Passport to Beauty: Secrets and Tips from Around the World for Becoming a Global Goddess [Paperback]

Shalini Vadhera (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

Throughout the world, every country has age-old, time-tested secrets that women use for looking and feeling beautiful.  Shalini Vadhera, celebrity make-up artist and internationally recognized beauty expert takes you on an adventure -- to Europe, Asia, Africa, the United States, South America, Australia and beyond - revealing secrets for luxurious hair, glowing skin, and more.
 
Passport to Beauty features unique, yet simple beauty tips and techniques as well as instructions for creating cleansing masks, exfoliation blends, and moisturizers for hair and body.  Learn how women around the world stay beautiful:
·        turn back the hands of time with a white clay mask like Australian beauties do
·        refresh your complexion with white tea - an ancient Chinese anti-aging secret
·        use coconut oil for glossy, shimmering hair as South Asian women have done for centuries
A beauty treatment and make-over with an exotic flair is only as far away as your local grocery store - learn how to unleash the beatifying power of yogurt, lemon, olive oil, honey, and other surprising ingredients.  Additionally, Shalini Vadhera will introduce you to the secrets of spices, natural remedies, and spa treatments from around the globe.
 
And once you've got your skin and hair looking wonderful, Shalini Vadhera dips into her bag of international beauty tricks and reveals a multitude of techniques for selecting and applying make-up and always looking your absolute best. 
 
No matter your latitude or longitude on the globe, by using the information in this book you can truly become a global goddess!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Globe-trotting celebrity makeup artist Vadhera's approach to world-wise beauty is simple: if something tastes good, why not put it on your face? Organized into fun jaunts in each continent, Vadhera kicks off her world tour with makeup tips borrowed from European sisters who "aren't afraid to use a colorful palette to make a statement." It's refreshing (if not exactly groundbreaking) that Vadhera uses a "less is more" philosophy, emphasizing the power of deep sleep over heavy foundations and concealers. Her tour of the East includes the assertion that sake is an "all-around miracle worker" for skin, and insists that readers add a cup of the rice wine to a hot bath for "whole-body detoxification." Even if few blushing brides will be brave enough to faithfully recreate the author's "Indian Bridal Glow Mask" that boasts chickpea flour, turmeric and almond oil, "Jacqueline's Okra Hydrating Mask" at least bears the promise of a few relaxing moments despite what the author concedes is a "slimy consistency." Continuing a world tour with brief stops in Australia, the Americas and Africa (to tout those notorious elixirs of beauty-butter and brewed peel of quince fruit), Vadhera proves herself a fun-loving guide to culinary cosmetics.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

Throughout the world, every country has age-old, time-tested secrets that women use for looking and feeling beautiful.  Shalini Vadhera, celebrity make-up artist and internationally recognized beauty expert takes you on an adventure -- to Europe, Asia, Africa, the United States, South America, Australia and beyond - revealing secrets for luxurious hair, glowing skin, and more.
 
Passport to Beauty features unique, yet simple beauty tips and techniques as well as instructions for creating cleansing masks, exfoliation blends, and moisturizers for hair and body.  Learn how women around the world stay beautiful:
·        turn back the hands of time with a white clay mask like Australian beauties do
·        refresh your complexion with white tea - an ancient Chinese anti-aging secret
·        use coconut oil for glossy, shimmering hair as South Asian women have done for centuries
A beauty treatment and make-over with an exotic flair is only as far away as your local grocery store - learn how to unleash the beatifying power of yogurt, lemon, olive oil, honey, and other surprising ingredients.  Additionally, Shalini Vadhera will introduce you to the secrets of spices, natural remedies, and spa treatments from around the globe.
 
And once you've got your skin and hair looking wonderful, Shalini Vadhera dips into her bag of international beauty tricks and reveals a multitude of techniques for selecting and applying make-up and always looking your absolute best. 
 
No matter your latitude or longitude on the globe, by using the information in this book you can truly become a global goddess!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312349629
• ISBN-13: 978-0312349622
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for the Adventurous and Inquisitive, July 5, 2006

By 

A. Tokarev (Olympia, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Passport to Beauty: Secrets and Tips from Around the World for Becoming a Global Goddess (Paperback)

This was a fantastic book that went through all six inhabited continents and shared all-natural beauty remedies that I was very excited to try. I'm a believer in natural recipes for masks, lotions, serums, etc. and this book was full of them. It was refreshing to have a book that allows me to do nearly everything in it without it shoving brand names with sky-high prices down my throat. The only thing that I found that I wasn't particularly fond of was that some of the recipes are repeated through the book in various contexts, and also because Shalini Vadhera has her own makeup line, she ends up touting it a bit.

It's a great find if you're looking for some back-to-mother-nature beauty rituals and tips.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not quite what I was hoping for, September 30, 2007

By 

cafemocha - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passport to Beauty: Secrets and Tips from Around the World for Becoming a Global Goddess (Paperback)

This book isn't quite what I was hoping for. I'm interested in the beauty ideals of other cultures and was hoping Vadhera would go a little further into each culture's perspective of beauty, such as by providing a few pages of narrative in each chapter in addition to the "beauty tips and techniques". (For example, how does what the culture found beautiful in the past compare to what it finds beautiful now?) But that isn't really what the book is about. It's a lightweight, breezy collection of face and hair masks used by women in other countries.

I found some of the tips interesting, but other advice appears numerous times throughout the book, worded differently. Drinking a lot of water, eating a healthy diet, portion control, and exercise are mentioned constantly, which of course are good tips, but not really anything new. Vadhera has a perky style of writing, such as "African gals say walking is not only a way of life but also a great way to keep their lean physiques. Walking around town is an easy path to a tight butt and strong, toned legs!" and "Avoid trying to emphasize all your features at the same time. Overdoing it may label you a makeup misfit!"

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys making her own skin and face masks and is looking for more receipes. I would also recommend it to someone who wants to learn more about the beauty practices of women in other cultures, as long as they aren't looking for anything too deep.

Someone who is looking to learn more about French or Japanese beauty may enjoy "All You Need to Be Impossibly French" by Helena Frith-Powell or "Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics" by Laura Miller.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great informative book, May 15, 2006

By 

Sarah - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Passport to Beauty: Secrets and Tips from Around the World for Becoming a Global Goddess (Paperback)

I think this is a wonderful book because it has beauty masks that you can make by yourself at home. It is also fun reading about beauty tips from around the world.