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MAKEUP DON'Ts

for this entry i just have to do this...people need to know how to use make ups! and yes its supposed to be easy, fun and experimental but for the later (most part at least) there are some grown rules....

mmm....ok today i was having brunch with my daughter in a cafe somewhere in Bukit Bintang and i saw these yuppies wearing unbelievable fugly makeup, the foundations are wrong, the eyebrows, lipsticks...need i go on in the end they look like a bunch of pamela anderson barbwire wannabies!
and that my friend is not a compliment...its worse that the whole bunch wore similar makeups and there were from work...would you look like pam from barbwire movie for work?...i can't take it...

so for those CLUELESS ladies out there.... please get some clues....


THESE ARE MAKE UP DON'TS

VISIBLE LIPLINER/ CONTRASTING LIPLINER

Even rihanna doesn't look so hot here...

this is a big NO NO! this is embarrassing to say but my mom actually like this look and sadly, no one can EVER pull this look off...mmm maybe if you were going for a Halloween treat or tricking.

you should have the similar shade of liner with your lipstick color or just be safe by using neutral or nude color. the purpose of lipliner is to give definition to you lips and also to prevent your lipstick became runny.

here's a tip : i find applying liner after applying lipsticks works better, cleaner and fuller.

My pick for lipliners are from:-

1. Mac
   
2. Bobbi brown
3. Faces

these brands offers wide range of colors to choose from and i especially love bobbi's color it is much suitable for asian plus if you like natural bobbi is the place to go!

MASKED FACE
this in a glance looks Ok......who m i kidding this just look like she have her head clipped to someone elses body!

this is the most common mistakes that women make. buying the wrong toned foundations or face powder. I see this to almost everyone..its sad! foundations are not supposed to be visible. they're not supposed to send out message " hey,look at me i'm wearing powder!" or "hey i'm on my way for an interview..to be a clown!" that's just crazy...

first of all you need to test the foundations that you are going to buy and test it on your jawline instead of your hands and get to a natural light to see if the shade is right for you. the foundation/powder should be the same color as your skin and try to find ones in yellowish undertone its give a more natural effect. foundation should make your skin look better, smooth, and even and NOT cakey and masked.

My pick for powders and foundations:-

1. Mac
2. Gorgio Armani
   
3. Inovi
4. Elianto - this is a more affordable range

If you can afford GA then invest on it! its a worthwhile investment

CLOWNED MAKEUP
maybe its not her fault...she was probably raised by a bunch of creepy clowns (shrugs...i hate clowns)

if you're feeling creative, express it but on a canvas not on your face! in the words of bobbi brown "you only need to highlight your best features to enhance your beauty.."

what i meant about clowned makeup is that when you are using every make up you have on your face and ended up looking literally like clowns minus the big red nose...besides this is so 80s you wouldn't want to relived the 80s. even their fashion mostly is sinful and punishable...we can only take so much...

the rule is that you would only have to highlight your best feature on your face. so if you like your eyes then by all means enhance it and keep everything else simple or neutral.

TANGOED TANNING

if this is the look that you're going for then...by all means *giggles*

for asians this is SO unnecessary! but somehow i do spot few people with fugly tan...i know that fake tan is an in thing but you need to be VERY careful with this one...one wrong choice will make you end up looking like barbequed orange or something...tangoed orange...

but if you must, choose tanning lotion rather than sprayed ones unless if you wanna go to the professional but even they screw up sometimes because the lotions are easier to apply and easier to correct if there's mistakes...
but my rule of thumb is if you're not sure don't do it girls!

OVER PLUCKED EYEBROWS

She look weird here | she looks a lot better

this Don't can just make my eyes bleed! i get easily annoyed looking at girls with ultra thin eyebrows with half round shape...*blurgh* what were they thinking? its the new century not the 40s..common people you're risking yourself looking like a back dated cartoon character betty boop or worse cheap prostertude...

please please don't over do it...full clean, trimmed and groomed eyebrows are in now...

GOING BARE

these are a bunch of celeb without makeups...even they don't look good without make up and they were supposed to look beautiful at all time...utterly unpleasant!

i know you wanna go natural but going bare to the public is a NO NO... unless you have a super flawless skin with natural perky blushing glow on yoru cheeks and naturally dark , volumized and curled eyelash and a naturally red lips then you don't need make up

but the reality is that we are not born perfect. we are not snow white. for alot of us with out our 'war paint' as what my husband put it will look just pale and unattractive and no one wants to look at our unpleasant and unattractive face and you certainly DON'T want people to look at you that way.

family emergency

hi,
i know that i've been sometime since my last entry but its all not entirely on purpose...mmmmi think this entry would falls under health...mmm~ anyway this is my story...

i think its about 2 weeks ago when my aunt approached my mom asking if she is interested in trying a traditional Chinese medication etc...my mom's medical history is that she had her gallbladder (is that how you spell it?) removed sometime ago and ever since she's been having stomach ache...(more of a discomfort ache rather pain) almost on regular basis. she is also diabetic and her diabetic medicine didn't help much either it somehow caused her to bloat and fart alot so in addition to that she also have joints pain particularly at her shoulder and knee area which caused her to have difficulties to raise her arm and squat...so in other words she's been suffering al these while in silence. the joints pains, she had that for awhile now and it never went away.

don't get me wrong but she did all sorts of medical examination and results are 'healthy' they can't seem to find the cause of her pain or illness. but for her knee problem they later found out that is was due to her lack of lubricant in her cartiladge (is that how you spell it?..boy do i suck at spelling) causing abrasions to her bone and ultimately pain. solution is that she will need lubricant shots every 2-3months i think but the wierd thing is that if she went to a massage sessions she'll be able to fold her legs fine with zero pain! but that will only last for a day and sometimes less.

coming back to the chinese medicine thingie...my aunt became this chinese doctor assistant so she was hard selling my mom about it and claimed that many people was cured inclusive those with HIV, high blood, diabetics etc...so we thought we'd try it.

so there was accupunchure, bekam (method to suck out dirty blood and unwanted air in the body) and some massage then the 'doctor' will prescribe his herbal medicine.

to be honest my mom didn't really believe in alternative medicine but my dad persuade her to try anyway. after being examed she was diagnose with a possible breast cancer!

the news brought shock to all of us and it kinda make sense too coz my mom's arm can't move freely and so on plus there was a slight lump. he claimed that this is in its early stage and its easy to miss.

so does that mean my mom really DO have breast cancer? i don't know...but the 'doctor' precribe her some herbal medicine which she took for a week and then what happen was that her joints are swollen and she looked swollen? i don't know how to describe her but my neighbor said that its a possible poisoning my mom went to the most exclusive hospital in KL, Prince Court Hospital and get a thorough check up again...so now we are still waiting for her result and still doing some test...

so this is why i was not blogging, i was busy taking care of my mom. but i did some investigating on bobby brown make ups and outlet and their promoter/makeup artist so stay tuned....

Health Product pick - I

this week i thought that i should be writing about the products that I've tried and tested. I am especially exited about some products sold by a company called Alterni.

I am not trying to sell this product or anything, i'm just a regular (but i think i'm going to be their loyal customer) customer who have tried some of their products and loving it!

I came about Alterni when my family and i went to Amcorp Mall and they so happened to launched their new retail outlet. Naturally we went in and check it out, plus there was food...free food! anyway...the shop is simple and their promoters are friendly too. The promoters naturally promotes their products, honestly i hate being forced into buying thing (which all promoters whould try to do...sell hard) so i just stop the girl and i ask her which product have you tried? and what do YOU think about it? she was stunt at first but then she told me that her younger sibling took Graffiton which is the Natural Imune Booster for kids, her parents and grand parents are taking the Bonex range which is mainly for Clasium and Nacox which is the natural pain killer that was said be just as effective as steroid only SAFER in fact she said she herself is taking the Bonex and Nacox when ever she had back ache. She said that her family really love the products is it is quite effective and she said she can see the difference on her sister (who was flu prone) and her parents's constant whining about joint ache and cramps are almost none after taking the suppliments.

now that is a great promotion if you ask me and it got me really interested in those products as well. So i bought all the mentioned suppliments as my kids too are flu prone and i do recently have cramp problems (i was told that cramps are due to lack of calsium) ...and i bought Nacox too just in case.

if you're in terested, let me just tell you abit about the company:
ALTERNI is a healthcare company providing natural health supplements. they believe in the principles of alternative therapy without the use of synthetic drugs, and ALTERNI manifests this through a complete range of tried and tested supplements using worldwide-patented technology, and the finest all-natural ingredients from around the world. <---ain't that great? just a brief intro about the products that i've tried: click picture to get free sample from alterni.

GRAFITON immune booster for kids.
GRIFATON™ is a great tasting , natural immunity boosting supplement made especially for children. It contains extracts of the potent Maitake (Grifola frondosa) mushroom that work to strengthen your child’s immune system to help it fight diseases, infections, germs and viruses.
The price is RM58. for more infomation you can go their website Alterni . they are having a promotion and you can get free samples and i highly recon you to go their website and get that sample for you kids!

My feedback:
both my kids of 4years old and 1.6years old take Grafiton. My children is very flu prone especially my son. he'll get sick at least twice a month and sometimes more. His immune system is not that good and him having asthma is also not helping. ever since he took Grafiton, he has more resistance. his visits to the clinic is less frequent now and his asthma also seem to be under control somehow. and as for my baby girl, she is actually alot stronger than her brother but she take Grafiton anyway and she loves the taste.
BONEX GOLD GREEN TEA

The Bonex® Gold advantage

• Regenerates cartilage and increases bone density
• Prevents joint and bone degenerative diseases
• Nourishes tissues (cartilage, bones, ligaments and skin) throughout the body
• Increases bone density

They do have other flavors for you to choose and the price is RM150 per box with 30 sachets inside (last for a month). the taste is very light... literally light, light green tea taste and light milk taste too! its great for those who are lactose intolerance like me! for more info click here.

My feedback:
i took this for myself and quite frankly i really do feel like the difference. for instance after giving birth to my second child, i kept having cramps all over my body and my back hurts a lot more than usual after taking just a couple of sachets i noticed that i no longer have any sort of cramps not during the day or even at night! and my back doesn't really hurt anymore it alot bearable now but this could also be due to the NACOX tablets too... and my stool is floating which is a good sign that my calcium levels are at its peak. This is a little tip that i've learn if you ever see your stool sink or do not float its an indication that your calcium levels in your body is insufficient.


NACOX

NACOX™ is a natural pain relief solution containing CCE 4800. Extracted through a patented Belgian technology from the Curcuma longa, commonly known as turmeric, NACOX™ is proven to offer safe and effective pain and inflammation relief for arthritis sufferers and sports enthusiasts.

The NACOX™ advantage

• Reduces inflammation and swelling
• Relieves joint and muscular pain effectively
• Completely safe with no side effects

for more info click here the price is RM75/box

My feedback:
i took this for my back ache and some other muscle pains - it helps a LOT!

and that is why i am very exited with these products and i am recommending it to all of my readers, sure some of it is rather expensive could probably burn some holes in your wallet but its worth it only i am thinking of taking BONEX alternately after my first initial box just to save more =D

Oh, FYI i do not sell these products i just put the price for information purposes if you'd like ti buy you can buy it only at their website or go to their retail out let at Amcorp Mall G15 ground floor somewhere the shop called ALTERNI.. look for it!


for those who wants to buy online go to ALTERNI website.

hehehe~ all pictures credits to Alterni.com.

They are officially my fave health store! ^_^

The Thai Spa Experience - you can try this @ home!

i think every one of us (those who are really into beauty & wellness) knows that when it comes to beauty or beautifying the Thai's has a very long and deep roots. Someone once told me that in Asia when it comes to beauty, there are only 2 country that were considered as the mecca of all things beauty that is Japan (hah you see that coming don't ya?) and of course Thailand! Much like in the fashion world "LONDON. MILAN .PARIS. NEW YORK" (did got it right?anyway...)

For those who are ignorant like myself until lately would never thought that Thailand is in their own class when it comes to beauty. i makes alot of sense first of all the people there have FANTASTIC skin! its insane...i can't believe there such people with such gorgeous skin i mean its like like almost everyone have great skin day or something...have you ever been to thailand or bangkok before? my last trip got my jaw dropped 6" long gawking at those smooth skin and it really make you wonder what is their secret? right??? therefore i kindda did a little bit of digging and i'll come back to this later.

my another reason is that apparently they have the 1st class cosmetic productions albeit having the reputation of producing the counterfeit the cosmetic and skin care products. this was my always perception about all things 'made in thailand'. I've been into some of their factories and laboratory (if you read my profile you'd know why) i was surprised i sure do i wish i had taken some pictures but don't get me wrong i did tried but i was tightly guarded plus all things that don't belong must be kept in the 'waiting room' even before entering the office section of the factory (ain't that crazy) but i can tell you that they actually wear like some kind of a moon suit and be in a sterilized room just to do QC on their moisturizers. these people manufactured for big big names, international name of cosmetics,pharmacies, hair products etc such as L*****, B****, G*******,W*****,S**********

another is that they are extremely good in plastic surgery who can argue about that?i was told that even the singaporean surgeons most often then not would refer their patients to the thai's for facial reconstruction (this fact, i'm not very sure if its true but i heard about this many times before so...but don't take my word for it probably its case by case basis who knows)

anyway...the trend of SPA itself is rather new in Thailand but the beauty regime and the recipes and formulas of beauty is ancient herbal healing traditions which has a very long and deep roots in the Thai culture. take for example Thai massage which were migrated by the Buddhist monks and Brahmins in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC and the herbal usage of heat compress (very famous amongst Thai) and herbal steam (such as tangas etc) came from folk medicine and ancient midwifery techniques.

if you study closely the Thai's way of doing things is very very similar to the Indian Ayurvedic system but with the chinese practices such as the belief of the supernaturals,mysticals etc but the core of it boils down to the basic elements of earth, fire, water, wind which essentially means the essence of life. And that has reflected on the modern spa practice today.

my question to you - " have you ever tried / experience the Thai Spa Experience?" then "Would you like to try it?"

to all skeptics - " Once you experience the healing abilities yourself, your beliefs change" Kun Komon Chitprasert

i can definably blabber about this more....heck i could probably write a thesis about the thai spa and so on but that would probably bore you so in a lighter note i have a simple beauty recipes for my readers to try at home...


BATH: PURIFYING MILK & HONEY
A sensual bath that can be taken together with you love one! Courtesy of Bayan Tree Spa.

3 tsp honey
2ltr fresh milk
10 drops of your favorite essential oil (i personally like jasmine)
1 handful bath salts
some rose petals for that romantic touch

1. mix honey, fresh milk and bath salts together and stir well until all dissolves
2. Add the mixture to a tub of warm water.
3. then add in the essential oil and sprinkle the rose petals
4. you then may soak in the luxurious bath and feel the difference physically and spiritually.

AFTER BATH MOISTURIZER WITH ESSENTIAL OIL

pictures credits to mastermind, culpeper, moonhaven, thaionsell, the daily green




For all skin types

1tbsp almond or jojoba base oil
3 drops of frangipani essential oil

1. mix oils in the palm of your hand and massage all over your body.
2. tip: applying on a warm slightly damp skin will lock in the moisture.

Beauty Lesson 101: Eyebrow shaping

shaping eyebrow can be tricky...really tricky i for one know this for sure as i've made that mistake of over plucking which at the end ended up looking like i was from the 50s or something.

not to say that its hard to do but it does takes some practice to make perfection. In my opinion eyebrows plays a very important role in giving you the 'total' look. mismanaged eyebrows may cause you to look all weird or worn out or worse looking like some cheap prostitute.

I like eyebrow that can actually enhance one's natural features. I also belief that every eyebrow has their own natural shape regardless on how bushy they are or how odd looking they are.

Mistakes that people always make when shaping eyebrows are being over plucking it or over coloring it or looking too made up which again will make you looking like a ....you know what...i just don't want to repeat myself on this one...

so here's a guide and tips on shaping your eyebrows to perfection.

ok 1st of all you'll need is a pair of tweezers, eyebrow brush, eyebrow scissors, eyebrow pencils with the correct color tone for your brows color, brow gels but this is to me rather optional as i always use water instead.

1. before you start plucking, you'll need to tame all the unruly hair. brush it with the eyebrow brush by using some water or gel to see your natural shape.
2. then carefully trim the 'extra' long hair for a clean look plus this will make plucking easier later on

3. once done gently brush the brows again and try to look for your natural shape again then by using brow pencil fill in the brows gaps with soft strokes. The perfect eyebrow starts above the inside corner of your eye, and ends at the outside corner, above your eyelashes. Eyebrows should have an arch: in nature, it’s rarely where it should be, which is a frustrating commentary on standards of beauty. Ideally, the arch happens over the iris, the colored part of your eye.

4. once done coloring your brow with brow pencil or brow powder, you then can pluck all the unwanted stray hair that didn't make the shape ;) easy huh?

this is basically how i'd groom my brows it may not be to the book but it works for me and it minimized mistakes.

Tips:

most eyebrow professionals says never ever pluck brows from above and only from below, its somesort of a golden rule i think. but let me tell you something, i've done it severel times and nothing happens in fact my brows looks clean (well probably its because i have hairy face) anyway if your brow has way to many strays feel free to pluck /shave it out with eyebrow blades but becareful not to over do it though!

when shaping brows its a very very good idea to always brush your eyebrow to check if you pluck it shape it corectly.

ermmm what else...of when filling in eyebrow colors with pencils or powder, i highly recomend you to do it with a light strokes as it'll give you a more natural look. i personally loves using eyebrow powder to color my brows, its more natural and softer than using pencils plus its easier to correct it if you make an error.

You can use old dried out mascara brush as your eyebrow brush, just wash it 1st! or i sometime go to the makeup counter and try on their makeups and sometimes they have this mini eyebrow brush/mascara brush that are supposed to be disposable..yeah take one! err you didn't hear it from me =P

You can also use your matte eyeshadow color as your eyebrow color <--you'll save $ this way *wink*

I just love these eyebrow products:

Eyebrow powder and kit by MAC, picture credit to famme rationale


I also love Bobbi Brown's Eyebrow brush and eye color to color my brows


well i hope my entry on eyebrow helps. xoxo

Cosmetic Skin Care: what is "Natural" ?

The word 'Natural' in cosmetics means any substance derived from plans or animals or rock or minerals from our mother earth. this in its true form are often contaminated with a host of other substance which 1st must be removed to achieve the required purity before it can be used as ingredients in any form of personal care products.

as opposed to the artificial substance that are made when substances are modified or altered by a chemical reactions in industrial processes, so with this in mind natural substance CAN be copied - totally possible!

so now the question is 'is it any better or worse? what difference does it make?'

the substances - the original and the artificial are actually identical. the artificial substance can be the mirror to its original. except that to the manufacturers, the next question would be 'which is more cost savvy and more convenient ?'
example 1#: methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen)
its an important ingredients in many essential

oils extracted from variety of plants. it has the soothing, pain-killing properties and is used in ointments and liniments for rheumatic pains, strained muscles and toiletries. the manufacturer finds its cheaper and more convenient to synthesize methyl salicylate from raw materials obtained from coal or petroleum than extracting it from plants.

example 2#: Vanillin
it derived from vanilla pods and is an important fragrance and flavoring compound. it so happens to have a simple chemical structure and can be easily copied by chemists. naturally once copied they'll try to improve it. A simple conversion from vanillin into ethyl-vanillin, which has the same odor and flavor only 1000x more potent! nad in some factories those workers who uses this improved substance to a cosmetics or food productions usually wears a full environmental body suit because even the tiniest drop of this compound on their skin could leave them smelling like the cake factory for days!!

sooooo does this still means NATURAL is better?

naturally most people would have this presumption but in matter of fact, this may not be the case. Actually if we were to think about it logically, the so-called 'natural' products may have more chemicals than we could ever imagine because the rule is things that 'natural' things does not keep long. do you get where am i going with this? therefore chemists will put in more preservatives just to make sure that the product will have longer shelf life and very often than not teh harm that these preservatives can cause may out weight the benefits of the 'natural' ingredients can bring.

therefore instead of having question 'is this natural?' the more suitable and proper question should be 'are these chemicals added for my benefits or to the manufacturer's profits?' and if the answer is the latter, maybe you should start looking for another brand.




*** all pictures are for the purpose of illustration only***

pictures credit to i love natural cosmetics and tree hugger