You would all know how I make fitness an integral part of my daily lifestyle. Cultivating a regular exercise regime allows me to maintain a radiant and clear complexion which all girls seek for. For myself, I always go the extra mile to take care of my skin.

Whenever I’ve plans to hit the gym, I make it a point to remove all my makeup. This is a especially crucial step when you know you’re going to be working up a sweat. All that pore clogging foundation simply can't be good for your skin while you're sweating it out. When your ring of eyeliner smudges, all I can say is that panda eyes are not normally a look you’d want to sport at the gym!

I keep it simple with lightly drawn brows and lip stain. Keep the rest of your face make-up free. However, if you must use eyeliner, skip the pencil and line your lower lash line with dark eye shadow instead to avoid smudging.

You’ll be getting that natural flush while working up a sweat, so you can pass on the blusher.

I used to travel around with not one, but TWO bottles of make-up remover -- one for the face and another specifically just for removing waterproof make-up. They are definitely a hassle to lug around but we often don’t wash our face thoroughly enough to remove all the make-up. I simply can’t take any chances with my skin.

Today I’ve found a handy product that saves me from that dreaded makeup removal routine.

Kick out the troublesome steps now!

Introducing Biore’s Cleansing Oil Cotton Sheets!

As a daily skincare regime, I use Biore’s Cleansing Oil Cotton Sheets for my skin to look at its best. Whether is it prior to hitting the gym, post workout or after a long day of being out and about, it never fails to thoroughly rid my face free of make-up or dirt. These sheets are gentle on my skin and did you know it’s totally alcohol-free? This makes it suitable for almost all skin types.

I usually pack light for the gym, as I prefer to change and shower back at home. My gym essentials are: A fitness magazine, daily workout plan, gym gloves, towel, music, eyedrops, hand sanitizer, body mist, hair tie and of course, Biore’s 10-sheet handy pack to help me freshen up before and after my workout.

For those who actively work out like me, you’d be glad to know these sheets definitely come in handy. Here’s how I removed my make-up in just 3 easy steps with Biore Cleansing Oil Cotton Sheets.

Step 1:  Place the cotton sheet firmly over your eye

Step 2: Hold for 5 seconds (let it do its magic!)

Step 3: Wipe swiftly!

Each cotton sheet is plentifully soaked with smooth cleansing oil, which dissolves even the toughest of makeup. Upon removal, I realized the skin around my delicate eye area felt soft and supple. It’s probably because these sheets also contain moisturizing agents, which basically fulfilled double beauty duties for me. Finally I can spare my precious peepers from all that tugging and rubbing.

You can see how effectively it removes the make-up without leaving a single smudge. Kudos to Biore!

After removing my eye make-up, I used another sheet to clean the rest of my face. You’ll need at least 2 sheets to thoroughly remove all your make-up; depending on how heavy it is.

All set for the gym now!

This is what I personally like about it:

1)     The 10-sheet pack is convenient to carry around. It’s light and fits right in your pocket. Perfect for traveling or when you’re on the go.

2)     The refillable, 48-sheet pack comes in a cute, pink container which helps to keep the cotton sheets moist, down till the very last piece!

3)     The sheets double as a face freshener especially after working out. Helps to remove existing dirt and sebum to prevent clogged pores.

4)     The smooth cleansing oil thoroughly removes waterproof mascara and facial makeup without leaving a greasy film on your skin

Biore cotton facial sheets have sold over 3.6 million packets in Japan in 1 year alone, which explains why Biore is the No.1 make-up remover in Japan and Singapore!

It comes in 3 sizes, including the 10-sheet handy pack that is light and convenient to bring to the gym or anywhere you go.

A must-have in every girl’s gym bag!

But hey, if it isn't your thing, there's always a less expensive and a more conventional way to revitalize your body.

There are several benefits to getting a massage. Besides being one of the nicest ways to pamper yourself, it helps to improve blood circulation, promotes total relaxation and stress reduction.

The body has the tendency to get so worked up from all the exercising and dieting that it can forget to relax, just as you forget to relax. Massage is beneficial for this reason because it allows the body to just chill out for a while and try to recover.

Face Factors is a premier aesthetic and wellness clinic located at Solaris Dutamas. The clinic offers a complete range of services ranging from advanced aesthetic and anti-aging solutions, unique body treatments and hand and nail therapies.

I was a little sore from a recent leg workout so I signed up for a massage to aid with muscle recovery.

The massage room doubles up as a waxing room which explains why it doesn't look like your regular Balinese-style massage spa. The bed is covered by a while plastic sheet with a sauna blanket bag underneath. This will be used as part of the massage later on. The sauna blanket wrap emits heat throughout your whole body which helps you to sweat and reduce water retention. It also helps to promote blood circulation, resulting in a more effective muscle recovery when combined with massage.

The Lymphatic Drainage Body Contouring Massage is a powerful deep cleansing treatment that will counteract the strains and stresses caused by the environment in the urban life. The treatment helps to detoxify the body by opening the routes of elimination which cleanses toxic accumulations, stimulates vital immune defenses and noticeably reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Does massaging get rid of cellulite?

On its own, massage will not remove cellulite, but is a great way to improve circulation, and with improved circulation excess fluid can move more easily out of the tissue, and proper cell functioning is improved. Massage also assists in temporarily reducing the skin dimpling appearance caused by cellulite.

It is responsible for flushing out toxins, waste, dead blood cells and excessive fluid among other functions involving the body’s drainage system – thus leaving you with beautifully defined silhouettes.

The sauna blanket wrap was a little uncomfortable (it lasted 30 minutes) but it's far more bearable than the massage that comes after it. The Lymphatic Drainage Contouring Massage reminded me of how achy my muscles were and it wasn't quite as relaxing as I thought it would be. But my 2 massage therapists assured that the massage will visibly the reduce cellulite on the back of my upper thighs - a common area for most women, so I endured the pain and just went with it.

The 90-minute sauna blanket wrap + massage session left me leaving a little dehydrated at the end hence it is important that you drink plenty of fluids to avoid water retention. The next day, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the appearance of cellulite on the back of my upper thighs is almost diminished. A daily massage with your favorite body moisturizer should help to reduce the appearance of cellulite even further. I would definitely consider going back once every twice a week!

Face Factors Clinic
D3-G4-2, No.1, Solaris Dutamas
Jalan Dutamas, Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +603 6205 3508

Rebonding wasn't an option because my hair is naturally wavy so I was afraid it might end up looking 'puffy' and unnatural when it grows out it. Hair relaxing treatment could last between 3-6 months, you're advised not to wash your hair for 2 days and have it up as a ponytail for a week. Conditioning your hair with a hair mask at least 3 times a week is also recommended so it doesn't dry out or become frizzy.

The treatment took about 2½ hours...

Gotta love the free wi-fi at Essensuals Bugis! It can get pretty boring at the salon sometimes while you're getting your hair done...

Before & after a little hair trim and blow-dry.

My stylist, Yan, and I. I love her Rihanna inspired hair color but the only downer is that she doesn't get to swim in the pool, otherwise her hair might turn green!

Special promo packages available for 1st time customers:

$50 (usual price $95) - Haircut, blow-dry & treatment
$139 (usual price $225) - Haircut, color & treatment
$199 (usual price $320) - Haircut & perm (plus free product or treatment)
$219 (usual price $355) - Haircut, rebonding & treatment
For a quick fix, try the $40 Macadamia Oil Treatment + blow-dry including free consultation with the Essensuals Bugis professional stylists.

If it is your first time, mention how and where you heard about the promo (...my name and my blog of course!)

Essensuals Bugis is located at 241A Victoria Street on Bugis Village. It's walking distance from the MRT station and just above Burger King. To make an appointment, call +65 6333 0039

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Hair products I use...

The Sloane Clinic focuses on all aspects of aesthetics, from cosmetic dermatology (including botox and laser treatments) to plastic surgery. It opened it's first clinic in Singapore in 2006, with 4 other branches (including the newly opened branch in Malaysia) following its success.

From left to right: Dr. Teh Siew Yen, Katherine Ng, Brigette Liberty, myself, Helenness Chong and Dr. Low Chai Ling

Dr. Teh Siew Yen is based in KL and she's your go-to person who will most likely have all the answers to your beauty concerns.

Consultation with Dr Teh Siew Yen

Personally, I don't have any problems with my skin. However, due to work, stress and the inevitable effects of aging, the dark circle under my eyes and laugh lines have become more prominent and it seems no amount of concealer or anti-aging cream has helped. I would never have considered getting fillers to improve the problem until it was recommended by Dr. Teh.

Truth be told, I AM afraid of needles and I've only done a facial spa once in my whole life. So yes, getting this treatment done was quite a big deal to me! I also considered getting botox in the beginning but I didn't do it because 1) I was afraid of the pain 2) maintenance isn't cheap.

The major difference between botox and fillers is that botox focuses on immobilizing or relaxing the facial muscles to relieve wrinkles, whereas injectable fillers focus on tissue filling to teat the age lines.

If wrinkles appear upon frowning, smiling, laughing, blinking or squinting, botox treatment is recommended. If wrinkles are present even when the face is at rest, fillers are the best treatments to smoothen out the age lines.

Think about it: If you're going to spend money on the best anti-aging products  that will probably take weeks or even months to show any results, why not spend your dollars wisely on a more effective treatment that will deliver immediate results?

There is no doubt that many would debate with on this matter but not a lot of them realize that cosmetic dermatology is more common these days, not just with Hollywood celebs, but among us. The reason for not knowing is simply because they don't openly talk about it.

Before & After results of laser toning and filler injections

I was very impressed by the results and there was barely any discomfort during the procedure. Besides fillers for my under-eye and laugh lines, I also did the laser toning treatment which helped to even out the skin tone and minimize pores. It looks like I've taken at least 4 years off of my face... Amazing!

Preparing the skin before the treatment. Firstly by removing make-up and cleansing the skin.

Laser toning (RM$1000)

Laser toning: Depending on the sensitivity of your skin, this no downtime laser does not leave your skin red or flushed after the treatment and is great as a lunch time beauty fix to tone your skin, and minimize pores. The treatment was done by Dr. Low. As I have a tanned complexion, my skin absorbed the heat more than it is likely to happen to those with a fair complexion. Hence, my face was left a little red but not for long.

The whole procedure took about 10-15 minutes. It was a little painful (almost like getting slapped in the face...) but Dr. Low was very comforting and handled it well. Next, fillers.

Revitalift undereye (RM$1800)

Revitalift undereye: This skin brightening treatment is delivered via a series of painless microinjections. It boosts your skin’s collagen, illuminating skin and undereye circles. It can be done on the full face or on the undereye area as you have done. This treatment was handled by Dr.Teh with assistance from her nurse.

First they used frozen peas in a bag to numb the area under my eyes. A small needle is used to inject the fillers under the eyes while a small handheld vibrating device is placed on my chin to minimize pain during the injection. After the laser toning, this one didn't hurt at all. Surprisingly, I personally felt that getting the injections was far more bearable than the laser treatment!

The best part is, I made a comparison after getting fillers on one side of my under-eye and could clearly see the major difference! The same procedure was done for my laugh lines too.

These filler injections left pin pricks that are so tiny that they will close rapidly and healed very quickly. It was also concealable with make-up.

Should you feel like you need to do a bit of touch-up before you go, there's a powder room where they provide make-up from Model & Co., Sloane Inc. Mineral Make-Up (yes, they have their own cosmetics line too!) and Rachel K Cosmetics.

You can continue to do your daily facial regimen with no reactions to the laser toning and filler injections. However, good skin care is advised to maintain the results.

Sloane Inc’s Miracle lift (RM$400): A non-oily facial lifting serum that helps improve skin tone and boost firmness so that your skin looks gorgeous even sans makeup.

Sloane Inc’s 24K gold (RM$316): A glow inducing skin primer. You can literally see the gold flakes when you pump this liquid gel on the palm of your hands! It helps enhance skin’s elasticity, firmness & smoothness. By improving circulation & decreasing skin inflammation pure gold helps to rejuvenate the skin from inside out, boosting skin’s natural radiance & luminescence.

Personally I only use the Miracle Lift at night before I go to bed (after putting on toner, followed by a moisturizer) and the 24K Gold Skin Primer to prep my skin before I put on my foundation and make-up during the day.

Truly satisfied customers after receiving our treatments of course, we have Dr. Teh and Dr. Low to thank for a wonderful job!

The Sloane Clinic
79 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar
Tel: (603) 2288 1788

Open on Monday to Saturday from  10am - 8pm. Closed on Sundays & Public holidays.

To see a list of other treatments provided at The Sloane Clinic, check out http://www.sloaneclinic.com/

(hat tip: Andy Kho for the photos)

Finally managed to get my hair done when I was back in Singapore last weekend! Bryan (standing on my right) is an old friend of mine, we met sometime back in 2006 when he used to work for Toni & Guy. He's tried a lot of funky hairstyles on me - back when I was really 'adventurous' with my hair. He's bleached it, dyed it blond, then red, and even given me a mo-hawk before. Yup, those were my crazy days.

I wished I had those photos to share with u (actually, no, not really...) but it's buried somewhere in an external hard drive I left at my parents' house in Singapore. Anyway, Bryan didn't do my hair this time (phew! Just kiddin', Bryan.) but he left me in the good hands of Ginna, my stylist for the day...

Ginna did a fantastic job with my hair, so it looks like I'll be coming back to her on my next appointment!

Essensuals Bugis opened last year in May 2010. Bryan specifically hand-picked his team of stylists, mostly from Toni & Guy, who are confident, creative and passionate about hairstyling to ensure that Essensuals Bugis will provide a unique hairdressing and urban lifestyle experience for all their clients.

The concept of the salon is raw, edgy and much like a modern penthouse or apartment. If you're accompanied by a friend or your boyfriend, don't need to worry about keeping them entertained because the salon itself has a 'living room' that comes with a flat screen TV, decked with a Playstation 3!

Or, they could simply lounge around on the comfortable sofa and read the countless magazines provided on the coffee table. I was just glad they had a wireless connection...

I picked a natural, dark color for my hair so it's easier to maintain... It's the usual routine - 1. Pick hair color > 2. Apply hair color and wait > 3. Rinse > 4. The final step, blow-dry.

Check out the before and after!

^ Meanwhile, as you can see, the rest of the stylists are busy with other clients, including Bryan.

^ I'm not the first blogger to have been there. Look at this wall of fame of all the other Singaporean bloggers who have had their hair done at Essensuals Bugis!

^ My stylist, Ginna, and I after her wonderful job with my hair. Thanks Ginna!

Current Promos:
$50 (U.P. $95) - includes a haircut + blow-dry + treatment
$109 (U.P. $225) - includes a haircut + colour + treatment
$199 (U.P. $320) - includes a haircut + perm + free product OR treatment
$209 (U.P. $355) - includes a haircut + rebonding + treatment

If you're poppin' by and need a quickfix, get the Macadamia Oil Treatment + blow-dry (including free consultation with the professional stylists) for only $30.

Spend $80 and above and stand a chance to win a Grand Makeover Prize each worth $1000!
The Grand Makeover Prize (x5) includes:
Cut + color + treatment by Essensuals Bugis
Clothes by Velvet Vase
Manicure by shirleynails.com
Hair products by Sebastian Professional
Photoshoot by professional photographer, Ivan Foo

Also stand a chance to win a Mini-Makeover Prize worth $550 (10 lucky winners only) or a Pamper Yourself Prize worth $150 (20 lucky winners only) - just spend $80 and above and your luck increases!

This promotion has been extended and will end on May 31st 2011.

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Essensuals Bugis is located at 241A Victoria Street, Bugis Village (right above Burger King) (Singapore). Call 6333 0039 to make your appointment now, if you want to wake up to sexy, healthy hair!

I 'Like' Essensuals Bugis.

Hourglass Cosmetics is a make-up brand based in California that's specially formulated to contain anti-aging properties using only ingredients from the Earth's minerals and leaving out harmful elements such as parabens, phthalates and sulfates. You can find it at any Sephora store or Barneys New York.

The reason why I wanted to try out this brand is for its mineral primer. I've been wanting to try mineral make-up in a while so this makes the first (although, I wouldn't say mineral make-up is really their forte, compared to other brands that really focus on it). I'm also looking to see if there's a better face primer other than Laura Mercier's...

So here are the samples they sent me. I like their packaging - very clean-cut and solid, doesn't seem like it would break easily, which is excellent and definitely shows good quality. You'd be surprised by the weight of the lipstick alone! ...very solid.

The 'Veil' Mineral Primer (SGD76) contains SPF15 which is a plus (better protect the face from the sun's harmful rays to prevent wrinkles!) and is made from Earth-derived minerals such as Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide.

The texture of the primer is smooth and velvety. It helped to minimize the pores, fill in wrinkles and gave my face a luminous glow with a slightly lighter appearance. The difference between this mineral primer and Laura Mercier's face primer is that it definitely made my skin more 'radiant'.

Both primers leave a matte, silicone finish, and protects your skin from the make-up for a more longer lasting coverage.

They sent me a sample of their 'Veil' Fluid Make-Up Liquid foundation but I'm only sampling their 'Illusion' Tinted Moisturizer because it's probably something I'd use more frequently as it's less 'heavy'. I try not to use liquid foundation on a daily basis so to let the skin breathe. Like the mineral primer, the 'Illusion' Tinted Moisturizer also contains SPF15, but what makes it special is that it contains INSTALIFT®, which is a natural plant-based glycopeptide which lifts and tightens the skin within an hour of application.

The texture of the tinted moisturizer isn't as 'liquidy' as I expected it to be (unlike most tinted moisturizers I've tried), instead, it was slightly thick, even more than my favorite Revlon ColorStay foundation (which I use almost everyday) but yet still not as thick as Shiseido's Lifting Foundation (See other comparisons here).

I much prefer liquid foundations that aren't too thick so my make-up doesn't feel or look heavy. Although, I must say, as a Tinted Moisturizer, it provides enough coverage on the skin, leaving a natural, radiant finish when used with the 'Veil' Mineral Primer, so you can skip the liquid foundation when using this one yet still get good coverage. Here I'm using the 'Sand' shade which was closest to my skin color.

I love the compact case for the 'Illume' Creme-to-Powder Bronzer Duo (SGD58) for it's flexible, 360° swivel rotating mirror. This 3-in-1 bronzer, highligher and blush gives you a streak-free, lasting finish when applied correctly. I'm not a huge fan of a cream-based blusher as I find powder so much easier to apply with a brush, however, I do like this one because it gives you a more natural look that's long-lasting so there's no need for touch-ups every few hours. That's the beauty of cream-based make-up (same for eyeshadow).

I applied the darker, bronze shade under my cheekbones as shown in the example below to create a slimmer face, followed by a touch of the pink blusher on my cheekbones to give a natural, rosy look.

I always use a lipliner to define my lips and to make the lipstick last longer. It's definitely an essential in my handbag and my colors of preference are nudes and light pink.

The 'Trace' Lip Liner (SGD41) is retractable so you save the effort of sharpening a lip pencil, and it comes with a brush applicator on the other end for convenience. You can also buy the cartridge refills which is sold separately should you need to replace it - which is what I like about it - eco-friendlyness!

Here, I'm using 'Bare'. I noticed that it says 'Made in Korea' on the applicator (while the rest of the products I sampled were 'Made in USA') - which should mean it's good because I've heard many good things about Korean cosmetics, but I found the lip liner to be slightly difficult to apply and didn't go on smoothly because it was too dry, so it's probably a good idea to dab a bit of lip balm before applying the liner.

Unfortunately, the 'Femme Rouge' Velvet Creme Lipstick they sent me melted probably due to the weather conditions during shipping and handling so luckily, I had the brush applicator from the lip liner! Here I'm using 'Grace', which is a very light, natural shade for the lips and matches the lip liner very well.

Top it off with some mascara and loose powder and you're set! You can achieve this natural look, perfect for everyday in under 10 minutes.

♡

Super long-lasting. Up to 16 hours! I wore this out on NYE and even after all the sweating my face/make-up didn't look blotchy.

I've tried out different foundations from Bobbi Brown, Chanel and Shiseido and this one from Revlon proves to be the best out of the 4.

(I ran out of the Bobbi Brown foundation a while back so I didn't include it in this comparison.)

CHANEL's Vitalumière foundation is a little more 'liquidy' compared to Revlon's ColorStay. It's also slightly too dark for me. I've even tried this other foundation from Chanel which made me look 'dusty' and ashy. Well, Chanel's foundation just doesn't suit me.

Shiseido's Lifting Foundation is great for coverage but not ideal for everyday wear because it's a little too thick and creamy. However, I use it over the ColorStay foundation (applied only on the t-zone and the area just above my cheekbones) to highlight and for maximum coverage during night time.

I like that the Revlon's ColorStay foundation stays long-lasting (how many times have I mentioned this?) and makes my skin feel breathable. Perfect for everyday use and so affordable. I can't express how happy I am to have found THE ONE foundation

If you're looking for a good and cheap liquid foundation, try this one out and tell me that I'm not the only one fanatical about it!

(This article is not intended for any advertising, sale or marketing purposes of the brand(s) mentioned.)

The first couple of times I went in, my Skin Type was only set to III but I must've gotten darker because it was set to IV thereafter! The other settings were kept consistent, although Glaiza upped the intensity level to 6 during the last session to make sure all the fine little hairs are zapped too! Hair becomes finer after each session, and I'm not only satisfied with the results, I'm happy with the customer service. I've also just signed up for 6 sessions of underarm IPL. Each session doesn't take more than 40 minutes and as mentioned in my first post, there's also a shower facility there should you feel like you need to 'freshen up'.

Leave your questions and comments on this post if you have anything to ask about Brazilian or underarm IPL. I'd be happy to share my experiences

Yes, my prescription power is -5.50... I am almost blind without my glasses or contacts 0_0 The contacts came in a glass vial with a free plastic contact lens case and they even threw in 2 packets of BB cream testers for me (I've never tried BB Cram before but have heard so many good things about it)!

This is how I look like without any contacts...

The vial that the lenses came in can be a little tricky to open so make sure you follow the instructions! I cleaned the lenses with my own contact lens solution and let it soak in the case before putting it on. You may skip this step but I personally prefer to clean my contacts with solution before using them. The color of the lenses I picked remind me of tiger stripes!

The colored lenses almost match my hair color and make me look like I have really natural, exotic eyes.

Do you like my lashes? (Read: Forget Faux Lashes, Make Your Lashes Longer Naturally...)

You may check out the other different types and colors of circle lens here. The best part about the lenses is that the lifetime is one year (after opening with proper care and cleaning) which is so much cheaper than buying monthly disposables. I can't wait to try out the Super Size Lens next!

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