Makeup and other banter

MAKEUP for a younger look!

2011-04-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

To look younger isn't piling on with alot of blusher nor is it slapping on the fake lashes for that "bewildered deer staring into the oncoming headlights look".
Observe the skin of a younger person. It is less lined, skin is clearer (with exceptions of the breakout prone, hormonal charged acne skin) and lips more plumper. Skin has a certain glow and always looking less tired (until the clubbing years starts).

10 tips and products to use to look fresher/younger!

1) Do not overlayer your skin with moisturiser. It is a MISTAKE to overlayer the skin with too much moisturiser.
I do not see why there should be too much moisturiser use due to the humidity, unless you have true dry skin which can get irritated if you do not hydrate enough.

Excessive moisturisers on skin allows makeup to slide off easier, makes the face look sweatier/greasy and do not really soften the depper lines.
Epidermal lines are soften with hydration from a good toner and mosituriser (laden too much and it looks like you dip your face cooking oil).

Hydrate your skin with a good toner, currently I am in love with Neutrogena Fine Fairness Toner for its Vit C presence and hydrating properties.Use fingers and palm to massage the toner into the skin for optimal hydration.
For a gorgeous lightweight hydration before sunscreen (in the day time), I am in love with Caudalie Vinosource range Quenching Sorbet-Creme. This lightweight moisturiser is amazing for hydration on skin before apply makeup on. The packing allows the product to stay fresh longer.

Summary, the cleaner hydrated skin always look younger and supple or than an overmositurise grease-ladened one.

2) Use a lightweight liquid foundation.
Adjust the coverage you need to the product being used.
If your skin is excellent, use a tinted moisturiser or a sheer foundation to even out the skin colour. Try Sephora Light Veil Foundation (avaliable in 6 colours).
For those who want higher coverage, use Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream To Powder Foundation. Texture like a cream but apply on skin and it finishes to a powder finish. Forget the powder to prevent the powdered look. Less foundation based product on the skin, less lined the skin looks!

3) Use products with film forming agents to lessen the look of lines facial lines. Apply a THIN layer over the affected area (after all skincare, before sunscreen during daytime) before applying foundation. This will coat the area to hold the skin, lessening the look of lines. Can be applied on any part of the face which have lines. Just rememeber not to overlayer products too much. But rememeber these create illusions to LESSEN the lines, nothing will remove the lines except asthetics surgery.

Examples are
>Shu Uemura stage performer signs-off instant replenishing line smoother
>MAC Prep+Prime Line Filler
>Good Skin Labs Tri-Aktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler
>Dior Capture Totale Multi-Perfection Concentrate (yes it can be use as a base for foundation, I am judging on the formulation.)

4) Use a blush that give a glow upon the skin rather than a shocking burst of colours. No fuschia pink, bright orangy coral or a bright red blush will make your skin youthful, instead it turns your face into a DRAG queen doll. Use blushers that give you a beautiful glow.
I love Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint for that wash of flush from within! For those with oiler skins, currently I am in love with Clarins Blush Prodige for their user-friendly colours avaliable and that beautiful radiance imparted to the skin.

5) Give yourself a SOFTER COLOURED, thicker brow.
Give yourself a fuller brows. Yes you heard it a fuller brow always do make you look younger (look at the korean stars who keep their brows fuller). The trick is not to make your brows the same colour as your hair. Bring down the brow colour 2-3 tones lighter than your hair colour but filling up the brows more, the illusion is that one is younger.
I love using Cle De Peau EyeBrow Liner (choose the lighter shade).

NO MOREoverpluck eye brows please!!!!

6) Keeping the skin clean looking without the oil slick.
Mattify your oiler Tzone with Sloane Inc Sheer Mineral Powder, keep the sides of the face powder free to sustain the freshness. Powder too much and the skin might appear dull or just pancaked on.

7) Using too light a shade of concealer around the eyes to hide dark undereye circles (resulting in a ring of “light” that makes you look like you have reverse panda eyes).

(Answer lifted off my earlier postings)
I hate that look too. That look occur when people still stick to methods from the late 80's / early 90's when we do not have proper coloured undereye concealers and the reverse panda eyes occur too when some traditonalist love using beige/white eye shadow on the eye circle which will also create the reverse panda look.

For undereyes circle, we always target to lighten what we see.
Redness on the eye area, a yellow based concealer.
Greyness/Blueness under the eyes will need a warm/peach based concealer.
Purpley under the eyes will need BOTH tones.
A good guide for the concealers will be that if there is a strange grey hue on the skin or the concealer appearing ashy on the undereye, IT IS TOO LIGHT and move on to the next darker colour.
For fair to medium dark skin, you can use a very light yellow loose powder to set the concealer.
For dark and deep dark skin, using a warm peachy LOOSE powder will work better.

I LOVE MAC STUDIO SCULPT CONCEALERS for under eyes, the coverage and smoothen out texture is amazing!

8) Lines on the eye lids?
STOP USING PRODUCTS THAT HAVE TOO MUCH SHINE! Shimmery eye shaodws don't dicpict youth. It shoWs lines! Matte and Satin eye shadows appear more flattering on lids. Use taupish pinks and neutral corals to give warmth the eye area. Blues might be in trend but it will not work on a more mature skin.

9) Create a fuller lip for that youthful pout.
Trick?
Using a neutral lip pencil line just on the lipline to create a fuller lip look, I love the texture of Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Lip Pencil which glides on smoothly and has amazing wearing power.
Layer on with a full colour gloss like SILKYGIRL’s Gloss On Lipcolor (avaliable in 9 shades) for that sexy pout. How to acheive that pout? Focus on applying the gloss from the centre of the lips outwards, this placement of gloss from the centre giving the illusion of fullness of youthful lips (tho this will never work with those with VERY thin lips and wrinkly lips)

10) Do not overladen oneself with too much lipcolour if it is a casual look. Give your lips a wash of colour with conditioning effects like Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm (coming in march/april). I love the colours of Hibiscus (a clean pink), Rose (neutral red) and Red Dahila (Berry stain) which impart a beautiful glaze of colour while the fantastic formula norishes the dry lips!

Cosmetics and how to keep it and how long

2011-04-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

For all products (makeup or skincare), NEVER keep it in the fridge.
Why?
1) coz the condensation will dilute the product out when taken out of the fridge
2) cosmetics are formulated to keep in cooler room temperature, the stark temperature change from fridge to the surroundings might cause product seperation in the bottle.

Guideline for ALL products

It is best not to keep cosmetics and skincare in the bathroom as changing humidity (from hot showers), the constant change in temperature and all light exposure (sun or floourescent) will degrade the products faster.

Best to use products in a pump bottle or squeeze tube rather than products in a tub, as the constant opening of products in a tub always aids in oxidising of the product.

If your product has clear packaging which allows light to pass through (be it glass or plastic), always aluminium foil to cover the clear area. This will optimise your product from breaking down from light exposure degradation (or if you are a environmentalist, keep it in a cool and dark place (aka the cabinet in your main room away from direct sunlight and heat)

Guide for cream products (cream blushers, foundation, eyeshadow)
-Never leave product expose to air for prolong period of time. Keep all cream products in a airy darken area (still air area normally allows mould to feed off the moisturisers in the product)
-Try not to touch the product directly as it can transfer bacteria/mould into the product. The easiest way is to use a clean spatula (swipe 70% alcohol onto the spatula before scooping product out, or use 70% alcohol on hands before using makeup)

Change gel/cream based products every 6 months to 1 year (even faster for products used on eye area)
Waxy based concealer / Stick foundation / Cream Blush / Cream Bronzer / Lipsticks /Lip liner= 6months to 1 year
Gel eye liner / liquid liner/ Cream-Silicone eye shadow /Lip Gloss / pencil Eye liner = 6months
Mascara = 3-4months

NEVER Share Your Cosmetic Products with anyone, it is a common cause that eye infection is transmitted through sharing eye makeup.

Perfume is aways kept from direct sunlight and high flucuating temperature places as light and the varying temperature breaks down the fragrances and alter the scent.

How can you tell when the products have gone bad? Will they change colour, consistency, smell etc?

Makeup products will change colour, lipstick will be rancid AND can turn mouldy. Cream makeup can turn mouldy (NEVER scrap out the mouldy part and continue to use, once it is spoilt the WHOLE thing is spoilt)

If an unopened product has already gone past its stated expiry date, can you still open and use it?

Open it all you want, but forget about using it. Using it just increases the risk of using a bad product.
Even better tip: Stop stocking up, it never is worth it to stock up.

HD makeup, High definition makeup... My thoughts

2011-04-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

Questions on High-Definition makeup (from a humid weather country like Singapore aspect):

What defines high-definition makeup? (It is the technology used to create it, specific ingredients, for example?)

The claims that HD makeup define itself is that it is made up of micronised pigment with various percentage of light reflectors able to bounce light to give the illusion of flawless makeup of natural finishing. There are claims that HD is better because it is unlikely to to streak and is less likely to be patchy. The claims are also said that they look better on film, photographs, TV and close ups, due to the change of HD technology in the cameras which picks up every slight flaws. Example Cameron Diaz's skin (from Charlie's Angel movie) on HD TV shows her more flawed skin than an airbrushed picture of her on magazine. And of course the claims goes as far as saying that it makes your skin flawless and younger.

FACT: Any good formulated foundation/makeup used properly on properly prepped skin gives the illusion of flawless, younger skin.

TV folks (eg certain reporters on camera and other TV/cable related shows) have been using too much foundation for TV, and normally will be picked up by the camera but only visible due to the new flat screen HD TVs now. Even my mother can see on her new Samsung flatscreen that which reporter/actor has been putting on too much bronzer/eyeliner/lipgloss/blush/eyebrow pencil and these are only the men!

THE TRUTH is to use foundation that has amazing texture and I am talking about those of the LIQUID / CREAM silicon types that have the right colour.! Pancake/two-way/powder foundation will appear chalky on HD if skin is not prime properly. Such foundation in powder product can increase the coverage if needed comparing to loose powder, but for HD we have to use it in MODERATION.

It is past 2010, a lot of LIQUID foundations out there have the RIGHT colour avaliable and if that brand do not have the colour for tanner skin; OTHER brands will carry the products for tanner skin.

With smarter formulations and better textured foundations, everyone will have illusionary great skin some day!

Amazing foundations that goes well on skin and shows well on HD TV.

-MAC Studiofix Fluid range, StudioTech foundation range and Select Foundation range

-Urban Decay's Surreal Skin Cream To Powder Foundation

-Shu Uemura's Face Architect liquid foundations

-Laneige's Snow Crystal Dual Foundation

-Cle de Peau's Refining Fluid Foundation

-Clinique's Superfit Makeup

-Givenchy's PHOTO’Perfexion foundation

-Korres's Wild Rose Brightening Long Lasting Foundation spf 20

-Estee Lauder's Nutritious Vita-Mineral Liquid SPF 10/PA++ Makeup

-Lancome's Teint Miracle Foundation

These are good for the general use people (not only TV/media/whatever), but those with very obvious uneven skin colour, you have to try using two or more liquid foundations/concealers to bring your shade together.

The way to maximise such amazing textures of foundations is to always prep the skin. A very hydrating facial toner that is alcohol-free, a touch of moisturiser and MAYBE a blend of makeup base before the application of foundation. I find that layering too much product upon the skin in humid weather do not really work, as the excessive layering might have too much product built up, making the foundation too obvious. Even worse when we perspire in this heat as the makeup distablised and streaking/patchiness occur.

TIP: To apply abit to even out the skin colour before layering more WHEREVER IT IS NEEDED.

Eyeshadows are best when they are more matte or satin. Frosted or sparkly eye shadows are obviously seen on HD recording and the wearer (he/she) can look like they are ready to go out on a nightout...at a STAGE PERFORMANCE. Garish colours that is not blended properly will end up looking like the person just got dragged out from last year's Xmas decoration (you get my point).

Blabbering so much, the point is.. less is best and blending is important. No more spider legs of mascara for your lashes, no more thicker foundation to as to “smoothen” out the skin (or you look like ya ready for Miss Tiffany Universe competition, google for it if you don't know what I mean), even that gloss glossy lips will make you look like you forgot to wipe your lips after dipping them in olive oil).

Do you use high-definiton makeup for your clients? When did you start using it?

Of course I do, ever since I was with MAC and trained by Celestine Sng to blend the correct foundation colour!

Like I mentioned above. HD foundation is a foundation which has an amazing texture of right pigment and texturisers in it to give it an ability to blend well into the skin.. They are normally sheer to medium coverage, so coupling it with a concealer work well for higher coverage.

For eye/cheek makeup to be HD, there should not be excessive layering of powders/creams on the lid/skin. It is more about blending and not trying too hard makeup. Neutral tones like taupes, warm pinks, peaches/apricots (colours not the fruit basket) and browns always work better for HD close ups.

Lips should always be conditioned well before anything. Lip products can be obvious if the lips is not soften before makeup goes on. Of course the neutral tones like mauves, taupes and brown pinks are always best for HD. But like I mentioned a million times, preping the skin well enough, everything will look put together.

Basically it is all about the PRODUCT BLENDING. Always have been about blending.

How is high-definition makeup different from other kinds of makeup, especially other foundations & powders?( for example, there are micro particles and pigments that adjust to light in any good light-reflecting makeup and mineral makeup also has similar light-reflecting properties)

please see number 1 for my long long write up

I don't get about the gist of mineral makeup. A lot sparkle too much or just look chalky. TALC is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H₂Mg₃(SiO₃)₄ or Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂. It is a mineral too and it is just marketing madness to say it is not. (http://www.webmd.com/health-ehome-9/mineral-makeup).

Alot of mineral makeup has bismuth oxychloride in it which is known to cause reaction in certain skin, but creates a beautiful sheen on the skin.

Very few mineral makeup does good mineral based makeup anyway, a lot has overhyped over priced products.

How exactly does high-definition makeup work?

Summary is that HD foundations CLAIM to provide coverage without feeling or looking too thick. They contain photochromatic particles that reflect light instead of absorbing it, blurring fine lines and imperfections … just like a well formulated foundation will do ..... (-.-#)

Could two products, say foundation, contain the same key ingredient but one product be a regular foundation and the other one be a high-definition one?

Yep. All depending how good the formulation is.

Which skin types/ conditions benefit best from high-definition makeup?

All skin types. Oilier skin with big pores can only be tone down for a HD shot. Removing the big open pores to have flawless skin is a big problem that needs more than just makeup and cement. *Dead panned face* It is like trying out to smoothen the moon surface.

Is high-definition makeup only beneficial to people in the spotlight behind cameras?

Makeup is just makeup. We use makeup for everyday use to create an illusion of better rested skin, even out skin toned and a youthful face. So HD makeup can be beneficial to all that needs it.

What are the most useful/ must-have products (not necessary to mention specific brands, but if you wish, that’s fine too) for someone behind the camera?

Most brands have great products for HD usage. Just be careful if the product appear chalky on your skin. It'll appear chalky anywhere.

For foundations I have already mentioned aboved.

For eyeshadows, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Shu Uemura, Urban Decay, Cle De Peau have a good range of colours for that beautiful smooth application but with good colour payoff.

I love blushers (besides the above mentioned brands) from Laneige, Clinique, Givenchy and Korres who has user friendly colours that look great on HD.

Lip colours from Estee Lauder, Lancome, Paul&Joe and Anna Sui does beautiful range of colours that everyone can use.

Even generic brand lip products like Revlon, Maybelline and Silkygirl have a wonderful range of lip colours and glosses!

What about the most useful/must-have high-definition products (brands unnecessary unless you wish) for someone with a regular office job?

The most important thing for me or the rest of humanity for someone who have a desk bound job is to give yourself a polished look, which means

a. DRAWING IN those damn eye brows and filling them correctly;

b. Using the correct colour foundation so we will not see a white mask on your face as we all head to work;

c. Use a brown pink (or something warm( blush for some colour on your face. Shocking pink on your apples just remind me of the 7^th lunar month ghost festivals effigies;

d. Please use some lipblam or a moisturising lipstick to give colour to your flakey paled out lips;

e. Fake lashes that is 3 times long than your own, used for a desk bound job is just stupid looking. Please use eye liner or just natural HUMAN HAIR based eye lashes of NATURAL length. What you think is cute long lashes, reminds me of japanese anime porn.

What are the most useful products for looking good outdoors, at a picnic, garden party or doing sports?

Sunscreen?

HAHAHAH...

It is sunscreen. And a touch of concealer wherever a person need (and the basics of filled in brows and lipbalm with spf). It is the EQUTORIAL SINGAPORE outdoors. It is always humid, sticky and hot (tho sometimes it can be cooler and drier) so using minimum stuff will make a person's skin more clean looking.

Are application techniques the same for HD foundation, powder, primer, mascara etc?

Please see what I mentioned before.. Less is best and with a lighter hand. It is about looking polished. NOT piling up.

BB Cream and my thoughts

2011-04-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

1. BB (blemish balm) creams were originally formulated in Germany (and the crazed hype started in Korea) for use after aesthetic procedures like lasers and peels, to provide coverage and promote skin-healing. Would you use BB cream after such procedures? Why or why not?

I will suggest using BB cream if only it is not an ultra invasive procedure. The use of BB cream on lightly powered lasers and peels can aid in providing protection from the thinned out skin. But I will be wary if it is something more deeper. That will have to leave to the decision of the physician carrying out the procedure.

2. What is your understanding of a BB cream?
My take and understanding of a BB cream is a PHYSICAL sunscreen (with Titanium and/or Zinc Oxide based) with a thicker texture and an opaque finishing. In summary, it is a physical sunscreen mostly (but some brands do add in chemical sunscreen or use entirely chemical sunscreen formulation.)

3. Many non-Korean brands like Estee Lauder and Lancome, have launched BB creams of late. Do you reckon they are much different from their Korean counterparts?
Nope. They are similar as they all have to provide the slightly opaqueness to provide the BB cream claims. Not all Korean brands are made equal. I find that Estee Lauder, Clinique and MAC BB cream provide better formulation (in antioxidants) than some of the Asian brands BB creams out there.

4. Can you use a BB cream alone without any skincare and/or moisturiser, since it’s supposed to contain a myriad of skincare ingredients?
Yes. To allow the physical sunscreen to move upon the skin, various products in texturisers and moisturising properties is included into the BB cream.
to use it alone is best for those with oilier skin as drier skins might still need to place moisturiser before the BB crema goes on (or BB cream might appear patchy).
Not all BB cream is created equal in their skincare ingredients, some have nonsensical claims.

5. If it cannot be used alone, how different is it from a tinted moisturiser with SPF? BB creams often come in very limited shades, so how do you make the most of a BB cream?
Not all BB cream can be used on all skin tones. Medium to darker skin tones will find a strange greyish hue casted upon the skin upon BB cream application (from the titanium/zinc oxide). Unfortunately BB cream makers have yet to discover or find the importance of increasing the warmth tone of the BBcream to counter this effect.
For those skin tones that has amazing skin texture and laziness to apply much stuff, a tinted moisturiser with SPF is best for them (Try Urban Decay Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 or Smashbox Sheer Focus Tinted Moisturiser for tanner skin).
Basically, medium to dark skin should stay off BB cream until the BB cream makers can wake up and smell the roses that everyone is born with different skintones and cater to that need.

6. Does a BB cream clog pores since it contains so many ingredients?
Texturisers and product fillers that can clogs pores. Also, it depends on the person skin. Some people break out from using anything with texturisers/fillers in them. Some you can layer pure olive oil on their skin and their skin remain dry/parched.
To keep the BB cream lightweight, I will suggest to stop overloading the skin with too much moisturisers/serum/products. Titanium or Zinc oxide based sunscreen are not recommanded for those with Acne sensitive skins, as they are known to aggrevate acne conditions. Always try out before buying.

7. What’s the best way to choose a BB cream?
Use a pea size of the product and spread it upon the back of your hand. Chances of it turning the back of your hand grey will turn out worse on your face.
Also the BB cream admist of all the claims and bullshitting by marketing, it has to feel good on your skin. and YES, it has to feel like a thin layer on your skin to protect your skin (same advice for all sunscreen out there).

Which nude lips works best for me?

2011-04-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Nude lips

Almost everyone wants to do a nude lip. But so much like other "unsafe colours" (e.g. reds or bright corals), everyone is fearful of using it.
To simplify the explaination of nudes is like asking someone to use the colours of our skin to our lip.

FACT: We do not have to use FULL COVERAGE lipsticks to create a nude lip! Washes of beiges to tone down our original lipcolour works well too! We can use even nudes with bits of tinge mauve/pink/peach to tone down our lips colour but leaving a touch of colour behind so as to prevent blotted out looking lips. soft lingering hues of pinks, peaches and even dark browns (for very dark skin) will look beautiful as well.
Full coverage lipsticks can pale out the lips with just one swipe, sheer lipsticks are beautiful for very dry lips to even the tone out. Everything inbetween is just based on comfort level and coverage wanted.

Those with even toned lip colour generally can use alot of nude lip colour as their lips are consistent.
For ladies who uses lipsticks and the eventual lipcolour is always pinkish/purplish, they have blue undertones for their lips and warmmer neutrals can always tone it down and even it out to a pure nude.
Always flustered reddish lips can be toned down with a neutral yellow/gold toned skin colour lipstick.

We can always use a small swipe of liquid foundation upon the lips, but knowing most people lick their lip product off too often. I suggest little or no foundation to use upon the lips.
Always condition the lips with a irritant free lipbalm before apply any lipstick.
I love Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer SPF 15, Badger Baby Balm (avaliable from any good organic supermarket) and Eco Lips Coconut Lip Balm.

How to apply a good nude lip

1) Follow the below colour guide to nude lip sticks to pick.

2) ALWAYS condition the lips and prevent dryness before nude lipstick application. Good way is to apply a generous amount of recommanded lip balm onto the lips.

3) Leave for 1-2mins, and then using a BABY TOOTHBRUSH to slough away the dead skin cells. This will leave lip soft and flake free.

4) Use a touch of LIQUID foundation to go around the lipline. This will soften the lipline to make the nude lipstick consistant.
For those with thinner lips, pump up the lipline with a liner similar to your own lip colour.

5) Apply in the lipstick and viola.... beautiful nude lipss!

I have divided the skin tone and general lip tones accordingly, and obviously we know that each skin tone is a general guide and do not co-relate to a specific ethinicity (due to the recent years of sun WHORESHIPPING some genetically fairer skinned women have gone 6 times darker), hence me picking women from all ethic groups.

Fair tone skin
(from very fair skinned to medium light skinned Zhang Ziyi/Fann Wong to Jessica Biel/Rebecca Tan)

>Light coloured lips on fair tone skin
Shu Uemura's Rouge Unlimited in PK 323 (sheer cool pink)
Clinique's Lon Last lipstick in 03 Creamy Nude (light beige pink)
Urban Decay's Lipstick in Peroxide (washout pink shine)
Anna Sui's Lip Rouge Glossy in 700 (sheer true nude)

>Bluish tinge lips on fair tone skin
MAC's cremesheen lipstick in creme d' nude (clear nude)
Shu Uemura's Rouge Unlimited in 205 (neutral beige pink)
Clinique's Buttershine lipstick in 441 Adore you (sheer beige)
Paul and Joe lipstick N in 07 (neutral light beige)

>Reddish tinge lips on fair tone skin
Cle De Peau's lipstick in T4 (full coverage pale nude)
Clinique's High Impact Lipstick in 03 In A Nutshell (true nude)
Estee Lauder's Singature Lipstick in N24 Perfect Nude (neutral beige)
Chanel's Rouge Allure in 59 Nude (just plain nude)

Medium tone skin
(medium to medium dark/olive skintoned like siti nurhaliza, jessica alba, salma hayek and rihanna)

>Medium coloured lips on medium tone skin
Mac'S matte lipstick in honeylove (mid-neutral nude)
Shu Uemura's Rouge Unlimited in PK318M (matte neutral pink)
Paul and Joe's Lipstick N in 06 (warm nude)
Chanel's Rouge Coco in 03 Secret (mauve nude)

>Bluish tinge lips on medium tone skin
MAC's Satin lipstick in Peachstock (warm neutral)
Urban Decay's lipstick in Sellout (neutral rose)
Cle De Peau's Lipliner in 101 (Matte Tender Rose)
Paul and Joe's lipliner in 03 (neutral beige spice)

>Reddish tinge lips on medium tone skin
Cle De Peau's Extra Silky Lipstick in 121 (sheer wash of light beige)
Anna Sui's Lip Rouge Vivid in 760 (peachy nude)
Sephora's Maniac Mat Lipstick in 11 (neutral beige cream)

Dark tone skin
(Tanner caramel skin to deep sexy burgundy skin like South Indian Actress Sneha to Halle Berry/Tyra Banks to Michelle Obama/Gabourey Sidibe)

>Dark coloured lips on dark tone skin
Clinique's High impact lipstick in 02 Nude Beach (midtoned brown)
Cle De Peau's Extra Silky Lipstick in 122 (sheer wash of coral beige)
Sephora's Maniac Mat Lipstick in 17 (mauvy toned nude)
Urban Decay's 24/7 Lipliner in Envious (medium berry, works well for those with gorgoues pitch black skin)

>Bluish tinge lips on dark tone skin
MAC's Lip Pencil in Stripdown (neutral midtone beige)
Urban Decay's 24/7 Lipliner in Heavy (shimmering nude)
Estee Lauder's Doublewear Lippencil in Spice (neutral powdered nude)
Laneige's Snow Crystal Melting Glossy Lipstick in DY432 Skin Beige (moist taupe)

>Uneven tone lips on dark tone skin
MAC's Matte Lipstick in Taupe (warm taupe)
Cle De Peau's lipstick in T2 (toffee nude)
Estee Lauder's Doublewear Lipstick in 07 Stay Mocha (matte taupe cocoa)

EYEMAKEUP TO ACCOMPANY NUDE LIPS
For the oriental Asian faces, I will suggest to fill in the brows before doing such a nude lip. The brows will allow to frame the face better.
For the stronger asian faces, always cover up the undereye circles and even out the skin tone before doing the nude lip. Or the nude lip will bring focus to any uneven skin colouring and tired looking eyes.

Feel free to create a basic smokey eye makeup or intensify it with a sexy strong smokey eye.
Give abit of warmth to the face with a sweep of blusher or a wash of bronzer to bring the skin tone out.

Applying Eye makeup for Asians (prepared in May2010)

2011-04-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

3 proper ways of applying eye makeup

To bring out the eyes more, we alwyas try to keep the skin looking polish and clean. A touch of concealer, drawn brows for facial definition, a touch of blush and even a wash of gloss or lipbalm can create an amazing clean look.

The eye colours used are all neutral brown tones as we want to create and play with depth. The shine/sheen is added in as an accent to bring out certain features. Alot of asians love glitter/shine on the eyes which I dislike as the shine create a flat shimmery surface and not a chic smartly highlighted eye focus.

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>Normal eye shape

1) Apply a base skin tone colour across the whole eye. In the makeup, I used MAC Eye Shadow in Brule as I love the soft sheen it has and the beautiful neutral colour that evens out the whole eye lid.

2) Using a taupe colour, we blend with a fluffy brush from the end and give the eye a slight contour to enhance the natural depth of the socket. I love using Shu Uemura Eye shadow in M810 (a matte taupe with golden flecks) for that shaping process.

3) Continue on the lower lashline by using a pencil brush and blending that same taupe colour on the lower lashline. This will give subtle enhancement to the eyes by giving focus.

4) To create a bigger brighter eye look, use Cle De Peu's satin eye colour in 103 Pink Gold. The warmer tone of this eye shadow will brighten the inner eyes, giving a fresh bushy eye look.

Leave the eye liner off, but sweep on one coat of mascara (brand placement please) to keep that natural look

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> Smaller, longer eyes

1) Neutralise the eyelid with Benefit's Stay Don't Stray (stay-put primer for concealers & eyeshadows) and also to hold the eye shadows longer.

2) I suggest using Givenchy's Le Prisme Yeux Mono in 14 Elegant Taupe so to have that depth (from using the matte texture out fo the 4 different textured powder), dab on each side of the eye and blend towards the eye socket.

3) Use the beautiful light apricot shimmer eye shadow from By Terry on the eye lid. Place it just above the pupil and blend towards the eye brow. This helps open up the eyes by bringing out a bigger surface area to the lighter part of the eye (the whites), hence bringing the pupil into focus.

4) Load on the mascara with Clinique's Lash Power Mascara Long Wearing Formula, the thinner wand is fantastic for the shorter asian lashes. Put up to 3 coats of it to have that oomph to the lashes!

TIP: Curl your lashes before mascara. To keep the lashes upwards, you have to allow the mascara formula to be drier. After taking the wand out from the tube, dab away any excess mascara on a clean tissue paper. Wave the wand around for about 3-4 seconds to dry it out. Zig zag to coat the lashes. Do the same step over 3 times, and you have beautfiully thick and LIFTED lashes!

-------------------------------------------

>Rounder eyes (to elongate)

1) Even out the skin colour and create a sheen by using Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Sin.

2) Using a gel eyeliner (I enjoyed using the intense midnight blackness of Cel De Peu's Intensifying Cream eyeliner in 101 Deep Black), dot 3 TINY parts of the lash line; the front the centre and the end.

3) Using the eyeliner brush, join this three dots together into a thin line on the lashline. (using step 2 and 3 allows a easier way to apply for those novice or those of buttfer fingers by providing a "guideline".)

4) Elongate the end of the lashline extending the line out (use the lower lashline as a guide for the angling of the line). Then connect the end of that line to the centre of the line drawn, this will create a slight triangle. Colour in the triangle and viola! you have got yourself a eyeline with a tilt!

Proceed with alot of mascara to complete the look!
_____________________________________________________

Wrong makeup.
Things I hate when I see badly applied eye makeup.

1) Eye makeup without a polished finishing (no eye brows drawn, no even out skintone by using any foundation/concealer)
2) Eye makeup that is not properly blended or patchy.
3) No makeup at all, except for eyeliner on the lower lashline (that makes the face looks more depressive sucidal than to the conturary belief of "opening up" the eyes)
4) Too much mascara that resembles cockroach legs
5) Eye shadows that is blended too far from the end of the eyelid, which resulting in dragging down the eyes making the eyes looking droppy
6) Eyeliner top and bottom of the eyelids might not work to "make the eyes bigger" as some said, depending on the eye shape and size.

Best Buys below $30 (product prices last checked July 2010)

2011-04-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

All listed in Singapore dollars

Facial washes
1) Oil of Olay Moisture Balancing facial wash
2) Nivea Visage Refreshing Facial Wash Gel
3) Neutrogena Liquid Pure Mild Facial Cleanser
4) Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser
5) Loreal Revitalift Milky Foam

Why I loves these facial washes?
Coz they are below $15, why pay for a over $20 facial wash when it all washes down the sink?
These formulations are a dream for being gentle to skin without stripping away too much from the epidermis and yet able to wash light makeup off.
My love is still Oil of Olay Moisture Balancing facial wash.

Toners
I am picky about my toners and I am only in love with TWO from the generic market (also arranged by pricing)
1) Garnier Aqua Defense Refreshing Toner
2) Neutrogena Fine Fairness Toner
I realise alot of the mass market toner formulations are crap or just nothing but just water and alcohol.

Serum/Essence
(to be used as a lightweight moisturiser for our weather, great for oilier skins before sunscreen)
1) Neutrogena Fine Fairness Essence (below $29.90)
2) Olay Renergerist Serum (price stupidly increased to $39.90)

SunScreen
-Neutrogena Sunblock, Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 30
-GARNIER UV PROTECT Advanced daily UV blocking lotion with Mexoryl SX/XL SPF 50/PA+++ Pure Vitamin E + Hydra-active complex (in peach tone)
-Coppertone Oil Free Sunscreen Lotion Faces Spf30
-BabiesOnly clear zinc sunscreen spf 30+ (from Sephora, less than $30!)

My Favourite Generic makeup (arrange in accordance to brand name)
------------------------------------------------------------------

Loreal

True Match Blush at $18.90
-The True Match Blush glides on like a dream with it softly milled texture.

True Match Makeup base $18.30
-True Match Makeup base gives a soft moist touch to the skin before makeup is applied.

True Match Concealer $16.90
-True Match Concealers normally have a good range and sits beautifully, tho less than medium coverage.

Glam Shine Lipgloss $18.90
-Glam Shine lipglosses gives a beautiful colour impartment to the lips.

Maybelline

EyeStudio Cream Gel Eyeliner in Black and Brown $19.90
-Great for 1st timers to practise and use before moving on to a better lasting gel liner from MAC, Bobbi Brown or Stila. Comes with a average brush.

WaterShine Pure Lip Colour $13.90
-Great for drier lips or consumers who like a slight colour tone to the lips. Moisturising.

Color Sensational Lipstick $15.90
-Great colour imparted to the lips. Creamy and beautifully textured. Very similar to Lancome's Colour Fever lippie.

Most maybelline mascaras are just BEAUTIFUL! They share similar properties to their more expensive luxury brands like Lancome and Shu Uemura. Current favourite is Unstoppable Shiny Black Mascara.

Revlon

Colourburst lipstick $21.90
-Smooth Creamy textured lipstick with beautiful full coverage colour payoff.
Strangely similar packing to Dior's lipstick.

Colourstay Mineral Blush $24.90
-Not really mineral but very user friendly colours

Superlustrous Lipgloss $18.90
-My favourite generic brand lipglosses for the past 4 years. Good texture, gives good shine and beautiful user friendly colours. Too bad it costs 2.5 times more than the US, so i get mine ship in from the US.

ColorStay Lipliner
-beautifully applied on texture and neutral colours

ColourStay Press Powder
-One of the best press powders from the generic brands with amazing good colour range tho disapppointing that they don't carry darker tones for the tanner asians (stupid sales and branding choice)

Silky Girl
Moisture Max Lipgloss $11.90
-Good texture and good pretty colours

Moisture Max Lipstick $13.90
-Surprisingly good texture and easy to use colours

Silky White liquid foundation $12.90
-My favourite find! Cheap and great texture. Dries to a semi-matter finishing, can set without powder.

Lipliner $8.90
-ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING TEXTURED LIPLINERS I HAVE EVER USED! Glides on like a dream!

Eyeliner $9.90
-Water resistant eyeliner but with a good range of colours for everyone!

How to copy this look for everyday use in humid climate?

2011-04-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

Image taken off Elle.com, featuring DKNY Fall RTW 2010 makeup

Step by Step in doing DKNY Look (pre-adjusted to suit our humidity and asian faces)

1) Place a silicone base first acorss the whole eye lid and blend into the brows (to make eye makeup last the whole day til night!)
I SWEAR UPON URBAN DECAY Eyeshadow Primer Potion in original for its stunning power to prolong eye makeup!
2) Use Shu Uemura's Cream eye shadow in Matte Sand brown and place it along the top and bottom lashline. Put more of the cream product at the outer contour of the eyelids to create depth.
3) Use a neutral warm brown (Cle De Peu's Satin Eyeshadow in 111 Brown Opal) and sweep across the whole eye lid. Starting at the lashline and blend it outwards towards the eye brows. The eyeshadow should be intense at the lashline and then fade out to almost nothing to the eyebrows (yes to the eyebrows).
4) Apply on a thickening mascara (Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes Mascara in 1 Phenomen'Black) to add full thickness to lashes.
5) Keep away from any eyeliner
6) Use a touch of orangy brown blusher (in this case, M.A.C's blusher in Gingerly) and use it to sculpt the face. Apply blusher below the cheekbones for definition.
7) For that stained warm brick colour on lips, dab on Clinique's Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick in Berry Freeze.

Basic Q&A

1) Can everyone pull it off?

-Yep, browns are the best colours for everyone and anyone, as browns are shades of skintones.

2) Should different skin tones use different shades of brown?

-Yep, the tanner the skin, the darker the browns. A light brown on darker skin might end up looking like a skintone colour.

3) Any special considerations we need to bear in mind?

-Using a neutral tone in brown shouldn't have that problem. Only brown hues with too much grey/cooler tones or reddish tones will make it emphasize the undereye circles. But then again each person's perception about how dark their undereye circle is subjective. I would say conceal the undereye area well enough and no eye makeup will look like a mistake.
Keeping the brown hues closer to the lash area is definitely a safe bet to keep the makeup mistake-proof.

4) Any makeup artist tips?
-Always even out the skintone enough, keeping the foundation minimum will keep the brown hues looking clean and modern. Layering on the liquid foundation and excessive powdering will bring the whole look back to the 90's! If the lipstick is too dark, stick to a lipbalm to give that sheen.

Common Beauty Mistakes

2011-04-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

1. Using too light a shade of concealer around the eyes to hide dark undereye circles (resulting in a ring of “light” that makes you look like you have reverse panda eyes).

I hate that look. That occur when people still stick to methods from the late 80's / early 90's when we do not have proper coloured undereye concealers and the reverse panda eyes occur too when some traditonalist love using beige/white eye shadow on the eye circle which will also create the reverse panda look.

For undereyes circle, we always target to lighten what we see.
Redness on the eye area, a yellow based concealer.
Greyness/Blueness under the eyes will need a warm/peach based concealer.
Purpley under the eyes will need BOTH tones.
A good guide for the concealers will be that if there is a strange grey hue on the skin or the concealer appearing ashy on the undereye, IT IS TOO LIGHT and move on to the next darker colour.
For fair to medium dark skin, you can use a very light yellow loose powder to set the concealer.
For dark and deep dark skin, using a warm peachy LOOSE powder will work better.

2. Wearing too much eyeliner (especially around the entire eye), taking the smoky eye look a bit too far. (Does en-circling your eyes make them look smaller instead of larger? How should Asian women use eyeliner correctly to create the illusion of bright and bigger eyes?)

Drawing eyeliner to create an illusion of a bigger eye shape is defo smarter move than lining the whole eye black.
Picture someone with small eye which shows very little eye white, and picture the person lining the eyes top and bottom, including the water line, what happens? All we see is TWO big black DOTS. HAHAHAHAHAH... :)

The answer is that lining the eyes do not make it look bigger. It brings more focus to the eyes. Oriental faces have softer features, so by lining the eyes brings the eyes out but giving more depth to the eyes, hence the perceived view of bigger eyes. Our Indians and Malays sisters have the better genetics with the bigger eyes and longer lashes.

The general rule for MOST eyes out there is to draw a thicker line at the end of the eyeliner on the top lid. The thinner inner line moving to the thicker outer lined area gives the illusion of a bigger eye shape.
Use a light beige eyeliner to draw on the water line to increase the white of the eyes, hence "opening" the eyes bigger. Line the lower lash line with a dark brown or dark grey eyeliner just a touch at the eyeline to bring complete the look.
Add on a gunmetal grey or soft black on the lower lashline to bring the look into night.
Always complement the look with polished skin and DRAWN IN BROWS!

3. Trying to cover up oily/shiny complexion on the face by patting on more pressed powder/powder foundation (resulting in that cake-y look).

The cakey look appeared when excess oil is not removed before powdering.

Uss a tissue to dab away the excess oil before powdering, if powdering is even needed. Sometimes dabbing away the excess facial oil with a tissue will remove the sheen.
Or use a oil absorbing primer on the oilier skin areas before foundation application will help out to lengthen the time ebfore each touch up.
My current favourite is using SloaneInc's S9.3 24K Gold Skin Primer (avaliable from Sloane Clinic). This Primer smoothen the skin texture and have good oil control properties.

What are some of your secret techniques and favourite products to use to

2011-04-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

1. Create bigger eyes
Use a very light golden shimmmery eye shadow, placing it just above the iris area (on the just applied eye shadow) My favourite colour so far is Urban Decay's eye shadow in SIN.
Follow on with an goldish eyeliner (a great option rather than white) and draw it on the lower lash WATER line. I love using Clarins Eye Pencil in 07 Gold.

2. Create plumped up, plush lips
Always create a dimensional lip by playing with textures and contours (depending on what colour lippie you're using, I will use the neutral colour as an example).

Use a neutral lip colour and line the lips before filling it all in with the lip pencil
putting a lighter colour on the pout of the lips before layering wiht an amazing lipgloss that is full of textured and shine for that pouty lips.

Products recommanded for lining and colouring in the lip with Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Lip Pencil in Rose, layering over with Laneige Limited Edition Snow Crystal Intense Lipstick in Matte Pink focusing on the fuller point of the lips before coating a layer of Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Peek-a-Boo for that amazing fullness.

3. Create shorter forehead
The same procedure as contouring the face. Using a darker powder (1 to 2 tones darker than your skin) and a small but full powder brush, sweep it upon the area where you need it to receed. Darker receed, lighter pops out.
I love using MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder (in darker shades) and use it to contour the face for its beautiful powder that is neutral upon application.

4. Create slimmer nose
Instead of using a contour powder that with a heavy hand might end up looking like you are preparing for stage drag performance. Use highlighting instead, using a lighter tone of Lancome Teint Miracle Concealer, layer on the points of the nose bridge that you want to bring up higher and blend in with fingers by dabbing, this brings the nsoe shaper without the mistake of glarish nose contouring.

5. Hide/soften lines at the neck
Moisturise moisturise.. leave a thicker layer of moisturiser (i love Clinique Youth Surge Night Age Decelerating Night Moisturizer for its beautiful formula and texture) around the neck area like a "neck mask" for 15mins before rubbing it in. The moisturisation should soften the the look fine lines around the neck.
No other skincare can remove/hide lines around the neck. Only aesthetics can help, using Thermage, to firm up and increase skin collagen level to visiblity lessen wrinkling.

6. Hide enlarged pores
The only way is to cover the pores up with a silicone base makeup to lessen the look of it. When applied below foundation, care to put this primer only on the bigger pore, oilier skin area and NEVER to overmoisturise of foundation will pool in the pore making it look more obvious.
Using Cle De Peau's Smoothing Base for Pores, is what i love. This amazing texture with oil absorbing qualities keep the pore minimised. I know some fans who use it across the whole face... EVERYDAY!!!

MY FAVOURITE DEODRANT! BEST FIND!

2008-12-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

The most amazing thing I have used since I started puberty (which is a long time ago!!).

This deodorant WIPE is required to be used only once every 5 to 9 days.
It works by inhibiting the bacteria that causes the smell. Lesser bacteria, less/no smell!

How to use it properly.
1) Shower clean.
2) Pat dry your arm pit areas.
3) Take the individual moisten sheet out
4) Wipe it on the pit area
5) Will suggest wiping it vertically and horizontally systematically.
6) Why? To make sure the solution is rub on every possible area under the armpit.
7) Trim if auxiliary hair is too long, or make sure the auxiliary hair is also coated by the solution.

I have tried it and it IS AMAZING. No smell from one full day of outdoor shoot, no smell after one week of showering with anti-bacterial body wash, no smell from running around. Nothing at all. Amazing!

Now available in Watson's Singapore for $3.90 for 3 wipes.
1 wipe lasting about 1 week.

Great subtle gifts for those loved ones who have an odour problem! :)

AMAZING DOLLS

2008-12-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

Oh my god...
my friend Keith just launched his dolls for sale on-line.
They are gorgeous, they are beautiful, they are mysterious!

Take a look at RDGdolls.com!!!!

These are the male versions being sold , female versions coming out... I am excited coz there is a possibility of collaboration with the dolls!

That Burger You're Eating Is Mostly Corn

2008-11-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

By tracing the unique chemical signature of corn, scientists have shown that most of the meat in fast food is raised on corn

By David Biello

If you thought you were eating mostly grass-fed beef when you bit into a Big Mac, think again: The bulk of a fast-food hamburger from McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's is made from cows that eat primarily corn, or so says a new study of the chemical composition of more than 480 fast-food burgers from across the nation.

And it isn't only cows that are eating corn. There is also evidence of a corn diet in chicken sandwiches, and even French fries get a good slathering of the fat that makes them so tasty from being fried in corn oil.

"Corn has been criticized as being unsustainable based on the unusual amount of fertilizer, water and machinery required to bring it to harvest," says geobiologist Hope Jahren of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, who led the research. "We are getting a picture of the American diet on a national scale by using chemistry, which is quite objective."

Eating a diet of meat from corn-fed animals hasn't been linked to any specific health effects in humans. But it has resulted in widespread environmental degradation, including drained water supplies, degraded soils, and reliance on fossil fuels for fertilizer, pesticides and farm machinery fuel, says preventive medicine physician Bob Lawrence, director of the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study.

It's also hard on cows, whose stomachs are specially designed to break down the cellulose in grass, leading to an epidemic of antibiotic use. Also, humans may lose out on beneficial omega-3 fatty acids—important for development of the nervous system and heart health—when they consume corn-fed as opposed to grass-fed beef.

"Instead of eating a predominantly whole grains, fruits and vegetables, we are diverting the grain supply to feeding the animals," Lawrence says, arguing for a diet that treats meat as a garnish rather than the main course and corn for human consumption rather than cows. "Corn-finished beef does add to what has become a preferred taste for the American palate. We've acquired that taste at our own peril."

Jahren and her colleague Rebecca Kraft collected hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and fries from three separate Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's locations in six U.S. cities: Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The scientists were looking for the amount of carbon 13 (¹³C), a variety of carbon with an extra neutron (known as an isotope) that makes its atom heavier.

Corn tends to have more of this ¹³C than other plants. That telltale signature persists as the corn travels through the complex system that turns it into feed, which is consumed and processed by cattle to grow tissue. It continues after the animals are slaughtered and the meat is cooked. The result: 93 percent of the tissue that comprised the hamburger meat was derived from corn.

In fact, only 12 samples from the entire country did not show this unique corn signature: all from a Burger King on the west coast. "My best guess is that it represents meat from another country," Jahren says.

And all of the chicken, in addition to being sourced from just one company, Tyson Foods, Inc., had been fed an entirely corn diet, resulting in a chemical composition that was almost exactly the same from coast to coast. Jahren notes that the isotopic composition of this chicken meat varied from restaurant to restaurant and state to state less than if a sample were taken from just one farmyard-raised chicken.

Further, by studying the levels of a particular heavier isotope of nitrogen, the researchers found that this corn-fed beef was relying on heavy applications of fertilizer as well as, potentially, animals surrounded by their own waste. "As metabolism proceeds, the nitrogen products become heavier and heavier," Jahrens explains. "Nitrogen is just cycling through the animal, including potentially ingestion of that waste or respiration. Our results are consistent with that."

Researchers at Johns Hopkins are now completing a study measuring the levels of carbon 13 in human blood, in an effort to understand how much of the corn in our meat and in the sweeteners (high fructose corn syrup) in our food and drink ends up in our bodies. The fast-food outlets did not return calls for comment.

As Jahren notes, Americans spend more than $100 billion a year on such fast food, making it a significant part of the diet. "Diet related disease is causing more and more suffering in this country and the information you can get is either vague or nonexistent," says Jahren, who spent the last two years trying to get information about what specifically goes into fast food at these chains and how it is made, with no success. "You shouldn't have to use stable isotopes to get the answer to what's in something I just spent my money on and am about to put in my body."

Taken from Scientific American

Eye liner and eye lining tips

2008-09-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Eyeliners are used to create defination upon a person's face by drawing out the shape of the eyes, bringing focus to the face and to create an illusion that the lashes look thicker.

Please note that the eyebrows have to be drawn in too with the eyes being line or it will look like a wheel without its spokes; becoming totally incomplete. One of my pet peeves when people put on makeup in a unpolish, brutal way in their own face.

For all types of liners, following the below suggestion of applying eye liner will help in preventing mistakes being done while application.

MOST OBVIOUS MISTAKE everyone does when working on the eyeliner is not drawing the eyeliner close enough to their lash line.

Hence we always end up seeing eyeliners drawn which has a perculiar space of flesh that deviates their lashline from their drawn eyeliner.

TIP: On how to draw as close to the lash line as possible.

Face a mirror and tilt the head up (about 30degrees) while keeping the eyes looking straight on. This will allow the upperlid to stretch out.

By stretching the upper eyelid, one is able to draw closer to the lash line.

From the end of the lash line at the outer corner of the eyes, we start on the #LASH LINE and smudge in a line towards the inner corner of the eyes.

This will produce a darker lashline drawn creating a more lush-looking lashes.

To create different shapes of eyeliner, build up liner thickness as you want it.

#LASH LINE - where you see a row of lashes on the eyelid

I always suggest to start drawing from outside in on the lashline as we tend to put more pressure from where we start and less pressure to where we end.
This gives a thicker line from the end inwards.

Now lets start with the different lining products.

Eye liner Pencils

The easiest to use as it is almost like drawing a line upon the eye area. Modern eyeliners are soft to draw due to their more complex soft waxes formulation.
There are two major types of formulation which allows one to be more waterproof than the other. I would suggest using the waterproof one in our hot and humid weather.
This doesn't mean the eyeliner will not smudge after application but it meant it last longer than the conventional kajal/kohl/non-waterproof eyeliners.
Putting an eyeshadow of the same colour as the liner over MIGHT prolong the eyeliner for a short period., but of no use if your eyelids are always moist/oily.

The advatage of using a pencil is that it is always almost mistake proof, unless if you have the motor skills of a 2 years old, it should not be that tough at all.

Remember, draw from outside in on the lashline and then inside out to create a proper line.

Play with other coloured eyeliners. Top eyeline using a burnt bronze, gunsmoke grey and complete black colour, following with a lilac, bright purple or aquamarine on the lower lash line for a oomph pop of colour.

I love Shu Uemura Drawing Pencils (http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?CategoryID=352&ProductID=901) and Clarins Water Proof Eye Pencil (http://us.clarins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/beauty-products_pencil---liner_new-waterproof-eye-pencil_C050204008_10051_10204_-1_31246) for their beautiful texture and long staying power.

Liquid liner

Liquid liners are beautiful if you want define, sharp obviously lined eyes. Great for winged shaped eyeliners.

Start to line the eyes like what was suggested before. Draw out the shape accordingly you want it by controlling by drawing from the inner eyes out.

The jagged line drawn is from various reasons.

One is that the skin is not taut enough, so always tilt the head up before drawing.

Two, is that the hand is unsure and unstable when drawing. The solution is to rest your elbow on the mirror as you draw to stabilise the shaky arm.

Three, not being familiar with the brush and using too much strength on the drawing will form the jagged edges due to excess dragging done onto the skin.

Four, to creat that slightly winged look. Draw a Scalene triangle at the lash line. The medium length resting on your eyeline, the shortest end perpendicular upon the outside end of the lash line.
Using this guide will help you to draw a good looking wing tip.

Depending on what you want from your liquid liners, there can be a matte or shine finish to the liner.
The choice is yours.

My favourite liquid liners are Dior's Style Liner (http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P109403&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=1073) and Shiseido The Makeup Fine Eyeliner (http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P173728&cm_mmc=us_search-_-NexTag-_-P173728-_-562819&_requestid=42976&srccode=cii_9324560&cpncode=19-11057113-2)

Gel Liner

The Heaven sent this to us!
My best loved product of all formulation of the eye liners.
We can use it as a liner, base for smokey eyes and yet soften the line out for a demure setting for the eyes.

Most mistake people do is to be impatient and to draw the line out abruptly, and realising the produ
Take time to draw (as recommanded in the first few paragraphs) the line, and play with colours and thickness to play with the different eyelining techniques.

Gel liners have very little play time before the product sets in dry.
Using a slanted brush or a flat tip brush, dip into the gel liner. Dab the excess on the back of the hand before moving to the eye area for drawing.
Start with one side of the eye, draw out what you want in shape and then move to the other eye to complete the same look.
Wait too long before you draw, you'll realise that the brush has gotten hard and the gel immobile.
Complete your lining and you'll have super long wearing liner that do not smudge from the whole day activity.

Presently in the market there is alot of beautiful coloured gel liners that can be used. Play with the colours for different combination.

Use black gel liner on the upper lid for defination, dark brown on the lower lash lines smudged in to bring more focus to the eyes without making it looking too harsh.

My loves for this range are MAC's Fluid Liner (http://www.maccosmetics.com/templates/products/sp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY15101&PRODUCT_ID=PROD7715) and Bobbi Brown's Long-wear Gel eyeliner (http://www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com/templates/products/sp_shaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY2751&PRODUCT_ID=PROD1109)

LAST NOTE

If everything fails and still smudges on your oily eye lids and you have master the proper skills to draw an eyeliner, I truly recommand MAC's Liquid Last Liner (http://www.maccosmetics.com/templates/products/sp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY15101&PRODUCT_ID=PROD9961) They last and last.......
but apply too much it will flake out and be lumpy.
Apply it well and it do not smudge or become panda eyes.

Makeup tips! Grey blue eyes, pale skin and blue & black hair with pic?

2008-09-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have stumbled upon Yahoo! Answers website and realise it is fun solving people questions actively!

I will be putting up my answers to the person asking the question to share with everyone who's visiting my site.

Question:

Looking for a full out makeup regimen to try! I have never used foundation and just apply mascara, gloss and shadow in whatever color I feel like. Any suggestions for a basic layout of colors for me to work with so I can have a finished polished look for work?
Her picture showing her features

Answer:

Dear Pretty P / Mindy,

you have great features to work with and here are my suggestions.

Skincare:
Always use a mild facial cleanser, a alcohol free toner, moisturiser on the dry parts of the skin and a sunscreen across the whole face to your neck. This primes your skin and prolongs makeup on your skin.

Skin:
You have great skin (as what i see from the picture). Perhaps you would like to use a tinted moisturiser across the whole face for a more polish look when you need a more made up look.
I will keep your skin away from powder foundation as it will ended up looking too thick no matter how thinly it is applied due to your great skin.
A touch of concealer can be placed onto your under eyes. To bring light and covering the shadows there. Powder a sheer powder to set the concealer under the eyes.

Eyes:
I love your beautiful eyes.
However they are lost when you don't bring focus to them by drawing in your eyebrows.For your black/blue hair now, I will suggest to use something greyish taupe. This brings focus into your eyes, sculpting your face by bringing together focal points.

Your eyes are very deep set.
What i suggest is to keep too strong colours away as eye shadows.
You do not want your eye shadows to compete with your well coloured hair.
I would suggest using light beiges to soften the deep set of the eyes. This lessen the depth which will bring out the blueness of the eyes.
I will suggest lining the eyes with a deep dark bronze (to once again bring out the blueness of the eyes) eye liner. Mascara of deepest black can be used to add volume to your lashes. Try Covergirl Lash Blast to give beautiful non-clumping jet lack natural luscious lashes.

Use a white eye liner to line the water line of the eyes. This will pop out your eyes more, bringing more focus to the eyes.

If you want eye shadows to be used
- taupes
- metallic bronzes
- shimmery violets
- sheer lilacs in the inner corner of the eyes
will all bring your eyes out.
But note that lilacs/violets/purples will bring out the GREYness of your eyes, browns and bronzes will bring out the BLUEness of your eyes.

Why keep away from strong eye makeup? You have pale skin. Access eye makeup may create a look too hard for your features. Overly gothic, overly trying-to-be.

Cheeks:
A natural brown-pink blusher can be use sweeping from your apples towards the temples of your face, following your cheekbones can give you colour and sculpt the face.
Use a sheer pink over the apples after the brown-pink blusher is used to give a pop of colour upon the cheek.

Lips:
As your lower lips is thicker than the upper lips.
A natural lip colour, slightly darker than your own lips will be used to draw your upper lip. This thickens the upper lips and will equal out the shape of your lips.
Use any lip colour you want to complete the look.
A sheer lipstick (MAC lipstick in Viva Glam VI, Clinqiue Different lipstick in Guava Stain / Spiced Apple, Clinique Colour Surge Butter Shine Lipstick in Baby Baby / Praline, Covergirl TruShine lipstick in 440 Rosy Shine / 465 Peach Shine
Finish with a creamy gloss will do for a day look ( I love Revlon Super Lustrous lip gloss http://www.revlon.com/ProductCatalog/Pro... and Clinique Superbalm Lip gloss http://www.clinique.com/templates/produc...
A night look might have you use a taupish red on the lips.

NOTE:
With your brightly coloured hair, try not to over apply makeup to compete with your hair as this distracts people from your gorgeous features.

Meet your meat

2008-09-15T17:41:00.001-07:00

Watch this and watch this closely...
NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED...

watch how your meat is treated before you consume them...

After watching the video... I am unfortunately still eating meat...
but it brings up a choice of what you can choose to eat and where to buy from.

Why does lip plumper stings so much?!?

2008-08-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have stumbled upon Yahoo! Answers website and realise it is fun solving people questions actively!

I will be putting up my answers to the person asking the question to share with everyone who's visiting my site.

Question:
Why does lip plumper stings so much?!?
it really stings my lips i cant put it on!!
i dont understand!!
thanks in advance

Answer:
Dear Nadine,

I am guessing that you have lips that are easily irriated by various things.

Why Lip Plumper stings so much?
Easy.
They contain ingredients that cause secondary irritation.
This irritation property comes from capsasin (normally from the chilis) or can be derive from ginger extract.
This seconday irritation stimulate blood circulation by increasing blood flow to a localized area.
This increase blood flow is a swelling on that localized area hence the plumping effect.

I never like lip plumpers because the lip look fuller only for a short while.
On those with easily irritated lips, it can cause chapping, flakey skin around or on the lips and in some cases high allergic/sensitivity reaction.

For you, I'll suggest keeping away from ANY lip plumpers.
Play with light and dark lipsticks to contour on the lips, creating a fuller lip look.

How many times can you use the sponge that was used to apply liquid foundation?

2008-08-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

I have stumbled upon Yahoo! Answers website and realise it is fun solving people questions actively!

I will be putting up my answers to the person asking the question, to share with everyone who's visiting my site.

Question:
How many times can you use the sponge that was used to apply liquid foundation?
do you have to throw it out and get a new one after one time use?

Answer:
Dear sugarpopprincess,

The amount of times you can use the sponge depends on the brand, quality and how you apply the foundation.

Do note that foundation is wasted with the usage of sponge as the porous nature of the sponge absorbs the foundation into its structural material.

Use good structured foundation sponges.
I love sponges from Shu Uemura and MAC
1) Shu Uemura
http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/products/Pr...
2) MAC
http://www.maccosmetics.com/templates/pr...

Both sponges are great to use, firm to hold which will help to apply the liquid foundation easier.
Since both are of firm texture, it's easier to wash them and they don't disintegrate as quickly as the $2shop kind.

When to wash?
For general guideline:
Dry Skin - Wash your sponge once a week
Oil Skin - Wash them after 2 to 3 days

Tips to wash
1) Wash your sponge in normal tap water, allow parts of the foundation to be washed off
2) Use a bit of facial cleanser (smaller than a pea size) onto the sponge material and massage it into the sponge.
3) Moisten the sponge and bubbles should be produced. The bubbles will be of foundation colour.
4) Rinse the sponge and wash it clean til no more soap residual is left behind. (how to check? The sponge shouldn't foam as much)
5) If alot of foundation is left behind, repeat step 2 to 4.
6) When the sponge is clean, leave it at an airy place in your home to allow it to naturally dry out.
IF NOT, clip it on a hanger with a soft grip clip and air dry.

The TRICK is to AIR DRY, blowing it dry using a hair dryer or place it under sunlight will damage the sponge by disintegrating the sponge.

Normally I will suggest to liquid foundation user to use their fingers or a foundation brush. As fingers and brushes do not allow us to waste more on the skin. Fingers can be cleaned immediately, foundation brushes can be cleansed one every few days with a facial cleaner or a antiseptic body wash.

Lining my water line? Watery eyes - How to line?

2008-08-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have stumbled upon Yahoo! Answers website and realise it is fun solving people questions actively!

I will be putting up my answers to the person asking the question to share with everyone who's visiting my site.

For the below question i have combined two questions together as they are similar

Question:
Quesiton 1)
Lining my water line?
when i line my water line, how can i make it last all day? i cant go buy anything so please dont tell me any products to buy. but how can i make it stay on and last?

Quesiton 2)
My eyes are extremely watery and everytime I put eyeliner on the inner rim, it comes off.
is MAC eyeliner good for watery eyes?
if not, what do you recommend?
please help! :)

Answer:
Answer 1)
It is almost impossible to allow it to stay on the waterline as your tears naturally have enzymes that breaks thigns down. From what you said, I presume you have slightly watery eyes as well...
The only way is to carry ya kohl and touch it up when it fades off.

Putting an eyeshadow after the eyeliner is place on the WATERLINE will NEVER help as the waterline will feel too dry and your eyes will tear even more.

Some will suggest mixing with glyercin (which is a foolish idea!!) but because it is the waterline, your own eye balls might feel irritated from the glycerin present.

The only way is to use waterproof pencil liners, which will fade off but resists the tears longer than normal kohl pencils.

Answer 2)
For someone with a watery eyes. You will find that most eye lining product even MAC's PowerPoint will not last as long.
MAC's Technakohl Liner has a better staying ability due to its formulation, but with your watery eyes, it might just stay slightly longer.

Remember that in your tears there are enzymes (lysozyme, lipocalin and lactoferrin), lipids, metabolites and electrolytes. The protein concentration differs between emotional tears and the tears produced by irritants. Tears serve to protect the eye from microbial infections and to wash out irritants.

The liners being not part of your body, tends to react with the tears and be dissolved away.

What is the best primer out there?

2008-08-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm looking for an eyeshadow primer. Which is the best primer out there from personal experience?

Answer:
There are various eyeshadow primers out there.
But to really make your eyes shadow lasts, you have to use a silicone base eye shadow primer. This will adhere better on your lids.

How to use it?
Apply using your ring finger.
Take abit off from the pot onto your eyelid.
Start with one eyelid area.
Spread from your lash line towards the brow bone (if it is a natural skin colour shade)
This will create a veil to hold onto your powder eyeshadow makeup.
Put on the eyeshadows.
Once completed, start again with the other eye lid.

Why do we start with one eye area first?
Because the silicone base eye makeup primer will have little play time (it dries out fast), applying it when it is moist will allow the eye shadow to stay longer.

Only with silicone base eyeshadow will hold the makeup longer as the silicone evaporates leaving behind a film . Wax based always creases, due to the fact they leave behind a moisturising base (like MAC's Cream Colour Base) and doesn't dry out (great for drier eyelids)

Brands with cream eyeshadow that is silicone based.
Shu Uemura
http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/products/Pr...
Bobbi Brown
http://www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com/templ...
MAC
http://www.maccosmetics.com/templates/pr...

How to keep the curl of the lashes with mascara?

2008-08-11T03:38:00.000-07:00

I have stumbled upon Yahoo! Answers website and realise it is fun solving people questions actively!

I will be putting up my answers which has been put down as best answers by the person asking the question to share with everyone who's visiting my site.

Question:
HELP, MASCARA DILEMMA!!!!!!!
My eyelashes are mostly naturally straight, but i use an eyelash curler that curls them nicely. The thing is, all the mascara's i buy deflate the curliness the eyelash curler makes! Does anyone know of any mascara's that will hold curliness and not deflate?
If you know of a mascara, please tell me what brand it is! And it would help if someone with straight lashes has accomplished what i am trying to do and shares their answers. Thanks!

Answer:

Dear Mascara Dilemma,

straight stubborn lashes are easily "forced up" to curl.
There are two methods which i will share with you.

Why did the lashes becomes straight right after you curled them to the skies?
Two valid reasons
- your mascara is too wet
- you have put too much mascara on the lashes

how to properly use it...
Curl your lashes in three portions. Close to lash tips, centre of lash length and close to the lash roots (be careful of not grabbing your skin portion of your lashes.)
Pat your mascara wand on a piece of tissue. Do not rub the wand onto the tissue as this might dislodge the tissue fibre onto your mascara wand, contaminating it with paper fibres.

After dabbing the wand of excess mascara, take the wand and swing it around using your wrists for 3 to 4 seconds. That is to dry out the mascara slightly. Then you apply the mascara onto your lashes with one coat, using a zigzag pattern. Allow this to dry before putting on the 2nd coat (which will be applied using the same method).

The slightly dried out mascara using this method, will hold the lashes up better and longer. The 2nd coat will add more volume to it. Just watch out for the wand if the mascara is too wet, everything will be pulled straight again.

The SECOND method would be...
using a heated mascara wand.

Apply a layer of your current mascara you are using on your lashes.
Allow it to dry out.
Using a heated mascara wand (made popular in Asia coz of the straight stubborn lashes we have over here), you press the lashes upwards and hold for 10 seconds.
the heat will hold the lashes up, the mascara will be totally dried up and holding the lashes upwards.
I have tried various heated eye lash wands, but the best is to use an australian brand call MODELCO as the heat is controlled and you don't have to fear about accidentally getting the heated wand onto your skin. It feels hot but never burns. I know I had to try it on myself before I used it for my shoots and customers.
you can buy it from sephora at http://www.sephora.com/

these two methods are what i have been using for the past 3 years of freelancing and it works. Hope it'll help you too.

My favourite mascaras for the moments are
Shu Uemua Precise Volume Mascara http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/products/Pr...
MAC Zoom Lash (not waterproof)
http://www.maccosmetics.com/templates/pr...
Covergirl Lash Blast
http://www.covergirl.com/products/produc...

How do i make my makeup stay longer

2008-08-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

How does Vaseline make my skin look soft and clear?

2008-08-11T03:00:00.001-07:00

Cover Girl TruBlend Foundation

2008-08-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have stumbled upon Yahoo! Answers website and realise it is fun solving people questions actively!

I will be putting up my answers which has been put down as best answers by the person asking the question to share with everyone who's visiting my site.

Question:
Have you tried Cover Girl TruBlend Liquid Foundation?
Is it worth it? Does it really work? I've had mixed reviews and am thinking of buying it today so....thanks in advance for any help!

Answer:
TruBlend Liquid foundation is a sheer to medium coverage foundation.
Recommended for people with good skin texture. It doesn't cover much and will be flakey on a badly prep skin.
The silicone in the foundation gives a smooth texture and you can easily top it out with a pressed or loose powder.

One of the best foundations I have used being a makeup artist for close to 8 years.
But you must prep your skin properly before applying the foundation on or it'll not work out to be as smooth.

Additional:
Preparing the skin means to not to wash excessively, massage the alcohol free toner onto the skin and moisturising on the dry areas before putting on the sunscreen across the whole face. Skin/makeup primers are optional as the sunscreen should work as a primer for your makeup.

How to remove Mascara?

2008-08-11T02:50:00.000-07:00

Bad Eva Bad...yet sssooo good

2008-08-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

Supermodel Eva Herzigova was in town (Singapore) recently for the Chopard Red Carpet event.
The model dazzled us with her beauty and poise.

But of course there is nothing exciting more than spicy news........
*grin*

For a day, she was "booked" for 3 shoots for 3 different magazines.

First shoot was a socialite magazine. She didn't really like the makeup done on her, saying that it was too thick, so she requested the makeup/hair person to remove and she'll do the makeup herself. However, she did allow the hair to be styled by the person and makeup touched up. Her poses were great and good pictures were immediately apparent.

Second shoot was for a local Chinese socialite magazine. She loved the makeup done on her by Clarence Lee and shot quickly as well for the magazine due to her supermodel style.

Third shot was for a "local-international" magazine. The shoot was cancelled but was then again was suppose to happen. This disrupted poor Eva's shopping time and she had to come back to the suite for the shoot. Of course, Eva knows that she's a supermodel and a super cold ice queen temper showed.

Part 1:
She hated the makeup done by a senior makeup artist. Asked the makeup to be removed and she put on her makeup herself.

Part 2:
Fashion Director said," Sweetie, can you please put on these shoes?"
Eva said, "I am Eva... NOT sweetie."
OUCH

Part 3:
Eva said, "Do I look like this big size to you?" (when handed a pair of shoes too large for her dainty feet.)
OUCH OUCH

Part 4:
When asked to stand to another part of the room for the shot.
Eva said," It's either here or no picture at all."
OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH SLAP SLAP

Part 5:
After 10 pictures were taken.
She said," Okie we are done." And walked out of the photography session.
OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH SLAP SLAP STAB STAB

Part 6:
Her interview with that magazine is short and sweet.
Answers were Yes, No and Yawn.
MASSIVE Grave of death.......

This shows that a Supermodel have no wrath like a Hell God let on a rage......

My Singfest 2008 experience 3rd day

2008-08-06T03:35:00.001-07:00

3 days of Singfest.

Another sweltering day. Was threatening to shower, but when it hit 1pm everything cleared up.
We went around interviewing people and recording the crowd. Dear Gosh, there are plenty of freaky people around! They rock, by adding excitement to the crowd.

We had the concert starting one hour late tho.... but everything ran smoothly...

Had Stacie Orrico performing, her voice is stunning from such a tiny girl.
Jamie Scott was next, the girls in the crowd went wild with his smile dazzling them and his voice croon them.
OneRepublic came on and was bowling the crowd off their feet. Panic at the disco was next and the crowd went wild!
JASON MRAZ was the best! His legendary LIVE performance skills were the best and the crowd went beyond wild. He scat and bee bop with so much ease and the tunes were lively and making the crowd delirious with a high buzz!
Rick Astley came on and brought all of us memories (of when my age group was young).
Pussycat Dolls were great with their dancing skills (read between my fine lines...).

The closing act was Alicia Keys.
Unfortunately I didn't stay as I had a 530am shoot the next day and was tired out from the heat.
But gathering from what my friends said, the summary would be FANTASTIC vocals and performance and her voice brought the house down. BUT what the hell is she wearing that white high waisted pants for! One friend commented even tho she was very far away, Alicia's ass looked like a wide screen TV (broad wide but flat).
Oh dear....

The crowd pours in for the 2nd day (about 20,000 concert goers!)

Good branding for Starhub, but so many wastage of plastic ground sheets and paper fans!!

Me and Jason "Mr A to Z"!

A relaxed " after some beers" Jamie Scott and me

It's Rick Astley

My Singfest 2008 experience 2nd day

2008-08-06T03:35:00.000-07:00

3 days of Singfest.

2nd day of work.
The start of Singfest.
Bombarded by sunny skies and cloudless day... we sweat and melt under the heat.
Tho surprisingly Andrea's skin just glisten whereas the rest of us had sweat pouring down soaking our clothes. (Gosh, i need outdoor air conditioning.)

With the day starting at 1030am, most of us are still in lala land coz some of us went out til the early morning. The others were just overworked. *grin* (point: I did go out partying the night before.)

We did more crowd shots, went and interview two of Simple Plan.
Spotted Crowned King at the backstage and then we went to interview Lost Prophets.

Andrea interviewing Simple Plan

The gathering crowd on the Sat show (reported about 9000 attended)

Where is mommy?

Dudes from Crowned King

The guys from Lost Prophets posing for the camera.

My Singfest 2008 experience 1st day

2008-08-06T03:23:00.000-07:00

3 days of Singfest.

Interesting... running in the heat...
since I cannot post more than 5 pictures per post. I am loading up pics on a day by day record.
Rumoured that 2007 Singfest was a nightmare as reported by concert goers, the 2008 one has only have to be better (if not no bands will ever visit and Singapore Tourism Board will have to hang themselves.)

First day is to shoot the setting up (started at 11am ended at 7pm) of the festival. Ran all around with the hosts, Andrea Fonceska and Olli Pettigrew, with my friend / fellow makeup artist Rachel; trying not to sweat like buckets. But gosh the humidity and heat is intense!

Saw the band Melee tho, who was rehearsing topless in the intense heat.

Olli and Andrea talking about the festival

Melee on stage preparing for rehearsal

The Melee boys taking a break from the heat offstage

Why we love by Helen Fisher.

2008-07-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Science of why we love.
Very interesting explanation about how we love and why we do that.
Explains how love can be one sided, and how true relationships and lust is different.

Video taken of TED: Ideas worth spreading

The truth about relationships

2008-07-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

My friend Jerome sent me this link.
Might be repeated alot of times, but it does make sense.
Strangely in it's most simplest form.

We always find that missing piece in our lfie, but we forget that we can lead our life by ourselves.

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O

Cheap Blemish Control product

2008-07-04T02:47:00.000-07:00

I realise that there are alot of blemish/pimple/acne control stuff out there.
Alot are crappy formula which has too much alcohol or has lousy formulation that irritates the skin more with witch hazel, camphor, mint, menthol, corn starch, eucalyptus, peppermint, sandalwood present.

These are the FOUR that i have used and have been constantly for the past 3 years which works. All four have great formulation and that I trust only to use.
These have a good percentage of BHA (Beta Hydroxyl Acid) that is proven to keep skin clear through chemical clearing of the pores.

Please note that all are mostly generics and easily attainable.

1) Paula Begoun's exfoliants
I always love her range of exfoliants which are well formulated and she offers a good range of them.
My favourite is 2% BHA lotion as I use it only at night to keep me pimples free and also help to condition my skin.

2) Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle, Anti-Blemish Cream
My first time buying this is while holidaying in Seattle in 2005. I was breaking out from the minor change in weather and water. Sought out the formulation and bought it because I thought it was good. And it is! Now I buy it off drugstore.com
Plus point! It has retinol for great for the skin regeneration.

3) Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Defense Lotion
I tried this when it first came out in the US market. Immediately had my friend ship over from the US. Really smooth textured when applied on skin and exfoliates well.
Now i buy if off drugstore.com again.

4) Total Effects plus Blemish Control
For those of us in Singapore, it is easier to get this from Watson's / Guardian / cheaper neighbourhood stores. Good to use and slightly moisturising so you can skip moisturiser (btw i don't really encourage overmoisturising in hot, humid weather.) Cost should be Singapore$16 to $26 depends on where you buy from.

Skin Type Has Nothing to Do with Age

2008-07-04T02:33:00.000-07:00

Older skin is different from younger skin. That is indisputable. Yet it is a mistake to buy skin-care products based on a nebulous age category. Treating older or younger skin with products supposedly aimed at dealing with specific age ranges is inappropriate because not everyone with “older” or “younger” skin has the same needs.
An older person may have acne, blackheads, eczema, rosacea, sensitive skin, or oily skin, while a younger person may have dry, freckled, or obviously sun-damaged skin. Products designed for older (“mature”) skin are almost always too emollient and occlusive, and those designed for younger skin are almost always too drying.
Both extremes can cause problems when the key issue becomes your age as opposed to the actual condition of your skin.

Treating older or younger skin with an age-related, unified skin-care routine is a trap lots of women fall into, particularly older women. I understand the anxiety a woman feels when she passes the age of 40 and notices her skin is changing. And when a skin-care routine claims it is best for your age group it is hard not to believe that isn’t true.
Yet an effective skin-care routine should be based on the current condition of your skin, along with protection from sun damage, regardless of age. Age is not a skin-care condition! In fact, many of the skin-care concerns associated with age are more often than not shared by women of all ages.

All women, regardless of age, need sun and antioxidant protection, and possibly treatment of skin discolorations (either potential or existing), dry or oily skin, or breakouts.
Wrinkles tend to separate younger from older skin, but the care you give the skin doesn’t necessarily differ. Not everyone in their 40s and older has the same skin care needs. In a way it’s simple: You need to pay attention to what is taking place on your skin, and that varies from person to person.

writeup taken off Paula Begoun website

Cleaning up, making one pretty after the gym

2008-06-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

A question was asked by a local magazine:

> After my gym session i have a dinner appointment but the stupid gym
> bathroom is so crowded, people are waiting to use the mirror, hairdryer,
> etc.
> If I only have 5-10 minutes to put on makeup before
> leaving the gym, could you recommend the essential steps to dress my face up?
> (Also, after a run on the treadmill, even after showering, our
> faces would be warm and slightly flushed. Should we take this into
> consideration when putting on makeup? If so, how?)

I thought why only send the reply to the magazine when the information can also be shared on my blog. Answer is as below.
-------------------------------------------------

Cleaning up, making one pretty after the gym.

No time? No space?
The gym too crowded when you're tyring to rush for your next hot date?
No worries!
these are the recoomanded steps!

1) Skip the gym when you have a hot date or important appointment to go to right after the gym, coz in the moment of rush, there will also be no taxi!

2) After the gym, use a gentle facial wash to rinse your face clean using the room temperature tap water. Warm water strips too much moisture from the skin.
Gentle facial wash recommanded is Olay Moisture Balancing Facial Wash, one of my favourite and the one i have been using for two years (and also swears by...).
Costing about Sing$3.6 to Sing$6 depending on where you buy, normally i would have recommand buying from the parallel imports coz the normal stores are ripping us of our hard earn money by rising prices too fast.
Click here to see how does the product look like.

(Note: During ANY exercising you shouldn't have makeup on, not because that your pores are more open, it is because it is disgusting to see sweat mixing into foundation and dripping off your face while you're running on the treadmill. Don't worry about having no makeup in the gym, most of the men there are gay and the rest are too sweaty by themsleves to be bothered about how you look.)

3) Use a tinted moisturiser. This will skip the step of toner, moisturiser and foundation used.
My favourite so far is from Glominerals which sets into a nice slightly matte finish. Various tinted moisturisers (in Singapore market) are too greasy for our tropical weather or they contain alcohol.
Do use a touch of concealer under the eyes if you had a long day and when the dark circles are looking darker than the behind of Darth Vader.

4) For the taoist gods' sake, fill in your eyebrows, this will define ya face better, especially for us Asians.
If you don't, it will definately make an impression when you meet your apppointment without brows (the reaciton of take aback or looking confuse coz they are looking at a focusless face...)

5) Use a skintone eyeshadow or eye shadow base to colour over the eyelids. Why? This is to even out the skin colour on the eyelids, so it looked cleaned out.

6) Draw in the eyeliner. Be it in pencil, liquid or gel, draw it in to give defination to the eyes. You can skip the mascara if your fingers is trembling from the 2kg freeweights ya lifted 10mins ago.
Shu Uemura does wonderful waterproof eyeliners, so does Clarins.

7) A touch of blush on your apples of your cheek. A TOUCH of blush.
Because your facial MIGHT STILL BE flushed from the 5km job on the treadmill (don't know why would you waste time running 5km on the treadmill when the nature is definately much better to run in...), make sure you don't over compensate.
IF you need more blusher later you can add more when you visit the little girl's room.
Great user friendly blushers are from Clinique and Pixi (http://www.pixibeauty.com/ see sheer cheek COLOUR)

8) Lip can always be given a good wash of colour with a tinted lipblam. MAC has a huge range of lip balm / conditioners in tub or stick form.
Laneige does wonderful sheer gloooosssyyyyy lipsticks call Snow Crystal Melting Glossy Lipstick that moisturise and also gives the lips more colour and yet not overweighing it with too much lip colour.

LAST NOTE: if you're still sweating after the shower, do the eyemakeup first before the tinited moisturiser, thsi will allwo the body to cool down before it sweats everything off the face.

This should all be done in less than 5mins, if you understand your own face shape.
10 to 20mins if you are not so familair.
30mins to forever if it's your first time applying makeup on yourself without guidance. *grin*

Last makeup tip....
if you want something easy to carry around which has the tinted moisturiser, the cheek and lip colour all rolllllleeeddd up in ONE. Try Pixi Hydrotint Duo avaliable from Apothecary+Co in Singapore (see link for image of product).

Applying foundation and what to do with foundation in humid weather

2008-06-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Applying foundation

Preparing the skin BEFORE FOUNDATION

I have never believed in applying too many things upon the skin before makeup is applied.
Click on link to basic skincare recommandation

If your skin is dry, please make sure moisturised skin is supple before applying makeup.

For combination skin, do keep to the already recommanded skincare step.

If you skin is oily or gets oily very easily, please make sure your sunscreen or makeup base is mattifying to prolong the longevity of your foundation.

If your skin is ultra-oily, forget about applying any moisturiser. Use a MATTIFYING SUNSCREEN (example: Neutrogena Sunblock, Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 30) before applying foundation right after your toner usage.
Reason: your skin will always be "moist", so why put more stuff to allow the foundation to glide off. the Neutrogena sunscreen will set into a nice smooth finish, but use your fingers to massage in the product.

Applying excessive stuff (for e.g. two serums below two mositurisers, one sunscreen over and one makeup base after) will NEVER help prolong your makeup on your skin. The excess moisturisers and silicones will allow the makeup to slide with gravity and sweat as it is too much for anything to hold onto the skin.

LESS IS BEST.

What to choose and how to choose it

1) Choose a foundation according to what your skin type is.
2) Choose the colour closest to your skin tone (two tone lighter than your skin colour doesn't make any sense)
3) Choose the coverage you want (sheer, medium, full) from your foundation.

Very often in hot, humid weather, our skin rarely gets dry except for that fortunate few.
Most will have oily T-zone, perhaps sweat a little or alot around the facial area and comfortable cheeks (which most refer to as combination skin).

Use a moisturising foundation if your skin is truly dry.
Alot of over-moisturised skin will have flaky, topically "dry" skin from excess skin buildup (so DO NOT presume you have dry skin or dehydrated skin, coz you may not have it).
Anyway that is another matter all together for another topic.

Combination skin is normally dry on certain parts of the face and oilier on other parts of the face.
Oilier face ..... mmm i hope it is self-explanatory....

For MY preferance, I love using MATTE finishing foundation for whatever skin type in hot humid weather.
WHY?
The foundation finishes up in a matte texture on the skin.
For drier skins, you can skip using powder on the skin to keep it natural looking.
For oilier skins, use a mattifying powder over on the Tzone and oilier areas for more oil control property.
Mattifying powder such as MAC Blot Loose powder, Glominerals Prefecting Powder, Dior Extreme Fix Powder and Shu Uemura Face Podwer Matte are great options.

WHY skip powder on the drier areas?
Coz we want to keep the foundation as it is.
Semi-matte or slightly matte texture is definately more three dimensional on skin than a flat matte texture of foundation across the whole face.

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Step by Step on how to apply foundation
pictures are drawn by my brother Terry

Start with a clean face. Wash the skin with a gentle cleanser (no matter what skin type). Hydrate using a alcohol-free toner using your hands. Apply moisturiser where needed, before sunscreen on the whole face (during day time), or massage minimum moisturiser on whole face to soften skin before foundation (during night time).

Seperate the face into three portions (as above). Use these 3 different portions as guideline to apply your foundation.
Start with portion 1, apply foundaiton from inner most part of the face and blending out.
If you have excellent skin (in skintone or texture), apply where you need to even out skin colour.

Move to section 2 (on the forehead) and apply a little foundation to balance out the skin tone. Blend abit of foundation into the hairline. Moving to section 3, do the same step as for section 1.

Do apply abit of foundaiton under the eye area.
WHY?
Use the foundation to tone down any discolouration on the undereye, before applying concealer.
That way you can apply lesser concealer and less risk of making it cakey.

Read the next posting on how to apply undereye concealer.

Application of undereye concealer

2008-06-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

These are recommanded steps on how to apply concealer.
Method that is prefered by me.
Each different makeup artist will have our own specific way.

Under eye concealing make a difference. By giving enough coverage under the eyes, you will realise the finishing is very polished, even tho minimum foundaiton is used.
The eye and brain perceived the under eye concealment as a more made up look to the face.

NOTE:
If you have very dry (wrinkly) and dark undereye circles, it will be best for you to decide what is the best finishing for yourself.
Remember if you put alot of concealer to remove the greyness, the under eye might end up looking drier and parched. Lines might become more obvious.
If you want the final look to have a less dry or wrinkly finishing, do remember your under eye area will not be as well covered.
So each of a lesser devils, you have to decide.

pictures are drawn by my brother Terry

After a light wash of skintone foundation is used across under the eyes.
Use a Peachy / Warm tone concealer over the greyish darker areas. The warmth of the concealer or corrector will neutralise the greyish, bluish tone so apply sparingly.
You know you have over applied, when after the powder is set there is an orange tone under your eyes.

After the warm/peachy/orangey based concealer is used to lighten the greyness, a yellow based concealer is used from the inner parts of the undereyes and blended out towards the cheekbone. Once again use the concealer sparingly as excess will allow the finishing to look patchy.
NOTE: you need the concealer to TONE down and even out the under eye to make yourself looking fresher and have a more polished finish face.

Powder is applied from outside in. Pat the powder from the outer corner of the eyes and then brush the excess off from the inside towards the whole cheekbone area.
WHY outside in and then inside out?
Patting the powder from outside in will allow to set the powder into the creases under the eyes. Sweeping from inside out will remove any excess. Creating a smooth finishing.

My favourite powder for undereye is from Bobbi Brown, Face Powder in Pale Yellow. GREAT to set under eye concealer with from very fair to Medium darker skintone.
Golden Orange is good for Darker to Very Dark skintones for undereyes powder setting.

My favourite undereye concealers are

For sheer to medium coverage:

-MAC Select Moisturecover
-YSL Touche Eclat
-Dior Skinflash

For medium to full coverage:

- Glominerals gloConcealer
- Laura Mercier Flawless Face Undercover
- Bobbi Brown Corrector and Creamy Concealer
- MAC Studio Finish Concealer

The medium to full coevrage concealers can be diluted down to sheer out with eye cream, moisturisers or foundations. The option is yours.

Na True Takes Steps to Define Natural and Organic Personal Care

2008-06-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

[June 18, 2008]

During the Society of Cosmetic Chemists' Scientific Seminar, Tim Kapsner of Aveda Corp. discussed Na True, an interest group consisting of European natural cosmetics companies. Many at the meeting were hearing about the group for the first time. Recently, Na True published a definition for natural and organic cosmetics as well as criteria for a three-tiered label system, based on the product's organic and natural content, that is expected to become valid throughout Europe.

The aim of the group reportedly is to achieve transparency and consistency with regard to the composition and quality of natural and organic cosmetics on a European level. Unlike those for foodstuffs, the criteria for natural and organic cosmetics in Europe are not legally regulated. As a result, there are a number of different institutional labeling systems for these cosmetics. According to the group, these standards are characterized by varying criteria that are often not comparable.

The definitions form the basis for a label with three grades and cover the ingredients allowed and their minimum and maximum proportion of the contents. The Na True definition for natural and organic cosmetics and the label associated with it describe the concrete requirements for the three grades:

1. Natural cosmetics: The first grade contains a clear delineation of the natural, nearly natural and nature-identical materials that may be used in natural cosmetics. So-called traces of other undefined substances are not allowed.

2. Natural cosmetics with organic components: The second grade covers natural cosmetics where a proportion of at least 70% of the natural substances contained in the product stem from certified organic production.

3. Organic cosmetics: The third and highest grade defines natural cosmetics in the form of truly organic cosmetics with a proportion of at least 95% of the natural substances contained in a product stemming from certified organic production.

To view the group's Web site and these definitions online, visit www.natrue.eu.

Na True is composed of leading European natural cosmetic companies including: Laverana/Lavera, Logocos/Logona, Primavera, Santaverde, WALA/Dr. Hauschka and Weleda, which joined forces in the fall of 2007. In the next month, Na True will be defining business partners and the procedure for certification in cooperation with the German Cosmetic, Toiletry, Perfumery and Detergent Association (Industrieverband Koerperpflege und Waschmittel or IKW).

Which lip liners I love...

2008-06-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Lip liners.
Many think that they are irrelevant to today's woman's use (or even some men *grin*).
I say nonsense. I love lip liners.
Lipliners can give the slight defination of the lip or bring attention to the focus of your lip. Great for those who have a non defined lip shape OR a weak lip shape.
Use lipliner before/after lipstick and before lipgloss.

I love lip lining for the longevity it gives, for the intense look it can provide, the different look it is able to arm the person with and the manipulation of the lipstick colour.

Longevity it gives.....
Using a lipliner that is similar (do not need to be exactly matching) to your lipstick and filling it up will prolong the lip colour consistancy before it gradually fade out.
But be warn that lip liners being more saturated in colour coz of its texture, tend to be abit (if not much) darker than what you see.
TRICK: Line the lip and slightly colour into the lip before using a lipbrush or finger and gently rubbing the colour in.

Intense look it can provide
Instead of using a lipstick, you can use a lipliner to fill up the lip. That will intensify the lip focus through saturating the liner colour throughout the lip. This will provide a nice matte lip colour.
TRICK: Draw your lipline, fill in the colour by moving the liner 45 degrees and colouring in the liner.

Different look it may arm the person
Paled out lips, nude tones, cutey pinks, shocking orange, matte red, sexy glossy lips. all convey a different look or mood for that person. Using different lipliners and layering with different lip products is able to achieve that attained look. ADJUST THE SHAPE of the lip and the whole look changes.
Use one nude lip liner gives a softer look, whereas a intense purple tone gives a more sculpted lip feature on the face.
TRICK: Play with different colour lip liners to bring out a different look/feel. Play with lip shape to get the different looks!

Manipulation of lipstick colour
Alot can be done to diversify your lipstick coloours. Besides having a zillion lipstick or lipgloss. You can vary your lip liners with different lip colours. Putting a brown reddish lipliner and filling the whole lip up before putting on a neutral tone lipstick can create a more 3-D pouty look. the creation is endless.
TRICK: Play with different colour lip liners to bring out a different look/feel (same as Different look it may arm the person)

My favourite lipliners so far....
ModelCo lip pencil
Consisting of only 5 user friendly colours in

	Melon 01
	Pomegranate 02
	Nectarine 03
	Plum 04
	Cherry 05

all are user friendly for most people. I love Nectarine the most!
PLUS point! One of the few brands who have a sharpener as a cover. Can be abit messy but the convinence, tho cap can lose its grip after frequent usage.
M.A.C. lip pencil
Started my career using this range and and two of my favourite well loved colour is Spice and Stripdown.
PLUS point! Biggest range of colours!

Shu Uemura Lip pencil
Soft to use and come in a good range of colours, my favourite pink tone for lip liners is from this range (colour pink 375).
PLUS point! Lipliner heart stays moist for a long time when not used.
Glominerals lip pencil
Love the wonderful creamy and never overly matte texture. Tho wishing there are more colours that can be used that can be more user-friendly.
PLUS point! Can be used as a longer wearing MATTE lipstick.Cheapest!!! N.Y.C. lip pencil
Okie range of colours, but wishing there is a bigger range of modern colours, rather than have the range of early 1990's inspiration. Favourite colour is Natural and Bronze Glow.
PLUS point! The cheapest of the lot, costing only US99CENTS!!!!

Interesting email about "natural" and "organic" claims

2008-06-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Doug Schoon.

[June 4, 2008]

Dear Editor,

Consumers have become confused by the words organic and natural. Unfortunately, some cosmetic and personal care marketers have played a significant role in creating this confusion. The fact is, most substances on Earth are "natural” and the vast majority of those containing carbon are "organic." Some marketers use these words incorrectly and oftentimes inappropriately, and I am concerned this is harming our industry.

In my opinion, telling consumers that products are safer because they are organic or natural is nonsense and not based on scientific fact. I could fill many pages of Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine with examples of potentially harmful substances that are “100% natural and all organic.” This type of marketing can lead consumers to erroneously believe that products that do not make such claims may contain unsafe ingredients and could be dangerous to their health, which is clearly not the case.

Marketing is supposed to be “the truth well told.” What has happened? Scientific truth should be able to coexist with product marketing. If it cannot, then we should collectively ask why. I believe an important step has been the development of meaningful and truthful industry organic standards to help level the playing field and put referees in place to ensure everyone is playing fair. We should all work to educate the public with the truth.

The first truth we should teach the consumer is that organic and/or natural claims do not make cosmetic or personal care products safe; they are already among the safest consumer products available. Appealing names and cool-sounding terms do not make products safe. Instead, we rely on knowledgeable chemists and technicians, ingredient and product safety testing, GMP and quality control, as well as useful warnings and directions. These measures ensure consumers are able to safely enjoy using the cosmetic products that our industry produces.

--Doug Schoon
President, Schoon Scientific and Regulatory Consulting LLC

Using Pore packs

2008-06-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

My friend, Kelly, asked me about using pore pack on her gorgeous skin.
Which i say NO to, coz pore pack contains hairspray ingrediants. This forms a film on your skin when it dries out and the ripping out part does take away some of the blackheads but also takes away first few layers of the epidermis/top skin. On some people that might cause irritation through skin inflamation or topical skin soreness.
The facial lady has been telling her that her nose area have alot of blackheads
(which i think is stupid coz kelly has wonderful skin and the few blackheads doesn't mean that her skin is bad. That facial lady have to stop trying to oversell her services or products).

What i feel about blackheads on the nose...
1) Can't really remove all of it on our nose coz of various factors
a) genetics, unless we're programmed with no/litle facial oil, it's almost impossible not to get them in our weather
b) lessen/stop the moisturiser application on the nose area (for those with oily T-zone) could lessen the percentage of blackheads existing
c) *gentle squeezing will remove the clog pores partially but excessive brute squeezing might damage the pore wall.
d) overmoisturising aids in blackheads forming
e) excess tanning seems to aid in blackheads forming. Tanning allows the skin to thicken more through self protection, and that results in more clogged pores (blackheads or breakouts/pimples alike).

2) Cant really remove all the blackheads coz of our weather. Sweating and facial oiliness do occur in our weather. Blackheads are oxidized facial oils trapped on our pores.

3) If blackheads bother you... STOP YOURSELF from standing too close to your mirror. Unless the other person is 20cm from you or a little asshead who likes to see your skin upclose. Why should it bother you. Porcelain clear skin are but illusions from computer touchups on print ads and only happens in people who are born with genetically great skin.

4) If blackheads does bother you, look out for what you like about yourself. I am sure some of you out there have gorgeous eyes, stunning cheekbones or lusicious lips that others envy. Why be bothered about that little things on your nose area when you have a wonderful face to explore for beauty.

*NOTE:
Gentle squeezing is recommanded using these guidelines.
Using a warmed (NOT hot!) cloth place it over the the nose area for about 30 seconds to 60 seconds. Make sure your fingers are washed clean and finger nails clean before you attempt to squeeze. Further method of cleaning your hands out could be using 70% isopropanol or rubbing alcohol to rub through your hands and fingers (til alcohol dries out) before touching your own face. Remove the towel and gently squeeze the pores. DO NOT excessively squeeze it if nothing come out of the pore. Then move to another area and squeeze gently. Once you feel that enough area is covered from squeezing. Using normal cool room temperature tap water to splash through the face to calm the skin down and close the pores through lower temperature change. Finish up by using a toner on a cotton pad and put onto the squeezed area for about 1min.

Excessive squeezing using brute strength might damage pore wall and in turn might cause pores to look even bigger when aging (due to the collapse of collagen in our aging skin).
Signs of excessive squeezing? Nose looking like Rudolf the reindeer and feeling soreness on the nose area.

Hope you comprehand from the excessive words typed.

Favourite foundations for now

2008-05-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

My two favourite foundations for the moment are
Shu Uemura ACE ARCHITECT SMOOTHING FLUID FOUNDATION
and glominerals GLOPROTECTIVE LIQUID FOUNDATION

Shu Uemura ACE ARCHITECT SMOOTHING FLUID FOUNDATION
has a gorgoues finishing. Of medium to nearing full coverage, it has a fantastic finishing to a velvet touch. Powder where needed on face.

glominerals GLOPROTECTIVE LIQUID FOUNDATION
has medium to full coverage. Finishing is a slight satin sheen. The texture can be manipluated with different textures of sunscreen and moisturisers to sheer the coverage out. Love to spray toner over to dilute product out as well. No powder is require for it has a nice slightly matte finishing. Powder on oily areas if needed.

NOTE:
A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY. Use foundations to even out your skin tone. NOT to slap a mask on. Not a very modern way to present yourself as a stage performer if you're not.

My favourite moisturisers for the moment - Olay

2008-05-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

Pictures and formula taken off drugstore.comOlay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Serum

My favourite serum for the moment (I use it as a lightweight moisturiser) is Olay Regenerist.
This what i call a good formulated product with high percentage of good skincare ingredients (Niacinaminde, Panthenol, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide 3, Tocopheryl Acetate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Allantoin) and in a pump packaging.
A smooth texture that slips onto the skin, I use this over my eye area. (difference between this and the eye serum, just the volume.) There is a fragrance-free

My dislike of this product?
The semi-opaque packaging.
My suggestion?
Cover the packaging with an aluminium foil to prolong the product longevity from exposure to sunlight.

Formulation:
CyclopentaSiloxane, Water, Glycerin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Panthenol, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide 3, Tocopheryl Acetate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Allantoin, Cetyl Ricinoleate, BIS PEG/PPG 14/14 Dimethicone, PEG 10 Dimethicone, PEG 100 Stearate, PEG 10 Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Metabisulfite, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Benzyl Alcohol, Fragrance
Olay Body Age Transform Intensive UV Defensive Serum 175 ml

I love the texure of this Body product. Plus fact it has avobenzone as part of it sunscreen.
I do use this ON MY FACE in daytime, it goes on to be a velvety finishing on the face. Fragranced tho.
Love the formula coz of the high content of skin protecting ingredients (Niacinamide, Panthenol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract). Good content of humectants (Glycerin, Sodium PCA, Betaine, Sorbitol).

Formula:
Sunscreen: Octisalate (4%), Avobenzone (2%), Octocrylene (1%), Ensulizole (1%)

Water, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Isopropyl Isostearate, Panthenol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Sodium PCA, Betaine, Sorbitol, Glycine, Alanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Arginine, Lysine, Glutamic Acid, Acetyl Glucosamine, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disodium EDTA, Cetearyl Glucoside, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Stearic Acid, PEG 100 Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polyethylene, Aluminum Starch Octenyl Succinate, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, C12-13 Pareth 3, Laureth 7, Benzyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Sorbitan Stearate, Triethanolamine, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, BHT, Fragrance, Yellow 5, Red 33
Olay Body Age Transform Body Creme Serum

Again LOVE the formulation. Not really a body "serum", it is a good body moisturiser.
Also been getting my mom and aunts to use it on the drier parts of their facial skin.
I use it after I shave to calm my chaffed skin down.

Formula:
Water, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Petrolatum, Isopropyl Isostearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Panthenol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape Seed) Oil, Sodium PCA, Betaine, Sorbitol, Glycine, Alanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Arginine, Lysine, Glutamic Acid, Acetyl Glucosamine, Disodium EDTA, Cetearyl Glucoside, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Stearic Acid, PEG 100 Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polyethylene, Aluminum Starch Octenyl Succinate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, C12-13 Pareth 3, Laureth 7, Benzyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Tin Oxide, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, BHT, Fragrance, Yellow 5, Red 33
Olay Body Quench Body Lotion, Active Hydration

Not much difference in formulation from Olay Body Age Transform Body Creme Serum except that this bottle have a bigger volume and is cheaper (pricing compared on drugstore.com)
So in my buying madness, i bought 4 bottles of Olay Body Age Transform Body Creme Serum and 5 bottles of Olay Body Quench Body Lotion on ebay.com.

Formula:
Water, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Petrolatum, Isopropyl Isostearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycine, Alanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Arginine, Lysine, Glutamic Acid, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract (Matricaria), Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Dimethicone, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Panthenol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Polyethylene, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Behenyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Stearic Acid, PEG 100 Stearate, Sodium PCA, Betaine, Sorbitol, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, C12 13 Pareth 3, Laureth 7, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Tin Oxide, Mica, Titanium Dioxide

FOOTNOTE:
I am not implying that everyone should drop their facial moisturisers and use their body moisturisers for their face.
MY choice to use these greatly formulated products on the drier parts of my face. I love the texture and it doesn't cause me any harm or breakouts, why not!

Skin care for Humid weather

2008-05-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Everyone has been overloaded with information about what to do for our skin in humid climates.

Walking through the cosmetic floors in South East Asia, unendless counter girls/boys asking you to buy your moisturisers because even in hot humid climates, we still have to rehydrate our skin to allow the skin to sustain self repair and suppleness.

What do I say to that? What bloody nonsense!
I am a staunch believer of NOT moisturising in our hot, humid weather.
Why?

1) Rarely our skin gets parched in our weather. ANY EQUATORIAL country will have high humidity and rarely will our skin gets dry in any way, unless we are living in harsh cold airconditioned rooms (solution: use a good fan!).

2) Overmoisturising tend to slow down our NATURAL skin ability to self slog off older skin. Excess moisturisers will act like glue, allowing old skin to be stuck to the newer skin. This in turn will allow the build up of dead skin, causing false dryness and even more moisturisation.
That is why scrubbing your face once to twice a week (for most skin) is benefical to your skin's clarity.

3) True dryness to me in humid climates is when after your facial toner, you feel tightness on your skin (most probably on the cheeks and sometimes forehead). Rarely have I heard from people their whole face feels tight after an alcohol-free toner is applied. Those who do, have porcelin smooth skin and barely any pores (freaking bastards! coz i am jealous! hahaha)

Basic skincare (and step by step) that I would suggest:

1) Gentle facial wash (for it be dry, oily or whatever skin). If you achieved the squeaky clean feeling, you are most probably overwashing your face.
2) ALCOHOL-FREE toner so you can apply it with your hands and not waste on cotton pads/balls
3) IF you need, a lightweight "serum". But make sure it is rich in antioxidants and not some cream filled with just feel good silicone (and should be alcohol-free). Oilier skins can use serums as a lightweight moisturisers if they need to.
4) Moisturisers, applied only on the DRY areas (oily skins can skip this)
5) Sunscreen (that has avobenzone, titanium dioxide or zinc oxide present for a good sun protection) that is none oily. If sunscreen is slightly moisturising in texture, use it in place of a moisturiser in humid climate.
Recently alot of new sunscreen have this beautiful matte finish which work as a good makeup base.
Also some brands makeup bases have a good sunscreen protection and are wonderfully textured , you can choose to use that instead of a basic sunscreen.
6) Stop at 4). Have ample sleep to sustain good skin texture longevity. Not enough rest is known to slow down wound healing, so picture not enough beauty sleep on your normal wound-free skin.

Cosmetic companies should stop false advertising

2008-03-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Cosmetic companies should not exclaim their products to do impossible claims. TRUE or FALSE?

Yes, i work in the fashion industry. But like most normal humans, I am sick of the excess claims by cosmetic companies. No bloody cream is gonna work better than plastic surgery. No, you can't put a cream on your face to lessen a wrinkle; or slap on a product superfically to remove cellulite. NO such things yet.
But then again, my industry sell illusions, which pays my job. But I work on the illusion through my best of my skills, I will not sell a deception.

Last year L'oreal was in hot soup for revealing that Penelope Cruz was wearing false lashes in their Telescopic Ad. But we know that it's fake, those long lushious alien lashes were planted. We, the consumer choose to believe. Who can blame who for the greater evil?

Why use condoms....

2008-03-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

for the funniest reasons about why being pro-condom is good for you :)
I don't think I'll have a problem, judging from the ad.

You do realise in ASIA, if i get the behaviour like that when I was a kid. I do get a good smacking from my parents.

All the DI you can do to make me beautiful

2008-03-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

Have no time this weekend to put up more stuff.. helping a friend to do a short film and my god..working from 6am to 5am the enxt day is not a joking matter...
however we know how truthful things can be with our beauty industry.. contradicting,. perhaps but hey I know that it's the illusion we sell....

Everyone have to check this out

2008-02-25T08:13:00.000-08:00

In remembering we're but part of the world we live in, and how mess up and selfish humanity is (and why i went from biotechnology to making people pretty; giving up on humanity to do makeup)........
WATCH IT AND LEARN....

Story of Stuff

Favourite cosmetic product of the moment

2008-02-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

My favourite cosmetic product of the moment

Yes i got lazy, took a pic instead of scanning and used the product before taking a pic.. hahahah!
Surprisingly Metholatum (Asia) created a fantastically formulated lip balm with two fragrance. The one featured is Bergamot.
Formula consist of Macadamia seed oil, Jojoba seed oil, Beeswax, Shea Butter, Candelila wax and others. No menthol, no rosemary, no lavendar, no excess citrus extract (Bergamot exists as a flavouring, juding form the ingredient's listing) EQUALS no possible irriation to lips. And yes there is mineral oil, but it does help to trap moisture on chapped lips.
Non-greasy and feels great on the lips!

Ultimate White Imperialist Worshipper

2008-02-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

These ads came out in Singapore for almost 2 months (I think). Didn't notice much til I was standing near one a few weeks ago. Reading the message, and all i could do is laugh at its tagline.
"White is my choice", are they talking about the white tea in the drink or talking about Sarong Party Girls / Guys? About the POTATO fever.....?
Did the ad agency come out with such smart ass of a catchy tagline (or they deem so), or they have no idea what mental image it links to.
Did Singapore Mediacorp actress Vivian Lai check out what was the message read as before saying yes to attaching her face to the drink?
Is it the same mistake done as Zoe Tay's "I swallow" ad? You are welcome to comment..

Sigh...see it for yourself. You can download the wallpaper and posters from Pokka Singapore website. Below is the 4 posters in all it's GLORY.

pictures taken off http://www.pokka.com.sg