Tag: India

Summer Style – Part I/IV – Cool and Comfortable DrapesΒ 

Shilpa6 Comments

After what seems like the longest break I’ve taken from the blogging world, I’m back with the next post you guys! 

So, before that, tell me..how you been? πŸ’•πŸ’•didja miss me? Didja think about me? πŸ’πŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ’πŸ» a big hug if you did! A big hug if you didn’t too! πŸ˜‚

Diving straight in, I decided to do a four part post about what to wear this summer  when you decide Pants are not your cuppa! What with the sun scorching, I bet jeans are the last things on your mind. But what are the alternatives you may wonder. Fret not love, for I’m here to show you four cool and easy ways to waltz through summer pants-free! 😊

Part I – The quintessential Six yards

The Saree is the touted to be the most beautiful attire. Drape it well and it can be the most accentuating outfit you’d ever have worn! And that’s why the Saree is my first choice of clothing this summer! 

This beautiful Kota cotton Saree has a funny story behind it! It about a year ago (oh coming to think about it, exactly a year ago!) that I decided to gift my grandmother (let’s call her paati because that makes typing a whole lot easier for me!) a Saree for her birthday. I fell in love with this Saree the instant I saw it because I could so imagine my paati looking cute and bright in yellow and green. Also, I presumed she would love something cool and comfortable like a Kota cotton anyday over a heavy silk Saree. Well I was mistaken wasn’t I! 

Let me continue the story after the next image! πŸ˜›

So I buy the Saree and take it to her, and my paati being my paati looked at it with a dead pan face (something like this 😢) and took it. Hahahah! I later realised she wanted a silk saree as it turned out that I wasn’t alone in thinking cottons would be what she needs. So one year later, this saree was still new and unworn and I shamelessly went and borrowed it back from her for the shoot! Yup thaaat’s me! Happy and shameless! 

And that’s exactly what I seem to be happily declaring to the world in the next picture! Lol!) 

Cotton sarees in general and good Kota sarees in particular weigh almost nothing! So take out your mom’s or maybe even your paati’s saree out and take it for a spin this summer! 

Outfit Details: Kota Saree – Shilpi (Chennai), Readymade blouse – RmKV (Chennai), Necklace – Gift, Footwear – Koblerr (Chennai) 


These pictures were taken by the awesome Sneha Chandrashekhar! We did all four outfits in one shot and they have all come out so well that it’s making me exercise so much self control to not release all of them in one go its not even funny anymore! ☹️ Thank you Sneha for ensuring I’m spoilt for choice!  (follow her on Instagram @purplecurlss) 

That’s all from me this week! I promise I’ll be regular (atleast till this series is done with!) with a new post coming out every Monday! See ya! ❀️

Skirting it out A-line at a time ;)Β 

Shilpa5 Comments

I share a love hate relationship with skirts! When I’m in the store I always steer towards the skirts section and fall in love with a lot of pieces and then I start thinking about where I’ll wear them and about what a pain it is to ensure I’m waxed or shaven each time I reach for a skirt when I can slouch in pants all day without a care in the world and I slink away from the skirts section feeling defeated! Haha! But that being said I also indulge every once in a while throwing all caution to wind and just buying the damn skirt because it is too awesome to not! And that’s precisely what happened when I saw this skirt on a 70% discount on Amazon! A brilliant looking skirt in a style I don’t have (A-line) at a 70% off too? I’ll have 10 of that please! πŸ˜‰ Here’s what I bought! 

  
This was a high waisted skirt from a brand called Bysi. I always steer clear of high waisted clothes because I feel I don’t have the waist or the hip to pull them off but I loved this print and the style of a belt/buckle like patch at the waist which gives it a cinching effect! 

   

 
I absolutely love big geometric prints and since my style is always about accentuating one aspect of the outfit and keeping the rest of the outfit simple, I chose to team the skirt up with my plain black t-shirt. A little bling came in the form of this link chain and my gold TH watch! 

   

The clutch, my sister’s was a last minute addition because I thought the tomato red/orange went well with the peach tones in the skirt! For shoes I wore my trusted nude pumps and completed the look! 

 
  

This skirt is perfect for a evening dinner or a party (if you unlike me go to parties!) because it looks really bold and beautiful but not in a very in your face kinda way! 

Outfit Details – A-line skirt :  Bysi from Amazon.in (psst…just checked, it’s still on a 70% off! Run!) Black T-shirt : Globus, Nude Pumps : Westside, Gold link chain : Gift, orange Clutch : Capresse, Watch : Tommy Hilfiger 

That would be all from me folks! Will try and post a bit more regularly henceforth πŸ™‚ A lot of interesting things are lined up for the blog πŸ˜€ hope you survive the week! Bye ❀️

Weekly Skincare Routine! My list of Dos and WillDos!Β 

Shilpa5 Comments

It just struck me like literally a minute ago that I have never done a weekly skincare routine post so here I am starting my rambling about what I do on a weekly basis to take care of my skin!   

 Now first things first, I got to get one thing straight! I’m a very lazy person! Waking up 1.5 hours before getting out of bed type of lazy! So my routine is pretty basic and bareminimal and only if you are a lazy person, a routine this simple will appeal to you!

So my weekly skin care routine is a simple two step process! Here they are: 

1. Exfoliate

Exfoliating helps my skin so much! I do this for the face and body once a week. Exfoliation not only removes dead skin cells but it also cleans the pores and leaves you feeling squeaky clean! Though I have oily skin on my face I don’t like my face feeling dry after exfoliation and so I use the Kama Ayurveda Brightening Ayurvedic Face Scrub. This is gentle on the face but does the job pretty damn well!

For the body I just go by whim and try new Body Shop scrubs every time because I honestly feel they all have pretty much the same effect on the skin!(does that make me crocodile skinned?)  So currently I’m using The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Body Scrub and it smells like heaven in a jar 😍
 
Ensure you use exfoliant which suit your skin type! You’ll know when the scrub isn’t your type if it leaves you feeling raw and red! Also, there are a tonne of DIYable scrubs in the Internet using white or brown sugar and products like honey, essential oils etc which do the job just as well! So if you aren’t sure about store bought scrubs DIY away and pamper your skin! 

2. Use a face pack/mask 

A face pack is literally like having a mini spa-facial at home! Face masks are an absolute must for everyone because when rightly used they help keep the face hydrated, reduce the size of pores and remove excess oil in the face.It is unfortunately an expensive process of trial and error until you find a face mask that suits your skin type! While there are many face masks in town and I have tried a handful myself I have finally zeroed in on the one which best suits my skin! It is the Plum Goodness Green Tea face mask.  

It’s such a pity I decided to do this post when my face pack was almost over! That explains the half empty plum jar! 

This is the two step skin care ritual I try to regularly follow for decent maintenance of my skin! 

Now if you paid attention to my title I said skin care routine I do and will do! So incase you are wondering, that one step I intend doing once in two weeks atleast henceforth is a detox! πŸ˜› Detox is as its name suggests, to flush the toxins out of the body! While many think detox is good only for weight loss it is great for the skin too! It’s basically my version of detox where I go one whole day with eating just vegetables/fruits or juices – I have done this once before and it was so doable I kid you not! So I intend resuming that habit and I’ll keep you updated on how that goes! πŸ˜€ 

That’s all from me folks! Hope you enjoyed this post and have decided to have a weekly skin care routine for yourself too! If a lazy person like me can stick to it, you too can!! 

Ushering Mustard into my wardrobe

Shilpa10 Comments

I had for the first time in my life (hold on to your gasps) been to Forever 21 last November (ok gasp now πŸ˜’) I was busy behaving like a kid at a candy store when my sister pointed at this particular dress. “That dress? Who in their right mind would choose a dress in that color?” I mocked! “Try it anyway” she said. Try I did, and here I’m dedicating a whole post to that dress, so you figured how my emotions for the dress went after that trial don’t you? πŸ˜›πŸ™†πŸ» 

As fashion bloggerly as I am, some colors like mustard/honey have never been in my radar simply because I decided they aren’t cool colors. But I stand corrected and how! Take a look 

 
A beautiful fit and flair short dress in the color mustard was bought!   
  Congratulations boyfriend! Never knew you had such brilliant photography skills! I have hit jackpot after all I guess πŸ˜›  
 
  

Chose to wear some F21 bling on my ear and went back to my trusted clutch and glitter pumps to complete the look πŸ€— 

  

 This valentine day if you are looking for the perfect dress, please consider Mustard will ya? 😘

Lush Cosmetics – Herbalism – Face and Body Cleanser – A reviewΒ 

Shilpa4 Comments

Hi y’all 😍 how have you been, yes you, that’s who! I have had a hectic but fun couple of weeks with so many of my friends getting hitched I have literally been in and out of weddings all month! Hence the delay in blog posts, but I decided I needed to get this review out soon because 

1. I loved this product and I couldn’t wait for you guys to fall in love with it too (*cue music – Awwww*) 

2. The review needed to be done before the product was used up and it is getting there faster than you think! πŸ˜‰ 

So the boyfriend gifted me this Lush Cosmetics Herbalism Face and Body cleanser and I have been using it since the day it landed in my hands and boy have I been completely enjoying it! 

  
This cleanser comes in the usual jar with a lid with the typical lush minimalistic no-frills-attached packaging.

Once you open the lid, two things are bound to strike you. The fragrance, which is beautiful, light and most importantly fresh! And the fact that it is a cleanser but it is in a solid form! 

  
Now I was totally sold for this product when I realized it battles oily AND highly sensitive skin. I was sceptical about the messiness of the procedure because you have to take a pea-sized amount in your palm, add a few drops of water to it and squish it into a mushy lump and when it becomes this beautiful milky green you start applying it with your free hand all over your face. But the results I have gotten far exceeds this con and I’m happy to go on this messy ride every morning!  

  

What the Company claims: Nettles, rosemary and rice bran vinegar work to cleanse the skin, removing dirt and grease, leaving bright and beautifully clean skin. Chamomile blue oil and rose absolute are used for balancing skin tone. Rice bran and ground almonds will gently exfoliate the skin and when mixed with water, the almonds create a soft cleansing milk. Our chlorophyllin is extracted from alfalfa, which is rich in vitamins and minerals and is great for revitalising the skin. 

List of ingredients: Ground Almonds, Kaolin, Glycerine, Chlorophyllin Water, Nettle, Rosemary and Rice Vinegar Extract, Rice Bran, Gardenia Extract, Rose Absolute, Chamomile Blue Oil, Sage Oil, Perfume

My take on the product: Every cleanser I’ve used till date either battles oily skin which makes my skin invariably so dry that I regularly get dry patches for a few hours of using the product until the oil balance in my face is restored. Or they are merely gentle to the skin leaving me feeling like I didn’t wash my face at all! The herbalism by Lush however, is what I call the perfect package because 

  • The rice bran and almonds gently exfoliates the skin but doesn’t leave it raw or feeling red
  • The almond secretes oil when water is added to it and it helps in restoring the essential oils back in the face 
  • The chlorophyll in water again helps restore oil balance in the skin and cleans the pores which ensures acne break outs are minimalized ( haven’t had a single break out since I started using this product!) 

Since the product is a face and body cleanser one can use it throughout the body too! (I’m too stingy to use it that way, but that’s just me πŸ‘ΌπŸ») 

  
Pros: 

  1. No breakouts noticed till date (which is a big thing considering its me we are talking about! :/) 
  2. You don’t end up feeling the need to apply moisturizer the minute you wash your face because ONLY the excess oil is removed from the skin 
  3. The skin balance is maintained that way for a good 5 to 6 hours post wash 
  4. Made of 100% natural ingredients
  5. It is travel friendly as it is a leak proof solid cleanser 
  6. Easily washable – now this might not necessarily be a big pro for many of you guys, but for those of you who are like me and want to get done with the water splashing quickly (in like 3-4 splashes) this is a huge pro!

Cons: 

  1. Priced at Rs.3777 (Link to product on Amazon) it is definitely not a cheap buy
  2. Being such a good product it is a pity that it’s shelf life is hardly 3-4 months (however, I read up online that only the safest shelf life is printed on the box and that most people have continued to use it and have found it to be just as good for a good few months post the printed expiry date) We have to acknowledge the fact that it has a low shelf life only because it is 100% natural which at the end of the day is a good thing! 
  3. Messy and a few drops of excess water totally ruins the effect so one has got to be careful and judicious about the water added. 

  
Hope you buy this product and enjoy using it too! Have an awesomesauce week ahead you guys ❀️ Ciao! 

Zumba in Style!Β 

Shilpa8 Comments

What’s up everyone! It’s your favorite blogger (hahaha?) back with another post! I recently started taking up Zumba classes and boy have I been loving it! Dance + fitness + fun ? I’ll take all of that please! So a new fitness regime to a fashion blogger means : 

1. A new Pinterest board full of Zumba clothes 

2. A wardrobe full of Zumba clothes (not a wardrobe full…but hey it’s my blog and I get to exaggerate!) 

The thing with Zumba is its such a graceful and fun form of workout and it’s really motivating if you dress in interesting clothes because it’s one hour of seeing yourself in the mirror and it’s all the better if you like what you see! So I thought it would be fun to share with you guys some of my Zumba-wear which I have been spamming Instagram with! Here goes! 

 Edit       

   
   
 
Now that all the pic-spamming is over I’ll get to what exactly you should and shouldn’t wear for Zumba! 

Shoes : Wearing comfortable shoes with a good grip is of supreme importance! Go for gym sneakers, dance sneakers or even your running shoes with a worn out tread. If however, you want “the real thing” Zumba.com has its own range of sneakers which look great on the dance floor because they are various shades of neon and I suppose they feel awesome too! (I use my Nike gym sneakers still!) 

Clothes : Zumba is all about having mad fun and so Zumba classes are usually filled with people wearing the craziest and the brightest colors (for reference go back to the pictures above πŸ‘†πŸ½) While there are no hard and fast wears and don’t wears, it goes a long way to wear very comfortable and fitting clothes while dancing because in between all the struggling to keep up with your instructor’s moves the last thing you want is for your clothes to get in the way and disturb you! I love layering to Zumba because the style is full of torso movements and I feel less conscious doing them when I know there is one more layer of clothing between me and the world (ha!).  So while there is no such thing as what to wear for a Zumba class, clothes you can avoid include-

  • pure cotton shirts and tops since Zumba is such an intense work out, you definitely need some material which will absorb the sweat and wick perspiration 
  • Ill fitting clothes, long sleeved tshirts and ill fitting underwear 
  • Low cut tshirts because Zumba is all about jumping moving around and bending and you’ll honestly not work out to your fullest capacity if at the back of your head a small voice keeps reminding you to protect your modesty! 

Some places I have found pretty cool Zumba clothes include : Myntra.com, Zumba.com, Nike, Westside and Jockey! 

That would be all from me folksies! Have a fabulous rest of the week and just to rub it into your face, we in south India have just two more days to go before the loooong weekend kicks in! Yay yay yayyy! Love y’all πŸ’‹

Posing and chilling with my zumba instructor Bhavana! :* Oh and please note, we aren’t sweating, we are sparkling!!!

Check out my instructor Bhavana’s Zumba work and know more about her classes at her Facebook page: Zumba fitness with Bhavana !!

How to pull of a Graphic Tee w/o looking like a 9-year old – Part II

Shilpa5 Comments

Hola all you wonderful people! So the new year is finally here! I (very clichΓ©d-ly) can’t believe a year has flown, sped, zoomed by so quickly! It has been a very good year but definitely hoping for better things in 2016!  Aren’t we all? πŸ™‚ 

So as the second part (finale!) of this Graphic Tee styling post, I bring to you two more ideas to style such funky tshirts without them looking age inappropriate on you! Let’s get started! 

1. Skirt it or knot it

Wearing these tshirts with skirts are a very popular and easy styling way! Here I have used a Winter is coming (Game of thrones) crop top and paired it with my trusted pencil skirt! I have knotted the top because it sort of structured the look that way! 

 
    

This was such a candid photo..my friend who was clicking the photo went “1..2..3..tummy tuck” and this was my instant reaction while tucking the tummy! such big tummy issues! πŸ˜›

Pro tip: I used a H&M in-skirt and it gave the pencil skirt such a neat finish..no more you-know-which lines I’m talking about lines while wearing pencil skirts! Yay!

2. Go Laid back

Going for the laid back look is probably the easiest thing you can do with such tee shirts. For this look I have chosen this wolverine tshirt (courtesy : sister’s wardrobe! Hehe) and paired it with my Khakhi shorts and my denim shirt. A last minute addition were those nerdy specs because my friend thought and I agreed, that it bound and sealed the look…I don’t know why we did that and that’s precisely what I was telling  her when she clicked this first shot! Haah!  
   

    

 
  

  

Another candid capture! I think we were discussing about conquering the world and i was all “yeah lets do it! you mean now? Yeah why not?”
  
Pro Tip: I know pairing such short shorts with sneakers is the cutest thing to do, but try pairing them with flats or something boho like these mini boho gladiators I’m wearing because that looks pretty cute too! Lol (not pro at all!)

Outfit Details : Winter in coming crop top – Myntra, Pencil skirt and khakhi shorts – New York and Company, Nude pumps and boho gladiator sandals – Westside, Wolverine Teeshirt – Marvel comics website (I think!), Denim shirt – Street shopped in Mumbai, nerdy glasses – flicked from my friend!

So that brings us to the end of this post! Hope your first week of 2016 went by eventfully! I couldn’t wait with such good photos until Monday to post and hence this change in schedule! How’d you like this post? Tell me I’m all ears! 😍 

P.S.: It was a new year and I HAD to do something new, so on Jan 1st I went and got my nose pierced! Cool eh? 

   

How to pull of a graphic tee w/o looking like a 9 year old! Part-I

Shilpa2 Comments

Hi everyone! Since I gave away the whole theme of the post right at the title let’s jump into the main content straightaway! 

So I thought there are four ways to get away with wearing a graphic or a cartoon tshirt without having to look like :

a) You are sporting a right out of bed look or 

b) a 9-year old basically! 

I thought I’ll do this post as two parts with two ideas each and here they are! 

For the two ideas of this post I chose a colorful graphic tshirt full of butterflies! 

1. Give the look some structure 

Adding an extra layer like a shirt or a jacket or a blazer is the easiest way to look put together! Since I’ve done the shirt over tshirt look several times (and since I simply wanted to wear the red blazer) I decided to go for a blazer πŸ˜¬πŸ‘πŸ½ Take a looky!  

  
  

  
2. Give the look some much needed BLING! ✨✨

For the second look I kept the rest of the look the same and replaced the blazer for a statement necklace ! A heavy necklace or a pair of earrings really take such a pre-teen-like tshirt into a suave and sophisticated outfit! I know you might at first think it is crazy to wear bling with cartoon and graphic tees but once you find the right piece of jewelry you’ll love it! Take a peeky! 

  
 
    
  
 Outfit Details : Red Blazer – ONLY, Butterfly Tshirt – Gift, Jeans – 109β€’F, Statement necklace – Some Instagram account (forgot which one!), Heels – Zara, Watch – Fossil, Sunglasses – Rayban  

I will be back next week with two more ideas to look neat in a cartoon tshirt but until then make sure you try the two ideas in this post! ❀️ Happy Monday! 

Casual Chic on Fleek Look

Shilpa7 Comments

Hi my lovely readers! I’m back after quite a while with my next post but before that I got to tell you why I was MIA! I live in India in a city called Chennai which became pretty famous globally last week for a tragic reason. We were ravaged by extremely heavy cyclonic rains and floods and in a matter of a couple of days the city was left looking like a dumpyard. So many people lost their lives and a thousands more their homes. Chennai traditionally being a very dry city (remember how I always say we have summer throughout the year?) is not built for such rains and so the water levels reached 10-15 feet heights in several low lying areas causing massive damage. But as any positive story goes, here’s the part where there’s light at the end of the tunnel! 😊 The people of chennai showed such solidarity in relief and rescue missions. NGOs, corporate offices, actors and ofcourse the Indian Army came together and did such phenomenal  and unbelievable work rescuing people, distributing food and other survival kits, conducting medical camps, etc and while life to come back to normalcy is going to take several months, these rains and floods have shown what a city chennai is, it is secular, giving, and so sensitive and independent. We will be up and raring to go in a while but until then please make sure you keep us in your prayers. πŸ˜‡ 

So I kept my look super simple today because I’m still not in a position to shoot elaborate theme based posts! This would ideally be a look you can sport on a day full of running errands or simply a day out at the mall with your friends! Here goes! 

    
    
    

 It was such an easy and loungy and a no-brainer sort of look and it took me just a few minutes to put together which is usually the time late-lateefs like me get before heading out πŸ˜‚ so if you are like me make sure to stock up on a lot of basic tshirts like this one because they are so versatile and it is almost like you have a new outfit every time you wear them. 

Here I paired this basic black tee shirt with my trusted light blue jeans and a statement neck piece. The rest of the look was simple in muted gold tones. Just adding a statement necklace or a scarf or a shirt over such tee shirts elevates the simple and basic outfit into something so much more suave and sophisticated! 😍 

Outfit Details : Black T-shirt – Forever 21, Blue Jeans – 109β€’F bought at Lifestyle, Necklace – FabIndia, Earrings – Forever 21, Sandals – Zara 

That would be all from me for today’s post folks! Make sure you have an amazing week ahead! And tell me you had a ball! β€οΈπŸ˜„

   

Give it up for the Jumpsuit!Β 

Shilpa12 Comments

Hi my lovely readers! Do you remember me ranting on multiple occasions about how a jumpsuit never ever ever fits me perfectly? Well I atlast got my hands on the jumpsuit which was destined to be mine recently and I couldn’t wait to show it to you guys 😍 so here we go! 

   

    

 I styled the jumpsuit with two statement pieces. One of which was this golden messenger bag which I absolutely love! My next style was :

   
    

   
My second statement piece was this absolutely beautiful silk blazer. I loved this look more because it added so much definition to the waistline and gave me some shape πŸ˜ƒ

Outfit details : Jumpsuit – Forever21, Bag – BagsbyAnqi, Blazer – VESA Online, Heels -Westside 

Hope you guys enjoyed this short and sweet post πŸ˜ƒ I realised I was so caught up in doing theme based posts that I was never doing simple outfit posts any more and that’s why this one ❀️ have a an amazing week ahead. Let’s hope it passes as quickly and painlessly as a strip of chocolate wax being pulled out 😜 Enjoy your day!