Toss The Gloss - A Book Review

So I announced that I would be doing this blog’s first ever book review quite a while ago on Instagram and if you follow me on Instagram you might feel like I’m a terrible person for not posting this sooner. However, let me explain myself. I think the fact that this review has taken so long reflects how I feel about this book. That isn’t to say that I didn’t like this book because I did! It just means that this book isn’t one I would go crazy and let everyone know about instantly because it’s the best book I’ve read in a while. It’s a great book and for my readers that fall under the 50+ age demographic this book is a must-have. The best part of the book for me was the glimpse into the inner workings of the beauty industry that you get as Andrea Robinson tells you about her experience. Her experience in the beauty industry is so entertaining to read that I would buy this book just for that! She started the whole "Nakeds" revolution so without her our beloved naked pallets by Urban Decay probably wouldn't have existed. We would all be stuck wearing bright and unflattering makeup. She was also the former Vogue beauty editor who has also been president of Ralph Lauren Beauty, president of Tom Ford Beauty and chief marketing officer at Estee Lauder so you know you're taking a sneak peek into the beauty industry through the life of the ultimate insider. That's what excited me the most about this book and I wasn't disappointed.

Other than that aspect, the book has loads of tips for your makeup routine no matter how old you are. Being much younger that 50, I still learned so much more from this book and it’s my go to book when I feel like I’m making some mistake with my makeup. It teaches you how to correct application problems, how to choose between different shades, formulations, textures, brands, etc. However, if you’re under 45, you need to be careful and know when the tips apply to you and when they don’t because some parts of the book are pretty specific to the 50+ demographic. Overall, it’s a wonderful read but not something I would feel the need to rush out and get. If you’re 40+ though, that’s right 40+ not 50+ in my opinion, you should definitely rush to get your hands on this book. As the aging process starts, I’ve seen many beautiful ladies start hiding behind layers of products and this book helps you enhance your natural beauty and look younger without all those products. Here are a few pictures of my favorite illustrations from the book that I felt like just fit in with this post.

I just felt so proud of myself arranging beauty products around the contents. Hahaha. Products: Marks&Spencer Lip Butter in Coconut, Bourjois Paris Blush Pot in Brun Cuvre, Maybelline Cheeky Glow in Creamy Cinnamon, Sweet Princess Mascara, Nars Lip Gloss in Orgasm, Studio Gear CC Cream

So would you be getting this book? It looks pretty good just to decorate as well I think and that's mainly what it's doing right now - sitting and looking pretty on my desk along between the boring other chemistry and calculus books. Let me know what you think of the book in the comments below.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter, Bloglovin' , Facebook, Instagram, GFC or Google+.

Tanaya <3

*A pre-release copy was sent to me for review. However, all the opinions are honest and not influenced. 

Greek Goddess - Obsessed with Fanny Crown

I came across this site Fanny Crown (such a funny and quirky name!) through the blogger contest they have and it was a bitter sweet moment for me. I instantly loved the concept of the site and almost every single dress on the site. However, I have been glued to my laptop screen staring at them ever since. Fanny Crown has been around since 1998 but their webstore is pretty new. They have offices in several parts of the world including UAE, Hong Kong, UK, USA, Australia and Paris. I read a few reviews of the website online and they were quite mixed so I guess it's one of those websites that you need to have an experience with to find out. However, I really love the concept of selecting a pattern and color and having a dress tailor-made to your size. The dresses on the site look like really expensive designer dresses that cost wayyyy beyond anything I can afford (and if you can, let's be friends :) Hahaha ) so the dresses on fanny crown are relatively much cheaper especially considering they're tailor-made.
 When I decided to create a whole look centered around their dress design, it was one of the most difficult decisions I've made in the past few days ( yes, I have a boring life where choosing a dress to make an imaginary outfit around is a huge moment of decisions ). The first bunch of words that came to my mind in the form of an abstract ides cloud were - Goddess, Elegance, Opulence, Classical Richness, Extravagance. My method of organizing such abstract idea clouds is by writing them down and connecting them much like a child playing connect-the-dots. In such special cases however, the magical website of Polyvore helps me out. So here's the outfit/look I put together and how I did it:

Greek Goddess by tanaya-tanaya-t featuring Dolce & Gabbana

I started by choosing this lovely peach dress from their website. A number of things attracted me to it the first of which was the color. I love everything PEACH! The color, the fragrance, the flavor...everything. Next was the beautiful flowy fabric of the dress. It seems like a very easy and comfortable dress to wear while looking like a beautiful goddess. It's the perfect combination of comfort, glamour and style. One of the best part about the dress is it's detail which adds that "classical greek goddess" element to it. There are beads, pearls and rhinestones around the collar and neckline and then the beautifully draped fabric gets cinched at the waist with another band of beads, pearls and rhinestones. The little keyhole is one of the best details in this dress. It isn't too revealing but it's just the right amount.
The next thing I added was the Dolce & Gabbana bag that I have been dreaming of for absolutely ages! It's just the bag of my dreams and coincidentally it matches the theme of the look. It has the grey and white scene of what looks like the pantheon while the wintery shade of plum flowers injects color to the bag. The gold details around the bag help tie it with the rest of the accessories. I picked the handcuff next which has the iconically greek vines on it. It's delicate and gold and fits in perfectly. If you notice, I've picked 2 pairs of earrings in this outfit mainly because I love them both and couldn't make myself pick one. The Versace ones on the left have an ornate gold and crystal pattern while the Laurent Gandini Corintio ones on the right go so well with the cuff. I've always been indecisive with earrings and that's why I have 2 piercings on each ear. Hahaha. The great thing about the embellished neckline of this dress is that it doesn't need any neckpiece. It's just fabulous on it's own and flaunts the collarbone. With the jewelry done, it was time to pick a shoe and I finalized on the simple strappy pumps after staring at lots of studded ones. Something about these just adds a touch of understated elegance.
Now onto makeup. The Dolce & Gabbana Bronzer was an obvious choice wasn't it? Every bronzed goddess needs her glow so a highlighting bronzer gets picked over any matt bronzer. The lace and baroque pattern just makes it the ideal product. After going with neutrals for the whole outfit, it was time to add some color so I chose a lovely plum shade by Estee Lauder which would look great on the fingertips wrapped around the bag with plum flowers. I chose the YSL Glossy stain in a dark red so as to add color to the overall look and tie the makeup look together with the outfit. The Naked 3 Palette was basically me cheating because I couldn't decide on a smokey eye or a mauve toned or a neutral look.

Sorry for the extremely long post but I hoped you liked it and all the details of creating it. Please let me know what you think about this post in the comments below because I love reading them. The comments just tell me that I'm not putting you off to sleep with my posts and that you're still enjoying them! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter, Bloglovin', Facebook, Polyvore, Instagram and GFC.

Tanaya <3 p="">

Bright Winters - Outfit post

It's been quite a while since I did an outfit post so when I came across a contest on polyvore, I decided to make a set for it even though the contest was already closed. The guidelines just seemed so interesting that I had to try and create an outfit for it. The contest required a perfect winter outfit but needs the picture of a city in it. I chose the picture with pretty snowflakes and fairy lights because it looks so festive. Bright colors are unexpected in a winter collection but they're beautiful so I went for a Fuchsia coat with fuchsia lips to go with it. The wonderful blue Oscar de la Renta highlights the fuchsia but still looks lovely with the snow and lights. I would love to wear this outfit to a lovely christmas dinner with family or friends. What do you think of this outfit? You can follow me on Polyvore to see other collections, sets and outfits.

A Winter of Brights by tanaya-tanaya-t featuring Elizabeth Arden

The Bag-Centric Outfit

While I stared at the pretties and lovelies that I found on polyvore, I suddenly had this idea. It was perfect since I hadn't posted any of my polyvore creations in a while and also because it felt different. I decided to create a whole outfit that was inspired by a bag. Think of it like this: instead of the bag being an accessory that adds to the outfit, the bag is the focus of the whole look and everything else compliments the bag. I found this black clutch with white lace and a crystal clasp which seemed perfect and it inspired me to put together an outfit that had a theme of black, white and glitter. However, since being different is the idea behind the whole look, I decided to add pieces that wouldn't necessarily go together otherwise. Rather than a plain black or a white dress, I chose this black shift dress with sequins to glam it up and a satin bow belt to make it more fitted and less "shift-y" (if that's even a word). Next came the shoes and although high heels may have been what my brain immediately thought of, I decided to use these black wedges with gold chains. They add a certain roughness to the outfit that you wouldn't see coming and yet keep it glamorous. Plain black studs so that the focus still stays on the bag. At first I had picked a dark berry lip but then this pale pink lipcolor seemed to highlight the elegance of the clutch even more. Then came the dark burgundy nails (a light color would have taken attention away from the white lace on the clutch) and a sultry but classy smoky eye!

So there it is. Let me know what you think of it in the comments below. You can follow me on polyvore to see the creations that don't get posted on the blog. Stay updated by following me on Twitter, Bloglovin' , gfc and Facebook.

Tanaya <3

Something bright Something fun

This is a completely random post but believe it or not, I had never visited the Polyvore site before. One of the most fun things to do on polyvore is putting together outfits...and ofcourse making oneself feel sad about not being able to buy every single thing in that outfit one put together. Hahaha. So this is the outfit I put together today. I was in the mood for something colorful and yet warm (considering I've been freezing all day with this sudden drop in temperature.

I quite liked doing this and I think I might make putting together an outfit and posting it here a weekend ritual. If you're in the need for some stress-relief after a long and tiring weekend I highly recommend doing this. Let me know if you liked this outfit. It might also be a fun idea to find similar pieces in a store near you and recreating this look. I also loved a wonderful cat-inspired cap there and its pretty cheap but the shipping charges are crazy so I'm going to dream of the cap I could never have. Hope you have a great weekend!

Tanaya <3

You can follow me on Polyvore by clicking here.
Other places to find me: Facebook Twitter Bloglovin'