Pretty Shapely

I don't know about you but I hate the weekly task of shaping my nails. It's so boring! I would put it off until my nails were almost peeling off my fingers due to lack of maintenance. Yes, along with low patience, I'm blessed with brittle nails too!

But ever since I have found these bright mood-boosting shapers by QVS, my attitude towards this arduous task has changed a bit. Let's just say I am complimented on my well-maintained nails these days.
These are my favourite four but they have plenty of other styles here.

A Fresh Faced Monsoon

As the earthy smell of a wet world wafts in through my window, I realize that it is time for me to have a beauty overhaul. Scorched and dehydrated from summer, my skin and hair had needed a totally different range of products than they would need now, as I become a child again, gleefully jumping over puddles and soaking in the rain.

The humidity makes my skin go dull. Pimples are more likely to strike my otherwise problem-free skin as dust-laden gusts of wind blow merrily by.

Three simple actions help me retain my natural glow and stay infection free.

1. Clean face twice a day religiously with Clean & Clear Morning Energy Face Wash in Brightening Berry.

The zappy raspberry smell helps in getting the sleep out of my eyes and my skin looks alive through most of the day. A very small amount is required and this is the only non-cream cleanser I have found so far that does not dry my skin.

2. Moisturize skin after cleansing with Olay Natural White All in One Fairness Day Lotion. It blends in easily and gives an even and natural glowy finish to the skin. I particularly love this product because, during this season, I just cannot get myself to use any foundation or even tinted moisturiser; it works as a great go-between.


 












3. Scrub every alternate day with Freeman Facial Creamy Scrub in Apricot. This particular product was one of my experiments, something that I just picked up from the supermarket shelves on a whim. Though I am not a fan of its smell, which is apricot-y but somehow not natural, I like its gentle scrubbing action. True to its name, it is creamy and makes my skin feel supple even without a moisturizer. It keeps my pores clean and I have had no break-outs so far.







 

So what about you? What do you do for your monsoon freshness?

Finally Done by Me!

After months of being sick (the reason behind this blog not being updated), I decided to cheer myself up last weekend with some traditional retail therapy.

A pair of denims, two summer tops, a T-shirt, a shirt and two lovely pairs of shoes later, I was still thirsting for more. Then I had this “moment” while mindlessly browsing through Facebook. An ad jumped out at me among the other hundreds. What exactly caught my attention about this ad, I have no idea, except maybe the shoes in the photo were PRETTY..

As I clicked on the link and reached the Done by None website, it was love at first sight. I wanted to buy every single item on display at this “fashion fantasy”, as the creators - Windy, Dhali & Spidey, like to call it.

However, this was to be my first online fashion purchase. So far, I have not understood the concept of buying clothes online. I mean, I cannot buy anything without trying them on first.
So I decided to make my debut with a bag. With this beauty at that.

The process was real smooth, it was delivered real quick and the packing was great. And the best part? The bag looked even better than in the photos. :)

Kudos Done by None!

Battling the fear of bold lipcolor

I have always been a heavy eye-makeup kind of girl. Lipsticks are something that I actively avoid. Weird, I know.

However, it’s not all lip color I shy away from. Glosses work fine for me but even with them I tend to bend towards sheer and muted colors. I have tried hard to analyze this psychological disorder of mine but have had no luck finding the answer yet. Every time, I try on a lipstick, I take one look at myself and shudder in horror.

Imagine then my surprise when I found myself drawn to this lovely look sported by ­Taylor Swift while I was reading Stylelist.

Even though the lip color is bold, matching it with the shoes and bag makes it look so classy. I am actually getting excited to try it out myself.

I particularly like the contrast brought out by pairing this matched look with an otherwise completely toned down look like Kate Bosworth here.

The effect seems to be most dramatic when the lip color is a shade of red or orange. But pink looks great too as seen on Rose McGowan.

 

So, to get this look right, I need to

• Pick a BOLD  lip color
• Match it with my shoes
• Pick a muted color outfit
• Use neutral tones in eye makeup. Think L’oreal Eyeliner in Espresso & Lakme Desert Rose Eye Shadow Quartet.

Can you help me with more tips to brave the lipstick jungle?

How to make your perfume linger longer!

Freshly out of the bath, spritzing on my favorite perfume can transport me into nirvana faster than any meditation technique I have tried so far. Do you feel the same way? Have you ever wanted that feeling to last?

There is a way. Yes, even in this hot weather. And no, it does not involve emptying the entire bottle on yourself in one go.

The more economical way of making your perfume linger longer is by layering your fragrances. Every perfume has a theme. Identify yours. Then pick other grooming products that center around the same theme.

If fruity is your style, then use a fruity body wash during your bath. Immediately, after your bath, preferably still in the bathroom, apply a body moisturizer with the same fruity fragrance. The humidity of the skin at this stage helps the fragrance to bind to your skin better and of course also makes your body soft and supple. Follow up with a fruity deodorant to battle sweat, but this is optional. You can skip this step if wetness and humid weather are of no concern to you. End the layering process with a few light sprays of the desired perfume and enjoy the fresh feeling for a long time.

This hot summer I am finding my solace in the invigorating smell of green tea. Here are the layers I am wearing:

Dove Fresh Cucumber & Green Tea Body Wash

Dove Fresh Cucumber & Green Tea Body Lotion

Dove Fresh Cucumber & Green Tea Body Mist

Elizabeth Arden - Green Tea

  
 If you want this technique to be more effective and don’t mind a slightly higher cost, you can try the body washes and lotions by the perfume makers themselves. For example, next on my radar are Davidoff Cool Water and Moschino Hippy Fizz.

 Certain lifestyle stores offer good discounts on gift packs containing the above products.

Summer wardrobe must haves!

Breezy lounge around

For the denim die-hards

The Dressy Look

Burberry Bermudas

Bermudas on the ramp

The sun has regained its strength and warm, dry winds of change are blowing through street fashion.
Gone are the English style coats and even the light woolen wraps.
As the cliche goes - the hemlines are rising.
The Bermuda shorts is number one on my wishlist. You can get it in a variety of different fabrics.
Denim for the toughie, cotton for the cool and jersey for the sporty. But irrespective of the fabric it looks chic and comfy.
And guess what..... it looks great on all body shapes. :)

The Bold and the Beautiful

Bold eyebrows keeps surfacing in fashion once in a while. But I believe this is more than a fad. It's a personality. Anyone who admires Jennifer Connelly's style would  agree with me on this.


The filled in but neatly kept look gives an impression of a woman who is strong and who means business. But there I said it, it has to be neatly kept, or you might end up looking un-groomed. Brow gel and a brow brush are must tools to achieve this look with the beauty it is intended for.

The simplest way to achieve this look is to fill in your eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil that is one shade lighter than your brow colour. This would avoid the mime artist look. And then you need to use an angled brush to blend in the colour and reduce the severity of the pencil strokes. Finally add a touch of the brow gel to the brow brush to set them in.