The BlushPretty Five: Raman Sekhon

Ever wonder where that lady on your bus gets her hair done?  Or how your co-worker always looks like she got 8 hours of sleep?  Or who your favourite frenemy's facialist is?

Welcome to blushpretty.com's newest section: The BlushPretty Five!  It's beauty insight from experts, readers, and other women just like you. Every Monday, a new fresh.beautiful beauty will answer the same five questions!  It's like a sneak peek into someone else's makeup bag!

The BlushPretty Five: Raman Sekhon

Name: Raman Sekhon
Age: 25
Occupation: Owner, Vida Skin Studio
Website: www.vidaskinstudio.com
Share three random things about yourself: If I wasn't a natural beauty expert, I would've most definitely been a computer engineer, optimize websites all day and create some sort of techy gadget that would revolutionalize  the way we communicate; My loft is full of more organic and natural beauty products than food and clothes combined; growing up, I thought I was Jeanne Becker on Fashion File.

And now the questions:

1.  You woke up late and have ten minutes to get ready and out the door.  What is the beauty routine and list the products you would use.
 
As much as I would like to pretend this has never happened to me, it most definitely has. My beauty routine would consist of only my essentials and since my hair takes the longest to style every morning, that is where I would start. After the initial panic and then a quick check in the mirror followed by a pep-talk to myself that would go something like, "OK Raman, you can work with this." Getting ready and out the door in ten minutes is not ideal but definitely possible. The products I would use that would make me look like I spent two hours opposed to ten minutes consist of the following:

1. LULU organics organic dry hair shampoo - This product adds a beautiful fragrance to the hair using the highest grade of organic essential oils, is free of talc, absorbs all of the excess oil and allows me to create quick, messy/polished pony tails with complete manageability. It’s almost as if I’ve started styling my hair from scratch! A great touch up product to maintain volume all day as well.

2. Keys Solar organic mineral gluten and toxic free SPF 30 with Shea Butter - I would probably forget to leave the house wearing my Hanky Panky's that day but I will never forget my sun protection! Rain or shine my complexion does not get exposed without sun protection. Especially living in the city-this is my number one go to anti aging defence.

3. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler-This is the best eyelash curler hands down. I don't wear mascara everyday because it is loaded with tar and alcohol. Overtime, these ingredients more or less  inhibit/stunt the growth of lashes causing them to weaken and eventually fall out at a faster rate. Not to mention the amount of toxins that are absorbed into the lash hair follicle and eventually in our system-yes, even mascara. Therefore, using a high quality lash curler helps to create the illusion of a more awake eye without the daily exposure to chemicals in mascara-I save that one for my toxic face on weekends.

and finally..

4. Josie Maran finger paints made with 100% organic Argan Oil. Argan oil is produced from the Argan tree in semi-deserts of Morocco, Argan Oil has been used by Moroccan women for centuries for its nutritional and cosmetic benefits. This liquid gold contains twice as much vitamin E as olive oil, revitalizes the complexion while fighting off sighs of aging and includes vital antioxidants to help strengthen the skins defence against free radical damage caused by pollution and other uncontrollable variables. Joie Maran was inspired by makeup artists for creating her finger paints collection where the colors can be mixed and used all over the face as an eye, lip and/or cheek product. I use my finger paints in Lovely to compliment my yellow undertones. This one single product has saved me so much money on other products that would give me the exact same results. Not to mention, the packaging itself looks glamorous and is 100% biodegradable. Love it!

2.  You have ten dollars to spend on beauty product with no coupon to spare nor membership points to redeem.  What would you buy and from where?

If I had ten dollars to spend on a beauty product with no coupon to spare nor membership points to redeem I would purchase John Masters Organics lip balm from Whole Foods. John Masters Organics lip balm literally has all of the essential ingredients to help create an overall glow that will get you noticed not only from your lips. This lip balm conditions the eyelashes, adds a dewy softness to the skin above the cheekbones and makes for a great cuticle moisturizer. One product, less than ten dollars and a multitude of uses.

3.  You got sixty dollars to spend on beauty product without a care and anywhere you please.  What would you buy and from where?

If you added a few more zeros I would have said a shopping trip at Henry Bendel in New York but since we're a few zeros too short and I have only sixty dollars to spend anywhere I please I would pay a visit to the Tea Emporium located on Eglinton and stock up on their most expensive organic tea collection.

4.  Share with us your biggest beauty secret – either a hot tip for us to try ... or your worst beauty disaster ever.  Which one will it be?
 
My biggest beauty secret comes from my mother. Having grown up in India, the only beauty 'routine' she knew included Ayurvedic beauty solutions made at home using ingredients straight from the pantry. To this day, my mother has never invested in conventional skin care products and makes her potions at home. I've often sat back and observed and was always taken back by how simple and beautiful these rituals were. My absolute two biggest beauty secrets passed down from my mother are:

1. Hot oil hair treatment
I use 100% organic cold pressed extra vigrin coconut oil in my hair a few times a week to keep it healthy, strong and shiny from root to tip. Coconut oil comes as a solid but dissolves quickly with body temperature.
 

2. Chickpea flour facial and body scrub
Chickpeas are loaded with omega essential fatty acids that help plump up the skin while removing debris and build up. This mixture is best used on the face and body dry and may be left on for a few minutes until it dries or may be rinsed off immediately. The recipe below is enough for face, neck and décolleté. Feel free to add more for a preferred consistency if using as a body treatment.

1. One handful of organic chickpea flour
2. One large spoonful of plain yogurt
3. One dash of turmeric powder for its anti-inflammatory properties (great for acne) and skin brightening
4. Dallop of organic honey, preferably Manuka honey for its medicinal and healing properties (optional)

Mix the ingredients with a fork or your hands (if you really want to get traditional) and have a play around with the texture until you get your preferred consistency.

5.  Name your poison. Facials worth more than your rent payment, a $2.99 bottle of nail polish that everyone mistakes for Chanel’s latest colour. What’s your guilty beauty pleasure?

My guilty beauty pleasure consists of the pure vitamin-C Cellular Cryo therapy treatment at Vida Skin Studio. No facial experience, product or magic tonic can even compare how these frozen cells make my skin glow! Cellular Cryo therapy is the celebrated achievement of over fifty years of research by Biologists in France and Switzerland. The introduction of new energy-filled cells to the skin makes existing cells feel younger and with enough of these new cells around, they begin to act younger, responding to a new atmosphere of energy. Due to the frozen state of the Cryo they contain absolutely no toxins, alcohol, chemicals or preservatives. This is the one single product my skin would never be the same without.

-bp-