M A N A A L A Y A

                                                                                                                EVERY GROOMS BEST-MAN

Page 01                   MANAALA  Health                        Friday 15 May  2015

4 Bodily Blind Spots

Want to impress your bride? Make sure you polish your finer points

You probably already know that ladies have an eye for detail. Guys, not so much and it has been found out what they often miss in their daily health regimens.

Here are the top offenders and tips on tackling each one.

HAIR: Draw the Line

What you're missing: You sculpt the front of your mane with the scrutiny of an internal auditor, but the head hair you can't see could cost you: Three-fifths of women say wayward fuzz sours desire.

Why she notices: Sloppy neck hair can make you look instantly disheveled.

Groom to improve:  Remove the guard on a pair of hair clippers and lift the hair at the base of your hairline with one hand so that the roots of the regular locks are protected by your index finger. Keep the blade head horizontal to your neck and, working from the bottom up, follow your natural hairline. Don't buzz on faith; check your progress with a hand mirror.

FACE: Dig Deeper

What you're missing: A third of women say men don't care enough about their complexion.

Why she notices: "A man's pores are about 25 percent bigger than a woman's. That means bigger blackheads can form on your nose.

Groom to improve: The plug's black color isn't dirt; it's the oxidative response of the oil in the clogged pore interacting with air. A daily wash is not enough to evict the more subtle squatters. Instead, pair a daily salicylic acid-based cleanser to exfoliate the skin with a weekly clay mask to purge impurities.

BREATH: Tame Your Tongue

What you're missing: Even mildly stinky breath can be a deal breaker for more than half of women.

Why she notices: You think a Tic Tac will suffice in a pinch, but her nose knows better because women can be more sensitive to scents than men are, so they may be more likely to detect even subtle mouth odors—bad news for suitors with less-than-fresh breath.

Groom to improve: Attack the tongue because most guys don't think about their tongue when they're taking care of their teeth as it harbors bacteria. Brushing your tongue will remove 40 percent of the offending volatile sulfur compounds. 

TEETH: Even Out the Edges

What you're missing: Unevenly bleached teeth are a bigger turnoff than an off-white shade that's uniform across your smile, say women.

Why she notices: Even minor deviations in color can amplify the contrast between the shades.

Groom to improve: Coverage is key; strips and fixed trays don't adequately cover your teeth, missing the crevices in between. Choose an at-home whitening kit with custom moldable trays, which will help evenly distribute the bleaching chemicals for consistent coverage.

Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter

 Page 02                           MANAALA  Finance                      Friday 15 May  2015

Money-Saving Tips to Tighten Your Wedding Budget

·         To tighten your wedding budget, hold your wedding on a day other than Saturday. Most wedding vendors (chapels, reception halls, caterers, sometimes even photographers and a whole host of others) will offer cheaper rates for a Friday or Sunday wedding and even cheaper for a day in the middle of the week. Always ask what rates are offered for different days of the week.

·         Get married in an off month instead of a peak wedding month (May through September are peak months). October through April are off-peak months and prices are often cheaper because services during these months are in less demand.

·         If you are sending out invitations with reply cards, use postcards instead. Postage for postcards is cheaper than cards with envelopes.

Always ask for discounts. Most grooms don't ask or try to negotiate. A lot of vendors will work with you on prices, especially if you are in an area that has many competitors for the same service.

·         Borrow anything you can instead of buying or renting. Borrow decorations like garden trellises and arches, vases and bowls to use for centerpieces for flowers or floating candles and mirrored tiles for centerpieces.

Borrow anything you can. Instead of renting a limo, maybe a family member or friend has a nice ride like a classic car or muscle car that you can borrow.

·         Barter and trade services or products if you can. When you deal with smaller, privately owned companies you can sometimes trade services. Say you are a marketing executive or accountant. See if they'll trade with you or at least give you a big discount if you provide them with something they want or need.

·         Enlist the help of friends and family. Perhaps you have some talented relatives or friends: a floral designer, a computer expert, a budding DJ or photographer, someone who is crafty and creative. Enlist their help and services. Have someone crafty make your centerpieces and bouquets. Have the computer whiz design and print your invitations or make custom music CD's for favors. Just see what they have to offer that can help you out.

Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter

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Page 03                                 MANAALA  Fashion                    Friday 15 May  2015

THE MAGNIFICENT SHERWANI

that unravels “ His Majesty The King” inside

                                                    

                                                      

There is no better outfit suited for weddings than a traditional sherwani for Grooms. These are available in various styles, colors and design patterns.

A Sherwani is a long coat that is buttoned to the neck with the length usually extending just below the knee. India is a land of myriad cultures and festivals. Weddings and festive occasions are celebrated lavishly here. Indian men have no qualms about spending generously on sherwani suits for special occasions.

The increasing innovations made in the fashion industry, you get to see a lot of designer sherwanis in the market. The most popular wedding dresses for men, embroidered sherwanis are done with thread work or zari work.

Sherwani suits look majestic and more elegant with the use of rich colors and embroidery threads. Sherwanis are available in various fabrics such as georgette, silk, cotton, polysilk, brocade and crepe.

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Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter

Page 04                           MANAALA  Grooming                                    Friday 15 May  2015

Keep calm, you’re getting married

So, how are you feeling about the wedding day? Does thinking about any specific part of the day bring a nervous feeling into your stomach or a lump in your throat? The wedding morning is often a stressful time for both bride and groom. Getting everyone ready, worrying about getting there on time, any last minute crises that could happen and those “what if…?” questions that swim around our psyches.

Ideally, we’d all like to be cool cucumbers but what if you know this isn’t your normal state that your stress and anxiety levels are already pretty high, and the big day might just add to that pressure cooker feeling?

There are many techniques that can help you relax so don’t wait until you are a bag of nerves on the wedding day.  Read, understand and apply the EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) that you can get started with right away.

EFT is a powerful, drug-free, easy-to-learn and easy-to-use technique that can reduce stress or painful emotions associated with thoughts, past experiences, etc. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are several points on your body that are tapped gently with the tips of the fingers on one hand, whilst repeating certain relevant phrases at the same time.

The theory behind this technique involves the body's energy field, or "meridians", so named by the ancient Chinese. Whether you believe in energy fields or not, you might be curious enough to try this the next time you feel negative emotions - and be surprised by the results.

STEP 01 -  Define the negative emotions (or issues) that are causing you problems, then identify its intensity by assigning a level from 0 to 10. 0 would be "non-existent" and 10 would be the most severe.

STEP 2 - Clarify your setup phrase, which must be specific. For example, "Even though I feel tense and angry when strangers look at me, I totally and completely love, forgive and accept myself anyway". Or, "Even though I fly into a rage when someone makes fun of my green hair and three heads, I totally and completely love, forgive and accept myself anyway". Or, "Even though I feel hurt, sad and devastated that (name of person) has dumped me, I totally and completely love, forgive and accept myself anyway". Get the idea?

STEP 3 - Repeat your setup phrase while tapping the 'karate chop point' - the soft spot on the side of either hand - just below your little finger. Tap the point around 7 times (although there's really no need to count).

 STEP 4 - Come up with a reminder phrase. This will be spoken aloud while tapping the other meridian points (refer to video below). Reminder phrases will be a brief reminder of the setup phrase, for example "strangers looking at me", "hate being looked at". Or, "(name of person) dumped me", "dumped me!", "feel gutted", etc.

STEP 5 - Tap through all of the following points, repeating your reminder phrase:

Inner eyebrow,  just above the inner "corner" of the eye, on the bone; Outer eye: outside edge of the eye, on the bone; Under the eye: below the center of the eye, again, on the bone; Under the nose, between the nose and the lip; On the chin, right in the middle where the crease is; On your chest. Find the "U" shaped bone below your throat, go down 2 inches (5.1 cm) and then 2 inches (5.1 cm) either to the right or left;  Under your arm: three inches under the crease of your arm; Insides of wrists facing each other, tap them lightly together; Top of head: In the middle.

STEP 6 - Now that you've completed your first round of tapping, ask yourself what level the emotion/feeling/discomfort is at, on a 1 to 10 scale again.

STEP 7 - Repeat the process until, at the end of the final round, when you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, it's 2 or less. In that instance, your final setup phrase could be, "Even though I still feel a little bit of anger/sadness/depression about (name of situation), I choose to let it go now as this feeling/emotion no longer serves me."

 STEP 8 - Your reminder phrases can then be "I'm free of this now", "don't need it anymore", "I'm strong and confident".

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Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter