Face Good

The sun has been merciless these days, hasn't it? I was on my way to work this morning, it was only 9 plus, and already, the morning sun was leashing its vengeance on me. By the time I got to the mrt station five minutes away, my eyes were seeing a little red, and my hair felt hot against my fingers. This is summer period in Singapore, where the heat gets really intense. Time to get more vigilant with the sunblock!

Recently, I've been using Clarins' UV PLUS Protective Day Screen, so I decided to do a review on it. It's not a new product, but it's still going strong in the market, for good reason.

I have combination skin and I'm really wary about sunblocks because I break out easily. Nevertheless, sunblocks are a necessity. After all, skin cancer is much worst than acne. However, I have no worries about this. It feels extremely lightweight. Like all sunblock, it feels greasy and icky when first spread on skin. But it absorbs almost immediately and leaves no residue.

A friend of mine went to Hawaii recently for a holiday. Needless to say, she spent most of her holiday frolicking at the sunny beaches. She's one of those people who gets sunburnt easily. This time, she was armed with this sun screen, which she applied every few hours each day. She came home sunburnt free! This makes me conclude that this sunscreen is gentle on skin, but a strong shield against the sun rays!

It's been awhile since I last wrote an article about DIY beauty methods! Given rising costs of living and worsening inflation, I'm back to experimenting with home remedies that are comparatively cheaper to branded facial products in the market.

Some fruits and vegetables, when in contact with your skin, produces natural moisturizing and nourishment effects and can remove wrinkles in the long run.

Brinjal Mask
Mash up a brinjal (unskinned), soak it in a small jar of rice wine and add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of natural honey. Keep in a sealed jar and refrigerate for a week. It helps to smoothen skin and remove wrinkles.

Banana Mask
Mash a banana, add half a tablespoon of olive oil and mix evenly until the mixture is very fine. This masks helps in eliminating wrinkles.

Water melon wipe
Wipe your face with a clean piece of watermelon skin and then rinse your face with clear water. This helps to refresh and moisturize your skin, thus preventing the formation of wrinkles.

Snake gourd mask
Juice a snake gourd and mix the juice with half a cup of rice wine and 2 tablespoons of honey. Apply it to your face and rinse off when dry. Snake gourd is effective against wrinkling skin.

Cucumber mask
Probably one of the most popular and easiest methods. Simply place slices of cucumber over your clean face. It helps to refresh your skin as well as soothe wrinkled skin.

Tomato Mask
Mix 2 tablespoons of honey with a glass of freshly squeezed tomato. Tomatoes protect skin against sunburn and premature wrinkling.

All masks are to be applied directly to skin for about 15 to 20 minutes unless otherwise stated, and washed off with clean water. However, before applying these masks to your face, always apply a bit of it to the back of your ear or neck to test for allergy reactions. Instead of applying the masks to your entire face, you can also do spot treatment by applying it just to drier, more wrinkled parts of your skin and monitor its progress to see if it works. As with all products, results and effects vary from person to person.

Even if you don't read the news regularly, you must have heard about Japan's recent Earthquake disaster due to all the relief efforts that are being carried out in Singapore by various volunteer organizations. I am fortunate that I do not have loved ones living in the disaster-hit zones to worry about. Nevertheless, the disaster greatly saddens me, not solely because it represents a huge loss of humanity, but also because Japan has given me, and many people in the world, wonderful things that have become part and parcel of my life - Japanese food, fashion, music, technology, anime and many more. Not to mention that they have a culture that draws compliments from people of all nationalities and races in the world. I sincerely hope that life will revert back to normal for those in Japan as soon as possible.

For those who are interested in helping, there are a few fund-raising groups in Singapore dedicated to this cause, but the most legitimate and prominent one would be the Singapore Red Cross, where you can make cash donations. I'd also like to highlight Singapore Isetan, considering that I do get many of my Japanese cosmetic products from there. Although there is no information on their website, Isetan at Orchard is directing some of their proceeds to Earthquake Relief efforts. Isetan has sales events this month, as well as a Spring Kyushu Fair. If you like Japanese food, Isetan's food fairs are always highly recommended.

As there are many Japanese expats in Singapore, you should be seeing more creative forms of fund raising efforts over the next few days. Yesterday (17 Mar) for example, 150 performers, 1/5 who are Japanese living in Singapore, held a Charity concert to raise funds for Earthquake relief efforts. These small and mostly impromptu events are usually not announced in the mainstream media, but Facebook is a good source of information for events like this. If such events come your way again, do check them out. It is always heartwarming to experience personally how people of different nationalities stepping across borders to help one another in times of need.

With a beautiful heart and attitude, even the plainest of all plain Janes exudes beauty and charm.

The threat of inflation is very real. Prices of daily necessities have been going up and the inflation does not seem like it will be letting up any time soon. Reducing expenditure on things you do not need such as expensive dinners and branded apparel is one of the surest ways of coping with reduced income.

However, this is no excuse for you to abandon your beauty regime and let yourself go to pieces! Usually, beauty products seem expensive to us only because we aren't spending wisely. Here are tips on how you can reduce frivolous spending.

If you can use one, don’t use more
Many products these days come with multiple purposes, such as two-in-one make-up remover and cleanser, eye moisturizer with wrinkle prevention etc. Always read carefully what a product contains so you don’t end up wasting money on extra products. Besides, treating any part of your face too many times a day can cause adverse effects.

Don’t buy based on price
Just because a product is expensive doesn’t mean it works miracles on everyone. It’s wiser to determine the effectiveness of a product before splurging on it. You can obtain a sample, or read customer reviews off beauty websites and online shopping facilities like Amazon. Also, bear in mind that products that work well on people of a certain ethnicity may not work so well on people of another ethnicity. Get reviews from a local beauty website rather than one that serves a different community from yours.

Natural home remedies for fundamental skincare
They are cheap, easy to make, generally have no side effects and they work. So why not?

Lead a healthy lifestyle
Don’t stay up late, don’t drink often, don’t smoke etc… You know the drill. You save up money on electricity, cigarettes, alcohol etc, and you don’t have to spend so much money on beauty products to salvage your skin!

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!

I'm back with the commentaries on the remaining five zodiac signs!

Scorpios: The Analytical Consumer

Skeptics by nature, Scorpios take great care to construct a protective wall over the precious visage. Lies and exaggerations from desperate sales people fall flat in front of their sharp ears, for Scorpios have a natural flair for distinguishing between genuine advice and empty claims. They are well aware of what they need and how to ascertain whether a product will suit their needs. If you want to go shopping, a Scorpio companion would be an asset!

Sagittarius: The Fun Loving Free Spirit

The Sagittarius is happy-go-lucky and contented with what she has, as long as she’s happy. That includes her appearances as well. Unless it’s a necessity, Sagittarius don’t put in effort to beautify themselves for the sake of their image. They only usually do it because they think it’s fun and intriguing. That’s why while some Sagittarius ladies like going out bare-faced, there are others who spare no expense at make-up, simply because they enjoy it. The Sagittarius also tends to be fickle and loses focus easily.

Tips: Your energy and sunshine personality is your greatest asset, but don’t forget the sunblock when you go out and play. UV Rays from the sun is harmful to your skin!

Aries: The Career Woman

The Aries always carries herself with grace and maturity and is organized and serious in her work. Her make-up is usually basic and bland, serving the mere purpose of formalities at work. For the Aries, self-grooming is merely for enhancing her image for work purposes.

Tips: Learn to appreciate and have fun with your beauty regimes. Only then can you get the best out of it. Occasionally, you should also try something different. It would be a nice surprise for you and everyone around you!

Aquarius: Dare to be Different

The Aquarius beauty is talented and enjoys showing herself to be so. Independent and confident, she enjoys investing her beauty regime on fancy hairdos and having a different look on a regular basis. Unique and independent brands interest her as the Aquarius dislikes going with the flow.

Tips: Things are usually popular for good reason. It’s good to switch to mainstream some times.

Pisces: Effects are important, acknowledgements even more so

The Pisces beauty is sensitive and is easily affected by criticism and compliments. She is willing to invest a lot of time and money on her beauty regime and responds quickly to others’ feedback. If someone expresses disapproval, she is quick to alter her beauty habits.

Tips: Less self-consciousness and more confidence will make you a happier and more beautiful person.

And this concludes the end of the horoscope series! I hope everyone gained some new insights from reading this! Chinese New Year is just round the corner, so here's wishing everyone joy with your preparations and a prosperous year of the Rabbit!

I’m back with the second instalment of the zodiac series beauty tips!

Cancer: At two ends

Those under the Cancer sign hold rather extreme attitudes towards beauty and skin care. On one end, Cancers may have little interest in beauty and prefer to focus their efforts on other things like their career or family. On the other end, Cancers may be so obsessed that they will insist on only the very best methods. It it’s neither branded nor endorsed by celebrities, they would not even consider it.

Tip: You need to achieve a balance. For the ones who don’t bother, it’s time to at least practice some basic skin care. In an image-oriented society, sloppiness is always frowned upon, no matter how capable you are with your job. If you’re at the other end, remember that brands and celebrities are not always sure indicators. Different skin types yield different results. Always fish for feedback and reviews before plunging into something expensive.


Leo: Confident Decision Makers

Like the beauty-obsessed end under the sign of the Cancer, Leos, too, only pick brands that are popular and trust-worthy. However, they are not easily swayed by advertisements and celebrity endorsements. Apart from brand name, product ingredients and feedback matter a lot to them too. Natural ingredients are their favourites as these are safest to use and have little side effects.

Tip: Keeping up with your practical beauty regime is the right way to go!

Virgo: The Perfectionist

Virgos have always been famous for their pursuit of perfection. While it is always good to pursue the best, this insistence on the best sometimes becomes a hindrance when they select their beauty products. They may try something which may present good results but still switch to another product because it is not sufficiently good.

Tip: There is no such thing as the perfect product, or all the other companies would have been out of business. Sometimes, settling for a little less is better than spending extra time and money on experimentations.

Libra: Obsessive Beauties

A typical example of a Libra beauty is Taiwanese television personality Barbie Hsu, whose famous for her extreme beauty tips. She has never dyed her hair for fear of damaging it, and often goes out covered head to toe like a grass cutter to protect her skin and hair from exposure to the sun. Of course, not all Libras are like this, but some do have pretty intense beauty methods up their sleeves, many which do not have actual scientific basis or have little significance. However, on the other side of the spectrum, some Libras can be so lazy that they would go out without applying sunblock or brushing their hair. Libras are a little like Cancers, but much more extreme on both ends.

Tip: Confidence will make you beautiful. But over-confidence is not a good thing either.

Next week will see the last installment of the series with the remaining zodiac signs, so don't fret if yours hasn't been discussed yet! See you next week!

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 first week of the new year is about to end! I hope the new year has been great for you!

After New Year, the next big major festival is Chinese New Year! This is also the time when we tend to be more stressed and a little more unhealthy than usual from the effort we put into the preparations as well as doing overtime, and with stress and poor health comes the zits! Before Chinese New Year gets nearer, let's get the zits under control so you can enjoy Chinese New Year without fretting about these little buggers! As you go about your daily routine, here are some simple things you can take care off to ensure your zit-free holiday!

Make-Up Application

Make-up is almost an essential part of our daily routines. Especially when one has existing spots and imperfections, the natural thing to do is to turn to make out for a temporary solution. However, if make-up is inappropriately applied, it could worsen your pimples, or even cause you to have pimples when you didn't have them in the first place!

Before applying make-up, ensure that your face is clean. If you have combination or oily skin, use facial products with oil-control features. Use foundation that is suitable for oily skin. Throughout the day when you have to touch up your make-up, use oil blotting paper to absorb excess oil from your face before touching up your existing make-up. Finally, it is also very important that you remove your make-up at the end of the day as soon as you can. Never go to bed without going through the proper steps to remove your make-up completely, or your make-up would clog up your pores, causing zits to form.

Cleansing Your Face

Often, there is this common misconception that if you have pimples, it means that your face is dirty and not properly washed. While touching your face with dirty hands does result in pimples, poor hygiene is just one of the factors that cause pimples. Cleansing your face multiple times throughout the day is not going to improve your skin condition. On the contrary, it could make your pimples worst. Our skin is made up of a layer of cuticles and a film of moisture, which contribute to the regulation of oil on our skin. Washing your face more often than required can cause damage to these layers, resulting in an imbalance of the oil and moisture content on your skin. When this happens, your skin releases more oil instead, causing your face to be oily and pimples to be formed. Facial scrubs also cause pimples to worsen. That's why when you have pimples and acne, it's best to keep your face clean with gentle, non-stimulating facial products. The recommended amount of times to cleanse your face is once in the morning and once at night. On other times, you can splash your face with clean water.

Exposure to air-conditioning

Do you realize that even when you're in an air-conditioned office for the entire day, your face and neck feel exceedingly hot even if your hands are ice-cold? This is because water helps to cool your body down but the dry air resulting from air conditioning causes moisture to leave your skin, and the skin on your face and neck are often the most sensitive parts of your skin. Oily skin tends to secrete even more sebum than usual. It is important that you bring a skin moisturizer around with you and apply it whenever your skin feels hot and dry. Remember to wash your hands before doing so!

Feeling under the weather?

When you’re tired, stressed or in a bad mood, your skin reflects the condition of your body, appearing dull and void of elasticity. Sometimes, little bumps appear on your skin. These are not pimples, but should they become infected, they will have pus and become pimples. Don’t touch them or squeeze them; they’d get worst. If you want them to go away, you should work on getting rid of your bad mood and lethargy. A nice warm bath or hot shower, getting ample sleep or doing something relaxing which cheers you up often helps.

Good luck with your Chinese New Year preparations!

Year 2011 is just one day away! Are you all geared up to pave the way for another great year ahead?

One of the things people often talk about when it comes to self-improvement is resolutions. "What are your New Year resolutions?" is a common question to drive the conversation at an New Year party. Admittedly, it's something I delve into when conversation dries up.

Recently, I came across a meaningful quote by John Selden about New Year resolutions - "Never tell your resolution beforehand, or it's twice as onerous a duty. "

I suppose some people produce better results under pressure, and it really depends on personality. There are people who swear to shake off 5kg by the middle of next year and then get disheartened when they're 1kg short, and go back to doing things that make their goal drift further away. Then again, there are people who do everything to make sure that they do see their resolution through. Perhaps a resolution that everyone should make is to stick to their new year resolutions.

Jokes aside, whether you decide to reveal your resolutions or not, it's still good to start off the year with some sort of goal or plan in mind. It doesn't have to be something momentous or historic. It could be as simple as finishing off something from last year, or persisting with an achievement you managed last year.

Last year, I maintained a regular exercise regime (jogging and work outs at the gym) and I feel healthier and have fallen sick less often too. So for the new year, I'm going to continue doing that, but maybe try some more challenging sports to add variety. I did some research and found some sports which are easy to take up, promotes weight loss and doesn’t give you muscles:

Ice Skating
Suitability: Any age group, as long as your health permits. It’s not too difficult to learn if you’re not going for the fancy stuff.
Equipment: The ice skating outfit and skates. You should be able to rent these at the skating rink.
What it does: Improves ability to balance. Tones leg muscles. Increases stamina.
Approx. Calories burnt: 420 Calories per hour

Cycling
Suitability: Any age group
Equipment: Just the bike if you’re a non-professional cyclist
What it does: Exercises your thigh muscles and knee joints. Promotes blood circulation
Approx. Calories burnt: 240 Calories per hour

Golfing
Suitability: Any age group, but patient people are more likely to enjoy it. On the other hand, if you persevere, the sport will help develop your patience too.
Equipment: Sports attire, golfing shoes and gloves, gold club
What it does: All that walking strengthens your heart. Swinging the golf club helps stretch and strengthen your back muscle.
Approx. Calories burnt: 270 Calories per hour

Horse riding
Suitability: Age 40 and below. This is a sport with some risks. It’s also an expensive sport, and you must not fear horses.
Equipment: Riding attire, helmet, a docile horse
What it does: Trains your agility and body coordination. Exercises full body, especially leg muscles.
Approx. Calories burnt: 240 Calories per hour

Volleyball
Suitability: 30 plus and below. This is a high impact sport.
Equipment: Sports attire, sports shoes
What it does: This is a full body exercise that even tones your abdominal and bum muscles. It also trains your agility. If you’re still growing, the sport will help you grow taller.
Approx. Calories burnet: 260 Calories per hour (recreational)

Have a happy, healthy new year ahead!

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.

December holidays are coming and many are undoubtedly planning to travel! It's snowing or about to snow in many popular tourist destinations and that's always novel for those of us who have lived in tropical weather all our lives. Snow also makes for beautiful scenery for photo-taking! Unfortunately, the cold weather also makes it mandatory for us to dress warmly in multiple layers and bulky coats, causing us to look regrettably tubby in those beautiful photos! But don't despair! With the right type of cut and accessories, you can keep warm without looking like a dumpling!

Dark colours
Wearing dark coloured clothes gives the optical illusion of looking thinner. But this does not mean that you have to dress up like a crow. Dark shades of brown, blue, red, purple and other colours too, do not add bulk to your body. On the other hand, pink and white coats make you look sweet and fluffy, but they can also make you look bulkier than usual.

Long coats
These coats that go down to knee-length are suitable for tall girls and when worn with knee-high, high-heeled boots, can really elongate your body and make you look slimmer! Petite girls too, can wear long coats, but bear in mind to choose one that is proportionate to your body. Something that goes beyond your knee could make you look like you have short legs.

If you're bottom-heavy, these are especially great for covering up your weaknesses while giving the optical illusion of a smaller waist. Shorter ladies who do not find long coats suitable for them may go for such coats that reach above the knees. Just be sure that it actually reaches beyond your butt or you'll look even more bottom-heavy.

November is typically a busy month for everyone. It's the month of exams for students, worries for parents and overtime for the working class.

If you've been sleeping late, your body will not be getting enough rest and it will be more difficult for your system to purge the toxins that have accumulated in your body. These results in premature ageing and ageing related problems such as wrinkles and uneven pigmentation. Dark eyebags and listless eyes are a given too. Although there are various methods to combat problems stemming from late nights, these are only temporary. If your body is not resting well, the problems will come back again, and your health will suffer.

If you have to stay up late for various reasons, here are some tips to keep in mind to make your short length of sleep as sound and productive as possible.

Don't eat before sleeping. That means no snacking, and try not to have dinner to late.

Sleep with the lights off. In fact, the ideal condition for sleep is when it is so dark that you can't even see your fingers when you raise your hand. In total darkness, your body rests and undergoes repair. However, when there is light in your room, your body is misled into thinking that it is not yet night and will thus not be able to rest as well as it should.

Sleep in a comfortable position.
If you like to sleep on your side, place a pillow or bolster between your legs, it will make you feel more comfortable. If you like lying on your back, place a pillow under your thighs. It will help to reduce the pressure on your back. Avoid sleeping on your stomach as it will cause discomfort in your back and neck the next day.

Find time to exercise. It will keep you healthy as well as relieve stress.

Power naps are good for quick replenishing of energy, but avoid napping for longer than 20 - 30 minutes or you will  not be able to sleep at night.

Rest well and keep yourselves healthy for the holiday season!

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!

This is the last installment of a series of tips on damaging lifestyle habits.

7. Using your hands to scoop your facial products

Long term effect: If your products get contaminated, your skin could get worst from the presence of germs and dust from your fingers and the surrounding air.

If your product comes in a wide-mouth jar, use a spatula to scoop the required amount and cap it immediately.

8. Over-reliance on home remedies
DIY remedies, if appropriately administered, are effective and cheap. But if inappropriately administered, they may result in sensitive and injured skin in the long run.

Bear in mind that DIY remedies are not substitutes to fundamental skin care products like cleansers, toners and make-up removers. They are supplements which would help to enhance skin care and thus help to reduce costs on additional facial products like acne and age spot treatments that are expensive and would not be needed if you take good care of your skin regularly. Besides, not any home remedy you see on the web works for you, because most home remedy recipes are written based on the writer’s personal skin health and desired achievements, which may not be applicable to you. Home remedies are also a product of trial and error, and there are some careless people who may post home remedies online without verifying them. Always do some research on the composition of the recipe before using it, and if you can’t verify how the ingredients in the recipe contribute to the promised result, don’t use it! Also, do consider the fact that when different ingredients mix, they may produce side effects!

9. Using the same make-up remover for eyes and other parts of your face.

Long-term effect: Using non-eye make-up remover around the eyes can cause various skin problems around the eyes like puffy eyes and dullness.

The skin around your eyes is different from the skin on other parts of your face. Makeup removers that are specific to the eyes should be non-comedogenic and its PH value should be similar to that of your tears so that it is gentle on your eyes. Make-up removers for other parts of your face would contain a different composition that is likely to be unsuitable for the sensitive area around your eyes.

That's all for the moment, but it's not a comprehensive list! Always put your common sense and analytical skills to good use, especially if you're going to do something that would have a direct impact on your body!

Do you sometimes feel that even with the richest lip gloss around town, your lips are still prone to dryness and chapping? Especially during this festive season when you’re either busy with preparations or rushing work to finish up in time for your long weekend leave, it is likely that you may not be drinking much-needed water to replenish your body’s moisture.

In Singapore’s tropical weather, it is quite rare for people to have chapped lips – that tends to happen in colder weathers - so if your lips are dry or even peeling, your lack of moisture is rather serious.

Like dry skin, lip dryness isn’t something that you can improve or cure overnight, but by incorporating certain foodstuffs in your daily diet, you’ll find soon find that those succulently luscious lips that you always wanted is not a dream!

According to the study of Traditional Chinese medicine, there are certain foods with ‘heaty’ effects, ‘cooling’ effects and neutral effects. The more obvious examples of food with heaty effects are durian, fried food and spicy food. These are the type of foods that cause you to fall sick from fever and sore throat, especially if you have a heaty constitution. Examples of ‘cooling’ food include mangosteen, green bean soup and herbal teas. These are the things you eat to combat the heaty effects. Heaty foods are generally drying, so food with neutral or ‘cooling’ effects is recommended for people lacking in moisture.

Vegetables: Spinach, mustard, radish, eggplant, bamboo shoot, tomato, winter melon, cucumber, luffa, bitter gourd, mushroom, green bean, soybean

Seafood products: Seaweed, jellyfish, clam, crab, black fish, oyster

Meat and protein sources: Pork, Duck meat, duck meat and eggs, goose meat and eggs, milk

Beans and grains: Sesame, Black bean, millet, wheat, barley

Fruits: Sugarcane, Banana, Water melon, mango, pear, Luo Han Guo, persimmon, coconut, pineapple, water chestnut

Others: Lotus root, lotus seat, lily, wolfberry, chrysanthemum, honey, tea leaves, rock sugar, table salt

Ensure that you’re drinking sufficient fluids daily (8 glasses) and avoid coffee and smoking. Good luck in your quest for juicy lips!