Saturday, September 3, 2016

Merry Mix Ups

I must've been around 10 or 11 years of age then . It was when I was making a delicate transition to adolescence . Fancy clothes and cosmetics began to influence my taste. I preserved my mother's empty perfume bottles in my cupboard and often stared at the pretty bottles, holding them against the light. I had trapped my rainbows in them ..
I waited for a chance to apply my mother's lipsticks; I found the shades so flattering. All this on the sly because I was told that one applied makeup only after stepping into college. I have a confession to make about the kohl pencils though ; the first time I applied it, I had frightened myself ! No matter how carefully I tried to line my eyes, I always looked hideous! 
It was actually in college that started applying kohl and lipstick with my mother's official sanction. My first shade of lipstick was a 'hypnotic rouge' from Lakmé . 
This incident occurred sometime in my pre teens. The washroom was a place where I could spend hours, reading the literature in all the toiletries . With three women in the house, the shelves barely had space for my father's shaving kit. 
Also, my father had a propensity to apply the wrong products on himself. And so it happened one day that when he went in to shower, he took a little longer than usual. Since he responded on being called , there was no panic. 
Almost after an hour , he came out rubbing his scalp in disappointment. He asked us why the shampoo hadn't lathered up at all despite massaging it on his scalp for a good ten minutes . My mother sensed potential tragedy, she went in to check what he had applied. To her utter horror, she discovered that he had picked up the bottle of a hair removing lotion labeled ' Soft and Silky' instead of 'Sunsilk' shampoo; both pink in color and placed on the same shelf !! There was no time to waste after that . There were repeated head washes to remove any residue of the solution from his scalp. 
We looked at him in disbelief. That night, we slept with an unpleasant anticipation . We couldn't visualise him all bald the next morning.. 
On waking up the next day, he only had to look at our expressions to get his answer . He had a close shave , quite literally ! Our cheerful faces provided him relief before he looked into the mirror. 
 

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