July 6, 2014

BOURJOIS “Wake Me!” Shower Jelly Review

Hey guys.. I’m on vacation and been busy with that.. BUT I couldn’t resist any longer to review one of my summer catch (potentially the best? Let’s find out) : BOURJOIS shower gel!

Package backside/Bourjois shower gel collection

If you have been recently shopping in Saudi Arabia, you might have laid eyes on these attractive BOURJOIS sets with special offer which were available in most of the hypermarkets. Each package has two of the eight assorted shower gel bottles and let me tell you each of them looked appealing and fun, with really inviting tags: ‘Beautify me!‘, ‘Tease me!‘. ‘Pamper me!‘, ‘Wake me!‘, ‘Refresh me!‘, ‘Deluxe mousse‘, ‘Dream scrub‘ and ‘Sweet summer‘. And like a cherry on top, every bottle has a cute golden orb on top.

If I could I would have bought all of these – I had a real hard time choosing one set. So after a lengthy mental analysis I picked a set that had ‘Wake me!‘ and ‘Sweet summer‘.

The shower gel pair

But since there was baggage space restriction, I brought Wake me! out of the two, along with me to Pakistan. First let me give you the details of the product:

is a vitamin enriched shower JELLY (not just an ordinary gel)
infused with Citrus fruit and Goji berries fragrance
is supposed to make your skin feel radiant and energized
paraben-free

My Experience:

Really really REALLY good! Unlike other shower gels, this jelly would not foam up straight away at the instance you start massaging but rather lets you enjoy the silky pulpy lather gliding onto your skin before it dissolves into a gentle foam. You may think this would make it difficult to rinse off.. but fortunately, you would be wrong.

Loved the citrusy sweet scent which you can smell as soon as the lid is flipped open. And the amazing thing about this shower jelly I discovered is that the scent lingers on your skin for 6+ hours! That sure does uplifts and revives the exhausted ‘you’ in this hot weather. The other amazing thing is of course it being paraben-free: a HEALTH-friendly shower gel.

I haven’t tried Sweet summer yet which is the shower oil, but I bet it would be another bottle full of goodness. I’ll update this section once I get to try it.

So I believe these BOURJOIS shower gel collection would not only become flirty accessory for a bathroom but also make shower-times more tempting!

June 6, 2014

Spanakorizo – Spinach Rice

Spinach.
Many of us might have childhood memories of scowling at the name in response to our anticipating question: “What’s in for dinner?”.
Watching Popeye The Sailor Man did us no better and the term ‘rich in iron’ spelled nonsense to us – we would still look at the green glop disapprovingly. Luckily, for me it became different as I grew up and let my tastebuds discover how yummy spinach can be.

Frozen spinach is abundantly available in Saudi Arabia all year round. And frozen form makes cooking easier and quicker as you don’t have to go through the process of cleaning, chopping, washing and blanching, etc.
I recently tried this recipe which is inspired from traditional Greek cuisine, called Spanakorizo. Typically, has ingredients like onions, dill, pepper and lemon, besides spinach and rice.

I went with a little desi (indo-paki) approach since we like our food a bit spiced up. Here are the ingredients:

2½ cup Basmati Rice
400g Frozen Spinach – thawed
¼ cup fresh Dill- chopped
2 Onions – chopped
2 tbsp Garlic Ginger – crushed
3 sticks of Green Chillies – chopped
2 tbsp Lemon juice
Salt
Olive Oil
Water

Spices

1 Bay Leaf
1 stick Cinnamon
2 pc Star Anise
1 Black Cardamom
3 Green Cardamoms
5-6 Black Peppercorns
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Fennel seeds

Method:

Boil rice with some salt until half-cooked. Drain. Set Aside.
Heat oil slightly. Add all the spices except cumin and fennel seeds. Fry for few seconds.
Add onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté lightly at medium heat.
Now add cumin and fennel seeds and fry for few more seconds.
Add spinach and mix well. Cook for 5 mins. Keep stirring. Pour in lemon juice and some salt.
Add dill. Mix.
Stir in the half-cooked rice. Mix well. Now cover and let it sit on steam for 5 mins at very low heat.

Spinach and rice make awesome combo! The addition of spices makes the dish even more aromatic. I served it with yogurt dip which went great with it. But I have even seen Feta cheese being served with it in traditional recipes.

March 19, 2014

“Connecting Global Minds” – My Expat Experience on InterNations

Hello Bloomers!
We are thrilled to announce that with the Grace of Almighty, we have been featured on the online expat community site InterNations.org!
This is a great month for Groom&Bloom – after all, Spring is the season for Blooming =)

It is rare to find an online social network that caters to emigrants worldwide and offers unique perks to its members; such is the blessing “InterNations.org” to which I stumbled across during my forlorn pursuit of ‘familiarity’ in the digital world while my stay at the foreign land.

InterNations, with its diverse team of savvy members, comprehensively guides and makes the expats living abroad ‘feel at home’. Truth be told, I did join few expat online communities which did their job fairly well, but what makes InterNations stand out from the rest is the exclusivity it provides in terms of organizing and offering to join the most happening recreational activities in one’s locality and giving expats like us a chance to interact and socialize in person with a sense of security.

I’m also impressed by their venture in presenting individuals’ perspective regarding expat-life experiences, which is also essential to reassure nervous ‘newbies’. For the same reason, InterNations reached out to me and gave me this wonderful opportunity to have my blog “groomandbloom.co.nr” featured in their ‘Recommended Expat Blog in Saudi Arabia’ section.

There’s still a lot for me to explore about this dynamic, versatile and ever-expanding expat community and I’m honored to be a part of it!

Click here to read how we get up-close about Saudi Arabian life in my point-of-view as an expat!

March 15, 2014

My Birthday Glorified with “Saadeddin” Rocher Cake

I’m still enjoying the after-glory. ‘Of what’ you might ask. Well it was my birthday two days ago on 13th March. Birthdays are great reason to get pampered and to have guilt-free indulgence of everything rich and sweet. But I have been struggling to control my diet since a couple of weeks, told my folks that it’s okay I would gladly celebrate my birthday without a cake this year. And my brother, who is the most enthusiastic about anyone’s birthday, has even recently moved to another city so I was determined to go ‘cakeless’.

The very morning we received the delectable joy in a big green box sent for me. It was a surprise – Rocher Chocolate Cake by SAADEDDIN PASTRY – from my brother, Dany.
I wasn’t expecting it at all this time as my brother isn’t physically here, but the lad proved it otherwise. 😀

So the cake. It was heavenly (it has to be specially for all the chocolate-lovers) and although I’m not a big fan of anything too chocolaty, I loved it. The top layer was made of chocolate encrusted with Ferrero Rocher crunchy bits followed by second layer of airy mousse sitting on top of moist chocolate fudge. At the bottom, the cake was bordered with caramel frosting. Decorated on top with white chocolate triangle and straws, given a touch of royalty with few scattered tiny crunchy pearls made of chocolate as well!

The Irresistible Rocher Cake

To all those who are not aware; SAADEDDIN PASTRY is one of the finest high-end bakery in the Middle East, offering variety in everything you may want to satiate your ‘sweet tooth’ cravings with – from Arabic sweetmeat to Western delight. And not to forget: a wonderful collection of frozen treats! So if you happen to visit Saudi Arabia, it is worth the whim to try them out! And those like me who celebrate their birthdays with a SAADEDDIN cake, consider themselves lucky.. So huge thanks to my bro, which I have already given to him, but the whole world should see it too! =D

As for my diet-control, ahhh I’ll give it another shot. 😉

January 16, 2014

Express Your Nails with Spring ’14 Fashion Colors!

I recently did a post on Fashion Colors for Fall/Winter ’13 in which I talked about how different fashion designers incorporated those lovely hues, but pages have been turned with the commencement of new year. So as the latest Pantone color report has been revealed, I thought of introducing the palette to you in a bit different way – by carefully selecting assorted brands of nail colors relative to Pantone Fashion Colors for Spring 2014.
Time to clear the decks and prepare your fingertips for taking a dip into the fun colors of springtide! Let’s have a look at the colors one by one:

O2M Breathable Nail Enamel – 667 | INGLOT Cosmetics
From the collection also known as “Halal” nail enamels which are permeable to water and oxygen, so can easily become favorites among the Muslim ladies. Close to Placid Blue, this calming blue echoes the solace of clear sky.

Agent Lavender | Chine Glaze
Want to show your nails off in the romantic Violet Tulip? Then go for this soft bluish purple which reminds of freshly blossomed periwinkle flowers. Will look alluring on any complexion!

Mint Candy Apple | Essie
Just like the nail polish label, Hemlock is the most yummy (and cutest) color of the bunch. This milky green looks like it is inspired from the visual blend of white and green seen in the ornamental flower clusters against their foliage during springtime.

DWS | Illamasqua
This season there is a couple of neutral shades – one of them is Paloma which is similar to this cemented grey nail varnish. The power of this muted and modest shade is not to be underestimated! Because it can give your nails the elegance and sophistication they desire at times.

Sienna | Julep
Another neutral shade of the season, Sand, is seen whispering through this dull and delicate gold nail varnish. Perfect if you want to go metallic in the spring!

Amchoor | NARS
Freesia, the loudest of all, can be flaunted with this flashy vibrant yellow hue. If you are bold and enjoy the ‘limelight’ then go give your nails the splash of this yellow!

Are We There Yet? | OPI
As friendly and easy-going as it looks, I had the most tough time looking for the nail color closest to Cayenne and this is what I found. This “perfect melon shade” is the RED of the season, which has coral tones spiced up.

Arizona | Zoya
This one was the second hardest nail color to find! Cover your nails with some ‘juiciness’ of Celosia Orange with this fun tropical shade which is bright yet soft.

Molly Coddled | Butter LONDON
And now, the ‘queen’ of 2014 color palette: Radiant Orchid! The most desirable of the purple – the sweetness of lilac combined with the magic of lavender – that “intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination”. You will fall in love with this.

Electric Blue | Dior
Anyone can get bedazzled with this Dazzling Blue, specially if it’s adorned on your fingertips! For a nail color, this saturated strong blue is a must-have as it’s one-of-a-kind shade.