Face Good

Valentine’s Day is just round the corner but honestly, I haven’t had time to plan my look for the big day. But I’ve got 3 fail-proof make-up themes up my sleeve which are lovely and alluring and at the same time, not over-the-top. If you’re out of ideas on how to do your make-up, there’s bound to be at least one that should suit you! These looks are easy to create and go with any regular hairdo, be it straight or curly, short or long. They’re great for those who take ages to dress up for a date!

Sweet Princess
Use a soft and sweet make-up scheme to look lovable and princessy! This is suitable for the younger crowd or ladies who like the fresh-faced look but do not want to look bland.

The crux to keeping your look soft is to use sheer and muted colours, and avoid excessive makeup on any facial feature or part of your face. Pink is a great colour theme that is not only the universally acclaimed colour for sweetness but also matches the romantic mood! When choosing the shade of pink for your blush and lip stick/ lip gloss, get the shade of pink that suits your skin tone best.

To create the look, curl your lashes and apply black or brown mascara. Be sure not to use too much. We’re not going for a dramatic look. Keep it sweet and simple. After you’ve applied all your base make-up, use your make-up brush and tap a thin layer of sheer pink blush over your cheekbones. This should give your cheeks a neutral pink and resembles a natural glow. Add pink lip gloss to your lips and that’s it!

You can complete the look with a feminine dress. If you have long straight hair, style it with lucido-l's hair curling wax to get long wavy hair. If you have long bangs, you can pull your hair back into an elegant bun, leaving your bangs out. If you have straight and short hair, you can use some floral hair accessories to accessorize it.

Sexy Diva
This look places great emphasis on your eye make-up. Long fluttery eyelashes are your friend, but unfortunately, not many of us are blessed with beautiful eyelashes. So it’s time to make a trip to the beauty store to get a set of false eyelashes and clear eyelash adhesive. My personal recommendation is Shu Uemura. They have really nice girly long lashes. Mind you don’t choose the ones with jewels, coloured feathers, cobwebs or whatnots that are meant for parties. Remember, not everybody can pull off the dramatic look, and you’ll need to carefully coordinate your outfits if you do want to be over the top.

Now even if it’s going to be obvious that you don’t usually have such long eyelashes, you wouldn’t want ‘falsies!’ to be the first thought that strucks your date, so do take great care to attach your lashes in such away that they will look natural. First, line your eyes with eyeliner. Then apply mascara to your natural lashes. Then spread the adhesive evenly over the underside of the part of the lash that’s not facing out. Be careful not to let the glue clump together. Gently piggyback the lash onto your natural lashes, starting from the outer corner, and then gently lowering it down the middle and to the end. Dust a sheer layer of shimmer shadow to your lids. Choose muted tones like grey and brown, nothing too bright or too dark.

Dress up your cheeks with a sheer blush. Pale pink would be my recommendation. Just be wary to keep it subtle. For the lipstick, use rich colours like deep red or rich brown. For the fun of it, you can add a beauty mark near your lips ala Marilyn Monroe. Just dip your tiniest brush into black or brown liquid eyeliner and make a little dot where you want the mark to be. When it dries, dab a little powder over the mark so it will stay.

Smouldering eyes
This make-up scheme is also centred on the eyes, though with more emphasis on your eyelids, where you will use eye shadow to achieve the smouldering eye effect. Unlike smokey eyes, which involves the liberal use of dark shadow to cover your lids, smouldering eyes calls for the smudging of eyeshadow at the ends of your eyes to soften your look while accentuating your eyes. Use a pale shadow on your lid, preferably of neutral colour or close to your skin tone, and smudge smouldering charcoal on the corner ends of your eyes. For best results, apply the charcoal using a chiselled fluff brush or shadow crease brush. For a more dramatic effect, you can add a little smouldering charcoal under your eyes.

Next, apply mascara. If you can spare the time, get your eyebrows groomed into an elegant arch. For your lips, use a matte lipstick. Red or earth tones are good colours. Generally, most colours are fine, but bright colours like orange and pink will not go well with your eye makeup. Avoid gloss and bright colours as shimmers and brightness just don’t go together with smouldering eye make up.

Have a beautiful Valentine’s Day!

At the beginning of a new year, one of the types of books that sees increased sales are horoscope forecast and zodiac geomancy books! After all, those who believe would want to know their fortune for the rest of the year so they know what to expect and how to adapt. Of course, some people consider this hogwash, but all the same, it makes for entertaining reading! How many ladies can honestly say that you've never in your life read the horoscope prediction page at the back of your magazines?

When it comes to beauty and skin care, different people adopt different beauty regimes based on their personalities and characteristics, which some attribute to the stars. Not that I'm a firm believer in this, but I do sometimes find how interestingly coincidental the description of my zodiac sign is with my personality!

For this entry, to make things a little more interesting than usual, I'm going to do something a little different from usual. Based on the personalities of the different signs, I will advise on beauty tips and cautionary notes. You may take the horoscope reading like a pinch of salt, but if you see your personality up there, the tips may very well work for you!

Capricorn - The Risk Taker

Capricorns rarely deliberate on decisions. If they decide to go for it, they'll go for it. Home remedies like baked soda, aspirin mask and all sorts of trial and error recipes have the largest audience in them, even if these methods are not scientifically proven. The Capricorn owns the richest collection of make-up and beauty products, counter-bought or self-made.

Tip: Your courage and perseverance for change is commendable, but you should still exercise caution when using these products. At least read up on the ingredients used or consult friends who have used them. Bear in mind that some mistakes made in your beauty regime are irreversible!

Taurus: The Diligent but Stubborn Bull

Tauruses have incredibly high expectations on beauty and spend lots of time and effort toiling away at their beauty regime. They dislike change and once having settled on a brand, they'll swear to use it for the rest of their lives, buying and using every companion product of the same brand.

Tip: As the saying goes, "If it's not broken, don't fix it". If you're comfortable with your current state, by all means, carry on. However, it's good to try some new brands and products occasionally on the recommendation of friends. You may be in for a pleasant surprise! If you're not comfortable with completely switching brands or products, you can always ask for a sample from the sales rep at the beauty counter.

Gemini: Always in Two Minds

Geminis sound very knowledgeable about beauty care. Indeed, they have probably bought and dabbled with many different products but each is never fully utilized for the Gemini changes her mind like the weather and loses focus easily, jumping from one beauty regime to another.

Tip: Products don't work magic overnight. At least wait until you've finished using it for the stipulated period of time before assessing it's functionality!

More zodiac signs to come next week, so stay tuned!

The holiday season's coming and there will be parties and dinners to attend, including corporate ones. That means out comes all your fabulous collections of beauty products and make-up kits! Make-up can make a world of difference to a person. We all know that make-up can make someone look extraordinarily beautiful. On the other hand, a botched make-up job can make someone stick out like a sore thumb! Many people tend to go overboard with their make-up or get into all kinds of slip-ups when preparing for parties. Do steer clear of the following commonly-made mistakes so that you don’t ruin your party.

Foundation / BB Cream overdose
Foundation is meant to make skin look even. It should not be used as a concealer. If you’re using your foundation like a mask, chances are, most people are going to notice the oddness of your skin under bright light. Too much foundation will also cause your skin tone and texture of your face to look different from the rest of your body. Apply only one thin layer of foundation, and use concealer to cover up your blemishes and imperfections.

Mascara overdose
Long, black eyelashes will certainly make your eyes look more alert, but too much mascara makes you look like, well, that you've got too much mascara on. Long and well-defined lashes look more elegant than lashes caked in mascara. If you want to give your eyes the 'pop' but aren't very skilled at applying mascara, try fake eyelashes instead. At least each strand is an even size, and you can choose dramatic ones like sequins and feathers to suit the occasion.

Long lasting lipstick You’re likely to be doing lots of eating, drinking or talking, or all of the above. If your lipstick is not lasting, some of it could fade. I know some people who try to apply more lipstick in the hopes that they don't have to touch up and that there will still be a thin layer of lipstick covering the lips at the end of the day. However, lips that are not evenly coloured look terrible, and the difference can be great when one part of your lips is covered by a creamy thick layer of lipstick while another part has little or no lipstick. Use a lipstick that doesn't fade, and apply a thin, even layer. Otherwise, remember to touch up your lips regularly.

Obvious lip outlines
Do use a lip liner with a similar shade of colour to your lipstick to outline your lips. Don’t think that you’re accentuating your lips by making the outline look obvious. It just makes you look like you’re trying too hard.

Just about two more months and it will be the end of 2010! Doesn't time fly by so frighteningly fast?

It's probably still too early to start cleaning your house for the new year, but it's definitely not too early to clean out your make-up pouch! Especially with Christmas around the corner and parties and gatherings to attend, you wouldn't want to spoil your skin with expired make-up, or get carried away by Christmas sales, only to realize that you still have loads of make-up at home!

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 before they expire.

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

Keep in mind what you own and don't buy more make-up unnecessarily. It's perfectly understandable to own loads of eyeshadow, lipstick and blush in varying shades, but it doesn't make sense to own several base-makeup sets with similar shades and functions. It may be cheap to purchase make-up at sales, but don't forget that you're still wasting money when you throw away unused make-up!

National Day is just round the corner! Ready to paint the town and your face red?

Face Painting is a fun and colourful activity that really gets you into the atmosphere of large-scale celebrations! But some people are concerned about the possible toxic effects of face paint, and whether it can be thoroughly removed, all for a good reason, because face paint can indeed damage your skin if not applied with care!

Here are some safety tips on using face paints:

Use Material Suitable for Skin

That means no acrylic craft paints, watercolor markers, permanent markers (gasp! some people actually use it!), pencils and your arts and crafts material. Not even for a short period of time. These chemicals can take days to be removed completely, during which they may cause rashes especially for those who have allergic skin. You can find face paint at large places selling craft material such as Art Friend. Just make sure you get the right one, and ask for help if you need it! Don't use metallic craft glitter either! If you need some shimmers, only use those specifically for face painting. These are usually made of polyester and 0.008 microns or smaller.


Don't Paint On Open Wounds
This includes acne and open cuts. When you rub your skin to remove the paint, you could aggravate the wound and cause irritation. Use a sticker instead.

Personal Hygiene
Just like when applying make-up, practise personal hygiene when applying face-paint! Especially since it's a longer process than your usual make-up routine, keep hand sanitizer or baby wipes at hand so that you can wipe your hands at various intervals!


Be Comfortable
Sit down and make sure you're in a position where you are comfortable so that you can paint your face without causing any strain or having to resort to awkward postures. Take breaks at various intervals if you must. Apart from health reasons, looking comfortable at the end of it adds a star to your colourful new visage!

Unhygienic face sponges, powder puffs and cosmetic brushes are breeding grounds for bacteria. After washing your face, rinse your face sponge or towel thoroughly and place it in a well-ventilated area to dry. Face sponges and towels should be sunned every now and then to prevent them from being wet. Powder puffs and cosmetic brushes must be washed regularly. There are cleaning liquids specifically for this purpose that you can buy from places selling skincare and cosmetic products. Ideally, you can use your bath foam or shampoo as cleaning agents. They are pretty effective too!

Powder puffs blacken easily so you ought to wash them at least once a week. Brushes can be washed once in two months, but each time after usage, they must be wiped with tissue. After that, shake them hard to dislodge residue.

Having problems getting your foundation to blend? If you have to keep reapplying your make up because it fades, you may have dry skin that’s causing problems for your make-up application.
Here’s a quick solution that you can adopt each time before you wear make-up.

1. Prepare a basin of hot water. Bend your head over so that your face is near the water surface. You should feel the steam in your face. Drape a clean towel over your head and the basin so that steam doesn’t escape. Do this for 5 minutes. Steam helps to soften stubborn dead skin cells and opens up your pores so you can unclog them easily.

2. Use a facial scrub (the type with exfoliation beads) and scrub each part of your face in a circulatory manner. Wash it off when you’re done. This step helps to exfoliate and smoothen skin.

3. Dab some toner on your face.

4. Drench a square of cotton wool in toner. Carefully split cotton wool horizontally into 2 thin pieces. Place each split piece on each cheek. This produces a moisturizing effect.

5. Leave the cotton pads on for five minutes. For better effect, drape a clean permeable clear plastic wrap (the kind used to wrap food for refrigeration) over your face. This not only prevents the toner from evaporating but also improves blood circulation in your face due to wamrth generated.

6. Apply your usual eye and face moisturizers. Cap your clean hands over your face for 15 seconds to generate warmth and improve blood circulation.

Your clean and moisturized skin should nod its head to your powder pouffe!

Unhygienic face sponges, powder puffs and cosmetic brushes are breeding grounds for bacteria. After washing your face, rinse your face sponge or towel thoroughly and place it in a well-ventilated area to dry. Face sponges and towels should be sunned every now and then to prevent them from being wet. Powder puffs and cosmetic brushes must be washed regularly. There are cleaning liquids specifically for this purpose that you can buy from places selling skincare and cosmetic products. Ideally, you can use your bath foam or shampoo as cleaning agents. They are pretty effective too!

Powder puffs blacken easily so you ought to wash them at least once a week. Brushes can be washed once in two months, but each time after usage, they must be wiped with tissue. After that, shake them hard to dislodge residue.
Using a lip brush to apply your lip balm and lipstick is most ideal (if you keep your lip brush clean!). If you apply your lipstick or lip balm directly to your lips, that’s fine too, but do remember to use tissue to wipe its surface of contact with your lips after usage. You wouldn’t want your saliva to remain on your lipstick till the next day.

The Bohemian look is all about layering fabric and prints with earthy hues and accessorizing with bold ethnic-inspired jewellery. Bohemian fashion had been the ‘it’ thing for a time being in Singapore a few years back. Now it's back in fashion, this time with a little evolvement. While keeping it's laid-back style, it has branched out into styles like Bohamian Chic and Bohemian Glamour, giving its wearer more choices of clothing and occasions to wear the style to. Now it’s time to bring back those earthy threads for the summer!

Bohemian fashion typical involved little make-up because it’s a fashion that evokes the feeling of returning to nature. That’s such a pity when there are so many glamorous bohemian accessories in the market that simply look odd when they don't complement with the make-up! Bohemian Glamour is a great look that achieves a fine balance between nature and city girl charm. This gentle smoky eye make-up is popular in Asian countries like Japan and Taiwan for it’s ability to make eyes look bigger, brighter and alluring without excessive use of dark eye make-up.

Here's a step-by-step guide for one typical way of doing your Bohemian Glamour make-up.

First of all, choose a variety of shades you'd like to use. Grey and purplish-grey are colours used to achieve the look in the first image, and they are good choices because they are such mystical colours.

Step 1: Apply a layer of primer to increase the lasting power of your eye makeup as well as prevent caking.

Step 2: Using the darkest grey as a base colour, coat your eyelid and above crease in it.

Step 3: For the next layer, purplish grey would be a great choice for the above crease. There will be no need to blend it with the first layer.

Step 4: Choose a lighter grey for the next layer. Apply a stroke in the middle of your above crease to blend the 2 different shades previously applied without having to layer over both shades. This presents a subtle variation in shades in your eyemakeup. Gently shade the same colour at the inner edge of the brow bone.

Step 5: Use your lightest eyeshadow (preferably pink hues) shade the outer edge your brow bone. This will illuminate your eyes as well as create the illusion that your eye sockets are deeper.

Step 6: Apply a pale shade of shimmering eyeshadow (preferably nude) on your undereye.

Step 7: Using the same grey eyeshadow that you used in step four as an eyeliner, apply in a thin stroke on your undereye, adhering closely to the eyelid and only covering 2/3 of the space from the outer lower lash line.

Step 8: Last but not least, Use the same nude shimmer eyeshadow from step 6 to highlight your undereye right to the tip of your cheek bones.

That's all! Simple isn't it? Now you can hit town as a glamourous Boho Queen with your loudest accessories!

Picture by YOKA时尚网

Did you have a spooky weekend? I must say that Halloween in Singapore is pretty happening this year! Lots of clubs had great offers if you entered in costume and many attractions were made over and implemented special events just for Halloween. Over the weekend, I saw many creative costumes complete with heavy make-up, face and body paints. Halloween is honestly a great time to let down your hair, have fun and be out of character and become something else for a change. But what happens if you can’t revert in time for work and school on Monday?

A colleague of mine who loves going sleeveless came to work today all wrapped up in a woolly shawl. Apparently, she wasn’t trying to dress up as a sheep but was trying to cover up the remnants of her huge airbrush tattoo that she got for her dragon lady Halloween costume.

Body painting usually draw negative attention at the work place, and are definitely banned from school. Most good quality airbrush tattoos, however, require time and effort for complete removal, and then there is of course, the issue of permanent tattoos, which can only be removed through painful lasering.

But body art lovers need not despair. With some make-up tricks, concealing the marks of rebellion is simple and quick!

You will need
1. A set of heavy-duty, heavy-pigmented concealers meant for covering up scars and tattoos, of varying shades near your skin tone.

2. Finishing powder for setting make-up

Step 1: Choose a concealer of a slightly darker shade than your own skin tone. Massage a generous amount of it over the part of your skin that you wish to conceal. At this stage, you don’t have to try to completely conceal the tattoo.

Step 2: Choose a concealer of a slightly darker shade than your own skin tone. Apply it over the first layer of concealer, blending while massaging to achieve a natural-looking shade.

Step 3: Gradually add on more layers of concealer and blend it using massaging movements until the tattoo is completely hidden.

Step 4: Apply finishing powder over it. You should bring loose powder out with you so that you can touch up whenever there’s a need to.

For the 40's and above

More mature skin tend to have problems such as uneven skin pigmentation and wrinkles. All these flaws can be concealed with appropriate concealers. Skin also tends to be dryer, so liquid foundations and moisturizing foundations should be used to make skin look more moisturized and less wrinkly. And yes, indeed the same type of make-up can be used for even older women in their 50s and 60s, if you have been taking good care of your skin. Always remember to start caring for your skin as soon as possible, don’t wait until the flaws start showing.


Steps

1. Apply skin tone correcting foundation on your entire face
2. Apply undereye concealer to conceal eyebags and wrinkles

3. Apply a concealer with a pearly shade over your undereye (makes your eyes look brighter and more refreshed)
4. Cover your facial flaws with concealer of similar shad to your skin tone
5. Use a concealer stick with max concealing properties to apply concealer over your cheeks.


6. Use a powder puff to blend the concealer
7. Apply concealer to your forehead with a concealer stick and blend with powder puff.
8. Remember to use a small brush to reach areas unreachable by powder puff.
9. Apply a little loose powder over your under eyes.

10. Use a make-up brush and gently swipe loose powder over your whole face.

Tips

Before applying undereye concealer, apply a deeply moisturizing primer around your eyes to keep your eyes well moisturized and prevent caking.

If you skin is dry, use a large make-up brush to swipe on loose powder. The effect is much more natural looking than using a powder puff.

Don’t forget to apply sunblock and moisturizing cream before applying make-up. It helps to protect your skin and makes make-up application easier.

Use a small make-up brush to apply concealer over fine wrinkles instead of running your pigment stick over it. This prevents caking.

Use mineral foundation with light-reflective minerals. It makes your skin more smooth-looking.

And this concludes the end of this series. 

Make-up for the 30s

Careers usually constitute a huge commitment in the life of a career woman in her 30s. Late nights and work stress inevitably cause insufficient sleep and hence eye bags and dark circles. Make-up should be focused on covering these flaws to give your skin more radiance.




Photo courtesy of: 醫美人

1. Evenly apply a make-up base all over your face.

2. Apply liquid foundation on your cheeks using a horizontal outer sweeping motion.

3. Spread foundation on your forehead in a horizontal movement, pulling it downward to cover the area beside the eyes.

4. Apply foundation on your chin in a downward motion, spreading it horizontally to cover the base of your chin.

5. On the edges of your nose bridge, apply concealer of similar tone to your skin colour.



Photo courtesy of: 醫美人

6. Dab a little concealer on the edges of your lips to conceal sneaky little cracks of wrinkles.

7. Apply concealer over eyebag and dark circles.

8. On area surrounding eyebag, apply concealer that’s of a slightly lighter tone than your skin colour or with a yellowish tint. This helps to increase the radiance around your eyes.

9. Apply loose powdered foundation over eyebags.

10. Dab loose powder all over your face. And that’s done!

Additional tips

If the skin around your eyes are dry, apply primer specifically meant for the undereye area before applying concealer.

When applying concealer over eyebags, gently rub it in in one direction from inside (near nose bridge) to outside (near temple). Do not apply too much concealer or it will look unnatural.

Excess make-up does not go well with dry skin, so always remove excess loose powder by dabbing your pouffe against the back of your hand before dabbing it to your face.

If you’re always in an air-conditioned place, use a make-up base with moisturizing purposes. It helps your make-up to stay on longer.

A hectic life makes your skin tired and dull. Use radiance foundation to make your skin look healthier.

Always bring your loose powder with you to do regular touch ups.

Appearances always make the first impression, regardless of your circumstances! You want to look fresh, radiant and healthy at all times, especially when you’re working and meeting new people! But in this polluted city with hot humid weather and stifling haze, having naturally flawless skin is something that many can only dream about. But don’t let that get you down! With a little aptly applied natural make-up, you can still make your skin look presentable! That’s better than nothing eh? And it’s not just the young and nubile who get it! Regardless of whether you’re 20, 30 or 40, make-up still goes a long way!

Make-up for 20s

Flaws on youthful skin are not rather manageable. Hence loose powdered foundation is suitable. Preferably get one that has oil control properties and is able to conceal enlarged pores, pimples and acne scarring.


Photo courtesy of: 醫美人

1. Apply oil-control skin care product on your T-zone.

2. Apply light foundation all over your face.

3. Apply concealer with pore concealing properties over your T-zone and nose tip.

4. Dot some yellow-toned concealer over your pimples and pimple scars.

5. Apply concealer over your eyebags.


Photo courtesy of: 醫美人

6. Gently pull back skin at the edge of your eyes with your index finger. Especially useful if you just woke up and your eyes are still half-closed from sleepiness.

7. Spray a little moisture to your foundation pouffe.

8. Dab on some loose powder, and spread it on your nose in a downward movement.

9. Spread foundation over your cheeks and chin in horizontal movements.

10. Finally, bring up your pouffe to your forehead and spread the foundation in a horizontal movement, pulling it downward to cover the area beside the eyes.

Add some lipstick, blush and eyeliner and you’re good to go!

Tips:

Always wait for at least one minute in between putting different make-up on the same part of your face. You need to allow time for the make-up to settle down and dry.

When using concealer, do not apply it directly from the tip to your face but apply it to the back of your hand first. This is more hygienic, and prevents you from overestimating and applying too much.

If your face is dry or too oily, your foundation may have difficulty staying on. You can spray a little water over your face and use a tissue to dab gently. Do not swipe or dab too hard or your make-up will come off!

To conceal pimples, first, apply a little skin-colour pimple cream (Bodyshop has some, or try Oxy if you haven’t got dry skin) and wait a few minutes for the cream to be absorbed. After that, gently dab some loose powder over the pimple. Since pimples are raised, piling on loads of concealer will not make it look flat. Furthermore, lack of oxygen will stifle the pimple and cause it to worsen. On the other hand, scars can be covered using a mixture of concealer and foundation.

Don’t forget to bring your loose powder with you to do touch ups!

Not all concealers are suitable for any part of your face. Usually, concealers for eyebags and concealers for facial blemishes are different. If you don’t want to own many concealers, look for a multipurpose one that is used for eyebags and facial blemishes.

The next post will be about make-up for ladies in their 30s!

A continuation from last week's post to address enquiries about purchasing cosmetic products overseas.

“Also, would the cream used in a country where there's 4 seasons be useful in our climate?”

Although different seasons call for slightly different skin care routines, there is usually not much difference in cosmetics, certainly not in the way where you have to wear different types of clothing to adapt to the different seasons. Many of our cosmetics and skincare products are actually imported from America and European countries. They aren't tailor-made for us and the very same product lines are used by their own people too.

There are some types of cosmetics with altered properties to suit a particular season. For example, some liquid foundations and lip balm boast greater moisturizing properties for the dry winter. Another issue, not so much pertaining to skin care, is that seasonal make-up is often fashionable in countries with 4 seasons so if you visit a country in the Autumn for example, you may find that the shades of the make-up carried in stores are geared towards Autumn colours.

But few cosmetic products are season-specific. Examples of season-specific products would be moisturizing cream and lip balm with extra moisturizing properties that you may find in winter-gear stores like Winter Wear. Even then, these do not absolutely have to be used only in winter. I’m still using my left over extra-moisturizing lip balm and body cream from my winter trip to the US last December. Apart from wasting its richness and moisturizing properties (better than wasting the entire product anyway), I’m not experiencing any problems or side-effects.

However, do bear in mind that some extra-moisturizing face creams are known to cause breakouts on people with oily or acne-prone skin. Then again, this isn’t limited to seasonal beauty products. The key to buying effective beauty products is to understand your skin type and choose products with properties that suit your needs, never mind where they’re from!

A reader asked me some good questions about getting cosmetic products from overseas, so I’ll respond here because I believe these are common dilemmas people face with getting cosmetics outside the country.

“May I ask if you think it wise to buy creams from abroad, because when you run out of stocks, you have no choice but to look for other brands unless you've someone to help replenish your supply?”

I’ve been shipping in cosmetic products from overseas for years. Back then, facial products specially designed for Asian skin were rarities and I often preferred to buy products from Taiwan and Korea. Now, although more Western brands are boasting product lines specially designed for Asians, online shopping has been so deeply inculcated in my lifestyle that it’s habitual for me. Besides, it's an extra avenue for me to try new products!

Most cosmetic lines from reputable brands have their own online storefronts these days. As long as you own a widely accepted debit card or credit card that you can use to do online payments, it’s easy to get cosmetic products from abroad. But even if you don’t have a card or find the shipping fees hefty, not all is lost.

There’s a wonderful concept called online spreeing (also known as ‘group order’ in other countries) which I depend on for most of my overseas shopping ventures. Online spreeing came into existence in Singapore a good couple of years, probably due to demand by people like me lol. For those who are not in the know, let me provide a brief explanation. Online spreeing is carried out by one person, known as a spree organizer, on behalf of a group of participating shoppers who wish to buy items from the same online store. The organizer places a combined order and the orders are shipped to him alone instead of to each individual. The lowered shipping fees are split among the participants and everyone saves some money!

Here’s a list of online spree communities that I frequently spree with. You can visit them to learn in detail how spreeing is conducted and what sort of products are usually spreeed for:
http://community.livejournal.com/_spreee/
http://community.livejournal.com/sprees_sg
http://community.livejournal.com/sgshopaholics/
http://community.livejournal.com/shoppies_spree/

I also enjoy browsing sprees for products that I’ve not used before. It helps me learn about new products. Also, the response and reviews of spree participants help me to gauge whether a product is popular and worth my trying. So if you’re in love with a certain product that you got overseas but ran out of stock, do check out these spree sites!

However, there are cases where the product is so obscure or new that it cannot be bought online, or it contains prohibited materials that cannot be shipped in (always check with customs the eligibility of your shipment before placing your order, especially large shipments). In which case, you will just have to switch to another brand.

Personally, I enjoy trying new products. I believe it’s the only way for me to keep discovering brands and products that may suit my skin better. Some people like to stick to the same brand or product that works for them and are wary of the idea of switching brands. That’s up to individual preferences, but I’d just like to say that one shouldn’t avoid a particular product just because it’s difficult to access. You could always switch back to a previous brand you’ve been using and come back to it again when you get hold of it.

I know some people have complained that their skin reacts adversely to new products. The trick is to always choose the type of product that suits your skin type. Usually, there should be clear indications on the packaging, the skin type it is suitable for understand the ingredients it contains. That’s why I prefer getting products whose instructions and information are written in a language that I understand. However, if you have sensitive skin or skin conditions that can only tolerate special cosmetic products, it is advisable to avoid hard-to-obtain products that you’re going to change around often.

Unlike skincare products, where length of usage sometimes determines the results, cosmetic products are generally temporal means to cover up flaws and enhance features. The committment factor is less significant. Therefore, availability and accessibility should not be a hindrance.

Another thing that online shoppers should be wary about is the authenticity of the product. Do not be swayed by an expensive brand that is cheaply listed. You could be getting an imitation that doesn't work or worst, damages your skin. To be on the safe side, I'd avoid purchasing cosmetics on sites like Ebay, where there is little quality control. Always purchase from the brand's online store or reputable online beauty product portals to avoid getting scammed!

Well Charlotte, I hope this was helpful to you. I'll respond to the other question in my next entry!

As discussed in the previous post, your self-image influences your state of mind. You feel better about yourself when you see a healthy reflection in the mirror, and consequently recover faster. Your image also influences what others think about you. If you’re ill but well enough to go about your daily activities, you should be able to make the effort to look healthy, or you may end up scaring people with your sick visage.

Red, tired, puffy eyes are common problems that occur due to lack of sleep when you’re being plagued by illness. In the morning, make 2 ice bags by wrapping some ice cubes in 2 clean, separate towels. Place them over your eyes for up to ten minutes, taking breaks if the cold gets intolerable. The coldness should reduce swelling and constrict your blood vessels so that your blood doesn’t redden the whites in your eyes. It will also refresh your eyes!

As your skin is likely to look dry and dull, and sometimes patchy in certain areas, moisturize your skin well with moisturizer or olive oil, then add a little foundation to even out your skin tone, followed by a little blush with a pink tint that will give you rosy cheeks. Instead of lip stick, use shimmery light pink lip gloss to dress up your lips. Lip gloss is often the better choice because it keeps your lips moisturized and a shiny, glossy texture would add some vitality. If your lips are dry and crackly, lipstick will make these flaws more obvious.

Last but not least, keeping your mouth fresh is very important. Brush your teeth, and rinse your mouth thoroughly with a mouth wash. Bad breath is a real bane for the sick and no matter how good looking one is, odour is always a turn-off. Bring a travel-sized bottle of mouth rinse with you so you can use it after a meal or whenever your mouth feels dry.

It’s Chinese New Year week and I’m sure some of you are still keeping up with your visitations as I am! I’ve been visiting my friends and getting acquainted with their family members, as well as having people over at my house. Now it’s all very well to dress up like a Party Queen when you’re meeting up with just your friends, but it’s not so appropriate to do so if you’re paying respects to older relatives of these friends.

Here are some tips when you’re house visiting.

1. Avoid piling too much foundation on your face. It’s understandable to want to take greater precautions to cover your flaws when being in a place with many people, especially new acquaintances. But bear in mind that excess foundation may not assimilate well with the rest of your make-up, making your face look cakey and artificial under bright lights.

2. Overtly slender and fine brows do not go down well with older people. I know this through personal experience. My mum is always berating me for even re-shaping my eyebrows. She reckons I should treasure my thick black brows before they wear thin like hers. I guess thinning brows brings up painful memories for them XD. Besides, the older generation believes that thick brows are signs of prosperity and all sorts of good stuff. In any case, unnaturally thin brows are overrated and honestly, it doesn’t suit every single face shape. If you’ve had your brows over-plucked, use a brow pencil to enhance them.

3. Avoid dramatic eye make-up like fake eyelashes, mascara overload and eyeshadows that are too vivid or shiny. These are great for parties or a night out, but will not go down well with the older crowd.

4. Smokey eyes and heavy eyeliners are taboo. Don’t forget that black is an unlucky colour for Chinese New Year!

5. Don’t pile too much blush on your cheeks. It’s nice to look rosy and healthy, but don’t get carried away! You don’t want to remind people of zombies from the old Chinese films!

6. Avoid unconventional shades of lipstick like dark purple, blue and black. As mentioned, black is an unlucky colour. Besides, they might give the poor granny nightmares.

7. Warm shades like red, pink and orange are best for Chinese New Year. They would match your clothes too.

Above all, remember to wear a smile on your face!

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.

Apologies for the lack of updates! I've been really busy lately! Today, I managed to squeeze in some time during my lunch break to write a new article.

The holiday season's coming and in spite of the recession, there will still be parties and dinners to attend, especially corporate ones. That means out comes all your fabulous collections of beauty products and make-up kits! Make-up can make a world of difference to a person. We all know that make-up can make someone look extraordinarily beautiful. On the other hand, a botched make-up job can make someone look extraordinarily ugly too! Many people tend to go overboard with their make-up or get into all kinds of slip-ups when preparing for parties. Do steer clear of the following commonly-made mistakes so that you don’t ruin your party.

Foundation overdose
Foundation is meant to make skin look even. It should not be used as a concealer. If you’re using your foundation like a mask, chances are, most people are going to notice the oddness of your skin under bright light. Too much foundation will also cause your skin tone and texture of your face to look different from the rest of your body. Apply only one thin layer of foundation, and use concealer to cover up your blemishes and imperfections.

Mascara overdose
Long, black eyelashes will certainly make your eyes look more alert, but blatantly thick make-up makes you look vulgar. Long and well-defined lashes look more elegant than lashes caked in mascara. The same goes for artificial eyelashes. The dramatic ones with sequins, feathers and what-have-you are fine for parties, but avoid the ones with thick, black lashes. They don’t look natural, nor are they sufficiently glamorous for parties.

Using non-lasting lipstick
You’re likely to be doing lots of eating, drinking or talking, or all of the above. If your lipstick is not lasting, some of it could fade. Lips that are not evenly coloured look terrible! Get a lipstick that doesn’t fade for parties. Otherwise, remember to touch up your lips regularly.

Using non-lasting lip gloss
If you have dry lips, you wouldn’t want your lips to start looking crackly and ill-nourished in the middle of a conversation. Either use lasting lip gloss, or apply a fresh coat of lip gloss to your lips regularly.

Obvious lip outlines
Do use a lip liner with a similar shade of colour to your lipstick to outline your lips. Don’t think that you’re accentuating your lips by making the outline look obvious. It just makes you look like you’re trying too hard.