Paste matters!

When I first started mixing my own paste, I looked online for the correct consistency of the henna paste. However, a few batches down the road, I decided to make the paste more liquidy and added some extra lemon juice. Initially, my paste used to have a toothpaste consistency. With this trial, the paste resembled stirred yogurt in its consistency. To give you an idea, the paste was liquid enough to start oozing out of the cone as soon as I cut the tip. Now, this new consistency helped me increase my speed greatly, and I was able to generate a better flow in my designs. 

While on the same topic, for all you die-hard Jamila Henna fans, if you haven't done so yet, buy a 50 gram sample of a stringy henna and try mixing the two powders together. Though my first batches were purely Jamila Henna (and I loved the colour!), I started mixing Jamila with Rajasthani Henna (50/50 mixture). The paste texture is to die for! Now, this may very well be my imagination, but I also think that the addition of the Rajasthani Henna makes the stain more vibrant. Try it out, I fell in love with it the first time and don't want to try anything else any more. Ok, I know I will keep trying new things, but as for making the perfect henna batch every time - stain, texture and consistency - I think I've fixed my paste matters :)