Face Good

Halloween is just round the corner! Have you decided who or what you're going to dress up as for your parties? I've been too busy lately to plan for my halloween events, but I've tried perfecting the dramatic smokey eyes look because I think it's the most versatile make-up technique you can use to complement any halloween get-up, be it a vampire, a witch or even a pirate (think Jack Sparrow).

What you'll need:
- Black kohl eyeliner
- Angled brush
- Powdered eyeshadow. Colours like black and dark grey are most suitable for creating the smokey look. Use glittering ones for more glamour.

First of all, you will need to apply a good base. You can use a base specifically designed for eyes, or any regular concealer. Apply the base in a patting motion with your ring finger across the eyelid. Life up your eyelid gently so you can apply the base in the inside corners of the eyelid. You should also apply a little of the base underneath your eyelid for more comprehensive coverage.

Now you can start applying your kohl eyeliner. Make a lifting motion just under your eyebrow with one finger and smooth out your upper lid with another finger. Starting from the inside corner of one eye, draw a medium sized line along your lash line. Most people tend to go light on the eyeliner on regular days. If you're not sure what medium-sized equates to, just take it as being slightly thicker than the line you would normally draw. Repeat this for your other eye.

Place the finger of your non-drawing hand directly under your eye in the center position. Make a gentle pulling motion with that finger so that the inner rim or water line of your eye is revealed. Draw a line just along that lower lash line. Repeat this for the other eye.

Apply a little eye shadow with your angle brush just above the line that you drew on your upper eyelid. Do the same underneath your eyes, but you can be more generous with your eye shadow by brushing it down a little further.

Using your ring finger, smudge out the upper eyeliner, blending it all over your eyelid together with the eye shadow. If you're using shimmery eyeshadow, make sure the glitter is evenly blended all over the eyelid. Blend it in such a way that the area covered by the blend of eyeshadow and eyeliner gets increasingly larger as it approaches the outer corner of your eyelid, then brush it downwards. Blend the eyeliner and eyeshadow into something of horizontal crescent under your eyes. Brush the portion near the outer corner of your bottom eyelid upwards, so that your upper and lower eye make up connects and blends evenly.

For the finishing touch, dust a little translucent powder to set your fabulous eyes.

I’ve been using the DOUCEUR D'EAU Masque from Methode Jeanne Piaubert for two weeks. I’m going through a busy week with several sleepless nights, so I used it twice a week. Usually, my skin looks drab and oily after several late nights, but this time round, my skin maintains its clear and fresh look. The masque has an intense purifying effect. It is also gentle on my skin. Unlike some in-depth cleansing masks that produce a slight prickly sensation, this one doesn’t at all. It feels soothing upon application.

I’ve been using it with the DOUCEUR D'EAU Gel, so its effect may have been better enhanced through a combination of both cleanser and mask of the same series than if it was used on its own. But I intend to use both for my beauty regime anyway!

Singaporeans who are interested in purchasing these products and others in the MJP line (which I’ll try to review really soon), you can get them from any local Beyond Beauty outlet.

To anonymous: With regards to the prices, I actually don't have them at hand as I'm using the samples. But I called and asked since im going to need to know when I buy it next time. It costs SGD 90. You can call any Beyond Beauty outlet for further clarification. Their contact info are listed on their website.

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing turns heads on the big screen and the red carpet with her black silky hair, snowy-white skin and large, expressive eyes. And she has never been in the tabloids for cosmetic procedures.

Now, anyone who understands beauty care knows that even the most expensive facial creams will be wasted on people with poor lifestyle habits, since the problems would return. With a typical hectic schedule of someone who works in showbiz, how does Fan maintain her good looks?

Barley for Skin Care

Fan revealed her interest in natural therapies and natural products for personal grooming. For healthy skin, she recommends barley, which she frequently consumes in the form of Barley water or Barley soup.

Milk Bath

Sometimes, the old methods are still the best. During the Tang Dynasty, concubine Yang Gui Fei, one of the four greatest beauties of ancient China, was famed for soaking in milk baths to nourish her skin. Apparently, it works for Fan too, who finds her skin especially smooth after a milk bath. She adds milk together with bath foam into her tub and retires inside for a relaxing respite.

Beer rinse for hair care

Despite what miracles hair salons insist their hair treatments can perform, those are still chemical methods which leave behind chemical particles in your hair. Fan uses the beer treatment at least once a week. The treatment is simple. Before shampooing hair, rinse hair in beer for ten minutes. Then, without rinsing out the beer, shampoo hair as per normal. After hair has absorbed nutrients of the beer, it will be exceptionally smooth and silky.

Minimize over-exposure to sunlight

Fan avoids standing in the open when the sun is scorching hot. But when her work forbids it, she applies sun block lotion in regular intervals. The SPF need not be too high, but it should be applied frequently while under the sun. She also drinks a lot of water.


Although Fan seems to place great emphasis on personal well-being, she actually doesn’t sleep the recommended eight hours of sleep required daily. She confesses that she sleeps three to four hours on average when she has filming projects, but she hasn’t had an issue with lack of sleep yet. In fact, she feels energetic when she works.

Oh well, late nighters are pretty inevitable for some careers, but there are some equally natural and effective beauty tips for late nighters that you can refer to here!

(Information from Fan Bingbing's interview in ELLEChina)

I started using my Méthode Jeanne Piaubert DOUCEUR D'EAU samples since their product launch last week.

DOUCEUR D'EAU Gel is nothing like other cleansers I've used. It's as hydrating as promised and a great respite for tired, dry skin. It feels refreshing to the skin, and it produces fine, rich foam upon application. If you've seen an old blog entry of mine about foam, you'll see how important this aspect is to your beauty regime.

This gel also functions as a make-up remover. If you've got your make-up on your face, the gel will remove your make-up while cleansing your face. What a real time-saver! Of course, don't forget to be thorough about it. You still need to use cotton swabs to remove residues from hard-to-reach places. Overall, it's reasonably effective. When I wipe my face with a cotton pad to remove residual foundation from my cheeks after using the gel, the cotton pad's virtually clean.

Having used this product for a week, my skin has become clearer and less clogged up. It also feels firmer. It's great to use in the morning because it freshens me up. I love the fact that it doesn't contain alcohol. It uses algae extract and gentle cleaning agent instead. It's not just great for sensitive skin but on all skin types in general!

I'll review the DOUCEUR D'EAU Masque soon!

I promised to blog about the Méthode Jeanne Piaubert product launch by Beyond Beauty.

The Fashion Bar is a great place at night, but even in the afternoon, the ambience was awesome. The bar was pretty crowded from the many media personnel and beauty enthusiasts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bar look so vibrant and populated in the afternoon! The products were paraded via a lingerie fashion show. Models clad in gorgeous lingerie carried the products in their hands and walked down the aisle between all the couches. Celebrity make-up artist Marjorie Teo was there to do the make-up for the models. She even did a live demonstration. This product launch is so different from others I've been to or read about. First impressions count, and I believe the partnership of Beyond Beauty and MJP is headed for greater things. Sadly, it didn't occur to me to bring my camera, and my hp's miserable 2 megapixels was too pathetic to do justice to the event, so I only took photos of the products on display but not the event. But I found a video of the fashion show on youtube. Check it out!

The Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Beauty and the principal of MJP spoke about the products, and the reporters asked some questions. I snagged a press kit. From what I gathered, MJP is distributing a generous list of products through Beyond Beauty, catering to a wide variety of uses. There are slimming products, facial washes, masks, moisturizing lotions, eye creams... here's the lot:

1. EXPRESSLIM is a series of slimming products that guarantee to reduce fats in problem areas like the waist and thighs in a mere 8 days

2. DOUCEUR D'EAU's fundamental face cleansing products consists of a gel, mask and brush, which hydrate skin while carrying out their purifying roles.

3. STIMULOVAL is a pre-skincare treatment product that is supposed to be really good for blood circulation on the face. No more red patches and puffy cheeks!

4. ISOWHITE series consists of a cleansing gel, day-care lotion, whitening intensive treatment, mask and concealer, which promise lighter and more radiant complexion.

5. GELÉE CRISTALLINE is an eye care product that improves the comfort and appearance of your eyes.

6. IRILYS series also specializes in eye care. Contour de l’œil is even geared specifically to contact lens wearers.

7. SKIN BREAKFAST pampers the skin with nutrients

8. COOL NIGHT helps us late nighters protect our skin from the merciless night!

9. MIXT’ACTION incorporates different complexes to solve the problems of combination skin. No more buying multiple products that specifically target different problems!

And there are several products for men too:

10. Masque dual pureté, a skin-purifying mask

11. DAYCARE, comprehensive time-saving all-in-one formula for all sorts of problems ranging from wrinkles to hair growth.

12. L’HYDRO-ACTIVE BIPHASE 24H helps to revitalise skin and serves as a good alternative to after-shave balm

13. Yeux specializes in eye care for men, and is also suitable for contact lens wearers.

And pictures! Nice packaging aye?


If anyone else is interested in trying out MJP products, you can only get them from Beyond Beauty as it is the sole distributor of MJP products in Singapore. There are 8 local salons for both men and women and they are in Roxy Square, Park Mall, Pacific Plaza, Paragon and Raffles Place. Check out Beyond Beauty’s official website for their exact addresses.

Typically, like all other premium brands distributing in Singapore, MJP products are upmarket, but they have a relatively wide price range, depending on the product type. A DOUCEUR D'EAU gel costs $68, while a bottle of Expresslim costs $208.

Méthode Jeanne Piaubert, a premium brand of French beauty products, will be distributed in Singapore! The products are being launched this coming Monday (6 Oct) and I’ve been invited to the press conference cum product launch held at Fashion Bar. I’m excited because I’ve heard good reviews about Méthode Jeanne Piaubert’s skin and bodycare products. According to Méthode Jeanne Piaubert’s website, there is a wide variety of products for different treatments. They even have products for men! More quality choices for us beauty addicts in Singapore now!

Beyond Beauty is the salon that owns the distributorship rights for this brand of products. This is another piece of good news because my mum and I always liked to visit this salon for their facials and massages. The salon has a relaxing ambience and skilful beauticians. The combination of quality products and good application techniques can never go wrong.

Personally, I’ve not used Méthode Jeanne Piaubert products before as they've never been distributed in Singapore, but a friend of mine who bought their DOUCEUR D’EAU facial wash products through an online spree and she raved about it for weeks. She said that while using it, her skin never felt healthier. I'm inclined to agree with her. She did have a more even complexion and a healthier glow ever since she used it. I hope I get some freebies at the launch, then I’ll be able to share my experience with all of you! Look forward to my post on Monday or Tuesday!

Description from website:

“Love Lettuce is a wonderful lavender scented, rich green exfoliating mask for normal to oily skins. We make it with an infusion of nutritious agar seaweed, balancing lavender oil and chlorophyll to control your skin's oil production and china clay to penetrate the skin and absorb the dirt you've picked up from the atmosphere. As you wash it off, the ground almonds and almond shells gently remove dead skin cells to give you a fresh-from-the-market-garden look (and scent). Apply to clean, damp skin avoiding the eye area; leave on for ten minutes then gently massage in with damp finger tips before rinsing off with warm water. At least four treatments per pot.”

Doesn’t this look like ice cream? My friend bought this back for me from Australia. It has to be stored in the refrigerator, and I love how nice and cold it feels on my skin. It’s great to use in the morning because it refreshes me and puts me in a pleasant mood to face my day ahead.

The mask absorbs oil and leaves my face nicely moisturized and evenly toned. It has exfoliating beads which helps to massage my face and relax it, but they are very coarse and big, so be gentle when applying and rinsing. My skin glows and feels soft like silk after treatment. The process is highly enjoyable because of the soothing scent that the mask exudes.

However, it only has a 3 week shelf life. This is a testament of its freshness, but this means you’ll have to use it up quickly to avoid wastage replenish it frequently. This can be pretty pricey to use on a regular basis.