The shift to working from home isn’t entirely new to me. Before COVID-19, I did this once or twice every workweek and found it to be a great way to balance my work environments.

Working from home full time can pose its own challenges surrounding motivation, mental health and productivity. Somehow, there’s this pressure that’s emerged to get all your eggs in order, be the fittest you’ve ever been and slay the lockdown life.

As many of us begin our new norm of social distancing, quarantine and/or isolation, it’s important to continue heeding the advice we’ve been receiving surrounding our hand and overall hygiene, refraining from panic buying and being mindful of the older and more vulnerable community.

For the last few years, I’ve tried to travel to new countries in addition to my favourite spots. Every trip is a new adventure with different challenges and experiences. However, the process of travelling itself is something that is pretty consistent and over time, there are a few hacks that have really come in handy for me. Some you may already know, some you may not, but collectively these have proven to help make my travels so much smoother.

I looked at the dainty rope tied to wooden poles separating myself and the edge of Kerið, a volcanic crater lake in Iceland. Common sense would have you stay well back, but the nosey in me wanted an unobstructed view.

Whenever I think of the West Coast, I normally picture beaches, Hollywood and the Kardashians. California is of course, so much more than that. To see it for myself, I relinquished my East Coast loyalty for a week during my sabbatical, curious at what the Golden State had to offer.

Throughout all my travels I’ve realised that I’ve always had company. Whether it’s the friends I’ve traveled with, or the family I’ve visited abroad, I’ve done part of my travels alone, but not entirely. So during this sabbatical, I figured a solo trip to New Orleans would be perfect to experience what traveling alone was really about.

I’ve been sitting on this news for so long but I can finally speak on it – I’m taking a sabbatical from work!
It’s something I’ve been contemplating for a while and I’m excited to be taking the plunge and taking some much needed time out.

Just over a month back from NYC I was in need of another break. Somehow my feet can’t seem to stay planted on home soil for long nowadays.

I’ve been belligerent about representation lately, especially when it comes to beauty and cosmetics.

Nowadays when I shop for make up, I pay extra attention to marketing and the type of models used – something I never cared about. However as my make up collection has grown, so has my awareness of how the beauty industry isn’t doing enough to make certain groups, namely South Asians, feel included.

It almost felt too much to ask for; a brand with these groups and complexions in mind. That is until, Luscious Cosmetics got in touch.

“They want to see you do good but never better than them. Remember that.”

It’s not the most empowering of quotes but it came to mind when I thought about International Women’s Day. The world may be fighting for female equality, but it’s important to acknowledge the societal pitfalls that hinders real progress – and the fact that women may be at fault.