Services Menu : August 2010

I hope that all of you appreciate the fact that, inspite of extreme hikes in expenses, we have not raised our prices by even 1 Rupee! See how much we like you??

Titans of make-up: Francois Nars

It seems that to become a great fashion legend one needs to be born in France, one needs to have a stylish mother and one needs to be obssessed with Vogue and cinema at an early age. This lucky combination of events has produced, among others, Karl Largerfeld and has also produced Francois Nars. Francois joined the famous Carita make-up school in Paris ,run by two perfectionist sisters running a syllabus that was rigorous in the extreme, other graduates include Laura Mercier who I will cover next. After being introduced to "visagists", a term that I ADORE and would love to apply to myself if I dared, by his mother, Francois found himself as one of their assisstants and his climb to fame had begun.

A shift to new york saw some iconic partnerships; with the young supermodels of the 90's, the super talented photographers of the time like Richard Avedon, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn and Bruce Weber and designers , such as Dolce & Gabbana, Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Sui, Versace, Valentino and most famously Marc Jacobs (who has pulled Nars out of retirement most recently). Obviously, Nars became one of the most famous names in make-up.

It was, however, the launch of his make-up line (funded by his parents) that made him a world wide phenomenon. Not only did the shoots for his company introduce us to Nars' Edward Scissorhands like aesthetic vocabulary but it also forced him behind the lens, with super results. Originally just 12 lipsticks, the range now has high powered, high pigmented make-up, skin care and a repetoire of tools, each one packaged in the famous sexy ebony rubber housing. The purchase of his make-up line by Shiseido (who were intellegent enough to leave Francois in charge creativley) enabled Nars to buy his own island and to just concentrate on creating more and more beautiful colours with more and more evocative names. From intense marine "Tropic", the amazing dirty yellow-lime of Mangrove, the uber rich violet of "Daphne", Nars' colours are high pigment and high fashion. You can get lost in the beauty of the palette as a whole.

I dream of designing my own make-up range, and these are the levels of creativity that I aspire to. (Wouldn't mind an island either!) I have to say, Nars' is a Tim Burton like bonanza of colour and pigment that takes your breath away.

Enjoy the website:

http://www.narscosmetics.com/index.aspx?SID=1&

Ramzan Deals 2010

Here we are with what we hope are great Ramzan deals to help you while away those tough rozas!

Design by jamdesigns (jam.designs@gmail.com)

1)Hair cuts with Nadya Hussain (from August the 10th to the 14th)
Ramzan price: Rs.1,500 Original price: Rs. 2,000

2)The Foot Spa treatment pedi:
With a double massage, double scrub and reviving aromatherapy, this top of the line, 9 step minty pedicure will actually revive tired feet and heal any damage. Lasts you longer than your average pedicure too!
Ramzan price: Rs.1,800 Original price: Rs.2,200

3)L’oreal Extenso hair relaxing treatment (16th to the 20th ) :
Ramzan price: 10% off

4)The L’oreal Power dose pre blow dry protein plus blow dry:
Ramzan price: Rs. 1,000 Original price: Rs.1,300

5)The O.P.I coffee/ tropical citrus/ papaya pineapple mani and pedi
Ramzan price: Rs.1,800 Original price: Rs.2,050

6) Customised Dermalogica facial with Tania Mohammed:
Ramzan price :Rs.2,750 Original price: Rs.3,000

Design by jamdesigns (jam.designs@gmail.com)

7) The Ramzan Reviver Package:
The Foot spa pedi, O.P.I mani, 15 minute protein and 10 minute back massage all combine to help you while away the hours before Iftar!
Ramzan price: Rs.3,500 Original price: Rs. 3,950

8)The Ramzan Dermalogica Deal:
Buy your Daily Microfoliant (your at home exfoliant that keeps you debris free and makes your skin glow) and your Spf 30 Solar defence booster (your sunblock with Green tea, Grapeseed and Vitamin A, C and E to nourish your skin) and get your multi active toner ( an Aloe Vera and Arnica pore closing spritz) for FREE!!!!
Ramzan price: Rs.6,980 for all 3!!! Original Price: Rs.9,370

Making waves!

I can't wait for summer to hit for only one reason: wavy hair! As you can see from the picture to the left, I like to change up my look for a curlier do with the advent of the dreaded humidity and not only do I enjoy it, people ask me all the time how to achieve it. Well there are a good few ways to go about it and some rules to follow for that perfect summer wave.

1) Use a good amount of antifrizz to get wave not fuzz. (Osis' Magic Gloss ROCKS!)

2) Right after your shower, put a coin sized amount of anti frizz in to your palm, and warm it up, spreading it all over your hands. This will ensure you get no gloops of grease in your hair. Hang your head upside down and get the majority of the products on to the ends of your hair. When your hands are just slightly greasy, flip over and start moving upwards. The last place you should get to is the front of your head when your hands are almost devoid of product.

3) Comb through and allow to partially air dry. After about 15 minutes seperate your hair in to random pieces, about the size and heaviness of the curl that you would like to end up with. Too much and it won't curl, too little and it will frizz. Pin up in a backwards direction, channel Farrah Fawcett. (You can fix the curls with just about anything, in the old days they used to use rags!) Blast your head with a little heat from a hair dryer till you feel it is dry or just do this before you go to sleep and wake up a wavy haired beauty.

4) For a smoother take on this, after your 15 minutes are up, unwind one curl at a time , using a blow dryer blast the shaft with heat from above while continuing to twirl the hair smoothly around your finger. The tighter the curl the better, it will open up as time goes by. Keep thinking Farrah.

5) For those with finer hair, you may want to take smaller sections and add a curl creator. At the salon we like Toni & Guy's Beach Curl spray.

6)To get an even more defined look, twirl your tong (preferably Ghd) in a spiral motion down the curves of the curl. Leave the end rough for a more textured look. Keep your tong moving at all times and use a heat safe product to avoid the dreaded fried out look of the perpetual tonger. You should only tong your hair once a week, so get the other techiques right and use this for a night out or when you are in need of a pick me up.

Now off you go and think Taylor Swift while you are at it...........

The Express Tribune reviews the salon...

Amna Khalique writes a beautifully detailed review about the salon and related topics! (Thanks Amna!) To read the full article please click on the title of this post to be transported to the Tribune site, as if by magic!

"Bina Khan- Salon and Training" facebook group

With the blocking of facebook, please feel free to post any questions here in the form of comments. Until we manage to reconvene in our usual setting, I hope all 3,500 of you find your way here! I will be using this site to announce any new deals as well, as always!

Mother's day 2010

The Rs. 1,000 "bon bons" and blowdry package

The Bina Khan Gift Certificate, attached to every box.

This year we have teamed up again with the good people at Lal's to help you spoil your mother rotten! We have tried to ensure that whatever your budget, you can get a lovely box of chocolates with a gift certificate attached for one of 3 deals. So go on.... SPOIL YOUR MUM!!!!!!

All the deals...

The Lal's towers of chocolates for Deal 3, this package contains a mani and pedi both!

A box of 10 truffles and a peppermint pedi makes a nice gift!

FM 91 Mother's day gift draw

Our Summer Menu: 2010

1) The Body Shop Satsuma manicure and pedicure
(Rs.800) (Rs.1,000)

2) The Body Shop Sweet Lemon manicure and pedicure
(Rs.800) (Rs.1,000)

3) The O.P.I Tropical Citrus manicure and pedicure
(Rs.850) (Rs.1,200)

4)The O.P.I Papaya Pineapple manicure and pedicure
(Rs.850) (Rs.1,200)

5) The Naturica Express Protein (15 minutes to super smooth hair- includes a hair wash, massage an a fast acting deep conditioning treatment) (Rs.500)

(All facebook group members are entitled to a 10% discount for the months of April, May and June)

The Summer Dermalogica Deal!

The good people at Demalogica heard about our Summer Menu and decided to offer us a great deal for our clients taking in to account all your summer needs. Here is the deal:

1) Daily Microfoliant Rs. 3,490:

Take care of your daily exfoliation with this unique rice-based formula that also helps with pigmentation. Activate with water to micro-exfoliate dead cells, instantly leaving skin smoother and noticably brighter. Green Tea and oatmeal calm the skin to make this safe to use on a daily basis. (This product is quite strong so it is not recommended for those using medically prescribed exfoliaters.) This will take the place of your face wash and toner.

2)Clearing mattifier Rs. 2,990:

With Cinnamon Bark extract to reduce pore size, blackheads and whitheads, yeast extract and caffeine to inhibit overactive sebaceous activity and chamomile to calm reddened skin, this is the ultimate pore tightening product. Salicylic acid helps prevent breakouts as another plus point!

3) Oil Control Lotion Rs.2,690:

With magical microsponges to absorb oil on the skin's surface, this lotion will moisturise even oily skin while controlling sebaceous activity. Leaves your skin plump but totally matte...all day long!

4) Oil Free Matte Block FREE!!!:

Here it is, the Holy Grail! A sunblock that is non oily! With an SPF of 20 and more of the magical microsponges that absorb your skins own oil production, this invisible sunscreen gives you coverage without the clogged, oily feeling of other sunblocks. Genius!

So take care of your skins summertime needs with this fabulous offer and make the boys in your life try it too! The amount of product in these packages means that this should all last you about 6 months, so that means you are spending about Rs.1,500 on better looking, better protected skin. That is a pretty good bargain!

(Total cost: Rs. 9,170 for four products. Saving: Rs. 2,990)

Dressed for Success......

If you follow my "Girl Guide" blog on newslinemagazine.com you will hopefully remember my post about book shops in Karachi. If not, just click on the title of this post to get directed there. In it I discussed two books that I was wooing, visiting again and again, with little regard to decorum and seemliness. I am happy to report that my advances were eventually well recieved and said books are now residing blissfully with me in my home.










The one that I am sharing with you is called "DRESSED" and it is a history of cinematic costume design spanning the whole of the 20th century. It is full of wonderful anecdotes, beautiful sketches and is a pretty comprehensive guide to hair and make-up of every period too. (This, of course, is how I justified the purchase to myself : A BUSINESS INVESTMENT!!) Also I find it amazing that so much of a character's attitude seems to be suggested by the sketches of the costume designer.



These are some of my favourites pages.......

Valentine's Day..GGGRRRRR!!!!!

The updated services menu : February 2010

Kevyn Aucoin: NOW IN PAKISTAN!

I have loved Kevyn Aucoin since I was a young teenager. I still have the TIME magazine that featured his then brand new book "Making faces". I watched this gentle giant on Oprah. I read his books cover to cover. I found his story inspirational. I like to think that he taught me a huge part of what i know. I like to think that it shows sometimes. I use his books in my teaching. I cried when he died.

So you can imagine my joy when, on a recent visit to lahore, I stumbled on the information that there was a store that was stocking his line. The sucky part was that it was midnight and I was flying out for Islamabad in the morning. I resolved, however, to drive back to worship at the altar of Kevyn. What was 8 hours on the road?


The experience lived up to my expectations, both the shop (http://www.thesquare.pk/) that houses the Kevyn Aucoin range and the range itself. The products are on the high end and pricey side but boy are they fabulous and completely worth it. The creams are extra gooey, the powders are ultra rich, the brushes are super soft, the packaging substantial and luxurious. As you can see from my pictures, I shopped till i dropped. Using Kevyn's brushes and Kevyn's products (that he worked on before his tragic death) makes me feel like I am paying proper tribute to his memory.