WEDDING TALK : OF FACES AND COMPLEXION

|PUBLISHED 11 Aug 2014
|TALKED ABOUT Sun Protection, Facial, Detox, Collagen

I know, I know. Most bride-to-be(s) will be talking about pre-wedding photoshoot, bridal studios, banquet venues etc etc but cause our matrimony date is still generally far and we haven't really gotten in the actual planning other than having our pre-wedding photoshoot package signed last year, I don't think there will be much of a journey-kinda post till we really have gotten down to doing it. So today's post, as the title suggests, is about preparing my skin for our upcoming pre-wedding photoshoot in Feb 2015.

Wedding pictures are forever, but there is only so much that photoshop can do when it comes to our skin. I mean let us be realistic, I can't change the way my face looks like, that is why having a skin care plan is so important. Think of it as bridal bootcamp for our face and body. Friends who are close to me will know that I am a maniac when it comes to anti-aging, whitening, and the list goes on and on. Of course, I wouldn't say that I have the most well maintained skin, but then again, why not share my little secret with all of you right ?

We all know the importance of wearing sunscreen, but which SPF is best ? A walk through the sunscreen aisle reveals dozens of options, with varying SPFs. The highest SPF protection is 100, but does that make it the best ? It is just one of the many questions that we consumers have when it comes to the dizzying array of sunscreens.

SPF, or sun protection factor, measures the product’s ability to block the sun’s UVB rays. Those rays can turn our skin into a fiery-red hide. SPFs does not take into account UVA rays, which can damage skin and lead to certain kinds of cancer. In Singapore, where it is sunny all year long, we all know that our sun is very damaging and extremely dangerous, but with our busy lifestyles, do we really have the time to apply sunscreen over our make-up at work or the beach every 2-3 hours ?

People assume the higher the SPF, the better the protection. Sunscreen with SPF 50 offers twice the protection of SPF 25, right ? Wrong. Sunscreen with SPF 15 blocks 94 percent of the sun’s UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97 percent, SPF 50 blocks 98 percent and SPF 100 blocks 99 percent.

Yes, SPF 100 offers the highest protection, but it is not significantly more than its double-digit competitors. Plus, many doctors fear consumers who buy products with SPF 100 will apply it less, making it less effective than other options. No matter what the SPF, you should apply sunscreen every two hours. Yes, sounds like a crazy thing to do but that is the cold hard truth.

And my conclusion is, EVERYONE SHOULD BE USING SUNSCREEN.

Rather than focusing on the SPF, look for a broad spectrum sunscreen. These will protect against both UVA and UVB rays, offering full protection. Whether it is a day at the pool, an afternoon walk in the park, or even just sitting in the office, do make sure that you are armed with ample sun protection so that you can enjoy many other sunny days ahead.

Kick start a good skincare regimen, which probably can include monthly peels or facials. If you have acne issues , do consult a dermatologist to figure out the best treatment plan. Else, most bride-to-be(s) can just make do with the monthly pampering probably 6 months before your big day so that your skin can have ample time to absorb all the amazing nutrients that your therapist has to offer.

On a side note, I was recently approached by ClearSK Medi-Aesthetics for a collaboration and they will be taking care of my skin, ensuring that my skin will be at its best condition for my pre-wed shoot. I can never be more than thankful for this opportunity cause I have been looking for an aesthetic sponsor for the longest time and the chance just came by 6 months before my pre-wed shoot, THANK YOU CLEARSK !!

Now that we have done whatever we could on the outside, we have to work from the inside. Beauty often comes from within. Whatever we eat, reflects on our skin. So first things first, eat clean, if not, detox or cleanse.

Detoxification refers primarily to the body's natural and constant process of getting rid of waste and harmful toxins. These include both internal toxins - the by-products of everyday bodily functions such as respiration and digestion, and external toxins - pollutants, pesticides, and heavy metals that are found in our air, water, and food.

The goal of detoxification is to clean up our body at a cellular level and support its natural daily functions so you have more energy and feel better. An effective detoxification program, apart from giving you that glow from within, it may also help address a wide variety of health issues such as poor digestion, allergies, weight gain, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

People often say a woman's skin stops producing collagen after they are 25. The body will then start losing collagen at a rate of 1.5% per annum, leaving us with a wrinkly and dull complexion. Having said that, I am 26 this year and I will be 28 on my wedding day. It is extremely frightening to know that age catches up in such a fast and harsh manner. Especially when you have the world's most baby-faced boyfriend who still looks like he's 21 at the age of 26.

So my solution is, Suntory Milcolla Collagen Powder. Taking adequate collagen with your regular meals can be difficult but with one spoon of Suntory's Milcolla Collagen powder, you can easily receive 5000mg a day. I take them everyday with my usual morning drink. Be it milo, coffee, tea, anything ! Just note not to add in the collagen when your drink is boiling hot. Let your drink cool off for awhile before adding it in as heat kills collagen.

On a side note, I am replenishing my stocks for Milcolla so if you guys are interested, drop me an email with the quantity and I'll order for you guys as well. Each packet is SGD 46 exclusive of postage and there will be free registered postage if you purchase 3 packets and above. Interested parties, please email me at toxikk_@hotmail.com

Till then, xoxo

HONG KONG DIARY II #6

|PUBLISHED 10 Aug 2014
|TRAVELED TO Ruins of St Paul, Fortaleza do Monte, Galaxy Hotel, Venetian Hotel

HONG KONG DIARY II #5

|PUBLISHED 10 Aug 2014
|TRAVELED TO Central, Causeway Bay

HONG KONG DIARY II #4

|PUBLISHED 10 Aug 2014
|TRAVELED TO HongKong DisneyLand
I think generally travel entries are pretty self-explanatory. I will just let the pictures do the talking ! But then again, if you guys have any questions that you want to ask, feel free to drop your questions in the comment box below !

HONG KONG DIARY II #3

|PUBLISHED 09 Aug 2014
|TRAVELED TO Ngong Ping 360

HONG KONG DIARY II #2

|PUBLISHED 07 Aug 2014
|TRAVELED TO Wong Tai Sin, CityGate

First thing in the morning, breakfast at our hotel ! Breakfast at Rainbow Hotel was fairly okay. They had quite a few mains choices for us to choose from. The only complaint is that maybe the buffet line is too small ? They only have like rice, porridge and noodles for us to choose from. Its like mini mini buffet.

HONG KONG DIARY II #1

|PUBLISHED 27 July 2014
|TRAVELED TO Mongkok, Avenue of Stars

Finally got down to uploading the photos to start on my HongKong trip entries ! This is the second time JS and i travelled to HongKong so it's kind of more chillax this time round, mostly just eating and shopping, and completing the scenic attractions which we weren't able to visit previously.

#DARETOBEGORGEOUS

|PUBLISHED 07 July 2014
|SPONSORED ADVERTORIAL by SkinnyMint

Today I’ll be talking about this detox program that I have just completed. If you've been following me on my social media, you would know that I have recently partnered up with SkinnyMint, to help support and guide those who want to kickstart a healthy regime !

A B O U T S K I N N Y M I N T

The SkinnyMint Teatox program is a program consisting of two special tea mixes blended by experts to achieve the best natural cleansing, energy boosting and detoxifying effects. Using only 100% natural and organic ingredients, SkinnyMint combines these ingredients for their maximum effect - this effect is known as food synergy. Not only do the different ingredients complement each other, they also are more potent together than they would be individually.

SkinnyMint truly believes that great and effective products don’t have to taste bad. Which is why they made sure to also include ingredients that are delicious and make the products as well rounded and tasty as they are.

I was lucky to be sponsored their 28 Day Teatox Program - consisting of 28 bags of Morning Boost blend to drink every morning and 14 bags of Night Cleanse blend to drink every other night. You will actually be surprised by how tasty these teas are.

Morning Boost is made by 8 super ingredients to boost your metabolism and prepare your body and soul for the day. Green Tea, Yerba Mate, Nettle Leaves, Dandelion, Guarana Fruit, Grapefruit Leaves, Strawberry and Pineapple. With these 8 super ingredients, the Morning Boost promises to increase energy level, reduce appetite and burns fat. Also, looking at the ingredients, can you imagine how fruity and refreshing the Morning Boost is ?

The Morning Boost, say the name suggests, kept my metabolism going on high even though I was not that active in the day and this alone is a plus point which helped alot in burning my calories throughout the day. Frankly speaking, I was skeptical about SkinnyMint initially. But after I completed the entire program, I could see that my tummy is slightly flatter and problems like water retention and bloatedness which I used to have, are now all gone.

Night Cleanse, likewise to the Morning Boost, also contains 8 super ingredients that helps to relax your body and maximize the cleansing while sleeping. Ginger Root, Orange Leaves, Lemongrass, Senna Leaves, Peppermint, Licorice Root, Hawthorn Berries and Psyllium Husk. And this composition is supposed to help detoxify, reduce bloating, boost immunity and improves our digestion.

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If you were to ask me, which one among the two do I prefer ? I would have to cast my vote to the Night Cleanse. Night Cleanse comes with a very citrus-y taste which I totally love and is addicted to. For those of you who have tried various laxative teas and realised it gives you the runs the entire day, I am telling you now that No, SkinnyMint will not cause you to have any diarrhea at all. SkinnyMint tea is extremely gentle on the stomach and I like the fact that I get to have get my system cleared without going through any pains. I also noticed that throughout the 28 days, I do not suffer as much water retention and stomach bloatedness as I used to.

So what are you waiting for ?

Start teatoxing with me today because it’s the best we can do for our body !

Till then, xoxo

KLARITY, REVEALING THE TRUE YOU

|PUBLISHED 30th June 2014
|SPONSORED ADVERTORIAL by Klarity

Looking to lighten your skintone instantaneously ? Why not check out Lasertox™ CC Miracle White Lotion by Klarity ?

First things first, what is Lasertox™ ? It is a functional treatment methodology that brings you targeted treatment to improve on specific concerns, by adopting the laser technology which reinforces efficient penetration of the natural beauty essences into skin's dermis layer. It is researched by dermatologists in Korea with formula from France and Switzerland.

So what does the CC Miracle White Lotion do ?

With all the goodness you see above, the Lasertox™ CC Miracle White Lotion helps to restore your beauty with at least one tone lighter instantaneously. The lotion is also enriched with diamond powder, giving you an instant after application glow. Also not forgetting another important ingredient, wild rosehip extract, a great source of antioxidant, giving you prolong skin youthfulness.

Start your whitening journey with Klarity Lasertox CC Miracle White Lotion SPF30 PA++ ! The SPF may not be as high as I would like it to be but its is a good "additional protection" for me as something to apply as and when in the office as it is light weight, and most importantly, non-greasy and non-colorant. Let your skin breathe while prepping your skin to get all well protected against the blazing nasty sun and achieve natural Korean fairness look !

Till then, xoxo

BRUNCH AT ANTHESIS BOULANGERIE, BISTRO & CAFE

|PUBLISHED 21st June 2014

Weekends are especially awesome when you start the day off with a great meal and a fabulous company. Think. You worked for at least 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday, and finally comes the weekend where you can just sit back, chill and relax with the people close to your heart. How awesome is that ? Today I finally met my UOL girls to celebrate the June babies birthdays. I can never be more than thankful to have met all of them. Suk Mun, Jiamin, Ade and Jieting. We stood by each other during our three years of university life, and now that we have graduated for say, three years ? We are still make time for each other on all our birthdays no matter how busy our lives may get.

Anthesis is located along Robertson Quay and boy we had such a hard time locating the cafe ! We meet at Boat Quay station and took a cab down. But apparently both mine and Jieting's cab driver has no freaking clue where 86 Robertson Quay is. So the cab driver dropped us at M Hotel and we walk rounds and rounds, back and forth, before we finally found Anthesis. We remembered we need to cross a bridge to get to MerryMen or Toby's, which is near Anthesis. But us girls being girls, we crossed the wrong bridge !! So we went from quite-near to really-far from our destination. I almost killed myself cause I passed by the bridge so many times yet I didn't notice we could have just crossed the damn bridge.

But that aside, Anthesis a tiny little cafe, but I like it for its rustic and industrial feel. Anthesis serves an extremely modest menu, but all in all, food was really good and that totally made up for the entire bad location hunting process ! My initial plan was to try their muesli, but after all the walk, I knew I had to have something even more hearty.

My Breakfast, My Way


(Scrambled eggs, Sourdough bread, Smoked salmon, Sauteed mushrooms and grilled tomato with rocket salad)


(Sunny side ups, Sourdough bread, Sausage, Sauteed mushrooms and grilled tomato with rocket salad)

Eggs Duet


(Smoked salmon, Scrambled eggs, Mushroom frittata, Chipolata and Bacon)

And finally our traffic light Smoothies


L-R : Mixed Berries, Avocado, Mango and Chocolate

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ANTHESIS
86 Robertson Quay
#01-01 Robertson Blue
Singapore 238245

Tue: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm
Wed - Sat: 8:30 am - 10:00 pm
Sun: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm

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In general, I thought that the food was commendable, and definitely will pay a return visit in future ! I had many recommendations from friends to order the muesli so that will definitely be on my to-order list at Anthesis when I visit it again ! Now that I know my way there, I think it shouldn't be a problem already heh.

The sandals are so freaking pretty that I am gonna go get a pair myself too

Till then, xoxo

DISCOVERING THE ULTIMATE TRANSFORMATION

|PUBLISHED 01st June 2014

Sorry guys I have been missing for so long. Weekdays are usually spent slogging away at the office while on weekends I just want to laze at home rather than turn on the laptop and blog. So pardon the mini MIA. You may like to check out my daily little happenings via my Instagram though.

I finally had the time to head down to iKon Salon to tame my tresses :D I always look forward to my salon visits because I know my hair will be well taken care of and I'll get treated like a queen and leave the salon feeling like a million dollars :DDD

I was battling with really bad spilt ends cause I haven't been conditioning my hair for almost 4 months so I was really excite when Mel contacted me to try out the new Kerasilk Keratin Treatment.

This Kerasilk Keratin Treatment by GoldWell is the first customizable long lasting 2 component keratin treatment with 100% perfect results. It helps to make unruly and frizzy hair manageable and can last for as long as 5 months !

The process involves selecting different Keratin Shape and Keratin Smooth according to my desired shaping and smoothing results. But of course, I left this extremely important decision to the ever-so-professional Mel. After having shampooed my hair with the Kerasilk Purifying Shampoo, my hair is sectioned off and the balm is then applied and allowed to sit for 15 minutes. My hair is then blown dry and flat-ironed. After a final wash with the Keratin Care Shampoo, the Kerasilk Sealing Serum is applied to seal the KeraShape technology.

And the end result ?

You might think it will be those stiff and artificial rebonded hair but NO, its like natural soft hair !!

I went in with some beggar looking hair... And walked out looking like a QUEEN !!
(No, not because the perm was bad but cause I didn't condition it at all for a good four months)

I am totally sold because my hair feels super duper soft and luxe after that !!

I am absolutely lost for words as to how much I love this treatment. Everyone who knows me long enough will know how much woes I faced with my hair my entire life. I have the craziest natural curls and I had such a headache maintaining them that I decided to perm them once and for all. If you can't get rid of it, you live with it. But now that I am introduced to this amazing treatment, I can finally have soft and straight hair again !!

Thank you iKon Salon and Mel for the pretty new hair !

Remember to call to book your appointment in advance !

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IKON HAIR SALON
1 Coleman Street #02-14
The Adelphi Singapore 179803
Tel : +65 9684 2128

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Till then, xoxo