Hello! So I see that you are all probably curious after the last post, and since I am feeling geared (no idea how doing toxicology report and drinking coffee leads to this, wait did I say coffee) I thought its time for another dose!
So I have no idea if you all enjoyed the last post (except for the few loyal people who told me they liked it) but here goes.
VASAKHI IS COMINGGGGGG!!
This year I doubt I will be doing shopping for new suits ( I am too late for one from home, and I'd rather shop from somewhere I know, so getting my stuff sent from home), but you guys probably are getting started already!
So, the next item in the list is..
7) Pyar naal Punjabi Suit da shopping
Yes, ask my parents and sister, I do it pyar de naal (ie taking a million years). So since Vasakhi is coming you will be thinking about what's coming and what to do.
Where to start. So you may be the readymade suit or tailored suit kind of gal. I do both, used to do looooads of readymade ones at one point (almost all) and nowadays depending on the occasion and also what looks nice.
In my readymade days it was all about the most unique and funky ones I could get my hands on(see a pattern here?) and yes, I did get compliments, with one having bells, one being multicolored paneled, you name it. HOWEVER, the caution with these designer type ones is that, well. They are designer-y, meaning you won't have a perfect chudi amount in the churidaar and so on. Also, some body types fit better into the sizes (at that point I did not need to alter, but nowadays I do need to tweak it a little) so don't be disheartened.
Ah but then again for a wedding we went to recently mum and I bought similar suits for sis and me, and these were pretty individualistic and unique as well (so keep your eyes peeled).
The key to this whole point is: Sorry mums, we will have to drag you all over City One, Little Indias, Brickfields etc.
Look out for what you think you like and keep looking if you have doubts. Now, listen very carefully.
Again, you don't need to wear what your BFF/Sister/Mum/Katrina Kaif is wearing. Yes, not everyone will look smoking in a glittery pink tube suit (seriously why would you even consider this for Gurdwara??) or an Anarkali (or whatever it may be called at this point) so again, choose the best cut/colour/length for your shape. Here, the MR.TAILOR or TAILOR AUNTY will be your good friend. Tell him or her that you want to look good with current trends but, flattering your own body type.
An example of this would be, my sister looks good in a longer,straight cut kameez with churidaar, but I have to keep the length slightly shorter at times (because I am a little height challenged compared to my family members). Also, I would not look great in colours she pulls off effortlessly, because obviously we have different colouring. On the other hand, some of the colours I pull off may make her look a bit washed out. (But overall we're always stealing clothes from each other).
Ok what else do I have to say here. Yes, some stuff I have now gotten a bit more aware of (yes I am sounding incredibly girly I know), such as ironing your pahunchey (the stiff bit on the bottom of your salwar) so that the convergence point is pointing forward (and this seriously helps to not make the pahunchey be all over the place!), getting your tailor to stitch the churidaar so that it fits you well, and of course a very important point, the neck and back.
As you are all very expert on the back part (with all kinds of patterns appearing all the time, so fun to watch all you people I tell you) I would only want to say, your neck. Well. If you gonna be low-cuttin it, cover it when you metha tek babe. That is all.
OK so have we covered suit department? Since we are in Vasakhi planning, moving onto
8) Make-up DONTTTTSSSSS
a) Purple/maroon lipliner. Oh God, unless you have purple lips, (ALL MUMS AND AUNTIES INCLUDED) no one is supposed to have weird coloured liners (unless you're being all VOGUE -even this you have to check whats in, so on) so yes.
Lipliner DOS: Get one that is as close as possible to your lip colour. Make small dots all over your lip outline, and blend this around and inwards(so your lip should be also tinted by this). Why? So when you have parshad, and langgar, and drink pani with ahem ahem *some people* you are not left with just an outline purple coloured mouth (I have seen this, not a great look).So yes, do that, then add lipstick (or just some gloss) and you will look sweet like a punjaban. Balms or tints, of course give good colour and don't make you look overdone.
b) Memoirs of a Sikh Geisha?
I should think not. Seriously. If you want to use pressed/compact powder to keep oil at bay, that's fine, but you should NOT have white face and brown neck/arms etc.
If you want coverage and generally want to improve your complexion, please. Go to the makeup counters. And tell them you need foundation. (Magazines are amazing to read for this) You may also need concealer, so make sure you get the right one (with the correct undertones depending on how your skin is) and remember get the foundation that will flatter your skin tone. I have pretty oily skin so using a dewy look may not be the best idea for me. On the other hand extremely mattifying means skin may be overly dried out. So yes, in some cases its better to just go get expert opinions (Malu bertanya, sesat jalan!)
And yes, please do it for your neck too. So main points: concealer for acne, under eyes etc, the foundation itself (you may not need to do the whole primer and other steps, better to keep it as simple as possible), and yes. There's loads of stuff available now like tinted moisturisers that work for young skin, BB creams, mousse, you name it. So do your research.
DOs: Blend, blend, blend!
DONTs: White Hantu, Different Colours, Too oily/dry
c) Nail Polish
Here, you are all EXCELLENT!! Make it Vasakhi theme-d this year, I dare you to! Show me your best designs on FB or Twitter :D
Points to note here, base coat(to protect and strengthen), top coat and make sure your nails are buffed, cut and filed properly. On average, your nails should not be too long (think a little more than strict school type) so yes, not toooo long, it may look tacky. Also, sometimes less is DEFINITELY more. Having every single finger and toe nail loaded with nail art can be, well, much. Check out trends and personalise it.
d) Eye make-up
Ok, I am going to keep this short and we are probably almost at the end of this episode, I think haha (are you bored yet?)
Glitter eyeshadow in the morning is probably not .. the best idea. Check out videos on YouTube, magazines, and blogs to see how to do this (and Punjabify it). So rule of thumb is, light colours day, dark night. (So black/dark brown/dark purple smoky eyes are really better for night)
Here, if you want to do more than one colour and shape your eye, create contours etc, Blend Blend Blend again. Nothing should pop out against each other (like pink and yellow).
Tips: Use white/very light, shimmery on the 'v' in the inner corner of eyes to make eyes pop and look bright.
Of course, you all know that when you use eyeliner, you should use it to enhance your eyes, so not all eye shapes will be enhanced with full coverage (smaller eyes usually need on the outer corners to midway in) and yes, I know we all love the cat-flick (the Punjabi, dramatic,Bollywood-ified version) so knock yourselves out here.
The moral of the story for all this is: The clothes, make-up etc is supposed to make YOU FEEL good first and foremost. You know the cliches, the most important bit is your confidence and attitude! Another moral for all this is I think we as Sikh girls should feel as good and awesome about ourselves as anyone else!
OK, I think that's all for today, bahut ranting ho gayi. Enjoy and hope this helps again!
Love.
