Self Love with jabong.com and New Look

I've been MIA in the past week, I know. Test after test, assignment after assignment, I almost drowned, but not quite. Stayed afloat long enough and, gosh, now I'm jumping with joy. I quit the writing gig that I had been doing since the past 9 months, it had drained me long enough, no more! I've finished all manners of short films and research papers. I have stayed up long enough. Now, I have the one month of pure freedom that I've been craving since March 2015. I've waited long enough for this. That is a lot of Is, I know. Despite the many lessons that we've been taught, that's not a bad thing.

Funnily enough, it's Valentine's Day today. Love is in the air. Self love, to be precise. I truly detest the idea of Valentine's Day, but if I must dedicate a day to love somebody, it is going to be myself. And no, I'm not going to buy synthetic red hearts or chocolate to do that. God knows I hate those. I'm going to indulge in the things I love the most, and not just for this one day. 

1. Will stay in bed the whole day, if I so wish. 

2. Will not slow down, and will finish reading Bridget Jones in one sitting, if I feel so inclined.

3. Will eat all the cheese.

4. All of the cheese.

5. Will spontaneously dance if I want to, even if it is in the middle of class (already done woo-hoo!)

6. Loiter aimlessly on pretty streets, or by the sea. Why should boys have all the fun?

7. Will wear the most comfortable clothes on the planet (while looking great, of course. It is a fashion blog, girls.)

Comfortable clothes brings me to this brilliant tunic by New Look, ordered from Jabong.com. I have been a huge fan of the brand since last year. The clothes are young, yet retain sophistication. Love a new trend? Go to jabong.com and check out the collection by New Look—I can guarantee that you'll find whatever it is that you were looking for. This lovely tunic is so versatile, it can be worn with sneakers as I have), paired with a pair of sleek stilettos, or even tucked into your jeans. The irregular stripes are a nice change from the usual, and it's comfy enough for me to jump around if I feel like (must add to the above list), and then lounge around on park benches.

Scroll down for outfit details!

Outfit Details:

Dress by New Look (via Jabong.com) [here. On sale!]

Get the complete collection here

Shoes by Nike (Sky hi dunks)

Ode to Winter (ft. Pearl)

I'm writing this immediately after typing out a rather long and tedious research paper on the European Migrant Crisis. 

I'm truly exhausted. 

Fortunately, I managed to squeeze in a short vacation to New Delhi into this crazy month and I don't feel as crappy as I would have in any other January of any other year. I finally managed to get a taste of real, shiver-y sweater weather after a pretty long time, and boy did it feel good. Gone was the warm, muggy air, and my cheeks finally felt a cool breeze after eons. I didn't even care that it stung a bit. What can I say, I am a winter baby.

Sadly, I wasn't able to get too many photos of all the cozy clothes that I wore in the capital (I did get snaps of some gorgeous artwork, which is all on my Instagram). However, I had done a shoot in a trench coat some time back (when I had really long hair), and that's my tribute to the lovely, lovely winter that I got to experience last week. Meet Pearl, the beautiful black creature in these photos who happens to be my heart and soul. We thought it would be edgy to have me walking a dog in a trench. It just turned out to be extremely cute, and she looks better than me all the time, anyway! Have a look at me being pulled around in heels because Pearl hates getting her pictures taken. Outfit details below.

Trench Coat from Zara

White Turtleneck from New Look

Jeans from Zara

Grey Snakeskin Print Pumps from Charles & Keith

Photographs by Vaishnavi Kukillaya

Feeling Pink with Jabong and Lakmé

I've never been a user of heavy makeup, but I'm of the firm belief that certain essentials are important to look good everyday. Basic black eyeliner, kohl, and a pretty pink lipstick are my go-to cosmetics. I especially tend to hoard shades of pink, and recently ordered this gorgeous Lakmé Enrich Satins lipstick in shade P166 from jabong.com. I was sure it would be somewhat similar to the three thousand other pinks I own, but was in for a pleasant surprise when I received the package a couple days later (in a very cute little box, with bubble wrap, hooray!). The colour is a lovely light pink, very barbie-like, and the texture is a moisturizing creamy matte. It would compliment both red and yellow toned skin, and look great with most any outfit. I teamed it with a flowing black lace shirt and Victorian-inspired velvet choker, and pulled my hair back to let the rosy pink take center-stage. The best part? After almost 6 hours of eating and talking, the lipstick stayed intact. 

Final verdict: Everyone should get one. The entire Enrich Satins range by Lakmé is available on jabong.com, and has some really beautiful shades. This particular pink is a pretty handy little lipstick to keep in your handbag, and will add a touch of softness and romance to your look of the day, even if it's all black with a choker! 

Scroll down for links and outfit + makeup details!

Shop the entire range at http://www.jabong.com/Lakme/

Shop Lakmé Enrich Satins shade P166 at http://m.jabong.com/Lakme-P166-Enrich-Satins-Lipstick-

1568332.html

Shop for other super cool things at http://www.jabong.com

Photographs by Vaishnavi Kukillaya

Winter Isn't Coming- Songs to Survive the Seasonal Slump

Bombay isn't well known for it's winter, never has been. It usually only gets chilly in the mornings, then it's the scorching sun and blazing heat again for the rest of the day. But this year, it's been constant summer for the bay, not even the occasional nippy dawn has graced us sweaty folks. While the weather is beyond any of our control, what we wear everyday is. When winter disappoints, dress ferociously (and swishily) for summer. Wear blue capes and green culottes, and soak in some January sunshine by the seaside. Plug in earphones and listen to these tunes, if you should feel like.

(All Afternoon) In Love- The Vaccines

Luna- Bombay Bicycle Club

Ease- Troye Sivan

Here Comes The Sun- The Beatles

Wait- M83

Cigarette Daydreams- Cage the Elephant

Out Of The Woods- Foals

Sight Of The Sun- Fun

Queen Of Peace- Florence + The Machine

Life On Earth- Band of Horses

-x-

Find the outfit details and the full playlist below.

Top from Zara

Culottes from Zara [here]

Shoes from Charles & Keith

Bag from Accessorize

Photographs by Vaishnavi Kukillaya

Things I've Learnt in the First Week of 2016

Stay still, would you? Just for a moment. Just to let me wrap my head around things.

But she inched away; slowly at first and then all at once. She slipped and slid and raced till she flew.

Would you believe that we've already lived a whole week of twenty sixteen? Which means we have fifty-one weeks to go. That went by pretty fast, don't you think? I'm still mentally stuck in December; the heady haze of holiday stupor still clouds my mind. The celebration is over, but it feels like it's yet to come— the sparkling dresses are yet to be worn, the red in our glasses is yet to be drunk, and the red on our lips is yet to be smudged. Once I shed my fanciful notions, however, I can see and share with you the first lessons of the brand new year.

As one gets older, the harder it is to fix a disrupted sleep cycle. Gone are the days when I could spend holidays sleeping at 6 am and waking up at 3 pm, and then immediately shift to the usual 11 pm to 6 am sleep schedule when college resumed. If I could, I would spend the rest of my days as a nocturnal being, but even after a week, I'm struggling with sleepless nights, comatose mornings, and gargantuan headaches. 

The Sherlock Special ruined my life. While I had braced myself for the worst, it was just not enough. At the end of those 90 minutes, my body and soul was in pieces, strewn about my living room and floating in the wind. My heart will ache till 2017, of that I am certain.

People don't change. Resolutions are fleeting, and nobody ever sees them all the way to the end. While we may make a big deal about rebranding ourselves for the next three-sixty-five days, we stay exactly the same. We hold onto the same expectations, the same dreams, the same grudges, the same affections. 

Some books are best read at a leisurely pace. For most of my life, I have devoured books at alarming rates— gobbled them up and spit them out. Lately I have been reading Wuthering Heights, and I've realised that the only way I can appreciate this beautiful piece of literature is by taking my time with it. Honestly, this was something I had learnt some time ago, but it felt necessary to include it in this list.

Graduating is a massive deal. And the only time one understands how daunting it is, is when they're nearing it. Life as I know it will be over in the next three months, and I'm scared. I don't know what's in store for me, and the decisions that I make now will affect the entire course of my life, and frankly that is ridiculous! I can safely say that I am terrified.

Taking photographs is difficult. I have been trying to click beautiful, clean flat lays for the blog, and my, is it a task! I am confident that I will do better with them in the near future, but till then I shall toil away with chart papers, cosmetics, and trinkets till I get it right.

I am a lifelong introvert. I knew this all along, but it's now set in stone. Pointedly avoiding all social gatherings and spending my free time under my covers with my favourite novel/ TV show/ Instagram is still my proverbial jam, and I wouldn't give it up for even a brand new wardrobe (gasp!)

7 days, 7 lessons.

Tell me yours!

Photograph by Vaishnavi Kukillaya