Radiate innocence and beauty

Tips on latest trends in bridal attire:

Suharshi Perera

With the June breeze sweeping through and the musical chimes of the wedding bells wafting through the ether it’s the time of brides and grooms. Glamour, beauty and charm, all blended with precision make the ‘big day’ of your life unforgettable.

Charmi de Zoyza, a beautician specialised in bridal dressing will unveil the latest trends and tips to etch a glamorous and stunning bride out of you.

Flavour of the season

The flavour of the bridal outfit changes with the time. Pure white, which was once the emblem of brides is facing a change following trendy fashions and vibrant colours. Kandyan brides now prefer to wear beige or biscuit colours in place of pure white.

Antique pink is also in fashion among Kandyan brides. They can wear the traditional Kandyan jewellery set to match the saree. With a pure white saree, the Kandyan silver jewellery set will look stunning.

If the bride prefers Indian style she may opt for magenta, beige or even purple. These colours are in fashion. Another latest style is that some brides do not want a set style like Indian or Western. Instead they opt for a combination. A fusion of Indian and Western styles, draped differently are reigning the fashion world.

Another trend is to wear long blouses. These blouses can hardly be called saree jackets as these take more of the shape of a tight blouse.

Fabulous fabric

The material of the bridal outfit plays an important part in dressing a bride. Heavy net sarees and tissue sarees are not in fashion anymore. Georgette, chiffon sarees, stone and crystal worked sarees are earning that place. These light fabric sarees drape well and enhance the beauty of the bride.

In the Kandyan style too there is a revival in ancient fabric. Beeralu is back in fashion.

Blossoming bride

Natural flowers have hit the arena with a big bang. Artificial flowers have faded from the scene giving way to natural colour and beauty. Indian and Western brides may

wear a single flower on their hair. Orchids and Agapanthus are the favourites of the occasion. Since the colour of the bridal outfit is drifting towards pink, blue and purple, the Orchid which bears all these shades, will add extra beauty to the bride and her attire.

Kandyan brides may choose local flowers like lotus or araliya to enhance the local flavour.

Size range

When selecting the outfit brides have to be particular about their body size. Brides with a bulky body should not choose sarees with heavy work and wide borders. Georgette and chiffon look the best on them as those materials are not puffy and do not add to the size of the body.

Slim brides may wear heavy sarees with a rich bead or stonework on them. Anyway brides should match a simple, light worked saree with heavy jewellery and vice versa.

Hair splitting matter

The hair style must match the style and the size of the bride. It is mostly decided on the facial shape of the bride and the height of the groom. If the groom is tall, the bride can wear a high hairstyle. Now loose hair is in style. Even Kandyan brides look good with low hairstyles.

Natural beauty

The main focus of bridal dressing is to etch out the natural beauty of the bride. Excessively rich attire, accessories or heavy make-up should not downplay the bride’s beauty. Therefore the make-up should centred on natural coloured lipsticks, foundation and eye make-up.

Neutral colours like pink and bronze may bring out the natural beauty of the bride. Dark lipsticks like maroon and red are literally not on brides’ lips anymore. Tan pink and mauve mixed with brown are now in fashion. Golden and tan foundation powder also add a natural tinge to your complexion.

Bride’s maids

The colours of the bride’s maids attire have also changed. A range of the same colour(eg. Blue) can be selected if there is a bevy of maids. Banana green, sea green, yellow are also high in fashion for bridesmaids. Long ball gowns are trendy for flower girls.

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Learn to handle, store eggs correctly

Eggs are probably the most fragile of foods one can buy. You have to pick them up last while shopping and keep them on top of the bag. Apart from this rule of thumb, there are many other areas too, which need to be looked into. Read on to see what they are.

How to pick fresh eggs

To guage the freshness of eggs, hold an egg against a source of bright light in a dark room. You will be able to see an air gap, usually at the blunt end of the egg. In a fresh egg, this air cell is quite small but as the egg ages, the air cell gets larger.

Also, sink raw eggs in a basin of water. Fresh eggs stay at the bottom of the bowl while stale eggs stand on end or float because of the large air cell. However, other factors such as a weak shell and fine cracks may also cause the egg to float.

In broken fresh eggs, the yolk is small and rounded, and stands in the centre in a thick, gel-like egg white, which tends to stay compact rather than spread out over a wide area.

As eggs age, the yolk becomes larger and flatter, until it eventually breaks. The thick egg white becomes thin and runny and develops a stale odour and flavour.

Cook correctly

If a boiled egg is overcooked, a greenish ring sometimes appears around the egg yolk, which manifests the iron and sulphur compounds in the egg but it doesn’t affect the taste. Overcooking, however, harms the quality of the protein. Chilling the egg for a few minutes in cold water prevents the greenish “ring” from forming on the yolk’ s surface. To prevent eggshells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before boiling.

Storing eggs

Eggs are best stored in the refrigerator, as they don’t age quickly then. Store them in a carton to prevent them from losing moisture and also being tainted by nearby strong flavoured food. Always store eggs with the pointed end down. Raw eggs will keep well for four to five weeks in the refrigerator whereas boiled eggs under refrigeration are best consumed within a week.

Perfect omelette

Beat eggs lightly and don’t whisk them hard. Beating lightly breaks up the yolks and as the egg cooks, it is light and fluffy. Over beating will make a tough and rubbery omelette.

Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle

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Lakmini engineers Lanka’s excellence in US

Shiromi Dahanayake

BRILLIANCE: A past student of Wycherly International School Colombo Lakmini Manuja Wimalasena, who has gained a scholarship to the prestigious Michigan Technological University USA has graduated with honours.

Michigan Technological University is known exclusively for its top notch engineering programmes.

She was offered this scholarship while studying at yet another reputed seat of learning; the Imperial College, University of London which selected her to read Mechanical Engineering with Business Studies on her brilliant performance at the London GCE A/L examination at which she secured four A passes.

During her stay at the Michigan University she did an eight month internship with Cummins Inc, a global international Fortune 500 company. She also had the opportunity to work alongside General Motors Corporation and Magna Donnelly Corporation, two giants in the US automobile industry.

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Arthritis and pregnancy:

Will pregnancy affect my arthritis?

Dr. Kaleel Cassim
MBBS, MD (Medicine)

HEALTH: The effect of pregnancy on arthritis varies with the type of arthritis. The good news is that most women with rheumatoid arthritis will be free of flare-ups during pregnancy. The arthritis will return after the baby is born, though, so unfortunately it is not a ‘cure’.

The effect of lupus (SLE) on pregnancy is outlined in the separate section ‘Lupus (SLE) and pregnancy’. Other disorders, such as ankylosing spondylitis, may improve or become worse - there is no consistent pattern.

If you have osteoarthritis, particularly of the knee or hip, the increase in your weight as the baby grows may cause you problems. Most women get aches and pains, particularly backache, in pregnancy and it is likely that you will too.

Will the arthritis affect my pregnancy?

Types of arthritis other than lupus do not harm the baby, or increase the risks of any problems in pregnancy. However you must always take care about the drugs you take while you are pregnant, as they can sometimes affect the pregnancy. See the ‘Drugs, pregnancy and breastfeeding’ section for a list of the common drugs taken and what we know about their effects during pregnancy.

Will the arthritis affect my labour?

No, you should have a normal labour. If you have a lot of problems with your back, for example if you have ankylosing spondylitis, it may be a good idea to talk to an anaesthetist about whether they would advise you to have an epidural for pain relief. This can be arranged during the pregnancy, well before the time of labour.

Even if you cannot have an epidural, the anaesthetist will tell you about the many other options that are available. For arthritis in general, there are many different positions in which you can give birth. If you have difficulty because you cannot move your legs enough in one position, the doctor will discuss with you in advance other positions which may be better.

To be continued

(Consultant Rheumatologist Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital)

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Biriyani

Ingredients:

* Meat (lamb or chicken) - 1kg

* Biriyani rice - 2kg

* Onions - 6 no’s

* Coriander leaves and mint

leaves - 50gms each

* Green chillies - 8 no’s

* Tomatoes - 5 no’s

* Ghee - 300gms

* Garlic, ginger pieces - 1/4 cup

each

* (Optional) For extraction of

milk 11/2 coconuts (2 glasses)

* Cardamom - 12 no’s

* Cinnamon - 1 1/2 tbs

* Cloves - 1 tbs

* Water - 14 glasses

* Salt - 2tbs

Chopped - Onion, coriander leaves, mint leaves, tomatoes and chillies. Grind - Garlic and ginger; Powder - cardamom, cinnamon and cloves

(Water quantity should be always double the amount of rice, including coconut milk and the water added for cooking the meat.)

Method:

Soak the biriyani rice in water for half an hour. Drain the water. Take a vessel, heat little ghee and heat the rice in a low flame for 10 minutes. Keep it aside. Sauté the onion, green chillies and tomatoes in a big vessel in dalda or ghee for some time. Then add the ground garlic and ginger and half the quantity of the masala powder.

Add the chicken pieces, salt and cook for 15 minutes (if it is lamb meat cooking time will be 25 minutes), to it add rice, coconut milk, water, remaining masala powder, coriander and mint leaves, and close the lid. Keep it on a gentle fire till cooked dry. While serving decorate with fried onion, roasted cashewnuts and egg.