Roots to Radiance

by Nikita Upadhyay

  SERUM 1

  ¼ cup glycerine

  ¼ cup rose water

  A few drops of almond oil

  A few drops of lemon juice

  This is a great night serum especially for winters.

  Mix these ingredients in a glass bottle and keep the bottle exposed to indirect sunlight for a week.

  Start applying the mixture to your face every night before going to bed.

  You may increase the quantity of the ingredients when making this serum, to be applied every day for a month or so.

  SERUM 2

  1 teaspoon moringa oil

  A dash of sandalwood oil

  Aloe vera extract

  These are all cooling agents. Moringa oil mattifies the face and is ideal for those with oily skin.

  Mix these ingredients and apply to the face before sleeping to soothe the skin overnight and wake up more gorgeous.

  SERUM 3

  1 teaspoon castor oil

  1 teaspoon almond oil

  1 teaspoon coconut oil

  ½ cup rose water

  This is for those of you who have dull and dry skin.

  Mix castor, almond, coconut oils with rose water and shake well.

  Apply to face after your last face wash of the day.

  SERUM 4

  Aloe extract

  Vitamin E capsule

  Cut open a Vitamin E capsule and mix it with aloe extract and apply to your face before sleeping.

  This will feel thick on your skin, so make sure you’ve mixed the capsule content well with the aloe vera extract. You can blend this with aloe vera gel as well.

  13. Face Mists

  Face mists are just a great way to freshen up your face in the middle of a workday or on the go. In this section, I will help you customize your own face mist with the scent and essential oils of your liking. The whole thing about scents and memories is so personal. They’re able to evoke your senses like nothing else.

  For me, lavender is one essential oil that I like to experiment with. I like to mix it with face masks, oils, serums, foam washes—everything. Lavender has soothing properties and can be used in multiple ways. So of course a mist that has lavender can help treat anxiety and also freshen my face (and mood) on a hard day.

  The recipes of this chapter will train you to do exactly that. You can pick a pair of compatible oils and come up with a way to keep your skin hydrated in a fun manner with these mists. And what’s better? You can totally use them as body mists!

  a. Green Tea Toner Mist

  ¼ cup cucumber juice

  ¼ cup aloe vera extract

  10 petals of desi gulab

  ½ cup green tea water

  Mix the green tea water with the aloe and cucumber extracts and add the desi gulab petals. Shake and mix well.

  Pour it in a spritz bottle and use as a detoxifying toner.

  b. Calendula Lavender Soothing Mist

  10–15 calendula flowers

  1 small cup water

  5 teaspoons lavender oil

  Steep the calendula flowers in hot water and then filter them out. Let the water cool down.

  Then add lavender oil and stir well.

  Pour it in a spritz bottle as use as a soothing toner.

  This is amazing for those who develop redness and rashes easily.

  c. Rose Jasmine Night Toner

  1 cup water

  7–8 jasmine flowers

  3 teaspoons rose oil

  Soak the jasmine flowers in a cup of water overnight.

  The next morning, add rose oil and shake well to mix thoroughly.

  Pour it in a spritz bottle as use as a night toner.

  Nothing better than ending the day with a splash of rose and jasmine before going to bed. You can use rose water to soak the jasmine and ditch the rose oil for the same results.

  14. Face and Body Hair Removal

  Although there’s one DIY wax recipe in the Under-Three-Minutes Hacks section of this book, I felt like I should be spoiling my readers with choices. As you read more, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

  Lasers are expensive and waxing is painful, yet we have unwanted hair and we find a way to deal with it on special occasions. But guess what—there are ways to treat unwanted hair and reduce the growth over time.

  I’m sure you can relate to those times when you do have the time but do not want to make a salon appointment. Many people hate human interaction so much that they’d rather contact an automated service or have Google clear their doubts as far as customer service is concerned. If you can relate to that statement, don’t worry—you’re not alone! I’m not too fond of too much interaction myself, but I do like troubleshooting my way out of things on my time and without breaking the bank. So here are a few DIY options for a girl’s biggest struggle—hair removal.

  a. Red Lentil Ubtan for Facial Hair

  ¼ cup milk

  ½ cup red lentil powder (masoor dal)

  ½ teaspoon wheat bran

  1 teaspoon turmeric

  1 teaspoon salt

  Add the red lentil powder, turmeric and salt to milk and mix thoroughly.

  In the direction of hair growth, apply the paste on your chin, side locks, upper lip and forehead with a spatula and let it dry. The thin layer will dry and look like wax.

  While you applied the paste in the direction of hair growth, while removing, make sure you roll out the pack against the hair growth direction.

  This will not pull off your hair like wax does, but over time, applying this pack will slow down the growth and give you soft, radiant skin.

  b. Hair-Removing Dough for Body Hair

  ½ cup milk

  2 cups wholewheat flour

  A few teaspoons almond oil

  Use the flour and milk to make a dough.

  Add almond oil and make a few mini-doughs out of it.

  Use these mini doughs to roll over in the hairy portions of your arms, legs or even face to remove unwanted hair.

  This hair-removing ubtan is great for infants just a few weeks old as well. Our ancestors have practised this for ages.

  How toxic is a relationship where a person keeps apologizing after doing the same thing over and over again. Thinking you’ll be the same as before and expecting you to withstand the whole thing.

  Your skin feels the same way when you make it lack balance. You don’t have to take away before you give it back. Don’t dry it out completely before you pump the hydration back in. Don’t deprive and then refill. Let your skin find solace in a routine that keeps it happy every minute, every second and not just pay attention to it only when it’s crying out for help.

  2

  Eyes

  I get it. You want to excel in your career, meet your soulmate and find the true happiness that you constantly look for. That requires you to answer a 12 a.m. mail from work, and a 2 a.m. text from your potential partner—which leads you to read between the lines for another couple of hours. What if I told you all this can happen organically without you losing your calm and being a night owl?

  Get that #BeautySleep.

  If you have to draw a pie chart of how long you need to do your make-up, I bet 95 per cent of the chart will be filled in the colour that represented your eyes, and it’s mostly that winged eyeliner that people are still trying to master even when it’s been a full decade of hard trying.

  Poetry, love, quotes, stories and tutorials—why do eyes get more mentions than any other part of your body? From philosophy to practicality, eyes have special importance in every context. Soulful eyes, expressive eyes, sexy eyes, mysterious eyes . . . I don’t think any other feature of your face can pull off as many adjectives as your eyes can. There’s too much power in there, friends! Eyes even get to have more types of make-up techniques. Smokey eyes, gradient eyes, shimmery eyes, cat eye . . . you get the point!

  So many styles and so much to master! There’s a lot of suffering your eyes have to go through after all the chemical application, stress, pollut
ed air and all the screen time, not to forget the lack of sleep. All that and we still don’t thank our system enough to be so on point all the time.

  And with concealers and other make-up products helping you conceal what our skin is trying to tell us, we’ve found comfort in living in denial. With this book, my goal is not only to help you fix skin issues holistically, but also make you listen to your body.

  And when you’re done taking notes and applying them to life, you’d embrace the minimal life where you are your best beautiful without concealers being involved.

  From eyelashes to under eyes and more, having healthy, beautiful eyes can fully change the way you look.

  Don’t believe me? Try going to work without applying kohl and mascara. If you got a dime for each time someone asked you if you’re sick, you’d be a millionaire by the end of the day.

  Some may even call that make-up shaming, but the point is that it happens even when people mean well. But will that happen if you ditch your blush? Not much. Then what is it about the eyes that can transform your whole look?

  You may enjoy saying that the bags under your eyes are Prada, and social media will make you think it’s okay to be addicted to your phone, not have enough sleep, spend large chunks of time looking into your phone and do nothing about having panda eyes ‘cause everyone else from our generation is having it . . .’

  False! Your sight is an important sense that you should take full care of. Memes are mostly about being drunk, overweight, jobless and being a compulsive eater—none of which is healthy.

  Every time I would get on a call with my mom to discuss my stress and skin concerns, she would immediately help me with some recipes that had simple ingredients . . . something every girl must have in her kitchen or garden. But one thing my mum (and your mum) would definitely not miss an opportunity to point out is the amount of time we spend in front of screens. TV, phone, office computer, laptop—when are we not sitting in front of a screen?

  And it’s not just the eyes. A research in Zero Belly Diet1 even suggests that the more electronics we bring into the bedroom, the fatter we get! So, here it is . . . now we have every reason to listen to our moms.

  So divide your screen time evenly, have crazy beauty sleeps and power naps, and get the following DIY recipes in order to treat concerns and also relax your eyes.

  DIY Almond Kohl

  If you have a lady in the family who swears by home remedies, chances are that this has already been applied to your eyes as a kid. Our ancestors believed that kajal not only defines the eyes well, but applying it daily also shapes the eyes and makes them look bigger.

  And since this recipe is made out of kitchen ingredients, it’s hypoallergenic and safe to use for most people. If it’s safe for a baby, it’s safe for you . . . And why are we talking just safety? This kohl is far more efficient than all the ‘natural’ kohls out there.

  4–5 almonds

  2 forks

  Fork stand

  Brass plate (steel plate would also do)

  A few drops of ghee

  Pierce the 2 almonds on 2 forks and hold them over the stove to burn them.

  Then make the forks with burning almonds stand tight on the stand. Almond burns easily as it has plenty of almond oil packed in it.

  Find two objects that can hold the brass plate right above the flames of those burning almonds so it’s able to collect the black charcoal (produced out of the smoke of the burning almond) on the inside of the brass plate.

  Once the almonds are fully burnt, the inside of the plate will be all black when you lift it up. Careful! Don’t lift if it seems too hot.

  Take a spoon and scrape the charcoal off the plate and put the powder in a steel bowl.

  Then add few drops of heated ghee on it and mix well.

  Your kohl is ready! You can use it as a regular kajal or an eyeliner. With the right kind of glitter layering this, eye pigments can also help you ace a smokey eye if need be!

  1. Under-Eye Wrinkles

  Lucky for us, we Indians face this problem quite late in the day as compared to people in the West or South. Our skin texture, on an average, is thicker, hence making it sag-proof to some extent till we’re in our late thirties and early forties. After mid-twenties, when the production of collagen slows down in your body, ageing starts, even though it’ll take some time to actually show.

  But to delay that even more and fill your years with more youth, one can always be prepared with the right skincare regime.

  Here are a few recipes to help you get rid of under-eye wrinkles:

  a. Coffee Bean Powder + Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

  2 teaspoons fine coffee bean powder

  Few drops of extra virgin coconut oil

  Love a cup of coffee to start the day? Save some to end the day too. Caffeine beats puffiness, and here’s how you can use coffee to reduce under-eye bags.

  Mix 2 teaspoons fine coffee bean powder with few drops of extra virgin coconut oil to make an oily paste and apply under your eyes.

  After 15 minutes, separate the powder as it may feel coarse on the soft surface, and continue massaging the leftover oil till it’s fully absorbed.

  You can rinse with a mild cleanser or go to sleep without washing (depends on what your skin is comfortable with).

  Practising this method twice a week can help you get rid of pigmentation, under-eye wrinkles and dry skin.

  b. Fenugreek Leaves + Rosemary Oil

  A handful of fenugreek leaves

  Rosemary Oil

  Fenugreek effectively reduces blemishes and fine lines on your face. These leaves, when mashed and mixed with an essential oil known for skin tightening—rosemary oil, make for a delicious-smelling under-eye pack.

  Keep it for 10–15 minutes and rinse to reduce blemishes and loose skin around your eyes.

  c. Aloe Vera + Curd/Unflavoured Yogurt + Chamomile Tea Bags

  Aloe vera

  Curd/unflavoured yogurt

  2 Chamomile tea bags

  One of the reasons why people get under-eye bags is dryness. Aloe vera being rich in vitamins C, E and A (beta-carotene) is a great hydrant for the eyes, and the lactic acid in curd helps in skin lightening.

  Mix the aloe vera and curd and apply a light layer under your eyes.

  When your skin begins to absorb it, place freshly used chamomile tea bags (let them cool first) under the eyes.

  When these ingredients are mixed and applied under the eyes, they not only help to get rid of puffiness, but also even your skin tone over time.

  2. Dark Circles

  There are so many causes for dark circles. Mostly stress and a poor sleep pattern lead to pigmentation in the skin. In the previous segment, I had given you some recipes that will soothe your eyes and help reduce under-eye circles. In this segment, I’ll be focusing on the issue that most of us are trying to get rid of—dark circles.

  Here are some easy recipes to take some load off you and help fix it.

  a. Potato Juice + Mint Leaves

  Potato juice has a natural bleaching agent that fights blemishes and discolouration; and mint has menthol, and is rich in vitamins A and C. Both of them combined make for an amazing combo of a pigmentation-fighting pack that you can apply on your eye area to lighten dark circles.

  Grate and extract the juice of half a potato.

  Crush some mint leaves and mix it with the potato juice.

  Apply under your eyes to treat pigmented skin around the eyes.

  b. Cocoa + Avocado

  Fat is good for restoring youth in your face. Avocado’s fatty acids bring the good fat back to your face and under-eye area, if you have dark circles.

  Mix cocoa powder with warm water and set aside.

  Grind avocado slices to make a paste.

  Add 3 teaspoons of the cocoa water to the avocado paste and apply under your eyes to treat uneven skin and wrinkles. When you’re in a hurry, applying a mashed avocado on your face is not bad.

  c. Curd+ Cucumber Juice + Almond O
il

  Curd evens the skin, and cucumber juice is soothing for the eyes. These two extracts when mixed with almond oil bring in the goodness of vitamins C, E and A and help combat panda eyes.

  Take half a teaspoon curd.

  Grate and extract the juice of half a cucumber and mix it with curd.

  Add a couple of drops of almond oil and mix it.

  Apply on the under-eye area to calm and relax the eyes and even the skin tone.

  d. Buttermilk + Turmeric

  We know raw milk helps discolouration, but buttermilk is even better to even your skin tone by fighting dark circles. And turmeric even acts as an under-eye concealer when mixed with buttermilk—but that’s only for select skin tone groups. Do you know what’s for all skin tone groups? This buttermilk and turmeric pack!

  Get 50 ml buttermilk and mix a pinch of turmeric with it.

  The pack would be thin as buttermilk is and needs to be applied like you’d apply any liquid solution and left on overnight.

  Try this 3–4 times a week to track the improvement.

  3. Puffy Eyes

  Puffed Eyes = Tired Eyes

  Understandably, we have them as we are a generation of people who claim to be living a tired life.

  Not to mention one of the sought-after rappers of our time even has ‘Always Tired’ tattooed below his eyes! Yes, I’m talking about Post Malone. It was so apt that another celeb (Rita Ora) won the 2018 Halloween, and the Internet, simply because she dressed up as him for Halloween, flaunting the same slogan under her eyes.2

  #MidweekBlues, #Mondaze, #HumpDay, #Smonday . . . if you Google these hashtags, you’ll know that these #s have something to do with the urge of getting close to the weekend and finding some time to do nothing at all and being proud of it. Our generation, which relates to coping with more exhaustion, stress, anxiety and competition than ever, has earned it.