Tag: beauty

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Beauty

10 must-haves for your clutch

A handy list of 10 beauty essentials and practical items that your clutch must have, especially in the party season.
by Ankita Pathak

This is the season for holidays and parties. But hours of eating, drinking, and making merry can have an ugly side—smeared mascara, smudged lipstick, unflattering shine on the face. So how do you repair the damage quickly?

We’ve found a pretty solution: ten beauty essentials tiny enough to tuck into your clutch, perfect for retouches, refreshes, and any fashion or beauty emergency.

Concealer: If your concealer fades before you do, stash this easy-to-use stick in your purse. It camouflages dark circles, redness, and zits in just one swipe.

Perfume:  After a night of dancing, it’s perfectly natural to want to reapply your perfume. And we love anything that comes in a small package or is a solid perfume!

Band-Aid: Are those high heels of yours giving you a blister? You don’t need to sacrifice style if you have the right first aid materials.

Compact: Want to check your eye make-up in a pinch? Make sure you have a compact handy. There’s nothing worse than oily skin, but luckily, compacts will take care of it with one quick swipe. Just make sure you don’t cake it up!

Lipstick:  When you’re busy having fun, you don’t have to worry about your lip colour rubbing off. Carry the lip colour you’re wearing that night for an instant dash of fresh colour.

Bobby pins: Flyaways, sticking-out strands and out-of-place bangs can ruin your look, and your evening. To keep this from happening to you, toss a few bobby pins into your purse – they’re easy to carry and extremely useful in a hurry.

Comb: A mini pocket hairbrush is just as effective as its full-size counterpart. The boar and nylon bristles     tame static and smooth snarled strands. You can opt for a foldable one to make extra room!

Gum: Because it tastes good and smell good, too. A little spearmint is a nice way to offset the smell of your martini-soaked tongue, or the garlic stink after a Chinese takeaway.

Quick snack: It could be a chocolate or some salty biscuits; they are perfect to carry around in case of a hunger emergency. It’s instant energy and a yummy fix for all hunger games!

Emergency cash, ID proof and business card: Carry some extra cash in case you need to take a cab home. It’s worth having back-up cash in case you can’t find an ATM. An ID proof is a must-carry. At the very least, so that whoever finds your clutch that you left at a party can track you down and return it the next day. Carry your business card with you because you never know who you might just bump into!

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Beauty

Bad hair days, begone!

A bad hair day is a girl’s worst nightmare, but before you hit the panic button, try out these solutions.
by Deepa Mistry

A bad hair day rarely happens when we decide to stay home, but will mostly occur on that ‘very important’ day, like the first interview or a first date or a special day in college when you want to look your best but your hair decided not to. Bad hair days are like bad moods, they come and they go. Even men do have bad hair days, but luckily enough for them, their short hair saves them from the distress that women face.

But don’t let your traunting hair get you down. Try these tips:

Oily hair: The worst of all problems. You were supposed to wake up early and wash your hair and style it, but the alarm didn’t go off, leaving you with barely a few minutes to get your mane ready. Don’t worry, get a tin of baby powder.

Back flip your hair and just dust it lightly with some powder. The powder absorbs the oil and makes your hair look fresh. If you don’t have powder, you’ll be glad to know that oily, crimped ponytailunwashed hair makes a perfect base for one of the most popular runway looks – crimped ponytail (see pic on right). The style is most suitable if you have long and thick hair. Though crimping is little time-consuming, if you can spare a few minutes it is worth the try.

Hair colour gone wrong: Raise your hand if you think you spent a bomb on your hair colour this month at a salon or decided to go low-budget and ended up with a terrible hair colour. There’s a solution for this, too: wrap and fold a scarf on the top part of your head and let the bottom section show just like JLo did in one of her music videos. Another option would be braid your hair or use a simple black hair band or clips.

Split ends: Some girls have trouble saying goodbye to those long locks and so they avoid even trimming them off, leaving them with split ends. Unfortunately, by the time you realise the damage is severe, it’s quite late and you’re headed to an event, split ends in place. The answer is pretty simple – opt for a chic, perfectly polished bun, a hairstyle that looks best with the ends tucked in! But since the trouble continues and split ends make hair weaker, an advisable move is to trim hair every six months.

shampooFlat and lifeless hair: If you have flat and lifeless hair, the only solution is to change your shampoo. A lot of times we opt for certain brands because they’re the most popular, or are suggested by a friend or the advertisement for the product has a favourite actor. Don’t fall prey to such branding. Choose a shampoo that suits your hair best, and which is light and can be used on regular basis. Humid weather makes hair sweaty and frizzy all the time. Shampoo your hair on alternate days and try to mix one drop of tea tree oil and wash your hair with this mix. Tea tree oil will help absorb excess oil, sweat and dust and thus, make your hair look healthier.

Tangled troubles: If your hair tangles more than normal try this: after washing your hair, apply a hair mask or conditioner and instead of five minutes, let it sit on your hair for 15 to 30 minutes, then rinse. You will notice a tremendous difference in the way your hair looks and shines. Of course, you will experience less tangles, too.

Dry and rough hair: Due to cold conditions, hair tends to lose moisture making it look dry and lifeless. Don’t let the season ruin youroil massage hair. Styling products also leave your hair looking frizzy and dry.  Warm a little coconut oil and gently massage from the roots of your hair and leave it on for just one hour and wash with a gentle shampoo. Many people believe you should oil hair before going to bed and wash them the next morning, but the truth is, an hour is just enough for oil to work on your hair. You could use any other oil also as per your choice.

Shapeless and breaking easily: You’ve perfectly set and styled your hair, but by the time you reach your workplace, it’s gone haywire. Don’t panic; take a pea-sized drop of hair serum and rub it over your hair. With a thick padded brush, just brush them through and you’re set for the day. Blow drying on high heat for too long causes breakage. When hair is sopping wet, don’t blow dry it – wait for a while, lightly pat dry with a towel and then blow dry without keeping the dryer too long on one section.

Unruly curls: If you’ve gone to bed with a gorgeous hairstyle, it doesn’t mean you are going to wake up with the same the next morning. Yes that’s right, curls invite frizz and tangles and a whole world of other hair troubles. Comb the frizzy, poorly-defined parts to remove tangles, then run wet hands through them a few times to get them to be damp but not dripping wet. Apply a curl enhancing serum or leave-in conditioner for around 15 to 20 minutes and let your curls dry while you dress up and you’re ready to go!

Hope you find these tips useful and with that, give the bad hair days an off!

 (Pictures courtesy sheknows.com, inhabitat.com, makeup.com, www.stylecraze.com)

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Beauty

Say hello to soft lips

As the winter approaches, everyone gets vexed about chapped lips. Here’s a simple tutorial to get soft lips this season.
by Deepa Mistry

As much as we love winter, chapped lips can be a miserable offshoot of the cold weather. Lips are the most sensitive part of the body and the cold winters, along with indoor heat, can dry skin very easily. We tend to take utmost care of our skin from head to toe by wearing warm cardigans, jackets, gloves, socks and caps but rarely pay attention to our lips, since the problem usually arises only during winters.

Healthy and soft lips are more attractive, so keep them moisturised and nourished with simple and healthy methods. Lips tend to lose more moisture due to dry and cold conditions during winters than usual, as skin on our lips is 10 times thinner than the skin on our face.

Here are some tips to follow:


lip balmUse lip balms: Lips balms or chap sticks are a life saver for us women, but we end up eating it as we tend to lick or bite our lips. Even though we survive on lip balms, not all are created equally.

Does your lip balm dry off immediately after applying? It’s time to change your balm. Opt for well-known brands and lip balms of good quality. Look for cream, petroleum-based lip balms with essential oils like almond oil, cocoa butter and shea butter and an added bonus is if it has an SPF built-in for extra protection.

Did you know that women who are habitual lip chewers eat four to nine pounds of lipstick during their life? Dump the lip gloss during winters. Try flavoured balms or tinted lip balms as they have the same amount of shine as lip glosses do. Petroleum jelly or Vaseline is best aid to avoid cracks; you could also massage using petroleum jelly on your hands and legs.

Exfoliate your lips: Yes, you heard that right. Lip scrubs (in pic below) help exfoliate your lips to get rid of the dead skin, leaving them soft and fresh. Rub sugar granules every day on your lips or exfoliate your lipssimply apply ghee or honey before you sleep every night.

Hydrate: Drink lots of water. Water helps regain moisture and during winters you must keep body hydrated all the time for a healthier skin.

Don’t lick your lips: We all have this bad habit of licking our lips when they are dry. It is a vicious circle, you lick, it dries up and you lick again. Biting doesn’t help either, as lips dry and sometimes bleed too. Avoid it and use the best remedies for your lips.

Stay indoors: Exposing your lips to the harsh winter weather may cause chapping. Pollution can also harm the lips so wear a scarf when out of doors.

If the condition gets worse, visit a doctor. But for now, just follow these simple beauty tips for well moisturised and beautiful lips.

(Pictures courtesy naturallyb.onsugar.com, www.wikihow.com)

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Beauty

Smoke ’em out!

Sexy, dramatic and smouldering – a smokey eye lifts your look like nothing else. Here’s how you get it done.
by Ankita Pathak

There’s nothing quite like a pair of smokey eyes staring at you. Smokey eyes are sexy, dramatic and smoldering, and instantly lift your look. When it comes to learning a new eye makeup technique, learning how to do a smokey eye should be the very first thing a woman should make a beeline for.

The smokey eye look isn’t limited only to runways, the red carpet, or black tie events. With many colour variations and options available, many women are deciding to wear this sultry look more often. But to learn how to do it, you’ll have to go back to the basics.

And all you really need is a classic kohl pencil. Because you can actually create a full smokey eye by smearing and blending your liner up and out. That’s it! You can do it with any colour, as long as it’s a classic kohl pencil. You will instantly love this look because it gives your eyelid more of a ‘watercolour’ finish that you can’t get with eyeshadow.

kohl pencilTools of the trade:

– Kohl pencil — almost every brand offers a kohl version, and most offer it in many colours.

– Blending brush

– Mascara

– Setting powder — you can use the same powder you set your face makeup with, just make sure it’s translucent.

Steps to follow:

– Line your upper lashline from the inner corner to the outer corner.

– Draw another line directly above that one.

– Keep drawing lines above each other until you reach the crease.

– Blend back and forth with the blending brush over the area you’ve filled in. You can also use your finger, but it’s a little messier!

– Trace the lower lashline with the same kohl pencil.

– Smudge the line back and forth with the Q-tip using short strokes to really work it into the lashline.

– Finish with a couple coats of mascara.

– Set it with a quick dusting of translucent setting powder.blending brush

Pair your look with a pink-nude cheek and lip and voila! You now have yourself a makeup job that took a matter of minutes and a few simple tools. Of course, practice makes perfect so for all of you makeup novices out there – try this look out on an off day to be sure your results are just as stunning as those gracing the runways in Milan.

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Beauty

Make your own beauty products

Did you know that you can make body scrubs, lip balms, and even hair spray at home? We explain how.
by Ankita Pathak

You need a variety of cosmetics for several needs, but what you probably didn’t know is that you can make most products at home! From hair and skin treatments to makeup, perfume, teeth and nail whitening – there are so many great products to make and use!  And who says you need to spend a lot?  Some of the ingredients you need may already be lying around your house. So let’s get started on making your own beauty stash!

Tinted lip balmTinted Lip Balm

You will need:

Blob of lipstick

Vitamin E capsule

½ tsp Vaseline

¼ tsp glycerin

Essential oils

Empty syringe

1 empty pot container

In a bowl, place Vaseline, Vitamin E, glycerin and lipstick on a double boiler to blend. After the mixture melts together, remove from heat and add a drop of your favorite essential oil to it. Fill your lip pot with the ready mixture using the disposable syringe. Voila! You have your very own lip stain!

Lip and body scrub

You will need:

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp oats and chocolate powderbody scrub

2 tbsp olive oil and honey

1 empty jar

Take a glass jar and start by mixing the oats, honey and chocolate powder. Oats act as an exfoliant and honey helps in moisturising. Add sugar and olive oil to soak all the ingredients and let the mixture sit for two hours. Use the scrub mixture on lips and body to remove any dead skin.

Eye makeup remover

You will need: 2 tbsp white mustard oil or 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

Dab a cotton ball into the oil to remove eye make-up and waterproof mascara. Rinse face with cold water. This homemade eye makeup remover will work in a pinch if you run out of your normal brand. It’s also a great way to save money instead of using expensive makeup removers.

Eyeshadow primer

Eyeshadow primerYou will need:

½ tsp natural chap stick

1 tsp cornstarch

1 ½ tsp liquid foundation

Container

Get a clean container or use a sample jar but you could also use an old eye shadow pot. Run the chap stick under warm water for a minute before you add it to the mixture. Put all the ingredients in container and mix well. Use the primer as an eye shadow base to make your eye make-up last longer.

Hairspray

You will need:

1 lemon

300 ml water

2 tbsp vodka

Place the lemon (chopped into pieces) into a saucepan with the water. Bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer until the lemon softens. Strain and then leave to sit until it’s completely cooled. Transfer the liquid into a sterilised spray bottle. Next, add the vodka then give it a quick shake.

Glitter nail polish    Glitter nail polish

You will need:

Transparent nail paint

Paper cone/ funnel

Glitter powder of your choice

Start by emptying a small amount of the clear polish in to the garbage, you will need space for the glitter.  Pour a small amount of glitter at a time with the help of a paper funnel, keep pouring until you achieve the glittered look you want.  Once you’ve put all the glitter in the bottle, shake it vigorously to get the glitter and polish to mix.

Blackhead removal solution

You will need:

1 lemon

1 tbsp honey

Rub the lemon dipped in honey on face, emphasise the black heads prone areas like nose, chin etc. Leave the lemon and honey mixture on your face for about five minutes, then wash it with cold water. You will see the results immediately. Additionally, lemon juice will also fade other marks/spots on the face and honey will moisturise.

Tan remover

You will need:

1 tomato

Sugar

Buttermilk

Apply squashed tomato juice with 6 spoons of buttermilk and sugar on the sunburn affected areas to cure them quickly. Tomato helps in lightening skin and buttermilk helps in moisturising. Do this repeatedly for a week and notice the difference.

Have you made any beauty products at home? Tell us about them in the comments section below.

(Pictures courtesy talkingpretty.com, makeup.me.uk, www.fashiondivadesign.com, www.fashionncare.com)

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Beauty

Blow drying your hair made easy

Have 15 minutes to spare, washed hair and a blow dryer? Read on to know how to blow-dry your hair.
by Ankita Pathak

How is it you never really look as put together as you do when you leave the salon after a professional blow dry? Is there magic to hair care and achieving the perfect blow dry or is it possible to do it yourself? Actually, it is quite possible, as long as you follow the right steps!

Getting a professional blow dry is like getting a shot of beauty adrenaline. The feeling you experience when you leave the salon is pure exhilaration. Nothing much has changed; your face is the same, and your weight is the same, but somehow you feel ten times more beautiful and infinitely more confident.

If you need help in the blow drying department, here’s what you need:

Time required: 15 to 30 minutes, depending on length and thickness of hair.

Tools: In order to achieve a salon quality blow out, you’ll need to add certain tools to your arsenal, such as a blow dryer, brush and serum. Go with a round hair brush with a barrel anywhere from 1 ¾ to 2 ½ inches.

– Pre-dry prep: Start with freshly-washed hair. If you have dry hair, condition in the shower. If you have fine hair, condition only the ends. Blot hair – never rub – with a towel to get rid of excess moisture. You can’t do a blow dry with really wet hair or it will take forever. If softness and shine is what your hair needs to remove the excess knots, use a dime-sized dollop of hair serum evenly through strands.

divide and clip– Divide and clip: Divide and clip your hair into two sections – top and bottom. To make it easier, draw a line with your index finger from above your ears. Right where your fingers meet becomes your top section. If you have bangs, leave them loose. Dry your bangs into place first to set them so they aren’t harder to tame at the end.

– Nozzle magic: Put the nozzle of your dryer and, beginning with the bottom section, wrap a 2- to 4-inch section of hair around a round brush and pull as taut as you can. Keeping the hair taut is 50 percent of the battle. Ensure that your dryer nozzle is pointing down the hair from roots to ends. This will also help with frizz.

Continue through the top section until hair is dry. Finish off with a serum to weigh down random frizzy parts. Crucial points to note: do not apply nozzle use in blow dryingtoo much product. Gunking up your hair won’t help you get the style you crave; it will only weigh it down and prevent it from cooperating. Also, don’t dry hair that’s too wet. Your hair will take much longer to dry and be unnecessarily exposed to more heat. Lastly don’t over-dry your hair to a level where you can smell burnt hair. It’s a common mistake that can damage your strands. For volume on the top, hold the dryer under the brush and pull it down. Finally flip your hair upside down and shake it up!

Did you find these tips useful? Tell us about your blow drying adventures in the comments section below.

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