Continuing from
Part 1,
Part 2 &
Part 3!
Makeup
I'm no fan of makeup.
Neither do I like pouring hours fussing over makeup.
It was always with lots of reluctance to pile on the makeup and hairspray goo in my previous job.
Heck, I don't even like to do my nails.
I once used Bioessence BB Cream. That was my first time using BB cream.
It covers to some extent, makes my skin look brighter but gets too oily as the day goes on.
Bioessence BB Cream causes clogs along my laugh lines too. -___-
No idea why my silliness but I actually applied it over my eyebag areas, in a bid to conceal my eye circles.
And millia seeds sprouted after sometime!!!
I was so upset with myself that I threw the whole tube away.
So ladies, don't ever think of applying anything greasy (cream/emulsion/paste or whatsoever) on your eye areas!
Now I only use
BB Labs Placenta Control UV in Pink.
真的很好用！
They have it non-tinted and in Beige too.
But I wonder why would there be a need to look more...erm, Beige?
Not that Pink is that Pink, but it does add a soft pinkish tinge to my skin.
It has SPF33 PA ++, so I don't have to apply sunblock prior to this.
It acts as my makeup base.
Doesn't clog my pores, moisturises, brightens my skin, much less oilier than many BB creams/makeup base out there and there is placenta extract in it! So it takes care of my skin and keeps it looking good when I go out!
This BB Labs product has earned me some praises from ladies who meet me for the first time.
They tell me that they like looking at my skin, find it bright/radiant/glowy etc.
Credits to BB Labs!
I do not put on loose powder/foundation.
Don't like the hassle of touching up over grime & dirt on the face, as the day goes on.
It's sunny Singapore, after all.
During flying days, I only use loose powder.
Some brands that works for me (as in, got the little coverage that I needed & doesn't clog my pores) are Chanel (coverage a bit too light for me), Clarins and Shiseido.
I've never used foundation be it in cake or liquid form.
Less is better for sensitive skin like mine.
Too much stuff on the face will make me look cakey.
I've a team girl whose skin was so excellent that she doesn't even put on loose powder. Straight away just apply blusher.
#lifeisunfair
I don't use eyeshadow either, mainly because of the millia seeds on my eyebags.
And also, I have slightly oily eyelids and would need a eye makeup primer for the eyeshadow to sit properly, or everything would just fade off.
Brands that we can find at Watsons don't work for me.
Can't see the colour on my lids even if I used up half the palette.
Brands of higher (& better!) pigmentation would be Shiseido and Nars.
In line with my almost 清湯挂面 face, I do not use falsies nor mascara. Many have told me that my eyes are big even without eye makeup, so I skip it.
Also because I don't like how some mascara brands will tend to smudge my lower eyelids.
BUT, BUT if I have to take a passport photo, mascara and eyeliner is a must!!
It makes a huge difference in the small photo!!!
Tried and tested!
Majolica liquid eyeliners are great to draw with but they fade off to bits on my eyelids.
I swear by MAC eyeliners and lipliners.
Their staying power is really fantastic even during my 18-hour long flights!
In my previous job, a good way to ensure my lips don't suddenly look pale after a meal/drink is to shade the entire lips (not just the border) with the MAC lipliner, in a light pinkish red or nude pink.
Then even when the lipstick/lipgloss wear off, a large portion of the lipliner colour still stays on!
MAC lipstick/lipgloss and foundation/loose powder, however, is too drying for me.
I only use
lipgloss from Dior.
The gloss is really shiny and not sticky. It doesn't cause blackheads around my lips.
Ya, that's how sensitive my silly face is.
It is important to remove traces of your lipgloss/lipstick/lipliner with a eye make-up remover, even if you think you have 'eaten' it all up in your meals.
I have made it a ritual to do so.
Washing your lips together with your facial cleanser is not good enough.
I have dry lips that flake when I don't get enough sleep or under air-con conditions.
I have a very nice-smelling Rose Salve from Co. Bigelow, bought in New York.
However, like many lip balms (I have at least 5!), it helps in moisturising my lips, stops the cracking yet after it dried up, flakiness still occurs.
Only this
Deep Moist from Mentholateum does not.
It contains the popular hyaluronic acid. Actually, it does not hydrate my lips as well as the other lip balms but it prevents flakiness so much better!
I put this on before I apply lipgloss.
I have slightly visible pores on my cheeks.
Have been using powder blusher since my teens. It's like the only form around.
Last year, when I first tried out
Benetint from Benefit, my world changed!
Blusher in powder form will settle into my pores and enhance their visibility.
Whereas for Benetint, it doesn't!
Though I have to apply several times to get the desired shade, it is really easy to use, smells of rose and gives me a very natural looking blush! Doesn't clog my pores too!
I'm never going back to blusher in powder form!
I bought both books at a Shanghai bookshop, each less than S$10.
Cheap muuuuuch!
Cheaper than buying in Taipei or Singapore!
Inside both books, Da S and 伊能靜 reviewed over a hundred products that they have used.
I love love love these books so much and really did buy some of the products they recommended!
Though published years ago, they are still very relevant.
Think I've read the books at least 10 times each!
I especially like the book written by 伊能靜. It is more detailed in the product analysis and even teaches techniques on how to wash your face correctly and massaging techniques.
The book is by Da S is really reflective of her beauty-obsessed nature, from her hair, teeth, skin to even fingernails!
And THAT precisely is what makes this book such a good read!
For girls who are very into skincare or totally noob about it, I strongly recommend you to get these books!
I learnt alot about skincare product ingredients from their books, an often overlooked area.
Thank goodness I can read Chinese! I find skincare books published in the States or Europe are not as useful and insightful as those by Taiwanese celebrities.
I'm having my eye now on 牛爾老師's books!
p.s. I also like watching the Taiwanese show 女人我最大！Such unbiased information!
I have recently become a fan of Michelle Phan DIY skincare Youtube videos.
Gonna try them out one day and let you know if they work for my skin!
Beauty Food
It's true.
All those things that our mothers tell us to eat or not to eat for the sake of good skin.
It's really true.
I didn't think much of it in my teens and twenties.
But now that I'm in my thirties, I can tell you it's really true.
The older women in my family have fairly great skin.
They all look at least 5 years younger than they actually are, including my mum.
And this is given that they do not use any skincare products at all!
Mum is always chiding me for looking older than I actually am, because of my work patterns and sleep hours.
I think she meant to say I'm a disgrace to the women in the family. =DD
So assuming I inherit the same genes from them, if I eat the way they do, I might just save loads on my skincare regime! Wahaha!
The photo above isn't exactly glamourous but I didn't have any shots of the longan red date tea that I drink.
This is very good for keeping your complexion nourished and radiant!
I read that Simon Yam's (任達華） model wife QiQi and Jet Li's wife inlcude this drink as their beauty regime.
There are 2 ways to do this:
1) Fill a thermos flask (I use the 1-litre type) with boiling hot water. Put in a washed bunch of the longan (they stick together in one bunch by one bunch) and about 6-7 red dates with their pits removed. Close the cap and leave it overnight. Drink next morning when you wake up. Best to drink it hot/warm, as hot drinks improve blood circulation, detox better and gives rosier complexion overtime.
Though I like cold Coca Cola, I personally do not take drinks with ice in it. I do abstain from taking cold drinks (even Yakult!), depsite this sweltering weather.
2) For immediate consumption, boil 1 litre of water in a small pot. When the water boils, throw in 1 washed bunch of the longan and 6-7 dates with their pits removed. Continue to boil over low fire. The drink should be ready in about 15-20 minutes.
Add in your desired amount of rock sugar if you prefer your drink to be sweeter. I just drink it like that.
You can have this every other day or every 2-3 days, depending on your body composition. It might be too heaty for some.
I'm fussy about my beauty food.
I only buy my longans and red dates (as seen in the photo above) from this popular shop called 裕發 at Fu Lu Shou Complex Basement 1.
Almost everything there is of so much better quality than 正中平 or 福華.
Longans are juicier and the red dates are bigger & less shrivelled!
Pre-CNY, you can even find red dates almost the height of your thumb!
Prices are very reasonable too!
My mum has taught me how to prepare this - white fungus, papaya, sweet and bitter almond (南北杏仁) and red dates.
I prepare this with a slow cooker, on high heat for about 2 hours.
But I can get quite lazy cutting up a papaya.
Maybe I should buy slices of them from the fruits stall. That will make it easier.
A great place to have this dessert will be 鼎泰丰, Din Tai Fung!
It is not sweet and full of the same goodness my mum has taught me.
Only difference is they added in 冬瓜糖.
I like how Din Tai Fung's version is not too sweet!
My family also like preparing Barley with Gingko Nuts & Beancurd Skin (腐竹薏米).
Did you know that barley has whitening properties?
I don't take birdnest or 雪蛤, and this dessert is really great for nourishing and keeping the skin supple.
Really! I have aunties who have been having this for decades on a regular basis.
So I alternate between having this and the papaya dessert.
In between, there are still the weekend soups that my mum insist I prepare for my Husband and I.
I'm so particular about soups that I don't consume any of those outside, not even famed Chinese restaurants.
Only home-cooked soups.
One of the better 腐竹薏米 I have tried is at Mei Heong Yuen (味香園) at Ion Orchard Food Hall.
Not too sweet, though a bit thin and less ingredient, but if you don't want to go through the hassle of cracking gingko nuts at home, it's a reasonable choice! Just have 2 bowls like me!
You might have noticed that the beauty food my family swears by are the slow-motion types.
That is, you don't see the results instantly but rather over the months and years.
But I much rather prefer this natural way than collagen drinks or beauty supplements.
At least when I'm low on money, a packet of good red dates and longan can still last me for some time. Haha!
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I mentioned in Part 2 of this series that Buddhism has helped me in achieving better skin.
Have you ever notice that Buddhist nuns all seem to look younger than their actual age, have this rosiness in their cheeks and basically, very little problem with their skin?
If you compare them to normal women of the same age, the nuns just seem to stand out because of their different aura & younger skins?
I've seen many many nuns from different temples at different parts of the world to come to this conclusion.
It can't be because the nuns use expensive skincare or go for Botox.
If so, then why will normal women still pale in comparision? Normal women also can do the same thing.
I first noticed this in 2005 when I approached a nun at Fo Guang Shan (a Buddhist temple, now in Punggol) for my wedding solemnisation.
I wanted a Buddhist wedding ceremony.
We sat down and the Venerable spoke the Dharma to me.
Those were the days when I still put on full makeup (eyeshadow, mascara and the works).
As the Venerable spoke, I couldn't help notice the difference in our skins.
I might be decades younger than her and still in my prime years, but the difference in our skin is blatant.
Hers was better.
Healthier-looking and can I say, happier-looking?
Now, I know that being a vegetarian helps loads in having good skin.
Even Da S wrote about it.
I have seen people around me who practise vegetarianism for various reasons and their skins are indeed fantastic.
But it is still different from the nuns.
And for the record, monks and nuns from the Tibetean Buddhism sect do not practise vegetarian diets.
They have amazing skin by the way.
Vegetarianism is commonly associated with Buddhism.
Many do not know that during the days of Shakyamuni Buddha, He has never enforced vegetarianism.
The monks and the nuns have to accept whatever they are offered in their alms, meat and all.
Vegetarianism began in ancient China when 梁武帝, the Emperor at that time, commanded that all monks and nuns have to abstain from meat.
You might wonder isn't eating meat a non-compassionate act?
That is another topic altogether and it will be too lengthy and digressing for me to blog in this entry.
I once chanced upon a book titled, 《佛法是最好的美容師》.
(Dharma is the best beautician)
I don't understand why.
After half a decade of learning the Dharma, I finally realised the reason for the Venerable's and many other nuns' great complexion.
Our inner thoughts can dictate the condition of our skins.
Much more than you realise.
Your whole look will change with the state of your mind.
It doesn't matter whether you are a Buddhist or not.
You read about such things in the self-help books written by Americans, who might very well be Christians.
I once bumped into a local aesthetic lady doctor.
Her skin is flawless and looks expensive.
Nice? Yes, definitely.
But it doesn't look as happy/peaceful as the nuns'.
Would love to delve into the technicalities of achieving such skin, but it will get too complex to read.
是一種長年累月清心寡慾修持的緣由。
Main point is, don't go all out just to achieve skin that looks perfect on the outside.
It shows when you are not so great inside.
Especially as you age.
Build up your inner state of mind, strengthen it with positive and good thoughts, declutter bad and negative thoughts from your mind, stay happy and be at peace with yourself and your environment.
Meditation helps, if you know how to do it the correct way.
Inner peace is something that money can't buy and we only have ourselves to count on to make it work.
Cheers to beautiful skin ahead for everyone!!
Metta,
欣雨 Xinyu
