Discuss: How do you tell a friend that she is using the wrong foundation?

"Oh, honey, your new foundation looks great. You don't look orange at all!"

We have all been there before.

It can happen anywhere. In your bedroom, a public dressing room, the office, a club, your car... But the situation is always the same: A friend prances up to you excitedly asking, "So? How do I look today?"

As she twirls and flicks her blow-dried hair, all you can think of, "Good grief, her face is ORANGE."

The next thought is, "How do I tell her?!"

You have to tell her of course. She is a good friend after all. Who else will put up with your drunk-dialing at 3 am, laugh at your dirty stories and cry with you on a bad day? You HAVE to. Its your God-given duty to do so. Its practically an Act of Charity.

Unless you are planning to head out and figure that Lil' Miss Orange Face here will make you look more attractive to the boys.

What would you do?

Beauty To-do Lists: Do you have one?

Apparently its a Virgo thing: Whenever I can't sleep, I pull out a notebook and start making lists. Things to do, books to read, recipes to try, lists of lemmings... You get the idea. Call me obsessive-compulsive but I find list-making quite soothing whenever I feel overwhelmed by work and other things.

Whether I actually get around to ticking all the things off the list is another story all together.

I finally managed to tick everything off my to-do list yesterday. I was on sick leave so I finally had the time to wash my brushes (neglected them for over a month, eww) and neaten my eyebrows (went veerrrry slooowly as I was worried the fever might impair my judgement). Shaving last week made me realise that I have to replace my razor as blunt shaving tackle is just asking for trouble and I managed to give my unwanted cosmetics away to a delighted cousin.

Ahh... It felt like placing a puppy with a good home.

What about you? Do you have to-do beauty lists or are you so organised, you don't need one at all?

Coping with the Mid-year Heat.

When I was a kid, I once attended a dinner where a foreign guest asked if Malaysia had four seasons like Europe. Everyone at the table were shaking their heads and about to say, “No” when one of the local Obs-gyn doctors beat them to the punch.

“Yes, we do. We have hot and hotter, and wet and wetter.”

I hate the Hotter part of the year. For the most part, I am a sunshine loving girl. If I were a cat, I would be one of those who do nothing but bask in sunshine all day. I dislike cold, air-conditioned rooms and start shivering whenever the temperature drops below 24C. But for three months out of twelve, I find myself reaching for the air-conditioner remote.

Another reason why I hate the heat is because I start getting acne all over my body. My face, my back, along my hairline... My colleagues and I were bemoaning the fact that none of us will ever be able to wear backless dresses again. My back looks like something the plague hit and I keep discovering monstrous zits on my face.

Here’s a list of things I am doing/using to survive through the next few months.

Yay or Nay: Too Many Products are Bad for Your Skin

I came across this article in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday and wondered what you readers think of it.

The article, titled "The Ugly Side of Beauty Writer", writes that 20 Ozzie beauty editors had their skin examined by a German skincare trainer and found that all of them had "bad skin".

"[Sue] Dann says beauty editors' complexions are, almost to a fault, reddish, sensitised, irritated and 'confused'. 'Their skin has had enough'.... Dann believes the problem is caused by the use of strong, inappropriate products."

Of course, there's a bit in the article promoting the skincare brand Dann works for but what I am more interested in is the suggestion that too many products and too much switching around ruins one's skin. A sort of skin version of the "Too many cooks spoil the broth" saying.

I know my mother would definitely agree as she had a massive breakout after switching to a new skincare brand. She's always lecturing me for trying new brands but if the current one doesn't work...

I am rambling so let's get back to the point: Lots of product, so little time. Do you agree that using too many products is bad for your skin?

The Office Pretty: What's On Your Office Desk

Next to handbag and bathroom voyeurism is... seeing what other girls keep on their office desks.

Some keep the standard handcreams and lipbalm, others have an entire arsenal of makeup.
 
I know a girl who keeps a set of false eyelashes and eyelash glue at her desk. A colleague of mine doesn't bother keeping makeup in the office but she lugs a large vanity case around with her Every Single Morning.

I have no idea how she does it. That thing is as heavy as a laptop.

Here's a snapshot of what's on my office desk: Daiso blotters, SteamCream, Sunplay sunscreen, eyedrops, lotsa lipbalms and tints, and a small compact mirror.

What do you girls keep in the office?

New Year Resolutions for 2011

We do this every year, ladies, so spill. What are your New Year Resolutions for 2011 and have you managed to keep them so far?

I kept mine to three:

1) Stay fit i.e. keep my heart rate up. Was actually doing a pretty decent job through 2010 until work piled up. I slacked off and paid for it during a work trip where we had to hike through the Crocker Range for 4 days. I collapsed on the 3rd day and had to helicoptered out as the nearest road was a 2 hour walk from the village we stayed in.

2) Be more tidy.

3) Actually finish off all my skincare products before buying something new. By which, I mean, finish the 3 sunscreens, 3 moisturisers, 4 foundations etc. before buying a new bottle of sunscreen/ moisturiser/ foundation. Of course, my itchy fingers and fertile mind starts arguing that buying something like toner is fine since I don't usually use toner. Grraarr.

What are your New Year Resolutions?

Do You have a Signature Fragrance?

"Some of us are born with It."

"The first reaction  of most people when the subject of smell comes up is to mention its 'evocative' power, and to illustrate it with an anecdote about Granny's perfume."
   -- Luca Turin, "The Secret of Scent"

Growing up, my sister and I always knew when my aunt was going out; her departure was invariably marked by whiffs of her perfume wafting up to our bedroom.

I can never see a bottle of Clinique "Happy" without thinking of my aunt.

The original Estee Lauder "Pleasures" invokes memories of high school morning assemblies as I tick off my best friend for wearing too much perfume. 

"One spray is enough. You don't need five."

Shopping Pet Peeves: What Cosmetics do You Hate Shopping For?

It's a public holiday in Malaysia today so make a cup of tea and let's have a chit chat session on...

What cosmetics do you hate shopping for?

I hate shopping for concealers. Not because it's tiring looking for that perfect match but because it takes me a good 5 minutes to drill it into the MA's head that I am NOT looking for an undereye concealer - I am looking for a normal concealer to cover spots and blemishes.

Whenever I find a concealer I sort of like and wish to try out, I usually turn to find an MA hovering at my shoulder with a smug and pitying look of, "You poor child, you are so innocent, you don't even know what you are looking for". They usually sweetly advise me that the shade/ formula I am holding is inappropriate for concealing undereye circles with an offer to initiate me into the Mysteries of Concealer.

Don't condescend to me, damnit. I may not be wearing any makeup -- I usually go barefaced whenever I am looking for a foundation or concealer -- so I may look like a cosmetic innocent but I know exactly what I am looking for.

When I finally get my message through to them, the realisation is usually followed by a horrified look on the MA's face as they blurt out, "You... don't want to cover your dark circles?" as they brandish a tube of XYZ undereye concealer in one hand and a paintbrush in the other.

Lord grant me patience! Of course I want to conceal my panda eyes/the bane of my life but I already have a perfectly decent undereye concealer and am in the market for something to cover my spots and scars.

Of course, I might be overreacting a bit as my panda eyes are a sore spot with me. But, I do like MAs who pause to ask what exactly am I looking for instead of leaping to conclusions.

Agree or Disagree: Women look better on Mondays

It isn't Monday for most of you but it feels like Monday for me! The past 2 days were public holidays in Sabah so today marks the start of my working week.

According to a study by Debenhams, women spend more time on their appearance on Monday and less as the week goes by.

"On average, women spend 76 minutes getting ready on Mondays -- with almost a third of that spent on their hair -- 18 minutes on make-up, 16 minutes trying on different combinations of clothes and the rest taken up by showering and washing.

This is reduced to 40 minutes on Tuesdays and continues to decline as the week goes on, falling to 19 minutes on Fridays."

I admit guilty to being one of those Monday girls. Although I don't spend 76 minutes on my appearance, I take about 45 minutes to get ready on Mondays and cut it down to about 30 minutes for the rest of the week. Maybe it's because I have started showering in cold water from Tuesday onwards to wake up.

I tend to put on less makeup too. Eyeshadow and eyeliner only puts in an appearance on Mondays and Tuesdays. I stick with the bare minimum for the rest of the week: Concealer, foundation, blush, lippie and mascara.

Do your standards drop as well through the week? Click on comments and share!

Needed! An Eye Makeup Remover

This sore-eyed kitten image was taken from The Foster Babies' Blog

Help me out here, ladies. I need some recommendations for a good and inexpensive eye makeup remover.

I have been mostly using Neutrogena's oil-free eye makeup remover (its the blue bottle on the bottom left here) for the past two years. Now that I am back in Malaysia, I have got to look for an equally effective and inexpensive alternative.

This is where you ladies come in.

But before you start giving me suggestions, let me tell you what I have tried over the years and which have miserably failed.

1. Maybelline Eye & Lip Makeup Remover
Most of you would know this one. It was the first makeup remover I ever used and would have continued with it until it started giving me milia a few years ago. I was quite upset when that happened as I was pretty pleased with it (wipes off waterproof mascara in 30 seconds) up til then. (If you don't know how it looks like, check it out on Plue's blog here)

2. Simple Conditioning Eye Makeup Remover
Let's just say that this is on my "Never again, not even if there was only one bottle on the shelf and a sheep" list of things to buy. Mascara simply would not budge from my eyelashes with this stuff and it stung my eyeballs so badly, I wanted to pop them out of my eye sockets and rinse them in saline water for relief.

3. Any Eye Makeup Remover from Nivea
I like Nivea products in general but their eye makeup removers belong to the same category as Simple's. Absolute rubbish at removing makeup and by golly, do they sting the eye. OUCHIE. I was rolling around on my bathroom floor for a while.

4. Olive oil and other vegetable oils
Don't mind the oiliness but they all cause milia.

5. Baby oil
Works a treat but I am worried about milia (see 1 and 4).

6. L'Oreal Gentle Eye & Lip Makeup Remover
Another popular drugstore makeup remover. I bought this last week only to find out that it breaks me out in rashes. Arrrrgh. 4 days later and I am still waiting for some tiny bumps on my eyelid to subside. Boy, do I look cock eyed at the moment.

7. Vaseline
When All Else Fails, there is always Vaseline. I usually use this as a backup but I would prefer something which doesn't cloud up my vision so much.

So, ladies, I need an eye makeup remover that is inexpensive (I am soon-to-be-earning a civil servant's salary), non-oily, dermatologist-approved and hopefully animal-friendly.

Whadayya say?

What Scent is Your Man?

Just about two weeks ago, Eli asked us ladies what our men thought of our primping habits. And now I'll ask you about your man's.

Have you ever taken note of what scents he likes to wear? Is your man a Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss sort of guy? Or the Dunhill, Burberry type? Or perhaps the good 'ol Brut Cologne sort?

It's often said that scents are extremely personal, and sometimes a reflection of one's character. So today, let's have you name your man's preferred scent, and share with us a little of his characteristics, shall we?

(Speaking of which, I've heard from a very reliable source that our Malaysian Prime Minister is an Acqua di Parma guy. Interesting.)

In my case, the hubs goes for the good 'ol Brut Cologne. My dad wears Brut too, so I've sort of always associated Brut as a scent for the slightly more traditional man.

Interestingly, I just read that it's indeed marketed in the United States as "representing traditional masculine strength of character".

The hubs says:
I was introduced to this cologne by my dad. I first wore it in my teens, and I liked the manliness of the scent. I'm not a brand-conscious guy. If I find something I like, I stick with it.

Does sound rather traditional, no? LOL. And you can see he really does love his cologne. There's only a wee little bit left of it in his cologne bottle.

So what does your man wear? And what kind of guy is he?

C'mon ladies, I wanna know!

Primp & Prattle: What do your Boys think of Makeup?

Lordy, I am still recovering from the Christmas festivities and New Year's Eve is right around the corner. Has anyone made any New Year resolutions for 2010 yet?

Two girl friends and I were at the Bobbi Brown counter on Boxing Day when one of them asked, "Eli, what does Mr A. think of your makeup habits?"

I grinned. "Not much."

My boy can only be described as a Spartan in his habits. He has only one bottle of body wash on his bathroom shelf which serves as facial cleanser and shampoo, has no styling products and only shaves every couple of days without any shaving cream or what not. His stock response is "It works. Why bother?"

So while he thinks that I am lovely and rational person in every way, my makeup habits make him think that I am a vain bimbo. Whenever I murmur about a lovely blush, I get shot down with, "I think you look better without blush." (But to be fair though, he'll try to find me a better deal online afterwards)

My friend laughed when I told her that and agreed. Her boyfriend refers to her makeup as "colouring pencils".

We have resorted to using the bare minimum and go for the bare fresh-faced look instead. Which gets a response of, "You look great. So much better without those layers of colour."

*cough* Thanks, honey. I am an au naturale chick.

My father teases me madly whenever I get dolled up. My guy pals swing between not caring or feeling pleased that I make an effort to look nice whenever we meet up.

Instead of a review this week, I decided to give you girls a topic to chew on. What do your boys (husbands, boyfriends or guy pals) think of your beauty junkie ways? I know that Jenn's husband got her a fridge for her cosmetics (if my boy ever does that, I'll have to check him into the psych ward) and Syen mentioned getting a lovely Christmas pressie from her husband but not all of us have such supportive men.

So spill your guts! Everything stays here at So Loverly. ;)