LET THE HOLI FESTIVITIES BEGIN....

HAPPY HOLI!!!

Getting caught up in the same old charade of trying to scrub the holi colours off, giving up, and stepping out in pink ears? 

Give this a read and step out of that pattern....

Precautions to be taken before the festivities begin:

• Try to wear clothes that would cover most parts of your body ensuring minimum contact with the colours.
• Apply mustard oil or coconut oil or olive oil all over your face and neck before stepping out to play with colours. Sunscreen also does the job of protecting your skin, but it won't be as effective as the above mentioned oils. Do not forget to apply oil behind your ears and near your fingernails.
• Do not apply any make-up before playing with colours.
• DO NOT FORGET YOUR HAIR. Massage some oil into your hair before stepping out.

After Care:

• Try to use a cream based soap to remove the colours off your skin. Do not scrub the skin, try to remove the colours as gently as possible.

• If the colour stays on, follow the below given directions as per your skin type:

Dry Skin

It's very easy for chemicals to penetrate dry skin, hence, it is very necesary to take extra precautions if you have such skin type.
The best way to erase colours from your skin is by making a paste out of soyabean flour(1 tablespoon), milk, glycerin and a pinch of sea salt.
Scrub the paste onto your face and other colour affected areas for 6-8 minutes and wash it off.

Normal Skin

All you have to do is mix besan(gram flour) with milk powder and lavendar oil. Make a mask out of it. Apply the same over your body for 15 minutes and wash it off.

Oily Skin

Make a paste out of multani-mitti, glycerin and water. Apply the paste over your face, let it sit, wash it off after 15 minutes.

*Quick tip*

Mix some lemon juice with honey (in equal parts) and apply it over your face and neck, this not only helps you remove the stubborn colour stains but also helps you to restore some of the lost glow, not to forget, naturally.

Also, lastly, in case of colour stain on your scalp, massage egg yolk onto your scalp for around 30 minutes and wash it off.
For those who aren't comfortable with the thought of applying egg yolk in your hair, make a paste out of methi powder and curd and use that instead of an egg yolk, in the say way.

HAVE A HAPPY, SAFE, AND ECO-FRIEDLY HOLI!

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS SUMMER...

Summer is around the corner.
Beat the heat with these pants, for denims are not our only option.

High Waisted Pants

This trend has been in vogue since 2 years now, and if you are one of those who never paid heed to it thinking of it to be just like the other trends. I think it's time you pay attention to it because, this trend is here to stay. The best part about these pants is that you'll find a pair for any look that you want to go for. I don't see this trend dying anytime soon. Frankly, I'd cry a silent cry if it does.

Culottes

Culottes- Hangs like a skirt, but is actually pants. I love this definition for some reason.😃😃
I love the formal look that culottes give you at the same time providing you with the much needed comfort and airy appearance which is exacty what you need during the summers.

Cotton Pants

I detest wearing denims on hot summer days, cotton pants are such a respite from the suffering. There are so many designs available, that you will definitely find one that matches your personality. My personal favourite is the drop-crotch pant, apart from these, there are the straight-cut pants, the ankle-length pants, the flared pants, the wide-legged pants and many more.

Trouser with Kurta

Tired of wearing the same old salwars and chudidars?! Give your workwear a twist. Pair your trousers with a kurti and complete your look with a pair of jutties or kolhapuris. 

Tulip Pants

There are a few varieties of tulip pants available in the market, but, I love the trend of pairing the tapered tulip pants with a kurti. It instantly transforms your meh look. The comfort it provides is immense and is such a fresh alternative to a chudidar.

Wide-Legged Pants

These are my peronal favourite, not just for the summers, but all round the year. So comfortable yet so chic. Pair these wide legged pants with a t-shirt for a casual brunch look, put together a formal look by pairing these pants with a shirt, or swap the shirt for a bralette or a crop top for a party look. Acessorize as per your taste and you're ready to go. 

#CoupleGoals OR IS IT REALLY?!

Society seems to have graced us with gender roles. The pressure of fulfilling these said roles is immense on both the genders. Yes, you heard me right, BOTH the genders. The array of pressure runs in opposite directions. Women face shallow, superficial pressures which are enraging to a whole different level, whereas men face the pressure of being strong, the sole breadwinner, successful, not be the 'woman' in the relationship, so on and so forth.

Have you ever come across these #CoupleGoals posts on the social media and found yourself being hurled against the tides of wishful thinking?!

Have you ever wondered how a coupegoals' post can invoke some uncalled for jealousy against the persons in such posts?

To be honest, I have, or, precisely speaking used to find myself doing that. But all of it has very gracefully transformed into indifference or a meek snort with laughter. The moment you see such posts, the first thing that we automatically tend to do is compare our partners to them.

How that guy takes her for dinners at exotic places, showers her with gifts, shows so much commitment on social media, so on and so forth. This is so unfair towards our partners. To give them their credit, they're well aware of these very tendencies which prompts them to up their game.

Ladies, imagine being constantly compared to a social media fantasy. Being pitted against something or someone that makes them believe that their best is nowhere close to raised expectations.

There are no qualms in raising the bar, but, a line needs to be drawn somewhere. The problem isn’t with our raised expectations but with these posts is that gives us the idea that this is what a normal relationship looks like. And what's the problem in this?! Well, to put it visually, the couple is having dinner on the beach with all the aesthetics that would make it your goal. And what is normal anyway? My normal might not be your definition of normal and same goes for the millions out there.

 There are no qualms in raising the bar, but, a line needs to be drawn somewhere. Let's not confuse raising the bar with the bull dozing of pressure.

To add to these woes is the issue of social media commitment. Why has it become necessary for your partner to scream about how committed he is to you from every social media rooftop? What we've forgotten is that a commitment is between two people in a relationship and not between two people and their 500 other Facebook friends. 

I know I’ve raised too many questions and jumbled your thoughts. But if you think that I will also be providing the much needed solutions to these questions, then, sorry to burst your bubble but I won’t be doing anything of that sort.

That’s not because I would want you to look for the answers yourselves or introspect or anything, it’s as simple as I haven’t got the answers. The only solution that I see to this problem is to not treat it like a problem at all. Stop comparing, stop judging, treat these posts as any other post and stop yourself from wishing to have that.

Cherish what you’ve got for what you’ve got is real, the couple in these posts, real or not are not you and your guy, they’re some random people with a hazy sense of goals for it is not what your partner solely puts in, it is what you BOTH build together that should be tagged as goals.

LEHENGAS TO TRY THIS YEAR.....

Weddings are special. Picking out your outfit for a wedding is not less complicated than calculas. Being the bride or not, you want to shine bright for the day. So here i am, sitting in a fairy gown, offering you some stardust in the form of the best lehenga trends of the year to take inspiration from.

Jacket Lehhenga

Personally, I love this trend. You could try a heavy embroidered jacket over a plain lehenga, or, a net jacket over a heavily embroidered lehenga. The length of the jacket can also altered as per your preference- full length, knee length, with a trail. The jacket can be a staright, slit or a pleated jacket. All of this depends upon the fabric out of which the jacket is made and the lehenga it is to be paired with. You can wear a choli inside the jacket or a corset. It is pretty versatile and can be worked into a cntemporary look by wearing it over a corset and a wide legged pallazo too.

Brocade Lehenga

A breath of fresh air as opposed to the heavy worked lehengas that we've been always pictured. More and more brides are opting for these beautiful silk ensembles. The best way to adorn these outfits is by selecting bright colours. Complete the look with heavy temple jewellery and an updo and you're set to shine like the star you are.

Kurta Lehenga

Replacing the choli with a kurta is the new trend since a few months now. You could try a knee-length kurta or a slit kurta to give it a different look altogether. This is a good outfit idea for the bridal brigade. The best part about this type of lehenga is that you are not obligated to wear this with a dupatta. 

Trail Lehenga

Here comes another personal favourite. Your wedding day is your very own fairytale and you mustn't look less than a princess. Adding a trail to your lehenga is bound to give you that much desired royal look. Add a trail to your evening gown or lehenga and take the centre stage with finesse.

Belt Lehenga 

From Bipasha to Anushka all opted for a belt lehenga to grace their special evening. It's been in vogue since last year now, and, why not. Belt lehengas exude elegance, are trendy, yet so practical. The belt helps you keep your dupatta in place providing you with the much needed comfort to enjoy your evening.

Ruffle Lehenga

Ruffles equales fun. There is somethng so old school yet contemporary about it. Ruffle lehengas look perfect for a cocktail night or a sangeet night. Give your evening look a princessy touch by stepping into an exquisite looking ruffle lehenga.

Love Story Lehenga

Planning on customizing your lehenga? Why don't you get your love story embroidered thereon?! Yep, you heard me right. This is the most exciting wedding outfit trend of the year. Describe your love story to your designer and watch it get transformed onto your beautiful lehenga. If not that, customize it with a little this and that like embroidering merely your first meet as opposed to your entire love story, or, get your and your groom's name embroidered thereon (like in the image above).

Blend these trends with a dash of this and a seasoning of that and put together your ideal, trendy, and personalized wedding outfit for that special day.

little THINGS TO DO TODAY....

Little things done with love have a special place in one's heart. All the big gestures cannot make up for that space. Make your day uber special by doing these small things for your partner, and, if you're unable to decide what to do, let me help you some.

• Flowers are too mainstream. Send a cute pastry or a muffin to your partner. If that's not your partner's thing, try sending a pizza or a biryani. I hope you get the gist. Send a little love in the form of food.

• Gifts your loved one a hand-written poem. I'm not saying go all Shakespeare crazy, I'm sure no-one can, all I mean is write a few lines for your loved one on a fancy paper in neat writing and gift them with all the flair.

• If your partner is a voracious reader, buy him/her an book or an E-book. This is bound to make them fell special. Trust me, being a fellow bibliophile, I know.

• Since it's a weekday not everyone might get the time to plan a special day with your loved one. That's ok. Just make sure you take them out for some ice cream or falooda or brownie. Whatever makes them happy.

• Let a chariot await them when they get off work. What I mean is, book a fancy cab to take your partner home. End their tiring day with a little surprise. This shall not go unnoticed, I guarantee.

• Send them a foot refloxology spa coupon. There are many apps that make this possible for you. Just make sure it has at least a week's worth of validity.

• Buy them their own netflix membership. If not that, buy them a movie

• Send them a little care package. A care package basically consists of all the little things that show them that you care. This could include chocolates, their favourite junk, a bathroom kit, etc. This is mostly for those couples who are in a long distance relationship.

Personalize any these ideas as per your partner's preferences and show a little love.

And remember what Pooh said, "Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most space in your heart."

STEERING AWAY FROM DINNER DATES

Dinner Date Is Never The Only Option....

The most asked question for a few days now will be 'what are you doing on the 14th?' 
And the answer is never too different from going out for dinner. I'm sure dinner date will never go out of style, but, doing something different wouldn't really hurt right?! It doesn't necessarily mean that you need to rack your brains, wear your creative hat and get confused, it could be as simple as attending a cooking class together or going out on a road trip or just read my write up carefully and takes notes. 
Well, if you asked me, I'd suggest the latter.

The Adventurous Lot

If you fall within this ambit or just love to have different experiences, there are so many options around which you can plan your day. It ranges from rock climbing, fishing, paragliding, para sailing, trekking, snorkeling, zorbing, bungee jumping and so many other options. In-exhaustive indeed. Now these activities are not always easily accessible, or might be a little extreme for some, for those, there are various options available like go out on an amusement park/ theme park date (i mean Kanye West proposed Kim Kardashian in an amusement park, so it definitely isn't be a bad idea,) then, there is paintball, laser tag, miniature golf, etc.

 

Camping

This is for those of you having time on them, and believe me the experience would be amazing. All you need to do is do a little browsing online. There are many options ranging from the out-and-out camping sites to those providing camping experience the chic way. Make sure your partner is absolutely up for this, for it may not turn out to be a most perfect date idea for some.

But since not everyone has the luxury of time, for you guys there is the picnic date option. All you need is a beach side or a river side or a perfect mountain site, pack a light picnic lunch, may be some wine and you are sorted for the day. you can also add a little bike riding to your picnic provided the weather allows you to.

Spa Date

This is an absolute favorite of the ladies. In need of some brownie points, this should be your go to option. All you need to make sure is that you specify that you're looking for a couples spa, there must not be any partition between you two so that you both can enjoy it together and is not shady in the least. The different types of treatments available at a spa is astounding. Also, if you two have never been on a spa date, you must definitely go, on one this valentine's.

 

Game Night

The moment you read this I'm sure all you could think of were video games. But you needn't be a video game enthusiast to have such a date. You could start with board games, card games, play a little Jenga or scrabble and end your day with a karaoke competition. If you don't want to stay indoors you could try a bowling date. I'm not saying this is a very different idea of a date, but if you are one of those who always stick to dinner dates or coffee dates, then this is definitely a breath of fresh air. You could make your game night date more special by surprising your partner with a pillow fort or a cute indoor tent, may be some fairy lights and set the romantic mood.

  Relationship Time Capsule

For those having no idea about what a time capsule is, here's a gist, you store a few objects having significance to the present time in a container called the capsule and bury it in some place which can be opened in the future to get an idea of the time the capsule was made.

Now relationship time capsule is a tad bit different than the usual time capsule. You and your partner can store things which are significant to you guys in a capsule and bury it at a significant place like the place you first met or where you went on your first date or got married or honeymooned. It could be any place and the capsule could contain any item. All that you need to keep in mind is, it must be significant to you and your partner. Making a date out of this would be fun, adventurous and definitely out of the box. Rest assured for you'll be scoring great brownie points from your better half. 

If none of the above ideas seemed to have struck a chord with your romantic side, there are a few other options you could consider. There's beer tasting date, vineyard date, karaoke night, biking date, walk a dog date, concert date.

There are many alternatives available to make your date unique in some or the other way. Go and find your unique idea coz a successful relationship is all about falling in love many a times, with the same person.