BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Alia Bhatt's Vintage Wedding Outfits in Raazi

I'm a bit late for this one, as the film came out about 10 months ago! I thought I'd post about the outfits from Bollywood hit Raazi, starring Alia Bhatt as a spy called Sehmat, as I loved the outfits she wore. The costume designers were Maxima Basu and Bhagyashree Dattatreya Rajurkar, who have designed for other period movies (think Padhmavaat!) so it's not surprising these are pretty.

The first outfit was the Sehmat's wedding gharara, which is vintage gorgeousness! The film is set in the 70s, and I love how the outfits reflect this (not to mention this faux wedding photo below!)

I loved the details of this outfit, not to mention the contrasting green dupatta, , the gota kaam (the gold fabric sewn on), and the beautiful jewellery. I'm sure my mum would be able to relate to a lot of these pieces, as a lot of it is reminiscent of her time (although perhaps some of this is a little more glamorous that some brides at that time!). The makeup is dressy without being too much, and works well with the red lips.

The next outfit is the sari worn in the bride's 'rukhsati' or 'bidaai' scene, which is when she is leaving her parents to go to her new home.The character wears a simple baby pink and light blue sari, which is accessorised with a separate dupatta for her head, as well as pretty jewels. I thought this was more cute than gorgeous, but it does go with the Alia's look for the movie, and certainly does look a little 70s to me!

What did you think of the costumes in this movie? And did you like the gharara or the sari more?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas

What a year it's been for celebrity weddings! And one which has rounded off the year for us is the beautiful Priyanka Chopra's wedding to beau Nick Jonas. It's a sweet mix of Western traditions and Eastern cultures, and I liked how the couple celebrated with a Hindu ceremony (in which Priyank awore a deep red Sabysachi lengha) and a Christian ceremony in which the bride wore couture designer Ralph Lauren.

I like both dresses, although the Ralph Lauren dress is probably more dramatic and impressive with a 70-foot veil!

I'll be posting more about this couple's wedding events very soon - what did you think of the outfits?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Deepika Padukone Weds Ranveer Singh

We've all been holding our breaths on this one - and after a few days of no pictures (apart from a few blurry ones of the island the couple are staying on), Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh released a couple of beautiful photos of them tying the knot while at Lake Como, Italy.

The couple look gorgeous, twinning in rich red and gold, made by the artist that is Sabyasachi. I love that they both opted for two ceremonies as a nod to both of their backgrounds - the first being the Konkani (South Indian) look, and the second being the Anand Karaj look which is the Sikh ceremony.

I love the whole look - Deepika didn't simplify her wedding look but looks beautiful - glamorous, glowy and completely bridal. I didn't straightaway but someone online pointed out the Hindi script on the edge of her dupatta, which translates to "Saubhagyavati Bhava", which means something along the lines of 'May you alwats be the one whose husband is alive and may you remain safe from widowhood', which is a romantic touch for her bridal look. Ranveer looks suitably royal - I love that as dressed up as he is though, he still looks absolutely delighted!

I'll be posting more about these gorgeous couple when we get full outfit pictures, as well as about the upcoming receptions for the couple in Mumbai - who's excited?!

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Grey & Red Outfit by Elegance of Oooh My

I'm always looking for affordable (translation: cheap!) outfits online - if I can't find them on the high street then I usually have a search online on various websites, Instagram pages or just stalk some of my randon style icons to see where they shop!

I was recently sent a lovely outfit by online company Elegance of Oooh My, (their sister company is modest fashion wear Oooh My), which sells affordable ready made Asian outfits, ideal for casual wear or slightly dressier occasions (I'm thinking dawats, bbqs and random dress up days!). The outfits on the website aren't too dressy and are mostly cotton, lawn and chiffon embroidered pieces, with the emphasis on comfortable, including kurta style tops and 3-piece outfits.

I was invited to pick an outfit to try, and picked this outfit below - a grey 3-piece suit with black embroidery, accented with a pretty scarlet red scarf and red rose embroidery on the hem of the kameez. This is the kameez below - I loved the tassel details!

Here are the details while the kaam is not high end, I think what you pay for a cheap outfit is not too bad. The embroidery is machine-worked, and the material is standard cotton, but I thought the cut of the outfit was done quite well.

This is me wearing it - I really liked the fit of the kameez and thought it looked lovely with the red dupatta. I'm a little wary of outfits which don't fit well in a flattering way, and also am not too keen on kameezes which are too short - so this was the perfect length for me, short enough to  be trendy but still long enough to be modest.

I loved how easy it was to wear this - just pair with red shoes, red lips and you're done! It was also a lovely suit for the heat - the material is quite lightweight and it's very fuss-free.

Outfit - Elegance of Oooh My

Shoes - New Look

Handbag - Zara

Overall, my experience with Elegance of Oooh My was great - the communication with the seller was great, my outfit arrived in about 2 days after I confirmed the order, and it was exactly what it looked like on the website. 

I have often bought custom-made outfits in the past (especially in the days of Facebook sellers!) but am a little more wary now - I would rather buy an affordable branded outfit or a buy from a reputable seller who posts pictures of their actual products rather than generic photoshoot or catwalk photos so I know what to expect. I am also finding that as the prices of designers and custom-made businesses are raising their prices, there are also more companies filling the need of those who want affordable ready made outfits (although not all of them are brilliant!).

I thought this outfit was a pretty good bargain - this particular one is only £35.00 which is cheaper than a lot of the pieces I've seen on the high street, and the company has come across as quite reliable. The website itself has outfits ranging from £25 to £38 which I think is reasonable, and the outfits are pretty on-trend which is always great!

Elegance of Oooh My - website
Elegance of Oooh My - Instagram page

I'll be posting most of my experiences of Instagram sellers, but do let me know if you have tried any companies worth recommending!

BOLLYWOOD ISTYLE: Anushka Sharma Weds Virat Kholi

I’m sure a lot of you caught photos for this one – Anushka Sharma’s super-secret wedding to Virat Kholo last month, which was planned by the couple themselves, in a small ceremony in Italy (which I did follow via hashtag #Virushka!) The couple looked like they had a fun wedding, and it seemed like a pretty happy event all around. I wanted to post the outfits the bride wore, which were a good mix of styles - although all designed by Sabyaschi!

The Engagement

This was a pretty smart affair, with Virat wearing a smart suit and Anushka in a gorgeous velvet maroon sari which she rocked with a simple updo and red flowers in her hair, and a gorgeous choker necklace. I think this would be among my favourite of the looks she had, striking, classy and elegant done well.

The Sangeet

What I liked about this most of all was how genuinely happy the couple looked here – neither of them are overly dressed up, and the henna looks exquisite. I really liked Anushka’s and Virat’s outfits – they’re wonderfully colourful, and feel fun fun – perfect  for a henna event, and you can see how relaxed the bride and groom are. And I’m sure none of us missed the déjà vu feeling though – seeing some of these photos reminded me a little of the wedding in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil! Anushka looks pretty in a print, brightly printed lengha choli and Virat looks great in a complimenting hot pink waistcoat jacket.

The Wedding

For the wedding ceremony itself, Anushka wore a pretty floral lengha by leading designer Sabyasachi (who seems to be everyone’s first choice at the moment, I’ve noticed). The outfit was a girly one – pastel pinks and white, with a very spring vibe to it. I have to confess, I didn’t love this wedding look  – it was okay but it could have been so much better. Perhaps I’m used to the more glamorous looks, but something about this looked a little ordinary – especially the hair and makeup, which looked a little flat, and felt like Anushka’s  beauty didn’t shine through. I was a little surprised by rave comments about her bridal but I guess it’s down to different tastes. Personally I think Anushka would have looked amazing if she had gone for a similar look as this one (especially the hair which I love!) – but hey, that’s just me. Having said that, I later saw photos of Anushka's hair under the dupatta which had beautiful soft pink roses, which looked really pretty!

The Delhi Wedding Reception

For the couple's first reception in Virat's home town, Anushka looked appropriately ‘wifey’ in a rich red silk Benarasi Sabyasachi saree – can’t get more regal and respectable looking than that – and with her gorgeous figure pulled it off well. She got the ornamental side of things pretty well put together as well, and I do think that she looked more glowy on this event. having said that, I still think her hair was again, a little flat, and could have been made more glamorous, but it did showcase her sari and extravagant jewellery quite well!

The Mumbai Wedding Reception

This last event was the wedding reception in Mumbai with all the stars, where Anushka wore another Sabysachi ensemble, this time a nude-beigey gold lengha-choli outfit. I think this outfit suited her the most, and was another of all of her bridal outfits that I really liked. I also think her hair looked the best on this day – it framed her face well and looked elegant with her tasteful makeup.

  

Over all I think Anushka did look pretty on her wedding events, but some looks were better than others. I can guess that like a lot of Bollywood heroines, Anushka has done a lot of bridal looks before so wasn’t looking to go overboard or too blingy on her wedding, which makes sense. I also think that the first bridal look in pink pastels and florals looked great for a destination wedding, and I can see the theme she was aiming for.

What did you think of her bridal looks? Which one did you like best?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Anushka's Dreamy Nikah Outfit in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

I've been seeing some promos for this movie the last few weeks, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which released a few days ago in time for Diwali celebrations. I'm a big fan of Ranbir Kapoor's movies for the quirky characters he plays, and also of Anushka's bubbly personality, so will be looking forward to this one!

One of the things everyone has been talking about (apart from the beautiful songs and their lyrics!) is Anushka and Ranbir's wedding scene, which features Anushka wearing a beautiful, regal red and gold outfit designed by Bollywood costume king Manish Malhotra.

This is the dress itself (posted in Manish Malhotra's instagram account!) - I love how regal and old-school this outfit looks, while still mixing in beautiful jewellery and modern trends. I think the jewellery for this works beautifully, and looks very Pakistani or traditionally Indian which is gorgeous.

This was the only image i was able to find of the trail of the dress (and it's not that clear, is it!), but it shoes the lovely A-line shape of the skirt.

The draping of this bridal look is what makes half of it (the jewellery too!) there's two dupattas being used here, the one on her head and the second one draped across the front of the outfit for a traditional look.

Over the years I've noticed that Bollywood brides in films tend to use very simple, light makeup (like this bridal, for example!) - for this scene Anushka has more of a smokey-eye look and soft pink lips, which I liked because it looked a lot more like brides I've seen in real life. Having said that, the eye makeup also makes Anushka look slightly ill - perhaps less pink around the eyes?

I haven't seen many other outfits from this film yet, but I did see these two sneak peeks below which I liked - the left is the mehndi outfit and the right is a glimpse of a pretty sparkly white outfit. I loved that Anushka's outfit on the left is a mix of embellished skirt and s kundan necklace with a off-white collar-shirt, very cool!

Apparently the bridal dress weighted 17kg and was a real struggle for Anushka - you can see her talking about it here.

 Images from @manishmalhotra and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil promos

I've also seen a lot of comparisons between Anushka's brida outfit from this film and the pretty white and gold bridal outfit she wears in Sultan - I personally love both!

What did you think of this bridal outfit?

On the Catwalk, On the Celeb...Shilpa Shetty in Ridhi Mehra

I haven't seen Shilpa in the news for a while but recently she's been cropping up again at the catwalks and fashion shows, and is looking good while she's doing it!

I thought I'd post a quick outfit I saw on the Bollywood star that I liked by Ridhi Mehra (makes a change from the constant Sonam-Priyanka-Deepika outfits I keep seeing, as much as I enjoy looking at them!) - let me know what you think of the outfit!

On the catwalk:
I LOVE the oxblood red colour of this outfit, and though it looked very chic on the catwalk - flowy, stylish and very fusion in style, a great balance of westernised jumpsuits and dressy asian wear. The only thing I didn't love about this outfit was the deep V-neck which seemed a little too low, and brings the effortless look of the outfit down a bit- apart from that, I love it, it reminds me of something you'd see on an Italian catwalk, particularly the cinched-in belt added in which gives it a lovely, smart look.

On the celeb:
I think what I like most about this outfit was that it looks a lot more playful on Shipa, and also more girly. She worked the V-neck pretty well here (probably because it's not so low and also looks more chic), and I also love that she accessorised with pretty gold earrings (by Valliyan) and and pretty gold stack bangles (by Prerto) for a minimal but elegant look. For some reason the outfit looks more fuschia in these pictures, but it still works well and I love that she's managed to make it a great dressed-up evening look.

I'm not sure which look I prefer more - the catwalk one is much more stylish and Westernised, but on Shilpa she carried the outfit wonderfully and looks a lot more spunky which I quite like!

So here's a random story -  did I ever tell you (readers) about the time I (kind of) met Shilpa Shetty?

It was while I was working part-time in Knightsbridge at university (I won't say when but it was nearly a decade ago!) a little while after the actress appeared in Big Brother, so she was staying around London for a little while to shop.
My job was to be a 'host' (basically a greeter) for the day at Monsoon in Knightsbridge to greet customers and show them around. In breezes in a tall, pretty brown woman with oversized sunglasses, who walked past way too fast, before I could say 'Hi! Welcome to Monsoon!' in my fake cheery voice.
So while I looked around in a baffled way about why someone had walked past so quickly, another person (later found out this was Shilpa's PR Team) stopped to tell me not to worry and leave the customer alone. I crept up to the main cash till to speak to my colleagues, and amid furious whispers we all realised the beautiful Shilpa was in our store. Unfortunately our managers also caught us whispering and warned us not to approach the actress, ask for photos or autographs (this was before the explosion of selfies, really) and basically treat her like a normal customer.

Shilpa tried on a few dresses, bought a pretty yellow number and then left, and that was the end of it -  none of us got any pictures. It was still pretty cool for the teenager I was at the time though!

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Pretty Pastels & Churi Dupattas from Umsha by Uzma Babar

I saw these two outfits today - both by the same designer, Pakistani label Umsha by Uzma Babar  - with the same signature style, but with two different colour palattes and style that I loved equally. I saw both of these in east London with stockists Texheeb London, which carries the designer (plus a few more), so it's always worth a look when going past.

The first outfit was this lovely anarkali piece with a skirt, in a soft peachy pink with pale blue accents and floral embroidery and gold work all over. I loved the soft colours of this piece, and though it would be perfect for a summer wedding or a spring event. It's a lovely piece which can be dressed up as a bridal (it does come with a skirt) or worn by guests for a special event, which I thought would look lovely - I can image a whole wedding theme catered to these colours!

The second outfit was this bridal by the designer in a soft creamy yellow mixed with a rich red and rusty orange. I like that the heavy kameez is balanced out by a brocade skirt, but my favourite thing is probably the addition of a chunri dupatta (you can see some examples of these here - they're dupattas with printed dotted patterns for an ethnic look), which I haven't seen in years. I remember seeing these when I was younger, and I even have one hidden away somewhere which I bought for my own mehndi (and didn't end up using!), so it's lovely to see this used as a bridal dupatta. I've seen examples of chunri dupattas used in bridals in Pakistan, but not in the local stores in London, so it's lovely to see this.

I'm still deciding which outfit I like better (I'm leaning towards the pastel pink and blue one) - which one do you like more?

MAKEUP REVIEW: My Current Top Ten Beauty Products...April 2016

I thought I'd do a quick post about my current top ten makeup favourites, especially as I do get some readers asking for recommendations. Below are a mix of higher-end and drugstore products I use a lot - I wasn't able to post swatches but if you would like to see some, comment below!

1. Too Faced Cocoa Contour Palette
The contouring trend has hit the makeup world hard, so it's natural to want some chiseled cheeks as well! This Too Faced palette is my go-to contouring palette - it's easy to use, and it's perfect for beginners. I'm one of those people where the saying 'less is more' definitely applies, so a light touch of contour is just what I look for. This palette is simple, easy to use and blends beautifully - not to mention smells like yummy chocolate which is always a plus in my books!

2. Inglot Gel Liner
I've been using this gel liner for a few years, the previous gel liner I used was Mac Blacktrack, but I actually prefer this. When I'm not reaching for a liquid eyeliner pen, I reach for this, especially to wear on top of eyeshadows. Not only is it smoother and looks a little blacker, it doesn't dry out as quickly as the Mac gelpot, and is seriously easy to apply. I also bought the Inglot 30T brush with this pot, which is also perfect for precise lines, and is something I would recommend for beginners.

3. Kiko Soft Blush - Shade 100
I bought this on a whim from Kiko, and have been using it for a few years now - it's the perfect glowy  honey gold shade for my skin without looking cakey, and blends really well. I'm a big fan of Kiko Milano products and really think they are great value for money. I've since bought a few more shades in this range and have not been disappointed - perfect for everyday wear or dressier occasions!

4. Anastasia Beverley Hills Dip Brow Pomade
I'll admit, I wasn't sure about this product when it was released because of all of the hype that came with it. But I decided to give it a try and bought shade dark brown, and was pleasantly surprised - it really is that good. I use this pretty sparingly because I'm always a little conscious of having blocky eyebrows - but when applied with a gentle hand, this can really make a difference to your eye makeup.

5. Makeup Revolution Blush in Shade Now
One of my all-time favourite pink blushers - and it only cost £1! I have no idea if this is a dupe for a higher end blush, but it's a really pretty, flattering shade of plummy pink which gets me compliments every time I wear it. I've got a lot of other pink blushers but I still reach for this one for a nice girl look.

6. Mac Face and Body Foundation

I've worn Mac foundation for years, from Studio Fix and Pro-Longwear to the Matchmaster and Sheer Powders, but in the last few years I've used less of these because they either feel too heavy on me or oxidise a little. A big exception is the Face and Body foundation - it's lightweight, thin and easy to blend, and looks very natural on. I always recommend this for people looking for an alternative to tinted moisterisers, the coverage is decent without being heavy and feels natural on.

7. Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lip Creams
I've posted about these before, and my opinion hasn't changed - these are amazing for drugstore liquid lipsticks, and the colour range are lovely - a lot of liquid lipsticks come in bright colours but these are softer and girlier. These are my go-to lipsticks for works, and last me pretty much the whole day - and better still, there have been more colours released recently too!

8. Mac Iridiscent Loose Powder
Quite possibly one of the best-kept secrets by Mac - multi-functioning loose powder which is very fine and beautifully pigmented, in golden bronze and a silvery pink. You can use it alone, mix with foundation or wear on top as a highlighter. I don't know many people who use this but I highly recommend it - a tiny bit goes a long way and really makes your face glow - perfect for strobing too!

9. Nyx Soft Matte lip creams
Another lip product I've blogged about before, these Nyx lip creams are amazing value for money. I had to buy these from a seller in America, but they have since been released in Boots and Selfridges in a big range of colours, which I love. I have most of the colours, and use these pretty much all the time - the nude shades are my favourites!

10. Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks

I know, another liquid lipstick product, but these ones are slightly more higher end and it really shows in the quality of these. I bought these recently via a friend who go them from Sephora, and they are one of my favourites in my lipstick collection. They are beautifully creamy, very pigmented and look great on. If you have a bit more money to spend, I highly recommend these - the shades below are Bahau5 ( a beautiful magenta purple) and Lolita (a rich pink-brown).

I'm pretty sure you can tell I love my lipsticks, especially liquid lipsticks! This isn't really an encompassing list of all of my favourite products, and I'm sure in a few months time it will change, but for now these are my favourites!

Do you own any of these? Which are your favourites?