We are back with the What’s In Your Pouch series. This time we will be talking about one makeup product all women need: Concealer. Yes, those puffy, dark , tired under eyes - whether we had a long day at work or had a late night out with friends - we can’t avoid them.
Lucky for us , we have concealers to come to the rescue- the highly dense formula helps even out skin tone and brighten up the under eye area. Having tried so many, the NARS radiant creamy concealer still beats them all. At NARS, they believe that makeup should enhance your beauty not cover it- and that is what this concealer does.
With its easy to use wand - you just need to dab a few spots under the eye and then even it out with a beauty blender or brush. The great part about this concealer is that it can be used around the face- for any redness, acne, or uneven areas you want to conceal. You can even use this on daily basis, instead of foundation, to create that light, even tone, day look.
Stay tuned for the next part in the series where we will talk about the step after concealer to lock it in for the entire day.
Remember: It is all about finding what is right for your skin.
In this series of What’s In Your Pouch, we will be looking at the must have items for your skincare and makeup routine. One of the key things we must remember in order to ensure we get that glowy finished look every time is how we prime our face. Especially with this winter season hitting us hard our face can definitely get very dry. Without adding enough moisture to our skin, the harder it gets for the makeup to go on smoothly and create that smooth look.
After putting on moisturizer and sunscreen, an important step in the process is to add a good primer. What a primer does is set up your face for makeup. It does this by reducing appearance of pores, fine lines, redness and creates an overall soft, blurred look to the face. This will then help when you add the different layers on your face to go on easier and stay on longer.
One of my top favorites is the Shiseido Glow Enhancing primer. It is oil free, feels like a cream, and you can notice a big difference when not using it before makeup. It also includes SPF.
Remember: It is all about finding what is right for your skin.
The entire world has become obsessed with Korean sheet masks and so have I. They are great to help bring back moisture to your skin, especially now that winter is coming. They have ingredients such as sodium hyaluronate and glycerin that hydrates and brings that much needed relief to your skin. You can use it anywhere (love using it before or during a flight), anytime (in the morning or evening) and only takes 15 minutes.
What’s interesting is face masks now have evolved and the new rage is bubbling masks. These masks work a bit differently than the regular sheet masks. They both are cotton sheet masks and have a list of great ingredients for your skin. The main difference is that the bubbling mask once you place it on your dry skin starts to foam up in little bubbles. You just have to leave it on for 10 minutes and then rinse it off, while normal sheet masks have to rub the remaining liquid into your skin.
The reason it foams up is because it is using ingredients such as licorice root extract and arbutin to help remove impurities from your skin and then you get to wash it all off.
My current favourite is the Sasatinnie Bubble Arbutin Brightening Bubble Black Mask which you can get at any Sasa store.
Remember it is all about finding what is right for your skin!
I must agree, the 10 step Korean skincare routine can be overwhelming. With our on-the-go lifestyle, it becomes tough to find time to focus on our skin. If you feel you are in this position, then it is okay to not go through all the steps everyday. However, one product you should NEVER skip out on is Sunscreen.
Sunscreen is so important because it helps prevent sun spots, wrinkles, and even skin cancer. Even if it doesn’t look sunny outside you should apply sunscreen, as even the rays that cannot be clearly seen, can still effect our skin. The sun’s rays enter our skin and destroy the fibers like collagen- leading to all the results mentioned above.
Few Sunscreen tips:
• Always apply it as the last layer of your skincare routine, leave for 15 minutes and then follow with makeup;
• If you are out in the sun for several hours at once, reapply the sunscreen every two hours;
• Sunscreen is not only for our face- when you’re out and about try and remember to apply on your hands and feet as well;
• Even if your makeup or moisturizers have SPF, you always need to apply a separate sunscreen on top as the SPF in your other products will never be sufficient;
• Always get a sunscreen with SPF 50 or higher.
One of my favorite sunscreen products is the La Roche-Posay Anthelios (linked) as it comes in a SPF above 50, has an oil free version, is paraben-free and is suitable for sensitive skin.
Remember it is all about finding what is right for your skin!
Isn’t it so annoying when you’re all ready for the weekend and then there it is - that annoying pimple, whitehead, or blackhead. The reason we get acne is because our pores get clogged with bacteria, dead skin cells and excess oil. These are of course the external reasons with our hormones and food intake also playing a big factor- which we need to watch out for to prevent excess acne.
However, what action do we take once we already have acne and need it to go away ASAP? One of my go to products is (linked below):
The reason this product is great is because it helps protect the skin, destroy the bacteria and sucks away excess oil and dead skin cells that caused the acne in the first place.
How to use:
• Wash with warm water and dry the infected area at night.
• Place a patch that is closest to the size of the area you want to be treated and place it directly on it.
• Repeat for all areas you want to cover.
• Leave it on overnight and in the morning remove it - redness, size and overall look of the acne will have reduced.
Remember it is all about finding what is right for your skin.
We all know the importance of cleansing our skin everyday from all the pollution, toxins and make-up it is faced with, but we must also focus on keeping the things we put on our faces clean as well.
Our make-up brushes are exposed to the air and make-up which makes them prone to bacteria growing on them. Okay, it isn’t that bad, but after a few weeks the build up of even dust can create a sensitive reaction on your face when applying. Therefore, it is important to cleanse our brushes and other make-up applicators every two weeks.
My current favorite cleanser for my beautyblender® and make-up brushes is (linked below):
What I love about it is that it cleanses both your beautyblender® and brushes and it does so without getting the other parts of your brushes wet, except for the bristles.
How to use:
• I take a bowl of hot water and place it next to my sink.
• I dip the make-up brush ( just the bristles) into the hot water.
• I then rub the brush on the soap and you can actually see the makeup coming off.
• I repeat the above steps till I can see all the make- up is removed.
• I squeeze the bristles to remove the excess and run it through the tap water.
• Lay it out to dry.
Remember it is all about finding what is right for your skin.
Have you got sensitive skin? I think most of us would answer yes to that!
One of my current favorite Korean skincare brands is Klairs. Their range of face washes, toners, vitamin c, and moisturizers don’t contain any harsh chemicals or alcohols that will further harm your skin, but instead provide the right ingredients to cleanse, hydrate and protect it.
Here are my current favourites in my skincare routine:
Klairs supple preparation facial toner: The purpose of a toner is to bring back the natural PH balance of your skin after cleansing, so it isn’t prone to bacteria,cleanse any extra residue and to prepare your skin for the rest of your skincare routine. This toner does just that.
Klairs freshly juiced vitamin drop: We’ve all heard how Vitamin C is great for pigmentation issues but can also be really strong for sensitive skin. Klairs has come up with a mild version containing 5% of concentrated Vitamin C to provide a great water-soluble, non irritating solution to brighter skin. (Please use this only at night!).
Klairs rich moist soothing cream: If you want a good hydrating moisturizer, you need one that doesn’t overly hydrate your skin, causing clog pores, and at the same time include ingredients that are working on your skin barrier to keep it hydrated. Klairs soothing cream is great for all skin types, all year round with no animal based components, fragrances or dyes.
Klairs midnight blue calming cream: Those days when your skin just looks so irritated, typically after a facial, laser, waxing, threading ( girls you know what I’m talking about), this calming cream is the best remedy for your skin. It contains chamomile and Centella Asiatica Extract which are the main ingredients in ointments to help repair skin.
Remember it is all about finding what is right for your skin.
Many of us have such a busy schedule that forget about skincare, we struggle to find time to eat properly.
However, even though we are so busy, we need to make time for the essentials of skincare which include cleansing. We are surrounded by so much pollution, dirt, bacteria that we need to cleanse our skin twice a day to ensure that our skin, our biggest organ, can breathe.
A great cleanser that works for all skin types, removing makeup, dirt and pollution is the (linked) :
One important tip I have learnt is spend more on the products that stay longer on your skin. Therefore, don’t invest in cleansers that are very expensive claiming to bring that glow, or reduce acne for example. But instead look at a cleanser that suits your skin type, removes your makeup well and doesn’t dry out your skin.
How to use: Morning and night, whether you have makeup on or not, apply over a wet face and rub off.
You can get it here and what’s great is you can get a small size to try out first.
Remember it is all about finding what is right for your skin.
Taking care of our skin is something that is gaining more and more importance every day.
From cleansing to exfoliation to night time recoveries, the list is endless. One important part of our face that we tend to forget about is our lips. As they are part of our skin and can get dry, it is important that we exfoliate our lips as well. One of my favorite lip scrubs is (linked below):
A lot of people actually make this at home by just taking some brown sugar and water, mixing it together and using it as a scrub. The reason I like this polish is because not only does it contain brown sugar but it also adds natural moisturizers such as jojoba oil and shea butter to remove dead skin cells and bring back moisture to your lips. Therefore, it doesn’t dry it out as much as just brown sugar would do.
How to use:
- Wet your lips and apply half a teaspoon onto your lips and scrub them for about a minute.
- Rinse off the polish and apply a lip balm after. You may then follow up with your lipstick.
Remember it is all about finding what is right for your skin.
Yes, my skin has become very dependent on Korean sheet masks, but there is one mask that I have used for several years and I am still obsessed with it:
Origins Clear Improvement Active
It is a charcoal mask to clear pores. I am sure all of us have seen those instagram videos of that charcoal nose strip that claims to remove all blackheads. Now, that I still need to try and study, but this Origins mask definitely works along the same lines.
Whether you have oily, dry, or combination skin- dirt, debris and oil will get stuck in our pores. What this mask does, is it contains kaolin clay and bamboo charcoal that act as magnets to remove all the extra toxins that cleansing wasn’t able to.
How to use:
• Use once or twice a week.
• After cleansing, on a dry face apply an even layer.
• Wait around 15 minutes for it to start drying.
• Rinse with room temperature water.
Note: We have read everywhere that before putting a mask, it is important to apply a hot towel to open pores. However, this can have a damaging effect as hot water can cause irritated and very dry skin (we’ve seen what happens to our skins when we take a hot shower). Pores don’t open and close just like that when it is in contact with hot water.. Hot water dries out the skin, which causes the body to enter panic mode, forcing it to produce more oils that can then clog the pores. Heat (like when you are exposed to steam) can help melt away some of the oils and fats that are clogged in your pores, but if you already have dry skin, be careful as this can have an adverse effect.
We all know that a good lipstick can go a long way. With so many new ones coming out recently from the Kylie lip kit to Huda matte lipsticks, it has been a real game changer.
For so many years I would never wear lipsticks as the fact of it coming out after taking a sip of my drink and then retouching every half an hour just felt like too much of a pain.
A year ago, my friend introduced me to Tarte creamy matte lip paints and I have been using them ever since.
What I love about Tarte lip paints are that:
• The brand does not test on animals;
• The consistency of the lipstick is so thick that you only need one layer;
• I have literally had people come up to me and ask how my lipstick has stayed on for so many hours even after eating and drinking;
• I also purchased the liners and I would always have issues creating a lining around my lips and this is literally like a crayon making it so easy every time;
• My lips are so sensitive and I have reacted with so many brands such as Smashbox, Estee Lauder, Lancome etc.. but with Tarte- no reaction.
I have tried Huda and Kylie’s lipsticks as well and really they don’t even compare. Huda’s doesn’t have a thick enough consistency and gives my lips a very uncomfortable feeling and Kylie’s dries up too quickly.
Yes, I know many people now swear by these two lipsticks, but it’s definitely worth giving Tarte a try especially if you have sensitive skin and lips.
Better late than never, but WOW I got the opportunity to be featured on the front cover of one of Bahrain's leading youth and lifestyle magazines, COEDs, for the November 2016 issue. To me this was one of my biggest moments as a fresh new blogger in town and chance to get my name out in the local fashion scene.
Along with the cover page feature there was a six page editorial about me and my blog. The pictures selected for the spread felt like a flashback down memory lane from my engagement, to my time spent on London, Hong Kong and right up till my wedding.
Korean Sheet Masks: When your face needs a quick pick me up!
I’m sure you’ve seen them all over social media as every Korean skincare brand has a range of sheet masks. These masks target all concerns as they contain an ampoule (highly concentrated serum) of ingredients such as glyercin, ginseng, collagen, aloe, snail secretion, bird’s nest ampoule just to name a few.
Since I have moved to Hong Kong, I’ve tried over a dozen of different masks and what I have realized is that these masks can be amazing but their effect is very temporary. If you really want to target certain concerns such as acne, fine lines and wrinkles you would need a product to add into your daily skincare routine and need to watch the changes over several weeks.
That is why when looking for a sheet mask, the most beneficial ones are the ones for moisturizing as they instantly solve the problem of dull, dry and tired skin which will help keep your skin looking great for a night out or even when travelling.
The two biggest sellers in Hong Kong currently, which I can’t live without are (linked):
What is amazing about the masks is that they contain so many moisturizing ingredients such as honey, glycerin, sodium hyaluronate that provide instant moisture to the face and are suitable for all skin types.
They are also so easy to carry around and to use as you just apply it on a clean, dry face, leave it for 20 minutes and then remove and rub in whatever is left on your face (don’t wash it off). Recommended use would be twice a week.
They are very affordable and available at Sasa, Bonjour, Watsons, Mannings or any Chinese pharmacy in packs of 10 ( so get a pack and share with friends). Also for people not living in Hong Kong, it is available on Amazon which is the linked above.
I’m sure all you ladies out there can relate, we spend so much time and effort to put on our makeup, and that feeling of it just washing off within few hours, does not do us justice. Just about a year ago, I came across a product that changed my entire makeup game!
• After finishing with my makeup, I would spray the MAC Fix+ all across my face and within minutes it literally mattifies the face and creates one dewy, soft, layer.
• It comes in a travel size version as well which I carry around with me all the time and just spray whenever I need a pick-me-up. My makeup has actually stayed in place even after a 8 hour flight!
Urban Decay’s spray and MAC Fix+ Spray have different purposes:
• Urban Decay’s spray is actually a setting spray with the purpose of making your makeup last for hours, as it lowers the temperature of your makeup to withstand any weather you’re in.
• MAC’S spray is a finishing spray with the purpose of leveling out your makeup and removing any cakeyness. It does this through the botanical oils it contains that help de-powder what you have on your face to blend everything together- for one clean look.
• Some people prefer using the Urban Decay Spray because they feel it does helps create that dewy effect and even out the makeup as well, while some people use both (MAC then Urban Decay).
Final Verdict:
• Personally, I do not like the smell of the Urban Decay spray, it really is strong and lingers for a while. The MAC spray has ingredients such as cucumber, chamomile and green tea extracts while Urban Decay has alcohol as its second ingredient.
• However, when using both together- not only does my makeup not look powdery because of the MAC setting spray but then it also doesn’t rub off if anything touches my face and lasts for hours because of the Urban Decay spray.
• So if you use a lot of powder to set your face- I would definitely suggest trying the MAC spray first, but if you just want your makeup to be long lasting and don’t mind the alcohol, then go for the Urban Decay.
Where to buy: Mac Spray at any local Mac store & Urban Decay Spray at Sephora (both hyperlinked and linked below)
Beauty Water -Yes there is a reason for its beauty!
In today’s world, all of us women are constantly on the go and let’s face it, our face is subject to a lot of pollution, dirt and, well who knows what else. Korean skincare stresses on double and even triple cleansing every day because they take into account the current environmental surroundings we live in. Having moved to Hong Kong less than a year ago, my love and knowledge of Korean skincare has grown tremendously and my entire skincare routine has changed for the better.
Now, Korean skincare can be quite overwhelming and if you’re new to it but would like to explore it, then a great way to start is with the holy grail of cleansing: Son & Park Beauty Water
What I love about the beauty water is that it has multiple benefits, is great for all skin types, and is super easy to add to your skincare routine.
Benefits:
• We all have that feeling that even after removing our makeup with a cleanser or wipe, we still have makeup and residue left. Adding beauty water after this step helps get rid of all the leftovers;
• It has exfoliating properties such as papaya extracts to remove dead skin cells as well as;
• Hydrating ingredients, such as rose water, orange and lavender extracts to keep your skin soft;
• Not only that, but we must remember that whenever we wash our face with soap, our natural PH balance of around 5.5 goes a bit off balance, and what beauty waters/toners do is help bring back the PH balance to our face creating a great canvas for the rest of our skincare/makeup routine that follows.
How to use:
• You can use it before makeup, to remove makeup or anytime during the day when you feel your face needs a quick cleansing.
• All you have to do is add several drops on a cotton pad and sweep it across your face.
I've never written or shared anything related to beauty as there was nothing worthy of note to my beauty regime. That was until I tried Purearth's luxury organic products made from natural resources harvested straight from the Himalayas.
Purearth offers the purest skincare that I've ever come across, there are no chemicals used whatsoever! It's all about having a hollistic approach to skincare and well being.
I've been wearing a lot of make up recently, with all the Fashion Shows & Fashion Shoots I've been doing and I can feel my skin getting dry. Every night before bed I've been using Purearth's Face Oil and Eye Serum trying to restore some natural life into my face. I noticed in just one night the immediate nourishment it gave my face. It contains some serious skin perfecting powers and it truly is a rejuvenating luxury.
I used the Tumeric Exfoliating Face Sand for a face mask once a week. I mix one spoon of Tumeric with milk to make a wet paste which I gently scrub in circular strokes on my damp face and leave it on as a mask for 15 minutes. Tumeric is an anti-septic and antibacterial which is great in aiding skin imperfections.
To top it all off, Purearth is a social enterprise that works with women's self-help groups in the Himalayas, empowering them through fair trade.
As magical as the wedding was, the whole planning process leading up to the events was very tough. As a person I am quite particular, detail oriented and an all-round perfectionist, this made the planning process sometimes quite straightforward but at the same time equally very difficult to meet my requirements.
I spent a lot of time and energy in deep contemplation envisioning our events to be a depiction of Raj and myself during our courtship years. Our goal was simple; we wanted to create a magical and memorable experience for both our family and friends, by blending the best of our backgrounds and taking our guests through a journey of our love and what we love the most. We wanted a wedding that struck the perfect balance between fun, class and an intimate experience with our loved ones.
In total we had close to 450 guests staying in-house with most of the guests from my side and some mutual friends visiting the Middle-East for the first time. Hence we wanted to ensure that our wedding reflected and delivered as much of the local cultural experience as possible.
Venue & Accommodation
Since we had our engagement ceremony in Hong Kong, we had decided very early on we wanted to host the wedding somewhere close to Raj’s home country, Bahrain. I had my eyes on the Ritz Carlton Grand Canal, Abu Dhabi property before we even got engaged. Luckily the property was perfect as it met most if not all of our requirements, note that this was after 16 hotel property viewings across both Dubai and Abu Dhabi that we even concluded in opening conversations with the Ritz Carlton, for me it was a dream come true.
Based on our required order of functions of 10 different events across a 4 day period, we thought it would be easier for our guests (and us!) to host all the events at a single venue and create consistent and unified experience.
Resources & Tools
Once we decided on our framework for the order of the events and venue, we had 10 months to bring our wedding to life. I spent my twilight hours researching on how I could achieve our vision of the wedding we want within our budget whilst developing our initial ideas for the event themes the overall experience we wanted to create for our guests. I created extensive mood boards, spreadsheets, hoards of online word documents to keep track of literally everything we had ever spoken of and all our ideas, including a personal journal. This was an effective way to communicate with my husband and our wedding planner since each of us was in different country working on a different time zone. For me this was our personal wedding intelligence and our matrimonial secrets that made our wedding what it was.
After meeting with several planners we brought on board Rimjhim Bhagchandani from Rimjhim Events, a well-known and experienced wedding planner from Dubai to help pull all our ideas together. She is very experienced with weddings in the Middle East and a resourceful individual. Her and her team definitely delivered the wedding we envisioned, their support, experience and network in the wedding circuit was invaluable for meeting our requirements within our budget.
I was very specific with who I wanted to be part of my Wedding Team. My Make-up Artist, Tamanna Roashan from Dress Your Face was the only thing I knew I wanted to spend on above anything else. She was the first thing I booked as soon as I got engaged, I didn't even know my wedding dates at that point. Tamanna and I had been communicating for a while and she was the best decision I made for myself for the wedding. As I mentioned earlier, I am a very hard person to please and I find it difficult to trust anyone's taste or opinion where I am involved.
I accepted a fact that throughout the wedding events I would be stressing about many things, and the last thing I had time for was to properly check how I was going to look. I knew Tamanna, was the only one I could completely trust to deliver the type of looks I wanted, which gave me the confidence to dedicate time and attention to other things instead of myself. She was so humble and beautiful inside and out and she made me feel the same for the 4 days she was with me.
We chose Picture Perfect as our cinematographers and photographers, they were really sweet and fun to work with. They are always smiling and energetic, they work around the clock. The Pre-Wedding shoot video and the same day edit montage was done in real time during the 4 days they were there.
Olesya from Flower Boutique was an angel and so patient to work with to execute my dream themes. We were so amazed the way she and Morris were able to give us even more than what we imagined!
Entertainment
DJ Tushar - For our DJ, we had initially booked DJ Manoj from Dubai months in advance, however due to unforeseen circumstances he was not able to make it for our wedding and we came to know of this 12 hours before our first major event. It was a life saver that DJ Tushar signed up with us at short notice; I couldn’t thank him more for delivering the perfect party festival and adapting his music to be based on what we had planned with DJ Manoj. My husband and I are crazy for music and festivals and we knew exactly the type of party, play-lists, live-sets and underground track-lists with special effects for English and Bollywood music we wanted to truly bring the house down. However, once the party started it was purely DJ Tushar’s skill and energy that made us all dance the night away into a state of trance.
DJ Boss (a.k.a Prashant Chainani) is a dear friend of ours and flew down all the way from Singapore to not just attend our wedding but to also to spin a special killer set for us at our Rave Event. My husband and I are really into EDM, house music and music festivals, that’s why we had an after party theme purely inspired by electro house music with the complete works and visual effects. DJ Boss delivered the set of our lives and completely smashed the house, he truly brought our dream to life and we couldn’t thank him more for it.
To top it off for the Rave Event we had a professional and renowned local VJ Cold Fusion to deliver an awe-inspiring visual feast. The most the amazing part was watching the VJ, both our DJ’s and the saxophone player, all artists jam with each other on the after party while performing which to me I think was the secret ingredient to a deliver an unbelievable night.
We had invited down a saxophone player, Pavan Verma from London to play for our wedding. I absolutely love the saxophone and my husband loves watching live music, so after searching some time for a decent Saxophone player that could play both English and Hindi songs I finally found this gem none other than my favourite city in the world, London. I had never heard him play live till my wedding, but after a couple of promo videos on YouTube and with meeting at Costa Coffee, we were sold. He was a true gentleman to work with but moreover an incredible artist. To hear a saxophone rendition of “Lean On” completely blew my mind at our Mehendi event.
No indian wedding can be complete without Dhol players, and we flew Dholtronics down from Singapore to jam at our wedding. They were nothing short of amazing, and they even have LED lights for the Dhol!!
Additionally we brought on board Flaming Trio, a special squad that was dedicated to the beverage service, entertaining and attracting the crowd to the bar by fire flair. Giving our guests an entertaining way of boozing.
Wedding Theme
Invitations/ Stationery - Save the Date, Pre-Invite, Website, Wedding Card & all Wedding related stationery, posters and signage.
Being a graphic designer myself, I was quite picky about how I wanted our invitations, stationery and wedding collaterals to look like and be presented. I wanted our wedding invitations to have a Middle Eastern feeling yet also have the different themes of the events to be depicted on each Invite. This is the first thing people receive before attending the wedding, and I know some people feel it is not a very significant aspect to the wedding and quite irrelevant, however for me the wedding cards and the gifts are the first experience people get a taste of the wedding and I wanted it to be eye-catching and beautiful. All the work that lay before me was overwhelming so I enlisted a Hong Kong based card designer Resham Moorjani Ramchandani, from Moor Designs to help me execute the ideas. She was incredibly patient with me and it was great learning experience to work with her. I would highly recommend her for anyone who wants to get bespoke wedding cards designed. I got the printing of the cards done with Malaga Arts in India. I am extremely particular about the print quality, embossing etc and felt that they would be able to execute the artwork beautifully.
Along with the card invitations, we also gave a gift befitting the culture of the wedding. To match our Middle Eastern theme, we decided that an Arabian ceramic flask for tea would be an appropriate choice as it is also something handy people could use on a day to day basis. Aunty Mashu Hemnani from Sarasa helped us source these beautiful Arabian ceramic flasks. She complimented it with these beautiful boxes to match with it and with the wider theme of the wedding in general. We had a slot in the box where the flask would sit whilst you open the box, and the wedding card sits in a smartly placed position on the flask. I was very happy with both the cards and the flasks and how it was presented.
I wanted the Save the Date and Pre-Invites all to have some consistency in the design, so I made sure the colours were the same throughout along with our logo. As my husband and I loved Tomorrowland Festival and the magical experience, I took a lot of inspiration for the designs directly from the must festival. For those who don't have time to create a website from scratch, a great alternative wedding website is www.appycouple.com and they have wedding apps too.
Wedding Collaterals
Signages
Signage for the events aren't the most important thing on the list yet I definitely feel that it gives a personal touch and brings together the whole theme underpinning the wedding. Its beautiful effect once correlated throughout is that it leaves behind a lasting memory with guests of an image unique only to the wedding.
Wedding Itinerary Booklets
This is definitely one of the most important wedding collaterals during the course of the events. When your guests begin arriving to the hotel, this informative guide is an effective way of answering all the possible basic queries that you think is the most necessary for the next few days for travelling guests. This could include a break-down of all the events and the timings, map of the hotel, Hospitality, Hair and make-up Salon schedule, guest services, exploring the nearby surroundings but lastly and not the least the key emergency contact numbers of family members as well as services.
Hospitality
A key element to our wedding was the set-up of a dedicated Wedding Helpdesk and private Hospitality Lounge in the hotel. We wanted to make sure that there was free flow of food and light beverages available for our guests at all times as we know how hectic and draining the schedule can be for guests in-house let alone the family. We had also set up a private hairdressing salon for our guests, this particularly helped in the time management for the women by having an organized schedule for those requiring assistance to get their hair and make-up done. We had a dedicated hair and make-up team each also for close members of both sides of the family.
Pre-Wedding Shoot & Video
As you all should know by now, Raj and I love music, so doing a music video for our Pre-Wedding shoot seemed most appropriate.
We had a grand total of 9 events packed across a 4 day period. It was a very hectic schedule indeed but a necessary compromise to ensure we maximized our utilization of the hotel while keeping the entire guest population centrally located.
Friday December 18th, 2015
Event 1: BHAJANS
Theme: Divine Blessings
Attire: Traditionally Chic
It is customary from my side of the family to come together and host a Pre-Wedding Bhajans (religious song and prayers) session to seek divine blessings before commencing any major event or activities. It was a small and intimate event that was followed by dinner shortly after.
Immediately after the Bhajans dinner I hosted a small gathering with my close girls and bridesmaids for a Bridal Mehendi ceremony with pink champagne. I had the talented artist Sara's Henna design my bridal henna love story. I described to her the most iconic moments of my relationship and she was able to incorporate all these designs into my henna love story. I wish the Mehendi never faded, I was so pleased with my design. I had the talented Sayeda Nisa from Dubai who copied Sara's design onto my hands, and she did it to complete PERFECTION.
I wore an embellished iridescent playsuit during my Bridal Mehendi
ceremony. We started it at 11:00pm where I had all my girls over for
some champagne and chocolate strawberries; I just wanted to have a cute
and cozy girl’s night before the madness began. I wanted to wear
something stylish and comfortable to sleep in after the 3 hours it would
take to apply the henna, so this playsuit seemed the most appropriate
outfit for my girls event.
Saturday December 19th, 2015
Event 2: Mehendi
Theme: Floral Fantasy
Attire: Pastel Paradise
This was our first major event, I decided upon this theme because I've always loved flowers and my husband has spoilt me with flowers every month when we were dating, so the theme only seemed fitting for the Mehendi.
The dress code for the event was pastel paradise. I love pastel colours and thought it would be a fun girly theme for the Mehendi. I had already envisioned what I wanted my Bridal outfit to look like and worked with Falguni from Falguni & Shane Peacock to bring my idea to life, which she did brilliantly.
I don't know why I've always had this association in my head of Mehendi and braids. Having dark hair, I knew that a braid wouldn't be so visible, as braids look best on highlighted hair, so we decided to add pieces of Ombre Hair Extensions to add dimension to the loose French braid. We then added faux flowers and the headband for a truly magical touch. For the make-up she kept it pastel and soft with very defined eyes and dusty rose tones on the lips and cheeks. I was so excited with this look, Tamanna did it exactly how I dreamed of looking and I just couldn't have been happier.
Bridesmaids
I had a clear vision from the start of what I wanted the Bridal Squad to look like. I had sent them Bridal invitations 6 months prior to the wedding to ask them if they would be my Bridesmaids and to collect their measurements so I could get their outfits made. Shivani Awasty executed their dresses beautifully and exactly how I imagined them to be. I wanted their outfits to carry an element of western fusion and have a similar floral print pattern that was designed on the Bridesmaids Invitations and the Mehendi Insert of the Wedding Invitation.
In addition I wanted my father and brother to be wearing something along the same print pattern to match the bridesmaids and the theme so as to represent the girls side in full force at our first event.
Decor
I guess the decor was self-explanatory, we had a bridal stage and I wanted to have lots of vines and white hydrangeas and pink peonies as part of the backdrop. Baby pink was definitely a consistent baseline colour used throughout this theme to unify the floral paradise event. I wanted to have white lounges and tiffany chairs for seating so as to capture the cosy feel to the event.
I was inspired by the idea of starting our major wedding event by releasing white doves. In my head it was this elegant fairytale like idea, but it turned it out to be a funny spectacle of a dove disaster and I always look back and laugh when I replay the countless videos on it. I just assumed if opened a basket of doves, they would immediately fly out but in this case it was exactly the opposite! During the course of event there were still 2 doves sitting on the bridal backdrop ledge the entire time! Which turned out to look cute in the end. This moment taught me something quite important that you can plan for every detail, but on the day things can go sideways, and you just have to smile appreciate the moment and move on :)
Event 3: Welcome Dinner
Theme: Night in the Oasis
Attire: Arabian Twist
The same day, that evening we had an Arabian Themed Welcome Dinner. Some of our guests were visiting the Middle East for the first time, so it seemed fitting and appropriate to deliver a taste of the local culture through one of our events. We had an all Arabic cuisine menu planned, along with laterns, Ramadan Tents & Majilis set up across. I especially loved this theme, as I've always loved headpieces and I used to belly dance when I was younger, so this theme felt personal to me and to Raj of course because he was born and brought up in the Middle East.
The attire for this event was "Arabian Twist", and it was great to see everyone so enthusiastic about the theme. I wanted to look like a Royal Sheikha, and worked with Shivani Awasty to customize a gown fitting for this theme. I was so pleased with the outcome, and the intricate embellishment on the gown and the sleeves. The sleeves aren't visible in the high resolution pictures as I wore an Abaya on top to complete the look. Pairing this look with gorgeous diamond earrings by Kamyen Jewellery.
For this event I wanted to look like an Arabian Princess since everyone thought I looked like Princess Jasmin at the previous event, so maybe this time pull off a Dark Jasmine, which Tamanna certainly nailed the makeup for this look. We had decided early on that for this look, greenish contact lenses would be appropriate. She made me glisten with stunning swarovski crystals on my eyelids and gifted me this headpiece that I was dreaming of wearing for a long time from Panache by Ginni.
Grooms Outfit: Anup Bhargava
Entertainment & Decor
Photobooth
Event 4: Rave Afterparty
Theme: Kingdom of Melodia
Attire: Rave Ready/Festival Fashion
Before you all ask why a rave theme, Raj and I love raving, we've been to Tomorrowland twice, Ultra Miami, EDC London and SW4 twice . We love EDM music and I love festival fashion. We knew this would be a suitable theme to allow our guests to experience what we love most and take them through a musical journey. We knew this was going to be a theme right from the start, actually I had envisioned all my themes as soon as we started the planning process. This afterparty was right after the Welcome Dinner.
Bridal Look
Outfit: Koesch | Shorts: Topshop | Necklace: Rock n Rose | Shoes: Millies
Ironically even though I am well in-tune with my inner hippie, I was a bit stressed on how to execute a hippie look whilst still making it look a little Bridal and sparkly. It was a godsend to stumble across Kresha from Koesch, who had similar visions and style aesthetics as mine to help develop this outfit. I knew I wanted to capture the image of a Tribal Princess, but wanted to wear a soft lilac colour to bring out my complexion. She designed her signature embellished cape top with a see through organza skirt. It was the perfect amount of bridal, eccentric and unique and I loved it instantly! I Accessorized this outfit with an Afghan necklace to give it that hipster vibe. We kept the same make up as the Arab dinner, and left the swaroski crystals on my eyelids, but I removed my contact lenses and we decided to go for a very sleek runway hairstyle.
Decor
Party Favours
To make this event feel truly like a rave, we gave out LED flower crowns, LED Sunglasses, we had gold and sliver luxury temporary tattoos so our guests could accessorize at the event. For those who know me, know that these are my key accessories at a rave.
For those who don't know what a Sangeet is, it is a party thrown the night before the wedding day, where the bride and grooms family put on a show for the couple to celebrate their union. It usually involves lots of dance performances by family and friends.
This outfit was inspired but the TV-series Reign; I am obsessed with all the costumes on the show and knew that I wanted to wear an outfit which was a cross between Indo-Victorian culture. I knew a Dolce & Gabanna look a-like crown would be the perfect accessory for me to be ready to Reign. Elvie Jewelry Dreams made me a customised crown to match my jewelry, it was such a beautiful gift. For my hair I wanted to go for something very clean, I often see curly hair gone wrong and messy especially on dark hair, so we went for half up soft waves, pushed back from my face so the focus could be on my make-up and my jewels.
For this look I wanted to look traditional with a twist. I wanted my jewellery and face to look very ethnic and traditional, but I know my face can't carry off the classic ethnic outfits. Inspired by a Dolce & Gabbana bag, I decided to go with a pinkish nude colour base outfit. I thought since the colour was light, and nice for a daytime wedding, my jewellery would stand our more as I didn't want to look messy and cluttered with an out of sync outfit. I feel that you spend so much money on your jewelry, why have it hidden behind a heavy outfit; why not wear something to enhance the jewellery and yourself. Im sure you can notice I had red lipstick on in the pictures above, but we found that it was making me look too traditional, thats why we switched to a shocking pink to make it look edgy.
Decor
Event 8: Reception
Theme: Winter's Tale
Attire: Black Tie/Formal/Traditional
Following the wedding ceremony we had our Reception. This theme was inspired by our winters together in London. London has
always been my husband and mine happy place, so we thought this would be
the most suitable theme for our happily ever after. Also with Christmas
just a few days away, it seemed fitting to have Christmas trees,
snowflakes, mistletoes to kick-start the festive mood.
I've always wanted a white wedding and as our reception was a black tie event this was only fulfilling one of my dreams. Designer, Shivani Awasty designed the gown of my dreams beautifully. We choose to go with a cream gown with a touch of pink embellishments. I accessorized with a winter crown from Etsy, and diamond set from Didi's Jewellery. I love coloured diamonds, and wearing a yellow diamond has always been a dream and was so pleased with my set. I wanted to keep my hair up with this look to give the emphasis to this beautiful necklace.
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I know for our big day, my husband could trust no one else but Bobby's Fashions to deliver a bespoke suit that is reasonable and made with such high quality. They're main branch is in Hong Kong, but travel to America, UK and Australia every other month! Get in touch with them to book your consultation and get your father/brother/husband/fiance/boyfriend/guy friend suited up!
Father & Daughter Dance
Entertainment & Decor
Watch our Wedding Highlights
Honeymoon
The Honeymoon was probably the only thing that kept us sane through the whole wedding madness. It was just knowing that at the end of all this, we could have some time alone to chill and travel. I feel you only go on a Honeymoon once in your life, so you might as well make this the most exciting and adventurous holiday possible. We decided to go a few weeks after the wedding, just to give me some time to settle into my new home and family, and also to rest and recover from wedding planning and the wedding itself. I'll save all the details about this for my next post.
Tips for Bridal Looks
- Don't wear your whole bank account, nobody cares how big your jewellery is or how heavy or how much work your outfit has, wear something that accentuates YOU and YOUR beauty.
- When choosing your bridal outfits, decide on colours and silhouettes that suit you. This is not a time to experiment, stick to what you know looks good on you and build your looks around that.
- Decide on your jewellery before your outfits, jewellery is a lifetime investment. Pick something thatis ever-green, especially with fashion changing constantly
- For any bride-to-be, I suggest if you are going to India to get your outfits done, go 4 months before your wedding dates as designers require that much time to design and deliver the final piece
-During the wedding occasions, remember to drink lots of water. Its important to stay hydrated for good skin throughout the wedding.
Advice to newly engaged couples on Wedding Planning
Wedding planning is a once in a lifetime experience, it gives the engagement period some of its best moments as well as some of its toughest. It truly does test your relationship but once you get past it there is much more to gain from the rewards as a married couple. There is never an end-point to "wedding planning" till the wedding itself is over, you can find yourself fine tuning down to the nth hour which is what makes it so nerve racking. Therefore its very important that at least a good 2 weeks prior to start of the functions you delegate the responsibilities because time just flies past during the course of the events, and you need to be focussing on yourselves. After a certain point there is not much you can do about what is going around, and you will never get these moments back, where you have BOTH your worlds under the same roof celebrating your love.
