‘beauty’ Category Posts

Seductive, sophisticated , unconventional, charismatic.

That is the Valentino woman. Well known for their couture, Valentino’s new fragrance Valentina eau de parfum, was inspired by the women of Valentino. Valentina is beautiful, radiant with charms belonging to a modern heiress. And the new women’s fragrance, Valentina, created just for her is no different.

Valentina Valentino EDP

Two master perfumers, Olivier Cresp and Alberto Morillas, created the Valentina perfume fragrance as a tribute to today’s Valentino woman. With attitude, sophistication and unexpected characteristics, the bouquet of Valentina blends an irreverent Italian floral oriental in which each facet reveals a paradox.

Valentina EDP

Understanding the different notes of the perfume gives you a better idea of the story of Valentina, the woman of Valentina eau de parfum. In the top notes, Calabrian bergamot gives Valentina it’s opening exuberance and freshness. Think citrus-y oranges. This top note is also punctuated by the boldness of white Alba truffles which gives Valentina it’s sassy quality.

Then, at the heart of the Valentina eau de parfum, jasmine, Amalfi orange blossom and tuberose celebrate radiant beauty. The delicate fragrance of the jasmine has got to be my favourite. Not only is it delicate, it’s delightfully refreshing. Although we were told about the rebellious streak of the wild strawberries in this note, I couldnt detect it. I was probably too enchanted by the jasmine and reveling in the deliciousness of it.

Finally, in the bottom notes, cedar and amber give Valentina its strength and warmth. The smell of the Valentina perfume in its entirety reminds me so much of a classic, modern, very independent yet feminine woman. An enchanting paradox if I must say so myself.

Valentina by Valentino

The beautiful Valentina perfume is perfectly complimented by the even more beautiful couture bottle. I’d have to say out of all my collection of women’s perfumes, the Valentina perfume bottle is the prettiest of the lot.

Adorned with three flowers in pale shades, white, ivory, and nude, these colours are apt choices because they are characteristic colours that appear repeatedly in the new collections of Valentino. The sleek bottle is further topped by a silver ring and a black pearl that represents a contrast of naughtiness and innocence.

Valentina Valentino Perfume

The couture flowers have got to be my favourite part of the bottle. They’re just soooo pretty! I’ve been receiving so many lovely flowers recently and at the Valentina perfume event, I got the couture Valentina flower brooch that I can wear in my hair. Haha.

Valentino Valentina Eau De Parfume

Valentina by Valentino is only available as an eau de parfum and not an eau de toilette. Even their teeeeny 4ml miniature is an eau de parfum! Perfect for throwing into my handbag!

Valentina by Valentino Perfume price list:
Eau Da Parfum
80ML – $175
50ML – $135
30ML – $95
Body Lotion 200ML – $73
Shower Gel 200ML – $64

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For the longest time, I’ve had long hair. Sure it’s pretty much standard protocol when you’re competing in an international beauty pageant. Whether or not your hair’s real (extensions hello!), as long as you had hair that Rapunzel would be proud of, you’re pretty much set.

Singapore Beauty Blog

I’m not complaining about having long hair; I loved all the crazy, sexy things you could do with it. But when I took up swimming as part of my new weight management program, something in the water told me that it was time to get a fresh new look. Split and dry ends were not the trend this 2012, and might possibly never be in years to come.

I’ve been wanting to chop my hair for the longest time but never really had the guts to go fully short. IT’S SCARY HAVING A TERRIBLE SHORT HAIR CUT! Yall know how crucial it is to have a good hairstylist cut your hair short for you. We’ll all been to that one salon that messed your hair up really badly and made you go OMG WTF.

Because I’ve seen other bloggers who’ve worked with Salon Vim by Chez Vous, when they approached me to be one of their ambassadors, I said “YES ME WANT!! Why yes, that would be very nice. Thank you very much.”

Salon Vim Singapore

Heidi Klum’s bob has always been the look I wanted. And sitting in the chair that day at Salon Vim, I was excited yet nervous. I may LIKE the look on Heidi, but it might not be something I could work with. If that hairstyle turned out horrendous on me, could I stick all the ends that were cut off back onto my head? I was cutting AT LEAST half of my old hair length off!

But Gary, head stylist of Salon Vim, was absolutely nice and reassuring. He looked through the visual I presented, consulted with me the exact hair style I wanted before proceeding to do any damage to my already damaged hair.

What impressed me most was the amount of detail Gary put into taking care of my hair. No thanks to chlorine from the swimming pool, my hair was as dry as the desert. Ironic how all the dryness came from the water. To help restore the health of my hair, he did a keratin treatment before another treatment, then he worked his magic. Snip snip snip and soon, TADAH!

Salon Vim Hair

NEW SHORTER LENGTH!

But Salon Vim wasnt finished yet. Drying my hair on “Medium heat” (what did I tell you about paying attention to details?), Gary decided that a natural perm at the ends near the front of the face would do nicely to frame my face. PLUS, that also meant I would never have to intentionally use a straighter to iron my hair out. Such a simple but clever idea!

Salon Vim

Just by drying it, without touching the ends, my hair is perfect all the time! Yey! I’m totally loving the new shoulder length. Absolutely refreshing! Now, should I go EVEN shorter, layer it up and maybe even do a Halle Berry? Hahaha. What do you think? Cant wait to go back!

Address:
Salon Vim
313 Orchard Road
313 @ Somerset
#04-07/08/09
Telephone: 6884 7757 / 6884 7767

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Tips for Losing Weight
‘Cause I work out.

Whenever I mention losing weight to anyone, they look at me with incredulity and go, “What weight do you have to lose?!” Now now before you start the hate, I wasnt on a mission to lose weight. My recent dietary and lifestyle changes were more in pursuit of a healthier body. The weight loss came as a by-product of all that change.

Miss Universe 2011

Even when I hit my all time sexiest fittest in Brazil, Sao Paulo during the Miss Universe competition, it wasnt because I was trying to keep up with the rest of the girls. The reality is that I fell sick during the last week of the competition and lost my appetite. I ate much lesser than I normally did and ended up picking at fruits, a few leaves of vegetables or protein for all meals. That’s how I got so se.. skinny. Comparing my photos from the official Miss Universe Singapore photoshoot, I had significantly lost a whole lot of weight without even intending to.

Losing Belly Fat

For sure, I’ll probably never be that Miss Universe size again, and I thought I had put on a whole load of weight after stuffing myself silly in New York. But a recent date with the measuring tape surprised me! I’ve been a waist line 26/27-incher for the longest time. Mind you, that’s not considered fat by my height standards. But I have to say a 25-inch waist is pretty swell. HELLLOOO CURVES! Of course achieving 25 wasnt without hard work and resistance. I must be doing something right with my new work out and diet routine!

Throughout this time, there are a few things I’ve learned regarding how to lose weight. Losing weight isnt about starving yourself. I eat plenty and my friends will attest to the fact that I’m always hungry. A cornerstone of weight loss is being aware of what goes into your body. So, here are my tips on how to lose weight and get the better body you want:

Cutting carbs
Carbs give you energy and we all need it. It’s an important staple and I wouldnt do without it. I eat my bread, rice and noodles… Just not all of it. I’m not gonna start with all the calorie counting because we’re not all blessed to deal with Math. How I went about reducing my carbohydrate intake was to limit it to one bowl of rice (or equivalent) a day. If I had a full portion of rice during lunch, then that was a sign dinner was going to be purely protein and fibre. If my lunch was light, then dinner was the perfect opportunity to indulge in a bowl of ramen.

Of course, eating with friends and family will certainly help your cause. Because sharing is caring, instead of eating that whole bowl of rice by yourself, why not share it with someone else? That way you’ll also have more space in your bowl for the other goodies on the table.

Weight Loss Tips
Oh hello you pretty little thing. Get in mah belly!

Sugar, the innocent looking devil
This one is a real toughie. Considering how much I love my desserts (ohhh Red Velvet how you make my heart flutter), you’d probably have to straight jacket me before I completely give this up. I love my desserts: cakes, cookies, chocolates and all them pretty little treats.

But, sugar has got to be the sneaky little devil that creeps onto your belly without being invited. The worst part is the little devil refuses to budge! Unfortunately, you cant cut sugar out completely just like you cant not have carbohydrates in your diet. The trick to not eating sugar isnt to totally resist your favourite foods. It’s to be well aware of the hidden sugars in your food. Canned drinks, bottled juices, cakes, chocolates all have sugar in them. Choose water over bottled drinks, yoghurt over ice-cream, fruit over chips. When it comes to cakes, well, my best advice for cake fanatics like me is this: share them with someone so you only get half the amount of sugar but still all the goodness of that delish treat.

Tips for Losing Weight

Eat your breakfast
They say breakfast is the most important meal because that’s when you load up on the energy to fuel you through the rest of the day. The good thing about packing your plate with carbohydrates early in the morning is having the rest of the day to burn them up!

I find that eating a hearty breakfast helps me eat less throughout the rest of the day. I load up on cereals with milk, throw in energy rich fruits like bananas into the bowl and I’m good for the rest of the day… Until lunch time, that is. Hahaha.

Tips for Losing Weight
Ariel and her brand new human legs. Where’s the mermaid tail?

Work it out
I used to run 3 times a week until I took an arrow to the knee. Well, not literally of course. But I did sustain a knee injury no thanks to my heroic acts of floor work back in the days of dance. So now instead of running, I swim. And I couldnt be happier.

Not only has making the switch to swimming helped me overcome some sort of innate fear of swimming pools – I know, I know, it sounds crazy. I’ve done cliff diving and all that kinda crazy water sports, but swimming pools scare me. Maybe the Loch Ness Monster really lives in there – but swimming is a full body workout that not only helps with cardio, it also works to tone up your muscles! Add in daily light weight training and hello beach body!

Consistency is key in building a new habit. Having a fitter and better body is a combination of exercise and eating right! For sure, making dietary changes and embracing a new workout routine isnt always the easiest thing especially when old habits die hard. But incorporating a 30 minute a day workout is all it takes to getting fit. Just as brushing teeth becomes a habit, so does spending some quiet time with my weights become part of my daily routine. It’s the smallest changes I made and being highly aware of the choices I made that got me to the 25 mark. Now, 24 anyone? Hahaha.

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I’ve been a long time paying customer of Aster Spring (previously known as Leonard Drake) since my friend introduced me to their services almost more than 2 years back. I’ve never actually written a review on Aster Spring (Leonard Drake) facials save for this one review where I tried out the Advanced Skin Hydrating Treatment after my return from New York in 2010. Now almost 2 years down the road, I come back and head straight for my regular facial again because the cold weather in New York City completely dried my skin out.

Beauty Tips for Good Skin

I’m proud to say I take pretty damn good care of my skin and am absolutely comfortable with leaving the house with nothing but sunscreen on. Going for regular facials is certainly on my list of good skin tips because it’s important to have a professional take a closer look at your skin. Judging by the number of comments I’ve received on the Leonard Drake facial review post, it’s heartening to know that a lot of people are also interested in taking better care of their skin!

Many have left comments or emailed me to ask about the facial packages price and I’ve never been able to fully provide details of the Aster Spring (Leonard Drake) facial package prices because I dont work for them. I thus, decided to do the next best thing on my last visit: whip my phone out and snap a photo of the actual package prices!

Click to enlarge
Leonard Drake Aster Spring Facial Package

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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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Who doesnt love Hope? And when it’s packaged in a jar, something as intangible as a miracle is suddenly made all the more easily accessible to the common (wo)man. I’ve always marveled at the attractive names of Philosophy skin care products – Hope in a Jar, Purity Made Simple, Amazing Grace etc – on the pages of Sephora.com.

Philosophy Hope in a Jar Philosophy Purity Made Simple

But now we here in Singapore can join the legions of Philosophy fans, celebrities, dermatologists and customers alike, because Philosophy skin care is now going to hit the shores of Sephora Singapore! Yipeeee! Hope has come home!

The history behind Philosophy skin care has a medical backing. Cristina Carlino, the brains behind Philosophy, also founded the medical skincare company Biomedic, and uses their cutting-edge research to create Philosophy’s effective formulations. I havent personally tried any of their skin care products, but I do love the simplicity of their packaging: clean, classic bottles with strong, clear text. Can you spell beauty any other way?

I’ll be watching the shelves of Sephora Singapore this coming 27th April 2012 and if the price is right, Hope might just be within reach!

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