Beauty and Personal Grooming

Make your shampoo last longer To make shampoo last longer, keep a smaller sized, empty, shampoo bottle in the bathroom, right next to the shampoo you are currently using. When you are ready to wash your hair , put a dime size of shampoo into the empty bottle and then add some water and shake it lightly. Now the resulting solution is much easier to use on your hair and offers more lather and also uses less shampoo. Remember to clean the bottle later on.

Pretty Bollywood film actress, Kollywood (Bengali) actress and former model Riya Sen , who first shot to fame with Phalguni Pathak's music video (Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi), is an absolute enchantress. Here this sensuous, dazzling Bengali  beauty shares her beauty, fitness and diet secrets.

For those who like making their own hair packs, here are some intereting hair packs shared by reader Anu: Oily hair mask: Ingredients: 5 tbsp Fuller’s earth (Multani Mitti) Juice of 2 lemons 5 tbsp strained tea water ½ glass beer Method: Mix well and apply to the scalp and hair. Leave it on for 30 minutes. Shampoo . For chemically treated hair: Ingredients: 4 tbsp honey 2 eggs 2 tbsp papaya pulp 1 mashed or pureed banana Method: Mix all the ingredients and apply on the scalp and hair. Cover with a shower cap. Shampoo after 40 minutes. Anti-Dandruff Hair Pack: Ingredients: 2 tsp neem powder ½ tsp black pepper powder 2 tsp fenugreek (methi) powder Juice of 1 lemon 3 tbsp Fuller’s earth ( Multani Mitti ) 1 egg A pinch of camphor Method: Mix all the ingredients well. Apply from the scalp to the hair ends. Cover with a shower cap, leave it on for 40 minutes, then shampoo.

Winter ushers in beauty ills such as peeling, dry patches, itching , roughness and chapped skin. Here are some ways of tackling it. You could also pamper your skin with some of these DIY nourishing face masks made from ingredients in your larder: For oily skin : Make a fine paste of ½ tsp cucumber / orange pulp, 1 tsp each of honey and almond powder, and 1 tbsp of curd. Apply on face, keep it on for 20-25 minutes and rinse off with water. For dry skin : Make a fine paste of banana pulp and 1 tsp each of honey and milk . It hydrates the skin. For sensitive skin: Take 1 tbsp papaya and mix 1 tsp each of honey and milk. This soothes the skin. For all skin types: Mix 1 tsp amla paste, 10-12 pure saffron strands and 1 tsp almond paste . Apply on face, keep on for half-an-hour, and wash off. For arms and legs : Apply almond oil or any oil rich in vitamin E . It keeps the skin supple and smooth. See also: Homemade hydrating masks for winter (Guest Post by Smitha)