Mamaearth Argan Hair Mask | Review

I had the most amazing one year of flawless thick hair from the time I got pregnant till the time Baby Hashtag turned three months old. Come the day when she turned four months old and I noticed something I hadn't seen in a very long time. 

Hair on my pillow! And it shook my world!

I am not being hyperbolic but I was looking at my thick long locks strewn all over the pillowcase and I was seeing this after a year. I brushed it off as a one-off incident. Later that day after I washed my hair I noticed the same pattern. I expressed my concerns to my mum and she told me that often in the fourth month post delivery, the mother tends to lose all the sheen and hair that she had gained all through the pregnancy. Of course, I knew that. But I wanted to believe that it would happen at a normal pace and not as drastically as it was happening then. 

Anyhoo, two months into the hair fall, I have still not learnt to live with it. I tried a fair few products because you can only do so much when you have an infant to take care of, all by yourself. I had pretty much given up really, while fellow mom bloggers consoled me saying that the hair fall will eventually reduce. Also, the market for products for new mothers is sadly ill-stocked. If there was a product that would have specifically addressed my issues, I would have tried it instantly. 

Turns out I did not have to wait for long.

Mamaearth, my favourite baby products brand presently, has come out with their mama range. There is a whole range of products that have been designed specifically for new mothers and mother-to-be and I was super pumped to have tried a few of their products before they officially launched on Mother's Day. I will definitely talk about their entire range in a separate post but this time I am exclusively reviewing their Hair mask.

The hair mask is aimed at helping the mums deal with increased hair fall and damaged hair. The formulation boasts of being induced with Argan, Avacado Oil, Milk proteins and curd extracts, all of which are nourishing ingredients for a healthier scalp and shinier hair. 

The product has a creamy non-drip consistency and comes in a 200 ml packaging. The packaging is simple and attractive. The pink and the green colours of the font and the banner are quite attractive. I, however, would have liked a little more vibrancy just like their packaging of the baby products. Their is an additional lid inside that contains the product from spillage.

The hair mask can be used a leave-in conditioner or it can be washed off as well. I have been using it for four weeks now and tried both ways to use this mask. My hair tended to get oilier faster when I used it as a leave-in conditioner when compared to washing it off. But in both instances, I was left with shinier detangled hair and they honestly look better nourished than before. The mask has worked wonders for me but I honestly do not care for its smell, it is slightly overpowering and takes time getting used to. But Baby Hashtag had no problem with the fragrance so its a win-win. 

The product formulation is completely natural and is paraben-free and mineral oil-free. It has essential oils that are beneficial to the scalp and hair follicles. I would recommend this product to any new moms out there for three reasons:

1) It is perhaps the only product of this kind and it is exemplary

2) It is natural and nourishing

3) It is decently priced when you compare it to an expensive trip to a salon

Go ahead and try it. You can buy it here:

http://www.amazon.in/Mamaearth-Argan-Reduce-Hairfall-Strengthen/dp/B072DVHNRD/

5 unexpected ways your body changes during Pregnancy!

Cruising through the last month of pregnancy is turning out to be quite uneventful apart from the fact that I am suddenly very aware of every little thing that happens to my body. Apart from the obvious physical changes(duh!) that an expecting mother's body goes through during the nine months, some changes in my body took me by surprise. Read on! 

1. Nose

I am not making this up! And this is no exclusive occurrence either. If you have known an expecting mother, ask her about it and she will deny it happens. But then ask her to compare the pictures of her pregnant self with those of her pre-pregnancy self and you will have given her an epiphany. Most new moms are unaware that our noses grow in size when we cruise through the second trimester into the third. However, it is ironic that the growing nose contributes very little to the stuffy, breathless feeling we get towards the end of the third trimester because the baby grows giving your lungs very little space to function to their full capacity. Makes that growing nose feel quite redundant, doesn't it!!

2. Clumsy limbs

As the baby bump grows, your centre of gravity shifts and your body threatens to double over and fall more than usual. So like me if you have had a clumsy bone all throughout your life, things will only go downhill from here. My brain and limbs have ceased to coordinate and I just drop things while I am holding them, and for no apparent reason. They just slip out of my grip. I am not being even slightly hyperbolic when I say this. As if maintaining a healthy hand-eye-leg coordination was not enough, the pregnancy brain is totally giving me away! 

Also, pregnancy brain is the real deal! 

3. Jawline

If you are past the 30 week mark, congratulations, you now do not have a jawline. Except if you are a supermodel or a fitness freak in which case, I hate you! With the expanding nose and aching teeth, I now have a chubby round baby's butt for a jawline. Smiling or not, my face resembles a full blown balloon which is legit cool given I am pregnant and everything.  

4. Foot size

I have not had the aching swollen feet and ankles but heck I have the curse of the pregnancy feet. Any other footwear variation that is not a flip-flop feel like thorns and fashion sense literally gets thrown out the window. Bye-bye high fashion and street style footwear choices and hello man-slippers. My foot has increased by one size and flip-flops are nirvana. Socks, on the other hand, are murder. Because, heat!

5. Nails

The nails grow at an alarming rate and behold! they are strong and anything but brittle. Think about all those amazing matte mail polishes you can wear and flaunt with them perfect nails. But as luck would have it, when your maternal instincts kick in in the third semester, anything remotely sharp will make it to the garbage can and there go the 'perfect nails'. Get ready for months of non-manicured hands because baby comes first.

Anything you have felt out of the ordinary during your term of pregnancy which has not made it to this list, let me know. I have a nagging feeling in the back of my head that this list will need some constant updating. 

Until the next post in this series, Cheers! 
D

#TrendAlert : Chokers and How to style them!

Minimal Jewellery is the current accessorising trend right now. And an extension to this hot trend are chokers.

With all the trends from the 90's making a solid comeback, it is no surprise that chokers are so hot right now! Chokers are versatile, fashionably light and make a lasting statement. From the basic black chokers to elaborate layered pieces with gold and stone embellishments, there is one perfect choker for every outfit. 

Unlike what many think, accessorising with a choker need not necessarily make you look goth! Follow these basic style tips to make your choker look work for you:

1) Always keep the choker understated if you are wearing it in the day. They can be thinner, with probably an embellishment or two for the added glitz

2) Experiment with colourful chokers or chokers with a slight colour pop to wear on your monochrome outfit. Wearing an all black ensemble with a black choker will definitely not un-goth your look.

3) When in doubt, layer your solid coloured choker with dainty gold or silver chains. The choice of the metallic tone totally depends on your personal taste. 

4) I say it with love when I ask you to ditch the elastic chokers. They are too 'been there, done that'. It is time you moved on to chokers that are either lace or suede or just a satin strap.

5) If you do not own a bright and solid coloured choker for your outfit, the removable bra strap will make for the perfect choker. Added bonus? They are super soft on your skin!

Be it a dress or a pair of jeans or a traditional lehenga skirt that you are planning on wearing, there is a perfect choker necklace for you.

Dress : Choose lace and dainty metal chokers with floral embellishments

Jeans : Your standard black chokers, in all the variations you can imagine. Even if you choose colours, stick to solid colours and avoid prints and designs.

Traditional : Polki to the rescue! There are countless chokers made out of polki and pearls that will go best with a traditional outfit of your choice. If you are looking for silver toned chokers, go boho-chic!!!

You can shop the choker trend right here

You can also order these limited pieces by filling the order form right here. The prices and the choker styles are mentioned below :)

Layered Choker and Gold Necklace
Price - 250/-

Studded Black Choker
Price - 210/-

Basic Black Choker with Tassel (available colours Red and Black)
Price - 210/-

Layered Choker with Black Stone
Price - 250/-

Dreamcatcher Choker
Price - 250/-

Snake Chain Choker (available in Red)
Price - 250/-

Tie-around Choker
Price - 190/-

Circle Link Choker
Price - 210/-

Gold Collar Cuff
Price - 290/-

Shells and silver Choker
Price - 290/-

Rhinestone and Pearls Choker
Price - 320/-

Antique Silver Choker Necklace
Price - 390/-

What they don't tell you about being pregnant!

Pregnancy!
One of those things in life that have been extensively talked and written about. Every single person you meet in the course of your pregnancy will have at least one piece of advice for you because the world cares immensely for that unborn baby inside of you and they want you to be careful and loving and nurturing. There are, however, things that no one will teach you singularly. This kind of knowledge, these epiphanies, come to you with experience and living through these experiences personally. Now in the third trimester, I have read 'What to expect when you are expecting' cover to cover twice. Although the book is highly extensive and detailed, there are so many things it did not warn me about in advance.

This far along the pregnancy, I have come to realise these things!

1. Maternity Clothes are essentially pointless

Yes!All these big brand-houses making you want to buy maternity clothes as soon as you hit the second trimester have been fooling you all along. You and your 'baby bump self' will need new clothes but only if you intend to do a full-blown 7 schedule photo shoot of yourself with different clothes on. Bodies do not change overnight for most women. The change is more gradual and for most part of the pregnancy, your regular sweatpants and t-shirts will fit the bill just fine. If you still feel the need to own clothing options that were specially made for pregnant women, buy yourself a couple of pretty wrap dresses, kaftans and some bright flip-flops. That should cover you just fine and will also come in handy later.

2. Love-hate relationship with the maid

Most expecting moms will agree with me on this. There are days when your house-help just decides to skip work without prior notice and you are left blindsided. Now all you are doing is worrying yourself sick about the laundry that needs to be cleaned and the entertainment centre that needs to be dusted. You will call her and scream your lungs hoarse asking her to never show up on your door again but again your fatigue takes over the adrenaline rush you just had in that fit of rage and more often than not you find yourself calling the maid back the next minute politely asking her when she will show up next. After your husband, the maid will probably be the most important person who will provide you solace - especially in the first and the third trimester.

3. Worrying over the size of the baby-bump

Before you argue that most books and pregnancy related websites will tell you that all baby bump sizes differ, hear me out. No matter how prepared you are, your calm mental demeanour takes a real hit when your seventh month bump pretty much looks like a fifth month bump. And when you compose yourself, there will be a whole army of people you know who will unabashedly point it out to you that your bump does not look quite 'there yet'. You will do the unthinkable to prove them wrong. You will arch your spine leaning backwards so your bump protrudes to the front and you will constantly place your hands on the top of the belly to make the bump look more pronounced. Believe me, the pressure of looking the quintessential pregnant woman is so much more than anyone makes it to be.

4. Fat women actually have it easy

Contrary to popular belief, women on the heavier side (read fat) have swift pregnancies when compared to their skinnier contemporaries. I speak of this through personal experience. Since we have spent a large part of our teenage and youth manoeuvring our 'big' frames, the time when the pregnancy bump starts to grow it does not change our centre of gravity as drastically as it does for other women. Moving around with an additional 15-20 pounds seem like a no-brainer and major distress in the back and the legs are things of fiction.

5. The husband tiptoes around you, the world does not!

The world around you in general becomes a lot more vocal and judge-y when it comes to you. While your husband (and in a lot of cases, your families) tiptoe around you and speak to you with caution, others have a major flapback tendency of not doing so. Filters are forgotten and so are boundaries. So there will be tummy-touching, no matter how uncomfortable you tell them you are with it. You get the old 'stop being silly' jibe from them before they proceed to do exactly what you had forbade them to do a second ago. Advice will be hurled at you from all quarters so teach yourself some head-bopping and polite nodding to be used in such situations. Do not even try to avoid this phase cos the world is the self-appointed guardian of your unborn baby and at the end of the day, they do mean well.

No matter what is said and done, at the end of the day, the love of your husband and your families is what keeps you going. Through the sleepless nights and bouts of weird dreams that you have and through the many mood-swings and weepy mornings that you cannot get over, they live it all with you. So as long as you are pregnant, make them your world and prioritise your energy on keeping yourself and the baby healthy. Everything else will fall into place. And anything trivial will automatically fall behind. 

Spunk and Colour - Meenakshi Pamnani

It started out in the early months of 2016 when I conceptualised and decided to document and chart the journey of fashion prominent women bloggers in Hyderabad. I knew some of these bloggers personally and I reached out to a couple more and received the warmest reception from them. The plan did hit a bump (pun intended) when I found out I was pregnant but I did meet the bloggers over coffee and they were ever so sweet about sharing their stories with me. This blog is the second in the series.

Meet Meenakshi Pamnani!
My connection to this fashion blogger is more personal than professional. She started her blogging journey back in December 2014 and that is also the time when I started shooting for her blogs. My association with 'The Shimmer Girl' has been the longest with our mutual obsession over glitter, sequin and chocolates. The Shimmer Girl aka Meenakshi Pamnani is all of 21 years old but she is on her way to making a mark in the Hyderabad fashion blogging scene. 

What started out as a hobby turned into a passion for this blogger. Meenakshi was already a celebrity of sorts when she set out to become a fashion blogger. A national level athlete with a prominent social media presence, she was already a celebrity of sorts when she discovered her love for all things fashion and beauty. Her style is all about colour and shimmer, something she feels very passionate about. 

From being a part time blogger to turning a full time fashion writer and adviser, she now directs style and fashion related content for a number of lifestyle websites. 

Now happily married to cricketer Ravi Teja, Meenakshi has a lot of new posts and collaborations in the pipeline for her viewers along with a stream of exciting videos on her channel.

Here are some of my favourite shots of Meenakshi from our past collaborations:

You can follow her blog here and her YouTube channel here

Throwback to the first post in the photo series where I photograph and chat with some significant women personalities and bloggers in the city - Quiet and Fierce: Chandana Munipalle

#ShaadiSeries : 11 Things I would have done differently in my wedding

Right now, I am 9 months into my wedding but most days I feel like it only happened yesterday. But then there are times it feels like it was years ago, what with all that is happening in life at such a fast pace. Looking back at my wedding, I do have regrets about how I planned things and how things finally went down around me.

I remembered vividly, a week into the wedding, that I completely forgot to make personal phone-calls to people I intended to invite. And then there were times during the week-long wedding celebrations when things were completely unplanned and a lot of the pre-wedding functions just happened to pass by with nothing more than a whisper. No hullabaloo, no pomp. So now, after months of making mental notes about it, I finally decided to share my take on a few things that I would have done differently in my wedding. If you are a bride-to-be or are helping out a bride in planning her wedding, in one or more ways, most of these things will apply to your scenario as well. So read on!

1. Wedding Lehenga woes

Like most potential brides, I wanted a wedding lehenga that was nothing less than a show-stopper. As soon as my wedding date was fixed, I jumped on to Pinterest and started pinning (like crazy) images of wedding outfits that were breathtaking! When you start discovering lehenga designs online, take into account the type of lehenga you want and the budget you want it in. You might want a raw silk designer lehenga or a lightweight georgette flowy lehenga from a local boutique, they all differ in prices and designs. I went lehenga shopping with a blank canvas in the mind and absolutely no idea about what I wanted. And therefore I ended up loving and buying a beautiful but heavily embroidered designer lehenga that was too huge for my overweight frame which stood stiff when worn. Considering my body type, I should have chosen a lightweight flowy lehenga but by the time I realised that, I had already made a pretty big investment in the earlier lehenga.

2. Better Photography options

Alas! This is one thing I will regret forever!!! Being a candid photographer myself, I know the importance of choosing the right photographer for the job otherwise key moments from your event get missed out and are never caught on frame. I made the biggest mistake of hiring an event organiser to handle the photography and cinematography departments. Not only did I never get to meet the photographer in person to discuss the photographs I wanted taken at the wedding, but also I did not get the key getting ready shots which I was absolutely looking forward to. Agreed that the photographers today charge a lot more than traditional photographers did back in the day, but do spare some time to find the right photographer that fit your budget. And always meet with them in person to understand their vision and work before you commit to them.

3. Planning and Delegation

This is the biggest problem people like me have. I take up all the work on my own and hate delegating work in the fear that others might end up ruining it. Turns out, I ruined a lot of things on my own because everything was too much for me to handle. Reach out to friends who live locally and ask them for help with wedding preparations. I was mostly on my own for most part of the 6 months wedding planning time and hence ended up taking all the responsibility till the last minute. Keep yourself totally work-free especially in the two weeks before the D-Day. I was running errands till a day before the wedding celebrations began and that messed up my already raging nerves.

4. Mehendi function

Believe it or not, I do not have one photograph of my Mehendi function where I look anywhere close to a bride-to-be. My hair is tied in a sock-bun, I am wearing my workout clothes and my face is lacklustre and gaunt. To top it all, I was an emotional wreck trying to allocate mehendi-waalis to the wedding guests and running hither tither before I finally sat myself down to get on with the mehendi myself. Though my camera made rounds, not one person managed to take a good photograph during the function and so those adorable pictures I had pinned of beautiful after-mehendi shots months ago never actually happened. I only blame myself.

5. Personal Invitations

I mentioned this earlier as well. I emailed and texted people inviting for the wedding, I communicated with them that I would email them the coordinates to the venue and surprise surprise, I never emailed most of them those coordinates. I also totally forgot to personally call a bunch of people in all the pre-wedding madness. Yes, I had a list prepared and everything but it totally slipped my mind to call back those numbers that were unavailable the first time. A total bummer on my part. The best thing for handing out those personal invites would have been to step on them 4 weeks before the D-day so that all fronts were covered!

6. LISTS LISTS LISTS!

I had lists. This is one thing I am very proud of actually. I made all the darned lists. But in effect those lists did not really get worked on completely as they were all just restricted to me, my mum and my aunt. I cannot emphasise enough on the importance of having help in organising the wedding. Share lists, prioritise work and let your ego disappear when you have to ask for help during your wedding preparation. Trust me, work distributed is sorted much faster. WhatsApp groups and email blasts are your best friends in this time.

7. Bridal Shower

Do not wait on your friends to organise a bridal shower or throw a surprise bachelorette party. Most times, if you do not let your friends and family know that you are expecting a celebration, chances are you will not get one. I made this misjudgement about an impending shower and having realised I wasn't going to get one, I put together a last minute dinner date with a few friends and that was it. If like me, you have the biggest expectations and love being pampered, make sure to let a couple of your closest friends know exactly that.

8. Family time

Do not be so caught up in the arrangements and preparation that you are unable to give your mum and dad some love and attention right before you scoot off into your new life. I regret not having a family fun night with my mum and my family before the wedding. I do make up for it every time I spend weekends with them after the wedding, but I did lose out on the key pre-wedding bonding time with the family.

9. Stick to the budget

If you are making a budget, you are making it for a reason. Stick to it and when you feel like going past that, pinch yourself hard and take a step back. I did not go crazy bonkers above the budget I set for myself but I did spend more than I needed to and unnecessary expenses will always come back to bite you.

10. Allocate realistic makeup time

By realistic, I do not mean hours together but an hour should be more than enough for you to get ready especially if you are in between functions. For me, it was the brief time between the Pooja and the Reception that I was given. I had 20 minutes to change into the lehenga, change jewellery and makeup. And so, in all the rushed madness, I forgot to adorn the two things I specially bought to complement my wedding outfit - a customised second dupatta and a nose ring which I bought after a painstaking search that spanned three months. Sucks, right!

11. Be the Queen and give your King all the attention

Not only did I lose out on the chance of playing queen for a month, but also I practically lived like a commoner trying to manage expectations during that time. I got so caught up trying to make everything perfect that I totally ignored my husband during a lot of them pre-wedding and wedding proceedings. Kudos to him for marrying me in spite of me being an insufferable control freak.

Listen up Brides! Let yourself go and be the queen for the entire time you are the designated bride-to-be because this time in your life will never come back! 

Until next time,
Cheers!
D

SMILE!

We prize ourselves at being lovers of candid photographs. The beauty of a candid shot is that it is raw in emotion and purely an unadulterated excerpt of a memory. The same does not go for pictures that are posed-for. Photographs of people that are staged, as part of a photo-op or a professional photo shoot or with the plain intent of capturing a certain someone on frame with their knowledge lacks all the incentives that a candid photograph carries with it. Naturally with so much thought and effort being put behind a picture that is posed-for, you would except a smile flashing back at you most times. Right?

Alas!

Most people do not smile at the camera. And I hate it! To have to initiate a fun jeer in a group or having to coax people into smiling even slightly has turned into quite a task. Unless your photo-op demands you to look deadpan at the camera, I suggest you smile when a camera is pointed at you. Because when you smile, you are telling everyone, who will subsequently look at your picture later, that it took the least effort for you to do so. By flashing your grin, you are conveying a message that you are easy and friendly and not a serial killer in disguise. 

Be like babies. Babies take a second to smile and laugh. And laugh hysterically they will, because all they own is innocence and happiness. Bring that kind of a positive energy to a photograph; For it is a keepsake and not something that will disappear with the blink of an eye. 

Make the most of what little you have left of today and when someone you know asks you for a picture, pose and smile! And while you are at it, smile often. Smile when someone gets up to offer you a seat in the bus. Smile when someone stops the lift when they see you running so that you can get on. Lift your head from your phone and smile at your mum and your dad and tell them you love them. You need not do it all the time, but do it enough. 

And to make your day a little more cheerful, time for some pictures of my favourite Suhana and her happy happy smiles! 

#ShaadiSeries : Mehendi-ed

I had a difficult time zeroing in on a lot of vendors that I had needed help from during my wedding and finding the right Mehendi artist was one of them. I have a full figure body and naturally my hands are quite big which according to a lot of mehendi artists are a gold mine for them as they provide a bigger canvas to draw various complex and ornate designs. So when a friend suggested a mehendi artist to me, I got in touch with her and we sat down to brainstorm a few Mehendi designs that she could use for me. Let me divulge the readers in a little background here.



In Indian traditions, applying mehendi or henna is embraced as the most ornamental way of getting yourself ready for an occasion. No matter how big or small the festivity, there is an inlaid compulsion for the women in the household to get their hands and feet tattooed with henna. Like all other arts, Mehendi too has evolved a great deal over the years. In earlier days, women plucked out the leaves off of the mehendi plant and ground them into a paste and applied it onto their palms and feet in simple round designs. As the tradition furthered, mehendi came to be ground even finer, put into plastic or polythene cones and was applied on the hand in the form of elaborate designs. Over the years, mehendi cones have been selling commercially in stores all over the country and even abroad where the trend of temporary henna tattoos has really caught on. Mehendi designs too have evolved over this time, from basic traditional to modern contemporary designs like Arabic design.

So there we sat pondering over Mehendi Designs and I came across this mobile application called Ethnico. It was amazing as it had a plethora of ideas I could use for my own wedding mehendi application. We also found a lot of design inspirations for the rest of my family who had mehendi applied both in Arabic Style and Traditional. I selected a few designs that were my favorite from the list and I think anyone who is looking at getting bridal mehendi applied must consider these designs:

1. This ornate Leg Mehendi

​2. This beautiful Bridal Mehendi with incorporations like the Bride, Groom, Shehnai and the Palanquin in the Mehendi. I eventually ended up getting mehendi applied very similar to this one.

3. Basic Arabic Mehendi Designs like this one

There I had it, my problem well taken care of by this really resourceful website that I came across. I recommend the Ethnico app to anyone who is looking for traditional Indian design inspirations. Head over to their website http://www.ethnicoapp.com/ or download their app. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Quiet and Fierce - Chandana Munipalle

It was in the aftermath of a major photography drought I went through that I conjured this project in my head where I photograph the prominent bloggers in Hyderabad city. Though the number is quite small, this little but significant community of bloggers is the one to look out for. In my series of meeting and photographing these amazingly talented and beautiful women, I will be talking about them and what drives them to do what they are doing now. And the first of these women is 'The Girl at First Avenue' Chandana Munipalle

At first glance, Chandana will bowl you over, with her quiet demeanour. As you get to know her, spend more time with her what will hit you more clearly about her personality is her perseverance. Chandana decided to become a fashion blogger at a time when fashion blogging was still in its nascent stages. People hardly understood the What, When and How of the industry, let alone understand the nuances of fashion blogging. Over the years, she has made the mark for herself as a blogger who is fierce and selective about her choices and true to her passion. My obsession with using the word 'fierce' to describe her comes from her sheer grit and honesty to what she does. If there is a prospective campaign she feels creatively unchallenged by, she will not take it. Such is her passion. We spent a good few hours mulling over the sad state of fashion blogging now, especially in Hyderabad. With numbers not entirely being true determinants of influence, both Chandana and I felt that there needs to a be a major transition in the fashion blogging scene so as to engage more audience and create more creative content.

If you have never read her blog, you must read now. You will find it hard to miss her style and how she weaves a story in a post. My personal favourite is this post on Charminar 'Citystories'

If you are looking for inspiration and some brilliant creative content, follow Chandana and her blog

#ShaadiSeries : I did my own make-up!

When I first set out to look for a make-up artist who would help me deck up for the wedding, I looked EVERYWHERE! I even considered, for a fraction of a second, to hire a professional cinema level artist even if it paid a bomb. But then I wanted all that time I spent on Youtube and Pinterest to be as productive as possible so in spite of being a newbie to make-up, I decided to be my own make-up artist. To be honest, I did not ever meet a bride who told me that she managed successfully with a make-up regime of her own but I told myself I was going to crack it and so I did. The month leading up to the wedding, a number of my acquaintances and friends were tying the knot. I was figuratively mortified when I saw some of them made-up faces. Glowing 'post uptan and haldi' faces hiding beneath an inch of high-definition foundation and concealer. The natural blush was covered and a fake one was given courtesy a M.A.C blush. Those horrendous black smokey eyes on a hot pink lehenga and eyebrows that were drawn jet black. Everything about these brides sadly was unreal and dissatisfying. This became another reason why I went on to choose what I did. Also, I have a blemish free skin and fortunately for me the only base I need for my make-up is some BB cream and compact powder. I will not take all the credit because I did get a lot of help from my friends and cousins in getting dressed with them donning roles of assistants, hairdressers and make-up professionals on the D-Day but it was all worth it. 

Here are the looks from the three big wedding functions where I managed to do my own make-up (well, almost) 

My baby sister cherry came in to for a final showcase of the look after I was done and went on to put blush on my cheeks for the final effect.

My best friend Khansa came in like a genie on the Reception day and with the skill of an artist helped me out with some basic contouring for a slightly more finished look. All the days, another one of my besties Meeta, did my hair. For draping the dupatta and the saree, I had MAJOR help from my cousin Jyothi and Bua.

It all fell together beautifully and I don't think I could have managed to look as natural and glowing as this if I had opted for professional salon make-up.

But if you are planning to go the same way that I did, always keep in mind that you are not a bridezilla in the making who might just have a mega meltdown on the D-day if things do not go your way. Always be on the lookout for a eye-liner related mishap. Also, doing your own work on your wedding is not what a lot of brides consider ideal and if you are one of those, get a professional and don't pay heed to what I just said.

I intend to rant a lot more about my shaadi in this series. Stay tuned for the next one! Until then, tata!

D

#ShaadiSeries : What I wore

Being a plus size bride is a nightmare in itself. Not counting the limited number of options you have clothes-wise, there is also a flurry of opinions from shopkeepers and stylists urging you to 'settle' for the options you have. One can argue that we can get clothes designed and stitched, but I am a fan of trying on clothes and the whole charade of playing dress-up. 

Here is a breakdown of the outfits I wore for the wedding hullabaloo! 

My maasi (mother's sister) helped me find this very beautiful anarkali style floor length. It came in the red-pink colour and has a gold embroidered bodice. It also has a detailed and embellished neckline saving me the trouble of dressing it up with a necklace. I chose to wear this at a pre-wedding dinner with the family and accessorized it with these gorgeous earrings by Vastradi Jewels. This dress was picked up from a private designer boutique in Bangalore. 

Earrings by Vastradi

For another pre-wedding function, Moong Bikhrai which marks the official beginning of all wedding preparations, I chose to go funky. I opted for this straight fit long orange kurta that I bought from CottonZone in Hyderabad. Since I believe in 'Go big or go home' when it comes to accessorizing, I decided to sport this pharoah inspired neck-piece I bought from BlissBox last year. It made my simple kurta pop and had me function ready in seconds.

This 4 toned ombre saree with gota and thread work running along the border is my dream! I bought it from a store called Patrani in Bada Bazaar in Kolkata.

For my Sangeet function, I wanted a dress that was flowy and worthy of a princess. I did not want a lehenga because that would make dancing a real pain and who wants that! This floor length gold anarkali gown is all shimmer and all love. The pink in the dupatta and the dress pops like magic. I bought it from Mebaz in Hyderabad. This store is a haven for partywear gowns and anarkalis and offers the largest variety in terms of sizes and range. You can get the same dress here! 

For the wedding pooja, I wore this Baby pink crepe-silk with a fuchsia pink and gold border. I bought this from Bangalore

My Reception outfit is a raw silk lehenga in coral-orange-red colour family and it is beyond gorgeous. Bought this from Kolkata as well. But this outfit is so very special that I think I will have to do a separate post only for this!

That is it for the clothes! Sometimes I wish I had a longer wedding only so that I got to doll-up for every occasion. 

For the next of my posts in the #ShaadiSeries, do stay tuned!

Love, 

D