Beauty

Introducing Korres – And My Favorite Picks So Far!

Last Wednesday, before I went the cinema to see The Best Movie Ever Made (seriously – I wanna see it AGAIN!) I popped in Korres at ION for a quick look-see.

I’ve always thought great things about Korres (it came to Singapore a couple of years ago) with the one product I had by them, a cherry lipgloss my BFF sent to me one day. I also thought that the fact that it was a natural brand from Athens, Greece and its cool earthy packaging made it so… exotic? I had always wanted to go to Greece; and what can I say? I’m a fool to great, beautiful packaging.

At the store, I had a tour and tried out all sorts of things, and finally chose 5 products which I thought were interesting, so introducing… my top 5 Korres picks (so far, at least)!

1. Body Butter in Guava (buy here): Probably the best body butter I’ve ever used, and trust me I’ve used a lot! It’s super thick and applies thickly, yet sinks into your skin really fast… about a minute in, I couldn’t feel anything on my skin (except softness!). It was pretty amazing. Also, it doesn’t have that overly “fake” synthetic fragrance like most body butters (The Body Shop I’m looking at you), and that’s because of its natural ingredients. The scent is light and pleasant; not in-your-face (in your nose?) and calming.

2. White Tea Bergamot Freesia Perfume: Talk about the perfect crisp, daytime scent. Not overwhelming at all, sinks into skin and smells… natural and less chemical-ly, which I like. It’s just smells pure! I hope they make more fragrances soon; like… vanilla of course. ;)

3. Mandarin Lip Butter Stick SPF 15 in Peach: What can I say? It does what it says it does and it’s wonderful. It’s now always in my handbag and I love that it has SPF too – y’all know how hot it is in Singapore!

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May 18, 2012 | Posted by Renee | Beauty, Product Party | 2 comments


Revenge Is Sweet When Your Hair Looks This Good

You all know what God says about revenge, right? (Romans 12:19.) Well, Emily Thorn seriously needs to go back to Sunday School, because in the new series Revenge, girl goes ALL out. But boy does she make it look so good! It’s my absolute favorite TV show right now, and guys, you gotta watch it.

Revenge TV Show

Set in the Hamptons, the series is full of beautiful, perfect looking people, beautiful scenery, perfect weather, and money: lots of it. But before you think it’s a happy TV show, it is also full of lies, deceit, betrayal… and oh, yeah, revenge. Some pretty hard revenge. I can’t get enough!

The lead actress, Emily Van Camp, plays Emily Thorn (or is that her real name? Ha!), and I for one have been so immersed in her character. I also want to know who does her styling because the dresses she wears, you guys will faint. They are beyond stunning. But the one thing I notice is her hair: beautiful and simple. Her shoulder length blonde hair always is perfectly curled, and I think it’s so classy.

Revenge TV Show

Three words: HAIR CRUSH ALERT. I thought I liked Jennifer Aniston’s hair, but move over, Rachel! Emily’s is perfection. I adore shoulder length hair (since that impromptu cut years ago I’ve never gone back to long hair!) and sigh… her waves are exactly what I wanted with my digital perm that went horribly wrong. Someday I will get perfect curls! But until then, I – and you – can fake it with tips and product recommendations from Carl Bailey, celebrity hairstylist and the mane man behind Emily’s gorgeous curls.

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May 16, 2012 | Posted by Renee | Beauty, How to & Tips | 22 comments


Beauty Essentials: Mom Edition!

Seriously, you mamas are the best. I hope you have been treating your moms extra special today (although they deserve it everyday)!

My mother is my rock, I can’t imagine life without her. Since I got too sappy last year on the blog, she’ll get the sappiness in private this year… so for today, I thought it would be fun for her to talk about beauty on my blog.

My mom has always been low maintenance, beauty-wise. She said when she was my age, she did the whole 80′s thing: bad perm, blue eyeshadow and false eyelashes. After her twenties, she was all over that and actually doesn’t wear makeup now except for lipstick, and on special occasions, foundation.

So, these are her reviews of some of her favorite beauty products that I asked her while she was cooking. (She didn’t want to guest-blog, she’s apparently “too old for all this technology stuff” LOL.) So, here are her reviews, in my point of view. If that makes sense.

Sally Hansen Nail polish (buy it here): I remember growing up, my mom would always have beautiful red Sally Hansen nail polish. I would always ask her to paint my nails, and she would only put one “dot” of nail polish on my nails, saying I was too young but I can get a little. So I’d be walking around with little dots on my nails, haha. If there’s one beauty thing my mom loves, it’s nail polish. I always see her painting her nails! She’s always used Sally Hansen for as long as I can remember, and that is what brought me to use them too. She says it just works and is affordable, which is why I love them as well.

MAC lipstick (buy it here): This is actually mine. I bought it for myself and she kept oohing and aahing over the color (a coral red with a bit of gold) that I gave it to her! Now she’s a MAC convert. She loves pink colors, and once in a while will use reds and corals.

Clarins Skin Illusion Natural Radiance foundation (buy it here): My mom doesn’t wear foundation a lot, only on “important events” like dinners and/or celebrations. However, growing up she used Chanel foundation (she said one bottle can easily last her 7 years…!) So I don’t think she uses it a lot at all. But her recent favorite is Clarins – she LOVES this stuff. It’s light on her skin, doesn’t feel like you have anything on, and looks very matte. Every time she uses it, she will come to my room and go, “Oh Renee this foundation is soo good! Feel my skin, feel my skin!”

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May 13, 2012 | Posted by Renee | Beauty, Product Party | 8 comments


Makeup Tips for Hot Summer Weather

hot summer makeup

Ah ha! Finally a topic I know something about. ;) Just kidding – but if there is one thing I know, it’s how to keep your makeup on in a hot, humid, sticky, environment – just come and visit Singapore!

I’ve been asked about makeup maintenance in the hot weather – especially for summer several times, so here goes: keep it light. As light as possible.

Why? Because unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do, makeup can’t perform miracles. If you’re really concerned about your makeup melting and looking (and feeling) gross, and are going to the beach or somewhere extra-hot, I’d recommend to just wear sunscreen and keep oil-blotting sheets in your pocket. When there’s nothing on your face, there’s no need to worry, right?!

However, if you insist on wearing makeup, here’s what I’d do…

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May 12, 2012 | Posted by Renee | Beauty, How to & Tips | 9 comments


Makeup for ALL Skintones, Finally

My best friend Di, who is Sri Lankan, always would ask me when she’s in town if I know of any brands that actually make makeup – base makeup specifically – that would suit her darker skin tone. She would tell me that Singapore has NOTHING for girls like her, and at first, I didn’t believe it.

So I took her shopping one day… and was appalled. The color choices here are pretty pathetic, which I don’t understand, because those who do business in Singapore – do they not do market research? Helloo.

Anyway, long story short: I was at Escentials for my scent profiling, and looked around and spotted Becca, which just landed on our shores this month and lo and behold: COLORS! An actual range of colors!

So to my bestie Di and for anyone else who has that problem: try Becca. They seem to have a pretty awesome range in all sorts of colors; be it stick foundation, concealer or pressed powder. So glad the store brought in the full range of colors, and not selected color and shades (which I think most do).

Do you have a problem finding makeup shades to suit your skintone? Where do you normally shop?


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May 10, 2012 | Posted by Renee | Beauty | 19 comments