A woman applies a delicate grid of henna paste to a celebrant’s hand already painted with lacy paisleys. Henna comes from the leaves of a shrub, Lawsonia inermis, that have been dried, ground to a powder, and mixed with water. The dye, which fades from the skin after a few days or weeks, is as popular today with Western trend-setters as it was centuries ago in ancient Egypt.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “The Quest for Color,” July 1999, National Geographic magazine)