Metro Musings!

My journey to the office is always interesting and I see different people and their unique style or behaviour and I am hooked! Offlate, I have seen a lot of women do their makeup on the Metro! Once, I saw a woman do her entire face with just a simple lip pencil and I looked at her wide-eyed and filled with awe. Another time, I saw this college-going-girl do her makeup too. But she had the entire paraphernelia - brushes, foundation, bronzer, blush, eyeliner, lipstick, gloss, mascara - it was like a magic pouch , things kept comong! The result was beautiful....and I had a hard time behaving like "Oh! I am so used to this, I see it everyday" expression while inside I was excited and eager to stare at the whole process.

Personally, I think it requires a lot of courage and self-confidence to put on make up in fornt of a bunch of strangers!!! I can't put on a simple eyeliner properly even if a friend is at home, or for that matter if anyone is watching me. I feel very self-conscious...or maybe, its just me! Applying makeup is an art...its not very easy and not everyone gets it right. Just like cooking or designing, it requires quick brush strokes like an artist, mixing the right colors...of course, as it may apply to any aspect of life, obsessing about makeup is not good either...but it can be a lot of fun. Sometimes, when I get bored, I do it even now, I 'play' makeup on my poor Amma or a willing cousin who will agree just to humour me. I know it sounds silly but its a lot of fun and it makes me happy. Amma often compliments the make up artist too! :)

Recently, I have been reading some fashion blogs and even seen some tutorials on youtube. I am amazed at the effort bloggers/people put in to it and they are absolutely very professional and detail-oriented. Its not easy to post pictures in every angle and its quite a huge task to update it everyday - and to make a good job of it!

I have always loved MAC cosmetics but never bought them coz they are super expensive. So recently when I decided to buy one, I was so excited and felt so grown up!! :) I have to admit that though they are slightly expensive compared to other brands, they last for a long time...more than a year and are good quality cosmetics.

Back home, LAKME is a good cosmetic brand that is affordable and offers a lot of variety at the same time! Their innovations are neat and you can try it out without burning a hole in your pockets. When I was in college, I used to save money to buy their lip pencils coz it was a huge rage THEN, and I used to sneak out and hide them everywhere like a treasure. Amma did'nt like me wearing lipsticks so she would find them all and hide them somewhere else. (of course, I did'nt know she did that). I would assume that I had misplaced it and would save again to buy another one!!! In this kide-n-seek game between Amma and me, not only did LAKME acknowledge me as a loyal customer, I had accumulated more than 20 lip pencils!!!! Finally, when I got married I found out my Amma's antics and she gave me all the pencils. Of course, I don't use lip pencils NOW. Murphy's Law!

My friend Sangita from school taught me how to apply eyeliner with your eyes open...:) Thanks babe! All makeup stories and tips are welcome, please share!

Commute on the Metro...

...It takes a little more than half-hour to reach place of work....and its an experience in itself every single day!

Initially, I found it really wierd that people ( especially Paris) are really morose, hardly ever smile and are generally grumpy.Now, I guess I have got used to it and find different ways to amuse myself, like looking at interesting shoes the women wear, hairstyles, fashionable (sometimes look ridiculous to me!) earrings, piercings....I can watch people like forever and not get bored. Of course, on most days good music and books give me company on the train. Anyway, one such day on the Metro filled with morose people, there was this beautiful baby with the most beautiful blue-grey eyes, laughing and gurgling away....the people in the train are so quiet and self-absorbed that her gurgles could be heard clearly.I could see a tiny smile creep in....I got down with a smile!

In the Concorde, Opera and few other Metro stations, IKEA has come up with an innovative idea! In front of all big posters of IKEA, there are colorful couches installed and people just plop down in comfort, to the extent that they even miss the trains deliberately. I am tempted too but am always rushing to work at the last minute, so I can't stop like that. The couches bring a smile on my face too!

( Image courtesy: http://adoholik.com)

A few days back, a blind person entered the train with this beautiful furry dog (guide-dog) just like Kaspar! The way he sat down with such an air of majesty and looked at me with his gorgeous eyes, my eyes welled up in tears. I surprised myself coz I grew up with a morbid fear of dogs and Kaspar has changed my attitude towards dogs. I look at them with the same affection with which I look at babies. Cats still creep me out and I miss Kaspar big time! I never thought I would feel this way...