Moda Chic Magazine Issue 15 by Minahil Erkin

Chic

"I'm a survivor" Zakira

Contents

I want to start off by introducing myself, my name is Gurleen Gill and I am a 25 year old makeup artist located in Toronto Canada. I am the face behind GlamByGilly- which is my platform on Instagram and Youtube. Before we get into GlamByGilly & the beautiful perks of being in the wedding industry, beauty blogging industry; I wanted to touch base on my background and how GlamByGilly Became what it is today. The Journey actually started in 2016 when I just freshly graduated from university. In my undergrad, I completed my BS in Psychology .and Biology and the “plan” was to work towards my doctorate and complete medical school.That was my Indian-punjabi parents dream. I always had a passion for the arts, even in high school- painting and attending art show competitions-

I always felt a different kind of drive while I was creating art. The thing is having a Punjabi background and household- the non-conventional career choices that are hard for parents to understand. Your parents at the end of the day just want you to be successful but for them success is found with secure income and higher education. I always just wanted to make my parents proud and went the science route. I just found myself so caged and trapped volunteering in hospitals and even studying the subjects that I took. I took the step after graduating to start my GlamByGilly Platform. I never in a million years thought that I could use this platform to have a full-time career that made me feel so fulfilled and accomplished. Makeup for me was

always just something fun that I wanted to get better at, something I had interest in. Watching Youtube videos, following tutorials to feel inspired. I never thought that I could be the person that could inspire other women. It’s crazy to say out loud but I never thought that I was “special” enough or “talented” enough to even be someone that other people would be interested in. I just wanted to showcase my REAL personality through tutorials and share my passion for the Indian culture. Honestly with my Instagram platform I want to continue to inspire young woman to follow their dreams. I always encourage my followers to respect their elders and just start a conversation about their dreams; and of course inspire men & woman to embrace their culture. If you have a solid plan and help your parents understand the career, help them see the business aspect of it, it will help them understand the unconventional careers like makeup artists, beauty bloggers, youtuber etc. Success does take time, a lot of drive & passion. People don’t see the hard, stressful side of content creating they just see the luxurious side. If you have the passion you can push yourself to limits that will shock you personally. Honestly, unless you take the risk you will NEVER know.

INSTAGRAM: @GLAMBYGILLY YOUTUBE: GLAM BY GILLY SNAPCHAT: @GLAMBYGILLY

Freedom is such a big word and we hear it throughout the course of history. It is also used in many different industries such as law enforcement (the Amendments, etc) the media (freedom of speech), etc. I’ve also seen it being used within the Social Media industry. As social media has been becoming more and more common in our daily use of lives, most social media influencers (like myself), have been struggling with our freedom as well. Freedom in this situation being the freedom to create content that we like versus what a client wants us to do, or the freedom to not always be “on” and take a day off. Keeping that in mind, I want to express what freedom means to be as a blogger, as a content creator, as an influencer, etc. Being in this social media world, I see so many ways how my freedom is challenged on a daily basis. Before I get into that, I want to introduce myself. My name is Komal which is yes, you guessed it-an Indian name. I come from an Indian background. My parents had moved to the U.S. from Punjab, India when I was 2 years old in order to live the American Dream. I have been here ever since the age of 2 and have visited India probably a handful of times. I grew up in New York my whole life and love the hustle and bustle of the city. However, little did I know that I would move away from my amazing city. Fast forward many years later, I meet my amazing futurehusband, get married and move to the South (Memphis, TN) about 4 years agowhere my husband grew up. I was the one to actually make the choice to move to my husband’s city because of the cost of living. I knew how hard my parents worked for the life they gave me, and my siblings and I didn’t want to struggle the same way. They did their part and now it was my turn to work hard but enjoy some of the fruits of their labor. To say I had a culture shock when I moved to the South is an understatement. I think I was so sheltered in my New York life with my family and friends that I didn’t know

what to expect of the South. However, being here for a few years now, I have finally been able to settle a routine, build lasting friendships and have a great community around me. Also, moving away from my home (New York will always be home to me), has taught me to get out of my comfort shell and that is how I started my blog, KomalMeansDelicate.com, with an Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook page of the same name. I think I would have never started my blog had I still be in the comforts of my hometown. Starting a blog had been a huge deal for me since you have to put yourself out there. It took a lot for me to get out there and put myself on the internet for everyone.

from the schedule that I have made for how often I was to post on Instagram, my blog and other social media platforms. At one point, I was posting every day on Instagram and that got to be too much, so I had to learn how to free myself from that schedule I had created. I realized that the people who follow me will be there no matter if I post every day or every other day. Thus, I had to create a new schedule and doing so has really allowed me to control the content I create so much better. Instagram, for me, is to help grow my blog as well as interact with everyone on a more personal level. I was not feeling that connection when I was posting more often so, posting less often is giving me more time to focus on the connections.

With that being said, I have had to deal with freedom in the social media world as well. Some of the freedom that I deal with is how much of myself do I present to the internet, or how much of my day do I show on Instagram stories, etc. It’s hard to put yourself out there when you are more of a private person. On another note, I’m also trying to free myself

Overall, freedom comes in many different forms and industries. There is a type of freedom that social media industry has created for its users and influencers which most of us struggle with on the daily. However, the thing to keep in mind is that you are in control of what you put out there. Thus, be mindful and put out what you think is safe for you yet still gives you the freedom of what you want to do.

MEGHA SHARMA

I am Megha Sharma, from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. I am an MBA and certified sports nutritionist. Official part of one of the best supplement brands in India is named BIG FLEX and PHARMGRADE. Brand ambassador of NOCD brand, official athlete of uk based active wear brand name GYMTERRA, and work as a freelance fitness model. My theory of life is: stay motivated to work hard, nothing is impossible , put your 200% dedication sooner or later one day you will definitely achieve your goal. Be patient with your body. I wanted to prove to not only the people I knew, but to myself that I could push myself to the limits. I wanted to make myself proud and do something that no one else could do, and win! I used to work for a Company as a senior HR and got sucked into the corporate life with long working hours day and night both and every weekend party and wrong eating habit . Now I am a Full Time online coach and provide customized diet plans and workout schedules.

ISSUE 15 | MODA CHIC MAGAZINE

I quit my job to save my health What inspired me to achieve my goal? A friend once challenged me and kind of bullied me in front of other people by saying that I Have gained so much and looking old and now I will look like that for my entire life and that set fire in me to prove the world wrong. My eating habits before and after Before: I never had a eating schedule used to eat all the unhealthy food like burgers, rolls, ice cream , cake almost everything ,used to eat anything without seeing the nutritional value of the food After : now I eat according to my plan I follow and I check that my meal must have balanced portion of protein ,carbs , fats. My workout plan - From XXL to S - how does it feel? From xxl to s it feels amazing because now I feel healthy internally and externally both . More confident than before I used to hide behind camera when I was overweight and now I am very confident in front of camera. The attitude of people towards me changed? I feel like myself after achieving my target .Yes definitely people attitude towards me have changed now they get inspired from me and start taking care of them and ask me tips . As now I post more about my fitness journey, other girls started to ask for help. This is the biggest change in the attitude of people towards me and it inspired me a lot I used to be one of those girls who starved themselves, thinking it will give you the perfect body. I expected so much from my body, but in reality I was so lazy and cruel to myself. At the age of 24 I used to look like mid 30s and now I get compliments that I don't look like my real age 😋 The most challenging moment for me was to follow the diet plan initially and walk towards the gym and take the membership of the gym . I still remember the date 18th Dec 2012 was the date when I entered gym for the first time and since that day I am regularly working out and will do till the last breath of my life.

Highest weight 70.3 kgs and lost 21 kgs in 7 months I started to feel happier, my skin cleared up, I had more energy, and my body started to look more toned and how I’d always wanted it to. I’d never picked up a dumbbell until Dec 2012. I have my workouts split into the following at the moment: Shoulders, chest + triceps Back, biceps + abs Glutes, hamstrings + calves Legs – quad dominant 10 reps, 3-4 sets for each, final set to failure I workout twice in a day , morning Cardio with few stretching exercises and evening weight training My diet is balanced with carbs, fat, protein I live on a strict diet of 4-5 meals per day, I review it all monthly along with my workouts and progressI don't believe in eating less or doing fasting. About my fitness journey Want to talk a little bit about my fitness journey. I was diagnosed with hyper thyroid and because of it gained weight. I didn't always take care of myself. Nor did I always have muscle or even know how to lift weights. It can be so intimidating to pick up a gym routine that isn't just cardio.

I remember one time, I tried new equipment for the first time and a guy nearby pointed out how I was using it wrong. I was so embarrassed, but I corrected my form and kept going. It was a great learning experience, and I didn't let the embarrassment overcome my desire to keep learning and lifting. I no longer woke up feeling depressed and listless. I felt like channelling my energy into fitness and having a better diet improved my overall mood. Looking back at my former self now, I realize that I had low self-esteem from being underweight most of my life and suddenly gaining weight after college and not loving my body at all. I had a poor diet that left me feeling drained of energy or bloated.Working on my fitness has helped me learn to care for my mind and my body. I am more in tune with myself and have more energy to get things done, which has helped me to improve in all areas of life, whether it is my career, side business, or even in my time for loved ones. Best of all, I am also helping other people. I'm so proud to be a woman, and I love that fitness has changed my life. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. Email address - sharma.megha908@gmail.com Instagram handle - Megha_fitnesssavvy Facebook page Fun tuition - Wellness fun

Niranjani

2020

"FASHION IS WHAT YOU BUY BUT, STYLE IS WHAT YOU DO WITH IT" I don't remember where I came across this quote but, this stuck in my head and went on to change me into something I am today. Not long ago that I had my schoolmates teasing me for being duskyskinned. It would hurt me as much as it would do to any girl who is classified as an averagelooking person by her peers. I would come back home with a heavy heart, thinking about all the smiley’s I am associated with. But, there is a person in my life who is a Solution Book to my Question Bank. My MOM!. My family isn't very supportive but, she is an exception. I can hardly hide anything from her as I was an open book which she could read without any hassle. And, this was no exception. We knew that accepting the way I am is the best thing to do but, at least I can do my best to present myself. Thus, began my curiosity and exploration of the world where the threads rule.

I joined engineering with Computer Science as my major, and it didn't take me much time to realize that this wasn't something I was excited about. I wanted to do something but, at that point of time, I was completely blank about my life. I knew that if I am going to do a 9 to 5 job, I would never attain my freedom of living the life I want to. The only thing that I had to do was solve this big puzzle of 'What to do?' and explore. I liked dressing up, styling myself, pencil sketching maybe and that's all. Reading books became my hobby, self-help books in particular. These books helped me gain some confidence to do something. So, to take off with my new journey in this direction, I started to write blogs on styling and got my first photoshoot done. I felt the zeal in me erupting as I published. I remember getting around 100 views on my first one and 600 odd after a month. This was when I started maintaining my Instagram account with care as if it were a newborn baby.

ISSUE 15 | MODA CHIC MAGAZINE

Issue 15

RIYA ROYA

By Minahil Erkin Editor in Cheif

Issue 15

Instagram: zakira_shaikh98

Judy Albeige

THE ABSOLUTE PINK

Instagram: theabsolutepink Website: www.theabsolutepink.com

Theme: cozy at home

Zoom Styling photography - José Nogal @josenogal

Model - Michelle Serrano @dahnserrano Location: Toluca, Mexico

Theme: magic mushroom