I am the original label queen. Not one international arrival escapes my beady eye. But even tireless Trendy me sometimes needs a break from traipsing around the countryside, in search of the newest and the latest.

Except, now that Emporio Mall has finally opened, it’s all, oh joy, under one luxe roof. It’s still a work in progress, so I found the entrance with some difficulty. But once in, I was transported.

It felt like a huge, drop-dead classy old world mansion rather than a glitzy shopping arcade — all beige and off-white Italian marble, burnished wood, wrought iron railings, tinkling fountains, glittering chandeliers, liveried helpdesk.

The first brands that greeted me were Dior and Louis Vuitton. The two stores here are much larger than the ones at Oberoi, and have larger collections. Delhi now has its own Tod’s — the classic Tod’s ballerina flats and totes in bright aqua and purple cheered me no end. Kenzo is here. So is Hugo Boss.

I did a silent cartwheel when I saw that Tiffany’s will be here shortly, too. I will be ready in slim pants, and a string of pearls a la Audrey Hepburn! The ground floor will also have the two Armani brands Emporio and Giorgio. Also, slurp, Jimmy Choo, Cartier and Fendi. And D&G, and Chopard.

As I whooshed up to the first floor in the all-glass elevator I was greeted by Burberry, Paul Smith, Versace Jeans (all pink and white this season), Roberto Cavalli, Canali, Aigner. Rohit Bal is the only Indian designer on this floor. The second floor had more Indian labels like Tarun Tahiliani, and the about-to-be-opened Malini Ramani, and jewellery brands Amaris and Rose.

In six months, when it is fully operational, Emporio will have more than 130 famous logos in clothes, accessories, and jewellery from across the globe.

But this is the time to take a sneak peek!

Emporio Mall, Near the Grand Hyatt, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

I luuuuuve my burgundy Birkin. With this one perfect bag on my arm, I’m never even tempted to purchase another purse. But music collection is a whole other story. I can’t help but want to rush to listen to the latest tunes as soon as they’re released. I always find myself back at the music store, leaving with my bags full of goodies to keep my sound system super busy.

And then when I find a new treasure, I get the urge to spread the word. These are a few of my latest new release faves, two (comparitively) new voices, and the other two, gorgeous golden oldies.

We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, Jason Mraz
Witty wordsmith, and pop’s new rising star Jason Mraz is here with his third album. Potential radio classics all, the tracks had my head bobbing right along.

Flavors of Entanglement, Alanis Morissette
This one’s all about lost love and longing. Grieving over her spilt with beau Ryan Reynolds, Alanis comes up with pop’s bestest, almost. Um, I’m still listening to her previous Jagged Little Pill, but this is a worthy successor.

Nothing But The Best, Frank Sinatra
Sinatraholics in the world rejoice! You can have him neat. Or as an accompaniment to an evening martini. Twenty of the tootest tracks served straight up in a sparkling blue case, heady enough to keep you going, all night long.

All on Warner Music. Rs 395 each.

The Ultimate Oldies — Collection
Three-disc box dotted with old classics, rare gems that will have you running to grandpa for reference! And of course you’ll have Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Glenn Campbell and the gang streaming right behind.

EMI International. Rs 495 for a three CD set.

Every time I go out of the country I have a list of things to buy. But eventually, I end up at the local crafts bazaar and I forget about the glitzy li’l numbers I promised I’d stock up on for myself. Sparkly vests, jersey gal 80s shirts, blue suede pumps, and that clutch bag that turns into something else with the strap attached.

So one evening (post an out-of-country-and-I-splurged-on-nothing trip) I turned a corner and saw Say C! It’s the most darling li’l shop that stocks everything a hip international city would wear. Simera (who owns the place) says yes to all things we love — club wear, shoes (ballerinas, pumps, wedges and stilettos), glitzy handbags, dainty clutches, belts and big bling accessories. Most of the clothes she stocks are branded — Calvin Klein, Miss Sixty, Zara, Mango, H&M. And all of them bear the stamp of the ’80s boho look everyone seems to be sporting. From wide belts to narrow hoopla earrings, and slinky jersey to sequinned corsets, Say C’s got enough to keep you saying “Ohmigod”.

And the best part? They’re located in Java City. Which means you have time to think over your buys over a cuppa, and hop back in if you change your mind after a chat with a gal pal. Add to that the fact that they’re now online, which means you can check out all their latest stuff before paying them a visit.

So ladies, get set to buh-buy. And disco.

SayC Clothing and Accessories 24/1, Java City, Lavelle Road, Bangalore - 560 001, Mobile: (+91) 98865 00097. Prices start from Rs 499 for Ed Hardy caps. www.sayc.in. Email: simera@sayc.in.

It seems like divine intervention when my shopping-weary feet stumble across the recently opened and stunningly appointed Aroma Thai Foot Spa. The staff greet me in the traditional Thai way — a namaste-like gesture and the word ‘sawadee‘.

The tantalising menu of massages, manicures, pedicures and facials, includes the Sukhothai Silver and Gold therapies which use pure silver and gold! But I’m most enticed by the Ananda Thai Toe to Head Massage, a full body massage done fully clothed in a cushy recliner.

From four delicious smelling options, I choose mint oil (for its energising properties). My therapist Elvi begins with a tender footbath and exfoliates my tired toes with a lemongrass oil scrub. I change into gigantic drawstring pyjamas and a comfy pair of slippers. Elvi tucks me into a recliner in an aromatic candle-lit room, and begins to work her magic. She gives my feet attention by turn, swathing one in oils and a soft cloth, and gently kneading the other with this amazing wooden tool that has different textures that traces my reflexology points. It’s instant de-stress.

Elvi then moves on to my arms, head, neck and back. I wait for her to whisper that the treatment is over, but instead she asks me to move onto an adjoining stool and works on the parts of my back she couldn’t reach in the recliner. After it’s really done, I sip delicious Thai herbal tea.

As I leave, I feel like I am walking on air. Even the heaving traffic can’t bring me down from my Zen-like state of relaxation.

AromaThai Foot Spa: Tirupati Apartments, Shop No 9, next to Godrej Nature’s Basket, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mahalaxmi; Tel: 23536600. Also at Shop No. 3, Chetak Co-op Hsg. Society, 41 Pali Hill, Bandra (W); Tel: 2605-6871. And Unit No. F57, 1st Flr, InOrbit Mall, Mindspace Link Rd, Malad (W); Tel: 28712047. Prices: Sawadee foot massage Rs 690 for 60 minutes, Ananda Thai toe to head massage Rs 1290 for 90 minutes.

The haiku-embossed invite to the opening of ai led me to a swish evening full of Delhi’s A-list, and tantalizingly brief glimpses of AD Singh’s new uber-chic lounge-meets-nouvelle-Japanese. So I lost no time in whipping back for a sit-down meal: haiku’s fine for a taste, but you need a sonnet for the complete experience!

Sliding bamboo doors give way to subdued lighting, leather embossed tables and designer rattan chairs. Step outside on to the enormous open-air terrace and you’ll find yourself in a fairyland of bamboo trees with a babbling brook that flows past every table. Grab one of the covered rattan beds. Or a bedouin-style tent if you want some privacy. And choose from three separate live counters for Sushi, Teppenyaki and Robata.

The menu is small but carefully put together (all seafood is, of course, flown in twice a week from Japan). The Omakase Sushi platter we ordered was an interesting assortment of nigiri and maki rolls. If you’re new to sushi, just order their one piece servings, prepared with flair by Sushi chef Francisco Balanquit.

Bite into the Tobiko flying fish roe maki for a fiery sensory explosion. There are interesting veggie options too: we liked the grilled shishito peppers, and the Tokyo leek. But it’s the main courses that really did it for us. We tried the spicy tenderloin yakitori and the Pork belly served with Mustard miso. The latter is cooked for about 16 hours to give it the most unbelievable velvety melt-in-the-mouth texture. All served on tasteful stoneware pottery, expertly garnished with a single bamboo leaf.

If there was one thing we missed it was some sake or shochu to wash it all down. (They’re working on that license!) But the crisp Australian Chardonnay we did get wasn’t bad at all.

Finish it all off with a delicately flavoured hand-crushed sorbet, and you’ll definitely want to say arrigato!

ai, Second Floor, MGF Metropolitan Mall, District Center, Saket, New Delhi. Ph: 011 40654567. Meal for two Rs 5,000.

I’m not big on matte finishes. My lips are always shining and luscious, thanks to my juicy gloss, my constant companion. But it’s hard work because I have to keep replenishing the shine. One lick, a single cup of java, and the gloss is gone.

What wouldn’t I give for a lippy that will stay on past that first cup of coffee?

Looks like someone up there loves me. I went on a hunt and came up with the glosses that keep the faith — and the promise of an everlasting shine.

These are the ones I now trust.

H2O Plus Lip Oasis 48 Hour Plumping Gloss, Rs 950
The Promise: Marine collagen instantly plumps lips. Diminishes fine lines around the mouth.
Trendy Take: Soft, sheer texture. Lips did look fuller after the gloss had time to soak in.

L’Oreal Paris Glam Shine Gloss Brilliance 6H, Rs 650
The Promise: Silicone based polymer film makes the colour stay. No touch ups required for six hours.
Trendy Take: The gloss stayed on even after the third cup of coffee! No smudging. The tiny heart shaped applicator is pure pleasure.

MAC Lip Glass, Rs 870
The Promise: Provides super glossy, long lasting finish. Contains jojoba oil that conditions lips.
Trendy Take: Every girl should own one. The tints are vivid and fun to wear. I love the glass-like shine that made my lips totally pouty. The colour range is huge, and you will find one to match your tone.

Sally Hansen Diamond Lip Treatment, Rs 375
The Promise: Hydrating lip gloss with Shea butter, vitamin A, and aloe. Provides brilliant shine and improves lips texture.
Trendy Take: Feels sticky at first, but seeps into the lips very soon, and stays on. Try it on days when lips feel extra dry. Hides chapped skin nicely — hues are more opaque than sheer.

Available at beauty counters, and high-end departmental stores.

Just as my faith in fine dining was dying out after too many Basmati risottos and oily pizzas, a pal persuaded me to try Colonial. I went with bad grace, apprehensive it was going to be another of those — you know!

Walking in, I did a double take. This was a restaurant? It looked like a club to me! White plays a key role here and it was a relief for my visual senses to find some peace here. Along the broad staircase, paintings and photographs line the wall, available for sale. The rather eccentric carpet has Nehru’s letters to Lady Mountbatten woven on them.

With well-spaced tables, good quality linen and a simple menu that’s easy to navigate, Colonial quite makes you yearn for the good ol’ days. The Lady Mulligatawny soup (veg and with lamb) is a must-try. The flavours are subtle, with a few grains of rice thrown in.

For a quick nibble with the soup, I tried the Lotus Eater — lotus stems marinaded and fried with corn curd and chili soy — while trying to make up my mind over the entree. Grilled rockfish with herb butter or steamed pomfret with spicy basil sauce and pesto mash? I opted for the first, which was quite delicious.

And the penultimate treat was the Blanket Chicken, a bacon-wrapped minced chicken breast, prune-olive stuffing and aioli, part of the third course that’s sort of a build-up to dessert.

The Suzy Wong — water chestnut and coconut cream, served chilled — is something I’ve had earlier, but it’s a relatively guilt-free way to end the evening.

This sort of Colonialism, I like.

Colonial. 11 Walton Road, Lavelle Road junction, above Cinnamon. Tel: 41571290. Meal for two: Rs 2,000.

The tornado-like ride in the rickshaw through a labyrinthine of Santacruz bylanes was unsettling. Nestled in a quiet residential neighbourhood, it would be easy to miss the store were it not for the arresting shop sign — an arabesque explosion in black and white. But the ultimate destination – the newly opened Attic – was worth the trip with its eclectic range of lifestyle products, fashion, accessories and furniture accents.

Once inside, the flood of natural light bouncing off the white walls calmed me but, at the same time, the colourful and organised array of products balanced against them made me want to gather the whole lot in my arms and make a run for it.

Canvas shoes (the ones we used to reluctantly lace up during school PE) have turned into psychedelic works of art you’d be loath to take out on the road. Likewise, their comic print inspired canvas jholas softened the toughened leather lover in me. I found myself picking one for each day of the week. And dresses hung underneath minimally framed graphic prints (I was particularly attracted to a red Rorschach-inkblot test look-a-like). At first glance, ho-hum. But riffling through, I discovered not just some new designers, but some beautiful cotton-printed/embroidered baby-doll cuts and tunics. If nothing, their names were enough to send my obsession for funky design in a tizzy — Playclan, Half full, Sweet Pea (they have a range of clothes for kids as well), Soda, and Him, Her and the Apple. The owners are designers too, thus the respect paid to everything funky in the name of art.

There are giant cups that you can rest your bottom on, pillow covers decorated with panels from a board game, large alphabets for multiple uses (I picked them as book-ends), all spilling out of iron trunks violently coloured in whites and neons.

If only my grandma’s attic were this cool! I’d have saved a fortune.

Attic: Bir Sagar, 396/20, Flat no 1, End of 17th Road, Santacruz (W), Mumbai; Tel: 32169292; Website: www.attic.in. Prices: Hand-painted trinket and tissue boxes: Rs 850, monogram alphabets: Rs 540, framed printed artwork: Rs 1,450.

How do I love tea? Let me count the ways. The delicate flavours. The heady fragrance. The ambrosial taste. And also, oh, the prettiness of my cup full of molten gold, and in it, the tea leaves unfurling like a little choreography! So imagine how thrilled I was to find that Choko la is about to launch, by the month end, a new high tea menu, that combines two of my favourite things: tea and chocolate.

Trendy got a sneak peak at the high tea service which will use a range of exquisite teas from Darjeeling’s Avongrove estate, freshly brewed at the table, the way you like it. I went sip-sip-sip and was gobsmacked at the variety. Mint and vanilla pearls — hand-shaped into beautiful little balls that open up, in slow motion, in your kettle. The queen of all teas — the long tipped white leaf — subtle, delicate and lasting. The fan-shaped peony rosette, with the mild taste of the second flush. And my fave, the full-bodied florette: an Avongrove specialty that looks like a simple bud until you pour hot water on it, and it slowly blooms into a perfect long-stemmed rose inside your tall glass!

For luscious bites, I tried the special handcrafted Choko la chocolates that ooze with a tea-infused liquid centre, matching with the teas! And some snackies that come in a Raj style three-tiered tray, with delicious mouthfuls of fresh fruit canapes, barquettes filled with yogurt dips topped with chives, potato wedges, chocolate and mousse layered cakes, sandwiches, and scones.

And as a little souvenir of a late afternoon well spent, I took home their gorgeous tea caddy: a miniature wooden chest of four drawers with coordinated tea and chocolate sets. Beau-tea-ful!

Choko la, 36, Khan Market, Ph: 41757570, and 61, Basant Lok, Priya Cinema Complex, Vasant Vihar.Ph: 011-41669595. Tea merchandise priced between Rs. 249 to 1,600. Tea caddy Rs 1,600. Choco-tea combos Rs 350. All available by Sept end.

I spent my school years in their tiny tops and skirts. In college, I graduated to their flowing patialas. For formal work parties, I look no further than their gorgeous tussars and printed silks. Yup, this is Fabindia, so much a part of our lives that it seemed natural to try their linen, food products and pamper range when they branched out.

So guess who was first in queue to check out their jewellery line? I expected their designs to be likeable, wearable and affordable. Check for all three, but I was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtulness that divided the range into three distinct collections: the classical Anusuya, the unusual and contemporary Ananya and the trendy and casual Amna.

Anusuya features intricate designs from Ladakh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Orissa. I could imagine pairing them with heavy sarees for a dressed-down effect, or wearing a single ornate piece as a conversation-stopper. Contemporary designs in silver, copper, brass, wood and leather based on age-old techniques form the Ananya range, perfect for the quirky wardrobe of the woman who refuses to follow the herd. And the very fun Amna line, made up of interesting beads, textiles, wires, terracotta and other innovative materials, is the perfect accompaniment to satchels, flip-flops and college classrooms.

Admiring a pair of turquoise and silver earrings, I wondered what I’d wear them with. Jeans? A salwar suit? Yes, to both. And then some.

Fabindia jewellery. Priced between Rs 80 and Rs 8000. www.fabindia.com. To be gradually introduced in all stores.
Bangalore: 499, 1st Binnamangala, CMH Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore 38. Tel: 32962101.
Delhi: 14, N-Block Market, Greater Kailash Part I, New Delhi 48. Tel: 29232183-85. Central Hall, Above Shop no. 20 & 21, Khan Market, New Delhi 3. Tel: 41757142-44.
Mumbai: Jeroo Building, 137, M.G. Road, Kala Ghoda, Colaba, Mumbai 1. Tel: 22626539. 2 & 4, Navroze, 66 Pali Hill, Next to HDFC Bank, Bandra (West), Mumbai 50, Tel: 26465286.