The Newly Wed's Guide to dressing for Karva Chauth.

My first Karva Chauth is coming up on Tuesday, and I am excited to wear my wedding lehenga again! I really hope it fits, there has been a lot of weight gain post wedding :(

My mom called up yesterday saying I need to get my Nosepin and Mang tikka too. I realized dressing up for Karva Chauth is almost like dressing up for your wedding. There are so many things you must have.

I am packing to go over to my mothers place, so here is the list of things:

1. Wedding Lehenga: Confused if you should wear it or something simpler?! Wear the lehenga! Its one of the few times you get to wear it. Wearing it the whole day would ofcourse be too tiresome so I would probably wear something light during the day and change into my lehenga near pooja time.

New Bahu's Makeup Box Essentials!!

When I went Makeup Trousseau shopping how naive I was. Although I got all essentials to get me started they were still a young girls list of things. As soon as I was asked to get dressed for the first outing post marriage I realized all those pretty pinks and nude lipsticks worked no where.

If you are like me, and prefer your skin the way it is don't be mistaken into thinking you will not be using a lot of makeup. However cool your in-laws are and they won't say it but they would still love for you to dress up and look like the 'nayi-dulhan' at least the initial few months.

So here is a LIST of New Bahu's Makeup MUST-HAVE!

Brides-to-be make sure you have these!!

1. FOUNDATION

Well I got this one correct during trousseau shopping!
Get one of day and one for night. 

Day : Get a BB creme , they have enough coverage so your skin looks great and is not so heavy and you don't feel as if you have disappeared under layers.

Which one...ANY, most BB cremes are pretty good. I personally use Garnier these days.

For more details you can read a comparison of Garnier, Maybelline and Deborah BB creams at Peach&Blush here

Night : MAC, Love it! Best out of all. If its out of your budget I would strongly recommend Loreal as well. Not the powder one the creams. I don't like powder foundation some how you can't get an even coverage.

2. CONCEALER

I don't use concealer so I am probably not the best person to advice on it. But for Quick fixes, dark circles, unexpected pimples I use Maybelline BB stick.

Can be used as a bb day foundation as well. 

3. BLUSH 

I used to own one blush. Pink in color and that's it. I thought it would get me through. Well thankfully the persuasive MAC girl got me to buy a reddish one too!

Blush Basic : You need a minimum of 3!

Pink

Red

Peach

Not sure if Peach works for you, it does! I have quite recently discovered peach as a color for blushes, I did know about it earlier ofcourse but never considered using it.

After travelling almost every fortnight since the wedding I am tanned badly! So bad that I hate looking at the mirror (says the girl who was so self obsessed that I have mirrors in my room every where).

Errr..how does that connect to peach blushes?! What I discovered was if your looking for a slight blush, like you get post exerciser, the darker your skin tone the better peach blushes looks on you and if you more towards pale then pink does the same effect and peach becomes a color blush.

Colorbar Coral Craving

4. EYE SHADOW

You would probably get a LOT of colors gifted to you by your in-laws in the makeup kit. So for this one alone its better to stick to the basics. Ofcourse do get a nice color pallet on your own, you can never have enough! I have 3 color pallets of around 12 colors each and yet I am at times lost. So the more the better.

L'oreal chrome Shine Beigh Simmer is my quick fix basic

This is the exact effect that you get.

To Person in the picture, Took it off google , if you have an issue let me know. Also tell me which camera you have.

I also like Revlon 'Romantic Girl' Love the finish you get on the eye.

5. EYE LINER, MASCARA and KAJAL

Eye Liner : L'oreal Super Liner is super black! That is why I love it. If your not comfortable with liquid liners try this one! Its the only one which I can wear without my eyeliner going crazy all over the place. 

Mascara :

I will not even explain why, just go and buy it

Recently discovered the goodness of this one. Gives you a nice curly effect and no clumping!. Is waterproof. Maybelline says it gives you an effect as if your wearing false eye lashes, I don't really think so.Best way is to use the yellow one first and then this one, so ya two mascara's but great effect!

Kajal :

Incolor 

Although I have lost mine since a couple of months and havn't brought a new one, been using maybelline colossal kajal. That's good to , a little bit of spills but great otherwise. Would still consider Incolor better but Maybelline is a good substitute too.

Reviewed every kajal in the market here : http://www.crazyindianwedding.com/2012/07/search-for-perfect-kajal.html

6. LIPSTICKS

I got so many pretty pinks and lovely peaches which have been used only twice. Red lipsticks girls RED that is what a married women needs! 

Doesn't mean you go all aunty brownish-maroon. Here are two great New-Bride colors that will work

NYX Absolute Red
Love it! a very modern red! plus it stays on for a long time

Loreal Infallible Le Rouge Lipstick
829 Resilient Resin
This is a bit aunty-maroon-brown-turned-elegant-modern

7. NAILPAINTS

Pre-marriage I had all sorts of colorbar bright Orange, wacky greens, Loud Fushia's and now they lie in my closet gathering dust.

I don't change my nailpaints a lot so I try using the ones that go with everything. My current fav. Bridalish paints are :

loreal red tote

Loreal 403

Loreal 580
Loreal 350 is similar too, a little more bronzy

I just realized that I like all Loreal colors....hmm....must buy other brands....

8. SINDOOR

I have Lotus and Lakme, but both of them are maroon and I don't like the maroon ones, they get blackish in a while. So I got a nice tomato red!

shahnaz herbal sindoor

Wedding File 7 : The Next Day

It seemed unfair to me that I let my readers down. After all once all the brides-to-be had finally become brides and entered the new home as a 'Bahu' this blog became a bit irrelevant for them.

This doesn't seem right, after all you have been following the blog of a while now and no longer can you look at it for help, tips or just for a time-pass read.

So today we re-invent this blog a bit, it will still serve the brides-to-be with ideas and inspirations, shop reviews, discounts, exhibitions, skin care and a LOT more.

It will now also include tips and tricks for the New Bride aka the New Bahu, handling the in-laws, setting up the home and dividing the house hold responsibility. A take on both living with in-laws and living without them.

Let the journey begin where we last left it, post Vidaii, in the wee hours of 25th Nov.

The car arrived at the doorsteps of my new home..

My in-laws love everything filmy and everything serial-y. So ofcourse on the day of the wedding when me and the boy arrived home late night (early morning) we were welcomed in with an arti thali, followed by pushing a Kalash by my right foot so that the rice inside it spilled in the house. Next I steeped into a thali of Alta and was asked to walk into my new home.

We walked to the mandir in the house and post that were taken into the living room to sit among numerous relatives. That was probably the most awkward and uncomfortable moment of all, cause you are just sitting there unaware what to do and there are about 20 people staring at you.

Finally to break the ice my youngest 'Devar' (Brother-in-law) preformed a little dance for me on 'yo yo honey singh!' (lol)

We went off to sleep for 2 hours, rather everyone else went off to sleep and I was left to detangle my enormous hair-do, although my MUA was kind enough to not do a lot of back-combing I still had a lot of wrapped gajara around it to unwrap, so by the time I finished it was time to take a bath and get ready for the morning functions and pooja.

We were taken to a near by mandir first by my mother-in-law and along went my 2 devars. After bowing our heads dutifully to all gods we palyed Santi in the mandir complex. 

Santi is a game played between devar and bhabhi. We were both given neem sticks and asked to hit each other thrice. This is an indication that the bhabhi is like a mother to her devar and can reprimand him henceforth. 

By the time we came back home everyone else had woken up and it was time to play the famous Kangna. 

Remember when we tied the kangna on the day of Haldi well it was time for the boy to open the knots using one hand and I got to open his using two hands.

I had less number of knots and he should have been able to open mine quicker but he twisted and turned it so much that everytime he opened one knot he would end up making two more (hahaha)

Next was 'find-the-ring' 

I had planned to let the boy win this but the whole family said they were on my side, so for them I tried to win, which I did :P but its true the sister responsible for putting in the ring insured it was on my side...so tiny cheating.

Open the Fist: we were suppose to put the ring in our fist and the other person had to try opening it. I was allowed 2 hands while the boy had to use only one hand. (I did break my nails during this!)

Mu Dhikahyi ( See the brides face)

First my hair was Oiled and re-made, I was still wearing my shaadi ki chudiya which were then changed to onces given by my in-laws.

It was time for all the Aunts and other female relatives to gather around and see my face and give gifts. So I did what the Brides used to do in earlier times, put a gungat.

  

Ofcourse we did have fun with it

This was followed by the devars sitting on my lap and not getting up till they received money.

I was then asked to make Halwa, which I did and ended up putting too much ghee! (Oops)

It was almost 3pm by the time we finished all the games and rasams, it was then when we finally sat down for breakfast!

How to Wear a Saree

So you are getting married and have vowed to wear only suits....hmm...well you ask us recently married girls and we will tell you that they will be occasions when you need to wear a saree and running to your MIL every time is not the solution!

So here below are links to youtube video's which I think could help you out!

Simple Saree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh9Iz3h4FYo&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpfK7_t4F5o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEwVolr2qG8



Bengali Saree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=eUk_VMv0Y90&feature=endscreen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1agVau6w-W8

Maharashtrian Saree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VStFDWZUJc4

Mermaid style

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iICAHg671dI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA6S9nU0QSg (ignore the 'pleating' tool just use your fingers to pleat)

Have fun!

Its been more than 2 months since my wedding and I would have worn Saree's almost half of the days that about 30-35 times by now and I still stumble or make the pleats wrong. Saree is hard to wear perfectly but it looks very pretty!

You will get it eventually! Don't worry!

Sale Alert !

Meena Bazaar, Sector 18 Noida

Sale is about to finish! Great place for light suits, the kinds you will need to wear the initial few days specially if your living with in-laws.!

Price range for a good decent ghar ka suit is less 1500/- to 2500/- (in sale)
and good Anarkali's 4000- and onward

If your sister or friend is looking for a light lehenga to wear for your mehendi or other functions then there are some good ones there as well, not so much for the bride though.

Stock keeps changing so you should keep a lookout.

A definite 'must' for light ghar kay suits.