The Truth About Beauty

This article was originally posted at http://aichakubeautification.blogspot.com. If you see it anywhere else without credit, the content is stolen without permission.

Just read an interesting article about the psychology of beauty.

It makes a valid argument against those who are riled up by people who place importance on looking good. I feel it is particularly relevant for us beauty bloggers who sometimes receive criticism for being so-called "superficial".

I especially like this statement it makes about the striving to make ourselves better, even in terms of appearances.

"We consider it admirable when people strive to better themselves intellectually; we don't say, "Hey, you weren't born a genius, so why ever bother reading a book?" Why should we treat physical appearance any differently? For example, research shows that men prefer women with full lips, smaller chins, and large eyes—indicators of higher levels of estrogen. Some lucky women have big eyes; others just seem to, thanks to the clever application of eyeshadow. As the classic commercial says, "Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline." (If it increases her options, who cares which it is?)."

And this point that it makes about taking a balanced and truthful approach when handling our own self-esteem and looks.

"French women ... take pleasure in cultivating their appearance, and in accentuating their physical differences from men. They don't give up on looking after their looks as they age, nor do they tart themselves up like sexy schoolgirls at 50. They simply take pride in their appearance and try to look like sensual, older women."

"Like French women, we, too, need to understand that a healthy approach to beauty is neither pretending it's unnecessary or unimportant nor making it important beyond all else." 

Read the entire article: The Truth About Beauty


This article was originally posted at http://aichakubeautification.blogspot.com. If you see it anywhere else without credit, the content is stolen without permission.

© Copyright aichakubeautification. All rights reserved.

What Do You Use to Clean Your Makeup Brushes?

Apologies: I used to put prices as a service for those who wanted to know, but I no longer do it. ^__^ As a clean-freak, I shampooed my brushes once a week and clean individual brushes daily after each use with a wet wipe. Several bloggers have been writing about washing makeup brushes regularly. Commonly, it is advised that you shampoo your brushes with a cleanser of your choice, rinse thoroughly with water, squeeze out all the water, then lay the brushes on the side to air dry. Recently, one of my brushes cracked, despite the care I had taken to prevent water from touching the wood handles and laying my brushes on the side to air dry. Fortunately, it's not one of my expensive brushes. But it triggered me to consider whether shampooing and then rinsing with water is really the best thing for my brushes, because somehow, I just can't completely prevent water from accidentally touching the wood handle. Thinking back, when I purchased a small travel set of brushes from Shu Uemura, the MA was appalled when I told her I shampoo and rinse my brushes with water. She said it's a total NO NO when it comes to Shu Uemura brushes, "You must NEVER (her emphasis) let your brushes touch water!" I was told Shu Uemura brushes "last forever" because of the quality and the way the brushes are maintained. "Our brushes at the counter are all cleaned this way, and see, they don't shed nor do they go out of shape. The handles are also still perfect," she told me. Looking at the brushes, I could see she was telling the truth. The brushes seem used (ie. I could tell they were not brand new) but not worn out or chipped. So, what was the secret? This. Shu Uemura Brush Cleaner. Yep, I bought a bottle. But it's so expensive, I use it only for my Shu Uemura brushes. Then it occured to me to look at the ingredient list. Top ingredient? Isopropyl Alcohol (sorry abit hard to photograph.) Which is exactly this. You can buy it for about SG$5 at the pharmacy. So this is what tried recently. I figure the other ingredients in the Shu Uemura Brush Cleaner list are for moisturising and the main ingredient serves the cleaning function. I wet a cotton pad with the Isoproply Alcohol. Dab my brush on it until all the colour is gone. Clean off the alcohol with a wet wipe. Squeeze dry the brush. Then lay it on the side to completely air dry. (Oops I reveal that I don't care for my Mac brushes as much as my Shu Uemura ones ... :0) Despite some misgivings and admonitions I've read about alcohol drying out your brushes, I actually found that my brushes are softer and less frizzy, compared to when I wet shampoo and wash them, regardless of the cleaner I use. I think using this method worked for me because I only use my brushes for powder applications. For people who apply wet/liquid/cream makeup with their brushes, a wet shampoo and water cleaning might still be necessary. Unlike Shu Uemura, Mac MAs say it is ok to wet shampoo your brushes. That's the instruction given for the Mac Brush Cleaner. Mac's Brush Cleanser has no ingredient list printed on the bottle, but it smells strongly of alcohol and there's a "Flammable" caution on the bottle. For daily cleaning in between uses, I picked up a bottle of Stage Keep It Clean Brush Cleaner. I just bought it, after reading Paris B's post. Check out what's the top ingredient, after water. ©Copyright. All rights reserved.

Keeping Organised: Seeking an Organiser Phone & Beauty Diaries

Every so often, I'll feel disorganised and want to review my methods. Using notebooks for lists - so pretty - but quite useless to me. I'm in the market for a good organiser-camera-phone. There are so many out there! Anyone using one, any to recommend? Speaking of being organised, yesterday I threw out the nylon net shower scrubby that I've been using for months! Eww. I wonder how many germs and bacteria have grown there. I need to get down to Daiso or the supermarket to find some more cheap ones, so I can throw them out more often. I tend to forget how long I've been using one. So I was thinking I shall make it a habit to throw it out and change to a new one every first of the month. I also read that some people keep beauty diaries. That means, they write down when they did a particular mask or treatment and also keep their beauty appointments like facials etc in the diary. I was thinking it might be a good idea for me to keep track of what I use and when I use something. This is because just recently, my skin got up to it's usual allergy-sensitivity nonsense again. And I couldn't identify what caused it. Very extensive and bad peeling and tight, painful dryness around the mouth, nose and cheeks! And it happened in the fingers and web part of my fingers too. As usual it's the hydrocortisone that saved me but one shouldn't use it too often. If you've been diagnosed with ezcema or allergic skin reactions, you'll probably be prescribed this too. It is a steriod and should be used in a limited way, not regularly. But it is really "miraculous" in a way that no moisturiser or cream can be. Cleared up my allergic reaction within days. Here are some notebooks I found recently. Very pretty, made in Korea notebooks. I use these for journaling and noting ideas. The insides are filled with different types of paper like this. Very few repetitions. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Recession Beauty Guilt

I just read a piece of news about Beauty and Recession that says,

"Despite the threat of job losses and the country's deepest economic recession, seven in 10 Singaporeans will continue to spend on beauty products and services, a small industry survey showed. One in every two polled said they spent at least S$50 a month on beauty products and a third said they would be cutting back on other lifestyle choices, not beauty, according to a survey by the organiser of the BeautyAsia 2009 exhibition."

Two things struck me after reading this article.

1. I know it says people will continue to spend but the benchmark used was "at least S$50 a month". What kind of benchmark is that? Is S$50 really enough to spend on beauty products? Or have I been spending too much?
2. I suddenly feel extremely guilty that I'm spending so much on beauty products and very suddenly feel a bit fearful and pressured to spend less!

I was actually thinking of getting some of the following soon (23/02: edited to strike out those I can do without and those I just bought):

• P&J Disney collection - Skunk & Bambi Blush (so cute!! I have some Isetan vouchers ... so I was thinking I might as well get these P&J stuff from Isetan...)
• Lunasol's Anniversary LE Set (would look first, because I was disappointed with the Spring eye palettes, but it's likely I'll get it)
• P&J primer
• Maquillage Spring 09 Eye Creator 3D and Face Creator 3D (gonna look at the colours before deciding)
• More Coffret Dor's Shine Drape Rouge Lipstick (they look so good!)
• Dior Addict High Shine
• Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect (I saw some of the new Dior colours and I'm interested in going back to get some)
• Another Lunasol Liner (I'm beginning to like this liner alot more than any others I have)
• More Just 1 Jill Stuart Eye Palettes
• Another 1 or 2 Jill Stuart Blush (thinking of getting from gooddealer and also asking somone to get some for me when she's in Taipei)
• A Rootote (to put my coffee flask, bento and book ... I hate sticking these things into my hand bags).
• A Coach bag - (I've been wanting one for just throwing around, you know casual use? But I have a tonne of bags already, so I don't know)

I was also thinking of taking a trip to Tokyo mid-year and then Korea later in autumn. And yesterday, I spent alot on groceries, without actually calculating/restricting myself or my son's choices. Everything he said he wanted, I said yes, as long as it wasn't unhealthy. I didn't compare prices or consider buying cheaper versions of whatever it was that I was buying. But now, thinking back, I feel a bit bad. Our government is making dire warnings all over the media and in parliament ... about the economy shrinking, about more job cuts, etc. So, right now, I think maybe I ought to STOP BUYING?!!?? Is anyone else feeling abit guilty about the current economic climate and fearful enough to cut back on beauty products and luxuries even if things seem to be ok for your personal/family income? © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Korean Women's Beauty Secrets

Viva Woman posted Korean beauty secrets revealed and gave a link to Beauty Tips from a Korean Makeup Artist, Laneige's International Trainer, Jin Lee. I was reminded of a few of my Korean neighbours in my previous house, who were quite mature stay-home moms, with several children. They were very youthful, very fair with clear skin and had trim bodies. They were also often dressed properly with not a hair out of place, even if they were just sending their kids off to school or getting the groceries. In fact, one of them would be wearing high-heels when she carts back bags and bags of her weekly necessities! I didn't get to talk to them much to gather any beauty secrets from them, but I did notice one unique thing that they did. They always went for suana together once a week at the condo suana room. While in the suana they would steam their faces, do facial massages and god knows what other things! (I didn't get to ask them but I saw one of them applying something in her hair before putting on her shower cap. I presume it was a treatment for the hair?) Maybe the secret is having a regular beauty routine. According to the articles, Korean women put on 17-18 products in the morning. How diligent! © Copyright. All rights reserved.