What's Christmas Like?

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! Hope you're having a day filled with love & happiness.

Well, I didn't really have a Christmas post lined up, coz it's been hectic lately. So I decided to use these pics (where my hair is a mess, btw)

Let's talk about deep, meaningful things in between.

What's your Christmas like?

Mine:

~ Discovering too late that the tree lights are all spoiled. It's okay, I'll get new ones after Christmas, before New Year's Eve.

~ There's a Santa soft toy from Hamley's, that I don't mind my son doesn't appreciate, because I secretly got him for myself. I whisper "Dear Santa, please........" in his ears, which he doesn't really have.

~ Watching Ziizayne mimic the facial expressions & dance moves in Sia's The Greatest. When I was pregnant with him, I used to blast Chandelier in my ears, btw.

~ Making plans to go out, and then decide it's too cold. 

~ Finding out that the geyser is broken while already under the shower.   

~ Watching Ziizayne play with his main Christmas present - a car track thing, and being enthu with one battery-operated car that comes with it more than he is. 

~ Christening my new The Body Shop Body Butters that I was gifted- Vanilla Chai & Frosted Berries. Both yum!

~ Not wanting to eat anything sweet & Christmassy.  Ordered spicy Indian food instead - Laal Maas from Coriander Leaf Restaurant. It's the best mutton curry ever!

~ Wanting to listen to long-time favorite Christmas songs - Last Christmas, All I Want For Christmas.... but finding them too peppy. 

~ Blasting R&B/Rap instead. A new artist I just discovered - NF. Listen to All I Have & Wait if you want to know what lyrics are filling my head.  

~ Feeling gangsta - in pyjamas - trying to ignore the pain from one remaining wisdom tooth. 

~ Waiting for 9 pm  8:30 pm 11 pm, so I can open the new wine - White.

Let me back some of those up with a pic:

XO, M U S E.

What should I say? That I......

Nah, not that. Don't say that.

What about where I've been?

Nope. Don't go there. You'll bring everybody down.

C'mon! You're overthinking again!

Ummm....You c'mon, genius! Tell me then, tell me what to say. You know exactly where my head is!

Okay....

~ How about you managed to survive on 50 rupees in your wallet since the demonetization. You saw the new 2000 rupee notes only yesterday. You thought they'd be pink, and felt *phus* when you saw they're purple? 

~ How about you're listening to August Alsina's 'I Luv This Sh*t' & 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' as you're typing this? Shuffling between: I'm just trying to chill cause I'm way too drunk to be talking like this I'm way too high to be tripping like this

I'm way too young to be living like this & ज़मीन पे न सही तो आसमा तोह आ मिल 

~ How about you're now hooked to a new tv show - The Missing, Season 2?

~ How about Ziizayne now yells 'Mummaaaaa!', says 'Oh-kay!', 'Shoes', and 'Moo!' when he sees cows?

~ How about you're now only into black or nude/muted rose nail polish shades, and you find corals & pinks almost repulsive? This is when they should probably understand your state of mind.

~ How about you think the new Lakmé 9to5 Mousse Lip & Cheek Color are awesome?

~ How about you're kinda obsessed with the word 'Quinoa' - keeen-waaah!  

~ How about you've decided you're going to become a Lawyer? The kind that would carry night vision goggles & have a snitch in prison.

~ How about you found inspiration in the most unlikely place.... the most hopeless situation.... the most unlikely person.....?

~ How about........

Top: Forever 21

Skirt: Forever 21

Lace Belt: Forever New

Shoes: Heatwave

Bag: Palomino

Earrings: Forever 21

Heart Ring: Accessorize

Owl Ring: Accessorize 

Watch: Michael Kors

Black Nail Polish: Colorbar

Lipstick: Lakmé 9to5 Mousse Lip & Cheek Color in Blush Velvet

Photos by: Dhruv Narang Photography 

♥ 

HAPPY DECEMBER, everyone! =)

Feels darn good to be back. I've missed you all so much!

Love You for still being here & Thanks a million for all the emails/messages that some of you sent my way when I was in hibernation

Speak again soon! xx

................

~ ........ quoting Walter White - 'I am awake.'?

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LOTD: You Know......?

You know I can't remember the last time I wore blackish smoky eyes?

You know I've stopped wearing bold red & fuchsia lipsticks for a long time?

You know I want to binge read 'The Girl On The Train' before the movie comes out?

You know I get this  strong urge to lie back on the floor at a shopping mall, yoga flap my arms and legs in & out, and shout "THIS IS THE FEELS! I FEELS! I NO CRAZY!"?

You know the top I'm wearing costs less than all the products I'm wearing on my face?

Makeup Products  I Used (Pic below):

Birthday Confessions & Haul

Today's NOT my birthday. It came & went a week ago, but I couldn't find the time to get this post up then. Now I'm doing the usual should I/shouldn't I post thing.....and then I post it.

Let's start with the good stuff... 

....and you will see I went a lil' crazy with the liquid lipsticks....

Starting from the top, clockwise:

Benefit They're Real Mascara Mini ~ Oh my God! I'm doomed, because I will need the full-sized tube. This mini version is around  Rs.800 & the full sized tube is Rs.2400 or so. It is fantastic - long, fluttery & separated lashes like no other mascara I've tried before. (From Sephora)

MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Personal Statement (Shocking Pink), Rich & Restless (Mid tone pinky salmon) & Lady Be Good (Warm Mid-tone Nude) ~ Out of stock. Always out of stock. It's a miracle few shades were restocked on my birthday! 

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Bellisissima (Pale Neutral Pink), Patina (Dusty Rose) & Fiore (Hot Pink) ~ LOVE these! (From Sephora)

Chambor Extreme Wear Transfer Proof Liquid Lipstick in 461 (Coral) & 431 (Red) ~ I like the first one I got #403, so I couldn't resist getting a coral & a red. I think I'm done now ;p

MAC Face & Body Foundation in C2 ~ It's time to try out a MAC Foundation for realz. Another product that was OOS for months! I mean my shade C2.

Givenchy Prisme Libre Mat-Finish & Enhanced Radiance Loose Powder 4 in 1 Harmony ~ My favorite & the most pricey (Rs.4000). This has been on my wishlist since last year. There are 4 powders in this - beige, yellow, peach, bronze. (From Sephora)

THE LAST TIME.....

You know what I absolutely love doing? Picking tomato seeds from tomato fried rice, which I make for Ziizayne. If I could, I'd make a whole bucket of tomato rice (with extra tomatoes, of course) and be at it all day. I'm serious! I enjoy picking little odd things out of little things.

You know what I absolutely hate doing? Packing & house moving. Today is the last day I'll be in this house. We're moving to a hotel tomorrow, and will be there until the work at our new place is done. Right now all I want is a back/head/leg massage.....and to sleep for a week.

Since I did a 'First Time' in this apartment post, I thought I'd do a 'Last Time' in it, as well.

If you read my First Time post, you will realize that we were greeted by a monkey & were also chased out by a (bigger) monkey =D (Read here)

Monkey menace aside, we decided to move to a smaller place. Until now, we were living in a 4BHK with 5 bathrooms (6 if we count the helper's quarter), and not only was it hard to maintain, it never felt cosy, and...I don't know, something or the other kept going wrong.

So we are moving to a 3BHK with only 3 bathrooms, where the rooms are much more compact.

MAC Runway Hit Retro Matte Lipstick ~ LOTD, Swatches

TATA - written behind most trucks in India.

From the time I was a kid until last year, I thought.... can you not look at me when I say this?...that...that it meant "Ta Ta. Bye Bye"! 

You know, like "Blow Horn" or "Use Dipper At Night" or "Have A Nice Day". I even saw "Please Keep Distense" not too long ago (I almost posted the pic on my Instagram and was gonna caption it: "...Or you'll be sintensed to death."  I'd deleted the pic from my phone, otherwise I would've sneaked it into this post.)

So...where was I?...so I just assumed TATA meant 'Bye Bye'. I also remember that as a little girl I'd mentally wave when I saw it. 

Sometime last year, while in the car, Mr.CZ and I were discussing cars (Yes, we've been together a long time.) and he mentioned TATA this, TATA that, TATA owns Jaguar. Suddenly....sudden-effin-ly-a-little-too-late....the tube light in a very very dusty, cobwebby corner of my head lit up! "Ohhhh....TATA = TATA Motors!!!" 

In my brain's defense, I would've added them up a long time ago, but then why would I be thinking about and looking at trucks anymore? I had my life to think about. Also, dem coot buoyz!

Okay, coming to the lipstick......

I always thought this lipstick was called Runaway Hit. Run-away Hit.

It was only until I was at a MAC store that I saw Runway Hit written at the bottom. I have to tell you that I wasn't at all interested in this lippie when it was first launched. Not until I swatched it. Fell in love with it, but it was out of stock. Made me want it even more. I got it only after the 3rd time I'd gone to ask for it!   

LOTD: Wintry Dark Lips

Hi, everyone! :)

It feels so good to be posting a LOTD after so long! I have so much to say, but I have to do a bunch of stuff and head out, so I'm just going to say what's important for now & save the rest for other posts to come.

I missed you. I hope all readers from Chennai are safe & sound. Lots of love to everyone who wrote to me & checked my blog regularly when I was away for so long! <3

So this look was inspired by this dark lippie & of course the headband I'm am absolutely in love with! Somebody invite me to a big fat Indian wedding so I can wear it with a matching lehenga I don't have! ;p

When September Ends.....

So I was listening to Radio One (94.3 FM) in the car one evening,

Male RJ.

Topic: Contest-type. Listeners (People?) had to call and say....

"Whenever I see you, I just want to pick my nose."

'Pick My Nose'! I swear I'm not making this up!

They had to say it in the most seductive way.

They had to make it sound sexy.

Oh, and the winner was gonna win some prize I can't remember.

Movie tickets? Restaurant meal?

Okay, I really can't recall!

Must have been a very unappealing prize. 

The callers really really.....tried their best.

I got to listen to about 3 callers.

 The RJ listened - I wondered if he was trying hard not to LOL - and politely gave each of them a pat on their backs for trying their (*cough* orno) best.

"That's really good."

"Oh, wow!"

And then the one memorable tickler.....

Woman: "Whenever I see you *moans*.... I just....mmm....*groans* want to....mmmmm.....pick my nose...... rawwwrrr!"

(In my head: This woman is standing in her kitchen, in black yoga pants, cup of tea in hand, looking out the window, waiting for the vegetable wala to deliver the fresh gobhi/cauliflower. Kids will be back from tuition in 20, and hubby in 60.)

RJ: "That was very good. I'm really turned on right now." 

(In my head: He's bored, thinking about Jack Daniel's.... and before he could stop himself, puts his index finger up one nostril.)

I'm sorry to say that we'll never know what happened next, because I had to get out of the car.

That's life.  

Short Journeys = Interesting/Funny radio programs, New Releases, Top-something/HIT songs.

Long Journeys = MmmBop, Ads, Queen, Ads, Chefs, Education, Kejriwal.

............

Speaking of nose-related things, whenever I wear sunglasses, my eyes always notice my nose first. Especially in photos. I don't know, even my nostrils seem bigger than usual.

Which means: Sunnies can hide careless in-a-rush eye makeup application, but not a dirty nose. Don't make 'em want to pick your nose! =D

Okay, now I'll stop saying "NOSE" now.

This is an end-of-summer look that I meant to post, like, a week ago......

Sunglasses: Forever 21

Lipstick: I was obsessed with orange-y lippies for a while. Here, I'm wearing Colorbar Definer Lip Liner in Peach Cocktail....

But First, I'll Be Your Personal Shopper [SALE]

Hello! 

I'll be your Personal Shopper today.

You can call me Agent Personal Shopper.

Agent PS?

Or anything you want.

Just make sure you put in the word 'Agent' 

(I tried to sneak in the word 'Secret' too, but....)

Because it sounds cool & because I'm holding the hair dryer like a gun.

Plus, you need to have an agent-type....umm.... aura when you hit the Sale racks - 

Next time you're in ZARA during sale, take a minute to look at the other women.

Where? Oh, there's one!

That side....in that corner over there....(Ooh that top she's touching looks nice! I WANT!)

That's why they don't want to be near you!

And most of them would no doubt be shopping alone.

Oh, yes. Rule #1- Always go SALE shopping alone.
No one is to be trusted.

Especially if 'no one' is.......

 

 So without further delay, here are some goodies you can - and MUST - buy right now. I mean RIGHT NOW!

Forever New Ria Printed Hi Low Dress: 50% OFF! Rs.6200/Rs.3095. It is so pretty and so worth the price- the sale price. Comes with a gold belt. It's still available online here, and there's a similar dress with a different print here.

July Nightwear: Rs.1199/Rs.959. I LOVE this brand July Nightwear! I always end up liking only their pyjama sets while browsing Jabong. I got this Disney one here and a few more sets. All pyjama sets & sleepwear are 20% off right now. You can check out the entire range here.

Corioliss Mini Vintage Hair Dryer (Limited Edition): Rs.2999/Rs.1399. How cute?! HOW CUTE?!!! Nykaa had this in one of the sliders amongst hair dryers on sale. I saw, I clicked, I ordered. I prefer mini/travel hair dryers coz they're light. I checked online and it was $85 when it was launched :O ....If the floral & cute blue pouch are calling your name, go grab it before it's gone at Nykaa HERE

New Hair Feat. Things I Love

I fell sick one week,

Baby CZii fell sick the next week,

I fell sick again that same week,

In the middle of last week....

 I made an impromptu trip to my hometown,

Slow Wi-fi. Doesn't even work at night!

Now I'm sitting in the living room while Baby CZii is sleeping upstairs,

Wi-fi comes and goes,

I'm hoping I'll be able to publish this post successfully.....

(Prove me wrong you Reliance dongle you!)

Before he wakes up & cries for milk  biscuits.

10 mins later:

Shucks! I can hear him already!

Oh, it's just my 1.5-year-old nephew.

Uh-oh, now he's next to me trying to grab my laptop!

Now if we were in a relationship, you wouldn't still think about breaking up with me because I did not keep in touch, would you? 

I've got issues, and it's not Apple Tree Yard*

............

Okay, about new hair: I got it cut & colored last month. I wanted side swept bangs,coz one day my forehead just looked so LARGE! Does it increase with age & childbirth?, I wondered. 

I asked for shoulder-length with lots of volume at the top, and I got, you could say, "The Rachel" (FRIENDS) haircut.

Color was achieved after a lot of stripping - meaning: bleaching & stripping away all of the orange in my hair. They used L'Oreal Majirel Lightest Ash Blonde.

These shoes! I got them from my hometown in January. Available in 2 colors. I got both. Not at the same time, I went for these another time - because, you know, I was losing sleep ;p. I wore them for the very first time last month, and was so pleasantly surprised that they're sooo comfortable for pencil heels.

I will post the other ones on my shoe blog www.cz-loves.com

LOTD: MAC Relentlessly Red Retro Matte Lipstick

I was making breakfast one morning.
Eggs, bread, stir-fried mushrooms, chai-style tea (by chai-style, I just mean more milk, 2 types of tea leaves & boiled in a saucepan.)
Multitasked by making 3 of them at once on our 3 burner stove.
Left Burner - Bread (I like to fry it lightly in olive oil & pretend it's homemade garlic bread.)
Middle Burner - Onions, garlic & green chillies (For the mushrooms I'd be adding afterwards.)
Right Burner - The chai-style tea.
Oh, I forgot to mention the eggs were already boiled- not too runny, not too hard. Perfect.
Things were going well. I just had to add the mushrooms & finish making the tea.
I'll be able to sit down, and my son would squeal ecstatically while he watched me eat. That's what he does these days.
Then it happened!
I added the first scoop of tea leaves to the onion/garlic/green chillies pan instead!
I can't even.......
Yes, I chopped & made a fresh batch after the accident, coz the mushrooms weren't added yet.
But still, I haven't forgiven myself. Such an idiot!

Later that same day, I put a big bow on my head to make myself feel better.

And a brand new red lipstick.....

MAC Relentlessly Red from the Retro Matte Collection.

It got this lippie last year, but didn't start wearing it until last month. I'm loving it like all the other Retro Matte Lipsticks I have. At first, I thought it'd be too similar to MAC All Fired Up, but they're completely different.

Price ~ Rs.990 - Rs.1450 (Old price - New price)

 

Makeup Today ~ Gradient Lips

Gradient lips are not everyone's cup of tea, but I am obsessed with them at the moment. I've been doing them with red and fuchsia and rosy pink. Today, I decided to go with beige/nude.....

Face ~ L'Oreal Magic Nude Foundation 320 Natural Beige, Maybelline Fit Me Concealer, Laura Mercier Loose Powder.

Cheeks ~ MAC The Perfect Cheek Blush

Eyes ~ MAC Paint Pot Layin' Low as a base, Inglot Eye Shadow #341 on the lids, Urban Decay Tease & Blackout from Naked 2 Palette on the crease, Colorbay Just Smoky Kajal ,Just Black to line waterline Maybelline Colossal Liner, Maybelline Big Eye Mascara, on top & bottom lashes, Ardell False Lashes.

Brows ~ MAC Fluidline Gelcreme in Dirty Blonde

Lips ~ MAC Enchanted One Lipstick from Alluring Aquatic Collection mixed with Bourjois Happy Light Concealer #21 Ivoire, then I used Bourjois Smoky Effect Black Pencil to outline.

♥

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Sorry I can't write much today....because Baby CZ is crying and wants attention! =D

If you're looking for nice thriller/horror movies, I liked Before I Go To Sleep (Read the book too!) & Jessabelle.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hey,Everyone! Just wanted to wish you all a Merry MERRY Christmas! Hope you had a lovely & blessed day with your loved ones. Sharing a few family pics we clicked today. Most of them came out a lil' blurry, coz it was a quick photo session after a long day of lunch & fun with the family.

Bubbles was very sleepy here, so he wasn't in the mood to smile (he looks depressed actually.... haha!) He smiles & tries to talk now! =D

MAC Lady Danger Lipstick ~ LOTD, Swatches

Hello, Everyone! How have you all been? It seems like I haven't done a post like this in sooo long! This is my first LOTD after childbirth and, as you can see, the little one woke up from his afternoon nap. He was actually fussing there. Face/Neck scratching & hair pulling.....Ahh, where are those mittens?!!! And I had to wipe off that lipstick fast fast, because......

MAC Lady Danger Lipstick (Matte) ~ Described as Vivid bright coral-red. I got MAC Lady Danger mainly because I wanted an orange version of MAC Ruby Woo, my most favorite red lipstick EVER, and the vivid coral is punctuated by just the right amount of red to make it exactly what I had in mind. Well, almost exactly what I had in mind.....

Maxi Dress Outfit & Maternity Shoot ~ For Bubbles....

 

Bubbles, you're so heavy!
It makes me want to bend on all fours to get you off my spine....
Like a cat - MEOW!
Okay, we should do a "Maternity Shoot"
I dress up and pose and show off how big we've gotten,
You try not to headbutt my bladder like you want to evict it.
Hmm....How.....Where?
Most people seem to go to serene forest-type places....
with trees and daisies and magical-looking sun rays 

that kiss their flower headbands delicately.

And they hire pro photographers.

No, we aren't 'most people'.

No, we are not going to a forest.

You & I will do low-budget DIY shoot.

But, on the bright side.....

We'll get to wear high heels.....

My Instagram Beauty Stories #01

I love Instagram, and post quite regularly on there. It's like mini blogging, with just photos and less talking. I thought I'd share some of the makeup & beauty pics that I picked out randomly for all of you who don't have an Instagram account.

 

Lipstick Ban Picks: Deborah Milano Rosetto Milano Red #14, MAC Sheen Supreme Bare Again, Essence Almost Famous, Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense #36, Colorbar Velvet Matte Obsessed Orange.

*I pick some lipsticks from my stash as part of my Lipstick Buying Ban

Makeup one weekend: MAC Fabulousness Eye Kit Neutral Eyes, MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder Flatter Me, Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzer, Lancome Rouge In Love Rose Boudoir, Etude House Minnie Mouse Lashes, Shu Uemura Gold Eyelash Curler, Michael Kors Glam Jasmine Perfume

Feeling colorful with blushers: Sleek Flamingo, NARS Angelika, NYX Pinky, Majolica Majorca Pink Macaron, MAC Pink Swoon.

Confessions Of A 1st Time Mommy-To-Be | Q&A

Me: Are you a Girl?

Baby CZ: KICK!

Me: Really?!

Baby CZ: KICK!

Me: Are you a Boy?

Baby CZ: *Silence*

Me: Are you a Boy???

Baby CZ: *Silence*

Me: Okay....Uhm....Is Justin Bieber your father?

Baby CZ: KICK!

*****

I Transform Into Cersei Lannister ~ GAME OF THRONES

"When you play the Game Of Thrones. you win or you die.

There is no middle ground."

Cersei Lannister: A character created by George R.R. Martin in his books A Song Of Fire And Ice, which has been adapted into one of the most popular tv shows, GAME OF THRONES. Cersei has a twin brother, Jaime Lannister, with whom she had been in an incestuous relationship since they were adolescents. They both have a younger brother, Tyrion Lannister (the little man up there & my favorite character in the show), whom Cersei loathes because their mother died while giving birth to him.

To read more about Cersei, please go here

*** I do not condone incest. ***