Beijing 101 Hair Consultants

Exfoliate Your Lips Naturally for Soft, Smooth Lips

November 26, 2009

Do you remember those days as a kid, skipping down to local candy shop, spending your money (all $2 of it) on candy, and then feverishly spreading them all over your lips and making a big mess? …No? Was it just me then? :-P I remember as I kid I’d always buy those ‘magic dust’ candy or take anything with food coloring and spread it all over my lips as if it were lipstick.

Well, those days of spreading sugar all over my lips may make actual sense today – I’ve read that a natural, gentle way to exfoliate lips is to make your very own sugar scrub.

All you have to do is mix some olive oil and some sugar together, pat it on your finger, and gently rub it against your lips. Exfoliating your lips once a week (or more, depending on your lips) gets rid of extra dead skin cells, flakes and reveals soft, smooth lips. It’s also great to exfoliate your lips before applying lipstick, as any flakes or extra bits will show through more with lipstick.

Do you exfoliate your lips? What methods do you use? I know there are many other methods than a sugar scrub as well, but this seems the most gentle, not to mention quick and easy – you can find these ingredients in your kitchen! :)

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Beijing 101 Hair Consultants

How to: Kristen Stewart Eye Makeup

November 24, 2009

how to get Kristen Stewart eye makeup

Hands up those who is in love with Kristen Stewart’s eye makeup? (Those with your hands down: you’re weird.) The girl has permanently sexy, smokey eyes; and I for one can admit I’m jealous. Very jealous. Who does her makeup?!

Kristen has beautiful olive green eyes and one thing’s for sure; she has a damn good makeup artist! From all her recent premieres she’s been attending (or shall we say headlining!) she seems to stick to the same eye makeup: gray smokey eyes mixed with brown on top to bring out her beautiful green color.

I think the epitome of her eye makeup look was showcased on her recent November issue of Allure, which in a word is stunning. It shows Kristen as we know her – her messy hair, nude lips and intense eyes. Also, you can see that the makeup applied is how she wears makeup to premieres, so it does seem to be her ‘signature look’!

What’s great about this look too, is that the colors are ‘neutral’ so it can suit any eye color, not just green eyes. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Gorgeous! To get her eye makeup look, you need these products:

  • metallic gray eyeshadow
  • matte light taupe/brown eyeshadow (a slight shimmer eyeshadow will do too)
  • highlighting eyeshadow (any color that is shimmery peach/white/champagne will do)
  • black shimmer eyeshadow
  • matte black pencil eyeliner
  • mascara/false individual lashes

So here’s what to do. The chart above shows you exactly where you are applying your product so you don’t get confused.

  1. Apply your metallic gray eyeshadow all over your lid. After applying it to your lid, take a smaller eyeshadow brush (or a Q-tip) and lightly draw your lower lash line with the eyeshadow. Take your finger and slightly smudge it all – in the chart above, you should have color as shown in the ‘green’ areas.
  2. Take your light brown eyeshadow and apply it on top of your gray eyeshadow, (‘pink’ area in the chart above) at the crease of your eye. Blend downwards into your gray shadow so they look blended in together.
  3. Take your highlighting eyeshadow and apply it to the inner tear drops to your eye, like in the ‘blue’ above. Blend in.
  4. Next, take your black eyeshadow and a very thin eyeliner brush, and apply black shadow to your top and bottom lash lines. On your top lash line, blend a little more shadow into the outer corners of your eye, like shown in ‘yellow’ in the chart above.
  5. Take your eyeliner and line your top and bottom lashes, on top of what you just did with the black shadow. You may also line your waterline if you want to!
  6. Finish off with tons of mascara. Kristen also uses individual false eyelashes on the outer corners from time to time, so have fun with those too!

Video Tutorial

I found this awesome video bu JuicyStar07 that explains it really well, and it seems like the colors she chose is really close to what Kristen has on – a really good tutorial indeed!

Et voila! Sexy eyes ala Kristen Stewart. Now go find yourself some strange but ridiculously good looking vampire boyfriend! What do you think of her eye makeup? You can probably tell I’m a big fan, no? :D

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How to Say ‘No’ Without Feeling Guilty

November 17, 2009

Saying no is personally one of the hardest things I’ve had to learn to do. I know it sounds so stupid, but I can never say no because I always feel guilty for letting people down.

However, as I’m sure anyone would know, saying yes all the time and not creating certain boundaries with people is very hard. You feel guilty, let them down, are overworked – no one’s happy. You also end up feeling overwhelmed and in time, resenful. You turn into a people pleaser (not good) and before you know it, you’re doing everything for everyone else and not for yourself (does that make sense?!) I know some people may laugh; after all, saying the word ‘no’ only requires opening your mouth and uttering a syllable; however, this is a great problem for some.

Saying no is important for many reasons. First of all, you need to create boundaries with people. Saying yes all the time could make your peers lose respect from you and take you for granted. Just because you say no once in a while to your friend doesn’t mean the friendship is over, right? Sometimes you just don’t feel like doing what the other person suggests!

I remember having someone calling me up at obscene hours every night when she was going through a breakup. I would still pick up because I wanted to be there for her, but I could’ve just said no to phone calls after midnight. Instead I would wake up the next day feeling resentful towards her, and not to mention – freakin’ tired!

Whether it’s saying no to a close friend, a complete stranger or your boss, here are some ways to say ‘no’ nicely – after all, I think the only reason why saying no is so hard is because you want to be ‘nice’ and you don’t want to feel guilty. But it’s seriously time to set some boundaries before you go crazy. From a former people pleaser, here are my tips – safe to say I think I’ve finally learnt how to say no, minus the guilt.

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The Best Type of Bangs for Your Face Shape

November 16, 2009

Bangs, without a doubt, have come back with quite the vengeance these two years! Regardless if it’s ‘in fashion’ or not, bangs are a great way to change your look without getting too drastic.

The trick with bangs though, is that they are such a statement piece, it’s vital to get the right kind – and it all depends on your face shape, says famed hairstylist Antonio Prieto. Stylist from his salon, Antonio Prieto has very kindly gave us all tips on choosing the best bang for your face shape.

  • Oblong. With long and narrow faces, the object is to always make the face look wider. This means creating more width and volume at the side of the face. A longer, side-swept bang is perfect for your face shape. Be careful about the length of the bang though, because that also makes a difference. In fact, the length of this type of bang is the most important factor, says the stylist. Make sure your bangs fall on or near your cheekbone.
  • Triangle. Bangs are a great idea for this face shape, as this face shape consists of a narrow forehead and a wider jawline. Bangs create width on the forehead to balance out this face shape. Try any type of bang you want!
  • Round. Unfortunately those with round faces will not suit bangs – it’s best to avoid them, as they just draw more attention to the fullness of the face. When round face shapes get bangs, the eye will see less face and will be cut off to show a shorter, fuller, rounder face.
  • Diamond. This face shape is basically a more angular oval face shape. A short, side swept bang works well on this face shape to soften up the angular areas. The length for the bang doesn’t matter; though don’t keep it too long!
  • Heart. Heart face shapes consists of a narrow chin and a wide forehead. Because bangs create width in the forehead area, it is quite tough as this face shape already has width. As long as the bang is cut narrow and doesn’t past the outside the eye (meaning it’s kept to the center of the forehead), bangs can look beautiful with this face shape.
  • Oval. And as always – oval face shapes are considered the ‘ideal’ face shape, so lucky you, you suit anything!

Set on having bangs? Whether it’s pixie, blunt, side-swept or choppy, take a picture to your hairstylist when asking for bangs – describing them won’t suffice, visuals are everything with stylists. And don’t ever try cutting your own bangs. I speak from experience when I say they always end up horrible and the growing out period is long and painful. (If you do get bangs and they go wrong, check out my post, How to Grow out Your Bangs.)

What do you think of the stylists’ tips? Do you have bangs? What type do you have, and do you feel it suits your face shape? I’d love to hear all your stories. Personally I have tried many times but I find bangs just don’t suit me. :(

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How to: Get Motivation and Start Exercising

November 12, 2009

Ah, exercise, my least favorite thing to do in the world, after eating vegetables. I’m gotta get a lot of laughs from my family and friends on this topic – seeing as I am LAZY. What really disgusts me is that I used to play sports and run track – in middleschool for gym class we would run around the school four times, and it was no problem for me! Ah, to be young again….

Regardless, I have been trying to clean up my act by getting more vegetables and fruits in my system, and now by moving my butt. Since I’m an ‘expert’ in all things lazy, I feel I have enough knowledge to write about this topic – because if I can get off my butt and start exercising, so can you!

1. Set a realistic goal. It would be very nice claiming you will swim the Atlantic ocean this year, however, setting ridiculous and large goals can leave you even more unmotivated! Not only that – imagine how bummed and burnt out you’ll feel when you can’t accomplish it! Try to set smaller, short term goals for now. For example, I have made it a point to take a nice 30 minute walk around my neighborhood every night. It’s a very small start, but, it’s doable! (Not to mention it’s a great stress-buster.)

2. Grab a companion. I really missed the days when my best friend lived across the road, because we used to be so active together: swim, the gym, walking our dogs, everything. Now that she’s moved half way across the world (sob) it seems reeeeeally boring doing all those things alone. So my advice is to do it with a friend! Take a class up together or enjoy some long walks or a nice swim together. Other companions could be your music, a podcast, your dog, etc.

And while we’re on the topic of a companion – upbeat music is a great one. I remember slaving away in the gym one day completely bored out of my mind – the TV wasn’t on and there was no music. Only glum faces all around me … how miserable! If you’re at a gym, don’t be afraid to turn on their TV or their stereo. And if you’re doing your own thing, bring your iPod.

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Meeting Anna Sui

November 10, 2009

Last night, I decided that maybe I should actually get my final essays done (didn’t happen). I wanted to look for some of my old books, which I found at the bottom of a large Ikea box, under my bed. (Is it bad that school books from only 2 months ago have already migrated there?!)

However, I found something way cooler – this signed Anna Sui poster!

I couldn’t believe it; I had completely forgotten that I had met the super cool designer (who also has a makeup line, although admittedly, I’ve never tried any of her products).

I quickly went to my ancient PC and found this grainy, horrible photo! (Someone please remind me never to slick my hair that far back again, I mean, can you say ‘Egghead’ fast enough?! Haha.) I also can’t believe I look so different now, this was only 3 or so years ago!

From what I can remember, my friend Min and I were catching up and doing a bit of shopping, when we walked past a mall which had a sign saying something like ‘meet Anna Sui at 4pm’. We thought, “Yes, please.” And off we went.

I’m still not sure what she was in Singapore for, but she seemed to be promoting her 2006 makeup collection – but fly all the way to Singapore for that? Can’t be. Although, looking back, I think she was here for Singapore Fashion Week, but I can’t remember. There weren’t too many people there, so we were lucky to just walk in and waited our turn to meet her. I do remember that she was very quiet and sweet, and poor thing, she seemed really tired – must be tough being a high-fashion designer! I also remember Min thought that the guy hanging around her (is she married?) was pretty hot. Haha! Random.

Ah, the memories. :) So unexpected! Has anyone met any designer/makeup giants? (I’d LOVE to meet Bobbi Brown one day, too!) Also, are Anna Sui products good? My friend swears by her mascaras but I’ve never been tempted to buy anything there yet. (It will probably change after today, though!)

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Your delicate eye area: handle with care

November 6, 2009

The eye is the window to our soul, or so the saying goes. So why not take care of it? This week’s beauty tip is not so much an actual tip, but a reminder: when handling makeup and beauty products, don’t forget to be gentle, especially in the delicate eye area. Constant tugging, pulling and rubbing can lead to sagging and lines. Who wants that when you can avoid it?

  • Apply eye cream with your ring finger – the least pressure – and pat it on, instead of rubbing it in.
  • When removing your makeup (more info on that in my post, How do I remove my makeup properly?), be gentle. Press the soaked cotton ball of makeup remover on your lids first, to ‘loosen’ up the makeup. This will allow your makeup to be removed easier, so you don’t have to rub your eye area too hard.
  • When applying eyeliner, be careful not too tug your eyelids too much and be gentle when applying your eyeliner. You can make it easier by warming the pencil lead with your fingers first, to allow smoother application.

So remember, handle with care around your eye area!

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