Shop Special

Transform men at Facewash

Through the ages, men have been considered men when they associated themselves with ruggedness. Unkempt facial hair with food particles stuck in between, clothes ironed after having an elephant sit on it and cracked, fungal heels were signs of a man too busy conquering worlds to bother with appearances. That's the rugged man. Recently rugged man has been having difficulty conquering worlds especially that of the female heart. Enter the metrosexual man who takes care of his appearance and provides a breath of fresh air in more ways than one.

For the men vying for grooming parlor space plenty of shops have opened up in the city catering to their maintenance needs. One such shop is located in the market near the head of Dhanmondi Road 4 called Facewash. It's an exclusive men's grooming salon where men go to transform from rugged man to the New Man.

The shop caters to the regular needs of trimming hair on the scalp, face or anywhere else for that matter. Yes, waxing to remove unwanted body hair is available for your screaming pleasure. Charges range upwards of 50 taka plus for regular barbershop duties. Try the shave as its is one of the old style approaches with hot towels, straight blades for the smoothest cut and moisturizer to leave the face smooth if nothing else.

The services are standard fare including facial cleansing with your choice of products. What with the constant dust and soon-to-come scorching heat, occasional face wash is necessary to keep your skin clean and breathing freely. It turns out looking good is mainly skin deep.

Some go to this shop to come out looking smarter while others may decide to go there to stand out from the crowd. You can get tattoos at this place with the choice of scarring yourself permanently or temporarily. The permanent job is priced in dollars and it is a whopping 100 bucks. Probably 100 dollars sounds cheaper than saying 6000 taka. If that is what you want then make sure you decide carefully as these are extremely difficult to and expensive to remove. Temporary jobs are about 200-300 taka and according to the people working their it lasts for a few months. Now that seems more like a fun proposition if your want to scare your mother or girlfriend. Add to that the services of body piercing and you can come out of the place looking like a poster boy for bands like Limp Bizkit.

The ambience is great being quite spacious with the décor consisting of deep red walls with black furniture creating an intense atmosphere. Its great for guys to go and hang out at while they have their grooming needs attended to. Refreshment shops are available right nearby such as Paan Shupari, Premium Sweets, Rosh and fast food shops.

By Ehsanur Raza Ronny

Special feature

Aromatic essentials

From time immemorial humans have tried to smell nice. We don't know how they did it in the Stone Age, but today men and women buy fragrances worth thousands of taka to smell good. At present perfume is a multi-billion dollar industry and it isn't only used to avoid unpleasant smell, today perfume is associated with status and style.

We have deodorants to fight undesirable stink then why spend a few thousands to get a bottle by CK, Estee Lauder, Ralph Lauren or Hugo Boss? The answer is simple, we want to smell fantastic, we want a mind-blowing fragrance to surround us all day…

The Bangladeshi malls are stuffed with perfumes from various world famous brands. If you visit the shopping plazas, you will notice that most of the stores have at least a dozen bottles of perfumes to offer. But the quality and originality of these bottles always leave us with a question. However, finding an original bottle and brand isn't a big deal today. Some of the popular stores like Priyo, Almas, Prime Collection, 1 Stop Mall and some of the shops located at Rifles Square, Metro Shopping Mall and Navana Tower have an impressive collection of perfumes by all most all the renowned brands of the universe.

Cheap perfumes would rather stink than give out an incredible aroma. I have seen people buying Tommy Hilfiger perfume for tk.400 only to find out later that it was coloured water bottled in an old TH bottle. It's better to wait for a few months, save up some money and buy a quality perfume than to purchase plain water in ancient containers. But that doesn't mean that there aren't perfumes in the market that are reasonably priced yet good. Brands like Ulric De Varens, Aqua Braba, Adidas, Aspen, Seltz, One Man Show etc are some of the affordable brands. A bottle of the French Ulric De Varens will cost you about tk.450, Adidas within tk.320 to tk.380, Aqua Braba about tk.600, Aspen about tk.600 and Seltz around tk.380.

Some of the new arrivals in Dhaka's perfume market include CK Summer (around tk.2200), Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise for men (worth about tk.3200), YSL's Paris Rose for women (tk.3000), Ralph Lauren's Cool for women (tk.3100), Christian Dior's Rose Poison (tk.4500), the limited edition of Davidoff's Echo for men (worth about tk.2600) and Ralph Lauren's Romance Silver for men (worth tk.3200).

After asking a few top perfume-selling stores of Dhaka, we have found out that some of the highest-selling perfumes for men include, 212 (tk.2300), Dunhill's Desire Blue (tk.1550), Eternity, YSL's Chorus (tk.2400), Hugo Boss' Dark Blue (tk.1800), Chanel's Allure etc. At the same time, some of the top-selling perfumes for women include Hugo Boss' Intense (tk.2200), Tommy Girl (tk.2500), Davidoff's Cool Water (tk.1800), Clinique's Happy (tk.3200), Ralph Lauren's Glamour Shimmer (tk.2900), Elizabeth Arden's 5th Avenue etc. But please note that the prices mentioned above are based on the average market price and thus, may vary from store to store.

Price of perfumes depends upon its category. For instance, when a scent says Parfum it means that it has the best quality and the highest price, if it's written Eau de Parfum on the container then it means that it has less oil and staying power. When it's written Eau de Toilette, it means that the fragrance is suitable for office and work environment and lastly remember that when a bottle reads Eau de Cologne it means that the perfume is the cheapest and has the weakest scent

Remember to be careful before buying perfumes, don't forget to test first. The Banani outlet of Priyo has a shelf full of testers…
which makes shopping even easier for you. If your skin is sensitive then try out the perfume before purchasing because some fragrances do cause irritation on skin. Apply perfume on your wrist and to avoid confusion, try out no more than 3 or 4 perfumes together. Also be careful about using perfume if you are suffering from asthma.

We often choose our fragrance according to our personality without even realizing it. What appeals to us often reflects our personal self. Also remember that fragrances smell different on everybody so it's advised that you don't test a scent on a friend.

Even though some of us love to collect perfumes and save them up for a "special" day, remember than the intensity of fragrance diminishes with time. So either use it or lose it.

And while storing perfumes, avoid extreme temperatures. Keep your bottle tightly capped, straight and out of direct sunlight. It's not necessary to store them in the refrigerator; however, a cool, dark place should extend the life of your favourite fragrance. Buy perfume, smell nice and get going!

By Wara Karim

Shopping for perfumes

A well-groomed woman's attire is incomplete without a splash of deliciously fragrant perfume. When buying perfumes, never sample more than three at a time because your sense of smell gets confused after three. Try not to sniff from the bottle, since you will only get the alcohol fumes. Rather, rub a few drops on the inside of your wrist and inhale the aroma. Use your other wrist to try the second scent and the crook of your elbow for the third. Then you can get the true impression of each fragrance. The same perfume may smell slightly different on someone else due to skin chemistry. People with oily skin should note that the scent they apply will react with the oils in their skin, resulting in a more intense, concentrated smell. On the other hand, a fragrance will evaporate faster on those with dry skin, so they need to re-apply it more often. Perfume lasts longer when applied on pulse points such as the wrist, naval and near the collarbones. You can also make your fragrance last longer if you apply it right after a shower when your skin is still slightly damp, and do refrain from spraying perfume directly on your clothes as it may just stain the fabric. It is wise to use up your perfume within a year or two as, once opened, the perfume within the bottle gets affected and begins to deteriorate due to light, heat, air and other such components. Also, store your perfumes in a cool dark place for them to last longer.

 

Essentials

As promised, dear readers, I'm back this week with some more feel-good formulas to help you kiss those "I hate my life" vibes goodbye.

Smell spell
Smells have a far greater effect on our moods than we realise. A good smell lifts the spirits like few other things. Splurge a bit on aromatherapy gels and wash away your bad mood with a single shower. Keep some incense sticks and scented candles handy; when you feel the need to unwind at the end of the day, just light one up, close your eyes, and breathe in the bliss. Keep a small bottle or roll-on tube of your favourite perfume in your handbag, in case you need a quick picker-upper in the middle of a hectic routine. Trust me, it works!

Put on your red shoes…
…and dance. That's right. It doesn't matter if you have two left feet. Just lock yourself in your room, turn on some funky music, and just boogie away to your heart's content. It's a great way to de-stress, and it lets you get in touch with your goofy side. If dancing is out of the question, just plug in your headphones and take a walk. If the streets outside aren't safe enough, and the nearest park seems light years away, just go the roof and make a few rounds. The combination of rhythm and exercise will have you feeling footloose and carefree in no time…and it's good for health!

Laughter is the best medicine…
Keep a joke book handy, or subscribe to a funny newsletter. When you're feeling out of sorts, just take a breather and indulge in some rib-tickling, silly humour, and you'll find all your worries melt away. Adopt the practice of looking for at least six funny sights when you get out on the road. Not only does it help you hone your observation skills; it helps you see the silver lining in the clouds, and teaches you to cope with the demands of life by focusing on the funnier side of things.

Here's hoping your week is filled with joy and laughter.

By Sabrina F Ahmad

 

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On the cover

Aarong has its own style statement when it comes to fashion for both man and woman of all ages. Check out the Aarong stores in town and be trendy always.