Beauty
...it’s everywhere
December 16, 2011
learn about the ancient art of
henna on pg. 2
the evolution of
ballet on pg. 3
H enna
Henna is an ancient art, sometimes it was incorporated in part of a ceremony, sometimes it was used as decoration, and other times as a healing medicine. “Mehndi …beautifies the body, rejuvenates the spirit, and celebrates the joys of creativity and self-expression.” –Loretta Roome Henna is the Persian name for a tree that was commonly found in Australia, Asia and Africa, along the Mediterranean coasts. The leaves are dried, and ground into a powder. Then the powder is made into a paste by mixing it with acidic liquids, like lemon juice or tea. When henna is in the form of a fine paste, it can be used as a dye or paint. Henna or Mehndi, is said to be a sacred work, it was anciently used as a type of worship in many cultures in India, Africa, and the Middle East. Often, a tradition at wedding ceremonies, in India, was for the bride’s feet and hands to be decorated professionally with henna. The designs were patterned after lace fabrics. This henna practice is associated with the change from girl to woman and is a celebration of marriage. In Africa, and more specifically, Morocco, henna is considered magical and is used in the transformation of man and woman into husband and wife.
Did You Kno
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...the Beauty in art The henna plant can be used in treatment of burns, and ulcers of the mouth, stomach, burns, and hot swellings. It has also been said that Henna also helps in the treatment of small pox in its early stages. This was quoted by author Loretta Roome. “…It was common practice among the Egyptians to dye their fingernails a reddish hue with henna, and it was considered illmannered not to do so. Traces of henna have been found on the hands of Egyptian mummies up to five thousand years old.” Some cultures believe that henna tattoos bring good luck. Other ones believe, “Ornamenting the bride’s hands and feet with henna is believed to bring love, health, prosperity, safety in childbirth, protection from harmful spirits and assure happiness in death as well.” Mehndi, or henna, is a plant that has been used as treatment, jewelry, and as tradition in some ceremonies. In time, henna has developed from an ancient, sacred art form to a modern style of beauty.
“When bloss oms of henna are placed in garment, the a woolen y perfume it and prevent m -http://www.a oths.” ngelfire.com/b iz/HelwaHen na/History.htm l
Ballet...the language of beauty “The word ‘ballet’ comes from a French word ‘balletto’, which stands for theatrical dances.” - http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/ lounge/history-of-ballet-5664.html. In the early history of ballet, the dance’s main use was to impress and entertain the rulers of the time. So originally, ballet dancers were adorned with heavy expensive clothes which were almost always lengthy dress sleeves, and skirts that meet the floor. The reason beneath this type of dance was to show or mimic the harmony and relationships of the divinities, to separate order apart from chaos, and to grant peace to the people in the audience. Some think that the performance of the Ballet Comique de la Reine at the Palais du Petit Bourbon in Paris was the “true birth of ballet”. During the era wherein it was customary for only men to take part in ballet, King Louis XIV, who ruled France during the late 1600s, danced in the ballets performed at his court. Until the year of 1681, all female roles performed at Royal Academy of Dance were danced by young men. Girls did not dance in the ballets, because it was a common belief that a woman’s body was not built to carry the weight of the heavy costumes that were customarily worn by the dancers. The performance of Le Triomphe de l’Amour in 1681 was the first time that female dancers performed professionally. By the early 1800’s, women were performing the primary roles in romantic ballet. A French choreographer named Jean Georges Noverre expressed what he thought about the purpose of ballet when he said that it was to express the feelings of the dancer. He asked all dancers to stop wearing masks,big, heavy costumes and headdresses. He felt that emotions such as anger, joy or love should be expressed by the dancer’s body and its movements. One ballerina with the name of Taglioni surprisingly shortened her skirts for a performance to show off her feet while dancing en pointe. This began the change from long ballet skirts to short tutus.
Weather Beauty In the spirit of Christmas, I believe that the most beautiful weather is snow. The most interesting part about this white wonder is the fact that new snow is beautiful anywhere… on the ground, on people’s clothing, on windowsills, on benches, and even when it is still falling from the sky. Some people think that snow is beautiful because it looks perfect and it makes everything else perfect. It falls exactly the right way in that it smoothes the surfaces underneath. Even when the surface is the rough dirt, snow seems to melt away the imperfections. Others think that snow is beautiful because it’s white and unblemished. In other words, it’s pure and clean. I think that snow can symbolize a new start, and a rebirth of goals, or New Year’s Resolutions. I think that this is why people get hope from the holidays. Everyone now gets another chance, a new set of goals, and another year.
The Northern Lights are another wonder of beauty that occur at higher altitudes in the night sky. The Northern Lights are moving lights of almost every color. They have been recorded to be yellow, purple, and green, or red, blue, and white or pink. They appear in places like Antarctica, Alaska, and Canada. Sometimes people that live in these climates, will stand outside at midnight or early morning, when the sky is still dark, to see the beauty of these magical- seeming lights. Researchers used to believe that these beautiful arrays of light were caused by sun reflections on ice that were mirrored onto the black sky like a projector. In recent years, researchers have been discovering a new solution to this sky treasure. They think that the lights are caused when particles of energy from the Sun hit the Earth’s magnetic field.
Beauty in Nature Nature is getting harder to find. There are many definitions of nature. One of them is that it refers to life and plants and anything living. Nature, it refers to geology and wildlife. People travel around the world to look at nature and wildlife; they go to places like Africa, Egypt, Peru, and the Caribbean. When I hear the word nature I picture waterfalls and jungles, with humid weather. The sky would be blue
with few clouds and moss with ferns everywhere. Nature includes no man-made buildings and, it looks like a different planet. It’s a place that people would never want to leave and would want to make it home that’s just one reason why people travel. Also to live their life and see what the world has to offer. There are not very many places that haven’t been explored. That’s why I want to go back in time and explore the world before there are too many diseases.
Beauty in Make Up Make up also known as cosmetics is used to amplify beauty, or eliminate odors. There are creams, lotions, perfumes, powders, and lipsticks. Different colors fit different people’s faces. Cosmetics are intended to be applied to the human face for beautifying, cleansing, altering someone’s appearance, promoting attractiveness. The first finding of people using makeup was in ancient Egypt. In the Middle Ages makeup was frowned upon by women, saying that it was hiding what they truly looked like. Make up has many purposes a few are to look better in public and to make face look thinner or to raise your cheek bones. Make up can be used for any colored skin and can remove blemishes and also hide them until they go away. Make up can change skin colors and so can paint it can, make you look older or younger. Makeup is used throughout the world and has been used for a long time makeup is becoming more expensive and easier to find.
Beautiful Hair
A hair style is a way to design your hair or make it look fancy while on the head of a human. Culture can influence types of hairstyles, throughout the years hair styles got big and tall then they got small and short. It also matters what gender you are each male and female hairstyles change over the years. There are up does, ponytails, pigtails. You can curl it and wear it down, or straighten it, you can also wave it. Whether you want to straighten, curl or wave you need a device that does it for you. You can go to a barber shop or a hair salon, and get your hair done or get it cut to get rid of split ends. Here are some hair facts: people with blonde hair usually have more hair strands then people with naturally dark or red hair, a wire of iron is just as strong as hair, everyday people loose 40-100 strands of hair, and most heads of hair have 100,000 strands of hair or just a little bit less then 1000 per square inch. Hair can have extensions, or you can wear wigs. Extensions are fake hair that you clip or tie into your hair to make it look longer or fuller. These extensions are usually made of thin fibers that copy the look of hair. This fiber can be dyed whatever hair color you want to match you hair. Some hair extensions cannot be heated, like curling or straightening. Wigs usually can be styled and washed. You can do almost anything with wigs but you pay a lot for good quality. There are crimping irons, flat irons, curling irons, waving irons, hair dryers and hair rollers. Hair is most likely to get styled by a professional but only for special occasions. The Steps: 1. Pull hair to one side, then split it in half. 2. Fishtail-braid one pieces and secure with an elastic at the end. 3. Braid the other piece and wrap it around the fishtail braid at ear level. Use bobby pins to secure. 4. Don't worry about loose pieces falling out — it adds to the boho-vibe!
Beautiful Cakes
Beauty is in food; in my opinion, baking is more beautiful than cooking. Did you know there was such a thing called sugar blowing and it makes the sugar to look like glass. Cake is a form of bread like food that has a lot more sugar. Along time ago cakes were fried into a bread or cheesecake. Normally contain a combination of and butter and oil, with some varieties also requiring liquid (usually water or milk) and leavening agents (such as yeast or baking powder). Cakes are sometimes filled with cream or frosting. Cakes can be used to celebrate holidays and occasions. There are wedding cakes, birthday cakes, and Christmas cakes. The most popular cake types are... *Chocolate Cake (vanilla frosting) *Vanilla Cake (chocolate frosting) Cheese Cake Carrot Cake Ice Cream Cake Red Velvet *Swirl Cake (marble...vanilla/chocolate mix) Cake shapes -“wikipedia” •Bundt cakes •Cake balls •Conical, such as the Kransekake •Cupcakes and madeleines, which are both sized for a single person •Layer cakes, frequently baked in a springform pan and decorated •Sheet cakes, simple, flat, rectangular cakes baked in sheet pans •Swiss roll cakes Cakes can be topped with fondant, fruit, icing, and/ or sprinkles. Cakes can be filled with fruit, syrup, or flavored frosting. There are lavender cakes, lime cakes, almond fig cakes, espresso dark brownie cupcakes, peach berry cupcakes, popcorn and peanut cupcakes, pumpkin pop cupcakes, and chocolate strawberry cupcakes. Cakes can be bought and sold at stores, and they can be fancy or boring. Cakes can be expensive and that’s why there aren’t that many stores, now. Common food stores carry cakes that you can buy. Wedding cakes can be the most expensive and the largest cakes. There can be rocket cakes, monster cakes, motor scooter cakes, and cakes that look like people.