Archive for May, 2010

30
May
2010

Inspired by Violet’s nail art post last month, I went out and got myself them cute little fruit slices and decided to try my hand at nail art too. For this week’s Sneaker Sunday post, inspired by the new Sex and the City 2 movie and my upcoming trip to that particular city, the theme for my nail art is, have you guessed it already, if you said New York, you are right! It’s The Big Apple.

The apples used here aren’t really THAT big, but that was totally irrelevant. Lol. Here’s my nail art design inspired by the City that Never Sleeps: New York and it’s dazzling bright lights.

1) After applying your base coat and cuticle oil, paint 2 coats of your reddest red nail polish on all your toes. I used Revlon’s nail polish in 680 Revlon Red.

2) When the 2 coats are sufficiently dry, slather on a generous amount of clear top coat. This will act as the glue for all your nail decorations. While the top coat is still wet, carefully place the juicy apple slice in your desired position.

3) To mimic the bright lights of the City, I used red and silver crystals and mini gold balls alongside the apple slice. Randomly cluster them together next to the apple while the top coat is still wet and push them firmly down against your nail.

4) Do up both toes. The design for both toes dont have to be identical. To finish, paint 2 layers of top coat over the decorations to hold them securely in place. Let dry completely.

The result is a dazzling mix of bright sparkly jewels against the vibrant red backdrop of your nail. Feel free to add more apples or bling to your nails to really feel the energy of the City. In the meantime, while waiting for your toes to dry, why not head on over to Violet’s and she’ll have tips for you on what types of sneakers to wear this lazy Sunday..

What’s in store for your summer holidays? My trip is just 2 weeks away! I’m sooooo excited.

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28
May
2010

I’m sure many die-hard mascara fans would have already heard of the big name vibrating mascaras: Lancome Oscillation Vibrating mascara and the Estee Lauder TurboLash All Effects Motion mascara. But did you know that drugstore brand Maybelline, for a third of the price, has it’s own affordable version of the vibrating mascara? Yes, the Maybelline Define-a-Lash Pulse Perfection mascara is the powerful sister mascara of the Define-a-Lash series mascaras that knows how to give your lashes a good time.

When I crowned the Maybelline Define-a-Lash Lengthening mascara my all-time favourite mascara, I figured the vibrating version would probably be as just good, or possibly even better due to the 7000 vibrations per minute wand. The vibrating wand does what no hand can do.

Now girls, listen up. THIS is the secret weapon I use to apply mascara to my bottom lashes. Using only the tip of the vibrating wand, gently press it to your bottom lashes and press the on button. Your job is to wait and let the wand work its magic on your lashes. The wand does all that zig-zag work for you lengthening, separating and voluminizing your lashes in one simple sweep.

This mascara wasn’t previously available in Singapore (I had to order mine from drugstore.com) but a limited edition one is now retailing in all good department stores and Watsons outlets for SGD$29.90.

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26
May
2010

Undo a hair bun and you’ll probably find a hundred and one ways on how to tie it. There are so many ways on how to tie a hair bun because there are so many hair bun styles you can choose from! So many styles that I find the hair bun is one hair style that never fails to make you look classy and elegant regardless of how you wear it: high bun, low bun, loose bun, formal bun, casual bun etc.

On days, where I dont feel like doing anything major to my hair yet want a different look, I opt for the casual high bun. The bun is also the perfect hairstyle for the heat these days.

So to get started on a casual hair bun that looks like you got into some afternoon fun, start with these steps:
- Work some styling product or mousse into your hair for some texture.
- Gather your hair into a loose ponytail at your crown and secure with a hair tie.
- Twist the ponytail in one direction and it will start to curl around itself.
- Hold the twisted ponytail against your head and wrap the ponytail around the hair tie in the shape of a donut.
- Once you reach the end, wrap the ends of the ponytail around the bun and secure with another hair tie.

You can use bobby pins to hide the ends that didnt quite make it, but it’s perfectly fine to have wispy ends hanging out from this casual bun (as shown above). The look is relaxed yet chic, perfect for Sunday high tea with a food blogger who insists on making me fat. Throw in a little hair bun decoration and you can take the bun from casual to cute. Gotta love the little hand-crocheted ring, that I used as a hair accessory, made with love by Violet LeBeaux!

Know some other ways how you can tie a hair bun? Share them with me!

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23
May
2010

Think of sneakers and laces are probably the first things that come to your mind. Sneakers and laces are like breakfast and pancakes; you can’t exactly have one without the other. But there are probably 257941134 ways to tie your laces and each can make your sneaker look different. It’s rather amazing what laces can do for your sneakers. So, how do you tie your shoe laces? Here’s how I usually do mine.

Some people like to leave a big floppy bow at the top of their sneakers but I prefer to criss-cross my laces and tuck them inside my shoe so clumsy ol’ me never ever runs the risk of tripping over my own laces. That being said, I also never ever have to undo my laces whenever I put my shoes on. I simply slip my foot into my sneaker! Hooray for laziness!

Another variation to the lazy girl no untying method is doing your laces straight across. How cool is that! I’ve always seen these laces on the awesome sneakers of skater girls and boys.

But guess what, if you’re a big fan of having your laces straight across, I’m about to show you how to make your cool laces even cooler in this week’s Sneaker Sunday post. Sneakers are meant to be cool, and with the right laces, you can make them so chilly it’s almost like the North Pole. Lol. Pardon the cold joke. HAHAHAHA.

All you need to jazz up your sneakers is a shoelace of your favourite colour. But if you are like me and couldn’t get the colour you wanted, I opted for a gold ribbon measuring the same length as that of your original shoe lace.

Start at the lace nearest to your ankle. Push the coloured lace under the first lace and then bring it over the second one. At the third lace, go over again and under the fourth shoelace. See the pattern yet? Good. You want to alternate and weave the coloured lace over and under the original lace on the shoe. Keep the weave as straight as possible.

When you reach the last lace on your shoe, fold the decorative lace over the bottom lace and slip it under the shoelace above it. Repeat the weave by going over and under again next to the weave you already did previously.

It takes a little patience to finish the entire grid but keep going over and under the laces and when you finally finish weaving the entire grid, tuck the loose end into the shoe and viola, your laces are now super cool awesome laces. Here’s how your regular laces should look like after.

What do you think?

If jazzing up the laces aren’t enough for you, you have to check out what Violet did to make her shoes stand out! They are amazing!

We have super sneakers this Sunday! Happy Sneaker Sunday everyone!

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21
May
2010

Gisele Bundchen, supermodel and Victoria’s Secret Angel is adding another title to her already impressive list of accolades. Since September 2009, she has been named the UN’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment Program. To truly live up to her title, she’s taken to creating her own eco-friendly skincare line, Sejaa,, in addition to fronting last month’s Earth Hour campaign.

Sejaa’s philosophy is simple: Love life. They do that by being conscious, being grateful for what they’ve been given and by taking care of what they value—including our planet, each other and ourselves. Something I can fully relate to. It’s paying attention to what we have to fully appreciate how blessed we are.

Their products, including packaging and manufacturing, have been well thought out to fully stick to its green values.

- Labels are printed with soy-based VOC-free inks.
- Manufactured using post-consumer waste paper.
- 100% recyclable Forest Stewardship Council certified fibers.
- Manufactured with clean hydroelectric power. Hydroelectricity produces no waste and does not produce carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas.

Most impressive, is the fact that Sejaa’s products are manufactured with Green-e Certified Renewable Electricity (windpower). Green e-certified Wind Power Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) have been purchased to support the development of new wind-powered renewable energy generation. Wind power consumes no fuel for continuing operation, and has no emissions directly related to electricity production. Operation does not produce carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, particulates, or any other type of air pollution.

A $70 2-oz jar of day or night cream may not having us looking like Gisele anytime soon, but the 100% natural ingredients might do good for sensitive skin types.

All formulas are never tested on animals and the collection is sold exclusively on the Sejaa website.

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18
May
2010

With the intense heat these days, the perfect place to spend and pretend it’s summer is the beach. You’ve got your favourite swimwear, beach towel and sunblock. But just as you’re about to go out, you wonder, OH NO, DO I NEED BEACH MAKEUP too?

I fully subscribe to the idea of wearing makeup when you’re going to the beach. You really, don’t know who’s going to be taking your pictures or you might even spot a beach hunk playing beach volleyball with his hot friends. Haha. But seriously, most foundations come with sunblock, so that’s the ONE reason why you should wear makeup especially if you don’t religiously apply sunblock daily. The key when wearing makeup on the beach is to ensure everything is waterproof.

So when I went to Sentosa recently for a shoot, everything had to be “insured”. Insured with primers, that is.

Here’s the breakdown for the beach look I did:

Face
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer
M.A.C Studio Fix foundation
M.A.C Studio Sculpt Concealer
M.A.C Pinch-o-peach blush
M.A.C Dsquared Sculpt and Shape powder in Accentuate Sculpt

Eyes
NARS Eyeshadow in Pandora
M.A.C Paint Pot in Rubenesque
M.A.C Royal Assets in Smokey Eyes
Everyday Minerals eyeshadow in Hoodie
Majolica Majorca eyeshadow palette in GR750
Maybelline Define-a-lash mascara (review here)
Majolica Majorca Lash Gorgeous Wing mascara

Lips
Smashbox Oplump Lip plumper

Would you believe me if I told you that this face was the one I did for the photo in the banner above? :D

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