Tamil Girls and Fairness

A look at the Tamil screen shows that the heroines are fair skinned. I have yet to see a dark skinned heroine on the south Indian screen. Even Jayalalita when she was a star is milky white in complexion. These milky white complexioned stars contribute to a beauty culture in South India where skin-whitening creams outsell Coca-Cola. Yet the fact is that most Tamil and south Indian girls are dark complexioned. I wonder why a dark complexioned girl cannot strike out in the Tamil film industry. One aspect that is overlooked is that the ancient scriptures, epics, or folk tales in Tamil or for that matter in any Indian language, the good character is always portrayed as being fair in complexion. A beautiful princess is always without fail described as being fair and white as snow. This is a dangerous portrayal as it is suggesting that the fair are fair dealing and the dark complexioned has evil intentions. This view has been expressed by Shyamala Bhatia, an associate professor in history at the Bharati College, University of Delhi. If you add that the white race ruled India and their women were white than it becomes clear why the concept of fairness being superior is embedded deep within the Indian psyche. But even after the white rulers went away, India‘s concepts of beauty has not changed. Thus milky-complexioned Tamil stars to a massive market for skin lightening creams, the notion that white means beautiful is all pervading in South India. The word for fairness in Hindi is “GORI” and in Tamil it is நேர்மை Nērmai. I am afraid it will not go from the South Indian psyche. I will close with a small anecdote. I had been called to give a guest lecture to students on the Law in Madras University. After the lecture I expected to be asked questions about the legal aspects of the lecture. Unfortunately all the girls surrounded me asked me what I did to keep my skin fair. I was non plussed,as I don’t do anything and I am as I am.

Concept of Beauty in India is changing from Face to Body and Brain

India has an ancient civilization, perhaps the oldest in the world. Women have been part of this civilization since then. In addition the women have had their beauty extolled by poets and philosophers. Many  paintings of that period  give us a vivid picture of the beauty of women in Indian thought from those ages. The advent of Muslim rule led to a certain puritanism creeping into Indian thought and  the purdah and covering of a woman's body became the norm.

Earlier Indian sculptures ( before the invasion of Muslims) show women in their natural beauty. They are shown   nude with large hips and buxom breasts and narrow waists. The poems of that  period( prose was unknown  then ) extol the beauty of women. The criteria of beauty was fairness and lovely slim figure. However great stress was laid on the face and eyes, which formed the subject of innumerable verses. Fairness was one of the greatest virtues of beauty of a woman.

 The  Indian concept of beauty was a little different from the western and Greek concept of beauty. In India the stress of beauty was  always the face. The body was mentioned , but only as a adjunct to the face. Beauty was closely associated with a fairness and the face. The concept of fairness was so deeply ingrained that even the dark Dravidian women aspired to be fair.

The Greek concept of beauty centered on the body and legs. The legs of a woman were given great importance in Greek and western concepts of beauty. Thus the ancient greek sculptors  show nude women with small breasts and lovely long legs. In India the legs did not have the same veneration as in Greek sculptor. One reason for this was the fact that in  India the legs were invariably covered with the type of dress worn here. The Muslim rule established a complete purdah system and if at all anything was extolled it was only the face. this was different from the western concept.

With the passage of time India is also changing and western concepts of beauty are creeping in. Now it is not uncommon for a woman's beauty be related to her overall body and legs. Thus beauty contests incorporate the bikini or the swim wear as part of the contest.  What a change from the past as India now catches up with its counterparts in the west

For Women : Blemish Balm Creams or Beauty Balms, How good are they?

Blemish Balm creams popularly called BB have taken the beauty world by storm, particularly in the USA. Actually BB cream is a tinted moisturizer with some extras thrown in. Basically it contains SPF and helps disguise skin blemishes and acts to soothe the skin. Some BB creams are claimed to contain anti-aging properties as well.

BB creams were first developed in Germany in the early fifties of the last century by a dermatologist named Christine Schrammek. She’s got on in years but her website still sells these products. The aim of a BB cream is to soothe the skin and cover the redness. The next step was the introduction of these creams in Korea who marketed it around the world and in Asia.

BB creams offer sun protection, prevent pimples and cover skin imperfections like red marks and some also contain anti aging properties. Some Korean BB creams contain a whitening agent because of the fad of fairness in Asian countries. We must remember that essentially BB cream is an moisturizer and anti- aging cream, sun screen, primer and foundation all packaged together in one product.

BB creams have caught on in the USA. American products are on the anvil and Dr Fredric Brandt from Miami has released his own product into the market. Known as Dr Brandt Flexi tone BB cream the product has caught the imagination of the American women. Just for the record as to who is Dr Brandt, remember that he takes care of pop singer Madonna’s skin.

For Asian women and women in South East Asia BB creams are good as they help brighten the skin and also soothe and moisturise it. With its UV properties and ant aging component it is a great help. For people in the colder regions BB creams also work equally well

Girls and Women: Look up Bloom.com for Beauty Accesseries

Women would like to look alluring and attractive. Luckily there is a site www.bloom.com that opens a door for women to look beautiful. It is a site that show cases the best beauty products and also guides women in their quest to be attractive. Bloom.com is a site that panders to women’s whims and desire to look attractive. It is a global site and its motto is never Buy the Wrong Products Again. This is a catchy phrase and the site lays out an exotic array of products and good advise for a woman. The site tries to be responsive to the needs of women of all ages and thus creates personalized beauty product recommendations based on your age, skin type, hair type, daily regimen, and beauty concerns

The site after studying a data base of over 20,000 customers markets a range of beauty cosmetics, anti-aging creams to zit zappers. The site has a trademark called Best4you products; provide suggestions within your budget for products and advice. The site to encourage a longer relationship has Bloom Dollar programs which are rewards that you can use for your next purchase. To purchase products from the site you will have to become a member. Signing is easy and free. The site showcases over 100 brands and thus women have a wide range to make a personalized selection.

Payment can be made by check or credit card including Amex. At present the site does not accept PayPal. This site can be accessed globally, but the company will only ship items and merchandise in the USA only. Shipping is normally executed within one working day, unless a product is out of stock. Orders above $ 50 are entitled to free shipping. The site warranties and guarantees its products as free from defects and as per the specifications advertized on their site. No returns are accepted back, except for damaged items in transit.

A Site for Woman's Beauty:Bloom.com

Women would like to look alluring and attractive. Luckily there is a site www.bloom.com that opens a door for women to look beautiful. It is a site that show cases the best beauty products and also guides women in their quest to be attractive. Bloom.com is a site that panders to women’s whims and desire to look attractive. It is a global site and its motto is never Buy the Wrong Products Again. This is a catchy phrase and the site lays out an exotic array of products and good advise for a woman. The site tries to be responsive to the needs of women of all ages and thus creates personalized beauty product recommendations based on your age, skin type, hair type, daily regimen, and beauty concerns

The site after studying a data base of over 20,000 customers markets a range of beauty cosmetics, anti-aging creams to zit zappers. The site has a trademark called Best4you products; provide suggestions within your budget for products and advice. The site to encourage a longer relationship has Bloom Dollar programs which are rewards that you can use for your next purchase. To purchase products from the site you will have to become a member. Signing is easy and free. The site showcases over 100 brands and thus women have a wide range to make a personalized selection. Payment can be made by check or credit card including Amex. At present the site does not accept PayPal.

This site can be accessed globally, but the company will only ship items and merchandise in the USA only. Shipping is normally executed within one working day, unless a product is out of stock. Orders above $ 50 are entitled to free shipping. The site warranties and guarantees its products as free from defects and as per the specifications advertised on their site. No returns are accepted back, except for damaged items in transit. The site has its Head quarters at Bloom.com 9394 W. Dodge Rd. Suite 230 Omaha, NE 68114 This is one of the sites with an extremely positive feed back. The quality of their items is high and women as a rule are fairly pleased with the products.