10 Must Have Beauty Essentials for Summer

Summers are back and will stay for the next couple of months. As we simplify our wardrobe and strip away extra layers of clothing, summer calls for a stronger focus on fabulous skin. Guardian Health Chronicle suggests 10 must have products in your beauty kit.

1. Tame Your Skin with Toners. In winter, we didn’t have to bother about the greasy look on our face. It stayed well behaved, spotless most of the times and shine free. But your skin saga will be changing in the coming months and you better equip yourself with an alcohol free toner to keep your face hydrated and shine free. Dr. Shehla Agarwal imparts a bit of knowledge on toners and astringents. Astringents should be swiped on the oily areas of your face with a cotton ball, never with finger tips. It helps close pores and controls acne. On the other hand toners are to be used with fingers on your face for a quick swipe after cleaning it (with a mild face cleanser of course) to help it return to its natural pH state. Rose water is a good toner.
2. Don’t Go Out Without Sunscreen. Ideally, you should not go out in the sun without a sunscreen. Dermatologists concur that almost all age-related damage on your skin results from the UV rays of the sun. For Indian skin tone a minimum protection of SPF 15-20 is required and you should wear sunscreen at least half an hour before you go out. Buy sunscreens that offer broad spectrum protection and check the label to see if it has zinc and titanium-di-oxide as ingredients. Stay indoors between 11 am to 3 pm when the rays of the sun are the harshest. If you plan to go to hilly areas then get sunscreens with higher SPF. The golden rule with sunscreens is reapply, hence tote a bottle with you when you go out.
3. Resolve Skin Woes With Aloe Vera Gel. It’s normal for your skin to develop rashes, zits, acne and sun tan. Aloe Vera gel works well to soothe the inflamed skin. Venturing out in the sun without a sunscreen will give you sun tan, which is nature’s way of increasing melanin production to protect your skin. Apply Aloe Vera gel on the tanned skin for instant relief.
4. Polish off Your Skin With Body Scrubs. There is more of skin show in summer. Buff your body with body scrubs and show off the smooth skin with panache. You could also use orange- peel powder with ‘good-old’ besan and milk to get a homemade body scrub to exfoliate your skin.
5. Get Home Oil Free Moisturisers. Many of us think that our skin doesn’t need moisturizer in summer because it’s already greasy. This isn’t true. When the skin feels dry and parched, the oil glands go on overdrive to produce oil in order to keep the skin moist which can make it greasy. You need to provide nourishment to your skin with oil-free moisturisers that don’t clog your pores. In fact, many sunscreens and moisturisers are rolled in one and help you seal in the moisture and ban the tan at the same time.
6. Feel Fresh With Fragrances. While deodorants are good for banishing body odour perfumes and EDTs move a step ahead in helping you smell fresh throughout the day. You could even try the good old atar (perfume) available at select stores in old Delhi to the get the old-world feel.
7. A Quick Swipe With Wet Wipes Does a Miracle. Wet wipes are a must have ingredient in your vanity kit, purse or even in the office drawer. The makeup worn in the morning begins to melt in humid summers. Just before an important meeting wet wipes can be used to refresh your face or repair smudged makeup. Keep it handy and you’ll never have a bad-makeup day.
8. Invest in a Good Quality Shampoo and Conditioner. You sweat a lot in summer, which means you’ll wash your hair more frequently. Then you go and take a dip in the chlorinated pool water. Moreover, rays of the sun can deprive your precious tresses of moisture and fade your hair colour. Naturally, you need to buy a good quality shampoo and conditioner for your hair. You could also buy conditioners that come with UV protectant features. Hair masks become kind of mandatory in summer. Use it once a fortnight or after you’ve coloured your hair or touched the roots. Yves Rocher offers hair products suited for every hair type. Go ahead and try these.
9. Beat Prickly Heat with Calamine. Prickly heat is a painful summer ailment which happens because of excessive sweating and clogged pores. To keep prickly heat at bay you should bathe twice a day and put baking soda in your bath water. This will soothe the skin inflammation. Apply calamine on the affected area to control the itch.
10. Exfoliate Feet with Foot Scrub. Until now our feet were covered inside socks, but as the socks come off, your feet face the world. Cracked heels, unruly nails will spoil your style statement. Use foot scrubs especially designed for your feet to get rid of dead cells. Book yourself for a pedicure at least once a month. While soaking your feet in warm water drop a couple of aspirins in it. The salicylic acid in aspirin will soften the dead cells. Now use the foot scrub to get ultra soft feet.

10 Must Have Winter Essentials

Winter has announced its arrival. The weather has turned nippy and your skin is the first one to bear the brunt of elements (read cold winds). The basics of skin care remain the same for winter too: cleansing, toning and moisturising but you need to tweak these products a bit. In summer, a foaming face wash was good but as the temperature dips you should switch to a mild cleanser, preferably a lotion. Similarly your toner should be non-drying types and your moisturiser should be a richer version of the one that you used in the summer. Archana Jha Darshan enlists ten must have beauty essentials that every girl should keep in her vanity kit.
1. Heavy duty moisturizer with SPF protection: Cold winds can strip moisture from your skin, particularly your facial skin. Wear moisturisers diligently after cleaning your face. Switch to oil based moisturisers in place of water as they form a barrier on your skin and look for "nonclogging" oils, like avocado oil, mineral oil, primrose oil, or almond oil. Do not avoid sunscreen protection just because it’s winter. The rays of the sun will wreak damage on your skin nevertheless. Sunscreen Protection Factor 15 is good for Indian skin tones.
2. Gentle exfoliating agents: In these months our skin’s turnover rate goes down, hence you should add a gentle exfoliating agent in your skin care ritual to remove the dead cells from your skin. Any scrub which has AHA agents will be a good exfoliator. Lactic acid (sour yoghurt) is a wonderful exfoliator that removes dead cells without being harsh. Gentle peeling creams are better than the regular scrubs. Remember to tone (rose water) your skin after exfoliating it and follow it up with a good moisturiser.
3. Switch your face masks. Give hydrating face masks a chance now. Avoid face masks that have clay in them as these can absorb extra oil from your skin. Now, your masks should have ingredients like glycerine, honey which can nourish your skin.
4. How about hand creams? Your hands bear the brunt of cold weather more than your face. Shower these with some TLC and you’ll be rewarded with a soft and smooth pair of hands. Exfoliate your hands and apply a good hand cream later. Wear cotton gloves later to seal in the moisture.
5. Put your best foot forward. Winter means dry, dehydrated and cracked heels for many. Not only this is painful but embarrassing too. Dip your heels in a basin of warm salted water in which baking soda and shampoo has been added. Scrub the topmost layer gently with a good quality pumice stone. Refrain from buying the cheaper version available at your local kirana store. Follow it up with a generous massage by a rich, hydrating foot cream.
6. Have you splurged on hair masks? The cold winds and the dipping temperature steal moisture and lustre from your precious strands. Protect your hair by wearing nourishing hair masks. Make it once-a-week affair and your hair will bounce with health.
7. Lip balms. Your lips don’t have any oil glands. Naturally they dry out faster than your skin. Hence buy a good quality lip balm to keep your lips hydrated and well moisturised. You can also switch to creamy lipsticks in place of the long lasting ones to keep your lips happy.
8. Eye cream: The delicate skin around your eyes can get really damaged by cold air and harsh winds. Even though you might apply in the AM, applying eye cream mid-day when you leave your office will keep the skin around the eyes protected.
9. Oil massage. This sounds delicious and feels heavenly. At least once a month treat yourself to a whole body oil massage. You can use coconut or olive oil for the massage and your skin will definitely feel better and more hydrated later.

10. Body butter: This is thicker than a regular lotion and provides much needed nourishment to the dry and dehydrated skin.

Though you may not feel thirsty but you should have ten glasses of water to keep your skin hydrated. If you use room heaters then place a bowl of water in the room so that your skin doesn’t feel parched when you wake up. Hot water bath may feel heavenly, but you should avoid it as it can dry your skin. Instead prefer tepid water and put a capful of baking soda in it to keep your skin moist. Emphasise on healthy foods and be regular with exercise and the result will reflect in a healthy glow on your face.

Ten Easy Age Erasers

Age makes you sage and brings a lot of experience along with wisdom but that doesn’t mean you should look old too. What about the heart which is forever young? Should the young-at-heart look old or are there ways to thwart the effects of time without spending a bomb? Ask us. There are ten such ‘easy-to-do’ age erasers that will help you look young and glowing. Find more with Archana Jha Darshan

1. Pay attention to your posture. Your mom must have told you a hundred times when you were young that you should sit straight. Follow her advice. Do not slouch on the chair while working on the desktop. Your perennially stiff shoulders will begin to fade and your double chin will make a disappearing act too. Sit straight.
2. Get a haircut. A well done haircut can make a world of difference to your looks. Go for soft layers and bangs that frame your face to look young. Almost all of us colour our grey strands to reverse the clock, you don’t need to pick the jet-black shade that will make you stand out as a ‘dyed’ matron. Go for highlights on your tresses and pick warm shades that complement Indian skin tone. For this season khaki brown highlights are popular, honey caramel shade looks cool too, suggests Shanti from Hair n Shanti.
3. Take care of your teeth. Stained teeth add years to your face. Get your teeth bleached and your pearly whites are going to shine like never before. As an added bonus point you’ll smile with greater confidence.
4. Work out. What separates dainty girls from matronly looking women? A big chunk of the answer is weight. Losing weight will make you look younger. Don’t go on crash diets rather eat balanced meals and work out. Exercise not only releases feel good hormones which will make you relaxed and less cranky but also tones your butt and belly. The moment you begin to shape up your confidence begins to soar.
5. Skin care. Your face reflects the status of your health. Add a gentle exfoliating cleanser to your regular cleanse-tone-moisturise routine. Use hydrating creams generously. Rose water and glycerine put together make a good hydrating cream. Invest in a quality night repair cream and use it before you hit the sack.
6. Tweak your makeup. While mineral makeup is great it’s basically compressed powder. Go for creamy foundation because it will camouflage the fine lines of your face. Similarly prefer creamy lip colours to matte lip stains. Go for earthy tones for your eye makeup and wear lip gloss.
7. Beef up your brows. Our mind tends to associate thick eyebrows with youthful looks. As you age do not go for pencil thin eyebrows because such brows can give you vampish look. Maintain the natural arch of your eyebrows and tweeze out wayward strands. Now is the time that you should stop getting your eyebrows done by a novice in your neighbourhood parlour. Be finicky about who is doing your eyebrows because they define your face. You can use thin, feathery pencil strokes to beef it up too.
8. How about pampering neglected body parts? You don’t need to be surprised at hearing this. In the humdrum of life most of us tend to overlook our hands, feet and neck. Our hands tell a lot about our age. Cracked heels denote the lack of attention and care given to the feet. Book yourself for a session of manicure and pedicure. Stop using your face cream on your hands. Buy products that are especially made to cater to the needs of hands and feet. During winters you can massage your hands and feet with olive oil and wear cotton socks over it. Gently massaging exposed parts of your hands with a lemon peel will help you get rid of the dark blemishes. As for your neck any product that goes on your face must cross the territory of your chin and reach to your neck.
9. Buy a quality bra. You need it. The shape of breasts changes with time. You know why? Motherhood, breastfeeding and gaining weight affect the size of our breasts. Moreover, as we age our chest sags. A quality bra will give the breasts much needed support. Almost all malls retailing lingerie these days have a trial section. Try bras before you buy. Seek the help of a sales assistant. Chances are you must be wearing the wrong size!
10. Smile. That’s the easiest and cheapest makeover available to all. Use it often and its going to change your attitude to life.

Learn to go with the flow because life itself is a beautiful journey and you should enjoy the ride. That’s what matters!

Learn to Waterproof Your Makeup

Let’s admit monsoon and makeup do not go along well. Yet, a girl deserves to look her best in all times. During monsoons keep your makeup to minimum. Keep reading to learn more tricks to thwart skin concerns like oily skin, smudged makeup, specific to monsoon.

Listen to your skin–With humidity reaching an all time high, you need to tweak your makeup routine and give that good old foundation a skip. Go for skin care products that are oil free and will not clog your pores. Use tinted moisturisers to even out the skin tone. Loose powders will help you dab the excess oil and keep your skin looking fresh and grease free. This is the time when you need to emphasise on skin cleanliness because humidity can wreak havoc with your skin, which might make your otherwise blemish free skin breakout. Wash your face at least twice a day with an oil free face wash. Dab an alcohol free toner on your face after cleaning it. In response to increased humidity your oil glands become overactive, which enlarges the pores of the face to release the oil. Keep toners handy and splash it on your face to counter the shine effect. If you’re a ‘woman-on-the-go’ tote facial wipes.

Accentuate your eyes—Forget the drama attached to eye makeup and keep the look simple. Line your eyes with kohl and use water-resistant eye liner for your upper eye lids. If you must wear mascara, wear just one coat and go for ones that can withstand drizzle.

Tame your tresses—Getting caught in unpredictable showers damage your hair. Try to wash your hair with a mild shampoo after you have danced in the rain. Pay special attention to hygiene so that your hair stays clean and dandruff stays at bay. Invest in some good quality serum to keep your mane smooth, silky and lustrous. Keep it stylish in neat, pulled-back dos. High ponytails and chignons look fetching any time of the day and you can always throw in some accessories to glam them up for an evening out. If you have short or medium length hair, dress it up with a funky or a sporty headband.


Lip service—Following the rule less is more, forget for the time being dramatic shades like berry, red, chocolate and stick to neutral lip-shades. Say no to gooey lip glosses and keep your lips happy with tinted balm.

Foot fundamentals—Your feet bear a lot during monsoons. Buy bright coloured foot wears suited for rainy season. Get pedicure done once a month or do it yourself at home. Wash your feet carefully after coming home to keep infections at bay.


Bare essentials
Here’s a checklist of bare essentials that you must carry with you always for looking fresh ‘n’ pretty all through the monsoon:

Non-alcoholic face wipes to wipe away grime
Toner
Oil-free moisturizing sunscreen
Water proof kohl or eyeliner
Sheer lip tint
Hair serum to tame that frizz
Scrunchies and headbands

Most importantly send to exile cool cottons in neutral shades. Pull out chiffons and crepes in bright shades like sunny yellows, hot pinks, lime greens, lively oranges from your wardrobe. Go wild with hues, mix and match and enjoy the rains.

Infuse Life in Your Colour Treated Hair

Given the trend and people getting grey strands much before the official announcement of middle age, it’s hard to find ‘virgin’ hair. ‘Virgin’ hair is one which has not been permed, straightened, rebonded or touched by hair colour. If you’ve ‘virgin’ hair stop reading further, and if you’re like million others who colour their hair we recommend you to read ahead. Believe it or not the cheapest and the easiest way to turn back the clock of time is to colour your hair. However, so many questions come in your mind when you colour your hair—Are you damaging your hair? What should be the hair care routine now?

Put your worries to rest as we tell you how to take care of your coloured hair. Mostly Indians believe that henna is good for hair and hair colour damages your precious tresses. This is not true. Harish working as hair stylist with Ambika Pillai says, “Almost all men and women who are tired of the orange hue that henna gives and come to me for hair colour complain that their scalp itch after applying henna. Henna makes your hair dry and brittle.”

How to make your hair colour last longer

Each time you colour your hair the chemicals in the colour penetrate deep down the core of each strand so that the colour stays on your hair. All hair colours cause cuticle damage. Hence, you need to be gentle with your hair and protect if from bright sun light. Shower your coloured hair with TLC.


Shampoo Right. Irrespective of the brand, all hair colours fade with time. If you wish to make your hair colour last longer you should use a shampoo which is meant for coloured hair as it is more hydrating. When you shampoo your hair concentrate on the scalp to wash off oil and grease and stop struggling with your tresses.


Condition Well. Coloured hair becomes weak and dry. Hence, after you shampoo it you need to condition it especially on the tips with conditioners meant for coloured hair.

Use a Mask. Wear a hair repair mask once a week to nourish your strands. Use a mask that is fortified with pro Vitamin B5 to improve the protein structure of your hair.

Apply Serum. When your colour treated hair is partially dry wear a leave on serum on the tips and the top of your head to nourish your hair.

Be Gentle. Colour treated hair becomes fragile. Hence, do not comb when it’s damp. Also avoid using hot dryers on your hair. Just like your nails your hair is made of keratin. If keratin gets too hot, its components get damaged, causing its structure to break down. The result: your hair looks dull and lifeless.

Hair stylists recommend that before you colour your hair go for a hair spa at least three four days in advance. Hair spa consists of deep conditioning treatment for the hair which will improve the texture of your hair. At home you can also do hot oil massage as a substitute for hair spa. In warm olive oil puncture vitamin E capsule and massage your hair gently with it in circular motion. Wear a damp hot towel over it for fifteen minutes and then wash off the oil of your hair.

How often should you retouch your roots

Since hair grows on average 1/2 inch a month, it’s safe to assume that hair should have at least an inch of growth before getting a touch-up. For some people, that could mean 6 weeks and for some people that could mean 10 weeks.