"Spring cleaning" my makeup brushes

After a hiatus of not attending wedding dinners and function, I sort of neglect my full set of makeup. Was rushing to makeup for a dinner last night and to my horror, all my mascara dried up except one. Lol

Then, when I came back, I realised my makeup eye remover is about to finish. Sigh... Too busy to work to take the time to doll myself up except the basics. I guess it "spring cleaning" my makeup will be the next task ahead.

Anyway, I felt bad for neglecting my poor brushes which will unintentionally harm my skin! I quickly gave them their bath this morning... ;) Here are my dear brushes being left out to dry like the laundry.

I love it that I've already found tools and the right "washing solution" for my brushes. I remembered previously reading about the synthetic brush bristle vs, natural brush bristle, what solutions to use, the best review for makeup brushes review, etc. Honestly, Bobbi Brown makeup remover was raved about then and when I decided to buy it - out of stock! Hmphh!

So in the end, I bought Make Up Forever Brush Cleanser and Johnson's baby conditioning shampoo as my HG cleaning tools.

Why 2 types?

The Make Up Forever Brush Cleanser is alchohol-based which I generally don't like the smell and avoid especially for skincare products. I only use this for hard-to-wash makeup eg my eye liner gel. I spray onto a tissue and use it to wipe my brushes. Sometimes, I spray into the white containers and dip the brushes longer to remove the remaining residue.

The rest gets treated like baby hair with Johnson's baby conditioning shampoo! ;) Obviously, the method is different: I pour a little baby shampoo into the container and fill it with water. Then I swirl my brush inside until it cleanses all the makeup as shown below. The water will change according to your makeup colour.

I swirl it the second time in clean water to make sure everything is out. The water should still be clear like this:

Notice how ideal the containers are for cleaning my brushes. The white containers were cover for some spray can or something which I kept.

A towel is important to wipe dry the brushes and to let it dry. Notice that I lay the brushes with the handles higher than the bristle to avoid the water to flow back to the handle just by rolling one end of the towel. The water can run down in to the ferrule and loosen the glue holding the brush together over time.

From left to right: Daily brushes: Elf powder brush as my daily blusher/powder brush, the Bobbi Brown eye brow brush, Events: Stila eye liner brush, BeautiControl powder brush (when I don't want to use same brush earlier), my portable brushes: small blusher brush (bought online), the faceshop eye brow brush, Elf professional eye shadow brush, eye shadow brush (I bought somewhere.. can't recall) and BeautiControl eye shadow brush.

Soon, my brushes will be fresh and clean; making my skin happy too!

And a final note, how often do we have to wash the makeup brushes? I think it varies with the usage. Makeup artist have to wash after every usage to avoid passing bacteria from one person to another. Some blogs and sites recommend once in 2 weeks. Some say they wipe clean it with bacteria-wipe then deep cleanse washing (like what I've just done) once a week or so. What about you?

Since I don't make up that often... I wash once in a month except for those I use all the time. Lol

Dressing Up Your Nails

I used to keep my nails short because I play the piano. Plus, goody-two-shoes me always followed the rules (school rules) and my feminine hormones haven't kicked in to get me interested to keep them long. Plus the fact, I thought my nails didn't grew straight enough to be painted on and skin around my nails used to peel.

Thank God, those two worries seemed irrelevant now and belatedly, I wanted to try to dress up my nails especially with all those nail art, bling-bling, konad stencils, etc. Tried manicure twice but was worried about scratching the nail polish (which usually happens in hardly an hour) and so, I only choose neutral pinkish natural colours. Maybe I should be more daring and just try them out since promotion sites like groupons happen to have cheap promo on manicures.

Anyhow, here is my collection of nail polish to jump start my new interest:

1. Rimmel nail polish from the Cut Above launch.
At first I thought when will I daringly colour my nails so dark.. but with the quirky cute patterns to draw, that'll be different.

2. Little Romantics set from OPI.
I always thought french manicure was simple and neat. Hence, when I saw this little set from OPI, I decided to give it a try. I managed to get from a seller in lowyat at 30% cheaper than Sasa... yipee! :)

3. Face Shop Nail Polish
At RM5.90 each, I thought it's no harm to give it a try. Got a simple pink coloured one (I know, still playing safe) and an upper coat with glitter. Lol

Told mum I wanted some nail polish and these are what she got from me from Aussie.


4. Revlon Nouveau Nail Polish.

5. Rubi shoes Nail Polish
Says that it's 1 AUD! Sounds like a steal to me.

*Note: Will add in the details of each nail polish later and share my DIY manicure next time! ;)

Briefly on Contact Lenses Care

Things you should have been told before wearing contact lenses... Why this entry? Well, I dropped by to visit the optometrist and learned a few new jargon: ghost vessel and neovascularization. The visit itself warrants an entry itself but that'll be another time.

Change Your Contact lenses Casing
When I started using contact lenses in 2000, I was not told that I had to change my contact lenses casing. Serious – the optometrist or sales lady who fitting my contact lenses didn’t mention about it. She only taught me how to wear my lenses.

With the health care scare during the last few years of eye infection from overusing contact lenses cases, everyone is now fully aware of this fact.

Hence, it is advisable to change the contact lenses case at least every 3 months. In most cases of bacterial infection caused by contact lens use, the bacteria can be traced back to the contact lens case.

Choose the right Contact lenses Solution

The rub and rinse method was always recommended despite the multipurpose solution saying otherwise. I used to use saline and multipurpose solution. But I got lazy and only used the latter. Remember to discard any unused solution within the date of opening! (You have only one pair of eyes!)

Did you know that the simple act of mixing the wrong solution combination can cause red and itchy eyes? In fact, using solutions or rewetting drops which are not compatible with your contacts may degrade the quality; affecting the visual and comfort quality.

The difference is within the cleaning and disinfection agent to keep your contact lenses clean, and the preservative used to keep your solution fresh. Each type of solution will have it's own unique combination of sometimes proprietary cleaning agents. All to keep your contact lenses clean and safe to wear.

In fact, with the scare from the discontinued RenuMoisture Loc (which I was using for many years... sighhh) because of high infection of fungal keratisis by the users, I was forced to try many different types of solution to find a replacement. Some were too strong, some were just not right, etc.

Ironically, after all the wasted bottles I bought to try, now I am back to using Renu's solution but the newer version: Renu Moistureplus.

Contact lenses power is lower than your eye glasses’s power
I only knew this after complaining headaches to another optometrist who recommended I reduce the power for my contact lenses. Then –tadaaa!! No more headache.

This is because contact lenses sit on the eye, whereas glasses sit in the spae in front of the eye. This is call the vertex distance. The closer a lens sits to the eye, the less strength is needed to focus light on the retina.

Why weren't I told of this? In fact, last year I bought a year's supply of contact lens from an optical shop in 1Utama and the lady adamantly disallowed me to buy a lower powered contact lens.

Now I'm reluctantly stuck with over-prescription contact lens power... which made me stop using contact lenses for many months. Silly me!! (I can't change it either because it was on sale.... stingy!)

This is very clearly explained in this link.

Overwear of Contact Lenses
When we wear contact lenses for a prolonged period, this might affect the oxygen to your eyes causing blood vessels to grow into your eye (look at the picture below of a straved cornea). These vessels are not supposed to be there but it grows to obtain more oxygen for your cornea.
To remedy it, optometrist would recommend using a contact lens with higher oxygen permeability and within a few weeks, the blood inside the limbal vessels will recede and leave behind the ghost vessels.

Hence, remember to take out your contact lenses after a day of usage to allow your eyes to breath.

Conclusion
Hence, this is briefly the highlights of the main problems when I used contact lenses. Interesting facts to share with you:

Q1: Can I swim with my soft contacts in? How will chlorine affect my contacts? — N.H., Virginia

A: I highly recommend you wear goggles if you swim with soft contacts on your eyes. Although not usually a problem, there are all kinds of nasty bugs living in swimming pools (and hot tubs as well). One of these creatures, called acanthameba, can cause horrible pain and damage to your eye, very often necessitating a corneal transplant. And the water can change the way your lenses fit, making them too tight and causing severe eye health problems.

So, either take them out for swimming or wear goggles. Better safe than sorry. — Dr. Dubow

Face Cleansing Timeline

I feel this warrants an entry because EVERYONE endures this torturous process to obtain the flawless porcelain skin.

In my childhood - I use water and soap to wash my face. Youth does miracle when your skin is still baby smooth and blemish/pimple-free.


In my teens - pimple popped out; I pressed and popped it. Used a cleanser to wash my face. Pimple control with Clearasil, Oxy, etc. Got self-conscious - scars form and face become like a moon.

In my 20's - I still used cleanser only and pimple control. Laughed at my senior for going through 3-5 steps of facial products just for her face.

In my mid 20's - I introduced to myself the 3 steps of cleansing: Cleanser, Toner & Moisturiser. I even tried facial sessions with the beautician pressing out all the blackheads, whiteheads, pimples from my face till I become red like a lobster.
The beautician will tell me, "It's a normal reaction; your face will cool off and become less red later."

Products range from Pharmaceutical products (T3, etc) to Beauty products (Biotherm, Dermalogica, etc). One tube of cleanser cost me from RM15- RM100 plus!

In my late 20's - I even tried laser treatment to "cure" my crater-face. (Painful to both my skin and pocket!) But couldn't afford to finish the whole treatment for half a year.

My cleansing products typically MUST include cleanser, toner, moisturiser, pimple medication/ scar ointment/ sunblock.

Learnt about Asian double-cleansing (2 kinds of cleansers)
Learnt about make-up - need special make-up remover.
Learnt about make-up vs pimple!

Learnt everything cost money and wished I never tried so many products.... and I was in primary school again, just using water and soap!

Earring Organiser

Someone commented that my blog is getting more ‘girly’ and makeup-orientated. Sorry-loh… that’s the “in” thing I am into for now. I am quite seasonal so watch out for my other crazy infatuation in the coming months.

Anyway, there was one season (few years back) when I was crazy about accessories – custom earrings. I have a boxful of them which I carelessly throw them in a jumbled mess in this red jewellery box I got from Watsons. Some I would carefully keep them into little zipper transparent bags. I usually have to literally dig out my earrings and untangle some pairs!!

I always wondered how I am going to organise them. I found some nice stands for earrings display (like in the shops) being sold in LowYat.net but the seller never replied. There were also the typical black velvet laid box with a plastic cover but more of display than practical. From googling, I found this blog: Tranquility Spot showing interesting earrings frame and stands.


Anyway, I was estatic when I saw these little cuties!! Plastic compartmentalized boxes (pill boxes actually) which easily can arrange my little earrings also larger ones. :) I found them in the 100yen shop. Wohoo!

Here is how I can placed all my little earrings into their own boxes according to colours!! So cutee!! Aren't they adorable? :)
I'm going to get another few to arrange my other accesories - perhaps the bigger compartment ones like this.

If only I have the sliding wardrobe with drawers to place all of them neatly inside instead of a shelf. :P I can always wish....

Beauty Torture Inventions

IMHO, to date, these are the top 3 beauty torture inventions designed to torment women in the name of beauty.

1. High-heeled shoes
Yes, a women looks sexy and confident as she struts down the catwalk or anyway in those dangerously high thin stilettos.

But have you heard about the long terms effect of wearing high-heels? You will get pains ranging from hammer toes and bunions to irreversible damage to leg tendons and even back pain!

Many of the problems - which can occur simultaneously - are caused by the increased pressure high heels put on the ball of the foot; the higher the heel, the greater the pressure. The knee and back can also be affected. Images are taken from an article in Mail Online.

Hence, I usually wear high-heels for dinners and special events. Somehow, one of my male colleague will still ask me to wear heels to look nicer but my reply would be, "Why don't you try wearing them! Painful!" :p

Not a victim to fashion.... yet?

2. Laser skin treatment

I have pimpled blemish skin. I never really bothered about it till one day, a little girl's comment irked me enough to try laser treatment.

Despite putting some numbing cream, it was painful! Another invention to illustrate the lengths a women will tolerate pain in the name of beauty. I only went twice till my piggy bank runs dry. The treatment itself is quite costly.

In fact, beauty centers also provide this treatment. Previously I went to a skin specialist who recommended these sessions. Ironically, they just trained anyone without qualifications to do the treatment for me. Only the doctors will see you for higher range treatment.

Unless, you're having high degree burns on your skin, I personally would not recommend you try this treatment. It may prove to have results but the ones that I can recall now is dryer skin and building a higher endurance for pain.

3. Slim-wrap + hot blanket

I was kind of silly taking up a free session & massage with a slimming centre today. I sort of got carried away to try some other of their sessions to remove my tummy (Regretted after seeing the bill). But one of the session I could not tolerate was the slim-wrap in their hot blanket. (wonder how Rosie from Phu Chu Kang does it? hehe)

They literally wrap you in this transparent cling wrap, like you use to wrap left-overs after putting some ointment on you. Then they "baked" you in this hot blanket for 30 minutes.

Now I can honestly tell you how it feels like being baked in an oven. The idea was to make you sweat, but since I don't sweat easily; I got little sweat and very red inflamed skin!!


The sad thing about this centre, they happily took my statistics and all but the after consultation was just a typical salesgirl trying to push for a sales. Nothing was said about any (minimum) results but just pushing me to sign up a course. In fact, when I declined, she insisted I pay a deposit (which is refundable in vouchers for their facial treatment) to get the best of their promotion now.

D'oh! If I don't want, I would rather want my money back and not forced to take someother package. I "bluntly" told her I read in the papers about this kind of scam by slimming centers and I do not want it. Then only she rest her case and gave me my bill.

Why on earth did I bother trying the other sessions and paying few hundred Ringgit for the trial sessions? Sigh.. I got conned in the name of beauty and I haven't even gotten my free massage!!

Haircut Horror Part 1

I felt like going for a haircut since it has grown rather long. The last time I had a haircut; it turned out to be a horrible mullet with puffy crown. It was not cheap since I did it right before a festive holiday: Chinese New Year.
Plus, my colleagues had a good laugh whenever they looked at me then. Not to mentioned my bf who smartly commented that I look like MacGyver.... *grumble*

Yes, I have all sort of haircut stories to share with you since I have tried a varied of hairstylist of different ages in many different locations.

Let us start with the latest.

Actually I was quite aghast by the “professional treatment”. I received 3 insults and a quick cut.

1st insult
I told him I did not want a hairstyle which would require a lot of effort as he was suggesting a style which requires some wax to make the hair stay at certain angle. I admitted I was lazy for such a hassle and the hairstylist replied, “I can see that.” (Ouch…)

2nd insult
While consulting me on the right hairstyle for me, he commented that some people’s forehead didn’t turn out well, so cannot have certain hairstyle….. (Ouch)

3rd insult
The hairstylist showed me a haircut in the magazine which he proudly claimed was done by him. He said, “I can give you the same haircut. The girl’s face is chubby, you know.” (The hairstyle didn't show that she has a chubby face. (OUCH! ….)

What more can I say?

After a few snips in a few minutes, he left me to entertain other customers without saying a word.

He snip the over-thin end of my hairs a little. Then he gave me a new look by giving me a side part and snip it a little. And that was it!

Oh yeah, he did mentioned if I maintained my middle-parting hair, it'll look like I'm balding when I get older.. *Ouch*.. Unless of course, you look like these women...

Oohh, I found an interesting article on the meaning of parting your hair here.

That is my RM45 professional haircut plus wash and a little head cum neck massage.

Not to forget RM8 for using special shampoo since I have oily scalp. That makes it RM53.

Conclusion, my friend said he is a professional that is why it was quick. But did I really deserve those insults? Even though it is true but you don’t have to be so rude and hurtful to the customer! *sniff*

Other than that, the shampoo girl was thoughtful and nice while pushing products to me. (All hair saloons do that).

After both their complaints on my oily scalp, I decided to drop by Shins and grab a bottle of balancing shampoo in hopes of balancing the oil in my scalp to reduce the oiliness of my hair. (Mind you, RM66 bottle of shampoo all the way from Italy.)

And that’s just a day of hair care which cost me RM119. Thankfully, I wasn’t talked into having a hair treatment yet.

Therefore, my friend, how can I have "perfect-in-place well-groomed hair"? I shall try...

Beauty

How do you define beauty?

At first glance of a person, where do you look at? His eyes? Her hair? Her chest? His smile? Her legs? His butt?

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

Very true, in fact it is a subjective description. But majority will agree on a beauty when she passes by.

Personally, to me, a person can be strikingly seen as beautiful if he or she fulfills these basic requirements.

1. Healthy, glowing, blemish-free skin.
2. Perfect-in-place well-groomed hair
3. Attractive facial features enhanced with makeup
4. Smartly dress and killer shoes
5. Little details in well chosen accessories

What do you think of that? It does make sense right?

I like the impression given by impeccably dressed individuals. That's why lawyers look smart. Despite knowing this, I can’t seem to apply it to myself.

I have been working in a laid back office and have been a little too shabby these days.

Perhaps I should follow this list of mine to look at. I’ll separate it out in 5 different entries which explains the works of it later.

In the meantime, everyone will agree this is Beauty. :p

As in "Beauty" or Belle, from Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast.

Decorations

Why is there a need to fill a blank canvas? Why must there be a dot of paint in it? Can’t it be left pure, white, serene…. And some might say “boooorrriiing!!!” :p

Well, the same goes for us humans. We have learned to decorate ourselves wonderfully since our caveman years. (Assuming our ancestors we once caveman) :P

Clothing

Most pictures depict Adam and Eve with leaves placed at the right location. Then they showed caveman with animal skins for clothing. Whatever really happened back then, it is a fact that we, humans now need clothing.
One, for protection from the weather i.e. in the dessert, people have to wear long robe to cover oneself from head to toe to protect from the harsh scorching heat and sand.

Second, clothing is to cover oneself from the looks of other people. It is because we are embarrassed to be naked and in today’s culture, it is indecent and against the law to go around naked (unless you’re in a private home, naked colony, etc).
Third, it is for decoration. Look at how the business of apparel is thriving. There can be a pair of jeans for RM10 (I found one in DFO Clothing store) to RM300 jeans found in Guess outlet. What is the difference? Branding? Quality? Functional; it serves well but it is the image and “decoration” it serves that gives the extra value.

Therefore it boils down to my real topic: Decoration on human skin.

1. Make-up

Most women cannot live without make-up. I haven’t reach that stage yet but I guess as age catches up (with scarring, pores /”pot-holes in my case”… haha on my face), one will need to rely on this magic wonders to look young, pretty and attractive.

Men are no exception from this “decoration” especially in the entertainment industry.

Most of us have seen magazines or e-mail showing the difference of an actor/actress with make-up and without. Those pictures are enough to explain my point.

This form of decoration is mainly for the face although it is used to cover temporarily certain scarring on visible body parts at time.

2. Tattoo

Somehow, this painful skin scarring process is seen as a decoration by some people. The best example of this celebrity is Angelina Jolie with her tiger tattooed on her whole back. (Just to name one of her many tattoos)
Many girls in the US have little tattoo somewhere on their body. With a cute little heart shaped at the butt to the name of a loved one on her arm. Whatever style or pattern it is used, they find it beautiful.

I remember a colleague sending an e-mail to all of us which shows body painting. The interesting thing to note was it the body part which was involved. It was a “body painting” of the man’s genital body part. Would you find it beautiful? Anyway, to side track, my boss found out about the e-mail and reprimanded everyone on sending such emails internally.. ha ha..

3. Piercing

Earrings and nose rings are the most common piercing done world wide. I myself is guilty of piercing my ears. My mum just brought me to the shop one day and got my ears pierce. Yes, I am guilty of decorating my ears with earrings.

Then there is the piercing of other locations like: tongue, navel or even private body parts. The decoration for all these piercing varies according to one’s taste. This link I put here has very interesting pictures of all the piercing.

4. Body paint

This form of decoration is always seen during sports matches. The fans will paint their favourite team’s jersey colour on their forehead, arm or even for some extreme fans, on their chest!

However, for the modeling and entertainment industry, body paint is more extensively used. The best example I can think of is Rebecca Romijin as the blue mutant named "Mystique" in X-Men. She is naked literally, save for the blue paint on her body.


I once received an e-mail showing a naked woman walking along the street. (not in Malaysia of course). From afar, she looks fully clothed with a sleeveless top and hot pants. On nearer observation, the “clothing” is actually body paint. Have to look for that e-mail.

Final note

My point is why do we need to decorate ourselves? Why can’t we be the original pure white canvas? Why must we always think we are a blank canvas that requires decoration?

I can only think of one apparent reason: to look BEAUTIFUL in the eyes of our peers.

Sigh. We are stuck with our self-perception through the eyes of other people when in reality; God already sees the real beauty within us without all these decorations.

Here! Here! (Raising my arms) I am guilty of that too.

Wardrobe Boo-boo

Sometimes, you just throw on some clothes and rush out the door without glancing the mirror. Other times, you check your face and hair only, or perhaps just the front of your clothing. I have had my shares of wardrobe malfunctions. Here are some wardrobe boo-boo from my own experiences and also the fashion police of the celebrities.

1. Low-slung pants or jeans
They are too low then your navel will be shown if you're wearing a short T-shirt. In our society, we should cover up properly (tutup aurat) if possible. Therefore, my Muslim colleague will point this out to me if it happens.
Not forgetting, if you happen to wear granny panties (not v-back panties), you can see the horrible fabric protruding out of your pants. For this malfunction, I rarely see people informing you. Unless you purposely, want to show off your thong. That's another story.
2. White bra underneath black knitwear top
I never thought much of how bad wearing this could be till I saw my own pictures. Two headlights which captured the attention of any viewer. Sigh. I noticed Brooke Shields did the same thing too.
3. Thin, sheer fabric with lacy bra
This was not intentional. I didn't realised my top was that sheer till all you see is the lacy pattern of my bra. I happen to NOT bring my jacket along that day so my guy colleague subtly commented on it. Sigh, luckily I could borrow an extra sweater from my female colleague. It wouldn't have mattered, if you were Britney who intentionally wanted to show off her bra.
4. Bikini panties with white or cream-coloured tight pants.
This is the VPL (visible panty line) problem. Obviously, it looks nicer with a smooth butt outline instead of the obvious lines of your undergarment. But then again, if your butt is not that taut, avoid wearing light-coloured tight pants. You'll end up showing everyone your lumpy, bumpy butt. Honest! (I have avoided this... :P unless I can do more lunges to tone up my butt!!)
5.Button-down Shirts
Somehow, button-down shirts are not designed for women. The middle button at the chest will conveniently pop open to expose your bra for all to see and more, if you're not wearing any. :P
6.Zippers tragedy
What do you do when your zipper of the pants fail? I would use safety pins. What if amazingly the hook above also come off? I would still use safety pins. Or better yet, throw that pants away and use the extra one in my car. :P

7.Undergarment exposed
Sometimes, I wear petticoats under some thin-fabric skirts. Once I wore it without realising my skirt had a very high slit at the back, almost reaching the bottom of my butt. Imagine seeing someone walking down with her petticoats exposed! Luckily I realised it when I walked into the office and immediately removed it. Phew!
8.Exposed
This is the most common and typical celebraties' wardrobe malfunction. Wearing too skimpy and revealing; then over-revealing themselves through many means. The most popular and widely publicised would be Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl in 1st February 2004.
9.No bra under "transparent top"
This mistake was done by celebrities and captured by the fashion police. You don't need special x-ray glasses or eyes to see this.
10. No panties
This is done by so many celebrities that they started circulating their pictures by email too. They conveniently let it free below there and when they climb out of their car, all is exposed!
Any many many more wardrobe malfunctions can happen at the snap of your finger.

Just a thought and a reminder to you whenever you leave your room: take a good look at yourself all around in front of the mirror to catch any boo-boo you don't want to find yourself exposing to everyone to see! ;)
After all, how many of you are willing to point out to a person that mistake? Hence, if it is you, imagine how embarrassing it is when people leave you walking around with that wardrobe malfunction like below. *shiver* Good luck!