The last of our four-Friday series on great weekend getaways.

You’ve done the running-hot-water, twenty-four-hour-cable-with-all-the-latest-movies hilly hols. This time around, you want a place where your cell phone will not receive any signal, cars will not honk, and the only light will come from lanterns. And glowing fireflies.

Our Trendy Traveller recommends the Getaway Jungle Camp at Sat Taal, where she had a thrilling near-encounter with the resident leopard.

Cross the emerald green Sat Taal lake by boat. Trudge uphill on a carpet of slippery pine-needles. No porters, so you’ll have to lug your own bags. Allow the camp’s chivalrous security officer, Golu the dog, to accompany you up the winding track.

Up at camp, a row of frugal tents await. Settle back on you cot, flap open, and drink in the forested mountains. Get lessons on local birds and vegetation, try rappelling, or go for a leisurely swim.

Try fishing. You may land a prize Mahseer. The camp chefs will be happy to grill it for you, later.

Zip up you tents at night to keep the wilde beesties at bay. And sleep tight.

Getaway Jungle Camps. Contact Nainital-based Pradeep Raj Singh. Telephone: 09411376404. A 320-kilometer drive from Delhi. Take the marked detour from Nainital to Sat Taal. Cost: Rs. 1,600-2,000 per person per night, depending on the meal plan. Charge includes activities (rock climbing, rappelling, boat rides, river crossing, etc.)

And click here for The Hills Have Ayes Part I in Kanatal, Part II in Giri Camp and Part III in Sonapani.

Instant coffee, instant love, instant gratification — that’s your world. Google is your encyclopaedia and takeaways your five-course meal-sub.

But you don’t settle for anything but the best. Your hastily put together outfit still looks like a signature statement; your careless knot the ultimate in bedhead chic. So your grocery list, too, extends to elegance beyond canned soups and packaged noodles.

Step inside Foodworld Gourmet. It’s your ticket to instant foodie nirvana.

Stacks of fresh fruits and veggies. Melt-in-the-mouth European pastries. Canned pickles and juices. Crunchy cereals and organic options. Swiss cheese and so-healthy gelatos. Our Trendy Taster just couldn’t get enough.

Just as well, because there was more. Apricot Danish for an on-the-run brekkie and an easy-nuke chicken pie for a solitary dinner. Chilled crabs and quick-frozen tiger prawns for nights when packets seem passé.

For the luxe girlie get-together, serve the sun-dried grilled aubergines in olive oil with your best wine. Add the Spanish turkey breast to the fresh greens for a super salad. And take the bows for the prawn tempura maki sushi — a sinful combination of prawns, rice and seaweed rolls.

After all, you are what you eat.

Foodworld Gourmet, 88, Shariff Bhatia Towers, MG Road, Bangalore 560001. Telephone: 41474789/4689. Prices range from Rs. 9 for a packet of organic herbs to Rs. 550 for chilled seafood.

The last of our four-Friday series on great weekend getaways.

You welcome the swirling clouds with open arms. You shed the wilted summer look for dewy skin and bright eyes in the refreshing monsoon months. But there’s a part of you that yearns for more than slush and the city.

Paradise can be regained. 2,000 ft above sea level and only a four-hour drive away, just off the Mumbai-Agra highway, is the emerald hill station of Igatpuri.

Check into a ritzy resort like Manas Lifestyle. Fab rooms, swimming pool, spa, multi-cuisine buffet. Or better still, court the rain at the family-run Meghdhanush Park. Basic accommodation, mini pool, home-style meals, mist in your window. And a pet Alsatian called Rainbow.

Visit the golden-tipped Dhamma Giri, the Vipassana meditation centre, if you want to navel gaze in absolute stillness. But if you prefer communing with your buddies or boyfriend, the dam’s the place to head to. Pack some cheese and chocolate, get set to be glamorously rain-drenched and let the peace transform your pace.

Follow your own rainbows.

Manas Lifestyle: AC Deluxe Room Rs. 8,900 (two night package). Telephone: 952553-244512/3. Website: www.manaslifestyle.com.
Meghdhanush Park: AC Deluxe suite Rs. 1,000. Telephone: 952553-244962/289289. Website: www.hotelmpark.com.

At the spa, you buff up with a Brazil-style sand scrub. Your cappuccino uses the nation’s best beans. You wore their colours for the football World Cup. But have you done the Brazilian thing all the way yet? No, we don’t mean your bikini line.

Case the new churrascaria joint in town. Dress up in your carnival-bright frilly skirt and vrroom down NH8 to the newly unleashed Wildfire restaurant, where the chief attraction is the live counter, with the turnspit flames flickering bright in the night.

No bother of choosing: the set meal line-up changes daily. Sit back and enjoy attentive service. Get your mojo going with a full-bodied rioja. At the salad counter, pick one, or more or make your own. And then get with the real action. The main course is brought to the table in a relay of grills, done to perfection — tenderloin and lamb, fish and fowl, smoky-sweet peppers and creamy cheese, mushroom and pineapple. Round it off with Illy coffee.

Keep a red scarf handy. Your date may be ready to do the salsa.

Wildfire, Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon, Sector 29, NH-8, Gurgaon. Telephone: (124) 4534000. Price: veg Rs. 1095-1195; non-veg Rs. 1195-1395; seafood Rs. 1500.

Milan was ohkay, hon. In Paris, you met a hottie and ended up in a local café. Tokyo was not up to your wedge-shoed-standards. And in Madrid, you stiletto’d your way to the shopping ghettos. Sigh, so you missed all the fashion shows, huh?

Fear not, fashionista. The Bangalore Upper Cut Designers Overview is here. Eight upcoming city-based designers are ready to showcase their creatives to a rain-soaked city.

The line-up includes Trendylicious favourite Haldi: Roopa and Kanick will display their ephemeral earth-toned summer line. Shlok Fashions’ Shilpa and Alok will show evening and weekend wear in contrasting tones — classy versus wild — while Lata Chauhan targets the sophisticated woman with her tissue-and-gold collection.

The other designers on the platform are Amrita Desai, Trisha Saklecha, Richa Aggarwal, Sandhya Garg and the nature-inspired Sreesha.

Ah! Now for the shiny-disco-ball bit. A Bangalore-fave-DJ — still a surprise — will set the party rolling post the show.

So swathe yourself in glitter, throw an ‘oh-it’s-cold’ stole, team ‘em with more glitter, and go mingle. FTV style.

The Bangalore Upper Cut Designers Overview, on Friday, June 29, 8 pm to 11 pm, at Ivy, Unwind Island, Sarjapur Road.
By invitation only — but the first 50 Trendy readers who call Pradeep Chatur on 9986255184 or 9844427369 and say ‘Trendylicious’ get free invites!

35 pairs and not a single one that lets your toes wiggle in pleasure and arches rest easy? For an active girl who is on her feet 24/7, it’s the soft, round-toed ballerinas that are most out of the closet. Our Trendy Tester did the rounds to see which shoe fit best.

Aldo: (Rs. 2,750-4,000) Rain-proof silver ballerinas with a plastic trim — the most elegant option to slush through the streets. Or go dainty with a lacy white leather cutwork option.
Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Tel: 24813561; Atria, Worli, Mumbai, Tel: 24961634.

Habit: (Rs. 1,000 and up) Matte gold ballerinas with a woven finish that lets your toes breathe. Perfect for office corridors and that after-hours Cosmopolitan.
Kemps Corner, Colaba Causeway and Linking Road, Mumbai, Tel: 23631044.

Sole to Sole: (Rs. 1,500 and up) Bling ballerinas in jewelled black with a little heel. Dance the night away, pain-free.
Linking Road, Mumbai, Tel: 66778422.

Street stores: (Rs 200 and up) Our Trendy budget pick is the classic plain black ballerina with a gold ribbon and bow. You can’t go wrong with understated elegance.
At Hill Road and Colaba Causeway, Mumbai.

Pirouettes are just a step away.

You are an adventurer. Your idea of fun is to climb the Himalayas with your trusty Northface backpack. You fearlessly follow the call of the wild and trek through the Amazon armed with your Marmot tent and citronella sticks. Back in the city, the concrete jungle and the mating game set your adrenaline flowing.

Prepare yourself for your urban adventures with a secret weapon: self defence training with Sheila Haddad. Sheila, who holds several black belts in different forms of ninjitsu and jujutsu, has been teaching martial arts internationally since 1989. Sheila’s way is super empowering and focused on the prevention of violence.

In her one-day seminar on self defence, she teaches verbal assertiveness techniques, de-escalation skills, basic physical self-defence techniques and the psychology of domestic violence and abuse. Develop your awareness and intuition, unlearn common misconceptions, and understand rape prevention and the phenomenon of assault.

Stalkers and date rapists beware: The Trendy Warrior is never defenceless, never a victim.

Self-Protection for Women, one-day seminar-workshops on July 14 and 15, from 9.30 am to 6 pm. Charges: Rs 2,500. At St Joseph’s School Hall, Museum Road, Bangalore. Since seats are limited, register by June 27 at Time Out Cafe, Sona Towers, off Cunningham Road; Road Trip restaurant, Indiranagar; Alliance Francaise; Supermarket, Brigade Road; Ashnil, Koramangala. Call 9886754552 / 9945536559 for enquiries, or visit www.livingtheway.com.

You’re a rockstar. Tees with jagged edges and metallic motifs, jeans cut just right, leather and metal accessories, and Aerosmith on the iPod. That’s the casual you. But when you switch from a rocker chick to a haute pussycat, only a sexy halter and skirt will do.

Stop by at twin stores Mystic Monk and Chasm, just launched by tennis player Rohit Rajpal, brother-in-law to stylish actor Fardeen Khan. Interconnected via a staircase, the stores (store-within-a-store) take care of both your day and evening needs: Mystic Monk, with its red leather car seats, tyres and diffused lighting, has smart denims, cargoes and tees to match.

Chasm’s range is more formal. Halters in geometric patterns, flirty polka tops, knits in every hue and straight cut cotton trousers in beiges and whites.

There are things for men, too. For your guy, pick one of the striped shirts, on a white base.

The lace spaghettis are just what you need to dress up a pair of jeans; team those with a beaded necklace.

And you’re ready to swing.

Mystic Monk & Chasm, DT Mega Mall, M G Road, Gurgaon. Phone: 0124-4103344; Prices start at Rs. 435 (tees at Mystic Monk) and Rs. 650 (tees at Chasm).

You’ve had caviar facials and savoured pink champagne. Now you’re on the look out for more exotic exotica.

Your search ends with Sahara Star. A sparkling new five star super deluxe that’s comparable to the best haute hotels in the world even as it’s still awaiting a new Rs. 300-crore facade by the year-end. Palm trees, gurgling water, live entertainment: the Star has all the makings of a Vegas-style mammothel.

Men in designer black usher you into the magical 55,000-sq ft tropical lagoon and under the world’s largest pillarless, clear-to-the-sky dome. 250 soundproof suites, each a whopping 12,000 sq ft, are equipped with personal spa stations, glass ceilings, retractable horizontal curtains and artificial rain cascading near the window.

The feast of the senses continues in the serene Ila spa and the nine restaurants and bars arranged at split levels. Our Trendy Spotter recommends hors d’oeuvres and aperitifs in the High Lounge and heartier global cuisine at The Earth Plate.

But the piece de resistance is the soon-to-be-opened Ocean. An aquarium restaurant that’s ready to dazzle you with its seafood delights and three glass walls, which encase piscine splendour and even a dishy scuba diver.

Deluxe doesn’t get more luxe than this.

Sahara Star; Domestic Airport, Vile Parle (E), Mumbai. Telephone: 39895000. Website: www.saharastar.com. Prices: Rs. 1000 per head for dinner without drinks and Rs. one lakh for a table for 12. Room tariff not yet declared.

Crushes are momentary. Love is everlasting. Once in while there comes a nail shade, a lipstick, mascara that evoke lifelong passion. You flirt with newer rivals, even adopt them for a while, but always go back.

Here’s the second part of our list of classic beauty products, which continue to hold sway on dressers around the globe.

Bourjois Pastel Joues, Little Round Pot Blush in Lilas D’or, Rs. 560: (1863) Created in France, where else, for can-can dancers. Remains the brand’s bestseller to date. A shade that suits every skin-tone.

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Enamel in Rouge Noir, Rs. 1,100: (1990-91) Chocolate red rage in the early 90’s, which went off the shelves in a couple of years. Had to be revived on popular demand. Toluene-free formula gives super glossy finish.

M.A.C Lip Glass, Rs. 870: (1996) The first of its kind to give long-lasting made-up lips. This tube of sticky gloss stays on longer than your regular lip slickers. The plastic finish on its own, or over lipstick, is hot every season.

L’Oreal Volume Shocking Mascara, Rs. 650: (1995) Makeup experts swear by this one’s ability to lush up even the sparsest lashes. Two years and newer versions later, the beauty counters remain out of stock.

Bourjois: Delhi: Kunchal’s, M-15, M-block main market. Telephone: 29281863.
Mumbai: Parcos , White Hall Premises, Next to Hotel Shalimar, Kemps Corner. Telephone: 2364 3685 / 2361 0824.
Bangalore: Parcos , A-7, Leela Galary, The Leela Palace, Airport Road. Telephone: 080 5115 3884.

L’Oreal: Delhi: Shoppers Stop, Ansal Plaza, Khelgaon Marg. Telephone: 26258866.
Mumbai: Shoppers Stop, Dynamix Mall, JVPD Scheme, Vile Parle (W). Telephone: 26256271.
Bangalore: Shoppers Stop, Commerce @ Mantri, Ground Floor, N.S. Palaya, Bannerghatta Road. Telephone: 5121 5681.

And click here for yesterday’s Forever Amber Part 1.