Eid Clothes Sneek Peek!

The local Asian shops have been buzzing with shoppers buying new outfits, and the girls in my family have been no exception! I've not managed to find anything I'm happy with (everything is too expensive, too heavy, too light, too ugly...me? picky?)

Here are a few of my finalists for outfits which caught my eye in the shops on the high street (sneakily taken in changing rooms - don't judge me, I couldn't resist!) as well as some outfits I already own but haven't worn for a while which I'm thinking of putting to use, opinions anyone?

Entry #1: A wine red jacket with metal and diamante embellishment all along the front and neckline, and a long 'tail' at the back of the jacket. Comes with a raw silk plain deep red kameez underneath the jacket, and steel metal grey straight trousers and grey dupatta. Looks very, very sparkly one, but may not be practical as it looks a little too heavy and more for a wedding-y occasion. But appealed to me a lot because of the glittery sparkle and the beautiful shade of red, plus I love jacket-style clothes (you may have picked up by now my penchant for sparkly things!)

 

Entry #2: A lovely bottle green long kameez which comes nearly down to the ankle, as is the Pakistani fashion at the moment. I liked this one because of the pretty beadwork and the A-line shape of the kameez, plus the fact that I don't have a kameez as long as this one. This outfit comes with wide, sharara-style trousers, and has a bright blue splash of fabric on the sides in a ruched style, and also on the neckline (as you can see in the picture). The only thing I was not sure about with this design was the combination of the dark green and gold, with the sky blue chiffon, which seemed a little incongruous. Jury's still out on this one.

 

Entry #3: Next up is something from my wardrobe, a rose and cranberry ombre-shaded coloured suit, consisting of a jacket with brocade-style lining and an inner, sleeveless kameez worn underneath with embellishment along the chest and the waist of it. I love this outfit as it is something which I always  get compliments from every time I have worn it; it's such a flattering cranberry red and rose colour combination, and the the maroon satin/brocade lining is my favourite part of it. The only thing that puts me off about this one is that I can't find the dupatta for this suit anywhere! Although I'm sure I can find something in my mum's wardrobe which will go perfectly :)

Entry #4: I fell in love with this dress at first sight simply because it's so well put together. This is a long, A-line dress style kameez in royal purple, with a a large strip of black velvet fabric at the hem, with hot pink and olive green satin-y strips along it. There's also a black velvet portion at the neck and chest of the kameez (see the first picture below) which is covered in metal dabka work, beads and diamante patterns. What I like about this suit is that it's not too heavy, the only work is at the neck and it's not too small that it won't get covered up by my hijab (which is a real problem with me!). I also love the shape of this kameez, it's long enough that it comes down to mid-shin, but not too long that you can't see a peep of the churidar underneath. Also, it has nice velvet cuffs and I'm quite partial to nice sleeves. The only thing with this outfit is that it's again, a little costly, and I'm not sure whether the price of it justifies what I am getting.

 

Entry 5#: Last one! This one is another outfit from my wardrobe, bought from Pakistan about a year ago by my mum. It's in a light creamy-yellow shade with hot pink detail and embroidery, as well as pearl-looking beads and diamante running down the front of the whole dress. I love the shape of this dress, it's very flattering for my shape and satisfyingly swishy too. It's made up of panels and has wide trousers to wear with it, as well as small bead work scattered around the dress. I also like the fact that it has a high collar and fitted sleeves, which add a little more of the glam-factor.

So that's all the entries, please do let me know which you like the most! 

I will be posting very soon which one I ended up going with, and please also let me know what you will be wearing, as I always like to hear about this from my readers :)

Hajj Mubarak and Eid Mubarak everyone, and I hope you have a lovely day looking beautiful (and spilling food on your nice new clothes - don't worry you're not alone!)

BRIDE COUTURE: Nargis's Kashmiri Look

Here's a sneak peek still of upcoming Bollywood film Rockstar which is being released next week, which features newcomer Narghis Fakhri. She's shown here in a traditional Kahsmiri wedding outfit and accessories, which I think looks absolutely stunning, as you would expect from deisgners Manish Malhotra and Aki Narula.

I'm not a big fan of orange clothes (I have a real aversion to them, in fact!) but here it is a lovely, traditional look, and still manages to retain a beautifully old-fashioned look to it. I also think that this is a great look to take inspiration from for those brides looking for hijabi-bridal ideas, as it utilises the head-covering well and looks quite unique.

Some other peeks of the film here, showing various examples of how the Kashmiri theme is continued through the film, and showing just how much effort to capture the look has been made, from the look of the outfits, to the accessories and style of work on the clothes. This'll be a good film to look out for, if only for the interesting twist of culture and clothes being shown here, rather than the mainstream fashion we see all the time.

What do you think of the look? Is this something you would incorporate into your clothes?

All images belong to directors/producers of Rockstar

MAKE-UP REVIEW: Casual Matt Rouge Lipstick by UNE Make-Up

My most recent make-up purchase (by recent, read yesterday!) is this Matt Rouge lipstick from Une. What I like about Une is their philosophy of using organic, natural materials, emphasising the benefits of natural, subtle beauty, and also cares about the planet. Admittedly, I'd never heard of them before seeing them in the cosmetic store, and they didn't seem like a well-known brand, yet I think this is something which makes it all the more unique and specialist. I've been looking for a matt, pink lipstick for a while, there's surprisingly very few of them in the market and it's hard to find one which also suits my colour. I ended up going for the lightest shade of pink in this series, as I liked the slightly nude pink shade of it and I also thought it seemed like a pretty and natural colour to go for.

I quite like just how matt this lipstick is, it comes off a lovely blush pink colour (the picture doesn't really show the true colour although it is as close as I could manage!), and what I also like is how the colour of the lipstick can be layered according to how pink you want it to be - so you can start of with slightly sheer shade with a hint of pink, to quite pinky indeed. The lipstick was also as matt as it promised, although it took me a while to get the hang of making it look attractive, as it started off looking slightly powdery. I've also found with some light pink lipsticks that I need a lip liner or foundation base to help the colour come out, and this was the case here too. I'm not too sure I'd recommend this to everyone, it may look a bit too dry for some, and the shade of colour may also look a little too light. Also, I've found in the past that the matt look on lips can also be achieved just as easily by using a pencil lip liner to colour your lips in.

Has anyone else heard of, or bought products from this brand? How did you find it? For everyone else, is this something you would try? The natural, organic philosophy is a good one, but is it as effective for you in terms of make-up quality?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Sushmita Sen's Sizzle in Mast

Remember this song? It was the sizzling item number which got all the girls (well the ones I knew anyway!) swaying their hips like bellydancing wannabes. Sushmita looks every inch of her Miss Universe title in a number which could have competed with Katrina's 'Sheila' back in the day. Dripping in diamante jewels and bangle cuffs, and wearing an Arab-inspired set of outfits, Sushmita shows off her dance moves while looking surprisingly natural in terms of make up. The focus is on dripping necklaces, rich fabrics and flyaway hair, and it looks great on Sushmita. Admittedly this is something right out of the early noughties, (at one point Sushmita looks like she's dancing in front of an air balloon!) but it's still pretty interesting, and shows how dance choreographers were starting to move away from the whole prancing-about-in-fields-around-trees theme. I love that the outfits really suit Sushmita's tall, willowy figure, and that the jewellery used is rather different (the bangles which go all the way up the arm, for example) rather than the jewellery which is used in today's videos, which perhaps is a little more toned down. This was seen as a pretty sexy song when it was released, and the tune was kinda catchy too; Sushmita has a great artistic thing going on here and she manages to pull off a look which may otherwise have looked tacky or vulgar.
And her hair looks amazinggg :)

 All images owned by directors/producers of Fiza

EYE CANDY WISH LIST: Maria B Kundan Rings

I love these beautiful kundan rings by Pakistani designer Maria B, in her latest jewellery range, and they're definitely something I would add to my wish list! I love kundan style jewellery anyway, the Mughal era has always appealed to me and films like Jodha Akbar popularised this style further and made the look even more appealing. My favourite out of these is the last one, it's such a colourful mix an it has a very pretty floral shape to it, although to be honest all of these are pretty gorgeous and they look very well made. It's inspired me to be on the hunt for a nice big kundan ring now, although I doubt I'll be able to afford something made from semi-previous stones like these!

Image Source

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Brocade Green & Bronze Peacock Clutch from Indian Hanger

I recently won a gift voucher for the wonderful Indian Fashion e-tail website Indian Hanger recently, courtesy of the lovely AAINA Bridal's giveaway promotion. It was a bit of a struggle trying to decide what to buy first, as there were so many things which appealed to me (talk about eye candy), plus there were a few items which were a little out of my budget! I finally settled on a brocade green clutch with peacock made by a designer called Sarika Desai (although I also very much liked this one and absolutely fell in love with this one). What I liked about this clutch is that it seemed very versatile, as it can be matched to a lot of colours (think off-white, gold, bronze, deep red, navy...) and the peacock embellishment looked beautifully made too.

 Image courtesy of Indian Hanger

So I placed my order and the clutch came arrived super fast, and in a matter of days. Here's a few my own pictures of the lovely clutch. I love the detail on the peacock, it's 'tail' is made from beautiful enamel and stones, and the metal work is quite well done. The  fabric of the bag is surprisingly soft; the bag itself it quite light (I'm sure you've all had a heavy, stone-encrusted bag at some point made heavier with keys and mobile phones!). The fabric of the clutch is a brocade material and tone-toned, in bronze and green - I'm not a fan of two-toned fabrics normally (probably due to trauma from being forced into garish organza disasters as a child) but in this case, the 'tone-toned-ness' colour of the bag is nicely toned down, giving it a lovely shimmer and a rich shade. I also quite liked the the general shape of the bag, as it was nice and slim without being bulky and securely fastened.

 

You can see that I'm pretty happy with the clutch bag I got,  what I ordered was what I received, and I think the price (and the shipping) was very reasonable. Although I would also have considered buying a more neutral colour like gold or bronze to go with my outfits, I like this piece as I think it has more character and stands out more (plus I've always been a sucker for sparkly peacocks).

LOVELY HIJAB: Top Hats

One ker-razy item I've worn with my hijab in the past is my mini Top Hat for a funky twist. The hair-band bit helped to keep it in place, and the feathers and black net added some glamour. I wore this to a 1920s' themed boat party with a black and white dress, and it went pretty well with the hijab (and lots of eyeliner!). Can't say its for everyday use, but it certainly looks quite good together (even if I do say so myself!) and it's fun to wear. There's plenty of small top hats and feathered hats floating around that can be used to accessorize the hijab if you're daring enough, give it a try and let me know how it looks!

Sushmita Sen and Kalyan Jewellers for 'Sangalp' Bridal Collection

South Indian gold jewellers Kalyan have managed to snag the beautiful Sushmita Sen to play their ambassasor and promote their lovely jewellery, for a new bridal range called "Sangalp". Her ad campaigns for this company are below, and she looks suitably breathtaking in her costumes, with a regal glamous and a polished-to-perfection look.

Image Source

Also part of the campaign is the advert itself for Kalyan Jewellers, as seen in the video below, showing the lovely Sushmita in a gorgeous backdrop:

Some beautiful photoshoots here, and some equally beautiful (although heavy!) jewellery pieces. My favourite image definitely has to be the first picture, the colours are beautifully rich to compliment the metal-work, and Sushmita's make-up is flawless, it really is a memorably picture. You can browse the Kalyan group on Facebook, and also their official website for moreof their pieces and latest news :)

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Kareena's Spring Sparkle in Chup Chup Ke

'Chup Chup Ke' is a not a recent film, having been released a few years ago now, but it still stands out to me because of the prettily-coloured mix of outfits and just how spring-y the theme looks. I think the main outfits that look nice in this film are the ones worn by the lovely Kareena herself, they're feminine, not too complicated and flatter both her figure and her skin tone. I also like the fact that the clothes designers were not afraid to splash colour together, which makes the outfits nice and girly too. First up is this minty/spring green lengha, with baby pink hem and dupatta to give it a 'cute' look. I also liked the simple accessories mixed into this and the simple cut of this outfit.

 

The next outfit which caught my eye is this lovely sari, and perhaps my favourite out of all the ones in this film. I'm not a fan of blue-and-pink contrast look as it often looks quite dated, but in this scenario it just adds to the fresh, summery look and makes Kareena look quite sweet and fresh.

The final outfit I'd like to point out in this film is the bridal outfit, which is a pretty, coral/peach colour. This colour is still very current in today's trends, and flatters Kareena immensely in terms of looking natural on her and giving her a pretty pink glow.

All images owned by directors/produces of Chup Chup Ke

All in all although some of these outfits look like they were left over from the '90s, there's a general cute, feminine feel here where the focus is on pretty and soft colours. Neha Dhupia also looks very pretty in this film, and her outfits are of a similar style, and this just adds to the theme really. I suppose this is a change from the dramatic, sexed-up outfits you may find in some films today, and its nice to see outfits which are more realistic for a bride to wear.

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: The Proud Peacock Necklace

I've been seeing peacock themed necklaces and earrings everywhere (or so it feels), and this is one of nicest ones I've seen so far. The Proud Peacock pendant necklace is nice and sparkly, and looks eloquently made, with each 'shell' of the peacock take being made from individual pieces. I think this also looks pretty as it is a long necklace and dangles prettily.
Does anyone have any peacock shaped jewellery?

The Proud Peacock necklace can be found at Accessorize stores