Sunday, July 26, 2015

6th Blogversary Giveaway from ZA + My May & June 2015 Makeup, Skincare & Haircare Favourites!

Hey everyone! My Favourites List is back! From makeup to hair care to skincare, get the scoop on my May and June 2015 favourites and what's really worth buying. I also have my very first 6th Blogversary giveaway for you lovely people post this video!



In case you have missed my earlier videos, head to my YouTube channel to see them and do subscribe to my channel :)

Since it's been 6 years for me in this wonderful blogging world, it's the perfect time for me to reinstate why I started this blog! My blog is all about the power of being beautiful and loving yourself the way you are! Za, The Premium Beauty brand from The House of Shiseido is one of my favourite brands and I am glad it echoes this thought too! So lets get on with the contest which is just about this thought! Za associated with artist Sharon Nayak to create fantastical visual stories themed “The Power of Beauty” inspired by the Za Perfect Solution Youth Whitening Serum. What I have for you is something really unique! This art work by Sharon Nayak is titled ‘Read My Lips’.


What I want you to do is:
  1. Share your version of “Read my Lips” and send in images that is inspired by this art using #PowerOfBeauty to me on contests.ritchstyles@gmail.com   
  2. Enter the next set of entries here:



Winner will receive:



1. Za Perfect Solution Serum Full Sized Product



2. 22 art postcards of Za Power of Beauty by Sharon Nayak

Entries will be validated before the winners are declared. 

Giveaway is open only in India till 5th August 2015!

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Thursday, July 23, 2015

Style O2 - Your very own stylist at your fingertips!

Life has become very fulfilling these days. While most of you think that this statement of mine has got to do with motherhood, of course it has, but then that is not what I am talking about here. I am talking about something else that I have gone back to and am extremely content doing - professionl styling for magazines and TV shows and personal styling for my clients. While earlier it used to be more of a word of mouth, I recently came across this amazing app called Style O2 which helps people like us who breathe fashion and need a dose on a daily basis. It is a Social Discovery App that lets stylists like me help people like you make the smartest style and fashion related decisions and not have questions like 'How am I looking?' be something that stresses you out.


You can choose from hundreds of stylists across your city be it fashion stylists, hair stylists, make-up stylists or salons and book their services starting at as low as INR 500/-. See their work, read reviews about them from other users and book the services all through this amazing app. Whether it is an everyday query or if you are looking for a completely new makeover, whether you are new to a city or have a wedding to attend, there are stylists of every kind to cater to your needs. All their details and work is right there for you to check out!



You also have the style feed where you can share tips, work that your stylist has done or ask everyday queries and thus engage in some meaningful knowledge sharing with everyone on the app. While the app is mostly to help you out to look and feel good, you could also put your knowledge to good use and respond to questions asked by other members. It's nice when your advice can come to someone else's use. 


This app is currently available to download for Android and iPhone users throughout India but the stylist services are available only in Mumbai. They will be launching in Bangalore, Delhi, Pune and Kolkata in a very short while. And guess what - for a limited period, they are giving away free vouchers worth Rs. 500 from Enrich Salons on booking any Enrich Stylist in Mumbai through the App on a an Android phone. Sweet, isn't it? Best part - the offer comes with no strings attached. Just download here, go to the offers section, find an Enrich stylist near you and book through the App. Simple! If you are in the other cities, you too can download the app and engage on the style feed or contact stylists for any help if you are visiting Mumbai :) 


There is nothing to think, the benefit is all yours, so head to Style O2 and download the app right away for Android - https://goo.gl/9DAa5b and for iPhone - https://goo.gl/UXyPoh

If you have any queries, you can log onto the Style O2 website or drop me a mail on ritchstyles@gmail.com and I will help you through it all :)

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Monday, July 20, 2015

The Asus Zenfone 2 - Moving with the times!




I just got my hands on the Asus Zenfone 2! :) While there is still a lot to be explored after my post regarding the features that I had liked about it before I tried it out, this is what my verdict is of what I've discovered in the last 3 days with the phone in my hand. Asus has introduced the 1st phone in the world with a 4 GB RAM. Is this a phone with raw specifications or does it live up to the hype it has created is what this post is going to tell you :)

The Asus Zenfone 2 technically is a budget phone but by the looks of it, it doesn't behave, look or act like one. With the phone in my hand I noticed that it has a very common design that you will see in other android phones. The back of the phone is made of a special material giving me a good grip on the phone and finger print impressions don't stay. The corners are very well rounded off and the back tapers very nicely giving a very comfortable feeling in the hand. The back cover is removable giving you access to two sim card slots and a memory card slot, however the battery is not removable. The 1st thing that you'll notice when you start using the phone is that its sides are clean without any buttons. The power button is at the top of the phone which makes it difficult to reach sometimes but luckily Asus has introduced the double screen tap feature for the Zenfone 2 for it to be locked or unlocked so you don't have to reach for the power button every time. The volume button has been shifted to the back of the phone making it very easy to press and the texture of the button helps you find it easily. The same button can also be used to click selfies thus making it very convenient. The micro USB is located at its usual place at the bottom of the phone.


The phone has a 5.5 inch screen but the overall size of the phone is much bigger because of its thick lower and side bezels, even then I think this is a good looking smartphone. The IPS LCD screen does justice with 1920x1080 resolution and respectable PPI of 403, giving you everything that would be expected from a high end phone. The screen is sharp, vivid, bright, easy to see in broad day light from all viewing angles. The screen size is perfect for all your entertainment such as gaming, You Tubing, web surfing and the occasional movie watching. The good part is that you can change the color mode of the phone depending on your liking. Apart from the default setting you have the reading mode (easier on the eyes), Vivid mode (increases the saturation), and a custom mode depending on how you want your screen to look. 

The phone comes with a Intel 64 bit new generation atom processor but it depends on the version you get. The 2 GB version comes with a Intel 3560 1.8GHz processor and the whooping 4 GB RAM version comes with an Intel 3580 2.3 GHz processor, this has got a lot of attention I must say. Well what I've tried is the 4 GB version, and man this phone is fast. Its snappier than a lot of other high end phones, animations are smooth, app switching is swift and handles all high end games and apps pretty well. Just to test the phone I loaded a couple of big games and apps and switched back and forth between the apps and to my delight the phone still didn't show any lag or stutter or signs of slowing down. So if you're a user that needs to multi-task with big applications then this phone should live up to your expectations.


The camera at the back is a 13 MP with a dual tone LED flash and an aperture of 2.0. Also like the other zenfones the Zenfone 2 features Asus's pixel master technology, for better pictures in low light conditions. The camera software is fairly straight forward and easy to use with all the usual setting you would expect. The camera packs a long list of shooting modes giving you a variety of ways to take photos. What I really liked on this phone is the HDR mode as it added some extra saturation and I really don't mind that. At low lights the performance of the camera starts to detoriate but when you put on the night mode the phone's pixel master comes into play giving you some nice pictures. If you are into selfies then the front camera is a 5 MP camera with a wide angle lens and it does a pretty good job. There is also a selfie panaroma mode to fit everyone into the frame.

With the help of the phone's Zen motion software you can lock unlock the phone with a double tap on the screen and draw characters on the screen to open an application of your choice. There is also a mode called Snapview with the help of which you can switch between the work mode or personal mode and the good part is that both these modes are password protected so only you can view all your data in each mode.  

What I loved was the kids mode which will be really useful for me when Aryaa will be playing with the phone. With that you can manage apps and content which you feel is fine for your kids to see and eliminating worry about them having complete access to your phone. You can have the applications set only for them in this mode.


The phone comes with all usual features such as WIFI, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, etc. It has storage options of 16/32/64 GB and get be extended to another 64 GB by using the MICRO SD slot. On the back of the phone you can see that it has a big speaker but it's not as loud as expected. To power the Zenfone 2, Asus has used a whooping 3000 mAH battery but I could still only make it through a day with 4 hrs of screen on time. I'm sure Asus will address this and will come out with a software update. However, the good part is that the phone supports faster charging technology which means that you charge upto 60% in just 40 minutes! If the battery life issue is solved then this phone will be a beast of a smart phone to contend with. 

The phone ships with Lollipop 5.0 on top of which you have Asus's Zen UI which has taken the material design aspects of Lollipop. The phone has a host of features such as a single hand mode which reduces your screen size so that the phone can be handled with one hand and an easy mode with which the phone changes to a simple interface. There are lot of customization options that the Zenfone 2 offers in which you can really make your phone look good. There is a something called a beam engine with the help of which you can change the look and feel of the entire phone with different fonts, icons and changes in the lock screen and notification tab. You have a lot of options to modify your stock launcher, by changing the complete home screen experience by downloading Icon packs for your phone and installing it directly on to your phone which can be done on other handsets only if you have a 3rd party launcher. It's available with a number of different back panels shades that also come in different textures.

So with a friendly design, powerful specs and a overall solid user experience, the Asus Zenfone 2 is definitely a steal at the price its being offered which is INR 14,999 (Z3560 1.8GHz/16GB/2GB), INR 18,999 (Z3560 1.8GHz/32GB/4GB), INR 19,999 (Z3580 2.3GHz/32GB/4GB) and INR 22,999 (Z3580 2.3GHz/64GB/4GB). This is definitely going to set new standard for the smartphone market and here's what the current infographics by Asus says.


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A larger than life Model Hunt for aLL's 10th year celebrations!

When Eden Miller showcased the first ever plus-sized clothing show in New York Fashion Week in 2013, it made headlines across the world. Not that the concept wasn't in existence from before, but the acceptance was hardly there. It was always something that was spoken in hush hush. People wanted to always believe that that they were this tinier person who could fit into regular sized clothes. India however had had the revolution much earlier - to be precise 2005 with the launch of the brand aLL (A Little Larger) by Future Lifestyle Fashions - a brand who's sentiment was that everyone needs to look good irrespective of size or shape.

The brand started with one store and 2 collections every year and today it is spread over 46 stores across the country. Over the years it has also stood strong emerging at No. 1 position in the plus-size fashion category. You'll know why when you see their Spring Summer 15 lookbook below :)


Well it's just not their awesome collection that makes me loves them, it's also the efforts they put in to make the plus-size community feel like they are just like any of the regular lot! Their latest endeavour is my favourite till date and on occassion of aLL's 10th anniversary it gives all you gorgeous plus size people out there a chance to be part of their model hunt for the Autumn/Winter 2015 campaign. Here is how you can go about it!


Guys and gals what are you waiting for? As mentioned above mail your photos and contact details to allmodelhunt@gmail.com before 31st July ’15 and who knows you may be the lucky ones! :)

Best of luck!

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Friday, July 17, 2015

Making wishes come true! #AbHarWishHogiPoori


Wishing for things to happen in my life is something that I have been doing since I was a kid and I do it even today. In fact tell me who doesn't? It may have started by my wishing while blowing out my birthday candles or wishing to the tooth fairy or wishing when a shooting star is seen or throwing coins in the fountain or while blowing an eyelash, and I do all of these even today because it's one of those few times when the excitement you feel is absolute child like. The only change that has happened is that I no more do it because of superstitions or traditions but simply because I want some positive things to happen in my life. It's eventually more of a logical thing as I know that I have to work towards making my wishes come true as well. Something that my parents always told me once I was a sensible age to understand such things - You don't need magic after all to make your wishes come true! In some cases though, it has to be left to God and destiny which then is more of a thing of hope and not really a wish :) Help is always welcome in making a wish come true and lately I have had someone helping me out quite a bit and that is none other than the trustworthy Flipkart who believes that in India #AbHarWishHogiPoori :)



Recently Prerna from Maaofallblogs bought a FitBit surge band for her husband and it suddenly hit me how since PS had no time to hit the gym, that was an excellent thing to gift to him to motivate him to at least start going on a walk or a jog. This triggered a chain of thoughts in my head and then it struck me that something that he really wanted since ages was a garment steamer that would save his expensive clothes from getting spoilt when sent to the laundry. He had this huge issue with the launderers especially when he sent his dark coloured shirts and pants where they would come back looking shiny, as the temperature used on them would be really high and the material would get slightly burnt. It came to my mind that he had also stopped fitting into a lot of expensive clothes and buying him these two would sort out both his issues. So two clicks and I had logged onto Flipkart to not only buy the fit band for him but also a garment steamer. I chose the Nova Garment Steamer 1500 W With Thermostat Controlled Steam Iron.


A cute thing about PS is that he is a great help for me when I want to iron my clothes as he is really good with ironing. He does it so meticulously that I doubt whether I really know how to iron my clothes or not. Being a fashion blogger I have a lot of clothes and by lots I mean lots out of which a huge chunk of my clothes are made from synthetic materials or delicate materials. I too land up not giving out a lot of my clothes for laundry as in the past they have come back in a nearly burnt and shiny state or totally spoilt. None the less, temperature issues have caused accidents at home too and so PS had been very adamant about getting a garment steamer as it definitely is the safest way to remove all the creases from your clothes and also give them a fresh appeal.

With my order placed I was on cloud nine as I know PS would love both his gifts. It also meant Aryaa would have a fitter daddy and her cute clothes too would get special treatment from now on. That would surely make her daddy the happiest too watching his princess look so pretty :) Simple things in life make us so happy right and it's all about wishes coming true with a little effort from our side!

What is it that you are currently wishing for, and have you logged on to Flipkart and checked out if maybe a few clicks could make your wish come true? :)

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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Eat, Blog & Win with Foodpanda this Summer!

I love it when fun campaigns hit the web and even more so when they are from my favourite sites! The latest one is from foodpanda.in, a food delivery website that gives you access to all the restaurants in your area right from the comfort of your home or office, chair or couch or bed(I order my breakfast like that sometimes). They brought about a revolution in the world of food delivery in India and I love the codes that let me save some money on food and spend it on shoes and clothes ;-)

The current campaign being run by Foodpanda is a fun contest that all you foodies who are bloggers can participate in! See how simple it is!

As soon as I saw the topic, I could just think of so much food that I was majorly tempted to log on and order some of my favourite stuff to feast on right away! While I did control my feelings, you guys can go right ahead and order what you think is the most 'Hip' food this summer!




Now here's how all you foodies can go about it!



You can register HERE on Foodpanda to be a part of this! Also do check out the Terms and Conditions by clicking on this link - https://goo.gl/yytSJ1

Al the best foodies! Make me proud! And if you win then let me know! :)


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