Bring out the Disney Princess in You ~ A Play Date With Dove

On the 8th of May I received a call from Vineet from Team Indiblogger asking me if I would be game to be a part of the #DovePlay event on the 11th. I explained that I stay hundreds of miles away from Mumbai where the event was supposed to be held. To my utter surprise I was informed that Dove and Team Indiblogger were pairing up to fly in some lucky bloggers from all around the country to Mumbai, just for the event!! My excitement knew no bounds and I answered with an affirmative.

Not to mention, I was super excited to go to Mumbai not just to attend my first Indiblogger event but also to meet my blogger friends whom I had interacted with only virtually till then. Bloggers from Kolkata, Delhi, Indore, Ahmadabad and Bangalore were flown in to Mumbai early on the 11th. I knew we had rooms booked for our stay at The Mirador hotel. What I did not know was the royal treatment we were about to receive from the moment we landed in the city of Bollywood. Everyone of us had a car waiting to escort us from the airport to the hotel where all us bloggers hugged and introduced ourselves before we were taken to J.W. Marriot, Juhu where the actual event was taking place.

Images- Indiblogger

We arrived a little late (thanks to the Mumbai traffic) and registered ourselves and received our name badges, baggage tags, team tags and route maps and activity detail sheets. It was really nice to see how thoughtful the organizers were who took care of our heavy bags while we had fun chatting, sipping wine and running around. We them moved over to the counters with quirky accessories for us to pick up. Now, what do a bunch of women do when they find such amazing props and a swarm of photographers? Yes, you guessed that right- they pose away to glory.

The banquet hall was decorated with beautiful lamps and the place sure looked like a fairyland with everybody dressed in white. We were taking our seats with our cups of coffee and glasses of wine when I spotted Vinita, Janaki and Anuradha. I knew them and Pankti from Indiblogeshwaris but it was lovely to meet them in person!! I also met Nivedita, Soumya and Pooja whose blogs I had been reading for a long time. They turned out to be awesome-r in person :)


After the photo sessions, we all settled down as our host of the day, the extremely pretty and talented Freishia Bomanbehram from NDTV Good Times' Hangout Amreeka took over the stage.

Selfie Time- Freishia, Me and Pallavi. Picture Courtesy- Pallavi

 We were asked to split up and divide ourselves according to our groups. The attendees were all equally divided into 12 groups of ten members each. I belonged to Team 2 and my team mates were Vinita, Shayoni, Pallavi, Suman, Sam, Michelle, Tanyaa and Tanya's mom, Bienu (we had a member less). We were quickly asked to name our teams on a hairstyle and we named ours "French Braids".

Team French Braids- Vinita, Me, Sam, Pallavi (in front), Shayoni, Suman (at the back) and Tanyaa
Picture Courtesy- Pallavi

Next up was a quick introduction session where we got to know our team mates a little better. We were asked to give our partners a compliment. The extremely sweet Suman wrote "Beautiful eyes- Mrignayanee" on my badge :D

Pictures- Indiblogger and mine

The next part was my favourite bit from the evening. We had two zumba instructors up on the stage to get us warmed up for the next few hours of exhilarating fun that we were about to experience. I for one have two left feet and can't dance at all. The only dance I can do is the chicken dance and twerking and that is exactly what we did.  I can't explain how amazing those 20 minutes were. The catchy beats got everybody on their feet, even the initially reluctant ones. Imagine a hall full of women all dressed up dancing and twerking to the tunes of Gangnam Style!!

We had hardly seated ourselves after a crazy session of dance-however-you-want when Freishia came up again on the stage to explain to us the next few activities that were lined up for us and for which we had to complete and play with our teams. Three teams were asked to compete with each other at a time at one activity.

Images- Indiblogger

The first activity was Hips Don't Lie. All the team members were given a huge Hoola Hoop each and were asked to balance it. The person who can keep it looping the longest wins. Tanyaa from our team was a pro and thanks to her, we were the champions in this activity!!

Images- Indiblogger and Dove

Next in line was Have a Ball. Three team members were asked to step into a ball pit containing multi-color balls and sort out only the White Dove Marked balls and throw them at two other team mates who were ready to catch them in baskets they were provided. Our team proved to be a really competitive one as we threw balls as fast as we could and the others at the catching end caught them equally fast. Special mention to Vinita who didn't miss a single catch and was pivotal behind our massive score of 300+ balls in this activity. As you might have already guess, we won this activity as well !!

After finishing each activity, a few bloggers were selected for a fun interview where they were asked about the activities and the memories they triggered. I for one felt like a celebrity giving one interview after another (I gave 5 in total!! :P ) describing my childhood and the merry time I was having at the event.

Images- Indiblogger and mine

The third event we had to complete was what all of us loved the most - Dress Your Tresses!! Team members were grouped into sets of two and were given different hairstyles that they were to make on each other. Michelle was amazing at this as she did my twisted bun in less than 2 minutes. I made the twisted side pony on her which was more messy than neat (*sigh*). Again, for the third time, our team won this one!!

Images- Indiblogger and mine

The fourth activity was Jigsaw Puzzle. Each team was given a handout of a life size Dove puzzle that we had to assemble together. Each team was provided with 1000 points. The faster one completed, the lesser points lost. Guess who won this one? Yes, we did, once again!! :D :D

Images- Indiblogger and mine

After dancing and screaming with joy over winning all the four activities,we gathered up at the photo booth to click pictures with our newly made girlfriends and were then taken to the Dove Salon where haircare and salon experts from Dove were ready to give us our hair transformation we so badly needed. I reached a little late and had to do with a quick updo which I forgot to click pictures of :(

Pranav Thakkar

We then moved over to the pool side area where we had a mix-o-logy match off between the representatives from each team. Each of these members had a open bar in front of us and they had to make an innovative drink of their choice. Pranav Thakkar, an expert mixologist helped us with some insights about making the perfect drink.

We then proceeded over to the dining area as it was already 9p.m. And what spread we had there. The happy foodie in my was delighted to find my choicest favourites up on the tables. I filled up my plate with all that I liked and sat down with Suman and Pallavi, eating and chatting merrily. The dessert platter had a few Indian delicacies like gulab jamun and rasmalai and an overdose of chocolate yummies- heaven for a chocoholic like me. I had a major chocolate overdose on the scrumplicious mud pie :D Oh, did I mention there was an open bar? :P Yes, we could go up and order whatever we wanted and as many we wanted :D I was so busy eating and gulping wine that I forgot to click any food pictures :(

 It was 9:45 p.m. before any of us realized. The main results were to be announced and no surprise, Team French Braids was the clear winner. All of us members received a spa voucher worth Rs. 5000 from Dove to pamper ourselves even more. By  10 p.m. all our drop cars had arrived. Team Indiblogger had very thoughtfully arranged for drop down facilities for every one of us to ensure we reached our homes and hotels safely. We said goodbyes with heavy hearts, hugs and huge beaming smiles on our faces.

 

Images- Indiblogger and Pallavi

To say I had an amazing time that evening would be a complete understatement. I knew I was going to meet some of my favorite people but what I hadn't expected was I was going to have the time of my life. I cannot thank Team Indiblogger and Team Dove enough for the entire experience. Thank you so very much for taking me back to my childhood, making me do things I would have never thought of doing as a grown up, for all the new friends I made and for taking such great care of us the entire time.

Team Indiblogger

I'm back home in Kolkata but with a bag full of wonderful memories and goodies that Team Dove gave us. Each one of us who attended the meet came home with a really heavy goodie bag consisting of a Philips Hair Straightener/Panasonic Blow Dryer, a very pretty dove shaped hair pin and Dove's Intense Repair hair therapy shampoo and conditioner combo. We also received our Indiblogger t-shirts with "I blog therefore You are" etched at the back.

I've always been a huge fan of Dove's hair care products (especially their Nutritive Solutions range) and they have always worked for my hair. I haven't as yet tried this new one from the Damage Solutions range but I'm quite sure the products will live up to the claims. One of the many reasons why I love Dove and their products is how they use common people like us (instead of professional models) for advertising their products. Also, they do not make too many big claims that they cannot fulfill. Instead, they talk about achievable changes with their products which they always achieve. Dove does not promise to magically transform your hair overnight into Rapunzel like tresses but promises to take the very best care of your mane which the princess in you very much deserves :)

I'm sure I'm going to use this Shampoo and Conditioner combo a lot this Summer-Monsoon coz this is the time my hair acts the craziest and is damaged the most. The range is specially designed with keratin actives which work on damaged brittle and split hair to nourish them at the cellular level to avoid breakage. So now, you can have fun experimenting all you want with your hair while Dove promises to take care of your lovely tresses and keep it shining and healthy!! Know more about the Dove Intense Repair Range here.

I'm really really looking forward to my next meet.

So, have you tried this new range yet? What are your opinions?

Till Next,

Seal 'em Up

"The hair is the richest ornament of women"

~ Martin Luther 

I couldn't have agreed more. A head full of thick, long , luscious hair is every woman's pride and dream. No wonder it gave the inspiration to Alexander Pope to write an entire mock epic, The Rape of the Lock on a maiden's chopped lock of hair.

I have always had cropped hair as a kid.  But there were times when it grew a little long and I had to tie them up with red ribbons  into two sections when I went to school. The physical training teacher made sure that we looked something like this. 

source

I wasn't half as cute as this kid but well my braids stuck like horns on my head like they were wired and made to stand up in the air. 

Thankfully, my hair doesn't look anything like that now. This is a pic of my hair tied up into a ponytail with a French twist. This is one of the best ways to protect your hair from the  ,  and pollution. It also keeps stray hair stands from falling all over your face, a respite during summers. Also, they are a great help on bad hair days.

I remember my mum telling me how thick and long her braids used to be when she was young. Her long dark mane tied in thick braids were her pride. She still retains her thick shiny hair which would put women half her age (yes, me included) to shame. But then you have this monster called "split end" to ruin all of it. 

Mum has these frayed hair ends which make the hair ends rough and dry. Having long hair which isn't trimmed for a long time tends to split towards the end. Hair as it gets older tends to lose its moisture and starts splitting. Therefore, it needs special attention and care. Regular cleaning and conditioning your hair is extremely important to maintain the luster and prevent damage. 

There is no cure for split ends except of course chopping them off. The only thing you can do is to prevent them from coming back.

•  If the hair ends are split and damaged, chop till the portion where the split has extended to. Regularly trimming your hair every 6-8 weeks keeps them from splitting further.
• Keep your hair tied instead of keeping them open and down when you are out in the sun. Tie a scarf, bandanna or wear a hat.
• Apply copious amount of conditioner towards the ends of your hair. Start from the portion from your ears and apply till the ends. This is the portion which needs the highest care.
• You can trim your hair yourself at home in between your haircuts at the salon. Make sure you use hair shears and not just any paper cutting scissors which will cause more harm than good.
• Stay away from harsh chemicals and SLS based shampoos. 
• Don't brush your hair too often. Too many brush strokes cause more splits.
• Don't brush too harshly or back brush. Hair strands are fragile and tend to get damaged if you use a bad comb and pull them too hard.

And well if your hair is already damaged and you don't want to chop them off, you have Dove's split end rescue treatment. It seals up those split ends and prevents further damage to the hair strand. I saw visible effects on my mum's hair after 3 washes. Her hair looks less damaged and rough towards the ends and are now smooth and shiny from tip to roots 

This is what the product says-

"Split-ends mean damaged hair. The Dove Split End Rescue Shampoo is a part of the Dove Damage Solutions range, specially formulated to help bring split-ends together. It has fiber actives that work on the deepest level of your hair, to give you up to 4X lesser split-ends*. "

The product doesn't claim to revert the effects but seal the frayed ends to provide smoother and softer hair. And it does exactly what it promises leaving your hair shinier and softer to touch. Dove has always been a favorite of mine when it came to hair care products and it keeps up to its promise again.

A random quote that I found during my random googling.

#truestory 

Bubbye,

Till then keep whipping your hair back and forth...Willow Smith style 

This post is a part of the Indiblogger contest sponsored by Dove Split End rescue system.