Airport Style Tips

Being a manager of a brand with stores spread across the Middle East, I travel quite often- short trips of course, but twice in a year I have the much dreaded 6 hour flight to London. I know 6 hours is nothing, but I’m petrified of travelling alone and 6 hours is the longest I’ve ever been in the aircraft.

Moving on to the main topic here, I always like to travel light. I hate having to carry more than 1 check in bag- my handbag. My airport style is quite casual and fuss free and I maintain a calm and composed look when I travel alone.  My looks depend on the place I’m flying to and hence I dress according to the occasion and the weather.I usually fly out in the morning and come back in the evening or sometimes spend a day in Dubai. These trips are rather quick and require me to dress appropriately for work.

• Because Trousers crumple easily during the journey and blazers make me feel hot and icky when I’m getting around, I prefer wearing strong, Ponte leggings and an un-tucked georgette blouse or a sturdy pair of dark wash denims with a crisp light-colored shirt tucked in. I refrain from layering unless it’s winter, where I’ll wear a formal jumper over. I never wear heels when travelling, never.  I love my comfy leather ballet flats or a classy loafer. Heels, apart from being a strain during travel, can make you feel uncomfortable and slow you down. It’s better to stick to a comfortable shoe rather than paying a price to come across as stylish. I say this again; simply wearing heels does not make one stylish. Flats can do that too.

• My hair is always left loose when I travel or tied up in a loose pony tail as taut knots and buns tend to give me a headache. I stick to something easy. It’s better to leave your lair loose so that you can put your head back and relax on the flight without shuffling in your seat.
• Make up is simple on short trips and very minimal on longer ones. I stick to loose powder and blush with eyeliner and carry a moisturizing lip balm with me. Longer trips find me with only mascara and lipstick. The lipstick makes up for my otherwise pale and un-colored face. You don’t want to use too much cream or liquid based foundation when travelling, as the skin gets really dry while in the aircraft and the foundation is just going to crack and create creases all over your face. If you really must use them, I suggest using a concealer over imperfections and setting it with loose powder.  Touch up’s can be done every 3 hours.
• I keep jewelry to a minimum as some airports will request that you take them all off before scanning and this can delay you.
• You must own a travel handbag that is big enough and easy to carry all that you need. In my case I use an over-sized leather tote from Mango that is structured well and is my travel companion. I even use this bag for 2 day trips and it even holds a change of clothes along with my laptop and work files. It is an amazing bag and perfect for travel. I highly recommend these styles from Mango.

• Hydrating yourself is very important before flying so make sure you drink lots of water and keep a travel sized moisturizer with you at all times.

Summer Secrets to Layering

 Stepping out from an air conditioned home to the scorching heat outside and into a freezing office/ mall can scramble your thoughts about what you have to wear for the day. I personally love full sleeves and  3/4^th sleeved tops or dresses but wearing them in the summer and especially summer in Bahrain, can be quite uncomfortable.

Here are a few ways you can beat the heat and keep temperatures normal in a cool place, while looking chic at the same time:

• Wear a sleeveless blouse and carry a lightweight shawl or jacket along with you to throw on when you’re indoors.
• Always make sure you have good, airy fabrics. Lightweight jackets and shawls are best in cotton for the season. If it’s a blend of poly cotton, make sure the cotton % is more than the polyester mix.
•  Instead of wearing camisoles under opaque blouses, opt for boob tubes instead.
•  Layering separates can be fun when you work with cotton so a light linen shirt thrown over a bright colored tank top can be quite cool.
• Make Ponte leggings a wardrobe essential.
• While wearing jackets/ blazers to work, choose to wear short sleeved or sleeveless blouses inside.
•  Closed shoes are essential in a professional working environment so make sure you wear 10 denier socks suitable for your shoes to soak up some moisture. Wearing leather shoes without socks at this time can be very unhygienic.
• Strappy, open toed and tie up sandals are great for weekends instead of closed shoes.

Stay true to these little tips and you’ll find a way to bear the heat. If all else fails, wear a dress, no layering, but where’s the fun in that?

Blouse, Leggings and Bag: Mango, Jacket: Preen, Shoes: Miss Selfridge, Necklace: Gifted,

Sapphire

This Dobby blouse from  Mango is everything! It's sheer, lightweight, feminine and looks so rich. I love the style so much, I picked it up in four different colors- Blue, Red, Black and White.

I recently injured my neck and had to spend my weekend at home,so I decided to match my mood to my outfit- Blue.I absolutely hate the weather at the moment and try to wear "airy" garments. I hate the fact that everything sticks on to me in the humidity and , maxi skirts are great because you have enough room to walk around in something so modest and breathable for this treacherous summer.

On another note, it seems to be the year of weddings. Everyone I know is either getting married or pregnant! I'm so happy for all my friends who got hitched / gave birth to mini awesome humans this year! Special shootout to my darling Sarika, who tied the knot today in a very traditional ceremony at Guruvayoor!

Blouse and Belt: Mango, Skirt: Origem, Bag: Accessorize, Shoes: Sister's Closet, Necklace: Gifted

Rose Garden

 Sometimes I find that printed pieces make a bigger statement than color blocking and solid layering. Less is always more when it comes to playing with prints and it can even be helpful in creating an effortless chic look.

Think about it- a solid colored dress can look gorgeous but will only get attention for a second or two. While wearing prints, it takes about 5 to 6 seconds to understand the design and can come off as stylish when you just pair it with white, or an accent color. Let the fabric do all the work and you can be lazy for the day.

Here I’ve matched this dusty pink loose knit tee to a Roses print trouser and played with white as the second accent color. While dark green would have also be a great combination for this piece, I found lighter tones more wearable for the current season.  Also, I love the contrast between the velvet black of these kitten heels against the pale color of the top. My trusty faux snakeskin clutch in pink and a basic black headband to pull away all the hair from my face in this dreadful  moist heat adds the finishing touches to this look.

Also, taking a moment to talk about this beautiful dusty pink tee from Hobbs, I’m obsessed with smart, casual tees and this one is a great work wear basic and I love how it can be worn in so many ways. I’m super excited to layer this with work shirts for winter.

Lightweight tee in Dusty Pink : HOBBS

Denim, Burgundy and Navy

 Like black and white, white and tan, mint and pink, navy and beige, one of my all time favorite combinations is- Denim and Burgundy/Maroon/Bordeaux- whatever you like to call it.

Because the location for the shoot was so beautiful and full of lush green tones, the idea of working with burgundy seemed good to me. I love rich reds and deep purples against a forest green color palette and while I would have paired this Bordeaux skirt with black or white, I opted for navy instead, as I found the tones rather daring. A rugged jacket not only make the look go from casual brunch to a quick pub stop easy, it also made me not worry about where they day would take me. I love these strappy block heeled shoes as they're super comfortable and wearable throughout the day! A great sale buy, these babies can be paired with cut off denims, dresses and jeans without making you look "too dressed up" for a casual event.
Maybe I should have picked up the tan color way as well, huh?

On another note, say hello to my new shoot location. It's acres of greenery and flowers and you'll definitely be seeing more of it the posts to come!

Top: Camaieu, Skirt and Jacket: Mango, Shoes: Zara, Bag: Spring

10 reasons to have a Gang of Girlfriends

I think we can all agree when I say that friends are a vital part of our day to day lives. While having a guy friend/friends have their own perks, nothing can come close to having a bunch of close girlfriends! I have a crazy bunch myself and I can tell you this much- If it weren't for these amazing women, my life would be drab and painfully empty.

Sure I enjoy my solitary moments when I’m reading or having a spa day or quieter times with my best friend and sister but sometimes you just need a small crowd. Be it shopping, brunch, travelling, a night out or slumber parties, having a close knit group of girls can change your life and here’s how:

1. You can never go wrong in picking out an outfit when you have an honest opinion, collectively.
2. Break-up’s aren’t that depressing when you can drown your sorrows in a mega sized bucket of Ben and Jerry’s and not have to worry about gaining too much weight when you have 6 other girls eating out of the tub with you.
3. Taking over that little salon in the corner of the street has never been better. Having your nails done in a crowded salon isn’t your ideal service. Having the salon crowded with faces you’d rather see and voices you’d rather hear make the time spent there even better. Topics to discuss and colors to select are endless.
4. Leave your brains at home, drown your IQ in a glass of water and sit on your logical reasoning powers! Your Girl gang meet up is the only place where you can openly fight for the top position on the ladder of stupidity and not get judged for it.
5. Travelling is cheaper and 10x more fun when you have your girls with you. Nothing beats discovering a new place, playing dress up and midnight talks with your girl gang in a luxurious penthouse suite in a foreign country.
6. You look forward to group chats and the media and voice clips that come along with it.
7. Impromptu meet up plans are not an issue as you’ve mastered the art of getting ready in a matter of minutes. Put on a clean shirt and show up sans makeup in all your imperfect glory. Being judgmental is for acquaintances.
8. You never have to worry about over sleeping on weekends. Waking up to the ring of 158 unread whatsapp messages may not be your ideal wake up call, but it’ll do.
9. Sure selfies are a mental disorder, but who said that was a bad thing? It’s time to get your production defect mode on and click away. Besides, nothing makes a selfie more special than your best girlfriends all huddled up in one awesome picture.
10. Times of distress and sorrow are easier to get through when you have 6 voices encouraging you to keep moving forward and staying strong.

DIY- My Signature twisted hairdo

When my hair was longer, a trademark look of mine, loved by many, was the twisted low knot. Now that my hair is much shorter and all I can do is let it loose or tie it into a low pony, I decided to find a way around to re-create the highly –requested signature look and here’s how you can too.

Before we begin, all you need to have on your dresser is a hair brush, a strong elastic headband and a few bobby pins (optional- if you've got stubborn hair).

For this hairdo- you needn’t straighten out your hair completely. Slightly wavy hair is better to achieve a great look that holds well.

Let’s get started:

1.       Brush out your hair and create a middle partition.

2.       Put on your elastic headband over the head so it sits over the hair above the nape of your neck and not under it.

3.       Start by twisting small sections of hair above the arch of your eyebrow and twist this into the headband and pull out from inside. Continue to twist sections of hair into the band- the sections can be small if you want a tighter twist or bigger if you want a loose twist. I personally prefer slightly bigger sections.

4.       Once you've finished twisting both sides until the back, you will have a fistful of hair left out. Using both hands secure all the remaining hair and twist this fully into the band. Use bobby pins to secure if needed and finish off with hairspray if you want a stronger hold to last you throughout the night.

5.       Pull out a few strands at the sides if needed, for a messier look- This goes well with dresses and bohemian styles while I would suggest keeping it tight and clean for Ethnic wear.

You can even wear this look with different headbands- floral bands, plain black ones for work or diamante bands for the night.

Simple, easy and a great do for bad hair days! Hope you guys found this tutorial helpful. Do leave comments on other tutorials you guys would like to see on the comments section below!