With an aromatic smell, we know that the festive season is here. It is the season of great enthusiasm, rituals and customs while celebrating Goddess Durga with faith, fun, songs and dance.
It is important to take care of your skin and hair during this time to elevate your looks and enhance your confidence.
Women of all age groups find the festival fascinating and there is no stopping them as they groove to the latest Navratri songs. However, the long, tiring hours and makeup will make your skin dull. The constant sweat and pollution during the long hours outside need to be dealt with carefully. It is time for women to indulge in skincare rituals for flawless, radiant skin and to look totally stunning.
While you might be ready to indulge in the festivities, are your skin and hair ready too?
It is an opportunity to be at your attractive best in a traditional way in the evening when the weather is cooling down. Apart from the religious significance, the nine-day festival is a perfect time to prepare your jewellery, makeup, accessories, and traditional outfits for Navratri.
Since this is also a chance to meet new people, it is the best time to showcase your beauty. Here are some quick fixes for you to start gearing up to look gorgeous and attractive even before the festival begins.
Your skin is called the mirror of your body. During festivals like Navratri, there are bright lights. So, for your night makeup, you will need bright colours or else your face will look pale.
First, cleanse the skin and apply a liquid moisturiser. For oily skin, apply an astringent lotion with cotton wool. Wait for a few minutes. Then, cover blemishes with a concealer before applying the foundation. Or, use a lighter colour foundation on dark blemishes and then apply a normal foundation on the entire face. Cover pimples or spots before applying the foundation or powder. Concealing sticks are available for this. Using a thin brush, paint over the spot with a little concealer, or lighter shade of foundation. Then, apply a little powder.
Dot foundation on the face and blend with a damp sponge or with fingertips. Don’t forget the neck. Apply loose powder, or try compact powder to set the foundation. Use foundation with beige tones, rather than pink. I feel beige suits Indian skin colour better. If you have very fair ivory skin, go for beige with a rosy tint. If the complexion is fair, but pale (yellowish), avoid pink tones and go for beige or biscuit. Darker complexions look better with brownish beige. I feel that most Indian skin tones look better in beige or biscuit shades rather than pink.
You can also choose a gold foundation for this special occasion. Dot the face with it and blend with a moist sponge, to give the skin a golden glow. When you apply make-up, remember not to smear too much or rub it. Whether it is foundation or blusher, it is best to dot it with a light touch, using a fingertip or an applicator. It can also be applied lightly and evenly with a damp sponge.
Try tinted powders, like warm yellow tones of powder. Powder with a golden tint will also suit. It should be lightly applied. If you want a really healthy glow without the shine, go for a bronzing powder. Avoid applying too much. It should be lightly applied, using a big powder brush.
A hint of blusher should be used on the cheeks. A powder blusher is easier to apply. Use it after you have applied the powder. Apply on the cheeks and blend it outwards and slightly upwards. Then, apply a light-coloured highlighter on the cheekbones. Blend well.
Blusher colours for the night need not match lip colour exactly, but they should be in the same colour tone. For example, if you have worn orange lipstick, avoid pink blush. For fair skin, try pinks and reds. If you have yellowish skin, avoid orange. For wheat complexions, colours like rose, coral and copper are flattering, while plum, wine and bronze may suit darker complexions.
For eyes, apply lighter brown shadow on the upper eyelid and dark brown eye shadow into the crease, to add depth. Outline the eyes with a dark eye pencil or eyeliner. For a smudged effect, a dark eye shadow also works well on the upper lid, close to the lashes. Extend it a little beyond the outer corner of the eyes, slightly upwards. Smudging can be done with a sponge-tipped applicator. Eyeliner or dark eye shadow may be applied on the lower lid and then smudged.
Dramatic and heavy eye make-up, with the black eye-lined or winged-eyed look, has been the trend and is gaining in popularity. It will be ruling fashion trends. Go for dark eyeliner just under the lower lashes and on the upper lid close to the lashes. Extend the lines on the upper and lower eyelids beyond the eyes, like the 60s heavy eye makeup look. Coloured liners can also be used with black eyeliner. Pastel eyeliners, in blue, yellow and even orange will be “in” during the coming seasons.
For Navratri make-up, you may want to try gold, silver or bronze shadow to line the eyes over your eyeliner on the upper lid. Highlight under the brows with gold, ivory or a light-coloured eye shadow.
Then apply mascara. Roll-on mascara is easy to apply. While applying mascara on the upper lashes, look downwards. Apply it both above and below the upper lashes, for a thicker look. Apply on lower lashes too. Wait for a while and apply a second coat. Then brush out the lashes, with a small eyelash brush. To make lashes appear thicker, apply powder between two coats of mascara.
Gloss is popular for the lips. Use a lip liner the same colour as your lipstick. Apply lip gloss in the centre, after applying lipstick.
For a normal Indian complexion, go for warm earthy colours, like coral, wine, plum, strawberry, red and shades of red in lipstick. A dark pink or rose red would look good too. Orange and shades of orange are very much “in,” from apricot and amber, to coral and tangerine. You can find orange shades that suit most skin colours. Use orange to coral for darker skin, while orange and peachy shades suit fair skin. If you use orange, go subtle for the rest of your face. Go for light orange or beige lipstick, lilac, mauve and light pink during the day, with a hint of pearl. Clean your makeup thoroughly once you are back from Dandiya DJ. Makeup products left on your skin overnight damage your skin, particularly if you are prone to acne, pimples and rashes. Get the perfect curl on medium heat for 10 seconds to warm your eyelash curler. begin curling your eyelashes from the roots. Keep pressing through the length until you reach the lash hair’s ends. Once you are happy with the way the lashes have curled, you can apply a curl-enhancing mascara
A bindi is an integral part of make-up for festivals. Look for a decorative bindi, to match the colour of your dress. A bindi, studded with small sparkling stones, combined with a bright colour would be most attractive.
