NATURAL HAIR CARE w/ AEGTE: WHY THIS IS MY GO-TO PRODUCT!

The last few months have been super hectic. From getting used to an alternative lifestyle and double checking every product before consumption – from brands telling us about immunity boosting goods to apps telling us about 10 ways to lead a healthier lifestyle, our lives have been a subject to change.

For me, I am extremely particular about what I consume as I have always been finicky about my skin and hair. The concern probably just comes from that angle. Being a Bengali and having always had long hair since as long as I can remember, my hair products have always been very assorted and suitable for my hair. I not only have long hair, but also curly hair! And that’s never easy to maintain especially when in humid parts of the country, my hair tends to get extremely frizzy.

I remember when i was young, Ma used to apply some curd and a lot of natural remedies to my hair, once a week. With time, of course that was a luxury of the past. Now we are all in this fast-paced environment and natural hair care can be a tricky territory to walk through – especially because, it’s hair! You really don’t want to be out experimenting some product one day and next day end up having like a thousand problems.

While being confined at home so much during this lockdown, I decided to research on some good products and came across Aegte.

Aegte has derived its ingenious products by combining natural ingredients and science. I tried two of their products – Keralution Shampoo & Keralution Hair Mask from the brand. I think my hair has already started feeling so much smoother and softer.

KERALUTION SHAMPOO

These are some of the benefits I felt after using the product Keralution Shampoo for my hair! And just so you know, I have really thick hair!

Benefits of the shampoo that I felt:

• Voluminous hair
• Stronger hair, less breakage
• Definitely more manageable
• More buster or shine
• Improved my hair texture & softness

Aegte Keralution sulphate free Keratin Shampoo is infused with keratin, biotin, and argan oil. It helps to build up the hair strength, shine, smoothness and takes away the fizziness. Ginger extract takes care of controlling hair fall and promote new hair growth.

Some other Product Benefits!

• Hair Nourishment
• Less prone to drying
• Deep conditioning
• Scalp Cleansing
• Stimulate hair growth
• Stops premature greying
• Fights Dandruff and scalp infection

Some of the best USP’s of the Aegte Keralution Shampoo are :

• 100% Organic
• Naturally extracted
• Sulfate free
• Paraben free
• Keratin + Biotin shampoo
• Suitable for every hair type

Buy it here.

KERALUTION HAIR MASK

If you are not using a mask or hair conditioner after your shampoo, that is all kind of blasphemy, from Monday to Sunday! Please don’t be lazy and condition or mask your hair! I used the Keralution Hair Mask post the shampoo – and first of all can I just tell you how exquisitely sweet it smells! Like mmmm, sooooo good! I loved the both the products because of that sweet smell even more – it is so relaxing , takes all your stress away.

Benefits of the mask that I could feel :

• Conditioning and restoration of damaged hair
• Has Biotin so it enhances Keratin Restoration
• Intensive therapy for damaged and coarse hair
• Gives perfect softness, shine, and glamour. ABSOLUTELY!

The hair benefits it promises :

• Keratin for long-term protection
• Conditions and restores damaged hair
• Gives perfect softness, shine, and glamour
• Has Biotin to enhance Keratin Restoration
• Intensive therapy for damaged and coarse hair

Honestly, this may seem complicated to understand, hence without much overthinking – go ahead and buy this pair right here.

Buy it here!- https://www.aegte.in

Written by,

Adhisa Ghosh

HOW I PLAN MY INSTAGRAM FEED: A GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS!

I cannot believe this is going to be a blog post, but I think our increased social media dependency has amplified with the pandemic and lockdown.

Hence, without any further drama, I am going to tell you some simple steps I take to curate my IG feed. Personally, I feel I have grown since the last 2 years, in terms of my personal content and aesthetics. That also could be because I was not very involved or never thought of how Instagram could be so much more than just sharing a photo.

How you treat your Instagram can define the way you grid it.

For example. if you want a pretty aesthetic driven feed, based on your interests, likes and dislikes, you will need to follow up trends and also see what is reflective of your lifestyle.

The way I plan mine these days is completely based on fashion, lifestyle and mood.

I think at the end of the day, you need to know what works for you and what doesn’t. There are so many apps that can help you align your feed but these few steps are the easiest way to nail a good feed, for beginners!

STEP 1: GOOD PHOTO

Take a good photo! Start clicking what best comes close to your page topic. Love fashion? Replicate trends and click. Love makeup? Do some glam looks. Love baking or cooking? Indulge in some food photography.

These days, you do not need a digital camera, a good phone does most of the work, with the help of some quick editing apps!

STEP 2: FEED PLANNER

Once you have the aesthetics nailed, remember your feed needs to speak about the journey you are curating. Post relevant information. Post relevant content. If I am visually balancing by posting fashion/lifestyle themed content – I am not going to suddenly post about technology! Especially, if it is not going visually with my theme.

Your Instagram grid works in 9 image graph. So, your 9 images are 1 complete grid that won’t shift. Once you understand that, you can take help of apps like Preview and other similar feed planner. This is the best when you are serious about curating a good feed!

STEP 3: SYMMETRY/ASYMMETRY

Visual balance ! This can be tricky. However, what I do is I create a visual symmetry/asymmetrical balance with photos. Let me simplify.

Below is an example of a 12 grid. (3photos * 4 rows)

If you take the two rows from below- you can see a triangle block in the 6 grids. I have repeated my close ups and far shots alternatively. I have kept a pattern in the repetition and I have kept the colour palette close to similar shades – white, beige, sunset, fall colours, maroon overtones.

I have also balanced heavy images and scenic images alternatively, so it creates a semblance and does not look too crowded. So, to sum it up – you should plan your feed with a balanced rotation.

1close up – 1 far shot – 1 close up : 1 fashion portrait – 1 lifestyle image – 1 fashion portrait. (3:3)

STEP 4: EDITING APPS

Filters! Filters! Filters!

While being natural is great, I really cannot upload a photo on Instagram without basic corrections of light and shadow. I am absolutely against using filters and apps that completely distort your face.

However, there are certain apps that I use to get the base filter corrections similar for the photos I want to post in a grid (9-12 photos).

These are Snapseed , VSCO, Prequel (for their video effects and plenty of blogger and grainy image options, grunge & retro edits) and Polarr. Some of these also have paid features but I am not that advanced. Snapseed is completely free and that pretty much does my work. I also use this app called Unfold for stories – it basically gives me a clean template layout.

Also another example of a 9-grid visual balance, planned via Preview.

And you are set!

Once you get an idea about balancing your visuals and finding a middle ground to harmonise your colour palettes, half your battle is won. Good resolution photos are everything!

Also, I think because i have OCD, I am so particular about wanting to keep it clean, minimal. At the end of the day, your content needs to come from a place of passion, of authenticity. Of speaking about who you are, even if your captions are not. It needs to at least be aspirational in terms of having a reach and engagement. I have never curated my Instagram for want of followers. I think I do it mostly because I enjoy the platform that allows me to express my styles, fashion, other sensibilities and make it like a mood board. More than just post photos for the sake of it! I like the limited curation and reach it has, and I don’t want that to change.

I have a very Bradshaw heart. (I love how only a few would understand this reference)

Featuring my best friend and babies 😀

XOXO,

Written by Adhisa Ghosh

WHY YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN 2020

Every year in December, we are always filled with hope and faith for the next year. We plan big, we have exotic dreams and to-do lists and resolutions to complete. We have a three month plan, a quarterly plan, a financial plan, some thousands of calendar plans, dates blocked – so much of insane planning and booking, blocking and vacay listings.

We never for once have a plan B. We never think what if it all goes to waste? We never plan for the alternative.

2020, what a plot twist you were.

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I had so many plans this year. Looking back at it now, all my plans were centred around a growth that now feels superficial to me. A constant running without any sense of settling and loyalty. I always give myself 6 months in any situation. 6 months and I am out. 180 days and I am done.

What if 2020 was a person? Say someone who you had grown attached to, you started to like, a lot. You started to let in that energy, and then bam! You realise 2020 was just teasing you, it never meant to let you warm up, it never had any feelings or any capacity to empathise. And it was proud of that.

• 

It’s not even a person anymore, just a reminiscent of some good times, of a rare glimpse of what normalcy used to look like and a well schemed conspiracy by the universe to trap your heart for a while and force you to go through a spiritual cleanse. Amidst all these idiosyncrasies, when you are trying hard to keep a sense of reality, comes your misplaced sense of trust and believe.

There have been so many times that I wanted to give up. I have literally laid down on the cold tiled floor, crying straight for an hour because I was too numb and exhausted to get up and face life. To be back in the same space with no escape.

I think what truly got me going was that I wanted to believe. And I wanted each weekend to come so that I could have a good sleep knowing this week, we made it.

I know this sounds crazy because as millennials we are told abundantly to shut out any kind of feelings, to not have a warm heart, to slash people before they can hurt us – and amidst all of that I ask you to believe.

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I believe in the good.

I believe that it’s been a hell of a year and we still have 6 more months to go. I believe, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, we will all be okay.

I believe a lot of things.

I believe that sometimes when you least expect to, people can walk into your life and open up your heart. They can show you who you are now and who you are when no one is watching you, and that is important you know. I believe sometimes people can really surprise you, once you decided to let them in. They can feel like your morning coffee brewing, while you stood unmindful for a second, while a rush of peace swept over you.

I believe that sometimes old kisses can be replaced with new ones, that they would have their own taste and it would help you stop remembering old mouths. I believe that some people help you replace old memories with better ones and in that knowledge you realise what you once thought traumatic, was a farce.

And I believe that if I eat a tub of fudge, and no one sees me, the calories don’t count. And I believe that when you like someone, despite all odds, you take the risk of telling them so. I believe you should acknowledge when someone is vulnerable to you about how they feel because God knows their hands shook when they wrote that message. 

And I truly believe, that sometimes, people can be extraordinarily stupid to take a moment of love and peace, and trade it for a month of disappointment and heartbreak.

Above all, I believe that we are all capable of being kind, of falling in love with imperfections, of defying the impulse to abandon, to jump the ship.

And I believe that because You are reading this – I can tell You this and we can be okay. I believe even though we all made mistakes this year, You and I will be okay. 

I believe we survive. 

I believe that believing we survive is what makes us survive. 

XOXO

Adhisa.

THE QUARANTINE INTROSPECTION: ANSWERS I OWED TO MYSELF

Do,

Such a simple word just do, It’s harder when it’s you, Try to find a solution.

– Out Of Touch by CUT

What an unbelievable surrealistic ongoing of a madness the last 45 days have become, isn’t it? We have all adapted certain different lifestyles that we believe would help us tide over. We are all here, trying to be safe. Reminiscing the good old days and looking forward to just the simple excitement of being able to step out and raise a glass. Or just feel the wind on our skin and the sweat on our forehead.

These days, I ask myself, Adhisa, what do you really miss?.

You have always been a homebound person, someone who loves their solitary corners and doesn’t get intimidated by it. I think for people like us who genuinely enjoy being indoors, we also like to know that there is a possibility that we can step outside anytime we want. I think it’s the possibility that we miss.

The probability of things.

These days when I get bored or overthink ten to the dozen, I have started to reluctantly not dismiss those thoughts. Is it tough? Yes. To sit with your darkest thoughts and make a map out of it, it is scary. But once you do that, you know this is it. It is out of you and you can rewrite these.

This period of time has had me thinking about my days spent in Paris so much. I think Paris and me were a relationship I could never define. Paris tasted like warm crepes on a cold sunny morning, she smelled like croissants at 7 am and she felt so glamorous, even while buying a bottle of Asparagus on a drizzling afternoon in the Franprix aisle, clad in PJ’s and a jacket, hair wet enough to catch a sneeze.

The shoot I had done with Diana when I was in Paris, at the heart of the Louvre, was very special to me. I wanted to post it when it meant exactly more than just a glam moment. When there was an absolute genuine story to it.

This collaboration meant more than glamming up and posing for the camera. It was meant to prove something – and mind you it was never about anyone else, it was about me. It has always been about me.

I was in a phase where I wanted to stand out in my work, to be able to associate with a fashion project that was trying to stand out while being initiated with LGBTQ support and awareness meant differentiation and representation.

In some lonely corner of my mind, this also meant representation of someone who thought they didn’t fit in. Someone who had always been different. I think for a very long time, that idea affected me so much that I started acting out to desperately prove that I was different, that i wasn’t made to fit in. And this was what I lived through in Paris.

Paris never fit in too, she was arrogant at times, and she knew exactly how much she wanted to let people in. But unlike Paris, I still had to learn that every now and then. Paris knew how to stop amidst the flashes and slow down, she knew how to unwind, play pedestrian music and sway her hips to it and I had just about managed to dance it out from time to time.

This phase of quarantine has been a bit like my relationship with Paris.

It reminded me of the 2017 Adhisa, a bit younger, more gullible and enthusiastic Adhisa who was always trying too hard and never wanted to settle. It reminds me of how in this current phase, despite the limitations, I still want to do the same, but the way I look at these definitions have altered so much.

Do I still believe people easily, fall too hard with a thud? Of course I do.

I tell myself that without hope we are dead. Without expectations, we have nothing to look forward to. Without appreciation of the finer things in life, we will have such little unmentionable stories to look forward to.

This moment has taught me once again to find joy in those things that you would neglect on a regular day, because on a regular, normal non-pandemic day, we are rushing.

And we don’t pause.

We don’t take a moment to breathe. We try too hard to find happiness or appreciation in big moments. We redefine achievements and joys, so much so, that we lose ourselves in those definitions.

Take a moment and look around you now.

What is it that you really appreciate? Apart from your family and loved ones who are around you, what do you take away from this confinement? What are those moments that run through your head? Would you do it, all over again?

Despite the failures, would you risk your moment of truth?

The 2017 Adhisa never thought she would be able to feel a lot of things differently today. She was bitter, shut out and quite frankly, arrogant. She would be unreasonable, unforgivable and hurt people just to avoid being hurt.

But this Adhisa, the one that writes this, knows now that she was a child for dissing hope, for cancelling expectations or any form of vulnerabilities, for thinking you could win a war like that.

Look at all of us now, we are living in our shadows, at our homes, trapped in spaces that we have to revisit everyday. Despite that we are carrying on with each day, clinging to only hope and expectation for a better tomorrow. For getting that one chance with no restriction, for being able to feel free, for thinking that we are not alone, that someone somewhere is having these exact thoughts right now.

Maybe someone wants to take the next flight and see the person they love, but they can only hope for that time to come soon. You see, this whole time is going to be a gamble, and you better guess your bets right.

Because when this is over, you would want to say things loud and clear.

No more hiding in the shadows, no more dodging situations only because you think you would be wrong. I had say, take that chance, you get to be free today. Take that chance when there is no pandemic in the air, no threat that looms over us.

What is the worst than can happen beyond this? I had rather take the 2% chance of there being a probability of success of any kind, than dwell on the 98% of “what could”.

How would you and I know if we didn’t take the plunge or make the cut?

How would I have known I would stand at the Louvre one day and have that Carrie Bradshaw moment, or sit 2 years later writing this piece in absolute incoherency, because the urge to empty the words was far more compelling?

If you never try, you would never know. And next time, God forbid, there won’t be a pandemic to teach you that life cannot be lead in calculations. That life, happens.

Let it happen to you. Let people in. And you enter the house in their mind too, see how they can surprise you sometime.

I promise you it may not always be beautiful, but it would absolutely be worth it. Just 2%.

I carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) Anywhere I go you go, my dear;

And whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling
I fear no fate, for you are my fate, my sweet;

I want no world, for beautiful you are my world, my true.

I carry your heart with me – E.E Cummings

Brand Collaboration – Classy X Design by Diana Apsara

Written by,

Adhisa Ghosh

ACCESSORISING ON WOMEN’S DAY!

After a series of moving cities, friends and job, it was taking me a while to start writing – for who I really was. This blog would be my one slice of honesty. I think there could not have been more of a befitting day than today to post a blog!

Created with RNI Films app. Preset ‘Fuji FP 100C v.6 Faded’

The more we talk about this day, it’s significance and its requirement in today’s times, the more its narration morphs these days. Women are such powerhouses huh? From micro-managing to meeting others expectations before hers, be it at home, work or literally anywhere – there is so much that goes by around, already.

During such times, there is also the dilemma of having to always look good – be presentable in the easiest of glamorous ways. And the details – god! I am always about the small minute things – the finer beauty in life is all in the details no? I think when it is my personal style, whether at work or outside, I love a simple earring and some layering in accessorising. After all, we need to be ourselves – you need to be you when you style yourself.

We need to break from the multiple roles we play and I do it best with Accessory Funk. I will let that be open to interpretations – but know that if you decided to curate your own style, use my code : AFXSURBGIRL20 and avail 20% OFF on the entire website.

This is as real, unedited yet beautiful in its rawness that we want to be. As women, we are always strong, we are always beautiful, what better than to add to it ? 🙂

XOXO,

Adhisa Ghosh

*all jewelleries above are from Accessory Funk. Use code AFXSURBGIRL20 for 20% OFF on the website!

HOW I WAS A STUDENT IN ISTANBUL -MY OPINION OF THE CITY

The last few days, I have been remembered way too many times by a few of the people I knew and loved back in Istanbul.

As many of you are aware, I used to live in Istanbul as a student during my MBA at IFA Paris ( MBA Luxury Brand Management). Many of you still keep enquiring about the course and the programme – get your details here! Their application for January 2020 intake is now open, so you would have plenty of time to dig.

The rest of you who aspire to live in Istanbul as a student, let me tell you that it would be the best decision you could ever make! I know because it was simply one of the best countries I have lived in.

Quick tips that comes in handy if you are a student going to live in Istanbul –

1- Get a Istanbul Kart for your daily travels while you take the bus and the metro! Get the apps you require to survive – bitaksi is one of them! Taxis are super affordable if you want to relax and travel but extremely time consuming. Once you familiarise yourself with the bus and metros, life is easier as Istanbul has Europe and Asian side to cover along with small islands that you could take the Ferry for.

2- Effes is probably going to be your go-to beer brand, local produce but quite good!

3- Taksim and Nevizade streets would be your daily grind, but explore other areas too like : Nisantasi, Besiktas, Moda, Princess Island, Karaköy and Emirgan.

4- Tavuk Pilav (Chicken Pulao) and Döner (the one at Koregaon Park, Pune doesn’t even come close to the taste and for obvious reasons) would eventually become your binge choice when hungry.

5- You would soon start to claim that coffee cup reading is your thing. And you would develop a love for Turkish coffee and tea (Çay). Apple tea and Hookahs are also must try and simply exquisite.

6- People are BEAUTIFUL. You would soon find your heart changing into a Dickens or Bronte or the likes of any author – side effects may include unnecessary fluttering of hearts and eyelashes, occasional dates and oodles of pampering.

For the women : Turkish men are ideally a heart person, they are very expressive and don’t shy away from courting you, they are more about the process than the final end result and are very romantic! They would hold your hand and walk you in the park and insist on paying for you (they really do not understand the concept of splitting or letting the woman pay too), it may be cute for a while but certain things could feel too old school – but hey it’s all individualistic and depends on a lot of factors but in general and from personal experience, I can vouch for this. I have barely gone on a few dates with Turkish men and that was enough. Personally, I can’t be that smothered.

For the men : Turkish women are very beautiful no doubt but don’t just admire them for their appearance ! They are well-balanced, career oriented and in trend with global dynamics and culture quite a lot and often extremely well educated while balancing the family. You might want to be able to respect their spirituality and beliefs. It works both ways! 🙂

7- You will have cats all over you : admit it, they have always been your spirit animal. You might also conclude cats might rule this planet or at least Istanbul one day. Probably one of the main reasons why I believed I have lived many a lives in Istanbul before, probably as a cat 😉

And to top it all, the city is a labyrinth of historical artefacts and empires that exist in harmony with modern potboilers.

Until next blogpost soon.

XOXO,

Written by,

Adhisa Ghosh

HOW TO GET YOUR CURLS TO LISTEN TO YOU – 6 WAYS TO TAME THE FRIZZ DURING INDIAN MONSOONS

Hey there! So just the other day I was wondering how my hair would start having it’s own set of mood, now that the monsoons are on in full swing.

There is absolutely nothing worse for the hair and skin like the Indian monsoons sometimes 😩! The humidity in the air can ruin one’s skin and hair and a few precautions can go a long way in keeping up the natural quality. If you have curly or wavy hair like me, it’s impossible to not get mad at how the weather and the constant pouring rain can make your hair frizzy, dull and lifeless. ☹️

Giving you a list of the essential hair care products I use for my curls!

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TRESemmé Climate Control Shampoo Conditioner

I cannot stress what this duo product does to my hair when I am in Indian climate, its the only product my hair abides by! Easy to buy and also over the counter, use it for the best tamed and soft hair during this monsoon and round the season! 🙌🏽

L’Oreal Instant Clear

If you have dandruff problems frequently due to the weather, stress or pollution, this is one product that will cleans your scalp and is completely worth it! Sometimes, when I feel my dandruff gets triggered, I use it first on my scalp and leave it on for 3 minutes, then follow it with my regular shampoo and conditioner. ✌🏽

L’Oreal Hair Spa Smoothing Creambath Hair Mask

Due to heavy demand you may not find this product online always but you could easily find it at a L’Oreal salon. However, you can shop it online by clicking on the link and I have probably lost you at this point if I have to tell you just how important hydrating your hair is ! Get a hair spa at home with this hair mask! It’s once a week mandatory activity, come on! 🙆🏽

B-blunt High Definition Curl Defining Leave-in Cream

Monsoons can turn the best of our curls in frizzy curls and that’s more than a nightmare! This leave-in cream does to some extent help to lock curls and give it texture! Apply it in towel dry damp hair and scrunch your hair while letting it air-dry or style the way you want. For me, this does let my hair be in place when I am on the go and have just washed my hair! I leave it on and let it get air dried naturally and that gives it better effect and definition! 😚

L’Oreal Paris Total Repair 5 Instant Smoothing & Repairing Oil Serum

You know how some products are like a constant and you forget to give them their due credit because they have been fixing it since a while. This serum is definitely a must-have for any kind of hair type, for all seasons and a must application post hair wash! There are two kinds of people in this world – one that doesn’t apply serum after a hair wash and one that do.

It really transforms your life and hair for the better and a bit of self-care goes a long way! Must buy. 🤘🏼

Vitamin E hair Oil

At least once in two weeks, over night or a an hour before hair wash. Vitamin E helps in hair growth, dandruff clearance and is basically food for your hair. It is a good product to integrate in your hair care regimen.

On an ending note : the key lies to being healthy from inside out as well! Stay hydrated, eat fruits and vegetables good for your hair and skin too!

These photos uploaded here have been clicked right after I have used some of the above products!

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Products used –

1- TRESemmé Climate Control Shampoo and Conditioner

2- L’Oreal Instant Clear (use it as a monsoon precaution)

3- L’Oreal Hair Spa Smoothing Creambath Hair Mask

4- Blunt High Definition Curl Defining Leave-in Cream

XOXO,

Adhisa Ghosh

UNFILTERED : HOW TO DEAL WITH ANXIETY&SKINCARE IN YOUR 20’S

“The sooner you accept you are imperfect, I promise you half the battle is won.”

I, for one, cannot stress on how important it is to sometimes take that photo without a filter or a special cam and accept however you see yourself. If your perception about yourself isn’t a positive one, no amount of filter or camera can change that for you. So you have to accept all the blemishes, pigmentations, dark circles and puffiness and find beauty in your character and strength. I hope you get that conviction.

When I was 17, I was going through so many medications because of my acne and it used to hamper my self-esteem. At the cusp of being a teenager and an adult, there are dynamic changes we go through. We tend to be so warped up in this transition that we often forget to address our internalisations and don’t let ourselves ease into it.

How can we? We are in such a frenzy to grow up! 🙆🏽

I blindly did what my skin doctor would suggest : chemical peels ✅, steroid medicines ✅, anything and everything, ✅. The chemical peels were the worst, they not only had an adverse reaction to my skin but also damaged my complexion. Yet, pumping up on vanity and feeling like I own my skin, I kept feeding it every kind of junk possible. ❌

Until one day and many products promising various benefits later, it dawned to me : what we consume reflects greatly on our skin too. The amount of sleep we get, our lifestyle, our eating habits and a whole lot of things collectively contributes to our external reflection.

I start my day with a glass of water soaked in fenugreek seeds overnight. Fenugreek has multiple health benefits, even in terms of detox, weight loss, skin and hair. During the summer days especially, drinking water soaked in basil seeds also helps with your detox, cools your core body temperature and keeps your skin healthy. 🍒

Our mental health plays a huge factor as well. I had undiagnosed anxiety for the longest time, I didn’t even know that is what anxiety looked like. I had it all through my college years and I dealt with it just like every young adult out there deals with stress : you shut up and don’t talk about it. And these repressed feelings and sentiments often manifest externally on our skin. During such times, my solace was a very basic skin clearing face wash – The Himalaya Herbals Purifying Face Wash. I used to alter between the Neutrogena Acne Clearing Face Wash too. These two were my biggest skin saviours.

Believe me when I say, your mental health manifests as clear signs on your skin sometimes. Your eating habits too! Gorge on fruits rich in antioxidants that help your skin, hair and boosts mental health! Load up on ripe papayas, kiwi, musk melon, pears and apples, these fruits help to keep your skin clean. Have watermelon and any kind of fruit that is loaded with water for hydration. 🍎🍑🥝🍉

Over the years I have been able to put down some of my personal remedies while dealing with anxiety. Any attack of anxiety or panic requires your 5 senses to be grounded – giving you the reality of time and the moment and breaking you away from illusion. Below are the 5 senses step for anxiety relief that I employ:

Step 1- Hear something – find that music on your phone or the laptop which helps you calm your nerve. The idea is to activate your hearing sense. This song has proven to reduce anxiety. 🎼

Step 2- Smell. Take small controlled breath of air or a deodorant. Repeat inhalation and exhalation. Keep a source of a smell like a deodorant or perfume constant. DON’T switch too much while you are activating this sense. Try my favourite perfume! 🍭

Step 3- Touch. Your skin is the largest organ in your body and the calming stimulus registers quickly. Pick up a guitar if you have at home and play it. Or use a makeup product to apply to your skin. Don’t pinch or hurt yourself. You have gotta be calm about the process. Or play it online here! 🎻

Step 4- Sight. Watch something. Anything. Favourite actor, favourite band, conspiracy theories, unicorn farting rainbows, the cover of a book. Activating your sense of sight is the key. Watching the series Friends has proven to reduce anxiety and depression. 🦄

Step 5- Taste. This is actually one of the strongest methods for relieving anxiety and few people integrate this. Chew a gum. Pop a mint. Eventually when you are more in control brew some Chamomile tea or Green tea. It REALLY helps in calming your nerves, I kid you not. My favourite tea is from Fortnum & Mason! ☕️

I have developed a very minimal skin care routine that works wonders for many reasons. The milder your face wash, more better the results. A Tea tree oil or any anti-bacterial face wash works well too – keeping in mind the Indian climate and skin, it shouldn’t dry out your skin too much. I almost never forget to tone using an aloe vera and rose water toner.

Moisturisation is the skin food and if you have sensitive skin and want to keep it healthy, use a cream that is filled with goodness of Vitamin E and Aloe Vera. Remember the Holy Grail for skin – CTM (Cleanse, Tone, Moisturise). 🍯

Recently, I have started to use an ice pack for 2-3 minutes daily on my skin. Ice packs do really help in tackling pimples, regulates blood circulation, cools your skin and tightens your pores, hence all the toner and moisture is absorbed right into your skin. ❄️ ❄️ A Korean and essentially cheap beauty regime that’s gaining popularity these days!

At night, it is so essential to repeat the CTM. I use the Body Shop Vitamin E night cream and the Vitamin E under eye cream at night.

These days, I love that I have picked up my reading habit again. So while the rest of the people may be partying it up in a club, I enjoy a good book or a documentary series at home on a Friday night. Topping it with some music, going off the grid and masking! I use the L’Oreal Pure Clay Mask Detoxify that is EVERYTHING.

It’s charcoal clay formula helps soak up the negative ions from the depths of my skin and leaves it soft and glowing. Sometimes on Friday nights, I love pulling up a sheet mask from TonyMoly, like the Tea tree or the Avocado one! Have you tried them? They are like mini parties for your skin! It is literally the kind of parties I enjoy off late, masking away in peace, no human conversations please.

I stopped with any kind of skin treatments over the years, and learnt to be more in control and recognise the importance of mental health. I have seen how it has reflected on my skin too! Simultaneously, every four months I do drop in for a skin consultation with my Dermatologist and my Therapist just to keep things in track, even if nothing is wrong.

On an ending note after that rather long blog post this time : I just want to say that its so important to recognise that we need to balance our health overall! Our mental state of mind can make a huge difference in our appearance but by being educated about it and in participating in conversations, we can try to make it easy! Looking and feeling good are so co-related and should be an inside out process!

I hope this helps you guys and if you know someone who are troubled by anxiety and need help from time to time, or have low self-esteem tied up to their skin, do share this post! And get them some help here.

XOXO,

Adhisa Ghosh

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Photography – Mejuljeet Singh

Assistant Styling – Vaishali Pandey

BEST OF MET : DECODING GALA 2019

Come May every year and I have tremendous build up to see the red carpet looks and the execution of the themes every year at the Met Gala. From following the release of the concept from the moment its announced, to the journey of seeing it through, till the memes and the mockery. It seems that one day of the year, people seem to become judges of haute couture for a day to feel inclusive by destructing an event like the MET while personally having a wardrobe that consists of bare fashion minimals (aka jeans and shirt), is all very amusing.

Before I proceed to tell you my favourite picks, let’s talk about what is MET GALA? It seems a lot of people actually don’t know “why people dress the way they do at the MET”.

Cara Delevingne wearing Dior at the Met 2019

Started first in 1948 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, it was a fashion fundraiser that involved the high society of New York and encouraged donations. In modern times, the Costume Institute’s Gala of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts’, is the biggest fashion fundraiser on the planet. It calls upon well known faces from the music, film, fashion and arts realms. And because its for the love of costume, there is a theme every year that leads to a build up amongst brands and invitees, conceptualisation, story boarding, mood, style boarding and beauty boarding and then finally execution of a concept and story telling into a garment and a complete look – from the hair to the shoes. Since 1995, the event has been presided over by Anna Wintour, US Vogue Editor-in-Chief.

Last year the theme was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. What was the theme this year? This year the exhibition was arranged by Andrew Bolton, curator of the costume institute, around Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay Notes on “Camp”. The beauty of this concept was that it could be construed in various ways. Susan’s writing is reflective and timely of the ongoing political and cultural trend that it would be a resonance of the current times. Susan Sontag’s definition of camp is the “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration , style at the expense of content ,the triumph of the epicene style”.

In Busby Berkeley movies and in the he-man actor Victor Mature, in Mae West and General de Gaulle, in Swan Lake, Flash Gordon comics, Caravaggio, chinoiserie, and the entirety of the Art Nouveau movement, Susan Sontag found Camp.

“Camp taste has an affinity for certain arts rather than others,” she noted. “Clothes, furniture, all the elements of visual decor, for instance, make up a large part of Camp.” Camp, as Andrew Bolton notes, “has become increasingly more mainstream in its pluralities—political camp, queer camp, Pop camp, the conflation of high and low, the idea that there is no such thing as originality.” Camp, he continues, has been described as style without content.

“But I think you’ve got to be incredibly sophisticated to understand camp—look at Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs,” says Andrew in his interview to Hamish Bolton from Vogue. A 1909 book of Victorian slang explicitly describes camp as “actions and gestures of exaggerated emphasis used chiefly by persons of exceptional want of character.”

Let’s take a look at my top ten favourite looks in the line of the theme of “Camp:Notes on Fashion”.

LADY GAGA

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One of the nights host, Lady Gaga had three changes on the red carpet. Couldn’t get more campier than that!

BILLY PORTER

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Nailing it and how! Off late I have a new found respect for this man for so beautifully executing gender fluidity on the red carpet and making a statement with fashion. His inspiration was from the movie Cleopatra.

HAILEE STEINFELD

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Remember the Viktor & Rolf gowns with memes and quotes? Well – illuminates the concept of camp in its exaggeration!

JANELLE MONÁE

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Dress by Christian Siriano and inspired by Picasso!

KARDASHIANS & JENNERS

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Kim wearing the “wet look” designed by the man Thierry Muggler himself! One of my personal favourites – exaggerated emphasis on the “wet” element!

GIGI HADID & MICHAEL KORS

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Gigi Hadid went for a Cher and Liberace inspired look, wearing Michael Kors’ design!

EZRA MILLER, JARED LETO, DARREN CRISS, HAMISH BOWLES

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I am sure you have started understanding the concept and the above looks now!

PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS & NICK JONAS

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Moving aside the extreme memes and trolls that happened at the expense of Priyanka’s costume at the MET and every second person posting their views and opinions, like Vogue called – you would be disappointed to know that this couple was at their CAMPIEST BEST! What a duet! Priyanka’s team not only interprets camp in its absurdity but translates it with phenomenal prowess on the red carpet, syncing with Nick’s looks at the same time. They were the ultimate CAMP ROYALTY! FYI, Dior dressed them both!

There is a lot of intricate work that is involved at every step of the way, and if you thought passing a critic judgement on a look or calling it “nice” and “not nice”, is why they invested six months of hard work and craftsmanship into it, then you would be probably sad to know that your certification is not what they care about.

Fashion, above all, is not about looking pretty that the media or magazines sell you at large. Fashion is and has always been a form of art- an expression of identity and a liberation of self. Why else do you think it matters to us so much although we would vehemently deny it?

And when it comes to couture fashion – it calls for a different blog post. 😉

Ending on Oscar Wilde’s work of witticism “One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art”—are the essence of camp. 

So what did you take away from this year’s theme?

Probably not to be a MET gala couture comment expert next year is one of them 🙂

Claws come off,

XOXO,

Adhisa Ghosh

Nº3 MONTMARTRE STORY

“But Paris was a very old city and we were young and nothing was simple there.” – Hemingway

Living in the city of love is surreal. There have been moments while strolling around the city or walking around in Montmarte, I have always experienced things from a different perspective, in a different mood.

For a very long time this week, I dallied along the lines of how I wanted this blog to turn out. Should I make it a clichéd article? Talking about what kind of a place Montmarte is, the must-visit spots or the touristic routines. On a second thought, I even began to recall from my visits, a few pointers about Montmarte to give to my readers – but then, my whole point of sharing with you the reality of the place is amiss.

Nonetheless, to brief you, Montmarte is a large hill in Paris’ 18th arrondissement. It is a major tourist attraction for its quaint picturesque neighbourhood, artists corner and cafes. Montmarte is also the destination of the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur, Ernest Hemmingway and Picasso, Vlamenck, Derain, Soutine, Modigliani, Van Gogh and countless others who lived and worked in these narrow streets. You could find wall plaques identifying buildings and cafes as historic. “Hemmingway once peed in our bathroom…” etc.

The other major attraction is the Basilica Sacre-Coeur, built only a century ago, after the French were embarrassed by a brief but successful occupation by the Germans in 1870 under Bismark’s Prussian army. The Basilica is based in Roman architecture and took over 40 years to build. From a distance, the stark white domes are powerful and imposing. During WWII, 13 bombs are said to have landed on the church, but without resulting in casualties, which lent the place special status among the local people. Atop the dome, you get an entire view of the city including the Eiffel Tower.

What makes Montmarte so special? The peace inside the Basilica is incomparable, I have sat there for hours on many occasions. I still remember how it feels like every part of the locality whispers its secrets to you.

Take a walk in Montmarte and you will know what I mean. How would you feel when the guy sitting outside strums his guitar and sings one of your favourite song? How would you feel if you were transported in another world of art and era?

How do you feel knowing that you tread on the same cobbled stones which were once daily routes for Van Gogh and Hemingway? How do you feel just existing in that moment, breathing the same air and feeling the beauty of a past somewhere trapped in its transition? How do you feel, when every part of your soul tells you that this was the moment writers craved for?

That these were the corners that buried more than a painting, these were the bars and cafes where kisses were shared in secrecy, where tall claims of love were made in declaration. These were the places that gave many their heroic moments, that gave many their firsts of things. How do you not revel standing in a town that still keeps its magic simply by existing?

The more I am there, the more enamoured I have felt of how Montmarte, my most favourite part of Paris is. Montamarte whispers to you in love and secrecy when you are there with a unattached mindset. It makes you believe that there is always a next time for everything in life, that life goes around in a circle and what’s meant to be will always, always find you.

And in that moment, I swear, we are infinite.

XOXO,

Adhisa