Lakme’ and Me

The beach under the mighty sun - Are you ready for some summer  fun?

Lakme’ … In fact that’s my nick name. In school a few people preferred Lakme over Laxmi, as that was a lot easier to pronounce than my name. In fact in the entire country there are so many vocal versions of the letter X.  Just like Vidya gets annoyed hearing the Bengali version of her name in Kahaani, I have had my own versions of  'those' moments. Not just in India but the moment a foreigner tries pronouncing it I get to hear even more innovative versions. My friends used to call me Lakme during my college days as I always used the products by that brand. Yes whatever said and done I love my name, that’s my identity and its special as it was given to me by my late grandfather.  I do love Lakme’ my partner for all these years.   

I have had my favourites from the nail polish, eye liner, foundation, compact, blusher and lipstick to the perfume that they came up with… God knows where the perfume went though!  At my first job with the Taj group of hotels I carried my favourite brand even there and got the shade of lipstick, blusher, eyeliner and nail polish to match the one prescribed by the hotel. Lakme was the brand my mother used just like a whole lot of ladies from her generation, though hardly a person wearing any make up… just the occasional lipstick and nail polish.  She was also the person who gifted me my first make up kit, 3 lipsticks, a compact and a nail polish. Sounds like a walk down the memory lane! Didn’t realize how Lakme’ has been an eternal part of my life!!

Sunscreen came as a gift from my sister when I was going on a holiday and she told me to use it as it helped the skin. It was a long while ago when I was in my early 20’s and didn’t really bother about how the sun affected the skin. But later realized that my skin used to get itchy and totally damaged every time I would venture on a vacation. I also did my own bit of research and learnt that sunscreen protects the skin against the harmful rays of the sun. It should be at least an SPF 15 or higher. It can be used by everyone including infants as young as 6 months old. Not just in the summers but health specialists advise wearing it all year round as it protects against skin cancer by helping in the production of vitamin D that prevents most forms of skin cancer. Ultra violet light can damage the body’s immune system.

The benefits of using a good sunscreen are many such as it helps prevent skin cancer. It shields the proteins like the keratin, collagen and elastin that keep the skin feeling firm, smooth and protecting against the aging of the skin. In fact some amount of sunscreen is there in all skin care products and cosmetics indicating how important it is. It can also protect against other diseases such as cataracts and immune suppression. The ideal way to use a sunscreen is to apply it 20 minutes before getting out into the sun and re-apply every 2 hours. It is certainly a good idea to keep a small bottle of the sunscreen in your bag and be sun protected and ready for the adventures.

Now I am a regular user of the sunscreen and have always stayed with my trusted brand. I am ready… rather Sun-ready for a trip any time. So Elena pack your bags and be with me as we head for our next trip to the Bahamas, the place that you’ll love for its beaches, tropical climate, sun, music and loads of fun!

Fun in the sun

Thanks for passing by, this is an entry for the 'Lakme Diva Blogger Contest' if you like my post do vote for it...www.facebook.com/ilovelakme