Oval faces can wear blush in many different ways but try to apply blush to the apples of the cheeks & swipe upwards to highlight the cheekbones.
Round faces should wear blush along their cheekbones & up towards the ear to make the face appear slimmer.
Heart-shaped faces should apply blush right under the apples of the cheeks & sweep upwards to balance out the jaw line.
Square faces want their blush to be on the apples of their cheeks to soften the angles of the face.
Do you have a preference for smokey? Earlier I used to love the edgy & stark smoky but now prefer the more “natural” or wearable one, this seems to be what actually looks the best on most women. The classic smoky eye is super sexy. But there are lots of variations & combinations to play with. You can choose your favorite from the below ones:
The Soft Smoky Eye:
A soft smoky eye can be achieved with a mid tone color (light, medium or dark), a bit of liner & mascara. You don’t really focus on defining the crease because the look is supposed to be soft. This picture of Rani Mukherjee is a nice example. She has a good amount of mascara & a bit of smudged liner. A brown shadow is smudged underneath the eye, applied onto the lid & blended up into the crease & outward at the corners. You don’t need more than 3 products to achieve this look.
The Classic Smoky Eye:
The photo above picture of Anushka Sharma demonstrates a classic smoky eye. Deeper espresso browns & blacks are smudged with a good dose of black liner & plenty of mascara. There is a bit more emphasis on creating a dramatic look by bringing out the bone structure in the eyes. While the above look might be considered strong for those of you not used to wearing makeup, this is the kind of eye you will see many celebrities wearing.
The Dramatic Smoky Eye:
For this look, all you need is a black liner, some false lashes & tons of mascara. Keep the brows natural but gloss the lips & contour the cheeks. Blend, blend,blend! The smoky look can also be achieved with different colors like green, blue, cranberry, purple, grey, etc…. You don’t have to limit yourself to black or brown.
Lots of people prefer using sponges & they’re inexpensive and disposable. They give great control of application but I don’t like using them personally because they soak up a lot of product – so there’s less on the face & more wasted in the sponge. But then they are great at blending. When you apply foundation with sponges it’s best to put a little gob of foundation on the back of your hand & then use the corner of the sponge to simply dab foundation onto your face, blending as you go.
With brushes, you can take little foundation on you hands & use the bristles to blend all over without wasting too much product. Also, you can reach into places that you’d generally forget applying foundation like the hair line, corners of the lips & nose etc. The only difference with brushes & sponges would be that instead of dabbing & blending, you’ll be buffing the foundation onto your skin in small circles to make it as natural as possible 
Mehendi: https://www.facebook.com/suhanasmehendi?fref=ts Shoes: Prada on http://www.neimanmarcus.com/ Outfit: Millionaire http://www.millionairebombay.com/ Necklace & Earrings: Notandas http://www.maheshnotandass.in/ Clutch: Michael Kors on http://www.neimanmarcus.com/
This indo-western lehenga from the Millionare Store, Mumbai is perfect for any wedding function. I’d prefer doing a version without the beads near the stomach making it look very elegant in that beautifully shaped choli. Since the neck is wide, you could wear a diamond & ruby choker with pearl danglings. The eaarings are the perfect size as the choker is pretty big.
You could carry a smart gold clutch in a very different shape from the usual & pair it with gold shoes.
For the eye makeup, try doing a gold brown smokey eyes. It’s going to look great with the red & gold lehenga. If you’d like, you could wear a bright red lippie since the eye makeup is downplayed. If you need to cover the head, stick to tied-up hairstyles. In case if you are carrying the dupatta on your shoulder, try the hairstyle shown below.
Wishing all of you a very Happy Independence Day!
If you love wearing eye makeup, you should consider investing in these! Primer and Base are NOT the same thing… this is a common misconception for even those of us who are quite familiar with cosmetics. Many companies market primers as “eye shadow base”, although they might do similar things.
So what is an eye primer?
Primer is used to help eye shadow last longer, prevent eye shadow creasing and helps eye shadow show up better on the eye. It keeps the eyelids from getting oily & boosts the performance of even the worst quality eye shadows. Most primers are a liquid-type product, similar to a concealer. Often they come with a doe-foot applicator or in a squeeze tube. It is easiest to apply eye primer with your fingers. You shouldn’t use too much primer or you’ll negate its purpose altogether. A few drops of primer will work. Blend primer across the eyelid, until it disappears (most primers are skin coloured). Either way, the colour should be very faint on the eye.
And what is an eye shadow base?
An eye shadow base is normally a cream product used to intensify the pigmentation of eye shadow but they don’t always prevent creasing as the texture is thicker. Eye shadow base often comes in jars or pots or even as cream eye shadow – meaning it could come in any colour. Light pink or skin colours are the best shades for making your eye shadow stand out. Eye shadow base is also best applied with a finger! You only need a small amount or you’ll see creasing. You can wear both primer & base – base would go on after primer. Primer controls eyelid oils better than a base would alone.
Some people think that they can use a concealer as a primer – I don’t think so! Concealers contain oil in it & is much too thick for the thin skin on the eyelids. Doing so will make your eye shadow crease more!
Sometimes people with oily eyelids might feel that by applying eye primer their lids get more oily! That is true! There’s not much you can do about it. Keep tissues or oil blotting sheets with you & pat your lids lightly. Since oil is the culprit for eye makeup woes, getting rid of excess will really help.
Quick Tip: Use your finger to blend the primer down along your lower & upper lash lines. Get it as close to your lashes as possible. Primer will help with longevity of eye liner & all your eye makeup!
The first think that comes in our minds when we think of getting all dressed up is doing up the eyes! Even if you do not feel like wearing eye shadow, you would not like skipping the liner! So here’s the beginning of a 4 part series on everything that there is to know about eye liner. What type of eyeliner you use is purely your choice. Each has it’s pros & cons that you need to know before purchasing. These are the types of liners available in the market:-
A single product like an eyeliner can make such a huge difference. Follow these tips according to your eye shape to enhance your eyes—
WIDE SET EYES
Since the eyes are wide apart, you’ll need to pull them in a bit together. To reduce space between your eyes, use a darker shadow on the inner corners & a slightly lighter color for the rest of the eye. Apply the eyeliner on your upper & lower lid from the inner corner of the eyes & go as close to the inner tear duct as possible. Avoid sweeping shadow out to the temples. Instead let your shadow fade out before it reaches the end of the eye.
CLOSE SET EYES
Since the eyes are closer to each other, you’ll need to push them away. Begin with applying eyeliner from the outer corner of the upper & lower eyelids, working your way towards the third of the inner corner. Do not line the inner corner of your eyes as it will make your eyes appear even closer. Keep the emphasis on the outer corners. Dab extra mascara or add individual lashes to the outer corner to pull the focus outward.
SMALL EYES
Applying lighter shades of eyeliner will give the illusion of bigger eyes. If you choose to use black or colored liner, make sure that you start with a thin line from the inner corner which gradually thickens towards the outer corner. Use a white or flesh tone kajal on the water line as it will brighten up the eyes. You could also add some shimmery highlighter on the inner corners of the eyes. Adding more light & shiny colors around the eye makes it look bigger.
ALMOND SHAPED EYES
This shape can handle just about any look. Apply the eyeliner only on your upper lid from the inner towards the outer corner of the eye. You could very easily carry a winged or a cat eye liner. For daytime, you could dust a natural shade of shadow all over & wear eyeliner from inner to outer corner & for the night you could add some liner below the waterline & smudge for a sultry smokey effect.
ASIAN EYES
Asians don’t have much of a crease & the brow bone is less defined. You can try creating definition & the illusion of dimension with a gradient of eye shadows going from dark to light. Shade the darkest color closest to the lash line, the soft neutral hue in the middle & the shiny color at the brow bone. Always curl lashes for a lift. Apply eyeliner on your upper lid from the 2/3rd inner corner of the eye towards the outer corner. For the lower lid, apply the eyeliner from the inside to the outer corner of the eye. You can also smudge for a smokey effect.
We all love smokey eye makeup! The trend has been going on since a few years now & every actress on television or in the movies is spotted in this trend. There are many ways of doing it… But I am going to tell you the simplest & quickest way of doing a beautiful smokey eye!
You will need:
Step 1: Begin with applying a black kajal pencil on your upper lash line all over the lid – the line does not have to be even.
Step 2: Use a pencil brush to smudge the pencil evenly until the crease line. Do not go higher. The black should be darkest at the lash line & fade out as you go higher.
Step 3: Use a blending brush to fade out any lines that are visible to the naked eye.
Step 4: With the help of the same blending brush, pick some eye shadow that is very close to your skin tone to blend at the crease line. This will soften any harsh edges.
Step 5: Apply a shimmery highlighter on the brow bone just below the eye brows to make that area stand out. Blend.
Step 6: Use the same black pencil as kajal on the waterline. Don’t hesitate to press the kajal as smokey eyes look best when loaded with black!
Step 7: Take the pencil brush & smudge out the kajal a little below the waterline to create a soft illusion of colour. Instead of using black, you could even use a matte brown coloured eye shadow to smudge below the waterline.
Step 8: In case if you’d like to add a colour to the smokey, now would be the time. Take the same fluffy brush & apply the colour of your choice on the centre of the eye, i.e. the eye ball. Blend again.
Step 9: With the help of an eyelash curler curl the lashes well.
Step 10: Apply your choice of mascara on the lashes from above as well as below! Make sure that you are wiggling the wand/brush from the root of the lashes to the tip.
Voila! And you’re done! The key to doing a great smokey eye is in BLENDING! Smokey eyes look the best when all the lines & edges are blended. This might all seem tough in the beginning. But as soon as you’ve practised it, you’ll be a pro at doing the smokey eye! Try having fun with different colours & styles. The thing about makeup is that it isn’t one-size-fits-all. It isn’t meant for anyone in particular… you don’t have to be a certain shape, colour, or type of person to use it. Just enjoy & have fun!
Click on the link to watch the full video – ‘How to do smokey eye makeup video’
This post has also been featured on http://www.weddingsonline.in/
To make nail polish last longer on your nails, just take a cotton ball & dip it in vinegar. Then swipe it over your un-polished nail. After it’s dry, polish your nail! That’s it, your nail polish will last longer!
As a general rule, the larger the eyelid area, the thicker yet softer the eyeliner should be. If you have small eyes, you might want to consider forgetting about lining altogether. Instead, use an eye shadow, curl your lashes well & don’t forget to apply several coats of mascara to define your eyes.
Sit down & place your elbow on a table or counter for balance and control if you don’t have a steady hand. Some makeup artists suggest dotting eyeliner along the base of your lashes, others prefer to use one fluid stroke, following the curvature of the eye. With a little bit of practice, you can apply liner fluently.
To begin, keep the line as thin as possible. If you wish for a thicker line, you can always build it up. It’s tough to remove liner without making a mess & much easier to add product.
Apply eyeliner as close to the lash line as possible & fill into the gaps of the lashes. It’s best to apply liner after your eye shadow to create a more defined line. In case if you need a better view, use a magnifying mirror so you can be sure you get the liner between each eyelash. This might take a while but the effect is going to be magnificent!
If you have droopy eyelids, make sure the eyeliner turns up in a slant.This will create an illusion of a ‘lift’ & will make your eyes look uplifted rather than droopy.
If you are in the mood for some drama, line the outer corner more thickly. Start with a thin line on the inner corner of the lash line & make it thicker as you get to the outer 3/4th for a sexy, classic look.
In case if you want a different eyeliner look & not the regular ‘thin-to-thick’ line, apply liner only to the outer two-thirds of the eye. Leaving some space unlined on the inside corner of your eye gives a softer & an ‘opened/awake’ look.
Make sure that the eyeliner on the lower lash line connects with the back corner of the upper lash line. Remember that a heavy liner on the lower lash line ends up looking like your mascara has smudged.
Tightlining is good for those who don’t want to look too “done.” This method gives the illusion of an eyeliner although the line is not directly drawn on the upper lash line.
If this still seems too hard, use a Scotch tape to make the application smooth. Remember to take off some stickiness from the tape on the back of your palm so that you don’t end up tugging with your eyes or lashes.
In case if you are looking for a softer look, use eye shadow with an angled brush to apply liner. This way you can use different eye shadows like green, blue, orange etc to experiment. To intensify the color, spray some water on the brush & dip it in the shadow & then apply. You’ll notice the color ‘pop’ on the eye.
Now that we’ve understood the basics of how an eye liner needs to be applied, this post should help you determine the type of liner you’d like to achieve. There are in general 4 ways of doing it – The Basic Line, Winged Liner, Gentle ‘V’ Liner & ‘All Around The Eye’ Liner (that’s what I’d like to call it)
Basic Line:
The basic line is the simplest, quickest & perfect for any occasion. It is also the base for any other eyeliner look you would choose to do.
Start by applying small dashes along your upper lash line, as close as possible to the lashes. Connect these dashes creating a solid line.
Extend the line just slightly beyond the outer corner with a little flick. This will flatter the eye and draw more attention to your lashes, making them look thicker.
Winged Eyeliner:
Winged eyeliner is very easy to achieve & only requires a bit of practice. Winged looks are perfect for any occasion be it a rock concert or a sangeet function & you can get as dramatic as you want, depending on how long or thick you make them.
Step 1: Follow the steps of the basic liner tutorial.
Step 2: Draw a thin line from the outer corner of your eye, using the curve of the lower lash line as a cue, angled upwards towards the end of your eyebrow. The length of this line will determine the thickness of your wing!
Step 3: Make another line from the upper lash line at the end of the wing & connect it to the center of your lash line or whichever angle looks best with your eye shape.
Step 4: Fill in the colour into gaps & fix any edges to clean up the style.
TIP: If you make a mistake at any time, simply grab a Q-Tip/cotton bud & dip it in a bit of makeup remover & gently slide this along the edge of the line.
The Gentle V Liner:
This liner technique is very versatile as it can be worn casually during the daytime or you can make it more dramatic for an evening out. All you need to do is outline the corners of your eyes, the most outward parts of your upper & lower eyelashes. This will naturally make a v-shape. Remember not to ‘lift’ the ends as it’ll begin to look like a winged liner instead. For nighttime events, outline a little more of your upper lids & don’t forget to join the ends to the lower lash line with a pencil brush to give it a softer look.
TIP: To make the edge of the liner stand out, dip a clean eye shadow brush in some concealer (preferably a shade closest to your skin tone) & swipe it across the edges to get a smooth & clean tip.
‘All Around The Eye’ liner:
This look is really bold & similar to the Arabic liner style. Like the name implies, this technique involves lining the entirety of your upper & lower lids.
Begin with applying the liner in small thin strokes on the upper lash line & flick the line just a little bit in the outer corner.
Join the edge of the upper lash line to the lower & fill in the corners.It’s best to make a soft but thick line on top and a thinner one on the bottom. You’ll want to smudge here.
Apply the liner in the inner tear duct area, on the upper & lower lash line forming a sharp ‘V’. Finish off by lining the waterline & the lower lash line too by joining top & bottom.
TIP: If your eyes are small, this look can make them look smaller. I’d suggest skipping this look entirely.
Never add water to a mascara tube. Bacteria will form. If you’re trying to get the last little bit of mascara out of your tube, warm up a glass of water so it’s quite hot & set the mascara tube in the water for a few minutes. Any mascara caked on the side of the tube will melt down & become usable 
Mehendi: https://www.facebook.com/suhanasmehendi?fref=ts Shoes: Miu Miu http://www.miumiu.com/en?cc=AP Outfit: Millionaire http://www.millionairebombay.com/ Necklace & Earrings: Anmol Jewellers http://www.anmoljewellers.in/ Clutch: Judith Leiber on http://www.neimanmarcus.com/
Ever thought of wearing a white or cream colored lehenga on your wedding day? I’m sure you haven’t! Our mothers & grandmothers have told us that the wedding outfit must always be in shades of red/maroon/pink as they are colors of a bride… But today, a lot has changed. People have become more open minded & don’t mind experimenting with different colors. So here’s a beautiful Beige colored indo-western lehenga from Millionaire, Mumbai that can be worn for your sangeet function. To add some color to the monotone outfit, you could pair the lehenga with a gorgeous polki diamond & pearl set with shades of maroon & green. Just as any color of jewelery or makeup looks good on a black outfit similarly any shade would look good on an off-white ensemble.
In case if you’d like to carry a clutch, go for something that has shades of brown, black, gold & beige in it to add some contrast. Since the dress is filled with crystal embroidery, the shoes can also be bling with some gold accents to it.
There’s a lot you can do with makeup! A gold or green smokey eye would look lovely paired with light coral lips. Don’t forget to add some drama with fake lashes! The skin could be kept matte as there’s a lot of shine already going on in the outfit. Your hair can be given some beachy waves & pinned to one side. This would look very elegant & will give prominence to your earrings & necklace too.
Dry, flaky or chapped lips have irritated us at some point or the other in our lives! But did you know that there’s an extremely simple way to get rid of it?!?! Get ready to be pleasantly surprised 
All you need are 3 things – sugar (brown or white), vaseline & honey!
Take an empty container & put 1 table spoon of Vaseline, another table spoon of sugar & a teaspoon of honey. Mix all three together & scoop a small amount onto your fingers & massage around your lips until the flaky skin has lifted off your lips. This should only take about thirty seconds. Then with a damp wash cloth or tissue remove the sugar mixture & apply a balm immediately after. I use this all the time during winters to keep my lips smooth.
First of all, a big thank you to Anshulika Chawla of http://road2beauty.wordpress.com/ for nominating me for the Liebster Award. The award is meant for blogs with under 200 followers and presents an interesting way to be seen and discover new blogs.
The Rules:
1. You must link back the person who nominated you.
2. You must answer the 10 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you.
3. You must pick 10 bloggers to be nominated for the award with under 200 followers.
4. You must come up with 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
5. You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees.
Anshulika’s Questions and My Answers:
1. Describe your blog in 3 words.
Fresh, informative & simple.
2. Name the book you have read recently?
‘How To Win Friends & Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie.
3. What makes you happy?
Spending time with friends & family and seeing a bride smile after she’s all dolled up!
4. Who is your favorite celebrity and why?
Vidya Balan, for being herself & not caring about her weight, because I believe in her talent.
5. Why do you blog?
Because I want people to benefit with all the information I have to share. Also it makes me happy
6. Share your most cherished dream.
I am lying on a pool of nail polishes in all sorts of different shades & they all have the name ‘Zuri’ on the bottles! Yay! I have my own nail polish brand!
7. Your favorite eating joint.
Elma’s in Haus Khaz Village, New Delhi.
8. Which is your dream destination and why?
Bora Bora islands simply because it seems like heaven on earth…
9. Three beauty products you can’t live without.
A black kajal pencil, mascara & a pink lipstick!
10. Life to you is…
Simple! But some people insist on making it complicated!
Ten Blogs I Nominate are:
1. http://kittiesandcouture.com/
2. http://nakedbeautyblog.com/
3. http://modeljourney.com/
4. http://kissandmakeupsbeautyblog.com/
5. http://somanylovelythings.com/
6. http://mypolyvorefashions.wordpress.com/
7. http://thefierceness.com/
8. http://kavnieuw.wordpress.com/
9. http://latestlifestyle.wordpress.com/
10. http://mythreesixtyfivelightpainting.wordpress.com/
My Ten Questions for the Nominees:
1. Number of hours you slept last night.
2. When was the last time you exercised?
3. Your most favorite makeup brand.
4. Something that you learnt recently?
5. A sentence or two describing yourself.
6. Share your most cherished dream.
7. If you could travel anywhere in the world and money was no object, where would you go? Why?
8. Which is your favorite English TV sitcom?
9. Who, what, and/or where does your blogging inspiration come from?
10. If you were the main character in a movie, which actress would you want to play your role?
Hope you enjoyed reading this post. So, lets spread the sweet word, for ‘Liebster’ a German word meaning, “beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”
Every time you look in the mirror closely, do you see hair on your cheeks,chin & forehead that you wish would’t be there? I hear you girl! Want to try getting rid of them? Follow these easy steps:-
Remember, in case if you have PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, seeing a decrease in facial hair might take longer. But that doesn’t mean you don’t give this a try or start losing hope, right? Patience is key while performing any home remedies! So go on & try it out!
As Indians, we all know amla very well. At some point or the other we have all enjoyed an amla pickle or chutney, or even used amla oil for hair. If you talk to anyone who swears by Ayurveda – the traditional Indian system of medicine, you will find that they will hold this berry (“gooseberry”, as the common name in english goes) in reverence, because of its magical health benefits. I have heard about it from many people, and have been eager to understand the benefits of amla. More specifically, I was keen to uncover the beauty benefits, and not the medicinal benefits. This article is about my journey into trying to understand amla’s benefits.
My quest to uncover its real benefits, along with the responsibility that I owe to my readers for giving them the best possible advice on any topic. I decided that I will try my best to separate facts from bullshit.
It is claimed in numerous articles and forums that amla is helpful in alleviating a wide range of ailments – from cold and fever, to diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Initially, I didn’t want to go deep into this area (the medicinal part) – as my interest was only in uncovering if amla had any beauty benefits. But I couldn’t stay away from the gravitational pull of all the powerful stories about amla and its medicinal value. It was fascinating to read. Before you read further, I must make a customary disclaimer: I am not a medical practitioner and all readers must attend to their own facts about any potential medical advice they read on this blog.
Before we can logically answer this question, we need to get some facts on what does amla contain? I mean really, what is inside an amla fruit? Amla contains:
Once its clear what is inside an amla – and some potential benefits of its constituents, it was time to check if there have been studies on “amla” itself, as opposed to its constituent chemicals. So here is what I slowly uncovered:
When I dug deeper into the journals, more than half of them led me to paywalls (why?! shouldn’t important medical research be free!). The ones I could read, to my completely untrained/layperson eye, seemed like incomplete or ‘required further study/analysis’, or claimed benefits based on studying the effects on rats. I discarded all such journals – as a layperson, I can do so easily . The only study where there was a human trial, was related to amla benefits being good for the heart [1], [2]. In short, the research on amla being good for the heart seemed pretty solid to my completely unscientific eye. This was very significant, since the “amla benefits” territory comes with plenty of hollow claims. Even the webMD entry seems to support my finding.
A side note about Ayurveda. Ayurveda seems to have its own institute with its own set of publications. However, I was unable to verify citations, and therefore I couldn’t go very deep into ayurvedic journals. Ayurveda clearly claims that this magical berry can improve many ailments such as common cold and fever and the digestive system – what really caught my attention was its use as a powerful hair tonic. All this may be true, but I wasn’t able to verify this through citations, hard facts or experiments mentioned in ayurvedic literature (whatever little I peered into). Most of the evidence about amla benefits seemed to just stated – or heavily anecdotal.
So I drew 3 conclusions about medicinal benefits of amla:
I was unable to establish more facts than these 3 above. Any die hard amla fans must please pardon my ignorance. All I am saying is that in my personal research, undertaken over a period of a few hours, as a segue while trying to understand beauty benefits of amla, is by no means comprehensive. One can of course always choose to believe that Ayurveda, despite being thousands of years old, is more “advanced” (and it probably is! I don’t know), and understood all the benefits well before today’s science could catch up.
The thing that blew my mind while researching this was not directly about amla, but something else. It was about antioxidants. So those journal articles I read revealed that ascorbic acid and some other stuff present in amla are antioxidants. Obviously, I asked: what is an antioxidant? The wikipedia entry on antioxidants says that jury is still out about antioxidants having any health benefits whatsoever. And that this finding is supported by a study which conducted human trials. What??!! It took me a while to absorb this. I recalled all the good stuff I have been hearing about antioxidants. Someone even forwarded a TED talk to me very recently about health benefits of antioxidants. So what was this? Aren’t antioxidants supposed to be good things?
Well, dear reader – the fact is that according to wikipedia the answer is very clear: Although some levels of antioxidant vitamins and minerals in the diet are required for good health, there is considerable doubt as to whether antioxidant supplements are beneficial or harmful; and if they are actually beneficial, which antioxidant(s) are needed and in what amounts. I read the 3 references for this claim, and it does indeed seem to be the currently held scientific view.
It doesn’t mean that all this is bad!! They are good, but good for different reasons than just because they are high on antioxidants.
Before I continue, I must share something with you that I personally found to be fascinating. Did you know that Merck, the pharma company, sells a product called Emblica to cosmetic brands – and calls it a material for “Skin Tone Optimization” – where did they come up with this? I was ROFL. I was amazed reading that a multi-national pharma company sells amla extracts as a proper product to cosmetic brands. Don’t you find it fascinating? Surely, amla has beauty benefits in that case! I felt that I was on the cusp of a great discovery. I was excited. So I continued in my quest.
I searched for scientific literature on amla’s beauty benefits. It revealed this - about 576 search results. None of the top searches, bar one or two were of peer-reviewed journals – but were infact general articles. I didn’t want those! I was in serious fact-checking mood today, and only wanted to see proper scientific journals! I soon gave up on beauty benefits, and searched for skin benefits. This was certainly more promising – it returned 3650 results.
The first result revealed: “A standardized extract of Phyllanthus emblica (trade named Emblica) was found to have a long-lasting and broad-spectrum antioxidant activity. The product has no pro-oxidation activity induced by iron and/or copper because of its iron and copper chelating ability. Emblica helps protect the skin from the damaging effects of free radicals, non-radicals and transition metal-induced oxidative stress. Emblica is suitable for use in anti-aging, sunscreen and general purpose skin care products.” First, this study smelled like its related to Merck. Second, no human trials. Third, I had just spent time trying to unlearn that antioxidants were good. So you can only imagine the feeling of emptiness that was gradually taking over me.
I looked further down the page. Then the next page. No human trials. Papers said it had “potential benefits”. I wasn’t happy. I narrowed my search further. Still no satisfactory papers in peer-reviewed journals, that concluded with a simple sentence that amla had skin benefits. This study looked promising – does amla has benefits for those with acne prone skin? The conclusions are clear to the level that some x,y,z chemicals are acne inhibitors, and that those may be present in amla – but the authors don’t say anything about the delivery mechanism. Are we supposed to eat it? Apply its juice? Dry, crush it and apply as a powder? Its not clear. In the end they list about 30 herbs with these benefits, and amla is one of them.
Dear reader – if you find any peer-reviewed papers on benefits of amla for human skin, please (please!) send it my way. I would be very eager to learn more about this. For now, it was time for me to change tact and look down another road. I redid all my searches with another official name for amla : Emblica officinalis. I still couldn’t find facts. I searched for “Emblica officinalis + beauty” etc and still didn’t find anything that could pass my bar on facts.
There seems to be one paper with evidence that amla oil is beneficial for hair. I wasn’t able to establish that the journal is indeed a peer-reviewed journal. But the good news is that this was a lab study which showed significant enlargement of the hair shaft and prolongation of the anagen growth phase when hair was treated with amla oil. This means, in simple words – thicker hair and longer growth. There is no evidence, other than vast body of cultural knowledge to support the fact that hair becomes shiny and soft.
Mainly, we can conclude that amla is good for hair as a main carrier oil, but it doesn’t make hair any more lustrous.
Beyond this, there wasn’t much more evidence about beauty benefits of amla. I was so eager to find support for skin, beauty, and cosmetic benefits for amla – but the science on it seems to be on thin ice. I started to doubt whether I had indeed done this correctly. So I came back to “the web” – i.e. http://www.google.com and searched again for “amla”. As you can imagine, I found things like:
There are a lot of things that these articles get right, but there are also quite a bit that isn’t supported by any reference to facts.
I believe we can safely say the following (with scientific backing ;-p)
I will revisit this post in the future, as and when new evidence comes to light. However, for today, I shall conclude my quest that began with an optimistic hypothesis about benefits of amla, and while we clearly found some very important benefits – they aren’t as all encompassing and broad as they are purported to be. For now, I am just going to enjoy my amla pickle, just because its a damn yummy pickle!
Enjoy! .. Next up, Aloe Vera. Stay tuned.
Reference:
[0] Amla whose common name in English is Indian gooseberry. In Hindi: it is आँवला (pronounced as “Aonla”). In Tamil and Malayalam its called “Nelli”. In Telugu it is known as Usiri, Usirikaya. In Kannada, the name used is Betta nelli, Amalaka. In Oriya it is called Aonla. In Gujarati, it is called ambala – and finally, its biological name is Emblica officinalis or as wikipedia tells us, it is Phyllanthus emblica. In this article, I needed to befriend this magical berry, so I just call it by its childhood name: “amla”
I have received so many queries on how eyes can be made to look bigger and brighter. I hope that this post will answer all your questions and doubts. Please feel free to ask me anything in the ‘comments’ below.
The main idea of applying mascara is to pull the eye up, not down. So I would curl them up and sweep a coat or two of my favorite mascara vertically. To get the longest-looking lashes, I would start by taking the tip of the mascara wand and apply product directly to the ends of my lashes in an upward direction. For thickness, I would wait a few seconds, and continue to apply mascara to the base of the lashes using quick right-to-left strokes. This way I am coating the lashes from the roots till the tips by wiggling the brush around, and then pulling it up.
Have you noticed that two different eye shadow shades from the same color family creates instant dimension on your lids? I would use a lighter color on the higher points of the eyes like the center of your lid or all over the eye lid or even in the inner corners and blend the darker color just at the outer corner. This is just like contouring and highlighting for your eyes!
To appear more doe-eyed, I would focus the color at the middle of my lashes. A thicker line right in the middle of the eye followed by fading out into thinner lines is a great way to make the eye look bigger.
My most favorite color for liner is blue! Experiment with it! Using blue eyeliners or eye shadows close to white of my eye makes it appear much brighter and has less of a chance of shrinking the eyes than with black eyeliners.
To create a lifting effect for my droopy lids, I double up on mascara coats along my top lashes. I like to use wands with angled bristles so I can catch every hair in and run the brush through in every corner. I also like applying mascara on the lower lashes so that the eyes look more ‘awake’.
To curl my lashes, I begin at the roots and gently pulse the curler open and shut five times. Then, I move the curler half way up the length of my lashes and repeat. This ensures a natural curl, instead of a weird crimp. I have seen some women with flat eyelashes that take a lot of effort and time to curl. I’d suggest investing in a quality eyelash curler or else use some hot air from a hair dryer on the curler before curling the lashes. Just be careful not to heat it up too much or else you might hurt your eye. The extra padding from the curler will make it harder for you to accidentally break any hair follicles.
For eyes to look more open, I wear shades like white, beige and peach as kajal and give a skip to black. As a liner I’d still use colors like black, brown or blue and haze it out with a Q-tip towards the crease to emphasize the hood of the eye.
In case if you wear glasses, using light colors on the lids to draw attention to the shape of your eyes would be a great choice. Using light and shimmery colors on the lid will really give you a brighter look!
For my small droopy hooded eyes, a black smokey eye makes my eyes disappear. Instead when I apply shades like orange, blue, green or pink on the entire lid and add some black only in the outer corners and blend, the eyes suddenly look full of life! Experiment with different shades to see which one helps in making the eyes look larger.
The easiest trick in the book is using an illuminating highlighter to open up the eye area. Using reflective pigments along the inner corner of the eyes and the contour of the brow bones is going to highlight the eyes even further. After applying the eye shadow, I love applying the shimmer pigments onto the center of the lid, i.e. on the eye ball. The light bounces off the eye and looks super sparkly!
After I’ve applied my light shimmery shadow all over the lid, I add a darker shade in the outer corner as a contour shade and take it up until the crease by extending my brush strokes up towards the contour of the brow bone to illuminate the curve just a wee bit more.
Try them – there’s a reason why they’re so popular. Eyelashes are truly one of our best bets to open up the eyes! Fake lashes feel a bit heavy just in the beginning, but once you get used to it, you won’t feel a thing! Practice wearing them when at home and then wear them for a couple of hours outside and see how it feels. That’s what I did in the beginning
Your brows can easily make or break your look! Even if you have a nice, natural arch, a few stray hairs can pull the eyes downward. Keeping a clean shape will also make your eyelids look bigger by giving it much more space. I suggest getting your eyebrows done by a professional first and then doing it at home by yourself. The best way to look wide-eyed without makeup is to keep the brows thick and full. By using a dark brown pencil or an eye shadow with an angled brush, the arch and areas that seem empty can be filled beautifully.
Another trick to give the impression of bigger eyes is to sweep warm-colored eye shadow shades along the lower lashes. Using a colour that is a few shades darker than your skin tone is perfect. It will naturally make your eyes look wider.
Sometimes when I’m in a rush to go somewhere, I quickly pick a dark brown matte shadow and blend it on the outer corner of the eyes and take it up to the crease. This trick creates the look of having larger eyes without using a lot of makeup! You don’t have to buy a separate shade to do this – the same color you would use to contour your face, would also work on the eyes! This clicks well in photographs and takes not more than 2 minutes to do!
Big, bold, and bright lips can direct all the attention from the eyes! This can sometimes be a little tricky, in case if the under eyes are not concealed very well. Wear the bright color with two layers of mascara and you are good to go.
You might also like:
