Chiconomical

Tea. Till around a year ago I guffawed at the thought of drinking tea. However, as life always seems to teach us, never say never. As you guys know, I spend a few months in Kolkata and believe me, its near impossible to avoid drinking tea when you're there. Cut to present day, the skies have opened up and all I can think of is curling with a good book and a hot drink. I'm more of a detox/green tea drinker than a full cream tea drinker like most Indians so of course I'm always on a hunt for new places to stoke my boiling tea. It's on one of these searches that I came across Tearaja.


Tearaja is a brand curated by a 21 year old company “Jain Tea Co.” situated at Lalbazar, Kolkata, the biggest Tea market of Kolkata & India. With all this rich experience in their bag, they've launched Tearaja that boasts some amazing new flavours as well as the regulars in tea. So why venture into the digital world you ask? Well, with changing times, they wanted to reach a broader audience that simply wasn't possible with a brick and mortar store and hence, the site was born. 



The lovely team at Tearaja, sent me some of their curated tea samples and boy, it was a lovely mix! Bearing in mind the green tea love, they sent samples of detox green tea, lavender green tea, and coconut infused green tea!? Well, I've gotta say I'd never would have imagined coconut with my tea, so full points for out of the box thinking! I tried the lemon zest tea and it was rather refreshing although I have a feeling it would taste a lot better as an iced tea than a hot one. The coconut one is next on my list and I'm super excited. 





Coming back to the site, Tearaja offers almost all types of teas you can imagine. Their prices start from as low as Rs. 79 which means that you can enjoy a wide variety of teas without buring a hole in your pocket. They have different grades of tea too such as leaf, fine, mogra, etc so there's something for every tea connoisseur. I'm just an amateur when it comes to tea and most of my tea wisdom comes from conversations around the kullad during our chai breaks in Kolkata. However, I'm pretty sure tearaja has all those teas that the tea pundits boasted about during my trip and then some. Do check it out! 

It's crazy how a single line and a single image can make you feel the strongest pangs of wanderlust. I personally haven't been much of a traveller until recently. Somehow, the wanderbug has bit me hard over the last year so much so that I have a whole section on my phone dedicated to "wishlist" places. Indeed, when I'm not working you'll find me looking up trip stories and dreaming up a million pictures I could be taking right then in some heavenly hideaway instead of sitting in a room without windows working on some code. One of the top searches I always end up with seem to be Himachal. There is just something rather attractive about this little piece of heaven that draws me there. I was dreaming of endless valleys with rivers long before Kasol with its now infamous Parvati Valley became a fad. Yes, when the world is dreaming of holidays in the Alps, I'd much rather dream about holidaying in Himachal.

A few months ago, a friend took a short trip to Kasol to recharge her batteries. She posted the mandatory holiday pictures on Facebook and these just made me yearn that much more for a holiday in the hills. The beauty of visiting a new place isn't just about taking a flight and getting there. Its's about walking a trail that's seldom taken, its about finding joy in the simple things, its about discovering lost secrets of a place that were lost in the ripples of time. Indeed, this is the journey that brings true joy.

A random find during a friend's recent trip, truly there are stories all around us, waiting to be discovered..

So let's say I somehow get magically transported to the Himachal, what then? I think what I want the most is to wake up with the sounds of nature, the beauty of finding yourself in a place that's new but still feels like home. I always end up booking myself into places with the best views when I travel because I think its rather important to experience the best when you're in a new place. I remember I traveled with my family to Goa for the first time and I did the posh version of Goa. Since we were a mixed age group, we ended up staying (incidentally) at a Club Mahindra resort in South Goa and ended up having a beach holiday without the cliche Goa sights. We woke up to the sounds of the Goan beaches, we wandered on beaches that weren't yet populated with crazy tourists, we walked tiny bylanes that led to tinier yet enchanting houses of the people there and we lunched with the locals. Truly, I think the resort with it's gorgeous location was one of the key factors that helped us discover all this. This trip set the idea of what a holiday should be like for me. I'd wander in the wild unknown as long as I had a chance to sleep in luxury. I want to dine with the locals but still have an option to try local delicacies in luxury. Maybe it's just me, but that's how I imagine all my trips. Honestly, Himachal has been a wish upon every star I've spotted this year, take me to the valley!
I dream of waking up in an unknown land, I dream of walking a new road, I dream of finding joy in nature, I dream of a Trail less taken....I dream! I think my friend is right, we all want to travel, fall in love and be happy. And sometimes, you can do this all at once, without even looking for another person! Travel, fall in love with a place, find yourself and your happiness in the wandering. And yes, after writing this, I'm packed and halfway out the door, and you??

Fab Bag...ahh, the leader in the beauty subscription boxes market in India. I was extremely excited when I saw the theme for this month's Fab Bag was "The Beauty Addict". So exciting when a beauty bag actually decided beauty is it's theme for the month. I expected lots of makeup products (well, more than one tbh) and also some exciting beauty bits that could expand my ever increasing beauty stash. So did I get what I imagined?


Sadly, not at all. Oh, the bag looks absolutely amazing, I'll give you that. It almost certainly builds up a crazy excitement that I can't quite put into words with its amazing quote that says "Eat Sleep Makeup Repeat" and sleek black look. The inside? It quickly killed my enthusiasm. Let's take a look at the products received in my June Beauty Addict Fab Bag:

1. Be A Bombshell Eye Shadow Crayon - Black Jack : Rs. 1200


This is honestly the only product that made me happy however, one swipe and you'll realise that it's less black and more dull black. It is a terrible crayon and even after multiple swipes, doesn't really give you a dark black look. I'm not quite sure if this is very useful seeing as it will at the most give you a smudged out eyeshadow, in a not so good way. This is a classic great expectations, disappointing reality situation.

2. Skin Yoga Coffee Body Scrub: Rs. 845


I absolutely loved skin yoga's products in one of my other subscription boxes. This body scrub comes in a almost blinding golden metallic sachet and claims to be a 100% natural body exfoliator. It's fragrance free, preservative free and paraben free. I'm quite excited to try it out since my normal body scrub is almost over.

3. Karite Buerre Pure Shea Butter: Rs. 199.6 for 20g


I've never heard of this brand before. so I'm happy to get this sample sized product to try it out. It's a 100% natural "Wild East African Shea" butter. It smells like most shea butters and looks the same too. I haven't yet used it (probably because the weather is too humid for me to even consider applying any kind of body butters at the moment) but I shall tell you what it's like once I get around to using it.

4. Ital Veloce - Midnight Kisses & Valvatina: Rs. 57 (for both)


Two little bottles of fine fragrance mist. I don't know how this relates to being a beauty addict which is the theme of the bag but I suppose its important to smell good. Midnight kisses is a lot more floral than valvatina which is a much more subtle fragrance. These aren't anything extra special as far as mists go, but I suppose they can be used while we desperately wait for the monsoons.



And that's it folks! Honestly, I'm not at all happy with this month's bag. Seriously, if you're a monthly subscriber, give it a miss. It's completely not worth it. Other than the coffee body scrub, everything else is pointless. The shea butter is interesting but I'm sure you probably have an equivalent already so it isn't that much of a novelty either. Oh, and I think the bag is pretty great in terms of looks. One of the best looking bags this year. Still, overall, give it a miss if you can.

With coachella still on everyone's minds, then you know tis the season to be bohemian. While the definition of bohemian differs for every person, one thing that's pretty uniform in all trains of thought is accessories. Nothing says free spirit quite like wearing a neckpiece in your hair or an anklet with your stuffy formals (yes, I did it once during busy season at work). Now, I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely love getting custom made pieces of jewelry and that's why a homegrown new store was high on my radar!


Rutuz Craft Studio is a jewellry and accessories store based out of Mumbai and Pune. The brilliant ladies at the studio work their magic with all sorts of materials like beads, copper, tassles, wood (whoa!) to come up with unique designs for every girl who doesn't like to wear mass produced items. All their pieces are handmade and you can always tell them exactly what you want! So of course, when they got in touch with me, I asked I wanted a headpiece. Hey, I've got those maang tikkas but there's no such thing as too much when it comes to headgear right?



Now, the lovely team at Rutuz Craft Studio sent me three brilliant pieces for review. First off, can we take a moment to appreciate how lovely these pieces are? It's all hand crafted and trust me when I say you can feel the love and positive energy it brings! I wore the neckpiece while running errands and honestly, its a welcome addition to my wardrobe. I'm seeing the hand harness and the headpiece in my very next outfit post already! (Yep, stay tuned for that).


Ok, so I can hear your wheels turning saying this is all good but its crazy expensive I just know it! Right? Wrong!! Everything in ther store falls in the very affordable price range starting from Rs. 150 upto around Rs. 1500. For instance, all my pieces were under Rs. 500!! Yep, that's pretty much the same range in which most accessories fall in, in mall stores. (Not to mention most of those are mass produced, meaning you and you cousins can all be matchy matchy, in a not so good way). However, for custom made pieces, this price range is crazy awesome!!

So how do you get your hands on their lovely pieces? They currently operate from Facebook and Instagram and are in the process of setting up various other online payment options too. They've assured me that COD will be up and running very soon! They ship via a courier service that'll give the fastest delivery to your location and the shipping costs depend on the destination. Plus, if you're in Mumbai, you can check them out at the Style Soul Sundowner and PopUp Flea  in SOHO-Tapas Bar, Andheri this weekend!

Honestly, I'm a big believer in supporting anyone who's creative and imagine my happiness when I found such lovely designs practically in my backyard. Yep, you've got to give them a shot. Also, don't forget to tell me how you'd want me to style these pieces in the comments below!

Not really a dating person? Well, you don't need a man to celebrate Valentine's Day. I love the idea of having an all girls date and that's pretty much what I've planned for myself. Honestly, give the boy chasing a break and take sometime to relax, enjoy yourself and not worry too much about your love life. Oh, and aren't things always more fun with your girls? Think crazy days of shopping where the other person actually has a properly worded opinion when you try on an outfit instead oh, "Uhh, yea it looks good" and checking out those hot guys on the beach minus the awkwardness (no man wants their woman hooting for another guy, innit?) oh and of course, eating food while you compare who's gonna get fatter after it! Yep, that's my kinda day, so of course I have an outfit for it!

For the girl who likes to follow cupid's colorbeam



I love the idea of going a little retro for Valentine's day. A simple yet stunning skirt is pretty much a big addition to your wardrobe and this one was a birthday present that came a little late. I love the print since I'm a big fan of London and the red rose, well, I bought it for myself and I don't need to be gifted one to make my day. A simple tshirt can be jazzed up if paired with a pretty printed skirt or leggings.

For the girl who likes to follow her own colorbeam



I love the idea of wearing statement tshirts on Valentines day. Honestly, if you're a girl who doesn't like to wear pinks and reds, this look is laid back yet chic enough to go pretty much anywhere. Even if you are going on a date (a blind date maybe), this would be a good idea. Wear what you are on your clothes and warn the guy that this is me! You better learn to accept it!
(PS; I haven't yet found a shopping slogan tee, if I did that would be my perfect blind date outfit no? )

Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and call all your single ladies, because you don't have to be dating to celebrate being in love!

Layering necklaces is a trend I've wanted to try for quite some time. Okay, correction, its a trend I used to rock when I was kid, but somehow lost in that transition that we all must make from being a child to a sensible adult. Well, I've decided I don't quite like this whole 'adult' business. Hence, today's outfit.







Some days I wish to dress exactly the way I feel inside. For the past couple of days, I've been frustrated with quite a few things and this is reflected in today's outfit. So I look like a caricature of the wicked witch of the west, I know it and its awrite. Since what I wear is my form of expression, excuse me while I look the way I feel. Oh, well, lets hope this feeling passes by the time I celebrate my birthday. (Less than a week yo!)

What did you think of today's outfit? Talk to me in the comments below. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.