4 ways to tone your skin with face with yoga........

4 Way To Tone Your Skin, Face with Yoga:

While creams and serums can go a long way in moisturising skin and improving elasticity their efficiency can be greatly improved by face yoga. A quick and easy skincare practice that doubles as self-care. “Just like we work on our body to stay fit and sculpted it’s important to work the muscles of our face as well to look young. 

Each of these muscles, when toggled and nudged in the right direction prevents sagging increases blood flow thus improving absorption of any cream or oils we may apply nourishing and toning our face,” says face yoga practitioner and owner of House of Beauty, Vibhuti Arora. 

How does face yoga benefit the skin?

As the face ages skin loses elasticity and fat pads between the muscle and skin become thinner. These fat pads, which fit together like jigsaw puzzle  give the face its shape. As skin starts to sag due to age these thinning fat pads tend to slide down. However, if this muscle is worked out on it can fill out and push up the pads counteracting the slip-sliding.

 "Facial workouts also help fill in hollow cheeks and minimise other signs of ageing. These exercises focus on strengthening and building up underlying muscle in key areas such as cheeks, jawline, neck, eyelids, and eyebrows,” she adds. In a 2018 study researchers found that women who practiced face yoga every day for eight weeks then every other day for twelve weeks looked younger at the end of the process than those who didn't. The benefits are not just external, though. Since you have to pay attention to your movements, face yoga requires mindfulness for best results. 

Before you start applying a serum moisturiser or oil with some slip can help to keep the skin supple when you stretch. As you press your face into your skin for certain exercise you can move the product into the skin further improving efficacy.

 “You want to warm up to start.  It's important to switch off and calm yourself and be mindful of the process. Stretch your neck two to three times to either side to open and release the muscles," says Vibhuti. 

4 face yoga exercises you can try now;

A smile and pout exercise for fine lines

Repeating this exercise three to five times will help to make your cheeks firm and tighten the area around your lips. “This exercise also reduces the nasolabial lines or laugh lines,” she says. This is great for lifting droopy corners of the mouth. 

1-Hold your lips together.

2-Smile and hold for five counts.

3-Change to a pout and hold for eight counts.

4-Repeat ten times.

A facial massage for tired eyes and puffiness
This exercise focuses on reducing drooping eyelids, crow’s feet, eye bags and puffiness. "You can use your fingers, but you can use a face roller should you want more pressure,” she says.

1-Place both hands on the forehead facing inwards and spread all of the fingers out between the eyebrows and hairline.

2-Gently sweep the fingers outwards across the forehead, applying light pressure to tighten the skin.

3-Then, place both palms on your temples.

4-Push your palms up and back to lift the sides of your face.

5-Hold for five seconds and repeat two more times.

A toning exercise to reduce crow's feet
This exercise tones the upper and lower eyelids and helps with lymphatic drainage. “By stretching your eyes and applying pressure to the areas around it, you can help fill out the lines that come from crow’s feet. This exercise can also give you a morning wake-up call by smoothing eye bags and calming puffy eyes,” reveals Vibhuti.

1-Form a V with your fingers and place them on your eyebrows.2-Apply pressure and then, without tilting your head, look up to the ceiling.3-Raise your lower eyelids to form a squint and blink.4-Relax, then repeat ten more times.5-Finish by squeezing your eyes shut for 10 seconds.

A defining exercise to strengthen the neck and jawline

This exercise works to strengthen the muscles of the neck and jawline, which when done correctly, can help plump up the fat pads in that area, preventing fine lines and a lack of definition.

1-Hold your chin with both hands, and apply firm pressure.

2-Gently move your hands towards your temple, and nudge upwards.

3-Move your chin to the left, and right, and make a pucker with your lips for an added benefit.

4-Repeat this exercise 10 times.

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7 tricks celebrity photographers use to nail hair and makeup shots..........

1. Think side profile:

If you’re looking to flaunt your hairstyle, the side profile is your friend. For her debut on a reality TV show last year, Kareena Kapoor Khan marked the occasion with a slicked-back rope braid. Vaishnav Praveen, one half of celebrity-favourite The House of Pixels, explains, “Instead of opting for a full-frontal shot we chose to do a side profile instead. 

By having her face the camera at a three-fourth angle we could capture the unconventional hairdo as well as her beautifully kohled eyes.”

2. Play with light and shadow:

While shadows are usually considered anathema for beauty shots Vaishnav recommends them for adding an air of mystery and allure to photos. Further proof can be found in the head-to-toe brocade look and wispy bun that Sonam Kapoor chose for a recent event.

 “We headed to her terrace and shot under the harsh top light of the sun at 1pm in the afternoon, which ended up adding more drama to the photo. 

The wisps of hair framing her face created a wonderful play of light and shadow on her face,” the Mumbai-based photographer explains.

3. Keep proportions in mind:

Vaishnav also recommends keeping in mind the proportion of the face to the body. For the recent promotions of Chhapaak, Deepika Padukone was spotted in a bodycon tangerine dress and a coordinated pop lip to go with. 

Vaishnav says, “For highlighting the lashes and the lip colour it helps to opt for a slightly lower shot. While a top shot works well for enhancing the volume of the lashes  going a little below the eye level will help you capture the arch of the lips as well.”

4. Natural sunlight is your friend:

You’ll find that the soft glow of natural daylight is better any filter by photography apps. He adds, “As a rule of thumb, the first hour of daylight in the morning and the last hour of sunlight in the evening before dusk are the best options for creating magic.

 Since the sun is at a lower angle in the sky it reduces the intensity of sunlight which will give your beauty shots a softer, cooler tone. For Sonam’s recent trip to Abu Dhabi we captured her in the easy romanticism of evening light for a soft  radiant glow.”

5. Less is more:

Celebrity makeup artist Sandhya Shekar seconds the notion. “Makeup translates best in soft focus lighting. Since we are all at home and Zoom has become our primary means of communication I find that the no-makeup makeup look gives you the perfect blend of accentuating the features and yet adding that softness that you need while you’re at home,” she advises.

 Beauty watchers will have no trouble finding inspiration in the understated makeup looks she regularly creates for Padukone with lip colours that range from caramel mattes to soft tans with a suede finish.

6. Experiment with lighting:

While natural sunlight is a heaven-sent it isn’t your only source of lighting for creating magic in front of the lens. “There are multiple sources of lighting that you have access to in everyday life for creating a beautiful portrait from the flash of a torchlight to the muted glow of an evening lamp.

 For instance sometimes we direct the light onto a mirror and then reflect it on the subject to create a sense of intrigue in the photo,” he says.

7. Go easy on the editing:

When in doubt, go down the au naturel route—young debutante Janhvi Kapoor clearly agrees. “About a month after her debut movie Dhadak  hit the theatres we did a photoshoot to capture her fresh youthful glow. 

The beauty brief was clean and minimal, with just lip and eye makeup and no base. We shot her under the film lights used on movie sets, and chose not to edit or retouch the flyaways or errant strands of hair to give a cinematic vibe,” adds Vaishnav.....

lock down and Photography:

An average day in the life of a celebrity doesn’t allow for much downtime and managing to nail those close-up  involves little more than just knowing your best side. Over the course of the past two years a new trend of OOTD photoshoots has further emerged on the platform with celebrities posing for the lens minutes before heading out the door. 

Finding the time to face an undiscerning camera lens in between those last-minute touches can seem like an uphill task but a couple of strategic moves honed over years of practice always come in handy. Ahead we get the dream team behind their photoshoots to allow us a peek into their playbook. If you’re looking to document all the new beauty looks you’ve been experimenting with during the lockdown, here are the photography tricks that will get the double-taps rolling in.

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