Face Good

For a glitter affair like Christmas, you can't go wrong with shimmery makeup!

For a delicate fairy-like look, you will need shimmery eye shadow or a shimmer powder. You will also need shimmery lip gloss to go over your lipstick.

Choose a lipstick colour that flatters you, but avoid brilliant tones or very dark tones since the emphasis will be on the eyes. Go over your lips with lip gloss. If the gloss isn’t sufficiently shimmery to create noticeable sparkles, you can add a little silver shimmer powder to your lips.

For the eyes, it depends on how far you want to go. You can go for the outrageous look by covering your entire eyelid in metallic eyeshadow.

For lighter tones to match your pure white dress, you can use shimmery peach, lavender or lilac, but line your eye with a silver or white pencil.

Unleash your black mascara’s optimum powers :)

Stick on false eyelashes with crystals or glitter.

Lastly, use a powder brush to dust a little shimmery powder all over your face. If you’re wearing off-shoulders, get some shimmer on the shoulders too!

An important point to note. If you have wrinkles, avoid all out shimmer because it draws attention to fine lines and wrinkles.

Enjoy your party! Merry Christmas!

Choose one area to focus coloured make-up
Even if it’s Christmas, you shouldn't make yourself up like a Christmas tree by piling up as many types of make-up as you can on your face! Applying coloured make-up on every part of your face just makes one look crass. Basically, just choose one focal area from your eyes, cheeks and lips. For example, if you’re using heavy eye make up, use lighter tones on your cheeks and lips. Or use brighter and more obvious lip stick colours if you’re going with light eye makeup.


Use concealer appropriately
Concealer is good for covering pimples, blackheads, dark spots, dark circles, amongst many small flaws. To prevent discrepancies in your skin colour, choose concealers with the same or similar tone to your foundation. If you’re trying to conceal a huge area, blend your concealer with your foundation so the patch doesn’t stand out.

Remove oil before touching up your makeup
Make-up isn’t meant to hide oil. Use oil absorbent sheets to siphon oil from your face. If you apply make-up directly over an oily face, your make-up will cake.

Don’t over-lighten your facial skin tone
The skin colour on your face and neck will differ, which will be simply awkward. Even if you cover your neck in make-up, the difference in skin tone with other parts will be obvious, unless you’re wearing clothes that don’t reveal an inch of skin. The contrast will really show up on photos, and looks even more obvious in a dimmed club. Instead of trying to brighten your skin tone, use richer colours for your eyes or lips to add radiance instead.

Christmas is just round the corner! Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? If you’ve run out of ideas for gifts, I suggest beauty products. They make great gifts because they are beautifully packaged and useful!

You may say ‘But I don’t know my friend’s skin type or preferences!’ Beauty products aren’t limited to creams that go on your skin. Here are my recommendations for products suitable for general use, beautifully packaged and well-liked by myself and many others.


Cle de Peau Extra Silky Lipstick
Every woman who has a make-up regime needs lipsticks. Cle de Peau Extra Silky Lipstick has bold and beautiful colours. The texture feels rich and creamy, and it actually stains the lips, so the colour doesn’t come off when you eat, drink or talk. The brand has quite a large range of colours. Choose one that your friend usually wears or if you’re feeling generous, choose a few and let her have fun experimenting!





Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion














Shiseido The Makeup Powder Brush
This has to be the softest, most luxurious makeup brush out there! It distributes powder very beautifully so you get that soft airbrushed look with no cakiness!



Essie Protein Base Coat
If your friend loves doing manicures, this will be a useful present. It is easy to apply, and allows polish to be applied on smoothly. The glossy finish is beautiful and can even be used alone on bare nails in my opinion. Now that I’ve been using this regularly, my nails no longer experience discoloration and look healthier.











Panasonic Heated Eyelash Curler
This sleek and portable tool makes eyelash curling as easy as ABC. The curly effect lasts all day long and looks natural. Some people have even said that it has the effect of making their mascara last when they apply it immediately after curling.



Methode Jeanne Piaubert for Men Daycare
The men should of course, not be forgotten. More men are getting increasingly concerned with self-grooming these days. While it’s probably unwise to get cosmetics for your male friend unless you’re aware that he does use them, you can get him facial products for general or multi-purpose use. MJP for Men is a good example of a multi-purpose facial product that cleanses, protects, soothes and moisturizes skin so that it looks cleaner and more youthful.











The products I recommend are not new, and I know some people like to make gifts out of the latest releases in the market or Christmas specials and packs. Personally, I wouldn't buy the latest products for others if I haven't tried it or few people have used it long enough to provide sufficient reviews. Also, Christmas packs are so overrated that it becomes a very common gift. Furthermore, your friend may not find everything in the pack suitable!

Hygiene plays a part in good skin care. Keeping your cosmetics in a dirty environment can result in contamination. Here’s what to look out for when you tidy up your pouch.

Wash your make-up pouch. This is easily neglected, but it really is essential for good skin care. Just imagine putting a container of food into a dirty refrigerator. The food is likely to get contaminated too, even if it is separately packed!

Discard any product that has been kept longer than two years, including products that emit strange smells.

Discard balding brushes and worn out make-up pouffes and sponges.

If liquid products have solidified, discard them too.

Give away brand new products that you have not touched for the past 6 months. If you haven’t used them in such a long time, most likely you won’t ever use them. You might as well give them to someone who will actually use them.

Discard products that you’ve used and found to be unsuitable or ineffective.

Did you know that the language you speak affects the age your face looks? Research indicates that Spanish women are prone to sagging chins because when they talk, their jaw movement is rapid. The way German women pronounce their words causes their foreheads to crinkle, so they are more prone to developing wrinkles on foreheads.

Did you realize that your skin always looks more tired and wrinkles look more pronounced at night as compared to day time? Skin is affected by gravitational pull. At night, skin tends to sag further, causing wrinkles to increase by approximately 10%!

Why does your husband/boyfriend/brother who is about your age look younger than you do? Men’s skin has 22% more collagen then women’s, and hence age slower. If both of you are 30 years old, and you don’t take good care of your skin, you may look older than him by as much as 7 years! Just try the following formula: 30 x (122/100) = 36.6

Plump faces sag more easily than thin ones when they reach middle age. On the other hand, thin people’s faces tend to become sunken in.

It is very important to use the right technique to apply your mask. Simply rubbing it or spreading it onto your face in any old way may diminish the effect of your mask or even harm your skin.

Pre-facial Treatment
Your skin should be cleansed and absolutely free from make-up and dirt. Dab some toner on your face to balance out the pH value of your skin. After that, apply your mask. Some brands may specify that you apply a layer of oil, moisturizer etc. Usually these are meant to remove dead skin cells. Just follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Application technique

Paste or Clay mask
The layer of mask applied should be thick enough to conceal your pores so that the effects will be optimum. Wash-off masks are easier to manage as they won’t dry up your skin. After leaving it on your face for the recommended amount of time (according to the directions on the packaging), simply rinse it off with clean water.

The procedure for applying the mask is very important. Different parts of the face has slightly different temperatures. Start applying on your cheeks first, where the temperature is lowest, followed by the forehead, nose and chin. Avoid your eye rims and pimply or acne-infested areas to prevent an allergy reaction.

Sheet Mask
After spreading the mask on your face, adjust it according to your facial structure, ensuring that the mask adheres to every part of your skin. Tap your face lightly to dispel the air bubbles. For greater effectiveness, you can place an area of clear sheet wrap above your mask, cutting out holes in the nose area to facilitate breathing. Place a warm towel on top. This will prevent your mask from drying up, so you can leave it on your face for a longer time!

Additional tips
While you’re enjoying your facial, you can massage your face lightly to stimulate blood circulation. This will not be possible for clay masks though!

Don’t leave your mask on your skin for too long, especially if you are not using the plastic wrap method mentioned above. Usually, a suitable time frame is 10-15 minutes. Any longer and your skin will dry up due to lack of oxygen.

Do not think that just because you do regular masks, you don’t need other skincare products. Different masks have different uses, and they are not comprehensive. More importantly, have a healthy lifestyle, because basic skin care products are just for maintenance!