A firm believer of beauty in all forms, Sharmilah Begum started a movement to support and encourage plus sized women. She shows us all how to be comfortable in ones own skin. – See the video by CLICKING HERE
Held at Hotel Jen Tanglin on the 8th of September, the Melange show promises to present an exceptional production showcasing ensembles from profound Indian and Pakistani designers along with an array of personal and lifestyle accessories. Running from 10am until 6pm that day, the show will feature the never before seen ensembles from leading designers of this season; Manish Arora; Studio Petticoat; Arpan Vohra; Aneekha; Pratima Gaurav; Sania Maskatiya; Mina Hasan; Nida Shay and Honey Waqar. Unique accessories from the works of Nishkara; Taneez; The artisan deck; Queenmark; Stoffa; Parizad and Veya Designs will also be displayed during the event.
Organized by Melange, with fashion connoisseurs Samia Khan & Shazray Khan behind the scenes, the show will provide a platform to display a festive and elegant blend of fashion and styles that will highlight the beauty of Indian and Pakistani culture. This showcase however, is most exceptional as for the first time in Singapore, “Couture Queen of Pakistan” Honey Waqar’s collection will also include specially designed plus size ensembles for women supporting their belief that beauty is beyond size.
By Lisa TayFor those who doesn’t have much time and prefers to enjoy their beauty mask at home should seriously consider this product. Alissi Bronte Angel’s Gold Mask not only helps in rejuvenating but most importantly, it actively fights against signs of fatigue. The mask not only helps to tone up and smoothes your features but also removes all tiredness. It is said that the mask will regenerates the skin and normalize the skin functions, improving its elasticity and provide the radiance and firmness to the skin. The Angel’s Gold Mask is also suitable for anti-stress treatments as it stimulates cellular renovation that leads to visible wrinkles reduction and to a healthy looking skin tone.
In all honesty, after the first application of the gold mask, I could feel the difference. Unlike some other similar products out there, this cream mask doesn’t start cracking or peeling after it dries off instead the moist still retains on your face. Currently, I use it twice a week and after 2 months, I could really see the difference. My face has become more radiant than ever. Just like any other product, it’s not a miracle cream so you will need to try it out yourself and find out if it works for you.
With Angel’s Gold Mask, the hidden potential of auto-recovery of the skin is now revealed.
By Lisa Tay
I have always been pretty adventurous when it comes to trying out new facial wash products as I have oily combination skin type, where my T-zone area is usually oily compare to other areas hence I am always in the look out to find the most suitable cleansing product.
Last week I came across a wash & clean gel cleaner products from SKINLITE and decided to try it out. SKINLITE Wash & Clean Foam Cleanser is formulated with Bambusoides Juice, Honey Extract and Vitamin E. I must say I am very impressed with the texture of the gel as it is unlike some which can be very slimey or sticky.
After wash, my face feels really refreshed without the over-drying effect. The overall verdict, this product is value for money. It is available in all SASA retail stores, valued at SGD8.90 only.
Care BIG
“Use your voice for kindness, your ears for compassion, your hands for charity, your mind for truth, and your heart for love.” – Unknown
In this day and age, when we have so much in the way of technology, medicine, wealth and a consumer driven society, 
we don’t stop enough to think of those less fortunate then ourselves. Its ok, as life is busy and we have our own families, jobs, friends and responsibilities to look after. But, if you can spare some time to help others, the reward is well worth it. The pride and satisfaction that one feels by doing a deed of charity cannot be brought or manufactured. It is simply the feeling of love and compassion that takes over you, and makes you smile. Helping those who are in need benefits both parties, and changes lives.
At BIG, we want YOU, our readers, to feel and share this empowerment. 
A new segment of our magazine is Care BIG. And that is just what we want you to do! Care in a very big and open way. Each issue we will feature a local charity that needs support, love and assistance. We invite you to read about them, and understand what they do. Then if you can spare some time (the most valuable commodity) to volunteer, or spread the news about these organisations, then please do so, then bask in the glow of helping others, and changing lives.
Introducing Willing Hearts
Willing Hearts is a 100% volunteer-based non-profit organization, registered as a society since February 2005.
They provide daily meals and other support services to the underprivileged, the needy, and other marginalized members of our Singapore society, and to assist and guide them towards rehabilitating and reinstating themselves as useful citizens.
They are focused on operating their soup kitchen – which currently serves about 3000 daily meals, 7-days a week (or about 90,000 meals monthly).
Tony Tay, the very humble founder of Willing Hearts, sat down with our amazing director Sharmilah, to tell us what we can do to help.
Kaylene and I AM, have come together to support Lane Bryant’s recent campaign #ImNoAngel. The local support for campaign’s angle is to promote body positivity across all genders and societal demographics. The plus-size community and body-positive movement here in Singapore are still in its fledging stage and Team Kaylene and I AM wanted to do even more to contribute to its growth.
KAYLENE is a local plus-size enterprise owned by KAYDE LING who is also the chief designer for her line of clothing. She has been making waves in recent years and most noted for being the first Singaporean plus-size label to have her line of clothes showcased during New York’s Full Figured Fashion Week in 2013. Kayde is also a noted local plus-size blogger.
I AM is a local plus-size YouTube channel that was started by PRISCILLA BOH of Plus Initiative. The premise of the channel is to be a resource for the Asian plus-size community and be a platform to exchange ideas, information, fashion tips and plus-size related events in Singapore and within the region. Priscilla is an established stylist, make-up artist and plus-size model.
#ImNoAngel is a tag created by Lane Bryant’s lingerie brand, Cacique, during a recent launch of their collection, in response to Victoria Secret’s The Perfect Body campaign.
Team Kaylene & I AM had the honour of meeting Heather McGarry, Senior Marketing Manager of Lane Bryant and her team during their trip to Full Figured Fashion Week in 2013. Watching Lane Bryant’s corporate values in action and how they impact the plus-size community left an indelible impression on the ladies. So when #ImNoAngel went viral and reached the internet shores of Singapore, Team Kaylene and I AM were so impressed by the message that they decided to do something to support the campaign.
Soon after, the ladies met up for a group spa session when Kayde noticed how comfortable her friends were with their bodies as they tossed off their clothes, hopped onto the massage tables whilst happily chatting and laughing away. Her artistic eye followed the curves before her and inspiration struck; a monochrome image capturing the naked silhouettes of the ladies’ back. After discussing with her friend, Priscilla on the idea and concepts that was inspired from the spa session, it was decided that the shots would be done in monochrome, featuring Cate Lim, Priscilla Boh and Jena Marican with the additional help of Karen Evers-Foo, an Intuitive Life Coach. This group of friends are body-positive advocates in their own right.
The concept of the monochrome images was to show the raw beauty of the physical body, every line curve, stretch mark, cellulite, in all its glory. The idea to shoot the models in only their underwear, of their bare backs is to showcase beauty from a different angle, with a trio of plus-size ladies who have very different physical attributes.
We wanted to show our support for a campaign that is body-positive and we also wanted our fellow Asians to know that being body-positive is important. In Asia, the supposed ideal body shape is being impressed onto the next generation at an early age. We wanted to let our fellow Asians know that every body type is beautiful and we hope that with this video, they too can see what we see – Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
Team Kaylene and I AM hope to achieve and reinforce the idea that “EVERYONE is BEAUTIFUL and sexy regardless of their size” and that “Body positivity comes from within”. The video will be launched on 04 May 2015 across KAYLENE’s and I AM’s social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
For contact details, please refer to the attached page.
For further information on Kaylene and I AM please visit:
Kaylene:
Website: www.kayleneonline.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kayleneonline
Blog: www.kaydeiskaylene.blogspot.sg
Email: kayde@kayleneonline.com
I AM:
Website: www.priscillaboh.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/iamiam
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZC-sZWlPRmdLhrYeWv68eQ
Email: plusinitiative@gmail.com
“Write up is posted with the permission of the original content writer. No amendments or changes to the write up has been made. BIG reserves the right to publish the content as deemed fit and will not be liable for any misleading content presented.”
We are so excited to share with you this episode of Power Recipes – EP1 in which Singapore’s first Super Model Hanis Hussey is interviewed and invites Sharmilah, the Founder and Editor in Chief of Big is Gorgeous to tea.
{Image from Toggle} {via Toggle}
Click here to watch the video
By Hanane Fathallah
Hanane Fathallah
NEWSFLASH: Denise Bidot in Dubai!
Just five days ago, I came across one of Denise Bidot‘s photos by the beach, stating that she was in Dubai. I had an OMG moment and I didn’t know what to make out of it. I honestly couldn’t believe it that she was in the region. I live in Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) which is still a 3-hour flight away from Dubai. As a first reaction, this is what I posted on my FB page
You know those 5 minutes of utter craziness when you can’t wait to share something so juicy and important to you, ya, well I shared that moment with my hubby, who is completely aware of how much I love la gorgeoussima plus size model Denise Bidot and what an inspiration she is to me.
“Some of the most thrilling things in life are done on impulse.” (Syrie JAMES)
What would you have my husband do? This was a perfect situation to pull out that dose of spontaneity. We messaged Denise! And she replied… *woohoo*
Here is what went down.
On March 8th – International Women’s Day – we had a flight booked to Dubai.
We were planning a 2-day stay. Everything was falling into place. We even went shopping the days before just to get a couple of things for travel.
What I am about to tell you from now onwards is an epic episode of persistence and survival!
March 7th Pre-flight
The decision was made! Hubby checked flights, made the booking and took us out to run some errands.
The only ridiculously funny point was that my passport needed renewal soon, but usually if your passport was valid for at least 90 days, things could fly. My passport was exactly 90 days valid counting in travel date. Too good to be true! If I had waited one more day, I wouldn’t have been able to travel at all and Denise Bidot would have already been gone.
Saturdays: Hubby is usually busy at night because he has two consecutive radio shows and he wouldn’t finish till 12 AM. So it was just me and Kiddo at home. I had to take care of kiddo till bedtime then, I had to organize, clean dishes and kitchen, do laundry, pack, and finally by 12:30 AM I was able to take that well-awaited shower. I was officially K.O.! I think we slept by 2:00 AM and our flight was at 7:30 AM. You can guess what time we had to wake up to head to airport…
March 8th Persistence and Survival Mode
According to Saudi laws, an expatriate (I am Lebanese) needs a so-called ‘Exit / Re-entry visa’ to go out and return to the kingdom. In other words, even if you have your passport and a ticket in your hands, you would not be able to get out of the country without an exit / re-entry visa.
— 6:30-7:00 AM
Hubby had that taken care of, but once we reached the passport control counters,
PROBLEM #1 occurred!
As a foreigner, I have a residency permit. Apparently, fingerprints registration are mandatory so now even with the ticket, passport, I technically wasn’t allowed to travel. It was close to boarding time and we were still trying to negotiate a temporary solution so we could still catch our flight!
A big no-no… Started feeling down until superman hubby decided to book the next flight and go try and solve the problem by doing that fingerprints registration. Nothing to lose at this point. We headed to the nearest center and I waited in a long line of foreign frustrated and impatient women lol
PROBLEM #2 The woman that was right before me in line got arrested so the line was put on standby! Come on, on my turn? REALLY? Could this day get any worse!
I just want to meet DENISE BIDOT!
15 minutes later, I got my fingerprints registered *yey*
We head back home for a quick break. Our flight was scheduled to take off at 2:30 so we had time.
— 12:30 PM
We were at the airport. A couple more misadventures now with my hubby who, once we got in to the waiting area, realized he forgot his backpack in the car! LOL AAaah! He went back, got it, and we were finally in the waiting area. That’s enough action for one day…
Everything was finally falling into place perfectly.
Arrived to Dubai at 6:30 PM. Went for a quick break and to freshen up at the hotel then went directly to the mall to meet up with Denise! Hubby kept messing with my head the whole time while we were waiting lol
I was so nervous but then…
Denise Bidot shows up! What a beautiful soul she is. Humble, gorgeous, classy and super cool!
Hubby kept telling me that he has never seen me like this way. I was so completely out of it that I was rambling, babbling and mumbling! So embarrassed. But soon enough I was able to talk like a normal person and enjoy that great epic moment! This made my day. No. This made my year!
Thank you beautiful! And I hope our paths will cross again soon…
FOLLOW DENISE BIDOT – Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Republished with permission from Hanane Fathallah
“A foodie, a stationery lover and a freelance graphic designer, Hanane Fathallah – aslo known as Nounzie – is a plus size fashion blogger! Never has fashion made more sense to her as she had struggled all her life with standard sized fashion. A full-time mom with a creative edge, she shifts from being mama-on-the-go to plus size fashionista in no time. It is a state of mind, a lifestyle and a conviction. Having lived in a society where there are misconceptions about almost anything (related to women), she has dedicated time to her blog Nounzilicious and to writing in the press, in hope to shed more light on women who are bigger, larger, curvier and whose fashion and style needs are neglected. Body positivity, confidence and femininity. It is a new fashion revolution!”
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