The Malaika factor

It has been a year since we launched our new look My beautiful Life in the magazine - a longer format of the old one with a more detailed shoot and our first choice to kick it off was Malaika Arora Khan. There are things you want to know about Malaika – the secret of her absolutely fabulous body and her great skin and hair top the list. We shot her with Prabuddha Dasgupta and he wanted her in her natural element against the bright winter sun. It was an effortless shoot- Malaika is a natural in front of the camera and equally candid off camera when she chatted about her beauty rituals and work out regime. She is even better looking stripped off all make up in real life with her signature minimal moisturizer and hint of gloss.

Since then Malaika has been a judge at our Vogue beauty awards . She has had a successful run of judging reality shows on television and has had the cult song ‘Munni’ to her credit.  Here are some excerpts from our interview:
No coffee please: Malaika does not drink tea or coffee and is a complete water addict. “I start my day with hot water, lime and honey and drink water through the day.When it comes to exercise nothing mild works for me.” She loves Pilates for the lean look and mixes it with power yoga, abs, circuits and core training. She will do anything that requires high intensity at the gym: kickboxing, interval training, kettle balls you name it and she can do it. It is her big fix. “Going to the gym is the most precious part of the day for me, she says and I aim to work out four to five times a week. “Mention the fact that this sounds like a boot camp workout and her voice perks up. “I am a boot camp sort of person. I like to push myself” she agrees.
Skin care: She will not travel without her Chandan stick and her small mortar and pestle to grind her own fresh sandalwood mask wherever she is .She is a fan of Dr Rohini Wadhwani’s Infusion treatments at Skin Essentials (Mumbai) and is a regular user but she also has a list of home recipes she can tick off like an expert. For example there is her signature egg white and almond oil face pack (“great for tightening the skin”)   and a recipe for a mask she reels off for me like a pro: Grind together almond, almond oil, mash a banana into the mix. Add a pinch of saffron if you like. Apply to your face in smooth circular movements so the almond grains work as a scrub. Keep on for ten minutes and rinse off. See the difference.
Secret hair recipe:  A mix of special Nilgiri oils (she gets all her oils from Ooty) with hibiscus flowers, methi seeds and saffron that she personally boils and uses every week. And she swears by her regular massages with her maalishwaali with some more Ooty oils (ok she is keeping the mix a secret) for some extra toning.