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If beauty is skin deep then the cosmetics that are sold in the market seem to serve beauty. Only in the superficial sense and no more.!
Cheryl Gomesz, who has sprung into the world of herbal beauty recently, has brought natural products which do wonders to make people beautiful.
Cheryl, the vivacious director of Avera Hair and Skin Care Herbal Products has a grit and tenacity to introduce herbal beauty products into a competitive market. The woman who keeps a low profile but her new products that come in compact containers are instantly recognised by the beauty-conscious women.
Cheryl, who believes, in the axiom that one should look good for the product to be good, however, does not compromise on quality. "I want to give the best to my customers so I try out these products on myself before I put them out the market for sale," she said with sincerity.
She is a mobile advertisement. That is what I observed when I met her for the interview. No blemishes, no scars, a clean skin and face.
"Do you use your products" I queried. Of course. I do. In fact, my husband and my daughter too use the products before they are put out on commercial scale. Now a few of my friends and clients used to swear by herbal beauty care," said Cheryl with pride.
Avera as Cheryl’s products are called are all about satisfaction rather than savy marketing. The comprehensive range of hair and skin care launched recently encompasses cleansing creams, moisturisers, specialised face pacts, oil etc.
There products are based solely on natural ingredients made with care. Theproducts would appeal to all age groups and for all skin types. The Henna paste is a natural conditioner for hair improves growth too, said Cheryl.
A beautician by profession Cheryl owns a salon by the name Diana - has an exclusive clientele. She is obsessed with making people look better and prime. She gets a deep job satisfaction by doing so.
The idea of setting up a herbal cosmetic manufacturing unit first came to her when an awareness was created in her for everything natural and pure when the trend was at its premium.
An awareness of the ravages wreaked on the environment and a good life away from the artificial on to the biological and organic needs of the human body took root in the minds of the people. Being personally convinced and aware of the herbal potential of this new wave among people Cheryl decided to explore the rich knowledge of herbal and ancient eastern systems of beauty care to embark on a business of herbal cosmetics in that field.
She began to realise that Sri Lanka is abundant with herbal plants especially aloe vera which is her base. Bees honey, coconut oil are some of the products she uses.
Marjorie Smith her teacher, to whom she is grateful has disciplined her talents in beauty care and made her acquainted with beauty culture.
Moreover she realised the superiority of pure herbal-based cosmetics in comparison to the regular synthetic ones while elaborating on the differences how they act on the human system she said. "There are three main roles played by any cosmetic in beauty care, namely, cleansing protection and energising of the skin. Herbal cosmetics perform these functions in a superior way than their synthetic counterparts from the west and, more importantly do not leave room for side effects. Moreover these synthetic cosmetics don’t agree with our climatic conditions of the topics, says Cheryl. They are too severe and destroy the natural oils. But this is not so with the natural products.
Hence a girl with any skin will have problems with the best of soaps but a natural cleaning agent Venivelgeta soap will cleanse without depriving the skin of its natural elements.
Energising is one of the most important aspects of beauty care and its sustenance says Cheryl. This is best achieved by stimulating blood circulation and thereby cells renovation. Here again artificial cosmetics do not perform this vital jobs satisfactorily pointed out Cheryl.
Right now Cheryl is riding high on the herbal wave and Cheryl’s herbal products have met with stupendous success. Given the woman’s quiet determination it’s just a matter of time before the rest of the country will worship at the altar of herbal product magic.
Cheryl truly epitomises the phrase slow and steady wins the race. Not one to comprehensive on the goodness of herbal in pure form she says: "My faith in my products is due to my personal supervision. I am using 100% herbal extracts and detergents. The climb to the top, may be slow but I am sure one day I will be there riding the crest of new wave in beauty care that has come to stay".
An upmarket beauty product, it will be seen on the shelves soon. (ZC)
Style
Sensuality-the well spring todaySharmini of ‘Silk Wrap’ has created a new wave of fashion this season with velvets, chiffons, stretch fabrics etc.
Sharmini’s love affair with fashion began years ago when she started her own boutique under the label Silk Wrap.
The fabrics she uses for her collection may be cotton silk chiffons etc. She uses it to beautiful effect in her debut collection of elegant sensuous clothes.
Sharmini is a sensible yet romantic and feminine designer who believes in easy to wear fashion ‘I attempt to capture the essence of today’s lifestyle and to transform it into a garment weaving in luxury and change novelty and metamorphosis, she says.
‘As far as women’s fashion is concerned this season represents the most significant revolution’ she says.
Traditional fashions which earlier represented flounces, frills has been replaced by a new style — simple cuts, elegant styles of revealing and concealing at the same time.
Fashion now becomes — perhaps the most important means for women to become aware of their own independence and self determination of their sensuality and the use of their bodies as a means of communication. The one constant is quality and timelessness, the only antidote to the "gang out of fashion", syndrome she notes.
Sharmini’s creations are innovative and refined. The shades are soft, subdued neutral for the morning resulting from an unedited superimposition of varying nuances which can also burst brightly and beautifully into shades like red, yellow mauve and azure blue. .
A airhostess who took to designing started her business on a small scale. But now her business has expanded and Sharmini is one of the top designers of today in the fashion world.
Her clientele includes working girls, top executive models and even film stars.
She retains a profound love of art and culture, Sharmini firmly believes in the axiom that clothes maketh a woman and is determined to make Lankan woman fashion conscious.
The Sri Lanka Association of Hairdressers and Beauticians or SLAHAB as they are more popularly known by their acronym, held its Annual General Meeting recently at which the well known Hair Stylist and Beautician, Ramzi Rahaman was appointed President.
The other members of the Executive Committee appointed for the year 1999 are Vice-President: Thilaque de Silva, Treasurer: Kanchana Godigamuwa - Committee Members: Dilani Wijeratne, Fathima Zuhri, Rozanna Saleem and Connal Beckmeyer.
SLAHAB was formed three years ago with the objective of developing the Hair and Beauty Industry by way of education and training. Ms. Nayana Karunaratne, another well known Hair Stylist and Beautician and Founder President of the Association in her address stated that it was the intention of SLAHAB to give equal opportunities to both, the better known and lesser known Hair Stylists and Beauticians.
Ms. Karunaratne said that she was happy to note that having started with only 76 members, the Association now had 319 members. However, she was disappointed to note the lack of enthusiasm from outstation members and encouraged them to participate in the activities of the Association more often as this would improve their known and talents in their chosen profession.
Having being in the Hair and Beauty Industry for almost 25 years, the new President of SLAHAB, Ramzi Rahaman whilst welcoming all present stressed the need for the close co- operation, assistance and participation of every single member.
He stressed the need for perseverance and stated that it was due to his participation in various Seminars, Workshops, Demonstrations and Competitions that brought him to the position that he is in today.
SLAHAB hopes to conduct Seminars and Workshops at least once every three months which would update its members on the modern techniques of hair styling, hair colouring, perming, make-up, etc, etc. The annual Competion, "Hair Asia Pacific" which brings together all leading hair stylists and beauticians in the Asian Region will be held in November this year, and ‘Bridal Fair’ early next year.
The "Asian Hair and Make-Up Competition" which will be held in Korea in June this year will see many participants from Sri Lanka competing and those interested could contact Ramzi Rahaman at No.65/7A D.S. Senanayake Mawatha, Colombo 8 - T.phone: 698932 - Fax 683722 for further details.
High Fashion
Sarees with different styles and colours stole the limelightby Kirthi Sri Karunaratne
Skal International Day was celebrated by the President and members of The Skal Club of Colombo with a dinner at the Crystal Ballroom of the Taj Samudra Hotel. The Chief Guest was the Minister for Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Mr. Dharmasiri Senanayake, who was just back from a successful tour abroad, and brought with him good tidings to the many hoteliers present. The fellowship which was followed by the dinner, also brought several after dinner speeches from the President Jayantha de Soysa (better known to his friends as Sandy) and the Minister. Formality blended with fashion and brought sparkle to the occasion. The President’s wife Janaki de Soysa, known for her artistry with flowers, had her deep champagne Kanchiveram saree, bordered in green and mangosteen. The border edge the sleeve of her blouse too, and she wore a pendent of cabachon emeralds and rubies. Wife of the immediate past President Sarala Nagendra had her saree of charcoal black strikingly bordered in orange, with a thread woven design in black.The pallu of the saree was in the same combination of colour. A necklace of jet beads interspersed with gold made her ornament. The turquoise beads on the necklace and eardrops Shirlene de Silva wore was a perfect match to the blue of her blouse and the splashes of blue on the saree. This deep blue saree had an emboss design on it on the sheer fabric, and patches of colours, besides the turquoise spread at distant intervals.’
The most elegant saree for the evening was worn by Bhavani Nadaraja. Her black saree had a border and a pallu in thread in amber and rust. The blouse was in the simple black and she wore gold jewellery. Western styles that made a mark were in evidence too. Anoma Ratwatte had her top in a sheer black embossed sparkled with a myriad black sequins to wear with a simple black skirt. The top had wrist length sleeves in leg of mutton style, and a buttoned up shirt collar. Delicate jewellery in gold completed the picture. Sureka Gardiner favoured a trouser suit in a deep grey. The top had lapels in the same fabric and was buttoned in front in single breast style. A royal blue top and pants Manthri Perera wore with a deeper blue toned blouse. Shoulder length earrings, which are her signature brought glamour to the outfit. The smartest Kandyan saree was worn by Kamalika Pannabokke. In a deep ink blue shaded fabric she had fixed a Zardosi worked narrow border on the ‘ihe’ and around the neckline. Her necklace was of diamonds. Lively and energetic Secretary Zahara Mufthi had her salwar kameez patterned in a black and ecru print, and Thylene Nagendra wore a black suit style, sleeveless dress with a beige blouse inside. A pearl necklace was the complementary ornament. Guest of honour was Cyril Lawrence, the Skal Asian Area President.
The 96/98 group of graduates from the Post Graduate Institute of Management celebrated their success after the formal graduation ceremony held at the BMICH. The venue for this group to get together was the Eighty Club, where families and friends had a good time dancing, singing and dining on a humid night. There were a few fashions that drew attention, and among them was Rehana Kirkoven in a saree of shaded sapphire blue, she wore with a high necked cutaway sleeved blouse worked in shades of blue ribbon, in a design of scrolls and roses. The saree of a pleasing green was bordered in black and gold, with motifs of gold above the border’ Sirima Sirimanne wore with a sleeveless black blouse, and simple gold jewellery. Opting for a dress was Lilamani Wickremaratne. The sweetheart neckline was adorned with jet sequins and beads for chic charm. A pendent of a large white hued stone on a gold chain and stud earrings made her ornaments.
SLAPS select Satyn as the official magazine
The Sri Lanka Association of Personal Secretaries (SLAPS) recently announced the appointment of Satyn, Sri Lanka’s exclusive magazine for women, as their official magazine. The appointment comes at a time when the market has seen an influx of magazines coming in, following a period when there were no women’s magazines at all. Produced by a totally Sri Lankan team, Satyn has clearly set a trailblazing path since launched in December last year, according to Ms Pramishka Perera, Satyn ‘s Sales and marketing manager. Satyn is way ahead of competition because of the fact that the magazine knows exactly what the readers want - and combine a dedicated and talented team of writers, designers and marketing professionals to do just that.
According to Ms Pramishka Perera, Satyn would from now on, be closely associated with SLAPS in all their events and activities. "We would be able to give the SLAPS membership many benefits through the magazine. - Satyn is a totally Sri Lankan women’s magazine. We say that because we understand and experience the Sri Lankan woman - none of us at Satyn are expatriates or foreigners who don’t have a clue to what modern Lankan women are like."
Satyn is published monthly and is available at all book shops and supermarkets. The magazine is also available on Air Lanka in-flight." We have also tied up exclusively with fashion boutiques such as House of Fashion where our magazine is available" says Ms Perera and adds that Satyn has many plans and activities mapped out for the future.
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