About Me

 

 

Hi Carina, 

(Cariño/a – This one is used quite frequently and is most similar to how we say “dear” or “darling” in English)

My name is Gayanthi Hapuarachchi but that is too long to remember, so I frequent by the name Liya derivative from my middle name. This blog used to be called The Britlankan Burberry yet I ‘ve decided our nationality should not be our defining trait, so naturally, that name ran its course.

I came up with “The Liya Reina” because my blog aims to inspire women to remember that they are all real Queens (Reina) capable of anything they set their minds to.  

If you want the mini factsheet regarding my life, then I’m a 21-year-old British-Sri Lankan who was born in the UK, raised in Sri Lanka and currently lives in the UK. I’m a LLB (Hon) graduate who believes the soundtrack of her life is a good mix of Norah Jones sombreness, Toni Braxton 90’s romance, Ariana Grande sassiness and a touch of La Vie En Rose. I’ve also lived in a Sri Lankan hostel with seven amazing girls so please excuse me for thinking myself one badass chick. I’m clearly not though… I mean what badass cries for the Lion King?

As we are all good friends now, I think it’s time to spill a few secrets.

This blog was initially created because my best friend moved all the way across the globe to Canada and I needed a creative outlet for my photography and my writing to keep me sane  during University. However, over the past year, I’ve made it my mission to create a diverse community of women who we can draw inspiration from.

Everyone is the femme fatale of her own life and she should be remembered for that fact!

What are my goals for this blog in the future? My tagline is that I’m the caramel ambition. All my life I have had to hear that I “could be pretty if you were fairer”, or ” Pretty for a dark girl”; I guess this blog is my little rebellion against colourism to show any type of shade ( Snow Ivory, Bambi Fawn or midnight mahogany)  is beautiful and desirable. Embrace your shade and your culture or reject your shade and your culture. That is up to you. Just don’t let it become your limiting factor.

Sometimes, that is a hard lesson to remember, especially for me.

That’s why I don’t just have lookbooks of my own clothes, but of celebrities, Belleboss stories, Beauty thoughts and more …all hidden in the pages of my website.

I want to capture the light I sometimes feel in my thoughts onto the pages, in the hopes that light can illuminate someone’s else’s darkness. But always remember …

“Darling, your world will be forever full of hollow heroes until you learn to save yourself – Becca Lee”.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me, mi carinas