A model’s bag is filled with things you’ve never dreamed of! Here’s a sampling of what you would find if you were to peek into the everyday bag of a working model.

P.S. Every model gets a workout just from lugging the thing around!

Baby Wipes

This is a great tool for both cleansing the face and removing makeup. Baby wipes are hygienic (use them once and throw them away) and gentle to the face. You’ll find that most versions contain lanolin, which is a skin softener. Purchase the convenient travel pack to freshen up at a moment’s notice. It’s also useful for taking up a stain or deodorant mark.

Haemorrhoid Cream

We use it on our puffy eyes, along the jawline, and on puffy cheeks. It is an instant facelift, and a favourite of the die-hard partygoers.

Chalk

Here’s a natural way to hide stains. Carry white chalk for white clothing, and coloured chalk for all the different colours of your wardrobe. I prefer that you use these natural treatments over chemical stain removers because they are safer for the planet and many fabrics can be ruined by chemical versions.

Garlic And Papaya Tablets

This is an absolute must when it’s necessary to get weight off in a hurry. Garlic and papaya tablets act together as a diuretic and can get up to six pounds off in a couple of days. Ask your pharmacist for the strongest strength available over-the-counter. Take two garlic tablets with two papaya tablets before breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Eat lightly on these days, staying away from carbs and salt. There are “star” caplets out there on the market with similar ingredients priced at $100 and up. You can buy garlic and papaya tablets in your local drugstore or health food store. They’re usually priced at under $5 each. Of course, being natural supplements, they’re not as risky as the chemical weight-loss products so widely sold. However, don’t take this increased dosage for more than two days.

White Eyeliner

Models find white eyeliner essential to create a wide-eyed look. Use it along the lash line, and softly smudge it with a sponge applicator. Use it inside the corners of your eye to open and widen.

White Eye Shadow

Models use it to create a shimmering face base by mixing it with their foundation. Stroked just under the brow, it lifts the eye.

Petroleum Jelly

You can create your own tinted gloss, and save lots of money at the same time. Simply mix any of your favourite lipsticks with a dab of petroleum jelly. You can also turn a powdered eye shadow into a glimmering eye shimmer with a drop of jelly.

Eye Redness Reliever

Have I got a way for you to remove breakouts quickly! In just the way that an eye redness reliever takes the redness out of the eye, so does it remove redness from pimples? Squeeze out a little on a cotton swab. Hold it on the pimple for ten to fifteen seconds, or until it disappears. Models (and the people who hire them) consider it a catastrophe to get a pimple, but it’s also important for you when you have that big party to obliterate the appearance of those little suckers. Anyone who has tried to mask pimples with makeup knows that it just doesn’t work. This will do it, and quickly.

Panty Hose

What do you think models do with ripped panty hose?

They make their very own hair ties. You know those fabulous hair accessories that pull your hair back with so much style, but cost a fortune? Here’s what you do. Take the panty-hose leg (the more opaque styles provide more elasticity), and cut at two- to four-inch increments. You’ll find that these hair ties will hold the hair beautifully without any of the stress or split ends that rubber bands can cause. In addition, you can also use the colour closest to your own hair colour to make it blend.

Hair Spray

Hair spray is helpful for keeping our do’s in line, but it also prevents panty hose from running. Spray (lightly, please) a thin film up and down your hose before each wearing. To keep your makeup in place, close your eyes and, holding the can at arm’s length, spray a light mist of hair spray on your face. Be very careful if you have sensitive skin!

Should you happen to encounter an errant bug in your hotel room, just do what desperate yet resourceful models do? Take your hair spray and zap the pest with it. You will paralyze that little bugger more quickly than any insect spray ever did. Did you ever dream hair spray could be so versatile?

Erasers

What do models do when they lose an earring back? What do they do when their earring is just too heavy to stay properly on the ear? We take the eraser off a pencil and use it to hold that earring in place. Use this when you drop the back of an earring in your office, school, or at home. If you should find yourself in a restaurant, simply take a small piece of cork from your wine bottle.

Satin Pillowcase

A satin pillowcase is a model necessity. It keeps that hairstyle in place longer while traveling. Not only should you consider it an essential when you travel, but you’ll also enjoy using it at home. Sleeping on a satin pillowcase will help prevent wrinkles while you sleep.

Lemon Juice

Forget buying expensive toners. Models carry lemons in their bags to remove residue from their face and to refresh. The most diligent carry fresh lemons, but there’s only so much one can stuff into those bags. If you do choose to purchase reconstituted lemon juice, make sure that it contains real lemon.

Ice Water

You’ve heard that models drink lots of water. Well that’s very true, but only half the story. To get optimum benefits from water, models drink ice water. With ice water, the body needs to use up to 30 calories just to warm itself to body temperature to absorb the water. You are actually using more calories than you are taking in.

Teething Rings

Placed on the eyes, teething rings will reduce any puffiness, and provide a well-rested, wide-awake appearance. Frozen teething rings also soothe sunburned skin.

Beef Jerky

Here is a snack that has been much maligned and is really quite good for staying lean. Turkey jerky contains less than one gram of fat, and has only 75 calories. What’s especially appealing about turkey jerky is that it takes so long to chew (a good 20 minutes or so).This makes jerky orally gratifying. It may just keep you out of a few fast-food restaurants.

Spoons

Here’s yet another way to wake up tired eyes. Run a spoon under very cold water. Hold the spoon over the closed eye for about thirty seconds. The coolness of the metal “wakes up” the eyes.

Parsley

Parsley is rich in chlorophyll. It is a major ingredient in leading breath fresheners, such as Clorets and Certs. Breath sweetening is more effective when it’s done from inside the body. There is a lot of advertising going on now to get people to invest in internal breath fresheners. Again, don’t spend a lot for these products. Do what knowledgeable models do to ensure “kissable” breath. Eat the parsley on your plate at mealtimes, or carry dried parsley in your bag to instantly freshen your breath. Parsley will keep your breath fresher a lot longer than topical fresheners will. Plus, it’s healthy and low in calories.

Tea

Tea helps keep cavities away! Both green and black tea contains fluoride and polyphenols to prevent plaque from adhering to the tooth’s surface. Models drink tea for this very reason, and carry their tea bags faithfully. After models are done drinking their tea, they use their cooled tea bags to refresh their eyes. Simply squeeze the tea bag so that it isn’t “dripping,” and gently dab the bags under the eye area. If your face is clean, run over the entire face for a quick pick-me-up!

Avocado Body Butter

Models run to their nearest “natural” shop for this product. It gives a wonderfully smooth sheen to the skin. Even though it’s a little bit sticky, it’s very worthwhile.

Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar

What a versatile product! It’s a great blood purifier when you add a tablespoon to a cup of hot water and drink it. You can also use it as an astringent for both your face and hair. Use it as a toner for your face and as a final hair rinse to remove residue.

Toothbrush

Here’s an old model’s trick that everyone can copy.

Brush your lips whenever you brush your teeth! Not only does it take away any chapping, but it plumps up the lip temporarily for that sought-after “pouty” look. A toothbrush is super jewellery cleaner, getting into nooks and crannies, and it tames brows when lightly sprayed with styling gel.

Tape

Models always carry double-sided tape to tack up fallen hems, make quick repairs to their clothing, and “quick tack” an accessory to clothing, hair, or purse.

Candles

Carry a small birthday candle in your purse. Use it to get a stuck zipper going again.

Colon Cleanser

No, I don’t need to elaborate, but for beauty to really work, it needs to start from the inside. Top actresses and great beauties throughout history have used this unconventional beauty/health regime. Legendary actress Mae West was famous for her daily enemas. Her skin was like silk until her death. These cleansers are now extremely popular and expensive in spas. They are inexpensive and readily available at health food stores in kits and capsules.

Jelly Beans

A jelly bean is a quick energy boosts and surprisingly low in calories and fat. Most of these little treats contain only 5 or 6 calories each. Compared with a Lifesaver (10 calories) or stick of gum (up to 20 calories), it’s a pretty good way to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Kelp

Models carry kelp tablets to help speed up their metabolism. It should be available at your local drugstore.

Feverfew

Some super beauties eat feverfew sandwiches to relieve PMS and headaches. I would suggest that you get the tablets.

Olive Oil

Here is an all-natural substance that models use on their hair when they’re in the sun. Not only does it protect hair from the sun’s harsh rays, but it becomes a deep-penetrating conditioner in the sun’s natural heat.

Rosemary Oil

Rubbed into the temple, rosemary oil relieves pain by relaxing constricted muscles.

Candied Ginger

When traveling, models rely on candied ginger to prevent motion sickness.

Dandelion Tea

This is used as a diuretic. Find this product in natural supermarkets and drugstores. Stay near a rest room!

Health and beauty fix for last minute whether you want sexual health advice, a cosmetic procedure, or simple beauty dos, ensure you’re not leaving these must-dos for the nth hour. Here’s a checklist to follow for the month before your wedding day to look and feel like the mythical million bucks!

GET THE ZING BACK
You’re feeling like a squeezed lemon and are convinced you’ll never actually make it to the date in question, what with the florist, and jeweller visits, and sis-in-law to be calling every few hours asking about colours and shoes and bags and more. Spa visits and me-time seems like a laughable dream and chances are, whatever we suggest, you’re not going to be able to factor those in in a big way. You can, however, make minor tweaks to include these lifestyle changes and feel as good as gold!

STEPS TO LOOK YOUR BEST ON D-DAY

1. No matter what, make sure you get seven or eight hours a night for the month leading up to your wedding. Not just your body, your mind needs it!
2. Water—the eight glasses you’ve been hearing about forever. Never more critical than now as exhaustion can cause dehydration, and skin also suffers if you’re not hydrating it enough from within. Carry a bottle everywhere, whether you’re home, out inviting guests, or shopping.
3. Ditch the dangerous stuff from your diet. Skip sugary foods, and everything fried—even though the temptation to dig into comfort food will rise with every wedding-related crisis. Tempted to binge dessert? Stick to a sorbet or fruity custard; keep your meals as light and nutritious as possible!
4. Take a walk. 20 minutes a day. It’ll give you much-needed alone time, and introduce at least a little physical activity into your routine.
5. Tak e a multi-vitamin pill every day. Add Vitamin C if you feel run down or like you’re going to catch cold; don’t ignore any feeling of being unwell because it can take a long time to recover if you’re already exhausted.
6. Cleanse, tone, moisturise, every morning and night. Buy into a good skincare range, and follow these basics religiously.
7. Get a full body massage—including a head massage on a weekly basis. Get a facial fortnightly. And make sure your last facial is at least a week before the wedding, not closer.

Apart from your regular facial, waxing and bleaching, chances are you’re picking a ‘bridal package’ offered by most salons. What you may not realise, however is that many of these services may not even be necessary for you. Consulting a dermatologist before you sign up for any packages that include specialised skincare treatments is suggested that.

Beauty Routine

Tips for morning beauty routine

• Eat breakfast! It’ll give you the energy you need for the day. A healthy meal would be a glass of milk or orange juice, a bowl of whole grain cereal or cereal with fruit, a piece of toast and a fresh, nutritious orange. If your are in a hurry try instant breakfast.
• If you don’t like eating in the morning, try to get into the routine of eating your evening meal a few hours earlier and gradually get into the routine of eating breakfast starting with something light like a smoothie and crackers. Breakfast is too important of a meal to skip. It will give you energy throughout the morning and curb your appetite for a large lunch. It also helps with bad breath, because if you don’t eat breakfast, 9 times out of 10 your breath is going to stink, so, eat up!
• Drink 8 glasses of liquid. Water is very good for you. Try carrying a water bottle filled with water. It will help you feel energized, keep your voice strong and loud and keep your skin looking healthy and beautiful.

Apart from your regular facial, waxing and bleaching, chances are you’re picking a ‘bridal package’ offered by most salons.

What you may not realise, however “is that many of these services may not even be necessary for you,” says Dr Mukta Sachdev of Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. She suggests consulting a dermatologist before you sign up for any packages that include specialised skincare treatments. Susheela Singh* got married in New Delhi over 10 years ago. She wasn’t a regular salon visitor, so when a fashion designer friend insisted that she bleach her facial hair and whiten her skin close wedding, she decided to follow advice—with disastrous results! “I like a baboon,” she says, wincing even a decade after the event. But since she had left it too close to D-day, all she could do was rely on her makeup artiste to conceal the blotches on her skin as best he could.

Rules of thumb for any cosmetict treatment you want to get at this time—go to a welltrained aesthetician; and don’t experiment, either with the procedure, or with the beautician. Also avoid testing new products now; stick with what you and your skin are used to.

Beauty Tips

When Swati khare (name changed) got married over seven years ago, she decided to head to a salon at a 5-star hotel for a waxing job (in her h o m e t o w n Bangalore). The aesthetician recommended a back wax and she went ahead with it. Unfortunately for Swati, her skin reacted to the procedure and her back was covered with welts. She had to use make up to cover the blemishes for the wedding day, apart from taking painkillers to stem the pain. If, however, you are firm on trying out a new procedure at a salon, Dr  recommends you do it a month in advance so, should anything go wrong, you can get help from a dermatologist and fix the problem. “Brides have walked into my clinic with terrible boils from waxing that went wrong—a day before their wedding! These boils can take up to a month to clear with oral antibiotics and lotions. I have also had brides walk in after a facial that went wrong and the rashes can take a week to clear up with steroidal creams and antihistamine medications,” says Dr Sachdev. You simply can’t take the risk with even a routine procedure in the last week leading up to your wedding.

And yes… you don’t need makeup all the time and don’t forget that “you are beautiful”