Much more than just skin deep!
Diamonds are a woman's best friend but it is cosmetics, which are her constant companions.

While buying cosmetics, always keep in mind your skin tone, type and age. Also buy the best that you can afford!

Almas Super Shop
Are you looking for the premium brands in cosmetics? Then Almas is the place to go, as it has an array of well-known brands such as L'oréal, Maybelline, Clinique, Revlon and Body Shop.

For foundation and make up you can check out L'Oreal's "Feel Naturale" or Maybelline's "True Illusion". They both come in a lot of forms such as compacts, loose powder and in varieties such as in line minimizing and age defying formulae.

The Hair dyes of L'oréal and Nutrisse which are priced around Tk. 300/- are available in a large spectrum of colours. Livon, which is a hair fluid to give you tangle free and silky hair, is available at around Tk. 220/-.

Check out L'Oreal's "Colour Endure" lipsticks, which cost Tk.465/-. These are long-lasting lipsticks quite useful for working women. If you are looking out lipsticks at a lower range you can try out Personi which is priced at Tk.100/- . You can also try out "Lip Sparks" which is the liquid version of Personi lipstick and priced at Tk. 180 and are available in various interesting shades such as "Mocha" and "Cafe".

To create stirring eyes try L'Oreal's "Pencil Perfect" which comes at Tk. 358/-. Other less expensive, but good quality eye pencils are available at approximately Tk.120/-. For mascara you can try out L'oréal's "Le Grand Curl" at Tk. 515/-.Other varieties of L'Oreal's mascaras are "Accentuate" which gives definition to your lashes and "Voluminous" which gives your eyelashes a fuller look. Or you can grab Maybelline's "Great Lash" which comes in a bright pink and green bottle. One word of warning: You should buy mascara every three to four months and always go for good brands.

Almas also has happening brands of perfumes such as Kenzo, Hugo Boss and Miracle. Prices vary between Tk.1500 and Tk.4000. Almas is probably one of the best places to buy perfumes as they are one of the distributors of perfumes.

Glamour View
Not very far away from Almas is Glamour View in the first floor of Navana Tower in Gulshan-I. Prices of some items of brands such as L'Oreal's and Maybelline are a tad cheaper than at Almas.

If you are looking to buy foundation for skin you can go for L'Oreal foundation at Tk 760 for a 33 ml bottle or Maybelline's make up for Tk.595 for a 34 ml bottle. Among lipsticks you can go for "Colour Riche" or "Colour Endure" at Tk450 and Tk.467 respectively. Maybelline's "Moisture Whip" range of lipsticks is also available at Tk.389.

"Glamour View" also has a good variety of perfumes displayed attractively. The bestsellers according to the salespeople are: "Ghost (Deep Night)" at Tk.2545 per 75 ml bottle, "Jaïpur" at Tk.1540 per 50 ml bottle and "Gucci" at Tk.3900.

Hats off to "Glamour View" for excellent customer service!

Stop n' Shop
Stop n' Shop at Road-27 Dhanmondi is another store with a well-developed line of cosmetics and toiletries. Among cosmetics they have brands like L'oreal, Maybelline, Constance Carrol, Personi and Jackelin.

Personi lipsticks are quite cost-effective at Tk.90 and lip-liners are within the range Tk.50-65.Lip Enhancers at Tk.135 can be used as lipsticks as well as lip-liners. If your budget is tight "Constance Carrol" is also a good option. Check out the lipsticks, which are priced between Tk.100-130 and also eye shadows in four colors at only Tk.190. L'oreal's "Dualité" which has eye shadows, blush and lip-color in one case is available here at around Tk.500. "Dualité" is not widely available and I have not seen it anywhere else.

Stop n' Shop has a good mix of local and foreign toiletries. "Meril" shampoo is available at Tk.145 per 500 ml bottle and "Select" anti-dandruff shampoo at Tk.90 per 200 ml bottle.

Eastern Plaza
Your shopping spree for cosmetics would not be complete without "Eastern Plaza". All shops mentioned below are in the ground floor of Eastern Plaza.

Rims
Check out Rims at the ground floor of Eastern Plaza, which offers great variety at reasonable prices. The brands are diverse and they range from Clinique, Max Factor and L'oréal to Jordana. Other lesser known brands such as Jackelin are also to be found.

Lakme's "Face Magic" foundation is priced at Tk. 160. Compacts of Max Factor, L'oréal and Clinique are also available, and the average price is Tk. 150. Lakme lipsticks are priced at Tk.130. Check out "Day Shimmer 1, 2 & 3". L'oréal's "Hydrasoft" lipsticks cost Tk.350 and Revlon's "Colorstay" Tk.200. "Plum" & "Shell" are two lovely shades in "Colorstay".

Lakme's new eyeliners are available at Tk.120. Kryolan eye shadows are good for eveningwear and cost Tk.250. The salespeople informed that they are widely used by beauty parlours for wedding and evening make up. Espana eye and lip pencils are "good value for money" and come at Tk.60. Try them. Jordana nail polishes are worth Tk.90.

Rims has an assortment of local and imported brands of toiletries. Among the local brands Botanics Hair Oil (Tk. 98 for 250 ml) looks interesting. Lux, Ponds and Synergie face washes are also available at around Tk. 50 for a 50 g tube. Ayur's massage cream, which has natural ingredients like Aloe Vera, can be a treat for your skin at Tk. 100 for a 500 ml container. For those obsessed with fair complexions, Rims has Lakme Fair Perfect at
Tk.80 per 50 g.

Selection
Mini lipsticks called Tiannuo are an attraction in this shop. They are very handy for office and they are amazingly cheap at Tk.10. The "Water Shine Diamonds" range of Maybelline lipstick are available here (Tk.370). "Chanel" (haven't seen them anywhere else) lipsticks are worth Tk. 240.

Style & Beauty
L'oréal's "Mini Makeover" is found here which has eye-shadow, blush-on and lipstick in one case. It is quite an attraction and available only at Tk. 465. It comes in "pink" and "brown" varieties.

Revlon-Personi Showroom
Check out Charlie perfumes in "Red", "White", "Musk" and "Sunshine" varieties. The average price is Tk. 400 for a 38.4 ml bottle.

Lovely bindis are available at Gulf Corner and Mayabi between Tk.30-Tk 100.

Rifles Square
Jordana has become quite a popular brand in Bangladesh in a short while. So go and check out the Jordana showroom in the first floor of Rifles Square. Lipsticks are mostly matte and are around Tk.100/- and good quality eyeliners are worth Tk.150/-. If you are buying Jordana, it is better to buy from the showrooms as you will get excellent customer service from trained salespeople. While in Rifles Square, you can pay a visit to Prince Departmental Store at the ground floor, which has Taiwanese make up sets in the range of Tk.590-950, depending on size.

UAE Moitry Complex
Some shops of UAE Moitry have fine collections of branded cosmetics & toiletries such as SB Shopping Centre, Rajanigandha and Moumita Rakamary. SB collection has a varied collection of shampoos such as Boots, Elvive and shower gels. However, most shops in UAE Moitry have inadequate customer service when it comes to cosmetics.
Remember that in make-up the "dramatic" is "in" at the moment and so you can go for vivid colors for your eyes and lips. Go ahead and get a make-over this season!

By Malina Islam Halim

Be Dazzled
Eid brings about a yearning to add a touch of newness to everything from cars and homes to personal accessories.
It is especially important in case of personal grooming. Ladies like to keep a keen eye on the accessories that go hand in hand with their outfits. As a result the Eid festival rekindles the hitherto dormant wishes to stock up on jewellery. This revival is usually followed by a wince from the male counterpart, as he finds a dent appearing on his wallet. In this time gold, silver or even imitation materials take precedence in the list of wants. The following guideline contains some tips on how to acquire your desired glitter work.

Gold jewellery
Let's begin with gold ornaments. You can get a gold set of light to medium weight with 15-30 thousand taka. The price also depends on the intricacy of your designs. Alankar Niketan informed us how sales slope upward about twenty days before Eid. Most people pick their choices from the ready-made sets. The jewellers create new designs in anticipation for the coming festivities. This year they are experimenting with tri-colour designs ranging from 25-50 thousand taka. Women also love to go for single accessories like rings, bangles necklaces etc. These fall within the range of 1000-2000 taka. Jarwa House expects to face similar increases in sales during this period. Their specialities include a mixture of old and new designs which weigh a little more than the usual designs, and are priced around 30-50 thousand taka.

Some of the largest jewellery outlets are situated in Chandni Chawk, New Market, Baitul Mukarram and Mouchakh Market. You will find designs of your own choice based on current market prices. Ten grams of gold cost about nine thousand taka.

Gold Plated Jewellery
The best alternative to gold ornaments are those that are gold plated. It has the same look and feel but weighs a little different and leaves your bank account generally healthy. Gold plating over silver jewellery is available at attractive and affordable prices.

Just about any shopping centre will offer a diverse range of products, often with special stone settings. The range starts from a relatively low 500 to 5000 taka. All these are indispensable to those who want a matching ensemble.

Silver
Silver still has a strong demand in the market. Gausia, Chandni Chawk and Baitul Mukarram offer a huge array of both light and heavy silver jewellery. Sets will cost around 1500 taka. The solitary items on the other hand can be yours for 200-500 taka. Other places to look for are Aarong and Nipun, which have exclusive designs.

Abrar's Jewellery
Abrar Rahman fuses new and old to create a unique style of chic accessories, which are nicely set off with expensive stonework. His is a custom-made accessories outlet so expect to pay top price. You can view his work at the WVA auditorium on 13-18 November with price tags of 2500-30000 taka.

Multi material jewellery
You can find a plethora of fashion accessories without having to spend a fortune on exotic metals and stones. The material ranges from the unusual to the slightly weird. Clay and wood takes place of honour along with seeds from particular types of fruits. . The cost is a reasonable 70-350 taka. You can find similar items at Aarong, Kay Craft and Banglar Mela. The young women mostly prefer these as they can match and contrast to their hearts content. It allows them to be different every single time. You can also opt for the imitation jewellery that is found at just about any market and is extremely affordable, starting form 10 taka to 350 taka. Jewellery is the favourite accessory for women and nothing else has a stronger impact on their outlook. A simple outfit highlighted by an extraordinary set of jewellery can make a woman eye catching beyond description.

By Sultana Yasmin
Translated by
Ehsanur Raza Ronny