Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
These cosmetics are yum!
|
Viparadee says her cosmetics are almost edible
|
— Photo: Murali Kumar K.
Viparadee Phuvanatnaranubala with her Beauty Café range
THAI COSMETICS queen Viparadee Phuvanatnaranubala sits at Gateway Hotel's Northern Gate restaurant surrounded by milkshakes and chocolate cakes. Colours and flavours vie with each other for attention — vanilla, orange, pomegranate and a mixture of herbs and fruits producing heady concoctions. But none of the goodies embracing Viparadee are actually edible. They are a part of her beauty and cosmetics products which rely heavily on aromatherapy to soothe and heal tired nerves and skin.
Worth the money
"Sometimes you have the money but nothing to buy," sighs Viparadee, and before you can gently tell her that that has never actually happened to anyone you know, she goes on to explain that her products are worth the money because they rely on natural ingredients, use aroma and colour therapy and are intended to be used in "home spas".
"People talk about going to spas all around the world," says Viparadee, "but even if you go somewhere for a massage and pay heavily for service, then on your way back home through the travelling and the jams it becomes a waste of the money you've just spent pampering yourself." So her lotions, gels, soaps and masks are intended for use at home, to remove your tensions and relax you before a night's comfortable sleep.
The products Viparadee is bringing to Bangalore are from her Beauty Café range, called that because they are "almost edible" — even soaps come in the form of larger cakes which can be sliced to get a convenient sized piece. They use recipes which go back to nature, not just beautifying but also providing the benefit of aromatherapy.
Viparadee is virulently opposed to the use of chemicals, the result of a personal tragedy. Some years ago, she sprayed her eye accidentally, losing her entire vision in one eye. "I have beauty no more," she remembers thinking to herself and gradually lost confidence and will, as her blindness crippled her. The severe medication she was on only worsened things and her face broke out into blemishes. Finally, it was her grandmother's age-old herb recipe which healed her skin, helping her get back on track. She eventually got a cornea transplant done and was inspired enough by the power of natural cures to launch a cosmetics empire.
Herb extracts
Beauty Café products use herb extracts which are sent to Europe for analysis. They even have anti-wrinkle treatments, "which are not botox," Viparadee hastens to clarify, "but use the natural extracts that botox injections use." Products such as the foundation creams have been modified to suit Indian skin types.
A huge cake of soap, which Viparadee says would last about two-and-a-half years, costs Rs. 1,400, and shower gels of 125 ml. would cost around Rs. 230. They will soon be available at Paper Planet outlets on Brigade Road, CMH Road and Kemp Fort.
HEMANGINI GUPTA
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
