Beautification Tip Day

Apologies: I used to put prices as a service for those who wanted to know, but I no longer do it. ^__^ Has this happened to you? You wash your face thoroughly, apply cleansing masks regularly, deep cleanse, exfoliate, apply cleansing toners, use blackhead extractors, etc, etc and yet, you feel like your skin is getting oilier and oiler, despite what you do? Sometimes, the oil also seems clogged up in the pores and your skin feels rough to touch? Recently, this happened to my skin and I couldn't fathom what was wrong! I actually put off applying the heavier lotions and creams that I used to apply. Yet, my skin felt super oily. Oil was emerging from pores I didn't use to see before. At one point, I thought I was experiencing some hormonal changes. However I discovered something by experience. One evening, I decided I needed to just use my hydrating sheet mask as I started seeing dry lines on my skin, despite all the oil that was pouring out of my skin. And you know what? My skin returned to normal!! Yep, my skin plumped up and the lines were less prominent the next day. Best of all, the oil field that my face had become stopped producing and slowly returned to normal. I've read that it's possible to over-stimulate your skin's oil production by drying it out too much. Every skin needs hydration and if you dry out your skin, the skin will try to compensate by producing more oil. Now, why didn't I remember that before I started panicking and using clay masks by the bucket? If you skin is behaving very oily, try introducing some hydration. Either in the form of an oil-free moisturiser/serum or using oil-free masks with lots of watery hydrating serums. Oil-free because, you don't need to introduce more oil to your oily or acne-prone skin. Additionally, drinking water and eating juicy fruits and vegetables will also hydrate your skin from the inside out. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Review: Montagne Jeunesse Masks

Apologies: I used to put prices as a service for those who wanted to know, but I no longer do it. ^__^ I received a press kit with some Montagne Jeunesse wash-off/peel-off masks and a eye-mask to try. They arrived in a very pretty package! I was informed that Montagne Jeunesse used to be in Singapore and as of end of last year, the brand returned to Singapore shores with stores like Watsons and John Little stocking the products. Each mask comes in single-use packs with about 10-20 ml/g worth of product inside. Face masks I was given included Blemish Mud (Skin Clearning, with Aloe Vera and Willow), Cucumber Peel-off Mask, Chocolate Mud Mask, Sauna Masque and Sensitive Skin Masque. There was also one Anti-Shadow Eye Mask, which came in 2x2 patches. The most impressive of the range that I tried was the Sauna Masque. It heated up and made my skin "sweat" underneath the layer of mask. After I rinsed off, there didn't seem to be any difference, but after I put on my softening lotion, I suddenly felt my pores needed some extraction, so I pressed and alot of clogged stuff came out! Woot! Very very impressive. I have too many masks to finish using but this is one mask I'll purchase when I feel I need some deep cleansing action. Other masks such as their Chocolate Mud Mask are gentle enough for sensitive/hyper-reactive skins like mine, are hydrating, and provide a spa-like experience at home because they smell DELISH to boot! There is a wide range of masks available for many different purposes. For example, the Sensitive Skin Masque comes in one pack that contains 2 separate products. One part of the pack contains product for Step 1: an anti-stress mask with Zen Flower to deep cleanse and nourish the skin. After Step 1, you tear open another part of the pack to apply Step 2: a serum with rehydrating ceramides that promises ultra-moisturisation. Very innovative! I checked out the prices of the masks in the stores and they are very affordable. Furthermore, I think they are very popular because I often see the items are out-of-stock from the shelves. I don't remember Montagne Jeunesse at all, maybe the last time they were here, I was too young and busy going out to disco or having fun with my friends? >_<" Nonetheless, I'm really glad that I have another range of affordable and effective masks to pick from, now that Montagne Jeunesse is on our shores. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

A Random Mid-week Post About Cupcakes & Stuffs

Apologies: I used to put prices as a service for those who wanted to know, but I no longer do it. ^__^ Hello. To begin this post: some cupcake porn. Chocolate cupcake, chocolate ganache glaze and whipped cream from a can, with sprinkles and such. Chocolate-chip cupcake, with honey-cream cheese frosting. Hmmm, the frosting looks abit too oily in the photo, maybe it's the honey? Son didn't like this flavour, even after adding a tonne of sprinkles, which justifies getting an electric mixer to make some buttercream frosting. ^_^ Baking, together with coffee and rice are the main barriers to my efforts to be healthier and eat more raw foods. Erm, key-word being "effort" ie. "trying". LOL. Now, for just some random talk about some beautification things, to get us over the middle of the work-week. My current favourite BB Cream is SkinFood Mushroom BB Cream. First time I bought only 1, I didn't expect to like it so much. Later, I bought doubles back from each of my trips to Korea. It costs too much here in Singapore. I'm down to just half of my last tube. I didn't expect to finish it so soon! T_T I still have alot of other base makeup to use but I have been happy with the convenience of the BB cream and neglected the rest. Maybe this is a great excuse to head to Seoul soon? Haha. I'd rather pay the air ticket, eat some nice Korean food, and shop in Seoul than buy BB Cream at Singapore SkinFood stores. (Caveat: I will only go to Seoul, not likely to venture outside Seoul again.) It has a nice texture, not too thick but good enough coverage for me, spreads evenly and easily with my fingers, great hydration but not too oily and also not too matte. Plus it's a good nice match for my skin tone. I like the smell too. Some herbal-ly, aloe-y scent. I purchased this Etude House Black Head Final Kit in Korea. I'm not sure about the price here in Singapore. Anyway, you're supposed to soak a cotton pad with the lotion and let it sit on your nose for about 10-15 minutes, so that your embedded blackheads will rise to the top and you can wipe it away. After which, you put on the pore-tightening cream. Well, forget about this set. It's pure rubbish. It did seem to make my skin smoother, which I think is the work of the pore-tightening cream, but I didn't feel any blackheads coming out of my pores. I think Etude is more for the young girls in Korea, if I'm not wrong, so sometimes I find the products are not too good for me. It might work better for the younger ladies. One of the books I'm dipping into once in a while is The New Science of Perfect Skin written by a scientist who has developed and tested products for brands like Estee Lauder and Loreal. It's a pretty good book with a nice balance of science, facts and personal opinion. Downside is that it's US/Euro-centric, with few Asian products or companies mentioned. So far, the only Japanese company discussed was Biore. Do check it out, it's published in 2008 so it's fairly current.

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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.

Bum Booster, but Why?

Apologies: I used to put prices as a service for those who wanted to know, but I no longer do it. ^__^ Gee wheez, I just received this ad in my email. I'm not criticising Triumph. Rather, I'm intrigued by the conflicted society that we live in. First, we are bombarded with pressure to be as thin as possible. Then, we end up so thin that we need fake boosters to give ourselves the illusion of feminine curves? Truly laughable. © Copyright. All rights reserved.