Holi is few days away and you have made plans to run away! We suggest you stay and give 'em boys some competition.
Worry not about your skin and hair, leave that to us. Here's how you can ensure that Holi is not so unholy for your skin…

DIY colour

You know that colours contain a high dose of chemical which can spell disaster for your skin and hair. What you don't know is skin-friendly colours can be made at home. iDiva's skin expert Dr Apratim Goel suggests these colourful concoctions:

Mix haldi with besan and you have a lovely yellow colour. You can also soak some grated beetroot in water over night for a bucketful of red! Soak marigold flowers or henna in water overnight to drench your friends in yellow. Mix sandalwood, haldi, lime juice and water to make a paste - its colourful and good for your skin too!

Before the game

Dab on loads of moisturiser, hair oil and sunscreen before you get smeared in colour. Dr Goel advises, "Use a barrier cream like Dermashield 30 minutes before you start playing with colour. Don't use coconut oil in your hair since it gets absorbed by the scalp. Instead mix castor and olive oil and apply this on your hair."
Colour your nails with a dark nail paint to avoid staining them with Holi colours.

The shield

Clothes are your best protection against skin menaces. So, stick to full-sleeves and wear a dark coloured tee or kurta to avoid any embarrassing peek-a-boos!
Shorts and skirts are bad choices, pants and salwars are your saviours. Tie-up your hairs in a bun or pigtails as you get ready for the battle of colours.

Post game

Don't be in a whirl wind rush to take a bath before everybody else. Dr Goel says, "If you scrub your skin too harshly to remove colour stains, your skin will become very raw. So, put loads of moisturiser and leave it on for 20 minutes. This opens up the pores and the colour comes off easily."

Take a bath with lukewarm water and add a few drops of lime. Dr Goel explains lime is a natural bleaching and whitening agent, so it helps in removing stains. You can also use a moisturising soap like Aquasoft or Oilaton. Wash your eyes with lukewarm water while taking a bath.

If you feel your hair would be squeaky clean after emptying a bottle of shampoo, you are wrong! Our expert doc says, mix a few lemon drops with water and carefully rinse off the entire colour. Apply a conditioner and leave it in for at least half-an-hour and wash off with a shampoo. You can massage your scalp with coconut oil at night and leave it overnight.

With so many tricks and tips up your sleeve, we are certain you'll have a happy Holi!

Make this weekend a fashion therapy session that includes your entire wardrobe, an open mind and no credit card!

Throw ins

Next time you go shopping, pick up a smart jacket and a bagful of stoles. A scarf or stole thrown in on a plain top will immediately make it look prettier and will add a tasteful streak to your personality. A jacket will do the same over a tube top or spaghetti strings that you might already have.

Team ups

If you've been wearing the same dress shirts and tunics with the same pants, see how best you can team these up differently. Try a churidar or get yourself a pair of harem pants to go with some of your kurtas.

Revamps

Bell bottoms are certainly out, but that doesn't mean you need to do away with our flare jeans. Get them restyled (yes that's quite possible) to have them fitted differently and tapered in the legs. You needn't invest in another pair so soon.

Forgotten fabrics

Yep, while you go about checking every piece of clothing in your wardrobe, you'll definitely come across fabrics you'd perhaps bought long ago and never had them tailored or old dupattas that are as good as new. Get them all out and sit down with a sketch pad.

Accessories

Raid the streets for long chains, dangling earrings, bangles, bohemian bags and funky anklets. Who says style is only about expensive watches and designer jewelry?

Pick yourself a bunch of accessories in every different color. Yes, even if you don't have an outfit of a certain color. You never know, when a brass chain or purple ear studs will come in handy… Just go wild and revamp your whole wardrobe to get a completely different look!

You can pick up items like a big, beautiful satin rose and use it as a brooch or pick two of these and stick them to an old pair of flip-flops to give them a whole new look. You can also make hair-clips, bracelets and nckpieces from any beautiful decorative piece that catches your eye.

The Indian bride today has undergone a metamorphosis. Apparently, her jewellery has undergone that change too.

Finally, practicality and wearability is gaining extreme importance. The brides are willing to wear accessories that are not for "the day" but also elements that she can wear all her life. Say, for instance one ornament can be accentuated and the others could be the accompaniments.

The idea is to also include some non expensive and non precious elements that funks up the bride. A girl can't wear precious all the time and why should they not have fun?

The look though for the wedding should be modern yet inspired by the traditional. For instance pieces of kundan incrusted in jade pendants could make an interesting contemporary necklace. The traditional look could be preserved by stringing these with pearls, emeralds or rubies.

The Trends

The bride is the princess so she is beyond trends and fashion but there are some new accessories that are she should go for:
Multilayer pearls strands (like the satlada).
For broader foreheads: Heavy maangtika with a chain scallop coming on the forehead.
For thin faces: Kilangee or simple Maangtika.
A waist band or taagdee.
Armlets or baajuband with some extensive tassels hanging from it.
Hair ornaments like pearl flowers or gold chains.
Broad gold anklets with some stones/ghungroos.
A beautifully done cuff.
An elaborate haslee.
Brooches and not safety pins to hold the garment together!

The contemporary bride's trousseau should include

Diamond (or imitation) solitaire earrings in round, pearl earrings (studs and drop earrings), a pair of earrings in gold finish with emeralds, a long gold finish mala, a thin gold chain, a heavy and slimmer choker, a pearl (cultured or imitation) strand, a dressy metal watch, a diamond (or imitation) ring, a dressy bracelet, dressy brooches/pins, convertible neckpieces where a part of it detaches so it becomes less heavy, cuffs, haslees, anklets and contemporary baajubands.
Precious stones to opt for this season

The attention is on uncut diamonds in amalgamation with emeralds and rubies.
Pearls in amalgamation with sapphires.
Diamonds by themselves or in combination with emeralds.

Author and images by: Suhani Pittai
Courtesy: www.simplymarryzine.com

It's traditional and it's trendy, the stuff of designer ware and vintage drama, for humble domestics and also alpha women in the corridors of power and showbiz.

It's the drape for all seasons and this summer - the traditional Indian sari is going retro. Traditional Benarasi, jacquard, kota, cotton and jamdaani are high on the sari roster.

Antique textile collector Sobha Deepak Singh, the director of the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra says of the sari movement, "It used to be a very niche segment, but with the sari being recognised as formal wear globally, more women are choosing it over Western-style evening dresses."

In vogue are antique saris - more than 100 years old - and recreated period saris. Traditional drapes from the old havelis (royal family homes) of Rajasthan, the Kutch and other regions of Gujarat, Varanasi and adjoining towns in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are the fabrics of choice.

Cashing in on this demand for traditional and antique saris, the apparel chain Fabindia set up an exclusive stand for saris. This is the first in a series of a proposed chain devoted to traditional saris with contemporary looks and matching silk and cotton cholis. Every sari has been handwoven by rural artisans at the chain's 17 community-owned companies in villages, where artisans own 26 percent of the stakes.

Fabindia has created three lines of saris - the "traditional" line featuring crafts-based saris; "contemporary", a collection that uses traditional techniques to create a modern idiom; and a "revival" line that brings back saris that are in danger of dying out.

"Traditions like silk Telia Rumals, Koraput saris, Upadas, Ajrakh print on gajji silk, hand-painted kalamkari, Madhubani paintings on maheshwari and chanderi and jamdaanis are dying because of lack of support," said Prableen Singh, spokesperson for Fabindia.

"The lure of the traditional Indian sari from the states is evergreen," said Delhi-based designer-cum textile revivalist Madhu Jain. She is working with former supermodel-turned-grassroots textile activist Milind Soman for the past nine years to revive the ancient "ikkat" and "kalamkari" saris and weaves in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

"This year, we are going to launch a new line of ikkat from Orissa with unusual motifs inspired by the Puri temple," added Jain. Bharatanatyam dancer Geeta Chandran, whose brother-in-law works with weavers all over the country to create traditional saris.

Ready-to-wear saris are also fast gaining popularity in India, said Kolkata-based fashion designer Radhika Singhi. "Indian women are becoming more inclined to use ready-to-wear, hassle-free party-wear saris and lehengas. There is a growing demand for cocktail dresses like gown-cum-saris as well," said Radhika.

Women today want to wear dresses similar to what Indian celebrities wear at international events like the Cannes Film Festival. "Women today want to wear Indian dresses similar to those worn by Indian celebs at Cannes and other events. And hence instead of traditional heavy bridal wears they prefer to wear gown-cum-saris," she added.

Where colours are concerned, Radhika says even brides these days prefer pastel colours. "Besides traditional colours like red and maroon, today's brides are also choosing pastel colours like peach, powder blue, off-white, rusty red and muddy greys - that are very English - for their shaadi ka joda (bridal dress)," she said.

The designer added that young brides and bridegrooms are laying more stress on comfortable fabrics, patterns and colours rather than on embellishments. "The trend for wedding dress for both man and woman is minimal embellishments on comfortable fabric like silk, chiffons or organza," Radhika adds.