubby Stick in 02 Whole Lotta Honey because some gloss can always lighten up one's face     
21. Lancome Juicy Tube in 22 Melon, just to switch between the Chubby Stick and this      
22. Vitamin Water lip balm in Fruit Punch for chapping lips, though the Chubby Stick and Juicy Tubes are very good at moisturizing lips. 
23. Spare hair-bands for when it gets really hot
24. My Blackberry 9700 smartphone without which I would not be able to function
25. My iPod, mostly for Angry birds and most other times for my daily music fix. 

Re-reading this post, it seems like I carry a lot around. Maybe I should cut it down to bare-essentials. Oh well, its a big bag!

Hope you enjoyed rummaging through my bag essentials! See you later!

Foodie Fridays: Breakfast in London

Photo Credits and Copyright: All photos have been taken by Gayatri Kumar and belong to Look who's Wearing (LwW)

Its been a while since my last post. Exams, packing up my life at Oxford, travelling and living out of a suitcase didn't give me enough fodder or time to post much. I did enjoy the last few weeks of my time in London thoroughly and devoured an excellent (though very heavy on the calories) breakfast now and then. My favourites were the Hummingbird Bakery on Portobello Road (Market) near Notting Hill Gate and St Ali on Clerkenwell Road near the Barbican. We were meant to eat at another Patisserie, though we didn't find the time and were left admiring the delights through the windows at the Cafe (which is why I don't even remember the name anymore!). It was on Piccadilly and if anyone knows the name of the Cafe in Picture #2, please do let me know! 

At The Hummingbird Bakery, I couldn't bring myself to get anything but their Red Velvet Cupcake (Picture #1). I don't have words to express how amazing and extremely calorific this particular cupcake was. Since we wanted to try different ones, we got the Black Bottom Cupcake. The Black Bottom cupcake is not just chocolate, oh no, not even decadent mush of chocolate. Its got a heavenly and very creamy cheescake center. Tell me you're not drooling yet.

St Ali,  which is originally a Coffee company, had set up a Coffeebar in Melbourne, and recently one in London. They do delicious breakfast and lunch and excellent coffee. Though I'm more of a Hot Chocolate person, the coffee at St Ali's made me go "Mmmm". Coming back to the Hot Chocolate (Picture #3) for just a moment, it had been described by the waitress as warm chocolate pudding, and she couldn't have been more right. The creamiest Hot Chocolate and not overly sweet just hit the spot. 

At St Ali, we tried the "Dutch Oven" and their version of the French Toast.  The Dutch Oven (Picture #4) was a contemporary version of baked beans on toast, with braised beans on chunks of sourdough toast with ricotta cheese, rocket and lemon and mint. We could have added poached egg for extra but we're not fans of lightly cooked eggs. While the Dutch Oven was savory, the French Toast (Picture #5) was quite sweet, which honestly got a bit much for me seeing how huge the portions were anyway. The French Toast came with bacon, cream, walnuts and maple syrup and was also made with chunks of sourdough bread. 

All in all some excellent hearty breakfasts to get if you're in London sometime and near these areas!