BS: Prep yourself for the countdown!

So you are a week away from the great partying down to 2011 and your skin is still recovering from the crazy Christmas partying with booze and what not.

I’ve conjured up a list of beauty wonders that will stretch its dollar to prepare you in time for the big night of the year. All the products mentioned here are products that I’ve personally tried and tested… And simply can’t stop raving about.

Note: I’ve combination skin that is slightly sensitive and relatively thin.

It’s all about the Eyes..

Early December, I passed by Lancaster’s counter in light of getting its Skin Therapy. On a whim, I decided to give its eye serum a try. After all, our beauty queen of Caldecott Hill, Fann Wong, is a long time user of Lancaster.

Within three days of using this serum, I was sold.

My fine lines were less obvious. My skin felt more plumped. Despite using a generous amount - you really don’t have to, just one pump is enough - no oil seed formed.

I don’t like the orange packaging, but I do like that it’s small and handy to bring with you. And the application is easy. Just pump and pat.

As this is a serum, you can use it with your regular eye cream. I pair mine with my all time favourite eye cream is Laneige’s dual eye cream. I previously wrote a review and I’m still a huge fan of it. The result was noticeable.

Now one of my major find this Christmas season is an incredible concealer.

The Amazing Concealer.

This is one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets and honestly, thank God the secret is out.

I’ve heard tons and tons of good review on this baby, and decided to get it at Sephora. I got the tiny tube as the bigger tube was sold out. But never mind that, it is a good travel size.

One tiny minuscule drop is all you need to cover the eyes. Mind you, a small small small drop is all you really need.

What I love about it is that it is non-drying. I think that it is absolutely important for eye concealer as a drying concealer, even if it covers well, will cake and cause fine lines to be more obvious.

After an entire day out at sea - I courageously took it to trial at the salty sea at Phuket - snorkel and all. It was surprisingly intact!

But I have to add that method of applying the concealer is crucial. You need to tap in the concealer slowly. Start from the bottom part of the dark eye circle and pat the concealer upwards. This would ensure an even look.

I’m rather fair and I use golden light.

It’s the Glow in your the Face…

I’m not a great believer that only expensive products work well.

Face masks by My Beauty Diary is a case in point.

It retails for $14.50 for 10 packs. So that makes it to be $1.45 per use. If you use this 5 days a week for a month, it adds up to be $29 a month. Cheaper than going for facial.

The best seller is the black pearl mask, which is unfortunately almost always out of stock.

Personally, I love their Q10, red wine and birds’ nest mask more. My skin looks fairer and dewy after each application.

Another plus point of my Beauty Diary is that it has slits at the side to make the mask fit well on the face.

Now this last product is a current favourite of mine. It is relatively low-key in Singapore and is advertised through word of mouth.

Agediscuss by Soigne, CP Cosmetics. CP Cosmetics is the beauty arm of Sony. The company that is famed for producing cameras and laptops.

What this does is that it lifts the face, making it taunt and slimmer. True to its word, I saw a difference within a week. Do remember to follow the suggested application process to increase its potential.

CP Cosmetics is solely sold at Face Bistro. I do love their service. For one, I have to thank my beautician for saving me from my agonising break-out days, when my dermatologist couldn’t.

Another fabulous product to try is Aquafit. I practically lived it in for two years to rectify the damage that the tropical sun had caused.

I hope you are ready to party!

Let it rain with Christmas goodies.

Tell-tale signs that I’ve been shopping too much this year. I’m in full denial of what I’ve *ching-ching* with my card.

Sigh. Even after attempting to stop shopping… The lure of Christmas goodies, is just too hard to miss.

I’m so in love with Shu Uemura’s Christmas goodies!

Oh. Those kawaii little things in their ever so alluring pink boxes with amazingly adorable animated figures printed on them. How can you ever say no to them?

Really how can anyone do so?

Not me.

After a huge internal debate to stop myself from falling into the consumer trap during Christmas; there I was passing my card to the cashier.

Two bottles of cleansing oil - I can’t believe I finished two bottles in one year! *HORRIFIED*

And I got myself…

The book and the pouch. And a couple of mini bottles of cleansing oil and toner.

I was really lucky when I bought this, for Shu Uemura had a limited time offer where you can get the goodies without having to buy an item from the Christmas collection. I’m so warped into this entire gwp aren’t I.

I really love the book a lot - I wish they’d used better quality paper though. The pouch is really roomy and has lots of compartments to put your knick-knacks.

These clever clever Japanese people. They really know how to get you weak in your knees.

And my birthday is coming next month! I’ll be kicking myself if they decide to present to me a $60 voucher, which was what I got last year.

Another bottle of cleansing oil… Perhaps?

>______<

Beauty starts from the basics

I’m hardly a beauty connoisseur. But after many years of experimenting, I have picked up a few useful beauty tips.

These are the top four tips on cleansing that I wished someone had told me when I was in my acne-break-out-days.

Cleansing Tip #1: The Power of Cleansing Oil

Prior to cleansing the face, it is important to remove your make-up. A build up of grime on the face would make your face more prone to break-outs.

I switch between Shu Uemura’s cleansing beauty oil premium a/o advanced formula and Shu Uemura’s white recovery brightening cleansing oil advanced formula. You have to be patient when removing make-up.

Cleansing Tip #2: Double Cleanse!

Double cleanse your face each time you wash your face. The first cleanse washes off the residue of the make-up and removes the grime; the second cleanse cleans out the pores. However, be careful not to over cleanse your face, as this would make your skin awfully dry. I would wash my face a maximum of two times a day.

The brand of cleanser doesn’t matter, because this differs from person to person. My skin’s condition is awfully complicated - dry on the outside, oily on the inside and it’s extremely sensitive. I use Sothys morning cleanser. It works really well for my skin.

I do need to give Cetaphil skin cleanser thumbs up for being the first cleanser to have saved my skin.

It is important to choose a cleanser suitable for your skin-type. If you feel that your skin feels tight after washing it, or if your skin starts to flake or itch after wash, it means that the cleanser is too strong for your skin type. If in doubt, try to wash your face with a cleansing milk as its gentler than foaming face wash.

Cleansing Tip #3: Exfoliate

Honestly, I think it’s more important to be religious with the cleansing than to be strict about exfoliating the face. If you have extremely thin skin - like me - I would advise against exfoliating the face weakly as it might cause more harm than good.

However, having said that, regularly exfoliating your skin ensures that your moisturiser is well absorbed into your skin.

My current rave is Cure natural aqua gel. It feels like water when first applied on the skin; after gently rubbing the liquid on the face, it coagulates and form little white balls. Simply wash the face with water, and voila, you have a clean slate - unlike regular exfoliator that leaves tiny beads on the face.

You can use this gel on the rest of your body as well. I”m one of those unfortunate soul who has a bad bout of keratosis pilaris. So, I use the gel to exfoliate my arms and slather water-based moisturiser thereafter. It really works wonders.

Cleansing Tip #4: Keep It Cool.

It is extremely important to avoid washing your face under hot water. It is a treat to stand under a steaming hot shower, but it is terribly bad for the skin!

I have always made sure that I bathe in luke warm water or if I could stand it - cold water! Bathing under cold water helps to keep the skin firm or Q.

With that… Say hello to refreshed looking skin!

Laneige Perfect Renew Dual Touch Eyes Cream

I hate fine lines. It exposes my age and creases my eye make up.

I wish there was some means to BANISH them to planet Pluto.

So I’ve been on a hunt for good eye creams. For… a very long time.

One of my favourite eye cream of all time, is Laneige’s perfect renew dual touch eyes cream. What a mouth full of words.

This eye cream prides on a total 24 hour care, with 2 mini tubs of eye cream - one for the day and the other for the night. It comes with a spatula for you to scoop the cream out with ease. Its function include anti-wrinkle care and UV protection.

Day cream…

I’m not so much of a fan of the day cream as I am of the night cream. The day cream is slightly thick and requires to be ‘warmed’ up before a smooth application. Being always pressed for time, this is not something I look forward to as I need to spend a little longer for the cream to set on the lower lid before I’m able to apply my concealer.

However, I am appreciative that it has an SPF component to it, so I don’t have to slather sun screen on the eye area which might leave bumpy residue over time.

Night cream…

Alright, I’m a huge fan of this cream, as it delivers what it promises. The lower lids appear fuller and the wrinkles are not as visible as it was before. The dark circles are also lightened, and my eyes feel refreshed.

It amazes me how well it works on days where I have had only 6 hours worth of sleep. I go to sleep with reddish lower lids and wake up with refreshed lids.

Price…

The eye cream is slightly pricey (unfortunately I can’t remember how much, but I do remember going… “wow” in my head), but it’s worth the price, as it works.

Rating… 4.5 / 5

Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup

Just recently, during a mini chit-chat over food, my colleagues commented that my complexion is pretty good. It sure made my day! Besides religiously using sun screen and keeping my skin moisturised every single day, here is my secret to great looking skin…

Bare Minerals.

I’m a huge fan of Bare Minerals. I did my first review of its basic kit here. After 8 months of using their foundation, I’m still in love with their products. In particular, I’m totally in awe of their mineral veil. I can use my liquid or moose foundation instead of my regular Bare Excentuals when the occasion calls for it, but I cannot go without mineral veil.

I am almost through with the mineral veil and in a bid to reward myself after three weeks of hard work in the office, I headed to Sephora for some retail therapy…

I originally wanted to get myself just a tub of mineral veil and the foundation. After all I am still on my save money campaign.

However…. one tub of mineral veil retails for $58 and a tub of foundation retails for $48.

HORRORS!!!!

And a new set of  the basic kit retails for $115.

-______________-

Hmmm, so I got myself a basic kit instead.

The basic kit has undergone a revamp. So this is the updated kit.

You get 2 foundation colours, 1 mineral veil - love love, 1 concealer brush, 1 kabuki brush for applying warmth.Oh you also get a sample pack of prime time.

What you don’t get in this updated kit is the skin rev-er upper and the full coverage kabuki brush. Instead you get the much raved about bisque and a handy kabuki brush instead. Honestly, I do think that this updated kit is way much better. I didn’t see much difference with or without the skin rev-er upper. And, the handy kabuki brush is definitely something I welcome.

Here is the Skin rev-upper. I haven’t been using this for a couple of weeks now, but my skin still looks a-okay.

So you get a much better package. =)

Don’t believe, check this out. On the right is the full coverage brush and on the left is the handy kabuki brush.

Bare Minerals also carries eye shadow colours, perhaps one day, I’ll cross over to get myself their eye shadow starter kit. But for now, I’m happy with my NARS and M.A.C.

You can get your Bare Minerals product at all Sephora outlets. Bare Minerals also now carries the Matte collection. But I prefer the originals as it is much easier to pull off and blend.

Remember, less is more!

BS: Monsooner Me, Dear Santa.

I only can afford to indulge in a luxurious pedicure and manicure once every year before the Chinese New year. Partially because I can’t justify paying $100 to get my nails pampered more than I can justify paying a similar amount on facial. After all, I can jolly well paint the nails myself.

So with the years, my taste in nail colour has gone from subtle to outrageous.

I got my nails painted bright orange-red. All I need is blonde hair, a swimsuit and I can hit the beach.

These are currently, my favourite colours from OPI.

Girlify me.

From left: Ladies & Magenta-Me, Feelin’ Hot-Hot-Hot.

A tinge of Alice in Wonderland.

From left: Yoga-Ta Get This Blue, Absolutely Alice, Disco Ball Sparkle (only available in Japan)

Festive Chinese

From left: Dear Santa (I heart this colour so much!), The Thrill of Brazil, Monsooner or Later (The colour I have on my nails at the moment).

Happy Chinese New Year!

Christmas Buys

Christmas is my favourite time of the year.

I’ve bought all my cards, have thought about what I’m going to give to my friends this year, and am in the process of planning parties.

Christmas is also a fantastic time for self-indulgent, as all merchants flood you with their Christmas specials.

I simply heart Shu Uemura and their Tsumori Chisato collection. Love the cute kitty.

I was also pretty tempted to stock up on some body shop gems. I have this thing about buying their hand wash. And their Christmas limited edition hand wash seems so divine.  They even have it in almond!

And I really love their body butter. Although I have to say I use it quite differently from most people. I pamper my feet with them. My favourite is grape fruit.

And let’s check out one of my favourite have-it-all store, Muji…

The recycled kimono collection makes good presents for friends.

Moving along to fashion bites, Miss Self Fridge stocks up on some awesome clothes. Where fierce and girly chic mix.

But this Christmas what I really want to stock up on….

Are these…

From Nars:

Their blush in Orgasm, concealer brush, and small domed eye or eye contour brush.

On the lighter note, I was rather tickled that Nars actually came up with this gift set.

From Jill Stuart:

I hope that the perfume smells as nice as it looks. And the blusher simply oozes cuteness.

BS: Foot Scrub

One of the best joys in life, is to have your aching feet scrubbed, polish, and pampered.

Six months of regular scrub sessions using Body Shop’s pumice foot scrub has left my feet happy!

Slather the foot scrub mix onto wet feet. Using the grey side of the foot file, gently scrub at the patches of dead skin on the sole of the feet. Thereafter, use the pink side of the foot file and target at the smaller patch of dead skin, this is to allow a smoother finishing at the sole of your feet.

This is probably one of the most economical foot care that I found, that really works.

Another product from Body Shop that works well with the foot file is the Lemongrass foot polishing.

Do remember that the product works well only on moist or wet feet.

Review: Narciso Rodriguez for her.

Over the past year, I’ve accumulated a lot of perfume samples, and I shall take the time to review them one by one.

For starters, I shall start with Narciso Rodriguez for her.

Narciso Rodriguez for her smells as sharp and clean as it (the bottle) looks. There is simply no hint of overpowering powdery flora fragrance, but bears a crisp note of it instead. The scent sort of reminds me of a power corporate who is enjoying a sumptuous weekend lunch in a top class hotel, decked out in her classy black and white.

However, because it is so classy and clean, the scent may appear a little generic. It also bears minimal excitement and fun. It’s more appropriate for wear on your I’m-in-a-fuss-free-mood-days. On the light side, it is for these reasons that I’m liken to use the perfume as my room scent and spritz it in my diary.

If you want to get a perfume that is subtle, simple and no-frills attach. Give this perfume a go ahead.

BS: CK blusher

After many years of hiatus, Calvin Klein cosmetics was re-released in Singapore sometime last year. Debuted at the Changi Airport transit duty free beauty bar at T2, not sure if other outlets do carry the brand ever since.

I bought CK’s blush in 101 shiver, 102 spare, and 109 fiery.

101 shiver is of a peach tone, and gives a natural glow to the face. You will need to apply more as it is a little light.

102 spare is of a pink base. Similarly, it is a little light, so you will need more blush. There is no drastic difference between 101 and 102. And I would recommend both of them as daily blusher ( for that natural glow on the face). Just add a pop of colour on the apples of the cheek - I use Nars blush in Deep Throat.

109 fiery is more intense. A little goes a long way. However, the blush tends to wear off really fast and the difference becomes apparent (unlike 101 and 102 because they are lighter), so touch ups are necessary. I would recommend using a make-up primer before applying the blush. I use Bare Escentuals make-up primer.

Also, I really like the modern packaging. It is definitely an improved design from the initial metal cases. The CK blush also comes packed with a mini brush, which is useful when you are in a rush, but does not do a good job in applying the blush evenly, so I use a travel brush instead.

CK stand up bar at Naunce-Watson at Departure / Transit Mall Central, Changi Airport Terminal 2. Telephone 6546 8254.