The impetus to write this article came from a recent New Yorker article, “The Rise of the Minimony and the Micro-Wedding.”
Even in India (which is the world’s wedding capital in terms of per capita spend), couples are deciding to get married now in a less grandiose style and with fewer guests. (Fifty people is not even all my first cousins).
In prepping for this blog, I read a (depressing) number of pre-pandemic lists for brides to follow (like sheep). Really? A bride needs to do all 51 things to get married, including breast implant surgery?
In the true spirit of embracing our time, I have written a few suggestions for brides to be. Underpinning each of my tips is this: keep it simple. Now, maybe the only window in the history of India, that an Indian woman can enjoy her wedding. Enjoy the privilege.
RULE ONE: DO NOT CRASH DIET or EXERCISE LIKE A CRAZY PERSON
Don’t lose 10 kg in two months. Do you not want to fit into a single article of clothing six months after your wedding? If you are worried about photographs, well don’t be. So many angles exist to make you appear more contoured than you can imagine. Look at all the beauty influencers on Instagram for inspiration. Alternatively, filter your photos.
RULE TWO: DO NOT MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES TO YOUR DIET
Do not go from having some sugar every day to zero sugar the next day. All that will happen is your body will misbehave and give you a shedload of acne. The worst thing you can do is spend months before your wedding dealing with acne /acne scars.
I always advocate cutting back on sugar, alcohol, smoking because these are skincare evils. BUT you have to do this gradually. And an occasional glass of red wine is hugely desirable.
Supplements and foods to incorporate
I am a big fan of supplements. I will only suggest 2: Vitamin C 1,000mg, Vitamin B12 (500mg-1,000mg) and Vitamin E (15mg). If you have never had Vitamin E have one capsule every three days for the first fortnight building up to a tablet a day in three months.
Have a bowl of lentils every day, because the last thing you want is to lose hair because of stress – and it is a given you will be under enormous pressure until you are married.
You can, and you should have the following fresh juice for glowing skin (and this works like a charm): 1 tomato, one orange, one carrot, 1/2 a beetroot, one amla and a handful of pomegranate seeds.
RULE THREE: PREPARATION IS KEY TO A FLAWLESS MAKE-UP LOOK
Think of your skin as a canvas: you want it to hold the several kilos worth of make-up that you will be applying over two days. Therefore, you want your skin in a condition that it can receive and hold this make-up: it must be hydrated and not dry and scaly. Nothing is less attractive than dry and chapped lips.
Cleansers: FE’s Saffron & Neem cleanser (₹1,450), Kama’s rose & jasmine face cleanser (₹850), Toner: Kama’s 100% rosewater (₹1,150), Exfoliator: Kama’s Kumkumadi Exfoliator (₹1,450), FE’s Brightening Tejasvi Emulsion (₹3,295), Moisturiser: Clinique 72h Moisture surge (day), FE’s date & litchi advanced night repair (₹4,200), Serum: Kama’s Kumkumadi brightening serum (₹2,550), Clinique’s 10% Ascorbic Acid (US$ 21), Medik 8 (super C30), and Face masks: FE Sundari sheet mask (₹995 for 3x), Lanolips face mask (£20 for 60ml), Sarah Chapman 3D Moisture Infusion sheet mask (£46 for 4x), Farmacy Honey Potion (£36 for 50ml)
- Regularly exfoliate: if you have never exfoliated start with once every 10-days, with a target of weekly exfoliation. Do no over-exfoliate, which means using less than the recommended amount of product and not more than once a week.
- Use a toner as part of your routine and a mist spray. Both impart hydration (even if both are temporary) to the top layer of your skin.
- Use a hydrating lip balm like your life depends on it. Restrict the use of matte lipsticks/stains etc. to once a week.
- Restrict mascara use and regularly oil your eyelashes and eyebrows with almond oil (at least thrice a week as part of your night routine).
- Use a brightening serum to help even out complexion: Vitamin C or Kumkumadi by Kama Ayurveda work.
- Use a non-drying sunscreen. My suggestion is Bioderma. PLEASE avoid La Roche or Avene as both can be drying
- Use a weekly or bi-weekly face mask that imparts plumping action or hydration.
RULE FOUR: Don’t forget all your body parts
Hands and feet: regularly exfoliate (every 2-3 days) and moisturise. If you do not carry a moisturiser (it is hard with COVID), then I would encourage you to do so.
Body: at least once or twice a week give yourself a full body massage using oil, preferably almond oil. This routine will leave your skin glowing.
Body part Deux: dry brush very regularly – at least 2 to 3 times a week – and this will act as your exfoliator. Otherwise, I would suggest the following exfoliators at least once a week.
FE’s Lip cane sugar scrub (₹495), Forest Essentials’ Blood Orange Hand polisher (₹2,875), Kama Ayurveda sweet almond oil, FE cane sugar & tamarind scrub (₹2,875), FE’s sandalwood & turmeric body polisher (₹2,875), body brush.
My own recipe for full body exfoliation are:
Hair: have you seen my hair? You are on your own.
TIP 5: DECIDE WHAT YOUR HAPPY SMELL IS and then stop using it
Olfactory fatigue is viciously common. The best way to avoid this is to use your favourite fragrance irregularly or stop until your big day.
In my next blog, I am going to talk about make-up essentials for brides
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All products shown in this blog
Available at Forest Essentials India online, Nykaa online (for Kama Ayurveda products), non-Indian products available at cultbeauty, Medik8 and Clinique online