Hailing from a city called Palakkad which lies almost on the line dividing Tamil Nadu and Kerala has its own strange perks! We get to celebrate Keralite festivals without looking like a South Indian going on Karva Chauth fasts (er…yes I have some such friends! :P)
Category: Website Review
Of Indian Prints and Western Twirls ~ Ft. Tadka by Madhu
My favourite kinda clothes are the ones which resonate Indian but come with a small western twist to them! That’s why Madhu’s Tadka popped from the hundreds of other vendors on Instagram for me!
Of Sneakers and Shirtdresses
Heylo blogging world! It’s so good to be back in my favourite writing space again! I’ve been having a re-starting trouble for quite a while now. Recently I picked up quite a few stuff from the Koovs.com sale and I decided there could be no better time, rime or reason to come back to my blog and show you what I got! So here goes.
Shirtdresses have always intrigued me. “How can people wear a straight piece of clothing with no shape or cut or structure and be okay with that?” I asked myself. Always being on the “healthier” side of things I never wanted to try a Shirtdress regardless of how obviously comfortable it was going to be. All this changed when I saw a really cool denim Shirtdress on the Koovs.com sale at a very reasonable price. “Let’s try it” I thought and I was quite literally sold on the idea the minute I saw it! 😍
Being the perfect length, this denim Shirtdress hit just above my knee. Pairing them with my trusted white sneakers was a no-brainer and thus emerged what I suppose must be the simplest and most comfortable looks I have posted on my blog!
There are no pretensions of perfection when you step into a Shirtdress. You are what you are with all you perfect imperfections (so much lyrics flicking!) and you got to embrace that to actually rock a shirt dress.
My only two accessories for this look were my white sneakers and my blue sunnies. Since it was an early morning shoot and I was rushing, I didn’t have time to apply even the very basic makeup I usually put on for shoots!
Outfit Details: Shirtdress – Koovs.com, Sneakers – Promod, Sunnies – Missamore.com
{Oh Shoot!}
My wonderful and talented photographer for the day was RamKeshav check out his work on Facebook , his Website or Instagram. The wonders he creates with his camera are just amazing! Can you believe all the pictures of the shoot were taken in daylight and the lighting effects were all purely his and his one love- his camera ( that’s what he calls it!) Thank you Ram! I’m going to make the most of our Collab ASAP because this dude is going to be going places very soon! 😍
Buy Rice Back – Ft. My Name is Kumar Foundation
About the My Name Is Kumar Foundation
When Renee Schreurs and Tim Loonen came to Chennai in 2012 little did they know their life was going to turn upside down. Being associated with the CARE foundation, Netherlands born couple Renee and Time came for a six months visit to Ozhalur which is a small village near Chennai. When it was time to leave they realised they had created such lasting bonds with the children there that they knew they had to do something in order to provide better quality of living and education for these kids, (their kids almost!), and that is how the MyNameIsKumar Foundation was set up.
This voluntary, social organisation, supports the CARE foundation in providing all the resources required to lead a complete nutritious and a well educated and balanced life for 37 children who if not for this foundation would have to resort to begging to fend for themselves coming from the abject poverty they live in and cannot even think about education.
Story behind the Funny Name
One day Renee and Tim were taking around a few kids who were old enough to join schools to all the local schools so that it could be decided which school they wanted to join and this one kid called Sathish had a lisp and was finding it difficult to spell his name without stammering. This earned him some amount of teasing by the other kids. So when the Principal of the next school asked for his name he was quick to say “My Name is Kumar” which had everyone rolling in laughter. It was this quick witted moment which gave this foundation its name! Let’s meet some of Kumar’s friends who are now part of the 37 kids. Find more such pictures at www.mynameiskumar.org
What we can do to help
For four months every year, this couple are in India looking after the needs of the foundation, meeting people, crowdfunding and spending time with their 37 kids and the in house volunteers who actually take care of these kids
The main source of raising funds by this Organisation is through the http://www.buyriceback.org/ movement. The entire South India uses and reuses its Rice Bags as rice bags at first and they as mattresses and carpets because they retain warmth. This recyclability of rice bags got this couple thinking about the fun ways of reusing them, and just like that the spark to recreate them into useful things like totes, big shoppers, makeup kits and laptop sleeves was born! Proceeds from sale of these articles beyond the basic cost goes fully to support the needs of the My Name is Kumar Foundation.
Photoshoot Time!
It was a few months ago that I happened to meet this inspiring couple through a mutual friend (Hi Jaydeep! 😋) and we decided to do a mini photoshoot featuring these bags and laptop sleeves (and Renee and Tim in Indian clothes which they looked adorable in!) which by the way are so colorful that they are such a fashion statement and we had so much fun doing it. Here are the pictures!
For a long time the BuyRiceBack initiative was carried out in several countries through local agents and stockists and now finally they are in Indian ❤️😍 If you are feeling generous and you want to touch and change the lives of 37 beautiful children all you got to do is log onto http://www.buyriceback.org/shop to purchase these colorful and super useful and sturdy bags. Incase you are from India and the website does not accept your purchase, all you got to do is shoot an e-mail to renee@mynameiskumar.org and place your order there. (The team is working on setting up a webshop in India, so fret not! :D) You can also choose from their wide range of laptop sleeves, makeup kits and pillow cushions through the same site. Also, for donations, contributions and collaborations please head over to http://www.mynameiskumar.org/donate-now/ and show these kids the love they truely deserve!
Tim and Renee I think you are so inspiring. Keep touching these lives and know that we are always rooting for you! ❤️
Lips don’t Lie! – Winter Lipcare Unsolicited Advice For You :’)
A two week and a few days hiatus later I’m back with my next post. Blame the festivals the mini vacations and the incessant rains for this disappearance but now I’m back and I know you are celebrating about that! (No? Anyway…moving on 😛 )
Lipcare has always been a tough ordeal for me come winters and I’m looking through Lipcare products throughout the year to protect my lips from chapping and bleeding during the cold months.
I never write reviews or endorse skincare products which I’m not extremely happy about (easy to decipher since I have done just two product reviews in one and half years of blogging!)
So after years and years of failed products, miserably dry and chapped lips I very recently came across not one but two fabulous Lipcare products and trust me when I say this, these are only two products you will ever need for healthy glowing lips this winter! It is the Juicy Chemistry Orange Candy Lip Scrub and the Soul Tree Lotus and Kokum Butter Lip Balm.
Now if you are following me on Instagram (@frillthrills_fashionblog) you’ll know I have gone bonkers over this lip balm. It took a great deal of self control for me to not post about this lip scrub too on Instagram just to maintain the suspense factor! 😈 #imevilandiknowit. Without further random quabbling lets dive straight into the brief reviews I have done about these products
Juicy Chemistry Orange Candy Lip Scrub
Priced at Rs.200 this lip scrub is one flavor from their wide range of flavors which include ChocoMint, Fruity Grapefruit, Tingly LemonMint and RosyRose. Being a sucker for all things citrusy I went for this one without giving it a second thought! It has a sugary texture and is totally yummy to taste (it is like eating the sugar of the Orange Joojips if you know what that means!) It is thick and coarse and all you got to do is take a pill sized amount on your finger or a soft baby brush and rub and massage it well into your lips. After about 5-10 minutes wash it off (or be like me and lick it up!) with lukewarm water and its soft luscious lips in the house baby! 💋
This is from the JuicyChemistry range of skincare products which is a start up making so much progress in the skincare space today. They are based out of Coimbatore and this is what they have to say about their skincare line:
In a nutshell they are 100% natural, it is chemical free and Paraben free. Now for the Pros and Cons of this scrub:
Pros:
- There is a remarkable difference you feel almost instantly upon using the product and more so within a week of regularly using it. I use it thrice a week and my lips have started retaining the moisture and not getting cracked through the day like they usually do. The effect however, is profound on the day of use but lesser on the second day.
- It is not one of the expensive lip scrubs in the market especially when seen in relation to the result it gives.
- It is very easy to massage it into the lips because of the completely granular texture.
- Knowing it is 100% natural is reassuring because however hard you try some amount of the product does go into the mouth and you can’t avoid it (unless ofcourse you are another me and you, on purpose, like licking and tasting the product!)
Cons:
- While the product description did ask me to finish the Lipcare process by following this lip scrub with a lip balm I was hoping this by itself would work in keeping the lip from drying. But that is not true. When I tried stopping with just the lip scrub I realized my lips were just exfoliated and it had to be completed with the lip balm without which it was becoming dry pretty fast.
- Unlike popular myth I wasn’t, at least in the couple of weeks I have been using the product, been able to see any change in the color of my lips. The scrub does not remove sun tan or discoloration and just helps for dry chapped lips.
On the whole I give this product a whopping 4 on 5 stars for the fabulous result it gave me.
Soul Tree Lotus and Kokum Butter Lip Balm
I have in the past used the soul tree range of moisturisers and have loved it. I have a bad habit of hoarding on lip balms in my constant search of finding the perfect lip balm and hence when I went to the store recently and saw that soul tree had a lip balm range I dint think twice to buy this one. Priced at Rs.195 it is a mid-range product. It comes in a tub and it has a mild flavour. Through the day I apply it every once in a while probably 4 to 5 times a day for best effect.
Made completely of various organic and natural butters and ghees and essential and edible oils this lip balm claims to be Ayurvedic and natural. (And I’m sure it is true because the shop I bought this from is a 100% organic store stocking only such products.)
It has a buttery texture (you don’t say! 😜) and has an amazing and instant effect on the lips and this does not wear out for upto a day which by far is the longest any balm has had an effect on my lip. Now for the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Very, very very effective! Really buttery and hence moisturises and retains the moisture for really long.
- It has absolutely no tint or white cast and is completely transparent.
Cons:
- Does not particularly have a yummy taste if that is a con for you like me 😋
- Not the cheapest product in town.
On the whole I give this product 4.5 on 5 stars with a 0.5 minus only for the rate.
That my friends brings me to the end my two favourite lip product reviews. You’ll thank me later for giving you the two best product suggestions for flawless lips this winter.
Have a fabulous rest of the week and stay tuned for more such interesting posts from me ❤️😋
P.S. This is not a paid or a sponsored review. No one would pay me to rant so much about products I love I swear 😂😋
Basic Makeup Hacks and how to Get Started – A Guestpost + Giveaway!
Hey Ladies!I am so glad to write this post for Shilpa, our friendship goes back long in time, about 5 years back when we used to be colleagues. I still remember her suggestions to me for wearing formal clothes to a client in Delhi, haha! I knew there was something in this girl even then 😉 Shilpa has given me a great opportunity to write a post on makeup after seeing my collection! I want to thank her first for noticing my interest and giving me a stage to share my thoughts. Okay, now right into the post!
I never really thought too much about makeup until I decided to do my own makeup for my engagement and wedding. I was inspired by one of my close friends who did this and I was closely helping her. It was so much fun and you don’t need to be worried thinking what some random person will do to your face on your wedding day! That thought used to scare me a lot, so I stepped into the makeup world myself to explore and decide the way I want to look myself! (I make it sound like some big venture, LOL)
I am not going to be talking about bridal makeup of course; it is a wideeee topic and involves many products! However, as I learnt that, I discovered how to use few products to make yourself look bright – where people can’t say whether you have or do not have make up, just that natural look, highlighting your best features! I thought it would be best to share those tips here 😊
I will try to keep the number of products as minimum as possible, but please pardon me if I go overboard in a few places 😀 I am going to split it into face, eyes and lips as usual.
Face
- For a natural look, I usually don’t prefer to use any liquid foundation. For me it is just about touching up the face with a powder based foundation with light/ medium coverage. Try a Compaq powder if you want very light coverage.
- The product I recommend here is the MAC studio fix foundation powder; you can build this foundation powder to give more coverage as well. I know this is going to be pretty expensive, but I would spend the money on a good foundation since it is the base for your make up. If however, you want to go for a cheaper product I suggest the L’Oreal true match series – they are my all-time favorites. A great alternative to the MAC one!
- Next, BLUSHES. I love blushes! I think using a neutral/ light pink blush gives you a natural look. It just adds so much sheen and color to your face. You can use a matte blush if you want a morning look and shift to mineralized blushes which come with a glow for a night look!
- Again here I love MAC Petal Power blush! You can use a little for a light glow and build on to it for more glow for a night look! Honestly I haven’t tried many matte blushes, because I feel a blush should make your cheeks glow rather than just sitting there matte if you know what I mean 😏 Of course, everyone may not like it, so for matte finish I recommend the Revlon Matte blushes. If you want to go glowy (like me) then a cheaper alternative is the NYX baked blushes, I just loveee this product! It just makes your cheeks pop and make you look super cute, definitely recommend it! 👍
From left to right: Milani baked blush, MAC studio fix foundation powder, MAC petal power blush
Those are the two basic things for the face. If you have lot of under eye circles, sorry I have to say that you need some sort of a neutralizer and a concealer (like me :/) But I don’t use it for a natural look, they are a part of my face and I won’t let it bother me too much for an everyday look!
Eyes
- Eye Shadow : When it comes to eye make-up you need to shape your eyes and give them some depth so that they look nice and gorgeous. I recommend using a neutral palette for an everyday look. I love to always add a tinge of pink when it comes to my eyes! I don’t go for dark colors because I have dark circles and without properly concealing them, a dark eye shadow will make the eyes look even darker. That is something to remember for those who have dark circles around your eyes.
- I recommend using the Revlon/ L’oreal/ Lakme netural eye shadows. I also have a MAC palette which has one light color, one dark color and one light pink color.
- So to sort of take you through it, use the dark color just on your crease to give some depth and shape to the eyes, the pink one on your lids and the light color under your eyebrows. That is the basic pattern, just apply these colors and blend them together for an everyday breezy natural eye shadow look! (Shilpa here hi guys! I really had to poke my nose here at this point and add, I realised adding white eyeshadow below your brow bone and ever so lightly to the inside corner of your eyes really make them look wider! My limited gyan I have now passed on to the world!)
From left to right: MAC eye shadow palette, Lakme 9 to 5 series eye shadow palette
- Eye-liner and Kohl : I sometimes use just eye liner since I have dark circles; I try to avoid the kohl since it may smudge. *Tip* : to avoid smudging, top your kohl/ kajal with some black eye shadow, it will not smudge since the powder will prevent smudging!
- I love the Maybelline master precision eyeliner! In the Lakme series, I love the plain old liquid kajal, it is one of the best things I have used! For Kohl I recommend the Maybelline kajal and MAC Kohl
- The best part of eye make-up is…wait for it…MASCARA! Believe me, whatever eye make-up you do, it will not be complete if you don’t finish it with mascara. If you want to go that extra step, applying mascara after curling your lashes will make a bigger difference than just applying mascara.
- I recommend L’Oreal’s mascara or Maybelline mascaras. Benefit’s mascara is really good too! I haven’t tried any high end brands, but I have used Dior once and that one is great too!
From top to bottom: Benefit they are real mascara, Lake eye liner, Maybelline master precise eye liner, MAC black Kohl
Lips
- Once again for an au natural everyday look, I prefer a nude+pink color. In the picture below to create this color, I mixed a peach and dark pink color. I have always had a hard time finding a right color for indian skin tone in the US, I found this mix of colors to give the right blend I wanted, these lip colors are from Lakme! I also like the colors from Revlon and MAC. The NYX shiny lipsticks they are a personal favorite too!
- If you have some discoloration on your lips, use a lip liner before you put on your lip stick. A beige/ nude color would do the job perfectly; I use the NYX/ Revlon lip liners. This will form a great base to your lipstick and make it look seamless.
- Another great lip tip – just like how you moisturize your face before make up, don’t forget to moisturize your lips as well, put on a lip balm when you start your make up so that your lips are ready for make up by the time you get there 👍
From left to right: Revlon lipstick, Lakme lipstick, NYX Lip liner
From bottom to top: NYX lip liner, Lakme lipstick, Revlon lipstick, All blended – notice this color is between a nudish peach and pink – I thought this perfectly suited my skin tone and the lip liner has given a strong base to the two lipsticks which make the lipstick look flawless.
Oh and one last thing, I didn’t mention about brushes I used, mostly for this look I used the small brushes that came with the palette and also my hands of course. If you are interested, I suggest owning a couple of brushes for the face and one for the eyes (mostly for blending the eye shadows)!
Finally in the pictures below.. The natural everyday no make-up/ make-up kinda flawless look I created for a casual Saturday shopping with all the above mentioned products, but I used a concealer since this post is too special and I definitely wanted to make the make-up special, haha, anyway all the other products are just the ones I have listed above (P.S. you can see that the blush on my cheeks becomes a bit glowy when the light hits my cheeks – the last pic was taken in the night in front of lights, please ignore my bag behind 😋)
Overall, I hope this post was useful for you people out there and I hope it inspires you to try on make-up and feel dressed up and festive about yourself during special occasions or even daily to office!! I am not suggesting going overboard, but believe me a little of it will make you feel good 😃
Oh and I hope you guys had fun reading! Take care you all!😊
A note from Shilpa : Deepika has explored makeup from scratch in a span of couple of years and I thought she ll be able to teach all girls (like me) who want to start their makeup journey but just don’t know where to start it! Recently I saw this picture on Deepika’s wall on Facebook and that’s when this guest post idea struck me and we got talking and the rest I would like to grandly claim is history! 
Plum Cosmetics Giveaway!
A couple of weeks back I had reviewed the Plum NaturStudio All-day-wear Kohl Stick (read review here) And Plum found the response so overwhelming that they decided to host a giveaway on my blog! This giveaway runs for seven days (winners get announced with the post next Monday) Giveaway is open through my Instagram profile, blog and Facebook profile.
All you got to do is follow my blog/Facebook page Click here/Instagram profile (@frillthrills_fashionblog/Instagram) and subscribe to the Plum mailing list here. Once you’ve done that comment in this blog post saying done and add one home remedy beauty hack you follow for your eyes and skin. One lucky winner gets a NaturStudio All day Wear Kohl and the second and third winners get the Choco-Latte creamy body wash and Choco-Latte luxuriant body lotion respectively!
Giveaway open to Indian Residents only! Do enter and stand a chance to win these amazing products 😊 have a nice week ahead !!
Plum NaturStudio All-day-wear Kohl Kajal – A Review
You know how they say “things just fell into place”? That’s what happened to me with this post! I was not going to post this week because I had nothing going on and I really wanted more articles in my skin and beauty theme! But miraculously, late last week Plum Cosmetics sent me their newly launched Plum NaturStudio Kajal cum liner for a review and the review is Readyyyy!!
So Plum Cosmetics is a brand I have been loving for a while now. I have tried their Green Tea face mask which works very well for me. As a brand they stand for a couple of things : it is india’s first online cosmetic brand which is always free of parabens, phthalates, SLS and other harmful chemicals.
This Kajal-cum-eyeliner came to me last Thursday and they sent it with a Dual sized pencil sharpener and a complimentary face wash too (yayyy)
I have been using this pencil through the weekend and on Monday I wore to office conducting a small experiment of sorts where I took pictures of my eyes in regular intervals to show you guys how the liner and the kohl hold up!
The pencil itself looks something like this:
It is a pencil but gives a highly pigmented and dark gel-like finish which I love! The brown area which is usually wood in normal pencils is PVC-free plastic and that makes it a little tough to sharpen.
The plum website has the following words about this Kohl liner
For the first time in India, an ophthalmologically approved kajal pencil with a gel-liner like performance. 100% smudge-proof, water-proof single-swipe brilliant black kohl-cum-liner that’s also gentle on your eyes.
Ingredients used:
Hydrogenated Castor Oil : Highly hydrating and nourishing for skin and hair with healing properties. The hydrogenation makes it stable and compatible with the other ingredients.
Rice Bran Wax : A relatively unknown but amazingly effective moisturizer that lends creaminess and hydrating properties to any formula!
Natural Vitamin E : Needs no introduction as an antioxidant skin care specialist that’s essential for hydrated, younger looking skin.
Do note that owing to its high performance benchmark, this product is not all natural – but is 100% safe and tested by dermatologists and ophthalmologists.
Moving on to my experiment and then to the pros and cons:
On application
It took me roughly three minutes to complete the eyes – kohl plus liner. The same stick is to be used for both purposes. Now I am a liquid liner junkie and I find gel based liners very tough and impossible sometimes to apply but this pencil does the trick very well giving a dark and beautiful finish to it. It is your perfect friend for a smokey eyed look!
Four Hours later
Until four hours I swear there was no difference in the way the kajal and the liner held up and I found no use in uploading those pictures (which is a good thing by the way haha!) and hence moving straight onto the fourth hour 
By the end of the fourth hour this was the look. The eyeliner and the kajal look just the same except that the kajal had slightly come out of the waterline. I have a pretty watery waterline and I am guessing that happens with time with any good liner.
Seven hours later
Now here was the where I found fading. The eyeliner on my left eye and the kajal on both eyes were gradual fading by the seventh hour. But the liner on the whole was still holding up well, just that the bright dark black had become lesser intense.
Nine Hours later
At the end of nine hours the kajal had faded a little more and spilling more out of my waterline and into my lashes and right outside my eye and the eyeliner a little more faded. I would be lying if I said it was just like when I applied it cause that’s not true. The fading is pretty obvious but I have never ever used an eyeliner or kajal for so long anyway!
Now moving onto the pros and cons in bullet points
Pros
- The thick beautiful dark output. I have never got such a beautiful result in any eyeliner and I loved that!
- Being very sensitive eyed I was so worried that this kajal might not suit me (trust me the most expensive kajals I have bought are still sitting in my drawer brand new because they didn’t suit my eye:( ) but this one is so gentle on the skin! I loved it.
- It’s very long lasting and going by a whole day without touching up my kajal is pretty unheard of for me and it was a reality with this one yayy!
- A lot of Kajal stocks claim to be two in one but I have been able to use none of them as eyeliners. But this one is truly 2-in-1 and works wonders on top and below the eye!
Cons
- Rate : At Rs.425 it’s not particularly the cheapest Kohl stick in town. I guess we pay the premium for the quality and the fact that it’s two in one and because it suits all skin and eye types!
- The sharpening part is pretty heart wrenching. I needed to sharpen it every time to get a smooth thin eyeliner line and when I sharpen it I see so much of the product getting smudged and wasted on the sharpener and I was pretty disgruntled about that!
So I would give this NaturStudio All Day Wear Kohl Liner a sure 4.5 on 5 with a 0.5 negative only for the second point on wastage because it truly scarred me guys! (😂) Here’s a link to the Plum website where you can order this Kohl Liner for yourself. For a limited period they are giving off the sharpener free for every order of the liner so hurry! 😍
http://plumgoodness.com/products/naturstudio-all-day-wear-kohl-kajal
Have a beautiful rest of the week my beautiful readers! ❤️
The Six Yard Story!
Upping their saree game – a feat every Indian girl wants to nail-is pretty simple to achieve. Tie your saree as frequently as possible and not be sorry about it. 😛 (See what I did there) Buhaha!
I for one love my sarees and love to explore the different ways I can tie it and the different ways I get to stitch my blouse! Thats precisely why, when Sareez – The online store approached me to do a post featuring them, I was more than willing! Upping my saree game and strutting around and getting clicked in a fabulous saree? Count me in!! 😀 For this post I chose from the WIDE collection of sareez.com a half-and-half or whats called a partly saree, where the pallu or the part of the saree I drape over my shoulder is of one color and the pleats or the fan like shape the saree takes below the waist is of a totally different color, giving it two-piece feel!
I loved Sareez.com for more than just a few reasons. Their range is just ginormous (is that a word?) and their filters are amazing – price filters, occasion filters, saree color filters and even saree material filters! Woohoo! Their quality is a next plus – right from their packing (if you are sending it as a gift to someone, you should probably remove the first “few” layers of packaging.. lol.. its so well packed! :P) and the quality of their product. I have been very skeptical about buying sarees online, but what you see is truly what you get here. Also, for a small fee they even stitch your blouse and give you the skirt required for the saree. Yayy!
This is a designer synthetic saree with golden and broze embroidery and detailing. It has a beatiful three-fourths sleeve black blouse and its a perfect party wear kinda saree. I decided to go simple on the accessories and chose this beautiful pearl earrings (twas a gift! gift! gift! 😀 ) and chose my tommy hilfiger watch and my glitter clutch!
Also, (dont laugh at me now!) in an attempt to improve my blogging I shot a video for this saree!! Sharing the link here!
These beautiful video and the amazing photos were captured by Ranjini Ramesh. Thank you so much Ranjini! This post wouldnt have been half as beautiful or colorful if it wasnt for you. :* Follow her on Insta here Here and her youtube channel here! If you want such beautiful videos done, dont hesitate to ping her at ranjini.ramesh14@gmail.com!
Outfit Details : Saree – c/o sareez, earrings – gift (I think it was thrifted in Mumbai! Correct me if Iam wrong gifter :P), Watch – Tommy Hilfiger, Clutch – PolkaDot and You (Instagram)
Thatt would be it from me folks! Have a fabulous monday (er..ok) and an amazing week too! Oh and its my Birthday! WISH ME!
Shades of Summer! ~ Ft. Just my luck by A&M
The change of climate is such a looked forward to event in the west…closets, schedules, timings and emotions all change with changes in the seasons. My country in general and my city in specific however (here we go!) has just one two climates – summer without rains and summer with rains. Yes. YES. So basically we are wet for 8 months of the year because of sweat and wet for the remaining 4 months of the year because of…wait for it…sweat + water (rains!) We have no anticipation or nervousness while pulling back our curtains every morning or while checking the daily weather forecast. We are the land of the risen sun. We do sunny. forever. period.
All that being said, we have some major advantages. We can use every piece of clothing through the year without thinking about things like transitions or changing wardrobes like three-four times a year. We get to plan for that road trip we have been meaning to take in December or May or August without giving a thought to any factor other than our mood (really!) We enjoy parks and flowers and lawns and hills and sands and beaches through the year. We do sunny forever and you’ll find us really happy about that!
As an ode to this Indian Summer, here’s a really summery and bright and vibrant outfit I put together. Its the perfect sunny-sunny and the sunny-but-rainy outfit you can probably lay hands on!!
This is a beautiful dress which is a mix of chanderi silk and a Kantha work fabric designed completely by the fabulous Just My Luck by A&M ! Had you told me lime yellow with lime green butta work on it would go so well with blue block prints I would have scoffed at you. But loook!!👇👇👇
While trying out the look I was trying out a couple of different accessories to sort of figure out which went best with the dress, but ended up loving each piece completely so decided to include every picture of the shoot in the post (except one where I looked positively hideous because I was sneezing and simultaneously asking my sister to stop clicking. Yes.)
This dress to me defines summer. An Indian Summer! It’s bright, its light and comfortable which makes it my go-to piece when its bright warm and sunny and its a one piece, well above the ankle, just wear it and you’re good to go sort of, elegant outfit just right for the sunny yet rainy sort of day where jeans is just not an option. Aaand needless to say, I felt fabulous in it. I was very particular about getting the brightness of the lime green against the morning sun and my sister, my photographer, so sweetly and readily agreed to get up for this photoshoot 😍😘
Just my luck is a boutique store dealing with every Indian fabric, designing them with a modern, retro kind of twist and yet giving them a very desi vibe. They deal with fabrics ranging from ikat (as seen in this post) to chanderi silk and outfits ranging from booty shorts to maxi dresses. I got to interact with Aruna, and she is the perfect example of “do what you love and you’ll outdo yourself every single day!”
Outfit details : Kantha Dress – Just my Luck by A&M (catch them on Facebook by clicking here or Instagram by clicking here!), mini gladiator sandals and nude pumps – Westside, Long bubbles chain – Westside , Necklace used as headgear – thrift shopped off the streets of Mumbai.
Hope you enjoyed this post readers. I sure enjoyed putting it up. I’m off to bask in the summery morning of Monday (too positive?) You enjoy your Monday too and if you are from a tropical country, I would sign off by telling you to keep calm, because winter is never coming. Haaa!
Cape of Some Hope! Ft. Just My Luck!
Capes are one of those pieces I’d completely written off my wish list because they are always so thin and sheer and are basically attires which accentuate your curves when the silhouette alone shows off. That, or they make less fit and fab people like me look splotchier than usual because they accentuate the bumps as much as they do the curves. 😝 and then there are winter coats and capes which not me, but my city helped me eliminate as a clothing option because hey hey hey, winter is nonexistent in Chennai remember? 😂😐
That’s when this double Ikat cape came along and completely changed my opinion about capes and I’ve known no comfort ever since. 😊 It’s just amazing! What’s also amazing is the brand Just My Luck by A and M and its enthusiastic and charming owner Aruna with whom I got a chance to collaborate to present this post 😊
I’ve put together two looks with one cape. – a beach party look and an office party look, and let’s see how you like them!
Look 1 : Beach Party
This look was all about playing it cool and casual like how we would at a beach party. This cape has some beautiful pink blue and green floral patchwork along the border and that inspired me to go blue-green to match the cape. This is also the first time I’m actually posed for pictures. So tell me what you think 😀
Before we move to the next look, here’s one last picture, which obviously didn’t make the cut, but I loved too much to not include. 😝
Outfit details : Cape / long coat – Just my Luck by A & M | Blue shirt and green shorts – Vero Moda | Sandals – Bata | Necklace used as head gear (howaboudthat? 😉) – Thrift shopped off the roads of Besant Nagar, Chennai.
Look 2 : The office party
This look is a dressier version of the cape. It can be interpreted as “how you would go to an office party” or as “how you would go to a party from office” 😊 I have, here, paired the cape with a formal high waist trousers, a high-low blouse which when tucked in passes as a formal shirt and some heels. I added the head gear for some attitude… Honestly how cool is adding such head gear? (So proud of the self. 😇😂)
Outfit Details : Same cape by Just my Luck | Shirt with mild hakoba work – Nuon from Westside | High waist trousers – Marks and Spencers | Earrings and Necklace on the head – Pantaloons | Bandage Heels – Bata once again!
I had so much fun working with Aruna on this post. Its so easy and motivating when people you get to collaborate with are so full of zest and creativity. Just my Luck by A & M uses contemporary and traditional Indian fabrics like ikat, kalamkari, silks and cottons in western outfits like capes, shorts, palazzo pants, jackets, and kaftans. The founders have a love affair with their prints and colors and that’s visible on every piece of clothing they put together. Check out their collection on Facebook by clicking here or on Instagram by clicking here !!
That would be all from me folks. Watch this space for one more amazing outfit post from Just my Luck. Have a great week. Pull out those stappy heels, feel uncomfortable as hell, but walk tall anyway and take Monday headlong. 😂😉
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