HENNA ELEGANCE - THE MOBILE HENNA SERVICE
I discovered Henna Elegance in August this year, as they generously sponsored a makeover package for the Katie Piper Foundation auction which was auctioned off by Mr Edward Rising of Sotheby’s. I was excited to find out that there was a professional and specialist company in the UK that could cater for henna parties and events as it brought back great memories from East Africa.
In the few years I spent in East Africa my family was often invited to henna parties which were held prior to weddings as part of the preparations for the bride to be. They would prepare and dry the mignonette tree leaves and grind them and turn it into a paste and intricately decorate the bride, matron of honour, bridesmaids and other female members of the wedding party. The henna parties are one of the few places women from all sectors of society could come together, catch up, eat wonderful food and dance. Unfortunately due to attending a strict boarding school and later carving a career as a lawyer I could only have the smaller tattoos and never indulged in the elaborate ones. The only time I was able to was when I was in between jobs and my best friend was getting married. She was the daughter of a big time Omani businessman and the wedding was the talk of the town, women from the middle east, Africa and Europe came to attend the lavish celebrations including the henna party held at one of their mansions. To learn more about henna see the end of this article.
Henna art was in the national news in the United Kingdom recently after the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla Parker Bowles) was seen sporting a small henna tattoo after her visit to Tanzania with HRH Prince Charles. The Duchess received her tattoo on a whistle-stop tour to the paradise island of Zanzibar. She agreed to be inked during a visit to Old Fort in Stone Town, the capital of the spice island. The Duchess is quoted in the daily mail as saying “‘I didn’t feel that I could refuse and it was rather beautiful...” Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2062346/Camilla-Parker-Bowles-Henna-tattoo-given-Tanzania-trip-wont-come-off.html#ixzz1f2scuGUS
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| Duchess of Cornwall showing henna tattoo |
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| Duchess of Cornwall's Henna tattoo |
PROFILE OF HENNA ELEGANCE
Henna Elegance offers a bespoke elegant henna service. With over 10 years’ experience they are able to offer Henna designs and henna tattoos for all occasions including traditional Indian Bridal, Rajasthani, Arabian, Contemporary and many more. Henna Elegance is available for all occasions.
All henna products we use are 100% organic and natural. Swarovski crystals, glitter gels and other products can also be used upon request.
Sadaf is a freelance Henna Artist and the owner of Henna Elegance. She has over 16 years experience in the industry. Sadaf first started doing henna from the age of 14 for friends and family in Karachi as a hobby. She was initially self taught but decided to expand her skills and knowledge and learnt from a professional Henna Guru in Karachi.
Sadaf's family origins are from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan where henna is popular during special occasions including Middle East, Africa and now increasingly becoming popular in Europe, USA and Canada.
In Asia and Middle East the ladies adorn their hands with beautiful patterns made up of natural henna powder which is crushed from a henna plant. Henna is a temporary tattoo brown in colour and can last upto 2 weeks in some cases. It is known to have many health benefits too.
When Sadaf first arrived in the UK quite few years back, her beautiful bespoke henna designs were spotted by many people requesting her to do henna for weddings, religious festivals, and parties. Sadaf uses organic henna, to glitter henna, to crystals and even bindis to give a unique contemporary look. Her designs are endless and vary from traditional Rajasthani Indian designs to Arabian designs to body tattoos.
Not one to shy away from developing, after a few years she decided to up-skill herself and trained with the world renowned Henna Artist Ash Kumar. Ash Kumar’s client list reads like a who’s who of Hollywood with the likes of
Cameron Diaz,
Madonna, Demi Moore and Julia Roberts all counting themselves as fans. He has also prepped and preened some of the most famous faces in Bollywood including the beautiful
Aishwarya Rai. If that wasn’t enough he also holds the current
Guinness Book of Records title for the ‘Fastest Henna Artist’.
www.ashkumar.co.uk
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| From L to R, Ash Kumar & Salman Khan |
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| From L to R, Ash Kumar and female client |
Sadaf brought trademark designs to her clients and always ensures her work oozes elegance. This is when she thought of the idea 'Henna Elegance' bringing a class of unique elegance to her henna art work. Sadaf has since then taken the beauty and class of henna and transferred it from the human body to materials!
"What was once used by our ancestors as a beauty adornment is now also used as decoration on various items". Sadaf explains.
Upon clients request she creates bespoke henna designs from candles, bags, shoes and clothes to even phone covers!
Sadaf states "As technology is rapidly growing so is the creativity of henna".
Sadaf also uses her henna talent for team building activities for corporate clients.
In 2012 / 2013 she plans to launch her workshops for a limited period where aspiring henna artists can learn how to create their own bespoke trademark designs, learn trade secrets, tips and advice on unleashing their potential to get into the henna industry. For further information please contact: info@hennaelegance.com or call 07806 431614
Copyright photos and information @
Henna: Henna Elegance
Model: Juilie Indira
Makeup: Afshan Hidden Beauty
Photography: Rabia Haq Photography Ltd
Retoucher: Cg Retouching
HISTORY OF HENNA
Henna has been used throughout Africa, India, and the Middle East for thousands of years.
For centuries, mehndi — the art of henna painting on the body — has been practiced in India, Africa, and the Middle East, where the henna plant is believed to bring love and good fortune, and to protect against evil. Mehndi is traditionally practiced for wedding ceremonies, during important rites of passage, and in times of joyous celebration. A paste made from the crushed leaves of the henna plant is applied to the skin, and when removed several hours later, leaves beautiful markings on the skin that fade naturally over 1 to 3 weeks.
Henna Use in the Past
Besides being the key ingredient in mehndi, henna has also been used to dye the manes and hooves of horses, and to color wool, silk, and animal skins, as well as men's beards. Studies of mummies dating back to 1200 BC show that henna was used on the hair and nails of the pharaohs.
Henna Today
Until the art of mehndi became hot news in 1996, henna was mostly used in the United States as a hair dye. Widely recognized now as a wonderful way to dye the skin and to achieve the look of a tattoo, traditional henna uses and application processes have gone contemporary. Although some will always prepare their own henna paste, mehndi kits of varying quality, with foolproof instructions and convenient stencils, can be purchased in many retail and online outlets (including this Web site).
As far back as 1200 B.C. the ancient Egyptians were using henna on their nails and hair. Henna was also used to dye animal skins, textiles, and men's beards. Once the henna plant's cooling properties were discovered, painting the skin became a way for the desert people of India to cool down their body temperatures.
