Raksha bandhan is not only a special day to celebrate the precious unbreakable bond between brother and sister but also offer a welcome break from all the chaos of life. This is a good occasion for looking fabulous and flaunting our interesting Indian outfits and beauty expert Shahnaz Husain tells you how.
Flaunt a celebration-perfect look this Rakhi with the latest Ayurveda beauty tips to ensure you have a fun-filled day.
Watermelon juice is a good skin toner and relieves dryness too. It cools, refreshes and softens the skin. Apply on the face and wash off with plain water after 20 minutes.
Fruit Mask for all Skin Types: Fruits like banana, apple, papaya, orange can be mixed together and applied on the face. Keep it on for 20-30 minutes. Then wash off with water. It cools the skin, cleanses dead cells and removes tan.
Cooling Mask: Mix cucumber juice with two teaspoons of powdered milk and one egg white and make it into a smooth paste. Apply on face and neck and rinse off with water after half an hour.
Mask for Oily Skin: Mix one tablespoon of multani mitti with rose water into a paste and apply on the face. Wash off when dry.
After applying face mask, take two of the cotton wool pads soaked in rose water and use them as eye pads. Squeeze out the rose water and then apply on closed lids. Lie down and relax, while you have the mask and eye pads on. Used tea bags can also do the trick. Soak them in a little warm water, squeeze out the water and apply on the eyes like eye pads.
To soften rough, bushy or frizzy hair, mix some water with creamy hair conditioner and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on the hair. Then comb the hair, so that it spreads through.
Raksha Bandhan is usually celebrated during the day. Daytime make-up has to be light and carefully done. If you have a clear skin, leave out foundation. After cleansing, apply a sunscreen with a built-in moisturiser. Then apply powder.
Translucent powder, like a baby powder, is good.
For oily skin, apply astringent lotion instead of moisturiser. Then apply compact powder. Pay attention to the oily areas of the face, like nose, forehead and chin. Press the powder all over the face and neck with a slightly damp sponge. This helps it to set and last longer. If you wish to apply blusher, use less and blend well. Blush-on should be like a gradual flush on the face.
For eye make-up, stick to eye pencils during the day. Or line your eyelids with brown or gray eye shadow. This gives a softer effect. Then apply only one coat of mascara that helps to make the eyes look darker and brighter but prevents the ‘heavily made-up’ look.
For lipstick, avoid very dark colours, like dark maroon. Go for light pastel colours, pink, mauve, light browns, copper or bronze. The colours should not be too intense. Or use only lip gloss. First outline the lips with a lip pencil, same shade as your lipstick. Fill in colour with a lipstick brush. Obviously outlined lips are out of fashion.
For a special occasion like Raksha Bandhan, you can try out a new hairstyle, like putting up your hair with fancy hair clips or ribbons. Wearing flowers in the hair can be quite alluring.
Long hair is the trend, with cascading waves or curly and bouncy hair. Go for the softer look with curls or natural waves in the lower half of the hair.
The classic ponytail is also dictating trends. It suits most face shapes because one can wear a pony tail high or low, with a fringe or without, or with wisps or curls falling down, with that carefully-careless look.
A ponytail is actually an easy hair do. With ribbons, or other hair accessories, it can even provide a touch of glamour. One can have a ponytail for a formal or an informal look.
For a long face, wear a low pony tail and have a light long fringe falling straight down. For an oval face, wear it with a side-swept fringe. For a square jawed face, have wisps of long curls falling down on either side of the face, just beyond jaw level. It will suit a round face too. Or you can put the hair up with the help of hair clips.
