Navratri is a vibrant and joyous festival celebrated in India to honour the Hindu deity, Durga. One of the most exciting aspects of this festival is the traditional attire and looks that people adorn during the nine-day-long celebration. Navratri looks are known for their bright colours, intricate designs, and traditional silhouettes, which reflect the rich cultural heritage of India. Overall, Navratri looks are a perfect blend of tradition and modernity, making it a visual treat for everyone participating in this auspicious festival. So, to look gorgeous during the festival, Shahnaz Husain has shared some unique hair styling, grooming and makeup tips.
Hair Grooming Tips
To add shine to your hair, give it a tea water and lemon rinse after shampoo. Boil used tea leaves again in enough water. After boiling, you should have about 4 cups of tea water. Cool and strain it. Then add the juice of a lemon and use it as a last rinse after shampoo. Tea contains tannin which adds shine to the hair and makes it silky.
To soften rough, bushy or frizzy hair, mix some water with creamy hair conditioner and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on the hair. Then comb the hair, so that it spreads through the hair.
Gram flour (besan) can be used as a hair pack to add body to thin and limp hair. Take gram flour, curd, aloe vera gel and an egg. Mix into a paste and apply on the hair. Wash it off after an hour. This is a cleansing pack, which also adds volume.
Hair Styling Tips
Long hair, with cascading waves and curls, is in. The entire look is soft and feminine, with big natural waves, especially in the lower half of the hair. The fringes are in. The side-swept fringe is popular, but if you are wearing a mang-tika, part the fringe in the centre. Oval and long faces look good with a fringe. A layered fringe can make a large or round face look slimmer. Short fringes suit small faces.
Pony tails and braids (plaits) are in fashion. You can have a ponytail for a formal or an informal look. Use decorative hair accessories and clips, or ribbons that match your dress. Ponytail can be tied loosely, or high, according to preference.
You can have the hair braided in many ways, using hair accessories too. Long hair can be braided and then put up. Or, have the braid on one side, with wisps and curls framing the face. One can also have several braids and then put them up in a ponytail with ribbons. Coloured ribbons can also be used all along the braid.
Makeup Tips
First, cleanse the skin and apply a liquid moisturizer. For oily skin, apply an astringent lotion. Wait for a few minutes. Then, cover blemishes with a concealer, before applying foundation. While choosing foundation, 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. Lightly dust powder to set the foundation.
Highlight the cheeks with a blusher. Apply on the cheekbones, going slightly upwards and outwards. Then, apply a light-coloured highlighter on the cheekbones. Blend well. For fair skin, try pinks and reds. 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 on 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.
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.
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 normal Indian complexions, go for warm earthy colours for lipsticks, like coral, wine, plum, strawberry, red and shades of red in lipstick. A dark pink or rose red would look good too.
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.
