ajio top // zara shorts // puma bag + shoes // ray-ban sunglasses // daniel wellington watch

Photos by Sheila Vaz at SaffronStays Beyond

It feels like forever since I just shared a good old OOTD here on the blog. Do people even read blogs anymore? Digital media is bigger than ever, but seems to be dominated by a few social platforms. I’m currently tying to use instagram less, so it feels natural to share this here.

Politically & socially; we’re living through some pretty terrible times right now. And I’m not going to lie, things feel bleak. In times like this, I used to think that talking about beauty & fashion was frivolous, but right now it feels like self care.

These photos were taken back in Jan on a quick little getaway to Alibag, which is just a few hours away from Mumbai. We stayed at the perfect villa, worked, relaxed, ate amazing home cooked food + played with some doggos. It was pretty blissful, & just thinking about it is bringing me some inner peace. Oh & there was sun! I’m really missing the sun right about now. x

If you’d like to see more of the trip, check out this vlog.

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Topshop dress // Ray-Ban oval flat sunglasses // Daniel Wellington classic petite ashfield watch // Viola cherry pendant // Rosato bracelet // Zara basket bag //  Vero Moda oxford shoes

Photos by Sheila Vaz

If there’s one thing that exploring the world of fashion & beauty has taught me, it’s never say never. It’s been almost eight years since I posted my first look here on this blog & so much has changed since then (not just my dress size!) For example, if you asked me back then to name two trends I would never sport, I’d tell you I hated gold tone jewellery & animal prints & now here I am, wearing both those things in the same look & loving them.

I just got my hair done in a red balayage (& vlogged the whole thing, of course) & I really wanted to wear something monochromatic so the red really pops. It’s also my first time wearing the Ray-Ban oval sunglasses, & I really like how they look. They’re very similar to the Ray-ban round shape that I like, but slightly slimmer – so this is my take on the current skinny sunglasses style that’s really in right now, although I see myself wearing these for years to come.

And finally, let’s talk jewellery. I’m actually wearing all real gold in this look. When I want to try out a new trend, I usually have to shop for things that fit the trend, but when I wanted to wear gold, all I had to do is ask mom – she was very happy & proud that her daughter’s finally wearing gold, I think she saw it as some kind of coming of age thing. I’ve had the Rosato bracelet for around ten years now (pretty sure I threw a tantrum for it) & the rings are ‘borrowed’ from her. Yeah let’s go with borrowed (she’s not getting them back, sshhhh….) x

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AJIO dress // Zara wooden minaudiere // Daniel Wellington classic petite ashfield wrist watch // BCBGeneration sandals

Photos by Sheila Vaz in Coonoor

Exactly one month & ten days ago, I turned 26! Summers in Mumbai are no fun, so since 25th birthday in Bangkok last year, I decided that I would bring in every birthday at a new destination. This year’s destination wasn’t really new – we’ve stayed at Coonoor once, three years ago & I’ve also visited on two other occasions. It’s a charming hill station in the Nilgiri region of Tamil Nadu, kind of a hidden gem – the ‘town’ area is really populous, but the region around Sim’s Park is lovely & quaint.

I found an amazing little homestay on airbnb, a room in a century old colonial era bungalow. We had arrived the previous day from Ooty. I actually sat & filmed a chatty video in the late morning & it ran a lot longer than expected. After I was finally done, we started out for lunch, but not before seeing a gorgeous ginger cat sitting in front of a little bush of flowers; he was very loving & receptive to pets & scritches – I truly believe meeting him was my birthday gift from the universe.

As luck would have it, we didn’t manage to get a rickshaw to take us to lunch & ended up having to take a bus & walk. Luckily, I picked a truly gorgeous spot with a panoramic view (the name 180° McIver is very apt!) & we were also blessed with amazing weather. We crashed almost immediately after, because I left very early next morning for a quickie trip to Delhi with Google – but that’s a story for another day.

If makeup is your thing, you can watch my birthday get ready with my video below.

Also here’s a rare picture of mom, she takes almost all of my pictures but has to be forced to let me take hers. I asked her to wear this top, so we could match.

It was a truly lovely day, & I know I’ll probably visiting that charming town again sometime. Now for something absolutely random – I’ve recently gotten a steam account & really delved into gaming again, after years! I’ve been obsessed with this sim called Stardew Valley, it’s really calming but it sort of sucks you in. Do you game? I’d love to hear about your all time faves! x

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H&M dress // Ray-Ban round copper flash sunglasses // Vans espadrilles – tropical peach

Photos by Sheila Vaz at Karma Royal Haathi Mahal

How’s everyone doing? It feels like forever since I’ve properly written a post here, so I just wanted to say hi. It’s been an amazing couple of months but equally hectic. Kinda proud that I’ve been really regular with videos but it’s hard to find the chance to blog too. And then it becomes this weird vicious circle – I’m sure many other bloggers can relate.

My birthday is in less than fortnight – since summer in Mumbai is not my favorite time, I’m taking a tiny little workcation to the Nilgiris in early April, so I’m definitely really excited to be there after two years. Living at home with your parents can you a little complacent, so I’m also trying to get better at adulting, simple things like being more proactive with my health, or figuring out how to better manage my personal finances or file my income tax returns.

But yeah, things are generally good & I wouldn’t have it any other way. x

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Zara trafaluc flame emoji tee // Zara x Maui & Sons embroidered mom denim shorts // Ray-Ban round (RB3447) – red mirror gradient // Daniel Wellington classy sheffield lady watch // Good After Nine tuxedo cat ring // Lavie sandals

lips- MAC lady danger  | nails (fingers) Lakmé Absolute Gel Stylist – Gold Dust (toes) Nykaa Nails Matte – Strawberry Shortcake 

Photos by Anushree Gavas at The House, Versova

Summer in a tropical country is no breeze. We photographed this look a couple of weeks ago, when rain was still sporadic & the temperature was in the late thirties everyday. The look’s quite simple; you might have already seen a couple of these things in my recent fashion haul video – a light oversized tee with bleach denim shorts in my fave silhouette (#momjeansforlife). I think the sequins on the tee & the cute shark embroidery just adds something fun to the look. I gotta say, I’m loving this patches / embroidery on your tits trend – makes it that much easier to go braless if you so desire. 😉

It’s monsoon now & dressing up is a whole other challenge. Hopefully I’ll do a monsoon OOTD super soon.

June was a bit quiet on the blog, what with me doing VLUNE & all (I vlogged every single day!) But now that it’s July, we’re back to three posts a week here on the blog. I hope you have a great week, & month ahead… x

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Vero Moda Bikini

Photos by me at Mount Lavinia Hotel, Colombo

I bought my first bikini when I was ten. Correction, my mom bought it for me. I have a very clear memory of the whole thing. I had just won a school-wide spelling bee competition, & my proud mother took me to Shopper’s Stop to treat me. We went to the kid’s apparel section & there was a new line of Barbie swimwear (growing up, my love for Barbie was very strong). Of course I wanted the maroon string two piece. I loved that one & wore it for years.

The last time I wore a bikini before this, was maybe four years ago. After college came a bit of weight gain (which I was mostly ok with, at least this would stop the aunties from asking me if my mom didn’t feed me) but I suddenly started becoming more aware of every perceived flaw on my body. Some of them, like stretch marks, were obviously new. Some others, like the lower back hair, darker underarms & thighs, I wasn’t sure if they just happened or I just noticed them. The one thing I knew was, I’m not going to wear a bikini anymore.

And I still called myself body positive somehow. The main narrative in my head was – I’ll get in shape, then I’ll go to the beach / pool. I’ll get my tummy flat again, then I’ll be comfortable. 2016 was a year of so many personal revelations, with one of them being – I’m a hypocritical idiot. How could I use my platform to spread the message of body positivity if I myself didn’t truly believe in it?

I took these photos on my first day of a short but wonderful trip to Colombo with Fashion Market LK. I was in the most beautiful hotel room seeing nothing but ocean for miles. Putting on two piece swimwear is nothing revolutionary & that’s why I actually procrastinated on this post for a while. Should I just put up the pictures & not write anything? Why am I politicising putting a swimsuit on my own body? But I finally decided I wanted to write this because the personal milestone I conquered that day is more important to me than these pictures. And the only reason I’m sharing this, is because if I can get here, you can. No matter what size you are. No matter what shape. No matter what your personal issues with your body are. Don’t let that stop you from wearing whatever the fuck you want to wear. It’s not going to be easy to feel confident right away if you have body image issues. It’s something you work at continually.

These are snapshots of what I looked like in October 2016. I was 24 (I still am) I had red hair, I was on my second solo trip. It was my first day in Sri Lanka. I was killing it, & I was happy. Sure my body isn’t perfect. But this is what my body looks like. Uneven skin tone, belly fat & all (also makeup swatches on my arm, lol).

And this was the day I discovered how to look bomb in a swimsuit. Find a swimsuit you like (it’s pretty important because I’ve bought many I still wouldn’t feel comfortable going out in, ugh). Go to the beach / pool & just enjoy yourself. Oh & it’s ok if you suck your tummy in for photos, ain’t nothing wrong with that! x

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