The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Look beautiful with a subtle make up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 09, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Look beautiful with a subtle make up

Marriage is a very special and important lifetime occasion. Every woman wants to look her best on this day. Bridal makeup is not just dressing up for marriage but it relates to getting ready the bride for the great day. Pre-bridal care forms the most important part of bridal make up.

To have a perfect make up it is important to have a good skin clear of any blemishes. Pre-bridal care helps in protecting the skin and revitalising the damaged skin.

"The bride needs to check her skin type with a cosmetologist at least a month before wedding to get an opinion about her skin condition and get necessary treatment to make the skin supple" says Mrs S Nisha, beautician, May Flower beauty centre.

"This is necessary as make up applied in an oily/dry skin with black or white heads is likely to smudge and create a ghostly look" she says.

All beauty parlours offer pre-bridal packages complete with bleaching, facial, eyebrows shaping, upper lip treatment, full body waxing, hair treatment, pedicure and manicure.

The first step in getting a clear skin is to undergo dead cell removal treatment followed by acne/pimple treatment. This should be followed by a facial. "It is essential that the bride does facial once in a month right after the engagement to maintain the skin texture till marriage" says Mrs Aarti, beautician, Naturals.

However all types of facial are not suitable for everyone. The content used varies according to the skin type and colour. "Metallic facials like gold, silver and pearl facial usually suits only people with fair skin whereas diamond facial gives a good finishing for those with dark skin" says Mrs Nisha.

Next to skin, eyes form the major attraction in the face of the bride. Hence eye care is necessary for all to-be brides. Dark circles are likely to be formed around the eyes before wedding due to lot of pressure. Various home treatments can be done to prevent the dark circle formation. The most commonly used method is to place cucumber pieces in the eyes and rest for a while and applying a drop of castor oil over the eyes before going to sleep.

"A home face pack made with ground Rose petals and honey makes the skin soft and removes black circles" says Mrs Nisha. Another way is to place cotton dipped in paneer (rose water) over the eyes.

Next is the hair treatment. Everybody who attends the wedding never fails to notice the hairstyle of the bride. Special hair care is a must for those with dry and damaged hair at least twice before wedding.

Many people opt for a trial make up session to see how they’ll look during their wedding. Nowadays people prefer to have a natural look with light make up. "Make up has to be done a bit heavily as it needs to stay on for a long time. But as people want to have a natural look, we do the make up in a subtle manner using skin colour cosmetics" says Mrs N Kamini, beautician, Lakme Beauty Saloon.

Even the hair style one chooses for the wedding reception has gone through a big change. Long plaits with a ’kunjalam’ at the end and covered with lots of flowers is no more a fashion. People prefer to have a light hair style as the old traditional way adds more weight on the bride. "Though many prefer to leave their hair open fully or opt for decoration only on the front, Puducherry people are yet to get accustomed to this style" says Mrs Aarti. "A decorated bun is still preferred by many for reception" she says. Mrs Nisha says that parents’ pressure in deciding the hairstyle makes the bride opt for a traditional look though personally the brides prefer a free style.

Last but not the least, the attire for the occasion is a major attraction. Many people now prefer to wear designer saris for reception. "A decade back marwadi style of tying the sari was in fashion, later it was replaced by leaving the fleet open. But now the traditional way of tying the sari is back in fashion" says Mrs Kamini.

Nanthini Dominique