My Top Beauty blunders of all time

What's your beauty and skincare mistakes?

We all made them... (hopefully we learned from our mistakes and no longer do them!)

Here are some of mine:

• Tanning - ill spent youth of spending hours sitting by the pool under the sun to get a golden brown. I never turned "golden", it was always grey and ashy or fried myself to a bright red and then peel. 
• Not wearing sunscreen. See above. I never wore sunblock or sunscreen as a kid and there are pictures of me as a brown kid.
• Sleeping without washing off my make up. Being drunk or too sleepy are not good excuses anymore to not wash off your face after a night out. I always have face wipes nearby. Even if I didn't wear make up that day, the grime from the day is enough to clog pores and wake up with a huge zit.
• Over drying my oily acne-prone skin as a teen. I had pimples as a teen - yea, I used everything to zap them away. Salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, willow bark, tea tree oil, clay, even toothpaste! I tried to de-grease and dry everything out. This was counter-productive because if you strip away oil from the skin, more oil is produced thus creating clogged pores that lead to zits. Thankfully, I know better and get regular facials that have paid off  in the long term. I don't break out very often anymore. 
• Not moisturizing. See above. Because I had the oily skin as a teen, I didn't feel the need to put a moisturizer on my face. If it weren't for good genes and good skincare routine, I would have dry irritable skin with some wrinkles. 
• Dark black eyeliner all around my eyes. Panda eyes or Goth. I can't tell. Whoever said this was a good look growing up in the 90s needs to take a good look in the mirror. Dark black eyeliner lined on the upper lashes AND lower lashes closes the eyes instead of making them bigger. If the argument is that it makes the eyes more exotic or mysterious looking, it doesn't do either. Just makes you look a bit trashy or unaware that its not enhancing your best feature of your face. The eyes communicate a lot of nonverbal cues. Why would you want to mask it all with dark liner? There is a way to look smoldering with a nicely applied smokey eye and this is not it.  But ugh, I am guilty for wearing this look as a pre-teen.
• Frosted lipstick/lip gloss. Another unfortunate case of the 90s trends. Just don't do it.
• Matching eyeshadow with my outfit. When I started wearing make up out into the real world, I was probably in the 6th grade and there were a couple school dances where I tried to match my eyeshadow to my outfit. Luckily, I caught on early that this was not a good look and quickly rectified the unfortunate beauty blunder early on.
• Over processed hair with hair dye, highlights, perms. Healthy hair comes from doing less to it. But we're all a bit vain and want our hair to always be something its not. So we put it through extreme heat (ie. curling, flatironing, blowdry, etc.), highlights, hair dye, perms, straightening. Just leave it alone. All of that fussing around to make our hair look different causes lots of damage to hair follicles and creates even more problems. I first had highlights in my hair in 8th grade and throughout high school. In college there were periods of experimenting with hair dye and I would dye my hair with manic panic maroon shades as well as different shades of blue. These weren't extreme because I have dark Asian hair so those colors only came out in the sun as tints or under certain lighting. Post-college, I stopped but started curling my hair a lot which fried the ends. I had a bit of highlights here and there and bleached the ends of my hair then had it dyed fire engine red. That lasted about a good month and a half then the color started to fade and it took two years of constant trimming and growing it out to get rid of all the color. My hair was healthy again until I moved to Asia. The heat and humidity would not hold a curl for very long so I got a perm, it didn't do anything so I got another one a couple months later, then my hair starting rebelling and falling out! So now, I'm on a mission to make my hair and scalp healthy again. I pour serums filled with the promise of hair regrowth onto my scalp and shampoos that promise to exfoliate and cleanse my scalp so the serums work better. *sigh*

5 products for summer that I currently love

Summer is here! Its hot EVERYWHERE (unless you live in the Southern hemisphere in which case, its winter for you!). Make up melts if you put too much on. The trick is to use multitasking products and don't cake it on. Since its be really gross here in Singapore with the hazardous levels of haze/smog/smoke from the nearby forest fires in Sumatra, I've been doing some skincare rituals at home to make sure that my pores aren't clogged 24/7 yet keeping everything simple.

1) Nutriganics Foaming cleanser by The Body Shop

I've been using this foaming cleanser for about a month now and like how light this feels. Its $26.90 SGD so it won't break the bank and its part of The Body Shop's Nutriganics line.
















2) Origins Make a Difference moisturizer

This moisturizer blends right in and light for daily use but can also be layered on for more moisture at night. I use it both a.m. and p.m. as well as on my neck. I like the fact that it isn't greasy or sticky.

















3) Josie Maran's Broad Spectrum SPF+40 lotion

Its not so easy to find a sunscreen that is light, watery, and blends right in without that white, greasy, sunscreen smell, and heavy texture. When my Kate Somerville sunscreen serum ran out, I started using this. Its lighter than the Kate Somerville sunscreen and smells like her argan oil products (a little like a kid's multivitamin).













4) Urban Decay Naked 2 eyeshadow palette

I really like this palette because there's so much you can do with it. I like to play around with the darker colors to be used as a liner. With all the hype that has everyone coveting the Naked palettes this one certainly lives up to its fame. I'm not a big fan of palettes with colors that you probably won't use. You'd love this one because ALL the colors in this palette is beautiful.













5) VMV Hypoallergenics Ooh-La-Lash Volumizing Mascara

I can't say enough good things about this mascara. This mascara is hypoallergenic, 100% dye free, non-comedogenic, and best of all it works really well! It doesn't smear, coats the lashes to create beautiful feathery long lashes and doesn't make my lashes fall out.















All opinions regarding these products are my own personal opinions alone. The pictures are taken from the companies websites which are linked to this blog. No companies or product endorsements here.

What's in your bathroom: Sarah

I asked a few of my female friends what they currently use as part of their skincare ritual on a daily and weekly basis. This is my friend Sarah's skincare ritual.

Skincare profile: surface oily and dry underneath, early 30s, combination, sensitive, acneic skin

"Since starting this anti aging regiment, I have much less need to do masks/exfoiliants since I am doing that practically every day. But I will use philosophy microdelivery peel every once in a while and the boscia black mask every once in a while. like...once a month or once every 2 months."

Current ritual

1) Cleanser: Bare Escentuals Purifying Facial Cleanser
She says "Non foaming cleanser that cleans deeply but doesn't strip too badly. its not as soothing as milky cleansers but its a good bridge product for the oily. I still can't cleanse with something that would leave me without that CLEAN feeling."

2) Serum: CSI Vitamin C + 12% Youth Serum
She says "Great brightener, clear serum, no orangey stuff to deal with."

3) Sunscreen: Elta MD UV Clear SPF 46
She says "Very light sunscreen-a zinc oxide based physical sunscreen, goes on clear."

OR EltaMD UV Physical Broad-Spectrum SPF 41  
This one is lightly tinted

4) Moisturizer: CSI Super Hyaluronic moisturizing cream 
She says that this cream is "non greasy" and gets "no breakouts" from using it.

OR Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream
She says "for super dry days/nights which I am continually shocked I am having as I get older."

5) Eye Cream: CSI Recovery Eye Cream with Vitamin K & Arnica
This is her response to this eye cream "smells amazing. I'm pretty sure nothing really works to help eyes but this one has some vit. k for dark circles and its super soothing and moisturizing without being too heavy. No milia."

Additional Products Sarah uses:

6) Reviva labs 5% glycolic acid cream 
"nothing has done more for keeping my face smooth and bright as this cream. There is also a 10% formulation I will eventually move up to."



7) CSI multipeptide antiwrinkle serum 
"on the lines between my eyes and marionette lines. this thing works. 6 peptides, hyaluronic acid. it firms and tightens."
 


THANKS FOR SHARING SARAH!

What's in my bathroom?

Ritual. We all have a daily regiment that becomes our daily ritual for keeping our selves clean and feeling beautiful from the inside out.
My beauty ritual these days consist of products that are helping my combination skin battle sensitive areas, oily areas, occasional acne, dry areas in the humidity of Singapore.

1) Current Facial Cleanser: White Tea gel cleanser by Korres

I like the smell of this cleanser. White tea is a strong antioxidant and this cleanser delivers by cleansing skin without drying out the skin.
I've used this cleanser in the past and have returned to it for the past couple months because my skin has gone through a change (perhaps due to my impending birthday?) this year due to relocating halfway around the world and the humidity level here. The cleanser does the job of cleaning my skin without stripping it dry and causing more oil production to create acne flare ups.
I also like the fact that this cleanser has no parabens and Korres doesn't do any animal testing.








2) Current Moisturizer: Discontinued Korres Materia Herba moisturizing gel

Will be switching to more moisturizing gels here in Singapore b/c creams feel too heavy for daytime.



3) Current Sunscreen: Kate Somerville SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen

My favorite sunscreen because it just disappears onto my skin without that weird white chalky greasy mess some sunscreens leave after application. It feels light enough to layer over the top of serum and moisturizer.












These three products are my basics. The following I use on a weekly as-needed basis.

4) Serum: Tatcha deep brightening serum
Please read my previous post on the Tatcha line.


5) Exfoliation: Jojoba Microbead Purifying Facial Polish by REN

This exfoliator is awesome. The beads are so tiny and it feels more like a polish cream than a polish. I've been on the market for an exfoliator that feels like this for so long and I've tried quite a number of different brands. This one also smells awesome!
I use it about 2-3 times a week on an as needed basis - depends on how grimy I get from wandering around, working out, dancing, shopping, walking, etc.














6) Mask: Dr Hauschka's Rejuvenating Mask

This is my recent addition to my beauty weekly ritual. I've only used it once and so far, I like it. The mask is calming and soothing to my skin. I think it also made my skin feel a softer and brighter afterward.
The downside is the price for this small tube and the fact that I have to leave the mask on for 20-30 minutes.
I plan on using this mask about once a week.








7) Eye cream: Enlivening Amino-AG Eye treatment by Boscia

This eye cream feels like silk and I definitely use eye cream for those days I don't get enough sleep, had been drinking the night before, before & after a plane ride.














Disclaimer: None of the images belong to me, they all belong to the skincare companies mentioned and linked back to their website.

Nars has a new Tinted Moisturizer worth checking out!

Just in time for the summer NARS has a new tinted moisturizer with an SPF 30 added to it. I'm fair skinned and burn easily so always wear sunscreen on top of my moisturizer before heading out the door.

I currently love the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics tinted moisturizer but my bottle has run out so I'm in the market for a tinted moisturizer that feels just like silk and provide coverage for everyday usage that doesn't feel heavy.

I used to combine my moisturizer with the NARS sheer matte foundation but that extra step to combine foundation with a moisturizer sometimes can get messy. I'm currently combining my Kett airbrush foundation with my moisturizer. Its not working so well b/c my moisturizer is thick and doesn't blend well with the foundation. I like my foundations to be on the watery side b/c I use moisturizer and sunscreen underneath; I just don't like that cake-y feeling traditional make up feels on top of my skincare regimen. (Thats why I love airbrush make up applications & recommend it for special events)

Can't wait to check the NARS tinted moisturizer the next time I'm in the NARS store on Bleecker or a Sephora.