TV Fashion/Makeup Icons

There have been many great TV shows that have influenced my ideas on hair,clothes and Makeup. Music videos have inspired me as well, but that will be a post for another day ;) 

My Top shows that inspired me were as follows:

1. Sex & The City

2. Friends

3. Ugly Betty

4. Beverley Hills 90210

5. Who's the Boss?

Today I have compiled together a few of my favourite photos from Sex & The City, specifically "Carrie Bradshaw", that inspired either a fashion trend or inspired my Makeup choices.  Enjoy!

Sex & The City - Carrie Bradshaw:

I loved her evolution over the years in fashion and Makeup.  Here are my faves over the years.

I absolutely loved when Carrie changed her hair colour in the first movie instalment of S.A.T.C.  I remember being in the theatre, watching the scene with Carrie at the Salon, and her hair is complete and she does her flip upward and reveals her new hair, literally everyone in the audience went, "Wowwwww".She looked great in the Fashion scene of the movie with her looking marvellous!  (I still have not managed to figure out how to replicate, but I am getting close! :)

The following picture is a favourite of mine due to her amazingly soft shiny curls.  Once I saw this, I know I had to figure out a way to do this at home since this look is so beautiful.

When Charlotte gets married, her first wedding, it is one of my favourite episodes.  For the fashion, the storyline and of course Carrie's AMAZING, gravity defying bun!  In my opinion, this is the first time we saw, what we now call, the infamous "Sock" bun.  It looked amazing on her :)

Last but not least, the wedding Makeup from the S.A.T.C. movie. I loved how her skin glowed, the classic lined eye, the soft brown shadow, rosy hue on the cheeks and the lips painted that amazing Red!

More inspired posts to come.  

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Portfolio Pics

Here are some updated photos of my Makeup clients.  Check them out below:

Soft and Romantic

Indian-Glam Look

Wine & Cheese Pre-Wedding Event for Bride to be

Peacock inspired look

Beautiful Bride and her Mom :)

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Creative Inspiration: Pillow Decor :)

My inspiration from yesterday was decor, specifically, Pillows.  I was at Home Sense and I loved the variety of ideas they have there, but my smile widened when I went into the Pillow section.

There was so much variety in colour, design, texture and style.  What I loved most is that I got inspired, as I will relate a E.O.T.D (eye of the day) based off of these images that I captured for inspiration!

Take a look below:

Next time you are looking for Makeup or any kind of inspiration, open your eyes, you never know where or when it will be right in front of you :)

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Product to Try: Marc Anthony True Professional Easy Lites

These posts relating to this topic are and will be pretty simple, I pick a product that I want to try.  The products will be chosen for the following reason:

1. Products or things that I have seen and want to try
2. Heard about from friends or in the industry
3. Trend setting item

This way, I get to have a part two of the blog with me having ample time with the product and providing a realistic review.

I heard about this unique product from the Marc Anthony True Professional line, that would give your hair highlights by using a flat iron.  A few sprays, saturate the hair, flat iron for several swipes and voilà, highlights achieved.

I did grow up in the late 90's and therefore cannot help to compare it to a similar product called Sun-In, the only difference here is you rely on the Sun and the heat to alter the colour of your hair naturally.

I am excited to try it and see if I can achieve at-home ombre highlights.

The product snapshot is below and it is called Easy Lites:

Courtesy of:  http://www.marcanthony.com/products/easy-lites-lightening-highlight 

We shall check back and I will post the Part 2 blog post here.

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Sunday Smiles :)

This post idea has been pushed aside for the last little while but today I thought it was the perfect time for me to bring it back!

Here are my smiles for the week:

• Spending time with the Family
• Watching a little baby dance to songs by Drake
• Trying  Java Chip Frappuccino® from Starbucks - so delish!
• Working an amazing TIFF 2012 Event this weekend

Hope you all had a great week!

Always Smile :) Sand

Lifestyle: Spending time with the Family

This is just a simple post on spending time with family and how important it to prioritize that time with the family.  After a busy week, I am lucky I got to spend time with the cousins and share with them how their summer has been and just overall get a chance to see them. I have a very large family and I appreciate the time I get to spend with each of them. 

Always Smile :) - Sand

TIFF 2012 - Lights, Camera, Action!

TIFF 2012 is upon us and the city is buzzing with Canadian and Hollywood celebs!  This is a great opportunity to watch amazing Independent films at the beginning stages before it becomes a box-office success!

This weekend there will be some amazing events happening and I will be sharing some fun photos and events I will be attending, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, check out the details at:  http://tiff.net/

Courtesy of:  www.tiff.net

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Braids? Who knew - Fall 2012 Hair Trend

Now growing up in the early 80's and being South Asian, it was very common for girls in my family, during this era, to have their hair done in either a single braid or 2 braids.  

For me it was painful being in class and watching all the other girls with their hair flowing, decorated by pretty hair pins or headbands, and here I was with my hair pulled back into braids.  For me, braids represented restriction and therefore I begged to have my hair cut, and in time my parents gave in, and no more braids.

Fast forward to the present and braids are the hair-du-jour!  Who knew?  Now they reflect free flowing form and whimsical fun.  Therefore, I am falling back in love with braids from the creative, cute, funky and sexy ways to wear them.  

I compiled a few pics that I am in love with and would love to try! Hopefully once my hair gets a little longer :)

Look 1:  

The Snake braid which looks complex but is a simple twist on a regular braid.

Check out the great tutorial by clicking here or on the pic!

Look 2:

The Chain braid, 2 versions on this creative look!

An amazing Makeup artist and now amazing hair art! Click here.

Look 3: 
The Bridal braided bun, I love how pretty, effortless and beautiful this look is.

Such a pretty look for a bride or bridesmaids, click here for more inspiration.

Once I get a handle on the length and technique, I will share some of my own attempts.  Enjoy the inspiration!

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Yummy Food - Vacay Post

I am going to try to post on my blog, at least once a week, food related posts.  I will share and showcase delicious food that I have enjoyed out and recipes that I love making at home.  This will be fun for me to share my love of food, share a variety of things I like, new things I have tried and good old favourites.  The beauty of all of this will be captured in words and of course photos!

This week I wanted to post pics of yummy food that I had on my vacation in the Dominican Republic.  As with most resorts, the food is available at all hours, and of course offered in Buffet Style for main meals.  Since I have to be careful with what I eat due to stupid  acquired food allergies, I made sure I picked food I was familiar with and are from my favourite category: CARBS! Lol.

Please enjoy the pics below:

Lunch on the first day, pasta was incredible :)

Dinner was almost gone till I realized I forgot to take a pic ;)

Breakfast in general will always be my fave in any country! :)

Mexican Restaurant in the DR!  Nachos & cheese w/ the view of the Beach

One Word:  Guacamole! 

This was a filling meal:  Chicken Mole, Taco chips, Coleslaw with Steak

Breakfast of Champions: Potatoes, Cheese, Bacon AND pancakes! :)

One of many reasons why all inclusive vacations are great, is that you get to enjoy a lot of various cuisines at once!  Many more Food and Recipe posts to come!

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Colour-Blocking

If you look hard enough, you will find colour blocking everywhere! Whether it be in Fashion, Makeup or even retail spaces, the vision of colours seamlessly blending into one another has always inspired me.

Below are a few photos that are bursting with colour and are great examples of colour blocking.  The Library I would LOVE to attempt, just not sure I have the patience for it :)

This to me is art.creativity and literacy wrapped into one. :)

Not sure what I love more, the heels or this ingenious way to store shoes :)

How can you not LOVE the colours in this palette :)

I had to take a picture of this, it made me so happy :)

Take a look around, when you are at the Mall, in a chic shop, or out walking in nature, where will you find your rainbow?

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Inspired Eyes - Blue and Gold

A few weeks ago I attended a beautiful wedding.  The wedding was a two day affair with the religious ceremony held at Black Creek Pioneer Village.  It was unique to see an Indian wedding against the beautiful backdrop of a clear blue sky and a green cascading lawn.  

I debated back and forth on what to wear to the reception and found the perfect outfit, a turquoise/blue Indian outfit embellished with gold toned details.  

Now as a Makeup junkie, you have to first find the perfect outfit but then you have to figure out the Makeup look to go with it.

My inspiration came from the jewellery I was wearing as well as the outfit.  Here is what I came up with:

My favourite part of this look was seeing it come together at the end and it was exactly what I wanted. I wanted the hint of gold with it washing into the turquoise blue.  Here is a breakdown of the look below:

Vasanti Liquid Cover - V4 (Eye base)

Vasanti E/S Duo Golden Temple, Lighter Shade (Inner Corner & Highlight)

Vasanti E/S Duo Lake Louise (Middle to Outer Corner) 

Vasanti Pure Pigment Mineral Shimmer Powder Sand Dune - (Middle of Eye)

Vasanti - Cleopatra Liquid Liner

Mascara – Vasanti Conditioning Long Lash Mascara

I lined the eyes underneath to reflect the hues on top, it completes the look and really makes the eyes stand out!

Always Smile :)  - Sand

Summer 2012

This summer I got a chance to explore the great beaches and bluffs in Toronto and I got a chance to go to Puerta Plata for a cousin's wedding.  Here is a collection of some of my summer memories via photos.  Enjoy!

View from my amazing room at The Palace Balaji in Puerta Plata :)

This place was incredible.

This chandelier was very impressive

The place did look like a palace

Private courtyard

Getting closer to the Ocean

The view was unreal, nothing but Ocean :)

A view of the private beach below

This view made me appreciate nature and life

The water was unreal.

The Beaches in Toronto :)

Board-walk - Loved the walk and the street meat available

Amazing beauty so close to home

Love the mix of majestic trees and sand

The Bluffs - Amazing what we have so close

Peaceful

Even though technically it is not over, I hope everyone had an amazing summer :)

Always Smile :)  - Sand

So many Books to choose from....

Well hello strangers it has been a very long time since I have posted or wrote for my blog.  What can I say, life, work, trips, family, weddings took a lot of my free time, but I always try to achieve balance.  So when life gets too busy I will try to take a step back, press re-set and make time for all the things that make me happy and strive for balance.  Therefore, writing and posting fun things on my blog is one of them, so I am back!  

(I encourage you all to do that!)

Today I am going to talk about books!  I love books and have an amazing waiting list:

As you can see there is a mixture of things.  I am currently finishing up Revolutionary Road. This book to me is incredible because it was written in the 60's, but the issues and themes within the book regarding marriage and married life I feel are subject matter that is present today.  

I always try to mix up my subject matter of reading options from book-to-book.  Therefore Revolutionary Road was realism life based book, I think my next read may be Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

Stay tuned for my "book report" for Revolutionary Road.  

Always Smile :)  - Sand