The keys to Turkish beauty

Paula 1165. Saturday, January 17, 2015.

After the end of the successful television series One Thousand and One Nights, today on national TV screens you can see another five Turkish fictions that continue to install a very particular type of feminine beauty in the retina. But how do Turkish women take care of themselves? These are their tips, according to the Turkish ambassador to Chile Naciye Gökçen Kaya.

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Turkish comfort food, such as soups and salads, includes a good variety of vegetables, such as eggplant, tomato, squash, cucumber and carrot, prepared with olive oil and yogurt. As for proteins, they generally consume lamb and beef. When it comes to care, yogurt soup, pomegranate juice, and teas are common.

1. Yogurt Soup: To take care of the figure, a Turkish formula is to have yogurt soup at lunch as a main course and light meals during the rest of the day. Onur Erdemir, a Turkish chef who runs Meze (Manuel Montt 270, Providencia, phone 22378 3646), the only 100% Turkish restaurant in Chile, gives the recipe to make it at home and says that he will have it in his menu starting in May:

Ingredients:

2 butter spoons

3 tablespoons of flour

4-5 tablespoons plain yogurt (regular or zero percent fat)

¼ cup of rice

500 ml of chicken or beef broth water

1 egg yolk

dry mint

Mix the ingredients in a pot, except the yolk and mint, and stir for 10 minutes over medium heat. Then, without turning off the heat, separate a ladle of soup and leave it in a container away from the heat to stir together with the yolk. This mixture is incorporated into the first preparation. Separately, in a frying pan, mix a pinch of butter with dry mint, and add the soup.

2. Pomegranate juice: Pomegranate, which grows in Chile between April and June, contains fiber and antioxidants. The juice is taken on an empty stomach and 15 to 30 minutes before each meal to help detoxify the body. Three glasses (approx) are obtained by blending the red grains of 2 to 3 pomegranates. The mixture is passed through a strainer and the liquid is mixed with water to taste, ice and some mint leaves and stevia, if it is very bitter.

3. The teas: drinking tea is part of the Turkish culture. Women drink at least 4 cups a day, mainly Turkish black tea or çay, and apple tea; both antioxidants and diuretics. On www.ebay.com, 500g Caykur Rize brand Turkish black tea costs $10.50; and Hazer Baba Apple Tea 250g $9.47 (plus shipping).

Turkish bath ritual

Turkish women often go to hammams, or steam baths, once a week to cleanse their pores and release toxins through perspiration. There they exfoliate with loofah, a natural sponge, with which they rub their bodies in upward circular movements, from the ankles to the neck. Before that, a laurel soap and/or olive oil is applied, including the face, to moisturize and soften. Finally, they take a cold shower so that the skin contracts and tones. To dry off, the tradition is to use the Turkish bath towel, called pestemal.

More about makeup

2 new Turkish baths in Santiago:

- The newly opened spa at The Singular Hotel has a mixed cabin. $20,000 at Merced 294, phone 22306 8820, www.thesingular.com/santiago.

-The Renaissance Hotel spa offers a relaxation massage that includes a mixed Turkish bath. $25,000 at Av Kennedy 4700, Las Condes, phone 22678 8822, www.rsantiagohotel.com.

Where to buy loofah, soap and Turkish towel:

-In Tienda Besa they have loofah of different sizes. From $2,500, at Galeria Drugstore, loc 8, Providencia, phone 22335 6319, www.besa.cl.

-In the Pronamed Store they have a bay bar soap and olive oil. $7,500 in Los Cobres de Vitacura, Av Vitacura 6710, loc B7, phone 22218 9200, www.pronamed.cl.

-Kika Sánchez and Andrea Mutoli bring to Chile pestemal models made on a loom by artisans from the eastern Black Sea. From $16,000 to $36,000, depending on the type of fiber (cotton, organic cotton, linen and bamboo) and the design. They are absorbent, quick-drying and lightweight. Facebook: The pestemal, cel 6607 1701, mail thepestemal@gmail.com.

Body and hair oils

-Rose oil for the body: After the Turkish bath and cold shower, a Turkish beauty secret to moisturize deeply is to apply rosa damascena oil, massaging the body in a circular motion. In Native Rose Store they sell 1 g for $60,000 and they have a promotion for 3 g for $100,000. Rose oil is very concentrated, so it is recommended to dilute each gram in 500 ml of almond essential oil. Holland 067, loc 123, Providencia and at Mercado by Drugstore every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cell 9416 8072, www.nativerose.cl.

-For the hair: almond oil is applied to moisturize and give shine. When the hair is still damp, rub a couple of drops into the palm of your hand and massage into the scalp, spreading to the ends. If the hair is dry, it is applied from the middle to the ends. In Tienda Dellanatura they have a 250 ml format, worth $5,500, Pueblo del Inglés, phone 22218 7710, www.dellanatura.cl

Make-up

-Eyes outlined: to highlight the eyes they use a type of black eyeliner called sürme that has two varieties: kohl, which is powder, and kajal, which is compact. Both are made with earth and minerals. In the Ojo Turco store they sell two formats of kajal. $3,500 in bar and $1,600 in pencil. Huérfanos 1052, loc 25–B, phone 22688 2057, www.ojoturco.cl.

-Red nails: "Turkish women prefer all shades of red for their hands," says Ahmet Gürbüz, a Turk who brought the Flormar brand to Chile 3 years ago, Turkey's leader in nail polish and professional makeup. From $2,990 to $4,990, in module 580, Mall Vivo Panorámico, Providencia, cel 8422 8440, Facebook: Fans of Flormar, www.flormar.com.

The 3 icons of Turkish beauty

Three film and television actresses are the current beauty icons in Turkey:

-Beren Saat (30): protagonist of the TV series What is Fatmagul's fault?, she is the highest paid actress in Turkey and she acted alongside Monica Bellucci in the Iranian film Rhino Season.

-Bergüzar Korel (32): who gave life to Scheherazade in One Thousand and One Nights, she has been on the cover of the Turkish editions of Marie Claire and Elle magazines.

-Tuba Büyüküstün (32): first Turkish woman nominated for an Emmy as best actress for the drama 20 minutes. She has been on the cover of the Turkish editions of Vogue, Elle, In Style and Marie Claire, as well as the French L'Officiel.

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