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Discover a beautiful YOU this summer!

So the sun is shining high and leaving your face, hair, arms and body with sweat and dirt! I know it's really a tough time for skin and hair to breathe and feel fresh and young. But how about following an easy skin care regime and diet for a beautiful you this season!

I was travelling on my way to work when I realised that it’s summer again! Like every year, I should start following my skin and hair care regime and a healthy diet for glowing skin and hair and instant energy and excellent stamina. Also, I wondered whether to pen a blog about it. Being in the fashion and beauty industry, I interact with skin experts on a regular basis and also my knowledge on the same is fantastic!

So here I share a few tips to take care of your skin, hair and body this summer…

Remember, whatever your skin and hair type, it is very important to drink as much water you can. This is the first step to basic care for glowing skin and a clean inner body system.

Tips for oily skin type:

Oily skin type is prone to acne and pimples during this time of the year. So following a skin care regime religiously is very important.

-        - Wash and moisturise your face and neck three times a day. Use an alcohol free toner twice, once in the morning and once in the night

-        - Use a gel based moisturiser. A gel based one controls oil and prevents burst outs

-         - Using a sunscreen with a broad spectrum is very important. Use one with SPF 30 at least. If you are outdoors for longer, you should go for SPF 50. Using a sunscreen not only protects one from the harmful UVA and UVB rays of the sun but also protects one from dirt and  pollution from entering the skin. Also, not many of us are aware that the sun emits UVC rays too that are equally harmful. So protecting your skin from those rays is also necessary

-        - Apply sunscreen every 2-3 hours

-        - Use oil-absorbing make up. Go for concealers, foundations, compacts and eye shadows that absorb oil and leave your skin shine free. I would suggest make up free the best way to go about summer. Use make up only when required

-        - Always use a lip balm with SPF. Like your skin, your lips need protection as well

-        - Always carry dry tissues and wipe the excess oil your skin releases

-        - Scrub your skin on face and body once or twice a week to maintain elasticity of  your skin  

-        - A homemade scrub like a paste of corn flour and limejuice works best for oily skin

-        - Occasionally rub a slice of orange on your face an neck for a fresh glow

-     Having a bath twice a day is a must

Tips for combination skin type:

Combination skin type faces the toughest time this season. Taking care of dry and oily areas of your skin at the same time can be quite a painful task.

- Was your face twice a day with a mild cleanser

- Concentrate working on the T area of your face, i.e. your forehead, nose and chin. Moisturise your T-area very carefully with a moisturiser recommended by a dermatologist

- A few areas like your cheeks will be dry and others like nose, oily. So be a little milder when treating your cheeks with a cleanser, sunscreen and moisturiser

- Use a toner recommended by your dermatologist and use it twice a day, after bath and before bed

- Always use a miosturiser before applying sunscreen

- Use sunscreen with a broad spectrum, with SPF 30 at least and reapply every 2-3 hours. Choose one with the help of a dermatologist

- Use mild soaps for bathing

- Always use a lip balm, with an SPF while out in the day and also when you are not exposed to sunlight

- Always carry a moisturiser if you face the problem of dry hands

Tips for dry skin type:

Dry skin becomes even patchier during summer. The only way out here is taking utmost care of your skin with moisturisers and lotions for your skin type.

- Clean your skin twice a day with a cream face wash

- Use toners that are non-astringent and alcohol free

- Use a light creamy moisturiser and follow it with a broad spectrum sunscreen for your skin type. Again SPF 30 is must with reapplication every 2-3 hours

- Moisturise your face and body skin before going to bed at night

- Apply home made face packs like papaya juice and honey and milk. Wash it after 20 minutes

- Keep your lips moisturised always with a lip balm. One with SPF is must while out in the sun

- Occasional chocolate massages for face and body at a salon could be good fun and indulgence

Kiehl's Toner

Kiehl's sunscreen

Lancome Lotion

Kaya Skin Clinic Sunscreen

The Nature's Co. after sun gel

Also, one can treat hair in the same way. A few tips if followed could be enough to maintain hair health and keep them grease free.

Summer is one time where your hair could become greasy and you feel like washing them almost everyday. Also, dirty hair could give rise to pimples! So which means that taking care of your hair would in a way take care of your skin as well! Wow! That would save quite a lot of pain actually.

- Wash your hair thrice a week with a shampoo and conditioner meant for your hair type. This helps keep hair and scalp clean and grease free

- Oil your hair once a week before washing them. Oil provides moisturisation and nourishment to the hair and is necessary not only in winters but during summers as well

- Do not tie your hair too often as this results in sweat making your hair greasy. Excessive sweat may even cause hair breakage

- Protect your hair and scalp by covering with a scarf or a stoll while in the sun

- Avoid chemicals on hair as far as possible as the heat released by the chemicals mixes with the sweat and makes hair health poor

- Leave your hair lose open while out or tie it in a lose pony tail in case of extremely hot weather

Herbal Essences Shampoo

Eating right is necessary to combat with all seasons that result in right nutrition for the body. In my opinion, every individual should be extremely conscious and keep a check on what one eats. So here I burst out on compulsory foods one should consume this summer.

- One should start with a healthy breakfast that includes eggs, milk and fruits or fruit juice

- Having an amla a day provides Vitamin C which in turn helps fighting diseases that come along with the season

- Drinking a lot of buttermilk helps fight the heat and provides the body with necessary zinc and water

- Having fruit juices at intervals keeps ones body hydrated

- Having vegetable salads with lunch and dinner is a must as it helps your skin glowing supplying your body with richness of vitamins and minerals

- Avoid spicy and oily foods. It makes ones system upset and also can result in acne and pimples

- Replace coffee with green tea to boost immunity and keep body hydrated and stimulated. Also, green tea helps fight heat and lose weight

So maintaining yourself in summer isn’t so difficult. Is it? These are a few general tips and half of them I am sure we follow everyday. Just revise your routine a little bit for a beautiful you this season!

Dress your shoes!

Fashion is about dressing from head to toe, it says a lot about the person you are and how you express yourself through your style. It could be anything, your hair, clothes, nails, make-up and SHOES! 

A pair of pink tired shoes of mine were disturbing me just too much. I could not wear them anywhere because of the weary look they were giving. Well.... then I decided to refresh them by dressing them up. I did nothing exceptional to them but I am sure a simple embellishment completely changed the way it looked. 

All what I did was dressing them with satin ribbons. The most fascinating part was that the dressing up took only around ten minutes and twenty bucks! Sounds great girls, doesn't it? 

How did I do it?

It was pretty simple. I got white satin ribbons and made polka dots on it with the help of a black marker pen. I tied it in to a knot and stuck it on the side of my shoes with the help of an adhesive.

  

I just couldn't believe what I saw! Just a satin ribbon completely changed the tired look of my shoes to something totally pretty and cute. 

One can do this to any kind of shoes shoes, even heels. It completely transforms your shoes hence your look and the gaze of your outfit. And the best part is that you can wear them anywhere, to work and for outings. 

Contemporary Retro Look

It was my first cousins wedding and I thought of going back to the old times by bringing in the retro. It was a usual marriage ceremony with pheras in the morning and reception in the evening but I had decided upon playing with my look. Work being a constraint on my time, I decided to do it quickly and tactfully.

How did I get the look...

The wedding was just a week away. I went shopping and chose a latest saree in pink constructed in crepe and tissue with a thick peacock blue border. I am an hourglass,5 feet 2 and slim. I decided to play with my look by giving myself a nice normal length spaghetti backless blouse and pin together the pallu of the saree. Also, I showed a lot of skin by wearing my saree very low waist and discovered that my waist and belly are the envy of other girls.

My accessories are minimal with chunky earrings, bangles and a pink stone ring in silver. The draping of my saree didn't need any necklace. It made my posture look interesting and sexy.

The Retro Twist...
The beauty part was still left... I got my naturally straight hair curled and pulled them back in a pony tail with a clip. A silver tatoo on my back did the glam trick and I kept my make-up peachish pink to avoid clashing it with the bling of my saree and earrings.

- I applied a primer and concealer
- Then I set a base with a foundation a tone lighter to that of my skin
- I started covering my eye lids with a gold eye shadow for retro look. I applied a bronze lighter and mixed my gold eye shadow with copper that exactly went with the colours of my saree
- I applied a dark kohl line below my eyes and playfully applied a gold eye shadow below the kohl line
- A thick liquid eye liner was a must for the retro feel following with oodles of mascara on upper and lower eyelashes
- Set my eyebrows with mascara for them to set in shape
- I finished my look with a peach pink blush on my cheekbones and temples and a coral shade of lipstick with a translucent lip gloss
- Lastly, I applied a bit of shimmer on my hands and back

Moreover, I enjoyed the attention than the wedding reception. It was O la la...

Celebrate women and their fashion... Happy Women's Day

It's 8th March... Women's day! This is the day for us women to celebrate our achievements and successes and for our man to make us feel special ;). Women are the most special among living beings, may be that's the reason we have 'The Day'. We have a whole list of women achievers whom I would term as 'Legendary Women'. Generations speak for women who made it big and who we remember till date. Their style, beauty, grace, achievements and successes are admired by one and all.

On Women's Day,I would love to talk about women who made a mark on us for their sense of style, fashion, beauty, attitude, glamour and grace.

Legendary Women
Queen of Egypt- Cleopatra

The magnificent beauty- Cleopatra wore fashion girls would still love to wear. The grace and charm of the olive lady was stunning, bold and impressive. Her fashion included linen gowns, straight kaftan, shifts, kilts and chunky jewellery and accessories. She mostly presented herself in long gowns and short dresses with no sleeves absolutely. With an hourglass figure, long legs and bold attitude, the lady carried off bikini tops and long silhouette bottoms with exceptional grace.

Her gold jewellery was mainly embellished with beads and precious stones. Sandals were adorned with jewels and beads and were made of raw bamboo.

She wore beaded collars on bikini tops that were very chunky and quite heavy in weight. She covered herself with multitude of jewellery and minimal silhouettes. Her impeccable style was a head turner for many a men in the ancient times and I am sure even today any man would adore a women like Cleopatra.

I am sure many women, including you and me want to wear her fashion. Well.... I have a few jewellery that I think could possibly explore Cleopatra's ancient fashion,style and glamour.

This chunky neck piece by Dior reminds me of the hard metal neck pieces that were worn by Cleopatra. It's style exactly replicates that of her's and the present day woman can wear it with an LBD or an evening gown.

Make a statement with this collar by Gucci. It's made of gold and it's style is very ancient and unique. It's understated bling makes it wearable to work. One can wear it with tube tops and dresses for ultra glamour.

This ring,pair of earrings and hand cuff by Louis Vuitton draw their inspiration from Cleopatra's jewellery. The ring and cuff is studded with red ruby that reminds us of the regal jewels of her era. The pair of sharply crafted earrings look just like stolen from Cleopatra's jewellery collection. Wow!!!

Angry young woman- Indira Gandhi


Known as Ironlady of India, she was strong, witty and unbelievably intelligent. Apart from being successful and a high achiever, she was graceful and stylish and very simple. Her sense of style and fashion exactly brought out the kind of lady she was. Her simple cotton sarees made her look effortlessly elegant. All she wore in addition was a simple gold chain or beaded necklace and earrings. Her skin was white as milk, spotless and well-maintained. Her short hair with a natural streak of white brought front her fearless and bold personality. Sophisticated and classy would be two words I would use to describe the beauty- Indira Gandhi.

Like you can see in these photographs, her fashion is simple, understated yet sophisticated. A blouse and a cotton saree simply worn yet it stands out on her magnificently. Charming and adorable, all she has added is a gold chain, beaded necklace and a coral shade of lipstick. Also, she was one women who made a bold style statement by mixing and matching blouses with sarees.

It's very difficult for one to replicate her style but I would still try out a few options that could nearly look like her fashion.

I found this saree on tradeindia.com. A simple cotton saree if worn in grace with a simple elegant blouse could look like one of Indira Gandhi's sarees.

This pearl watch by Azra jewels and more is quite an elegant piece. It's subtle charm and elegant look reminds me of the arm candy on Mrs. Gandhi's delicate wrists.

This beaded necklace by Ginger at Lifestyle is just like the one she has worn in her black and white picture above.

Very feminine and bold, this necklace by Splash available at Lifestyle brings out her personality.

Diva Glam- Kareena Kapoor


She's every man's fantasy, the style icon, her skin is every girls envy, her fashion splendid and  her never ending charm makes her the woman of today! She carries herself effortlessly and looks just stunning in all the outfits she gets in. Everything she wears become fashion, she is bold and outgoing, she is the modern day woman. Gowns, short-dresses, kurtas and sarees, all of them are just crafted for her. From the olden day mix and match to the current colour blocking trend, her sense of style and fashion is truly remarkable.

Look at her! An outfit so simple becomes so stunning on her! Without any accessories, the diva has taken the outfit to another level. Her professionaly done make up brings out her perfect facial features. everything about her is so oomph and ravishing!

This look of her's is so English. The queen like dress is actually making her look like one. the colour, nude make up and stunning neck piece is only adding to her beauty. She can certainly carry off any look with grace and style.

If it's a bold look, it's Kareena. No other beauty can carry it off with such a bolder feminine touch. She's wearing Prada here and the black is just making her look stunning or she's making the black look stunning! Ummm...... may be the latter...

Oh my my... Just look at the Goddess! The colours are just making her look completely out of the ordinary.

Beautifully Indian!

Sophisticated diva in royal blue. Very royal!

Flowy silhouettes making her look sexy and attractive. I am sure guys just want to grab a bite of her!

 Sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy................

Perfectly flaunting power dressing! Bolder looks to make her look so appealing.


Like Kareena's fashion...

Dior

Dior

Dior

 Chunky and oversized accessories is just Kareena. Try them over a simple dress or casuals for a wow look.

Etro

Etro

 Bold geometric prints are given no better justice than Kareena does. Try them for a different appearance.

Alexander McQueen

Fendi

 Nude fashion is the current trend and no one flaunts them better than her.

Available on frontrow.in

 Feminine neck piece is being just like her.

Look by Pepe Jeans London

No other girl carries off the colour blocking trend like she does.

Marc Cain yellow top

Get bold with this top and look like the glam diva- Kareena.


Spend a stylishly fashionable Women's Day... Happy Women's Day to all you women out there...!!!!!


Have fun!