Oriflame India hosted an event on 12th September at ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai to celebrate 50 years and also to unveil the new face of Oriflame.

The invite for the event came in with a beautiful wooden mirror. 

The event was in the afternoon, attended by media, beauty and lifestyle bloggers and top distributors of Oriflame. It started with Mr. Sergei Kanashin, Senior VP & Head of South Asia and Managing Director India, talking about how the brand has grown over 50 years with main focus on empowering women. This was followed by Ms. Shikha Duggal, Brand and Communication Manager, Oriflame India talking about how each one of us can help in making the world beautiful by making small changes. Oriflame is doing its bit with it's Love Nature range, which is pro-Oceans as the formulations are bio-degradable, silicone free and there are no plastic micro beads. 

All this was followed by introducing leading Bollywood actor Kalki Koechlin as the New Face of Oriflame India. This lead to a Q&A with brand and Kalki, where she shared how she believed in brand's values and philosophy and also some beauty tips shared by her mother.

The event concluded with sumptuous lunch and goody bags for all attendees.

Sharing some pics from the event

Looking forward to more such events!

​Signing off for now

Hey Everyone,
I believe by now, you know which red is the red for you. If you don't know yet... Please read here.
So once you know your red... you must be wondering why this post on how to wear red lipstick? Just take the lipstick and apply on your lips... but it isn't as simple as that.

Let's understand what are the challenges while applying red or any dark colored lipstick-

• Dry and chapped lips can make your lipstick look ugly
• Red and other dark colors have a tendency to seep out from the lip line and stain

Keeping in mind the challenges, let's start with the 'correct' application of Red or any Dark colored lipstick
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• Exfoliate your lips. Dry and chapped lips can cause the lip colour to look cracked and flakey
• Moisturize your lips atleast 10 minutes before the lip colour application or dab the excess with a tissue.  

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• Outline your lips with a lip pencil in same colour as of lipstick and fill in your lips with the same. I have used Colorbar lip liner in Clear Red 001. Filling the lips with lip liner makes the lipstick stay longer and also will prevent the lipstick to seep out from edges.

Some Tips 

• It is always better to use a creamy lipstick that will keep the lips moisturized and prevent any flaking.  
• If you prefer matte lipstick, moisturizing becomes more important.
• For day time or work wear, keep your eyes neutral with red lips. 
• For evening or dressy occasion, go for winged liner or smoky eyes with red lips. 
• Keep the eye palette to neutral or go for greens if you want a little bolder look.

Hope this helps you all to rock Red Lipstick

Do share your views on your favorite red lipstick and if you have some interesting tips on application!
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Signing off for now

 Being a bigger size since time immemorial, hunting for decent plus size wear has been always on my mind. Apart from the local sellers, where you may or may not find your size or your choice, in the last 15 years or so, a lot of brands have come up with big sizes and quite a lot of them are pocket friendly too and may also give you option of Indian, Western and Indo Western wear.
Let's have a look at them

1. GIA by Westside
The most important reason I want to talk about this brand first is that this was the first brand I where I could find my size and am a Westside Loyalist since 2002. Gia as a brand has come up a long way since I first started wearing it. It is now called GIA Curves and most of the designs focus on enhancing your curves.
The size range is from XS (Size 14) to XXXL (Size 26) and you get tops, blouses, t-shirts, jeans, formal pants, skirts and almost everything. Most of the stuff is priced between ₹800-1500 with few exceptions.
Also in Westside, you may fit into some of their pretty ethnic stuff from Utsa, Verk and Zuba if you are my size or little smaller (I wear 20-22 of Gia and for ethnic brands, I fit into XL-XXL depending on the style)
Since I have never come back empty handed from GIA... I would like to give it 4.5/5
Like the Westside Facebook Page or Follow them on Instagram to keep an eye on their latest collection

2. AND 
Legendary designer Anita Dongre's Pret Western wear line gives a good variety for bigger sized girls too. The designs are based on needs of an Indian women and clothes are designed keeping in mind the comfort and lifestyle. You get dresses, shirts, tops and tunics, leggings, skirts, pants and so on. You may get upto size 18 (and sometimes even size 20) in most of their designs, though it may not be displayed, you can always check with the store assistants, they'll help you with sizes. Most of the stuff is in the range of  ₹1500-3000, of course with a few exceptions.
I like AND for their interesting and flattering cuts. Though I fit into their size 18-20, I do not have all the design options open, yet I love to check out their collection when I am out for shopping. My rating would be 4/5.
Like the AND Facebook Page or follow AND on Instagram to know about their latest collection
You may also shop on AND website

3. Global Desi
Global Desi is the fusion wear brand from The House of Anita Dongre known for its boho-chic look. The designs combine the Indian colors, prints and textures to suit the wider audience globally. You get tunics, kurtas, jackets, suits and a variety of other styles. The sizes range from XS to XXL and price range is between ₹1500-3000 with few exceptions.
​I love the brand for their unique designs and cuts. Again I fit mostly into XXL and if lucky then in XL . Again my rating would be 4/5.
Like Global Desi FB page and follow Global Desi on Instagram to check their latest arrivals. You can also shop on Global Desi Website.

4.  Marks & Spencer
This UK originated department store caters to Indian market too. The clothes range from formals to semi formals to club wear and beach wear and lingerie too. I love to check out the store when I am looking for formals specially trousers, jackets or skirts. Also, we get nice dresses and tops in the bigger sizes. The sizes range from 8-16 and sometimes upto 20 and price are usually ₹1500 onwards.
I really like their formal wear collection and fit into size 18-20. I would rate it 3.5/5 as the price may be sometimes on the higher side.
Like Marks & Spencer India Facebook page to get latest updates. Check out Marks & Spencer India Website to find their stores near you.

5. Mustard
Mustard is an Indian brand catering to ready to wear clothes for regular and plus size. They have both Indian and Western wear. The sizes range from -2(XS) to 7 (6XL) for both tops and bottoms. The average price ranges from ₹1000 to ₹2000 with few exceptions.Apart from Jeans, Trousers, Tops, Kurtas, Skirts, you also get Palazzos, Capris, Stoles and Dupattas too. 
Sometimes I do not like the fabric or the design but whenever I visit the store, there will be atleast one piece that will catch my eyes and I'll get compliments whenever I wear that. I fit into their size 3-5 depending on the cut. I would rate it 3.5/5... that 0.5 extra for that one piece that I always find!
You may like Mustard Facebook page and follow Mustard on Instagram. You can also shop from Mustard Website. 

That was the list of my favorite stores for plus size shopping. There are a lot of online stores that have come up but I am a bit hesitant to shop online mainly because of the fit as with different cuts and styles, I fit into different sizes and the other reason is that I hate to wait!!

So what are your favorite plus size brands? Do share in comments.
Signing off for now

As promised in my Summer Skin Care post, here I am with Summer Makeup Tips. Summer could be quite exciting with all the light and airy clothes and refreshing cold drinks to sip, but definitely not with makeup melting away from your face. To look well-groomed and polished, makeup becomes a necessity but most women prefer to go out sans makeup as it’s not going to stay on their face anyways! But, if you make some modification to your usual makeup routine, you can definitely make your makeup stay longer in hot summer months. 

Summer makeup should be light, natural and glowy but not shiny and you can always make it more interesting by playing with colors.

Let me share few tricks with you…
1. Prepping the face- Cleanse your face with a water based cleanser, use toner and moisturizer and apply sun protection or go for a primer. Primer help to provide a smooth canvas, keep oil secretion in control and make the makeup last. Primers usually come with SPF 20- 35. My favorite summer primer is Colorbar Perfect Match Primer (Buy it here on Nykaa)

2. Switch the foundation for tinted moisturizer and concealer- Foundation can make the makeup look heavy and cakey. Apply the tinted moisturizer and cover the dark circles, blemishes etc. with a light concealer. If you feel the need for little more coverage, dab with some powder foundation. 

3. Brighten your eyes and make your eye makeup stay- Use an eye primer over your eyelids. Apply a cream based eye shadow in copper, bronze or rose pink if you are fair toned. And top it up with powder shadow in the same shade with slight shimmer. To make the liner last long, apply the pencil liner and using an angular brush, top it up with powder eyeshadow in same color. Gel eyeliner may be used for a defined sharp line. Apply waterproof mascara.

4. Switch the pink blush for caramel/ bronze or coral- These shades of blush will give a beautiful sun kissed look to the skin. 

5. Ditch heavy lipstick- Go for lip stains or tinted lip balm for fresh look. If your lips are pigmented, line them with a nude lip liner in the color of your lips and top up with stains or tints. The lipliner will also help the color stay longer. 

6. Have Fun with colors- Go ahead with fun and playful colors on your eyes. Go for colorful eyeshadows, eyeliner and even mascara. Colors add life to your face and make you look bright and youthful.

7. Combat the shine- Nothing works better than blotting paper for shine. Keep them handy and use whenever you feel oily on your T-zone.

Hope with this, you’ll be more confidant wearing makeup in summer

What are your favorite summer makeup tips? Do share in comments!
Signing off for now