The Great Expectations TAG

One of the best things about blogging for me - doing a tag. As a pre-blogging stalker, I absolutely loved reading responses to the tagged questions. It gave a personality to the blog - and the blogger. Helped me relate to the writer on a personal level. So, you can imagine my *eeee* happiness when Fatemah Sajwani of MS Designer Wear blog nominated me for this tag. My sincerest thanks to her kind consideration of a newbie like me ^_^ !! Find out my responses to her fun questions:

BAD BEAUTY HABIT TO GET RID OF THIS YEAR:

I'd try to grow my nails from an E.T. length to a Human length - at least. I haven't had any luck so far. Despite my conscious efforts to get rid of the subconsciously-done nail biting. Apart from electric shocks, my parents & family have tried everything. Hopefully 2014 will bring the charm :-P *fingers crossed* 

BEAUTY SECRET TO ADD THIS YEAR:

The skin care freak that I am, I'd try to incorporate some sort of cleansing system/device in my routine.  Due to my wedding, I'd be wearing more makeup and wouldn't want zits to pop up. They're the second most annoying thing - the first being flu :-/ Anyhoo, Clarisonic seems like the ultimate level. May be some lower-end product first. Suggestions are welcome :-)

LAST YEAR'S BEAUTY FAVORITES:

Well well well... I've a whole post dedicated to 2013 Beauty Favorites and a spinoff as 2013 Beauty Surprises, but to give a roundup of what categories have been my must-haves: Facewash (exfoliating & cleansing) in skin care. Lipsticks (stains/glossy/matte) take the lead in makeup. 

BEAUTY/BODY GOAL OF 2014:

Lose weight. For once. In my lifetime. :-D I'm as lazy as it comes. It's my lethargy coupled with the love for food that has kept me chubby. So, this has to be THE goal of 2014 - be active, lose weight, and look pretty :-P

LAST YEAR'S BIGGEST FASHION MISTAKE/REGRET:

Again, I've discussed my 2013 Beauty Product Regrets, but overall, it has to be the L'Oreal Xtenso treatment. I loved the results - for a short while. Then, it got messy. Hey, this is not to deter you from Xtenso. I've seen it on different people with amazing results. My hair were already damaged to begin with. They were noodle-curly from the roots, but the ends were dead-straight due to frequent ironing without heat defense and proper nourishment. Then the genetic hairfall didn't help either. I have a Tyra Banks forehead with no volume on the top. Thanks to my Mom's "fawara ponies" in my childhood to grow my "grass-like" curly hair. She did grow them till my waist. But in a very fun episode during my O Level, I went from waist length curly hair to shoulder length in a haircut fiasco. Anyhow, the issue last year was that they were losing volume and I didn't want to straighten them every day. Without proper research, I got Xtenso done. Got a really short and shaggy haircut with heavier crown. For the salon volume, I'd always blow-dry the roots (which turned curly after couple of weeks). The Xtenso products recommended to me made my hair super oily and flat in Karachi humid summers. They would look total uggers by the time I came back from office, so I had to wash them every day. Bad move. Even worse, after each wash, there was the blow-drying to keep them from looking like your friendly neighborhood shoda-boy straightened hair (hint: Raadhay Mohan of Tere Naam). I gave up the vicious cycle after couple of months, and still trying to cope with it. Now they're in middle phase of curly + straight and I have to use ironing frequently to humanize them in social gatherings. But I'm taking semi-good care now. The damage will repair in its due course. Wow. That was lengthy :-)

THIS YEAR'S FASHION TREND PREDICTION:

The "Shalwars" will be making a comeback. LoL. I hope. That's what I've been hoping since they went out of fashion. Guess what, I have probably one/two trousers & churidaars. I still wear a Palazzo version of Patiala shalwar. Call me dheet, but I have been shamelessly opting for personal comfort in the wake of every type of bottoms gracing our desi fashion scene. :-D  Like I said, I'm very picky. My reason: Churidaars/Leggings make me feel like there is a plaza standing with hockey sticks as foundation. TMI? I guess so. 

THIS YEAR'S FASHION MUST-HAVE:

For me, the vintage floral patterns (my love) are very chic & in vogue. Be it a tiny floral-pattern ballet flats or a peek of floral layering in your Fall ensemble, florals are romantic & wearable for all ages. And ladies, they're not hard on your pocket as well. Pathan Linen has one of the best floral patterns that you can use to make handbags on order (haha, Tricky Tip Thursday). There are plenty Facebook pages who'd be able to do that. You can also watch online DIY tutorials to make an old flat pair of shoes to have floral covering. Make summery handmade jewelry. Decorate your vanity with some old lace & floral platic sheets you might find in Sunday Bazaar. You get the idea, right? Florals.

LAST YEAR'S HAPPIEST MOMENT/BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT:

That's a no brainer. My engagement. LOL. MashaAllah. Touchwood. Alhamdulilah. 

LAST YEAR'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE:

There were several challenges which were probably few of the toughest things I had to deal in my life. Won't bore you with the details, but one of them is making peace with my career choices. Sometimes your best trait is different from the current job/qualification and it's tough to decide what's best. I loved studying and having the academic life pressures. The job stuff is different and sometimes worse. So, went a little haywire there :-) Hoping for the best <3

THIS YEAR'S KEY RESOLUTION:

Lose weight, survive kitchen, be happy.

ANY ADVICE FOR 2014:

"Losers seek excuses, Winners make plans." I've read it somewhere if you hit rock bottom in anything, use that base for the foundation of your success. It's true...

That's all from my end! Thanks to lovely Fatemah once again <3 !! I'd like to nominate these fellow bloggers to complete the tag. ^_^

Hira & Maria of The Sisters Go Shopping

Laila of The Happy Therapy

Rakhshanda of The Fashion Personal

Bakhtawar of Beauty Mayhem

Shehrzad of Pretty Peachy and Pink

and a special special tag for:

Jabeen of JayBee's Journal

Cheers y'all!

Bia