Chiconomical

Bowties are cool! So said my favorite fictional character (ahem, Doctor Who, ahem) and I can't help but agree. Especially when the bowtie is in such a funky print. I had my eye on this particular Quirk Box print right when the brand was exploding onto the fashion scene and I knew I had to get it for myself. While these bowties (yes, I have two) have been in my closet for quite a while now, they somehow never really made it onto the blog and that's something I though it was time to remedy.






This look is all about being funky without looking crazy. Yes, you can wear nerdy things like suspenders and bowties together without being an actual geek. I personally love the idea of suspenders with anything and think they are such a cool statement piece that they go with literally everything. Ok maybe not evening gowns, but then I don't really have occasions to wear those so its quite awrite. And yes, dress like a nerd, but lets just say your a cute nerd.

I decided to pair my grey suspender trousers with a simple white shirt. Actually, this is the kind of outfit you can wear to work just like that. Of course, that was a little too normal for me, so I decided to add a bowtie in a fun print and also a bright pink bag. With my normal sunglasses and open hair, I was ready to toe the quirky line.

May has made us feel the very real fury of mother nature. Honestly, I don't think there's anyone out there who doesn't struggle with getting their best face forward in this fiery weather and that's why this month's MSM box has the perfect theme!


This month, the box comes packed full of goodies that sensible and extremely useful. Honestly, I've already started using atleast 3 things I received this month and that just goes to show how relevant it is unlike last month when I was just a little disappointed. Anyway, onto the goodies!

1. Sara Herbals Photoderm SPF 30: Rs. 275
This is pretty much a summer must have. A sunscreen is lifesaver and while I use only Neutrogena since I don't think any others suit my skin (horrible breakouts on using most till date) I do think I'll give this a try. Judgement reserved for now, but I can definitely appreciate the full sized product that goes to show the thought behind the packing this month.


2. Saante Rose Lip Balm: Rs. 250
Lips! Often ignored during summers till you have that not so pretty parched look. This little lip balm is the perfect size to slip into your bag everyday and looks lovely on the lips too. Also, just look at the color, isn't it the prettiest of pink?

3. Yves Rocher Sebo Vegetal Trio: (Purity Mask, Mattifying Gel and Zero Blemish Gel Cream): Rs. (13.33 + 17 + 160 ) ie Rs. 190.33
Okay, so this is definitely a luxury product in my book. I have never in my life tried any products from Yves Rocher and I'm almost too afraid to try these samples out since I feel I wouldn't even know how to use them correctly, let alone see their effects. However, I still will bite the bullet and do it and I know this is a pure indulgence item, atleast for me.


4. SoulTree Soap Free Face Wash, 30ml : Rs. 73.75
I've already started using this and do think I'll invest in a full sized product once I've finished all my face washes (I do seem to be adding to my stock these days!). This bottle came with me on my weekend trip with my officemates and gives you an instantly clean, fresh feeling. A definite winner for me.

5. Natural Bath & Body, Skin & Scent Duo: (Couldn't find the price, sorry folks)
I'm not exactly happy with this product but that could of course, just be me. MSM box gave me a face mist last month and if I think about using this with it, I'd smell like a garden, in a not very good way. So yes, this was a miss for me.




6. TIENS Intensto Kajal in Electric Blue: Rs. 395
So this month, I renewed my subscription and received a bonus product which is this electric blue eyeliner. Honestly, I tried it out and its a little too shiny for me, but hey, I've never had a blue liner so this is such a nice addition to my growing makup stock! Stay tuned to see me try it out soon in a look post.


All in all, I'm very impressed with this month's MSM box. They've taken care of everything that could be needed to set forth you're best face this summer! I'd say you should definitely give this month's MSM box a try!

This month, I received all three of India's Top Subscription boxes and when I saw them all together, I thought it would be a good idea to have a faceoff between the three and see which one is actually better.
I feel that most subscription boxes at the moment follow a system where the products fall in three broad categories: Beauty, Makeup and Others. There's also a bunch of other things such as appearance, delivery, overall customer care and I've listed those too. All the individual ratings are on a scale of Meh, Yeh, Brillinat where Meh is the lowest, Yeh is Average and Brilliant is well, brilliant! So lets see how each of the boxes scored on my various scales.



1. Looks: While all three were in shades of pink this month, here's what I thought about each.

Fab Bag: The most useful box of the three, because its not really a box but a bag that can be easily reused, I think this month's bag is quite lovely with its bright pink color as well as the almost woven texture. This was a Yay for me!

MSM Box: Its a pretty box, I'll give you that, but then they use the same box every month and there aren't a lot of interesting things to see or get excited about how its gonna look when you open it packaging each month its decidedly boring. A definite snooze and a Meh for me.

My Envy Box: While this is still a box, I absolutely love the pink packaging. As this month's box was curated by Bipasha Basu, maybe she had something to do with the distinctly girlie yet pretty box design. (I think the Label Life logo helped make it prettier too). Honestly, it's brilliant its month!

2. Makeup: For beauty boxes, the April boxes did have a good number of makeup products, lets take a look.

Fab Bag: This month, the fab bag gave not one, but two full sized makeup products! There was a lovely catrice eyeliner in copper and a Makeup Revolution concealer. Thankfully, this time everything was in shades that suit my skintype and can be used immediately. A big Yay for me!

MSM Box: The MSM box had one hard core beauty product (okay, so maybe you could consider the cleansing moisturiser as a beauty product but I think of it more as a skincare product tbh). It had the Inveda BB Cream that I've been using since the day I received my box and honestly, while its only one, its multiple ticks such as Parabens Free, Cruelty Free and all natural ingredients make it a yay product for me. However, since its a beauty subscription box, I expect more makeup products So it sadly comes out as a Meh for me.

My Envy Box: Okay, so this box had the Fran Wilson Moodmatcher lipstick in Orange. I've never used the Moodmatcher lipstick before, so while I'm excited about it, I still think they could have added another makeup product sample if they'd tried. A Meh for me.

3. Skincare: Skincare is something that seems to be big with all subscription boxes and this month's no different. For beauty boxes that usually show images of makeup products, they always seem to have more skincare products. Let's take a look.

Fab Bag: Fab Bag gives you Soul Tree Cleansing Milk and a O3+ whitnening mask as its skincare this month. I like the Soul Tree Cleanser but I've already received the O3+ whitnening mask before. So its just a Meh for me.

MSM Box: From the sinfully fragrant Rose and Almond Body Bar, the Jasmine scented face mist to the luxurious Fuschia Cleansing moisturiser, I love the skincare in the April MSM Box. It is sure to make you smell like the queen of Egypt with its floral scents and luxe feel. A big Yay for me!!

My Envy Box: A Milk scrub is something I haven't tired before so it definitely intrigues and excites. The Rene Furterer Parish is also another brand I haven't tired before, so in terms of wow quotient, it definitely was a Yay for me.

4. Other Benefits: These days, most subscription boxes come packed with other than beauty products too. This month, we had some amazing products (looking at you there BBlunt) so lets quickly list them down.

Fab Bag: We got some goodies from Style Fiesta this month and also a pair of use and throw lenses! Definitely something unique. I got a pair of golden earrings which I'm a little on the fence about but the lenses are gorgeous and I'll hopefully wear them in a post very soon! This is somewhere between brilliant and yay for me!

MSM Box: The MSM box gave a lovely makeup brush this month and while I may be quite clueless about the perfect way to use it I'm sure makeup enthusiasts will love it. For me, its a little Meh.

My Envy Box: My favorite of the lot, I love love love both the other things in this box. The lovely BBlunt Hairspray and the smells better than sin Roberto Cavalli perfume sample are absolutely Brilliant!

5. Overall Satisfaction: So lets sum up what I felt about each this month and of course, the winner!

Fab Bag: A good mix of things, this month's fab bad didn't disappoint me and was a overall Yay for me.

MSM Box: While it had some sinfully fragrant products, I wish it was better somehow. An overall Meh Experience for me.

My Envy Box: From the gorgeous pink box, the good variety of products and the overall happiness it got me, I think this month's My Envy Box was pretty brilliant! If you must get one of the three, I'd say go for the My Envy Box this month!

I'm not a fan of yellows. I usually think that since most of my wardrobe is black I'll invariable end up looking like a taxi advert if I do wear yellow. Which is why, owning a mustard colored anything is a complete novelty for me. Of course buying this dress brought with itself the challenge of styling it without looking like a taxi cab or an air-hostess. (Yes, I got called that the first time I wore it on a chilly winter evening with some tights).

For this look, I wanted to keep things simple, I added a lace scarf (knit by me, FYI) and a pair of sunnies. Pretty much a look that anyone can replicate with minimal effort. When in doubt, just add a scarf, that seems to be my myntra these days.

A very Happy New Year to all my lovely readers! I don't know where 2015 has flown away and while there have been many big life changes, I'm still happy to welcome the new year with enthusiasm.


I also thought that its a good idea to begin the new year with a new outfit! Yes, I thought the best way to celebrate was to share one of my favorite buys from last year. This little dress was on my wishlist for the longest time. I'd been lusting after it for ages and then finally decided to indulge after getting my salary. It's yet again, not my normal style but then that's what the new year is all about, pushing yourself to become better. In my case, it involves making a few cliched but personally important resolutions. Wanna know what they are, read on....





I love the gold and red in this outfit. I've recently turned into a fan of gold and this dress with its shimmery gold detailing is a winner. The origami style skirt is a definite plus for me and since its a little too bold, I decided to add a blazer for warmth, modesty and a pop of color. Combining two of my favorite things, surprisingly this is new territory for me! Also this new year, I've definitely made a few new and classic resolutions that I hope I can stick to!

So what are my 2016 Resolutions you ask?

Get healthy! 
The most cliche of all resolutions, this one is still top of my list. I've recently started gaining weight in all the wrong places and feel like my current lifestyle is extremely sedentry and hence, this is a top priority.

No Shopping! 
Yes! I have put myself on a shopping ban (WHAAT!) for atleast  the begining of 2016. I've decided I need to add to my savings and that means no getting swayed by the pretty bargain online or the shoeseller with shiny baubles. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up but I'm definitely going to try and make my current wardrobe work instead of hoarding more things.

Travel!
Another cliche point on my list (hey, I'm a classic lover, what can I say?) over the last few years, I've never had enough money to travel, so I thought since I've started earning a little bit, I might aswell invest in travel. I haven't yet planned it all out, but I hope I can go to all the lovely places, atleast in India and learn a little from their cultures.

Network
One thing I'm absolutely rubbish at, is making new friends. Of course I'm also equally rubbish at staying in touch, but I plan to change that this year. All part of pushing my boundaries, I hope I can make at least 10 new friends through the year. Yes, that may not seem like a big number to you, but for someone like me, accepting someone as my friend is hard...so here's hoping it works out.