CULTURE

GLITZ&GLAMOUR
Promoting grandma’s recipes as 
wondrous beauty aids
Smriti Kak

Meera Kulkarni, who delves into nature’s bounty for her line of beauty products

From the kitchen shelf on to the boudoir. The goodness of herbs and even the veggies that grow in the backyard have promoted them to successful and wondrous beauty aids. If neem is good for your skin, oils like rose do absolute wonders for romance.

Tapping the natural products for their benefits, Meera Kulkarni began the saga of extracting oils and potions from nature’s bounty. She began with making candles four years ago and today, apart from a line of beauty and therapeutic products labelled under Forest Essentials, she is also a promoter of organic farming.

Meera asserts that her products are made from the purest Himalayan spring water obtained in Rishikesh where the tribals from the far North-East are entrusted the job of giving shape to the final product.

Says Meera, an ardent naturalist, “In the land of ‘nirvana’ where the saffron-clad sadhus sit by the lyrical Ganges river, questioning life and delving deep to re-invent purity of self and soul, in this higher consciousness, the artificiality of urbane existence blurs and the art-of–living emerges as the ultimate reality”.

Imbibing their age-old ethos and philosophy into her products, Meera has re-invented old ayurvedic recipes in natural soap making, mixing the purest essential oils, fragrances and essences with water sourced from a natural spring that is fabled to have amazing therapeutic and rejuvenating qualities.

In October last year Meera’s first solo exhibition featuring her range of products had part of proceeds going to the Salaam Baalak Trust. Meera recreates the idiom of living life 100 per cent naturally, putting to use her extensive knowledge of roots and shoots.

Manufactured in a traditional manner, Forest Essentials reconstruct great grandma’s standard recipes. It bases itself in ayurveda. No preservatives, chemicals or artificial essences enter the verdant ashram by the riverside. The Forest Essential range of products includes handmade soaps, aroma oils, scrubs, home fragrances and baby essentials.

Meera’s recipes for beauty include sandalwood powder mixed with rich almond oil and spring water to create a rugged texture for a good scrub. Cocoa butter is mixed with orange cinnamon for exfoliating texture.

A pure cold pressed light sesame oil for massage, says Meera, is easily absorbed for its wonderful emollient qualities. She also advocates a soothing blend of sandalwood, rose and basil essential oils in almond and sunflower oil to be poured into the bath or directly massaged into skin.

A nourishing hair oil with ayurvedic herbs, Bhring Raj is her formula for luxurious hair and healthy hair.

Meera advises a mix of apricot and milk to be used daily instead of soap and water. Sandalwood, turmeric and orange peel together has been an ancient recipe for beautiful skin. This, she says, should be used daily in place of soap and water. It helps reduce surface oil while retaining the natural moisture balance of the skin.

Fruit, flowers, exotic wood and bark provide the raw material for our scented candles and incense sticks that Meera advises for use in homes.

Aromatic candles in glass containers, she adds, are refreshing, clarifying and soothing.

For babies, Forest Essentials introduces a range of baby care products made by hand with only natural ingredients. Soaps are made from almond oil, cocoa butter and glycerine.

Apart from enhancing beauty, these natural products are also good for mental rejuvenation.

For mental clarity try musk and bergamot, for stress relief, sandalwood and Ylang are advised.

Royal tradition comes back with PP’s K Jewel

From a small shop closeted in Sadar Bazaar to a chain of stores in India, which has attracted a fair share of patrons, the journey for P. P. Group, established by brothers Pavan and Kamal Gupta, has been eventful.

The brothers, who claim that the word “impossible” does not exist in the dictionary of the P.P. Group, believe in hard work and innovation. That is the reason why from a jewellery house they have now started offering apparels designed to match their precious trinkets.

With PP venturing into apparels and jewellery together, PP Design Estate has emerged with an exclusive section of apparels named K Jewel, the brain behind which is Kamal Gupta, Chairman of the PP empire.

K Jewel is a blend of jewellery and clothes for those special occasions. The group offers, “Although there are many well-known and renowned boutiques for the exclusive collection but a unique idea of jewellery studded clothes is a new innovation in the history of apparels as no other designer had experimented with this before”.

This range of clothes, a blend of apparels and jewellery accessories, is priced dearly. Customers are offered a wide range of exclusive clothing with studded gems, diamonds and other expensive stones.

Bridal clothing with silver and gold embroidery, claim the brothers, are available at competitive prices. They add, “Every piece has been designed carefully under the skilled craftsmanship, keeping the needs of different customers in mind”.

Embroideries from different parts of the country have been skilfully entwined with intricate handwork. It was also pointed out that the embroidery on these garments is done using real gold and silver thread so as to give a natural shine to the garments.

Precious and semi-precious stones like ruby, emeralds, pearls, crystals, Swarovski, kundan and diamonds are used in the designs. 

A beautiful blend of jewellery and clothes.

Ageless styling for the sophisticated look

Mix ‘n’ match for that trendy look.

USI’s new ranges for the summer include ‘Natural Indigo’ and ‘Lash Range’. The designs have been given ageless styling that gives a smart and sophisticated look to the wearer.

The natural Indigo is the first of its kind, the fabric is denim with the benefit of knit that is light and permeable. It includes stripes, collar necks, bold mix-n-match.

The Flash range is a compilation of new and trendy concepts of design, finishes, washes and colours.

The range is for both men and women with trendy accessories.

It includes basics, graphics, polos, stripes, and mix-n-match in various colours and fabrics.

The range also has elements like over drying, acid wash, enzyme wash, shadow printing and garment printing.

From bright checks to plain pastels, take your pick

Indigo Nation’s latest linen look showcases ‘Flax Collection’ of linen blends and cotton blends. Flax, a natural fibre, is extracted from the hemp plant which, when blended with cotton and viscose, gives extra comfort.

The collection has soft collars and is available in three different options, the regular shirt for office ear, the short shirt and the bat collar shirt for evening wear.

While the regular and short shirts are available in blue, lime green and beige and a range of bright checks, the bat coloured ones are available in pastel shades of six colours.