Mocha Henna

Mocha Henna does GUESS, Toronto Eaton Centre

My GUESS handbag has been a holy grail among many. It's that accessory with the right amount of bling to rock any look with. So Guess what? When I was approached with the opportunity to work at the GUESS store and offer my signature henna designs, I was beyond excited! The event was entitled "Summer Escape." Which it was indeed. Alongside their sales event, was a medley of in-store attractions that made it feel more like a summers escape. Mocha Henna hit the heart of downtown Toronto, at the Toronto Eaton Centre, and this is where it all went down!

Walking into the store, I glanced over to the other vendors setting up who were equally as excited as I was! On scene was a live DJ, Hair Stylist, Photo booth and complimentary frozen desserts to counter the blazing heat outside and the hot deals inside! Check us all out in action.

There's no holding back people when it comes to henna. I was barely done setting up when already there was a line of eager beavers ready to adorn themselves. Just as the music started pumping, I quickly got into the groove and my creative juices started flowing. There was an earnest type of excitement glaring on the faces of people waiting in line which kept my momentum alive. The crowd gradually increased as time disappeared into space.

A consistent pattern I observe from doing henna events is how it brings people together. Henna breaks down any preconceived barriers. People are organically drawn to the beauty of this simple plant and before long, it's the star topic of every conversation. It often acts as an icebreaker to some great conversations too! I'm a naturally shy person, so to be able to connect with clients in an intimate setting and talking about my favourite thing in the world is a comfortable way to meet new people.

Henna designs done for the lovely customers at the Summer Escape event at GUESS.

Clips of me creating henna magic!

One of the highlights of the event was meeting many of my followers from Instagram who stopped by to say hello as I advertised the event earlier. It was great putting faces to the names I see in my feed. I always appreciate the love and support.

When closing hours came around, I stayed behind to satisfy a group of people before I officially called it a night. I kid you not, it was 4 hours of non-stop henna, and unfortunately because of the attraction associated with henna, I'm always put in a position to turn people down at the end. The only advice I can give to my dear henna enthusiasts is to beat the disappointment and come early!

The Guess store staff did an awesome job in making sure everything went smoothly and included a goodies bag for me to take home which was so kind! Looking forward to connecting with them again soon!

Photo credit given to Saima Syed for professionally capturing the key moments of the event so that I can share this blog post with you all!

xoxo

Mandatory selfie in front of the GUESS store after the event was over.

Mocha Henna at G Adventures Ignite the Night Event

G Adventures

Is it possible to experience a high off of your career?

Last month, award-winning Canadian tour operator, G Adventures (formerly known as GAP Adventures) and Planeterra Foundation held a 25th Anniversary and fundraising event at Toronto's historic Distillery District. It was one of the most exhilarating events put together by PR and marketing agency, Faulhaber Communications (Applaud!). They contacted Mocha Henna this summer for professional henna as an attraction to their night market themed event and we were more than happy to deliver on their requests!

The entire event was powered by theatrical attractions lined up all around the Fermenting Cellar. Mocha Henna was proud to be one of the prominent booths providing beautiful henna designs for the attendees.

One of the big highlights of the event was G Adventures Founder, Bruce Poon-Tip's announcement on partnering with National Geographic. Lots of familiar faces were there-- Pay Chen, CP24's Melissa Grelo, and star of the night, Kardinal Offishall kickin' it as MC!

Dressed in traditional Indian attire, our team did a fabulous job beautifying everyone with exquisite henna designs. The attendees appreciated Mocha Henna's standards of strictly using certified organic henna which remains to be the safest form of henna body art.

We were so glad to be apart of this amazing event! Fill yourself in with some pictures below.

Our comfortable setup. Photo credits Risha Khatri

Our beautiful henna plates equipped with all the essentials for each of our
talented henna artists. Photo Credit Risha Khatri

Sometimes my knee can substitute for a pillow!

Risha hard at work making beautiful henna designs!

A full house of anxiously waiting ladies for their turn.

Super gorgeous Manaal hennaing away!

Bruce Poon, Gary Knell, Kardinal Offishall

Mocha Henna at the GAP, Yorkdale Mall, Toronto

Last week Mocha Henna was invited to the GAP at Yorkdale Mall for a fun night of shopping and henna. It was an enjoyable experience collaborating! The line up was in full effect and I had never seen so many smiling faces hanging out with their henna'ed hands at one place! So many of you mentioned that you had seen my work on Instagram which was so uplifting :)

As soon as set up was complete, interested onlookers including the staff at the GAP were crowding, asking questions and hovering over my side to watch. The unfortunate thing about being a henna artist, is that it's near impossible to socialize because we're working non-stop to make you look beautiful! Between the time I started and finished, I rarely got a chance to look up. The event was from 6-8pm but due to the anticipation we started early and continued until closing hours of the store!

Thank you to everyone who showed up to the fun filled event! The henna complimented the GAP style very well! For those of you who missed out, here are pictures of the GAP styled by event sponsored by elle.com. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get additional photos as it was difficult to capture every moment under a busy schedule. My biggest regret was not being able to take photos of the lovely staff at the GAP as well as my team who helped out tremendously!

To see what I'm up to or where I'll be at next, follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Enjoy!

GAP event sign.

Me, just minutes before the rush began.

Yes, I was colour coordinating with the GAP colours.

Fresh Mocha Henna cones! Many were picking up and smelling the sweet scent of the henna cones. I was up late the night before, handmixing, rolling and preparing the cones.