Here are a few beauty and makeup tips especially for the monsoon which will keep you cheerful and glowing right through the monsoon season.
* You should learn to wear the right type of clothes. The clothes you choose to wear should not soak up water easily and even if they do they should dry up quickly without losing shape.
* Put away your entire crisp, cool cottons & silks because they not only soak up water avidly but become limp when they dry and lose their crease and shape completely.
* Synthetics like nylon and terylene are ideal for this season because they are crease-resisting, dry up fast & regain their original shape when dry.
* Wear vivid, vibrant colors-glowing turquoise, rich green, deep orange-to beat the grey rainy days.
* Buy a bright raincoat and a matching umbrella to go with it.
* Wear rubber or plastic shoes during this season to prevent your feet from getting wet.
* Following exposure to rain, remove wet shoes immediately on reaching home. Wash your feet thoroughly in warm, soapy water, then rinse in clear water and dry up. Massage them vigorously for five minutes and change to dry shoes.
* Never wear wet shoes again without drying them thoroughly, otherwise you will be vulnerable to a host of diseases ranging from common cold to pneumonia.
* Always keep an extra pair of shoes at your place of work or in your bag so that you can change into them if your shoes get wet. A good way of drying wet shoes quickly is to stuff them lightly with crumpled newspaper, then dry them in the kitchen, away from direct heat of the fire.
* It is a good to message glycerin on your feet every night before going to bed. This will help to keep your feet soft, smooth and free from skin ailments.
* You should avoid using foundation and face cream when going out because rain will wash it off leaving stained lines on the face. Confine yourself to using lipstick, rouge, eyebrow pencil and powder.
* Use lipstick of a deep, vibrant shade & apply a dash, a lip-gloss, to put a glow in your lips. Use rouge sparingly. Blend it carefully into the skin; see that it is a glow of color and not an ugly red spot.
* Pencil your brows in a series of fine lines and never in the form of a curved thick line with one swing of the pencil. The final effect should be a natural looking arch. Finish your makeup with light puff of powder.
* The watchword for hair-do is simplicity. Avoid backcombing and lacquer, intricate buns, curl and waves, because the humidity in air will make your hair limp and ugly within next to no time. Either makes a single plait or a plain bun. Wet hair like wet feet gives rise to a number of diseases. Therefore, to dry hair quickly, buy a portable hair dryer. This will not only dry your hair in a few minutes and give you a well-groomed look even on a very wet day but it will also save the 'doctor's bills'.
* Use an egg mask once a week. Take white of an egg and mix with one teaspoon each of honey and lime juice. Apply over your face and leave for one hour. Then wash off with warm water and splash on cold water.
* If your face has natural tendency towards dryness it will be more obvious during this season. Take the yolk of an egg and mix it with a teaspoon of cream of milk and a few drops of rose water. Apply on the face and neck, leave on for 15 minutes and then wash off.
