The Puja season is upon us. Artisans have spent days and nights creating pandals of exquisite beauty and innovation to enthral the spirit of both visitors to our city and its permanent residents. Festivals are about renewal, recharging and restoring of one’s spirit with the enthusiasm for life that the mundane day-to-day routine can knock out of us.

External and internal rejuvenation is a must and there is no better time than this to get ourselves refurbished. So as new homes are entered, new clothes bought and new alliances forged, let’s include the adopting of new beauty, health and style trends in the celebrations.

Below is an A to Z list of beauty suggestions and solutions, some new, some not so new, to include in your Puja revamp plans. Happy Puja!

A for Accessories: Till now, courtesy Abhishek Bachchan, the headband had made a hair accessory comeback for men only. Well, the look is back for women too — headbands in metallic shades, diamante barrettes and butterfly clips, especially if they are worn with elegant upsweeps, are very much in vogue. They make for great eveningwear add-ons.

B for Brushes: A set of your very own. One for your eyeliner, one for your blusher and one for your lips! This is a must-have for anyone who dabbles in cosmetics. Bobbi Brown brushes are unbeatable for the flourish they lend to application.

C for Complexion enhancers: These are creams, lotions, or powders containing light-reflecting particles. These little pots of illumination are in keeping with the mood of glowing festivity. Apply to cheekbones, on the ridge of the brow bone and jaw line.

D for Designer haircuts: A cut that is worked out by a stylist to suit your particular frame of face — and feeling.

E for Eyeliner that twinkles: They are now available in vibrant shimmer green and silvery blue. Just a hint of a line during the day and bold daring strokes for your nights out in the town.

F for French manicure: Nails with square tips and a frosted pink pearl base. Men can have them too!

G for Gucci shades: Include these in your Puja list of must-haves. If you are going to guard your eyes from the harsh sunlight and those fine lines around your eyes that squinting produces, do it in style.

Create big dramatic eyes like Riya Sen with full lines of kohl drawn on top and bottom

H for Highlighter pens: Highlighter pens deliver a sheer cream through a firm brush at the tip. They are user-friendly, cover redness and uneven tones. Dot a little highlighter on the inner and outer corners of the eyes to brighten them and around the nose to conceal discolouration.

I for Iridology: The science behind the saying “eyes are the windows to the soul”! This method supposedly detects ailments by examining the iris. A de-tox diet is then prescribed according to what the therapist diagnoses.

J for Jelly waver: This is a fabulous styling product from Wella for those who love their curly hair but not its quickly turning into a mop of frizz due to humidity. It separates the curls, giving the hair a wet, unbeatably glamourous look.

K for Kohl: Liquid, matt, or gel, Bengali eyes are big this season, thanks to Bipasha Basu, Rani Mukerji and the Sen sirens Raima and Riya! Create dramatic eyes by full lines drawn on top and bottom. Get the wings to meet and complete the look by drawing a pointed edge on the inside. Try a combination of Mac kohl pencil and a Lakme insta-liner.

L for LaStone therapy: This combinatory use of heated basalt and cooled marble stones massages the body, stimulates circulation and revitalises the mind by the special concentration given to working the chakra points.

M for Manispa: A combination of a manicure and a spa. Here the hands are soaked, scrubbed, moisturised, massaged and clay masked with citrus-scented products and the nails are filed, buffed and varnished.

N for Nude lips: Nothing complements dramatic eyes better than a set of underplayed, yet luscious looking nude pouters. Glossy or matt, nude shades like rose, bronze and melon are musts.

for Olive oil: The extra virgin kind. Use it on your hair, your skin — and as a cooking medium!

P for Primers: A primer is a pre-make-up treatment that makes the skin, nails, eyes and lips more conducive to make-up application. The new invention that most make-up artists can’t do without, it enhances the surface of the skin. Make-up that is applied on primed skin is guaranteed to last longer.

Q for Q-10: Coenzyme Q-10 skin repair cream is perfect for dull and stressed skin.

R for Read: Beauty has got to be about brains too!

S for Sunscreen: Much has been written on the benefits of this. Need I say more?

T for Tinted moisturisers: Here you get the benefit of coverage and the prevention of moisture loss, all in one.

U for Under-eye spa: No area of the face bears the brunt of the life we lead more than the sensitive under-eye area. Hours in front of the computer and then a few more in front of a TV do nothing to help the dark circles that most Indians are prone to. Get a treatment done and watch your peepers light up!

V for Vitamin C facials: It brightens, lightens and gets your skin to do just about everything you want it to.

W for Water: A lot of us forget this simplest of remedies for all ills. Lack of moisture intake can leave us feeling and looking dehydrated. So drink up.

X for X factor: You are alone on this one!

Y for Yoghurt mask: It’s an antioxidant, it’s a skin lightener and it’s inexpensive.

Z for ZZZZ: At least seven hours of it at night, without which no cream or potion works!