Face Good

That’s right! I’m referring to those humble squares of cotton that we use for make-up removal. With the right technique, you can turn these cotton pads into skin whitening tools!

This should be done after you've removed your make-up.

Step 1: Soak a thin, absorbent cotton pad in your toner. Use the thin ones as they are more absorbent. Do not use the reusable ones with paddings! Do not put in so much toner such that it becomes so mushy you can't even lift it up! It's such a waste of toner too! Just pour a small puddle of toner at the bottom of your container and spread your cotton pad over it and wait for it to soak it all up.

Step 2: When the cotton pad is thoroughly soaked, remove it, place it on your middle finger. Your index finger and ring finger should come together and close in on your middle finger so that you’re gripping the sides of the cotton pad that hang off from your middle finger. Gently rub the cotton pad over your face in circular motion, from inside to outside, until your skin absorbs the toner. This helps to smoothen cutin in your skin and accelerate cell renewal. After this rubbing procedure, remove the cotton pads, dab your fingers with toner and gently rub your face with your fingers.

Step 3: Soak a few pieces of cotton pads in your whitening lotion. Place them on your cheeks, forehead, chin and around your eyes for five to ten minutes. Your skin will absorb the nutrients from the whitening lotion.

Step 4: After removing the cotton pads, place both hands on your cheeks and press them down gently. This will create a warming effect that absorbs the lotion better and quicker. The moisturizing effect from the lotion becomes especially pronounced in dry weather.

Apply your favourite moisturizing cream as a nice finish-up. Pour a little moisturizing onto your palms, rub your palms together to induce heat, and rub the cream over your face. If you have any remainder, use it on your neck!

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.

How was everyone's Halloween? I went for the Halloween special at the Singapore Night Safari with my buds. The atmosphere was great - dark and dramatically spooky. The 'creatures of the night' didn't scare me (though they probably were supposed to) but I found them pretty entertaining. The only downside was that because it was so dark inside, my smokey eyes, which I painstakingly practised creating for the past few days, didn't stand out all that well. I probably should have dusted on some glitter. Oh well.

Loads of festives are coming up! Year-end galas, dinners, christmas and new year! It's the time of the ear to pile on more eye make-up than usual. But don't forget that dramatic eye make-up with vivid colours are often more stubborn to remove as compared to regular eye make-up.

Thus I'm recommending Méthode Jeanne Piaubert CRYSTAL CLEAR, which is not only a very effective eye make-up remover, but also serves as nourishment for the eyes.

I've used it a few times to remove heavy make-up, including my glamorous smokey eyes on Halloween night (I'm still using my regular make-up remover for light make-up). The liner, shadow and even the mascara come out without much fuss. According to MJP's website, it actually coats the lashes to decongest the mascara. I guess that's why it's so easy to remove the mascara even without rubbing my lashes. With this product, I'm glad I won't be losing lashes for the wrong reasons!

The aftermath is refreshed, soothed and fully cleansed eyes.

This product may be too luxurious and extravagent for daily use, but it's a great respite if you've come home with tired eyes caked with dramatic make-up.