Beauti Talk

Sadia Moyeen Beautician, La Belle

Dear Sadia,
There are so many products now on the market that it is quite difficult to choose the right face wash for one's face. Could you recommend one for me other than Ponds, since that does not suit my skin. And just to let you know my skin is neither too dry nor too oily.
Farzana Kashfi

Dear Farzana,
How about Johnsons 5.5 face wash? It's mild and should not irritate your skin. Remember to moisturize after washing.

Dear Sadia
I would be really grateful to you if you could give me a simple home remedy to get rid of the uncontrollable blackheads on my nose. Is there any option other than those Ponds strips? And is there any way I can get rid of them for good, because they keep growing back as soon as I scrub them off.
-Tazrin

Dear Tazrin,
I'm afraid there is no way to get rid of blackheads permanently, but you can keep them under control and reduce them by unclogging the pores, and regularly removing the blackheads and taking measures to close the pores as well. Blackheads, like whiteheads are a mixture of dead skin cells, bacteria and oil - when exposed to the oxygen in the air they turn black. Open the pores on the nose by taking steam or pressing a hot towel to the nose a few times. Press out the blackheads individually using a blackhead remover or even using your ponds strip. Rub the nose area with a scrub gently in circular motions and finally rub an ice cube to close the clean pores. This should be done every week. Your daily skincare routine should include a cream with Alpha hydroxy acids (Fruit acids) which aid in loosening and softening clogged pores. Followed by some toning lotion applied only on the nose. Loreal has a range of skin creams, which contain Alpha hydroxy and are freely available on the market.

Dear Sadia,
There's this problem I'm having with deciding on what length hair I should keep. I have a square shaped face and right now I have shoulder length hair. What length do u think is most suitable for a square shaped face? Should I wear my hair long or short. Please help me out, as I keep experimenting with my hair and end up regretting.
-Confused-

Dear confused,
Usually a square face would require shoulder length hair but with wisps and strands falling on the cheeks and jaw line. This would add length to the face but you would have to be careful not to cut the top short because the hair would fall on your forehead making the face squarer. If you are still confused come and see me at la Belle.

Dear Ms. Sadia,
I seek your advice as how to get rid of the two patches that I have on my cheeks. I am using Lakme sunscreen lotion.
I have also used various brands of creams. But nothing seems to be working and the patches are spreading and getting larger. Since I am of light complexion, it looks very bad on my face. Thanks Camy

Dear Camy,
Use hydroquinine cream 2% and tretinonium 0.25% in equal quantities and apply only on the affected area at night twice a week. Use sun block during the day, every day even if it is cloudy and you spend most of your day indoors.

Dear Sadia,
I am a 17-year-old guy. I want to keep my hair long and straight. My hair is 5½ inch long. But my hair is curly. When I wash it with water it becomes straight. After 4 hours it becomes curly again. I went to total Care salon for straightening my hair. They took 1150 TK for it, but the result was nothing. They said, "When my hair will be 7 inch long then if I do the hair straight link my hair will be straight". I want know from you what I have to do to straighten my hair. I use conditioner and gel for my hair.
Curl hair

Dear Curl Hair,
How come you weren't told that your hair needs to be at least 7" long to be straightened successfully before they straightened your hair? I Think it's only fair to request them to re-do it if your hair is still in good condition after a month or so. Meanwhile condition your hair with a deep conditioning treatment and use an anti-frizz mousse before drying your hair with a dryer. Oil weekly.

Banking Tips

Nasreen Sattar Head of International Sales, Standerd Chartered Bank

Q1. I have read the answer given to the Question NO.4 under the Caption "Banking Tips" dated July 1st reading as follows:

In the above case Rafique being the nominee will get all the proceeds from the Bank Account.

If the above answer is considered as appropriate we may construe it as binding also in all respects. But a similar type of question was put in the year 1961 in the Banking Examination of the Institute of Bankers in Pakistan, the question was:

"Mr. Hashim deposited Rs.1,00,000/- in the joint names of himself and his fourteen year old son Reza 'payable to either or the Survivor.' " Mr. Hashim died in 1961. To whom should the Bank pay the money? "

The answer given to the above question was "the banker should disburse the balance to all the heirs provided they bring an injunction order from the competent Court of Law. The Court is the supreme authority whose instructions must be followed.

Please therefore, let me know the correct steps to be taken in this respect.

A1.The two questions are not comparable. In the case mentioned above - the account had a mandate as 'either or survivor' which means the fund left behind by Mr. Hashim belongs to his minor son who is 14 years old. Since it cannot be paid to the minor son, it should go to the legal guardian of the minor son before any other heirs bring an injunction on it. Reason is a portion of the fund belongs to other legal heirs of Mr. Hashim.

There is a difference between a co-account holder and a nominee as per banking company's act of 1991 section 103, which stipulates that a nominee should be assigned for all accounts. Moreover Banking Regulation & Policy Division of Bangladesh Bank issued a circular letter # 1/2001 dated 14th January 2001, which makes it mandatory for all individual accounts to have a nominee and either party can also be the nominee of an either or survivor account. In case of an either or survivor account all legal heirs of the account holders have a claim on the funds in case of death. But if there is a nominee in any account the funds remaining on demise of the account holder should be given to him/her.

Q.2 As a Bangladeshi I want to send money overseas to the vendor to import books and computer software for personal use. Can I do it through my bank?

A2. For books yes. You can remit up to USD2500 without prior approval of Bangladesh Bank in favour of supplier against its invoice for importation of books and journal.

 

 

Under A Different Sky

In adn Out

Round face, big eyes, narrow shoulders, broad midst, full waist, thunder thighs and chicken legs. The average Bengali girl! We are blessed and cursed by this shape that has been dedicated to us by someone up there. So in the biased world of beauty, the blank chiseled faces with perfectly shaped bodies, pants made to fit people without pot bellies and shirts for people with broad shoulders, we Bengali women sometimes swim in our tops and break stitches on our bottoms.

As a result of this awkward fit we start counting calories and running to the gym. Where we try to burn of last night's potato and rice and realize and criticize for the first time how our diet is full of carbohydrates. We lift weights and do push ups to get those shoulders to point up, and do sit ups to get that pot belly to point down. Read all the tips given in magazines to know what is that American secret to fit into those perfect dress sizes and trends.

For the first time in our lives we realize how convenient the draping of a sari is for covering our excess fat or bones, and how the sari shows just the perfect amount with elegance, accentuating our assets. But we never get enough chances to wear those beautiful jamdanies and kanchivarams; our new wardrobe does not follow the theme of these "wrap arounds" and leans towards the western and professional. The stacked up south silks and Tangail Tat just wait for their lucky day to be shown off at some occasional Bengali lunch party.

I was running the treadmill too and watching the calories until one day, I noticed while walking into Macy's departmental store how the bright, sharply shaped sleeveless lehengas were hanging on the walls as "In style" prom dresses, and to go with these dresses, henna tattoo was being offered at hair salons and spas. Colorful bindiyas are available not only in "Desi Bazaar" but now at "Express" and kundan jewelries are worn by Hollywood movie stars. And how there is a skin tinting cream to look darker and healthier, straight black hair is considered exotic, black eye liner is adding depth to the evenings and fashion advertisements are telling us to glow with gold.

So I stopped and thought for a while. I noticed how the American faces slowly are turning eastern, with their Japanese tops and blackest black mascaras. How Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding" or Shekhar Kapoor's "The Guru" is the movie to go see, and how Borders books stores have added a whole section of Eastern Music. I was confused. I felt like my life and secret likings were all out in the open. What I like doing and never felt proud of has become the trend. The movies that I wouldn't mention in fear of sounding too ethnic have become a favorite topic. The jewelries I locked up and hated for the shine they gave off when worn have become the most precious things to own. I was not sure how to accept all this. Could this really be?

And then it hit me, our superficiality, our sense of belonging, our searching for a safe ground and our fear of being mocked. All at once. How we doubt what we believe just because people around do not believe it, how we try to change everything we are to become something we can never be. How our likings are valid and we should speak up about them, without our shy, submissive voices. And even if we can not speak up or do not want to, we should at least not try to control the uniqueness of our bodies and minds, and instead let them grow to whatever extent they were intended to, forgetting the pencil shaped figures and bleached skins.

And that's when I thought again after a long time how beautiful the color of mehendi looked on my hand, with the decorations by my Grandmother, and the raw smell of my mother's new cotton sari and appreciated the curves of my Bengali body.

By Iffat Nawaz