Of Weddings and My Ramblings: Part I

Only 8 days are left before my cousin becomes a husband of a blushing bride officially. And only 5 days to go for my 3^rd wedding anniversary. Yay!

Yeah I cannot stop rejoicing and you guessed right. It’s marriage season and hence today I’ll talk about how I prepared myself for my special day, about 3.5 years ago.

Gaachkouto, name of the red item in the Bride's hands here.
Symbolically, it is supposed to be held in the hands of Goddess Lakshmi.  

To begin with, this post will be divided into two parts. So part 1, will focus on my preparation 6 months before my wedding date was finalised. And part 2 will discuss my beauty regime and tips 2 weeks before the Big Day. Here you go!

Part I

6 months to go: My Ramblings

·         My wedding date was finalised in Aug 2009. This gave me 6 months to rejuvenate myself for the D Day. By the way, I am a Bengali, and I did deck up as typical Bengali bride.

·         As soon as the news was broken to me, I felt goose bumps. Why? Because I was overwhelmed to know that my life would be changing 6 months down the line.

·         I would not be able to plan my life for myself. Instead my plans and life henceforth would revolve around my husband and his family.

A typical Bengali Bride

Plus Points:

·         I knew my husband for quite a long time, before I wed him. And we got along very well and are great friends to this day! So the fear of getting married to an unknown man was thankfully not there.

·         My friends and seniors and my aunts were very helpful in bolstering me. They advised me that though a wedding changes a woman’s life in many ways, yet it’s not an earth-shattering event. So all will be well in due course of time.

·         This frank tête-à-tête gave me a lot of confidence.  

A Bengali Bride and Groom

The Basic Problems:

·         Body Weight: My mum reminded me of this problem that I was always happy to ignore previously. But now I could not, since I knew I would be scrutinised keenly by a lot of people on the D Day.

·         My strategy: My work timings and my long commute did not allow me to go to a gym for a workout. Plus, I was living on my own, which compounded the problem manifold. A very good friend G (who’s very senior) came to my help. She suggested me to alter my diet. I ate less of rice and more of chapattis. Green vegetables and fruits became part of my diet. I opted for plain ghar ka khana and seldom ate at restaurants.

·         Beauty Regimen: I always followed a beauty regime before. So I just made slight alterations to this. My skin is combination type with a fair complexion, and by God’s grace, I am blessed with a smooth and glowing complexion. But my only problem was acne. And of course, as a would be bride, I wanted my skin to glow more.

·         My Strategy: To tackle the acne problem and to add more glow to my skin, I resorted to internal care. That is, I took the help of a skin purifying tonic. Many people, including my roommate, recommended Safi, which is extremely bitter. So I bought Baidyanath Surakta. Being sweet, I drank 1 tbsp of this tonic every night. And I did see results. Often I also drank Triphala soaked in water, when my tonic would finish and I could not buy another bottle due to lack of time etc. J

·         Natural skin care: I began using natural herbs like fresh Aloe Vera gel to moisturise my skin and to reduce acne and acne scars. I applied a solution of honey and lemon juice all over my face for 30 mins at times. At times, I made a paste of mint leaves and left it for 20 mins on my face. The results were great I must say.

·         As advised by a lot of people, I adopted natural skin care and did not get facials done until before my wedding.

·         Hair Care: I have always used Ritha, shikakai and awla to wash my hair. And I continued that. The addition here was head massage! I went in for a head massage every fortnight and boy, how relieving it was!

And lastly, I would just relax and enjoy the last few days (read months) of my spinsterhood, read books, laze away and think Positive! 

That’s it for today ladies... And as I leave, here's a sneak preview of how I looked during the Haldi ceremony.

In the next part, I will discuss what I did 2 weeks before I got married. And you will get to see a few more of my wedding pics in that post itself. So wait and watch! Until then Tada! :)

What did you do as part of your preparation for your Wedding Day? Pls share

Simple Tip 1: How to Apply Shampoo?

Last week my friend Disha, came home seeming very sulky. On nudging her for a good 10 mins, I got to know the reason.

Disha had fell for a latest shampoo of a reputed brand, and bought the bottle,despite its steep price, because the bottle looked great! She did check the shampoo type (whether it’s suitable for her type of hair) alright. But… when she used the shampoo that morning, her hair turned dry and coarse,and felt like a bunch of straw. 
She cried - “Look! My hair feels like dried hay. All my money went down the drain!’’

Familiar story right? All of us had our share of  such bad (shampooed) hair days, when in our excitement to get the glossy mane, seen in ads/fashion magazines, we pour the shampoo on our crowning glory. Often it’s not the shampoo which is at fault, but our carelessness, that results in such bad days!

Result: A bad day and a gloomy, sulky mood an dnot to forget, hair feeling like straw!

So, what can you do to not feel like my friend Disha? Read on to know more about how to use shampoo, the correct way. 

Note that, I have also incorporated a few other handy tips that are not only smart, but less time-consuming as well.

1. Oil before:

How much ever busy you might be, never forget to oil your hair, the previous night or 2 hours before you shampoo. If your hair is dry, oiling previous night would be great!

If you have an oily scalp, oily hair or normal hair, you can oil your hair, 2 hours before you shampoo. 

Yeah I know this is a bad tip for all the girls who hate oiling, but its very healthy for the mane! :P

Tip: Warm the oil in a double boiler. You can double-boil by placing a vessel of oil in a saucepan/large bowl filled with water. Pour enough water so that the oil vessel can float.

  

What I do: I oil the night before as I have dry hair. I have a steamer that I use to heat water. When water seems hot enough, I place the oil vessel on top to heat oil.

Result: After shampoo, your hair feels nourished, moisturized and squeaky clean too! 

2. Before you shower: 

Washing hair with normal water is preferable. If normal water is very cold, you can mix hot and cold water as you like. But never shower in steaming or very hot water. It rips hair off all the natural oils. Use warm water. 

3. Mix it: 

The thumb rule is to always mix two parts of water and one part of shampoo and then use this solution to wash your hair. You can mix one part of water as well, if your scalp is oily.

What I do: I take a pea sized amount of shampoo and mix it with twice or thrice the amount of water in a small bowl. After I have mixed this quite well, I wash my hair. ***(See below)

Do's and Don'ts:

1. Never over-wash your hair. After you've washed your hair once, check your scalp to see if the grease is gone. If not, then wash again. But do follow the diluting tip to wash your hair each time.

2. Shampoo solution is meant to be applied on the scalp only. Gently massage the scalp while you shampoo, and after you have cleaned your scalp, work the lather downwards to the ends of the hair and rinse lastly.

3. Don’t pile up your hair. This will lead to knots.

4. Never apply conditioner to the scalp and hair roots. Apply it from a little above the mid-length.

5. Never brush your hair while it is wet. Use a wide-toothed comb instead and comb only once. Don’t try to de-tangle the knots, while it is wet.

6. Deep conditioning treatments and hair masks are essential for your hair. You can do these twice a month.

***Super Tip: You can mix one part of shampoo and 2-3 parts of water in a spray or applicator bottle.  Then, shake the bottle and spray onto the scalp to wash your hair. 

Advantages of diluting shampoo: Diluting the shampoo in this way helps you to:

• Apply the shampoo to the roots and scalp directly and easily
• Reduce the harshness of the shampoo and the resulting dryness
• Lather and spread the dense/creamier shampoos
• Use less amount of the product and save money

So girls, Yeh thee khabarein aaj tak, ab intezaar kijiye kal tak! :P (This was the news for today, now pls wait till tomorrow.)

Please let me know your suggestions about this post and the topic too! :) Love always.  

Top 6 To Do Things for 30 days before Durga Pujo

The calendar says – ‘32 days to go before Ma (Goddess Durga) arrives’.

Noticing this, the first thought that struck me was, ‘it’s high time to take stock of my skin and hair and health, in general.’ You may wonder, ‘Why?’.

The answer is simple: With friends, relatives and family around, it’s important to look perfecto! After all, looking good begins with a great and flawless skin and shiny locks. 

So here are the top 6 things, I plan to follow all through this month, to look great in all the new sarees and clothes I have bought already! (I’m planning to do a post on what I have bought for Pujo so far, and which saree I plan to wear on which day!)

1. CTMing in a different way: I’ll begin with the CTM routine. On regular weekdays, I’ll religiously follow the usual CTM routine, using the Richfeel Cleanser, Rose Water and Brihan’s Cucumber Gel. I go to sleep with Cucumber Gel on my face every night.

For these 30 days: I plan to add the Sweet Almond Oil as well. I’ll apply a small amount of this Oil around the eye area. I’ll replace the Cucumber Gel with Olive Oil and Lavender Oil and go to sleep with this, to achieve a glowing and hydrated skin next day.

2. Moisturiser: As said, I use Cucumber Gel as a moisturizer now.

For these 30 days: I plan to use Aloe Vera gel or honey as a moisturizer on a regular basis, at least twice a day.

3. Nourishing:  I know it’s important to nourish the skin from inside and that is why I do eat salads and fruits occasionally. I know I can see some of you say, That Wont Do, Girl!

For these 30 days: Mere application of packs, CTMs and scrubs don’t create the magic and that’s why I plan to overhaul my diet as well. Salads and hydrating vegetables like cucumber and tomatoes will top my food list. Along with this, I’ll embrace a bowl of curd as my dessert after lunch every day. I’m ditching the sandwiches and fries I snack on at times. But not any more! Instead, it’s sprouts and corn for me from now on.

4. De-tan: One easily gets tanned in Pune and to top this, I got even more tanned during my amazing Goa trip, earlier this year. And ever since, I’m battling with the tan, winning some battles and losing many!

For these 30 days: I plan to do damage control by detanning myself using Lacto Tan clear and a pack of multani mitti with cold water and turmeric, every alternate day. Plus, protection is also a must for me now.

5. Deep Conditioning:  For fabulous hair, you need deep conditioning! I deep condition my hair, once a month.

For these 30 days: My plan is to deep condition my hair every weekend. For this, I use a combination of olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil. I put the oils together to warm. When it gets quite warm, I apply this oil on the scalp and the entire length and wear a shower cap. After an hour, I shampoo off. The after effect makes me smile throughout the day!

6. Pedicure: Treating my fired feet to a relaxing pedicure session is mandatory ahead of the festival.

And for a curtain raiser, I'd love to create this look for myself on Ashtami morning.

These are my priorities ahead of Durga Pujo this year. What are your to do’s? Please share in the comments below. 

Watch what you Eat

Ah Yes....I AM A MOM!!! That makes me an alarm clock, cook, maid, waitress, teacher, nurse, handyman, security officer, photographer, counselor, chauffeur, event planner, personal assistant, ATM, & I scare away the boogie man. I don't get Holidays, Sick pay or Days off!! I work through the DAY & NIGHT!!! I am on call 24/7 for the rest of my life. And that's just my First JOB.....Being A MOM!!!!

One of my friend has posted this as her FB status. At once, I was reminded of my Mum and I began wondering ‘OMG, how could she do all this with a smile all the time for me!” This is such a daunting task! 

I was also reminded of the working mothers in my organization, who juggle work and home with such great ease. Talking to such working mothers, makes me realize that they are the pillars of their homes. (The housewives are no less, though!) 

So today I’ll write for such women who are always juggling between their homes and work/business/household chores.  

Being the pillar of your home means you must support your spouse, kids, in laws and parents all at the same time, and manage your maids and work too. 

And doing so much in 24 hours and non-stop means you get little time to take care of your skin, hair and overall health. Right? However, there’s some solution still. 

Follow the simple and quick tips below, to look like a yummy mummy and wife like Lara Dutta, Juhi Chawla and Sridevi etc.



A Modern Indian Woman



Thumb Rule for Busy Women:

 

i.  It’s a given that you’ll not get more than 24 hours for yourself. So despite your busy schedule, you will need to ensure that you look attractive and healthy.

ii The easiest way to achieve this is manage your skin, hair and health through your diet.

iii  Watch what you eat and eat what’s best for your overall health as proper diet will address common skin and hair problems like acne, dandruff and ageing relate problems as well.

·  Replace oily and junk food with salads made with cucumber, tomato, sprouts and lettuce. You can have salads for breakfast or with lunch.

·  Take two pods of garlic with lunch each day. This takes care of all blood impurities.

·  Eat 2 fruits each day. Add a banana to your breakfast and eat oranges or any other seasonal fruit for snacks in the evening.

·  Banana ensures smooth skin and fabulous hair and is a great energy resource as well.

·  For healthy hair, add fish, chicken, dairy products and curd to your diet.

·  Curd again is a cure for many health problems. So do not forget to eat a bowl full of curd every day after lunch.  

·  Spinach and leafy vegetables are a must for your body. They are beneficial for your skin, hair and digestive system.

·  Take nuts such as almonds. You can soak 4-5 almonds in the night and eat them the next morning, with a cup of milk etc.

·  Pulses provide proteins and is must for everyone.

·  Lastly, think positive. Believe that the glass is always half-full and Whatever happens happens for the Best. J

Adopting a balanced diet can help women to address their beauty and body needs effectively and easily.  Remember, whatever you eat shows on your skin. So lifestyle change in terms of a proper and balanced diet is essential. Just make a few of these alterations to your diet and see the difference! You'll achieve beautiful skin and hair with very less effort. JJ


PS: Images have been sourced from Google.