Indian mehndi has colourful designs on trendy Hollywood stars

Sorvino dons mehndi in her upcoming film, Replacement Killers. She also flaunted hand designs at an American film institute gala in Hollywood.Other famous fans include the artist formerly known as Prince and actress Liv Tyler, who was featured with traditional bridal designs in an issue of Vanity Fair magazine earlier this year.

Tyler’s hands and feet were the work of Sumita Batra, co-owner of the Ziba Beauty Centre in Artesia, California. Batra started offering mehndi in 1987, mainly to Indian women like herself. “It’s basically being transformed into an international trend,” said Batra, who has received requests from people as far away as Ireland. She lists three reasons: it’s temporary, painless and all-natural. And its popularity has spread beyond predictable spots like New York’s East Village or California’s Venice Boardwalk. In Stamford, Connecticut, for instance, Suzanne Doran and Karena Piedmont have a business called Studio Sundar.

And their clientele has surprised them, they say. “These are not hippie people,” Piedmont said. “These are women who are country club set and men who work at IBM.” Studio Sundar makes its henna paste from scratch, combining henna powder from India with botanical oils. The paste is then transferred into small plastic cones with tiny openings at the tips.

After it is applied, the henna dries in a few hours and is easily scraped off. A dabbing of a lemon juice and sugar mixture helps draw out a deeper colour that lasts from one week to six weeks. Prices range from seven dollars for a mehndi ring to more than 100 dollars for a traditional feet set. “The simplest pattern is our most popular,” Piedmont said, pointing to a sketch of an `S’ bracelet. “Then they come back again and they’re a little more daring.” It’s also doing a booming business in the catalogue trade, says Julie Stevens, merchandising manager for Zoe Catalog.

“It’s absolutely amazing how much business we’ve been doing with henna,” Stevens says. “It’s just really out of control.”

The catalogue sells kits for 12.50 dollars that include stencils as well as powder and brush for those who want to create their own designs.

“It’s a way of expressing yourself,” Stevens says. “You can have fun with it because it’s not permanent.”