Glowing skin is considered harbinger of health & happiness but there’s something quirky about watching that glow on someone else’s face…an eerie feeling that implores you to explore the closely guarded secret of her glowing skin even if it takes befriending your nemesis who has the privilege to her proximity and what follows is a wild goose chase starting with the same brand of beauty products to following the skincare regime and ending with making a beeline to the salon she frequents. If all that fails, you try to ascribe the possible reasons of her glow – hmmm must be love! or psst, is she expecting? or to top it all, blame it on her genes !!
In growing up years, my girl’s hostel was the perfect arsenal to combat the menace of skin troubles. With shoe-string budgets, there never was any spare money to dispense on beauty treatments. Going natural was rather a constraint than a choice. My skin savored a healthier diet than my tummy. A trip to the neighborhood grocery store was less for appeasing the taste buds and more for the elusive glow. The shopping list was as vivid as it was divergent - milk, curd, tomato, papaya, lemon et al. I wasn’t alone in this noble endeavor. A symbiotic relationship existed between the bevy of beauties vying to beat the competition. After all, there’s no greater joy than hearing your name resound when the classic poser pops up,”Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” :)
When an already fair & glowing roomie brought a sandalwood stick, the others followed suit to foil her bid to overtake others in terms of complexion. My room looked like an arena for flexing muscles developed by endless extraction of sandal wood paste. On the brighter side, we earned some extra brownie points from the hostel warden who thought we had suddenly turned religious as she likened the chandan smell to agarbatti :D. A multitude of colored faces filled the rooms of our hostel..thanks to the innumerable varieties of face packs – brown-multani mitti, orange-papaya, green –cucumber, yellow-besan and what not! Nobody mind gulping down utterly bitter Safi tonic when someone mentioned my cousin owes her great skin to Safi. Similar was the fate of karela which until now had always been subjected to step-motherly treatment. Every room had a corner dedicated to these sacrilegious rituals – one roomie massaging away to glory, another scrubbing a tomato and others rubbing their finger nails together as a yoga exercise presumed to bring that wonder glow: D
Picture Credit : Kaya |
I have donned some of these roles off and on – the performer and the spectator. Several years have passed since then but so much yet so less has changed. The same quest continues to this day. With less time to spare and more money to dispense, natural products have made way for expensive cosmetics and salon treatments. This quest took me to Kaya Skin Clinic last week. I was intrigued by their ad of ‘beautiful skin that glows from within’ and went ahead for Kaya Everyday Radiance service. This Kaya experience was good, as it has always been, in terms of service and professionalism but am still waiting for the glow for the last 5 days! I check myself out in the mirror every morning for the glow but alas it eludes me even today…I am reminded of my trusted neutrogena facial cleanser lying in my vanity bag. As I reach out for my bag, I notice some brochures lying by my bedside table. One of them reads “Rejuvenate your Skin this summer as Kaya Skin Clinic introduces Aqua Radiance. ~A new service based on water, oxygen & air technology~”. I stole a cursory glance at myself in the mirror and to my surprise, I saw my skin and eyes both glowing in anticipation :)
P.S. What's your secret? Pink Diaries would love to have it jotted...
11 comments:
NO time, slightly more money at disposal, still no glowing skin... story of my life!
I am glad you took time to indulge in Kaya, etc although I'd rather trust the twice daily encouter with my neutrogena ;-)
Loved you post :)
reminded me of our hostel days :))
good one baby...
i swear ..we all r same.. when it comes to face..beauty ..we leave no stone unturned:)
@ Rads, Amrita : Thanks !!
@ Sadaffi: Totally agree.. Neutrogena is indeed the brand u can trust with ur eyes closed!
@ Preeti : I hope u identified each of the characters in this post..esp the chandan girl ;)
Well written and I bet all girls can relate to it totally :-)
@G.G.G. Thanks for the comment and dropping by too!
I absolutely loved this post especially "rubbing their finger nails together as a yoga exercise presumed to bring that wonder glow" coz thats wat we do :-D
oh and i'm lovin the name of the blog 2
@Sharon, Thanks for the comment and for dropping by too !:)
So very true..we women always go after tht ever-so-elusive glow...and I wnted the glow on my wedding day..and I went to kaya too..and needless to say..I'm still waiting for it after a year into my marriage ..lol..great post :)
Loved your post. took me back to my hostel days... Loved the way you wrote... Every girl can relate it...Glowing skin is still my longing.....Sometimes quick home remedies like honey for 15 mins bring out the best glow try it ...:)
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