Photo Credit: flickr.com/asadnomani44
I was introduced to the phenomenon known as “Asian Radar” my freshman year of college. My roommate used the term to describe the way we zone in on and analyze other Desi girls we see at restaurants, bars, even walking down the street. We can be catty at times – we giggle a little when we spot someone colored orange from the wrong bronzer. Yet, at the same time, we secretly wonder the name of the nail polish she’s wearing and what product she uses in her hair to make it so shiny. We are both critical and also completely fascinated by each other. On numerous occasions we even try to reproduce a look we’ve seen on another Desi, often with tragic results. Foundation too light for our skin tone. Eyeliner smudged on our eyelids. You may cringe at the thought, but the sad truth is, we’ve all committed a beauty faux pas at one time or another. How many of us have looked at old pictures of ourselves and wondered, “WHAT WAS I THINKING?!” How many times do we wish someone could have shown us how to wear our eyeliner a certain way or had helped us choose the right shade of lipstick for our school/work event?
So, who do we turn to in order to find the answers to our beauty questions?
After speaking to many Desi ladies over the past few weeks, I have found one thing we all have in common. Frustration. Most of the magazines, ad campaigns and websites are directed toward Caucasian, African American, or East Asian women. So, what about us South Asians? Hello, people! Together, we make up over a fifth of the world’s population! Are we simply destined to aimlessly wander makeup counters hoping to magically find someone that will sell us the right product for our skin tone? Or are we meant to buy a product just because it looks breath-taking on the ravishing Aishwarya Rai? I don’t think so.
I created this forum so we can share our secrets on the products we love best with our Desi sisters. How much easier would it be if we could swap the tips and tricks that we have come to swear by that we know make us look good, with each other? Most of us have learned more of certain colors, hair products, and makeup application techniques from our friends or through disastrous trial and error rather than from magazines. It’s time we had a place to come together and exchange ideas. Maybe we can even save one of our own from the dreadful fashion errors we’ve subjected ourselves to in the past.
In order to demonstrate the importance of advice-sharing, and for the overall good of our Desi clan, let me share one of my not-so-great beauty moments. One year, I decided to go to the Prescriptives counter and have what they call a “custom blend” foundation made for myself. It seemed to look fine in person, so I proceeded to use it at my birthday celebration the following weekend. Nobody has seen those birthday pictures… until now.
The foundation that seemed to match my skin tone under normal lighting managed to look like I had rubbed chalk on my face under the flash of the camera. I share this with you ladies, as this seems to be a common problem among us Desi girls (if you don’t believe me, check out your friends’ pictures on Facebook).
I only wish someone had been around back then to tell me how important it is to take pictures of yourself before buying and committing to a new foundation.
Needless to say, I definitely did not make that mistake on my next birthday.
So, pass this blog on to every Desi girl you know, pull out your makeup kit and let the fun begin. We hope to have the message board (forum) up and running soon, where users will be able to interact with each other directly and ask each other anything beauty related. Let’s share the wealth ladies!
i know EXACTLY what u mean…this is SO great.. keep it coming
xxx
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Yay! Congrats Mars!! Love the layout AND THE NAME!
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This is so exciting!! I can’t wait to read all your posts..congrats Mars!!!!!
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This is so awesome Maria! Looking forward to future posts
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Congrats- something like this is long overdue.
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coolio! I’m gna be a regular reader. Tips for desi metro men as well?
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FABULOUS! and so necessary!!! I remember having skin issues and the lady at the Clarins counter telling me straight up that skincare products were generally not tested on South Asian skin so they couldn’t say, for sure, how it would work for me…and that’s when I went herbal for a while…there is so much knowledge to be shared!!! Congrats Maria:)
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LOVE the name darling! Cant wait for this to take off! xoxo
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Thanks everyone! I’m really excited about this, there is an endless list of things I want to discuss.
Raj, that is actually a GREAT idea. All we need is a male contributor… hint hint…
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Well done on the Blog! I just had to mesasge on this as I was one of the few who did witness that Birthday party!
We sat around and were very confused as to what had happened when looking at the pictures later that evening and you shouted at us for not telling you earlier. You never made the same mistake again and always looked great after that.
PS: I have an entire OFOTO album of those birthday pictures!
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i second rajus comment..maybe me and him can be models/guinea pigs..ummm, he may not agree..in any case good job with the site!
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HONNNAAAAYYYYYYYYY LOVES IT!!!
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am always looking for eyeshadows which actually SHOW on our skin. YAY for starting this forum.
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I third Raju and Sheri comments.. down for guinea pigs type situation. Love this blog.. well did!!
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OUH, you a great amount of blackmail pictures, it’s true. But, it’s good because I’ll have a lot of material to share with the public
I’d like to take a minute and thank Kalsoom for coming up with the name of this site – what would I do without you?
Lastly, I’m actually thinking of getting on these tips for men. You boys are going to regret the day you offered to be guinea pigs!
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oh snap..i blame raj..
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Thanks for the shout-out marzie
I really think each week, you should “makeover” a Paki politicians. I mean there are P-LENTY that need some help – Nawaz and the hair plugs? Sherry Rehman’s caked on makeup? Syed Abida Hussain…nuff said. It would be funny!
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i love you marzbarz!!! ps can i borrow your masala lipstick…the lip gloss last time just didnt do it for me…
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LOVES it!
although most of the advice might not apply to me (sigh) can you once in a while throw in some instructions for us albino desis? xx
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OMG…this site is amazing…soo proud of you….whos the hotty????
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[...] For those of us who grew up watching Bollywood movies in the early 90s, the image of Madhuri Dixit smiling and dancing across the screen is still quite clear in our minds. But, for those of us who were into makeup even back then, the awful three inch thick foundation caked on her face is an even more vivid memory. As we entered the age of high-definition television and digital cameras, cosmetics companies began working harder at providing us with weightless makeup that made the foundation from the 1990s look like it belonged in the 1890s. Yes, we are lucky to be living in this age, but an HD lifestyle means we need to be all the more careful about finding the right color foundation, or our makeup blunders will be forever captured and posted for all to see on the latest social networking site (evidence: the foundation faux pas I shared with you in my last post). [...]