Laura Mercier & NARS in Singapore, at last!

Wow wow wow, finally a series of long awaited and come-back names like NARs, Aveda, YSL, Jo Malone & Laura Mercier is coming to Singapore! Hurrays!

I remember True Colors at Taka used to stock LM products but it was discontinued 2 to 3 years ago (sobs). I'm so excited! I can finally get a proper color test and purchase their foundation, oil-free primer and blush! Can't wait.

Having stayed in Aussie for a period of time, I'm also delighted that NARS has finally made its way to this little city! Its about time to replenish my NARS makeup stash!

Apart from Laura Mercier which will be featured in Sephora (early April 2012), the rest are due in October 2012 in Tangs Orchard, Singapore!!

Stila which is currently residing in Tangs will also be relocating to Sephora in 4Q 2012.

Meanwhile I just received some new products from Elizabeth Arden, do bear with me while I take some time to try them out!

Remedies for eyebags, dark circles & a pepermint scrub!

Hello guys! If you've read my earlier posts, you'd probably be farmiliar with my lamenting about my dark eye circles (which are yes, panda black kind!). I have been trying out so many eye creams and eye products that I ended up with milia seeds under my eye and crows feet *upset*. Since my homemade facial products did well, I decided to explore homemaking some eye remedies, mainly either for puffy eyes and/or dark undereye rings. My dark undereye rings are unbeatable. I have to use both the bobbi brown corrector and concealer to turn my eyes to normal state... any eye highlighter or pure concealer is unable to fully cover! *Sobs* However I do have a problem with Bobbi's eye corrector/concealer as the cream based product cracks up after half a day even after sealing them with fine powder. Any touching up will only attempt to make it worse! 

So I decided... instead of focusing so much on covering these panda-cum-goldfish eyes with make-up, I have committed to try to solve the problem directly.

Today I'm going to share with you a few items (remedies for the eyes & peppermint face scrub) again! I'm so sorry for all the lengthy posts but I just can't wait to share these things with you! So enjoy and yup grab your cuppa tea before scrolling down! Enjoy!

Part A: All about Eyes 

1. Herbal Tea bags & Eyes

(Chamomile, Green Tea, Peppermint, Rose Hip etc)

Why chilled tea bags? They relieve puffy and swollen eyes. Applying with eyes closed will also help keep the lids and eyes moist. 

[However if you have sty (bump on eyelid/edge which happens due to bacteria getting into eyelashes and under the eye lids) try a hot mint tea compress which can be placed over your eyes 3 times a day for just 5 minutes each. It is said that the heat can help bacteria in the sty come to surface, therefore allowing you to directly eliminate the problem!] 

I particularly like peppermint tea bags for a few reasons:

(i) a cold mint tea eye compress (i.e. chilled tea bag) can help cleanse, reduce swelling of eyes with a cooling effect

(ii) they aid dry eyes more effectively

(iiI) more than often, dark eye rings can be linked to skin allergies and sinuses. Mint tea has healing effects for those due to its strong menthol aroma which will cause eyes to water and sinuses to tingle. All you need to do is to inhale the steam from mint tea. 

Chamomile tea will help to dis-inflame!  

How to get a cold compress eye treatment

(a) Put two tea bags in boiling water for 2 minutes

(b) Remove and place them in a tupperware or ziplock bag (cool it abit if you're using a ziplock) 

(c) cool in the refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes

(d) After they are cooled, place them over closed eyes for 10 - 15 minutes! 

Tadah~ you're done! 

2. Cucumber, Potatoes & Apple

Both potatoes and cucumbers aid puffy eyes as they both help to reduce water retention. 

Cucumbers: has high amounts of ascorbic acid and caffeic acid

Potatoes: effective for dark eye circles due to liquid starch and an enzyme (cathecholase) used as a skin lightener

Apples: eliminates pigmentation issues in skin, regulate fine lines under the eyes

If you just want a cooling and soothing treat, a slice of chilled cucumber or a slice of chilled potato  on each eye is great too! It will moisturize

Cucumber & Potato Eye Mask - grate both ingredients (chilled) in equal portions, mix and squeeze the juices out! Apply the paste directly on your eyes or put them in an empty teabag before applying. 

You can do the same with apples + potatoes too. Just use 1 portion of apple for 4 portions of potatoes! 

3. Diet - avoid too much caffeine, salt and alcohol (unfortunately I'm a sucker for those things! *sobs*) 

4. Apply your eye moisturizers diligently! Try to use a cream moisturizer in the morning before applying eye makeup (they help to moisturizer your eyes and thereby keeping your makeup on better) and a gel moisturizer at night as they will firm and tighten the area better (this reduces swelling!)

5. Give your eyes sufficient rest - look away from your computer from time and time and get sufficient sleep! 

Part B: Peppermint Face Scrub 

So we've used the peppermint tea bags as cooling eye compress treats, then how do we make sure it doesn't waste? 

1. Drink it with or without honey! 

Peppermint tea is naturally caffeine free but provides a quick perk-me-up effect due to its menthol content. Apart from common knowledge of mint tea containing stress relieving effects (calms and relaxes muscles along intestinal tract) and warding off common colds, it is said to ease problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, spasms, colic, intestinal gas, indigestion and headaches (due to properties in peppermint that relax the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing the contents of the stomach to move upwards into the esophagus). Avoid drinking if you have reflux issues. 

2. Make a face scrub! (You can use this for your feet too!)

Ingredients: 

• 5 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp baby oil 
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 1/4 tbsp thick peppermint tea

How to? 

(a) infuse 2 bags of peppermint tea in 1/3 cup boiling water, cool for 15 minutes

(b) add 3 tbsp sugar into bowl

(c) add 1 1/4 tbsp thick peppermint tea in 

(d) add 1 tsp baby oil

(e) add 2 tbsp sugar

(f) add 1 tbsp honey 

(g) mix and you're ready for your facial treat 

We should exfoliate once to thrice weekly, this will keep dead skin from building and getting into pores!

Homemade Green Tea Face Scrub, Toner & Mask!

Hello Ladies! Today I'm going to share with you some of my homemade remedies.

Initially I was looking for a good face scrub to use for face exfoliating but after hours and hours of surfing, I couldn't find an ideal product which has fantastic reviews, a proven record and friendly to my purse. So I decided, why not save some money and DIY a home scrub. I decided that my main ingredient was going to be a Green Tea, which was a powerful anti-oxidant (slows the aging process, rejuvenate skin cells - esp good for after-sun applications!) and also a good purifying ingredient for acne/zits. Lastly, I also incorporated oatmeal in my mask as I have been too stressed recently and pimples started to pop up randomly across my face *sobs*. So here goes, prepare for a long post! I sincerely hope that this may be of help to some of you out there!

So I ended up with a full regime after exploring - a face scrub, a toner and a mask for application. However, you may choose to take the scrub and mask on separate days as some people have thinner skin and too much exfoliation may be bad for the skin.

Let's get started on the recipes! Before I start let me outline the benefits of some ingredients I've chosen. However this is not to say that some other ingredients are no good, its just that I've chosen this for these home products!

Key Ingredients Benefits: 


1) Sugar - naturally exfoliates dead skin and cleanses skin

• alpha-hydroxy (glycolic acid) rich which is crucial for maintaining healthy skin; does not clog pores; helps eliminate blemishes, restores balance to skin's oil.
• After dead skin is exfoliated (but not overly exfoiliated), your body organ works more efficiently to expel toxins and take in nourishment, thus giving a radiant glow. 
• Sugar scrubs are also gentler than salt scrubs, making it suitable for all skin types. 

2) Green Tea 

• reduces sun damage and inflammation (free radicals) i.e. anti-oxidant (esp impt for me in a hot sunny Singapore!)
• slow down effects of aging

3 tips for using green tea as a facial ingredient:

(i) always put boiling water when making your cup of green tea so the full goodness is released from the tea bag/tea leaves;

(ii) always prepare the cup of green tea and use it immediately, don't wait. 

(iii) never use cold green tea, make sure its just warm before application or adding to sugar.

3) Honey (some call it liquid gold!)

• hydrating and softening effects as honey is a humectant which attracts and preserves water, 
• anti-bacterial effects - good for acne
• anti-oxidant (anti-aging) 
• rich in nutrients and vitamins - vitamin B & C, minerals and amino acid

4) Oatmeal 

• an astringent which draws out and absorbs excess oils from the skin 
• draw and hold moisture 
• exfoliates dead skin and clear up blemishes 

You should still see the coarse sugar after mixing
p.s. pardon the kiddy bowl!

Green Tea Honey Face Scrub
Ingredients: 
3 tbsp white sugar, slightly coarse
1 tbsp green tea
2/3 tsp johnson & johnson baby oil or replaceable with almond oil or rose hip oil (optional)
1 tsp organic honey

How to? 
(i) make 1/4 cup of green tea with boiling water. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
(ii) Add 1 tbsp of white sugar to your bowl
(iii) Stir the green tea and add 1 tbsp to the bowl
(iv) Add 2 more tbsp of white sugar
(v) Add 1 tsp of organic honey
(vi) Add 2/3 tsp of the oil you chose

Should you lack the above ingredients, remember that white sugar is always the key ingredient in a scrub. The next key ingredient is green tea.
[If you really lack everything, just have slightly coarse sugar on hand. Add 3 tbsp of warm water and gently scrub i.e. as if you are stroking a newborn!]

What does each selection of oil do?

• J&J Baby Oil: Softens skin, moisturizes but there are people who are against mineral oil which is the key ingredient in this product.  
• Almond Oil: Nourish, smoothen and soften skin  - relieves itchiness, soreness and rashes
• Rose Hip Oil: rich in vitamin C, rehydrates skin, reduces wrinkles and repair damange skin cells (i.e. scars recovery!) 

You may choose to leave out oil if your skin is not suitable for such an ingredient. 
Some may ask why I do not recommend Olive Oil as a replacement. I believe that the anti-oxidant used in the application may end up being too strong if added as both green tea and honey has anti-oxidant effects already. 
It is also not recommended that you use more than 1 oil in this scrub. 

Application Steps:
(a) just gently scrub (as if stroking a newborn) with a good cotton pad which picks up all the ingredients (rem to stir before each pick up). Rough scrubs would harm your face, especially if the sugar is far too coarse.
(b) Then use your fingers to give your face a 2nd round of gentle scrub.
(c) Repeat both steps (a) and (b) again before gently rinsing off the scrub. Viola, you're done!

Green Tea Toner / Acne Soother

It is as simple as getting warm green tea onto your cotton pad and gently pad the awesome natural and affordable toner into your face! Enjoy this simple goodness!

[You may choose to put your remaining green tea in the fridge. When sufficiently cold, use a cotton bud to pick up some tea and dab onto affected acne/zit. Allow the green tea to dry naturally on skin - it will help soothe and heal skin]

Green Tea Honey Oat Wash-off Mask
(Do not use this receipe if you are allergic to oats!!)

this is not a paste, continue stirring!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp organic rolled oats (use baby oats/ porridge oats if possible)
2 tbsp (+ 1 tsp) warm green tea
1/2 tsp organic honey

How to?
(i) Make 1/3 cup of green tea with boiling water. Let it cool for 3 mins.
(ii) Pour 1 tbsp of oats into bowl
(iii) Add 1 tbsp of warm green tea, stir
(iv) repeat steps (ii) and (iii)
(v) Add 1 tsp honey
(vi) stir until a thick paste is formed (add 1 tsp of green tea if paste is too thick)

Application Steps: 
(a) Ensure you begin with clean hands and a cleansed face (oh and make sure to keep your hair back)
(b) Apply all over your face with a clean foundation brush, cover acne/pimples with more paste
(c) leave the mask to work for 20-30 minutes or until the mask is dried
(d) Rinse off gently with warm water, rub gently in circles all over the face.
(e) pat dry your face
(f) tone and moisturize, your face should be glowing!


I hope you've enjoyed reading these recipes and do let me know if it works for you! I'll post my other homemade recipes which I've experimented using ingredients such as milk, yoghurt and oats!

Unfortunately i'm still looking for dark eye circle remedies. I've tried all sorts of commercial brands out there - ranging from la prairie to garnier roll-on eye pens but none have quite worked miraculously though la praire's did aid. Its just getting from bad to worse... can't do without concealers anymore. HELP! I'll let you know if I do find a breakthrough. Meanwhile I've stopped most eye products (as they are either too rich, causing milia seeds and others giving crows feet *sobs*) and just purely applying a simple vitamin C serum with eye massages. Do let me know if you have a miraculous remedy!

*for the love of natural skincare*

Anna Sui Super Black Volume Up Mascara

In my search for a water-resistant, non-smudge mascara, I came across a very compelling review of this Anna Sui mascara which a blog reviewer said she swore by for the last 2 years. The review stated that the effect was so spectacular that the curled lashes would hold up for the day and your lashes became dolly and pronounced. Well, I must say the review did state the effects accurately. What it did not state was the hassle of using this mascara - make sure you read point 5!

1) Packaging - ♥♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Lets start from the aesthetics. The mascara packaging is typical of Anna Sui, with the top of the mascara featuring the rose emblem which one associates with the brand. I must say the packaging is awesome and the curves of the mascara makes it easy to hold the brush when applying.

The pretty packaging!

2) Smell - ♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
One wouldn't normally associate smell and mascara together. Afterall I've never really put my nose to smell any mascara! This mascara has a distinct rose fragrance every time you take out the applicator. I attribute that to one of the ingredients - "fragrance (parfum)". While this may be pleasant to some, I believe it does not bode well with people allergic to such products, especially near their eyes! So while I'm not allergic, I am slightly uncomfortable to get perfume so near my eyes! The smell does get to me sometimes too...

3) Smudge-proof/water-proof - ♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
I've not tested this underwater as I typically do not wear make-up when I go swimming or go under the water. However I've got really teary and watery eyes and I require very strong smudge-proof mascara. At this point, I've to emphasize that this mascara has no disclaimer of either smudge or water-proof capabilities! Without the claimants declared, I do think this mascara has got rather good water/smudge proof abilities! I don't really end my days looking like a panda as compared to using some other brands!

4) Holding up the lash curls -  ♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Yes don't we all sigh when we curl our lashes and only to fit them flat and lifeless after 1 hour? We often question if our curlers are at fault or was it the mascara? I believe that most of the time, its the mascara. This mascara works wonders for holding up curls, well in a very pronounced style in fact! I do have curled lashes, which are emphasized in bold black by this mascara, even after work! (that's more than 12 hours already!) This is amazing. However I'm not a fan of drama make-up. I prefer subtle make-up and natural looking stuff. Hence, I wouldn't normally go for this mascara unless I'm attending a dressy function. However if you use fake lashes, this might go on well with them!

5) Applicator/ Application/ Mascara formula -  ♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Ah... yes this is my most hated part of this mascara. Personally, I feel that it overwrites all of the above goodness. The applicator is horrible. The brush bristles are not only extremely short but they are also quite dense. This does not work for a mascara formula which is thick and sticky! An absolute no-no. My formula clumps up all the time, causing my brush to be fully covered with the formula and what do I get? Clumped lashes!! Initially I wondered if it was a one-off problem i.e. only my mascara, but having complained to one of my girlies who also bought this mascara, her's the same too! This is the most disappointing bit of this mascara. Since I didn't want to dump the whole mascara away, I would clean the bristles with wet wipes before each eye application to remove the excessive formula which was stuck to the bristles. Yes, imagine the wastage! It was the only way to use this mascara to get the effects I wanted - the curled long and dolly like lashes. This is a horrible applicator which doesn't match the formula at all.

After some cleaning, the short bristles is revealed!

The uncleaned applicator clumped with the formula. Look at the tip,  of the applicator onwards, a lump of formula is stuck there, as usual. 

I should also mention here that it takes a good 5-10mins before the mascara is fully dried and so never look down even after application. You'll have pretty lash marks on your undereye area... I am quite impatient and this doesn't bode well with me either.

My Summarized Review:
So here you have it. I'm not recommending this product unless you have the patience to clean bristles before each eye's application each time you're using. Even if you do have the patience, I wouldn't recommend this terrible applicator unless you have got other applicators which you like and can stick them into this formula. There are plenty of other mascaras out there, don't torture yourself with this one. By far, this is the worst mascara I've ever tried.

I give this 1 out of 5 smooches due to the terrible applicator and formula mismatch
Score: ♥/♥♥♥♥♥

Nail Art: Curved French Manicure

Hello! I just wanted to share two of my nail art designs over the past few weeks! I've been quite taken by the curve french styled nails as they conjure in me a feminine yet playful feel! The polka dots only add on to emphasize this fun design! I got inspired by a Japanese nailart mag which I browsed at Kinokuniya.


Do pardon the purple nail design one as the picture was taken 5 days after I completed the design. However I personally liked the purple design alot better than the blue/glitter curved french one!

I typically use TheFaceShop's base coat and Seche Fastdry topcoat!

Hope you like these ideas!

Design uses OPI Bubble Bath as bath color, Essie's Lilacism for light purple curved french, Sephora by OPI's What a Broad for the top layer of curved french, and Essie's Blanc for the polka dots. You'll also need a dotting tool for the dots. 

Design uses OPI's Happy Anniversary as base color, OPI's play till midnight as curved french, Essie's Blanc for polka dots and OPI's Crown Me Already! for glitter lines. You'll also need a dotting tool for the dots.