‘beauty tips’ Category Posts

17
May
2012

Tips on How to be Motivated to Exercise
image from fitfinity.net

Although I’ve adopted this new lifestyle by changing my diet and working out regularly, I’m not about to tell you that being disciplined is the easiest MOST FUN THING TO DO! Giving up your favourite foods (ohh… chocolate, french fries, cake) requires some sort of grit. In fact, it probably requires some sort of strait jacket.

Then, when it comes to working out, it’s not all a bed of roses. Your favourite work out activity can seem like the most difficult thing to do when you’re exhausted after a full day of work. After tackling the flood of emails earlier in the day, I feel like I’ve already swum through a tsunami and getting into the pool is probably the last thing I want to do. But, if I’m going to crack the health code and go for gold, here are some tips on how to stay motivated to exercise (and keep that 25 inch waist line)!

1. Work out with friends
Whether you’re traveling light or working out, friends help ease the burden of your weight(s). Not that they’re there next to you carrying your dumbbells, but friends are a great source of encouragement to keep you going when your motivation is low. The more, the merrier! They’ll be your own personal cheerleading squad!

2. Think full-body wellness
Instead of focusing on how much weight you’ll lose when you go for that run or the muscles you’ll build, think about the overall positive impact of exercising. For instance, exercising promotes better blood circulation which brings extra oxygen to your skin, giving it a natural healthy glow. Then, with better blood circulation all around, you’ll feel more alert during the day too! It’s amazing what simple exercises can do for your whole body.

3. Start small and be realistic
Rome wasnt built in a day and babies learnt to walk before they started to run. This same principle applies to your workout regime. You’re not going to be able to carry 10kg weights or do 5 sets of the same exercise the first few times you start your weight training. A 21km run is probably going to seem impossible if 5km is already a challenge.

Constantly motivate yourself to exercise by building up your workout routine from the beginning, starting with small manageable bite sizes. These sizes should be palatable to YOUR body, not anyone else’s. I wasnt the strongest swimmer when I first started swimming, but I decided to do shorter laps and take more regular breaks. Now I can do longer laps without stopping and I’d have to say I’m definitely more confident in the water! Soon I might even be doing synchonized swimming. Haha. Small baby steps to a major breakthrough.

4. Write it down
Once you know where to start, whether you write it down, tweet it or log it in your phone, JUST. WRITE. IT. DOWN. The idea is to have a record of what you want to achieve, when you achieved it and how you got there. You’ll be able to look back and what works for you and what didnt. Which leads us to the next point…

5. Celebrate every small victory
You skipped on dessert during dinner yesterday? Pat yourself on the back. That’s a one less kilometer you have to run the next time. Make sure you recorded it. Went for a run today? Good job! Because that means you’re one step to being fitter and you’ll be able to run the same distance in a shorter time soon.

Celebrate every small step you make to getting the body you want because it all counts. With recording your fitness progress, it’s much easier for you to feel good about yourself when you look back and see how far you’ve come. When you go through at your records, you might really surprise yourself with what you’ve been able to achieve! At the end of all the small celebrations when you’ve finally got to where you want your body to be, it’s time to have a big party!

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30
Mar
2012

With my recent escapades to nearby countries like Philippines and Jakarta in just 2 months, I’ve learnt how easy it is to flash-pack. Flash-packing is the new backpacking, only with some flair. It’s still about travelling light, but gone are the days where people lug a ratty-tatty backpack and rough it out in a hole in the wall room. The new aged flash packer is young, feisty, got some spare cash to burn and is plain ole up for a good time.

Tips for Traveling Light

With budget flights available at the click of a mouse button to this new generation of world travelers, a country a month over the weekend is not that difficult to achieve. Flash packing requires no check-in luggage. Just lug a couple of important things in your hand carry and say hello to a new culture a month. Because you’re just going for a short weekend away, you dont need that many things. So here are my travel tips for packing light:

• Go back to basics
In life, you’ll never go wrong with your basics – whether fashion, grammar, beauty or health etc, travel is exactly the same. Pack your basic tank tops in various colours with different embellishments, 2 pairs of your trusty jeans, flirty skirts and maybe 2 cute dresses for nights out on the town. Mixing and matching your tops and bottoms gives you several outfits options.

Accessories, such as scarves, I find always make a whole lot of difference. You’ll even be able to use them as hair accessories! When it comes to jewellery, pack statement pieces that you’ll be able to use with most of your outfits.

Shoes dont make for light travel packing. Honestly, you dont need that many pairs of shoes, just unless one for the road and a really dressy pair. Or maybe just one more cute one.. Just for an alternative. But remember, we’re trying to think about how to travel light. 2 pairs of shoes should do the trick for a 4 day trip, unless of course you’re packing for a photoshoot. Even then, on my recent trip to Jakarta, I packed a whole bunch of dresses and still managed to fly sans check-in with 4 pairs of shoes: 2 heels, a pair sneakers and sandals.

Tips for Travelling Light

• Use what’s provided for you
Whether you’re staying in a hostel, hotel or couch surfing in somebody’s apartment, always check what’s being provided for you. If you’re staying just for the weekend, it’s okay to rough it out and go without your regular conditioner. Use whatever is available so you dont have to carry an extra bottle. Skincare, however, is something I never compromise on. I always bring my own basic skin care regime overseas.

• Vaseline is your best friend
This little jar of petroleum jelly was once your best friend when you were a baby and now in your jetsetter days, it returns to be your best companion on board and abroad. There are an infinite things you can do with Vaseline but I particularly love it for tackling the moisture and hair frizziness problems you get when travelling!

• Wear as much as you can
No no, dont get me wrong, I dont mean cover up. When you have a 10kg hand-carry travel luggage limit, instead of packing all the bulky items in your luggage and weighing the scale down, flaunt that jacket and be the clothes rack for just a bit. Those pretty heels weigh more than your slippers, totter about in them until you get on the plane and then you can change out of them. Layer up if you have to because they dont weigh you!

How to Pack Light

• Sharing is caring
It’s fun to travel alone, but sometimes twice is as nice. When you have a travel buddy, it can be double the fun. At the same time, it also means a load halved. You can either arrange to share toiletries or your gadgets or even just dump your stuff in your buddy’s luggage which has more space! Hahaha. We share stuff with the people we love!

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25
Feb
2012

Sponsored Post

The standards of beauty are ever-changing but the rules to achieving them are constant. It’s no mystery that the secret to getting good skin includes maintaining a regular exercise routine, a proper skin care routine and eating right. Whether it’s food for good healthy skin or food that keeps you in shape, diet is a key element in health. Now that I’ve started on my swimming regime to keep in shape, I’m inspired to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet for better skin.

BRAND'S Innershine Berry Extract Bottle

Of course, the rewards of looking good dont just naturally come without effort. It takes a lot of planning and conscious effort to work an exercise schedule into our already busy lives. So when someone does the work and takes care of the diet aspect for you, you rejoice and enjoy the benefits.

I’m no stranger to beauty supplements – collagen powder, vitamin supplements, Evening Primrose Oil are just some of the oral supplements I incorporate regularly into my diet. The BRAND’S® Chicken Essence even figured at one point in my busy schedule on a daily basis because it’s known to provide an energy boost and keep your mind sharp.

The latest addition to the BRAND’S® range, however, is slightly different to what we commonly associate BRAND’S® with. The BRAND’S® InnerShine Berry Essence with Grape Seed Extract is the newest addition to the InnerShine® range designed for maintaining youthful and glowing skin.

BRAND'S Innershine Berry Essence with Grape Seed

Berries have been scientifically proven time and time again to have excellent anti-oxidant properties and this power-packed beauty drink contains FIVE of the best berries rich in anti-oxidants: blueberry, blackcurrant, chokeberry (aronia), acaiberry and cranberry. Try picking up these 5 berries in their punnets at the supermarket and you’ll probably have spent at least 50 dollars on anti-oxidants. But 6 bottles of the yummy BRAND’S® InnerShine Berry Essence only costs SGD$ 24.90!

Furthermore, the BRAND’S® InnerShine® Berry Essence with Grape Seed Extract contains Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins Complexes (OPCs), a naturally occurring powerful antioxidant and not something you can easily get for such an unbelievably cheap price. OPCs is 20 times more potent than Vitamin C and 50 times more powerful than Vitamin E! The OPCs in this beauty drink is the key ingredient that enhances skin elasticity and keeps it firm.

BRANDS Innershine Berry Essence with Grape Seed Extract

I understand busy and I’ve always insisted on everything I own being portable. The BRAND’S® InnerShine Berry Essence with Grape Seed Extract thus fits perfectly into any bag of mine. Whether it’s my going out bag or carry-on cabin bag, I fish one out from my bag and pop the top open any time of the day for some refreshing berry goodness.

BRANDS Innershine Berry Essence with Grape Seed Extract

Nothing should stand in the way of feeling great and looking fabulous – not even a hectic schedule. Especially when things have already been made more convenient for us. It now so easy to ndulge in some berry lovin’ with the BRAND’S® InnerShine Berry Essence! YUM!

While you’re getting your dose of berry goodness and surfing the net, don’t forget to check them out at their Facebook page for promotions, giveaways and fun activities!

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31
Jan
2012

P&G Beauty Debate P&G Beauty Debate

The thing I love most about Spring is all the amazing colours it brings. Bright, cheery colours that you can add to your palette, both in your make up and your wardrobe. After attending the P&G Beauty Debate with Sarah from facesbysarah, I’d say I was on the right track for my Spring 2012 colour palette during my New Year visiting!

Experts from the beauty panel predicts several colour trends for Spring 2012 including:
- Sand Dunes: Everything to do with luxurious naturals, nudes.
- Visible Aura: Glossy healthy sheen with lots of natural shine.
- Tango: Bold strong colours like black/daring pink. Lots of lace. Inspired by Latin America.
- Beauty Graffiti: To do with DIY and personalization. Colour splashes in an artful way.

Outfit of the Day

These trends can be incorporated to both fashion and beauty so I decided to pull a little bit of the above 4 Spring 2012 colour trends during my Chinese New Year by getting this very beautiful teal Greecian Slant from The Velvet Dolls and coral Dipped Back Flare Dress from Jipaban! Going bold with colour splashes!

Face of the Day Makeup Look

As for my hair and makeup, I decided to go for a more natural, healthy look in tune with the Visible Aura Spring 2012 trend. Light eye makeup and a healthy flush of colour on the cheeks and lips was in order to match my coral dress. Then I top all that off with highlighters on the cheeks and nose bridge for a truly visible aura!

Face of the day
Face
Inglot Under Makeup Base
Bobbi Brown Colour Corrector in Dark to Medium Bisque
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer
Burberry Beauty Sheer Foundation Luminous Fluid Foundation
MAC Prep and Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
MAC Pinch-o-peach blush
Sephora Sculpting Disk

Eyes
Too Faced Smokey Eye Palette
MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner
Acuvue 1-Day Define Contact Lens in Vivid
Maybelline Define-a-Lash Volumizing Mascara

Lips
Rimmel London Full Colour Lip Liner Definer in Pure
Lancome L’Absolu Rouge in 380

Outfit of the Day

The beauty and hair trend for Spring 2012 is all about hair being free to move with a glossy, healthy bounce. So to emulate the clean, freshly washed yet polished look, I ironed my hair out, worked some hair serum for a shiny finish and spritz a wee bit of hairspray just to hold it all down. Dont overdo the hairspray because hair needs to be light and made but not overdone!

Will you be incorporating any of the Spring 2012 Colour and Beauty Trends in your fashion and beauty routines this year? Which ones will you pick?

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27
Jan
2012

The idea of nail stickers isnt a new one. First, they were the cute little things you used to paste on your nails as additional decorations. Now, they’ve graduated to being pasted on your entire nail. I first bought nail stickers from Sephora because the idea of pasting your nail colour seemed fuss-free and convenient. Somehow, I never actually got about to using them.

Then, everyone started talking about the Sally Hansen Salon Effects real nail polish strips while I stubbornly resisted them. I continued resisting them because I was happy being old school and painting my nails. But eventually, I succumbed. I decided I would try out the Cut It Out floral design for Spring 2012. Flowers on my nails couldnt be better for the New Year! Plus, Watsons was having a 20% off the nail strips, so I only paid about SGD15 from the original SGD17.50! Yipee for discounts!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Review

In each pack, you’ll find 16 nail stickers for you to find the perfect fit, a nail stick, mini nail file/buffer and detailed instructions; everything you need to DIY a salon effect manicure. Application of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects real nail polish strip is easy enough that I managed to perfect the application by the 4th nail. It’s really a simple technique of stick-and-go.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Review

Peeling the strip off its backing, you’ll realise the strips are really quite thin and flimsy and need to be handled with care. But if you make a mistake pasting the rounded part at the base of your nail, you can gently wean the nail polish strip off your nail and readjust it without any loss in stickiness. Oddly enough, as much as I thought these were just stickers, they smell exactly like nail polish, though not as strong. I guess that’s why they call them real nail polish strips.

Because the strips are so thin, instead of buffing them like the instructions recommend, you can actually tear them off at the edges. On the first few applications, I made the mistake of pulling the Sally Hansen Salon Effects real nail polish strips a wee bit too much thinking they’d adhere better. But all I really did was tear the strip a little bit. Lol. I eventually found out a gentle tug is all that’s needed to ensure smooth and bubble-free application.

Salley Hansen Salon Effects Review

The Sally Hansen Salon Effects real nail polish strips are slated to last for up to 10 days but I couldnt decide if it was because of my weak nails or my rough and tumble that the nail polish strips chipped off at the nail edges like regular nail polish does within three days. I resorted to applying a top coat and to my surprise, found that I really liked the effect of the shine on the nail polish strips. It gave the nail polish strips a better finish. Perhaps if I had applied a top coat earlier, it would have preserved the condition of my Salon Effect manicure for longer.

Removal of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips is identical to how you would remove real nail polish: you’ll have to remove them using a nail polish remover! My only gripe about the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips is the fit of the strips on the nails. Sometimes they dont cover your entire nail breadth-wise.

Otherwise, I simply love the ease of application of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects and the no dry-time. On top of that, you get all sorts of intricate designs without having to sit through 2 hours in the nail parlour. I think I’m going to search for more of these nail polish strips.

Have you tried the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips or any variation of these nail stickers? Would you give up your nail polish for them?

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17
Jan
2012

As much as I love doing the black smokey eye for piercing eyes in photos, heavy dark eye makeup isnt quite so suitable for daily wear when you’re going to work. You wouldnt want your boss to think you just came from an overnight party! Haha. Black smokey eye makeup can also take up quite a bit of time, so you’ll probably need to get up at least 2 hours before reporting time to get ready. (Oh trust me, I know. Hahaha.)

That’s when I like to turn to what I call my 5 minute make up. Technically, it doesnt actually take 5 minutes but it’s easy enough that it sure looks like it. The focus of this simple day make up look is a a fresh, clean face. You want to look like you got out of bed and look this naturally beautiful every single day. Dark eye rings are a big no-no, so concealer and colour corrector IS. A. MUST.

If anyone were to ask me how to get rid of dark undereye circles, I’d have to say colour corrector or corrective concealers is the secret to getting rid of dark eye circles. Concealer seems like a misnomer because concealer actually lightens instead of changing the colour of dark eye rings. It’s all about neutralizing with colours.

For instance, if you have redness on your face, you’d want to use a green make up base to help reduce this redness, while a purple make up base can help correct yellow-colored skin. So depending on your dark-eye rings (either blue or grey-blue), you’ll need to the get the corresponding neutralizing colour to really rid your makeup face of dark under eye circles. Hip hip hooray to not having two white patches under your eyes anymore!

Here’s a look at the products I used in this simple day makeup video:
Face
Bare Minerals Matte Powder Foundation *
Bobbi Brown Colour Corrector in Dark to Medium Bisque *
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer *
Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Loose Powder
Sephora Sculpting Disk

Eyes
Sonia Kashuk Eyeshadow Quad
MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner
Maybelline Define-a-Lash Lengthening Mascara

Lips
Bare Minerals Lip Gloss in Chiffon

* must-haves for getting rid of dark under-eye rings

Simple Day Makeup Look

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