My Skincare Routine

A lot of times people asked me what is it that I do differently now that makes my skin condition improves a lot better than before. What is it that I do now that I did not do then?

Let me share with you my daily skincare regime:

Step 1: Cleanse
I cleanse my face with non-drying cleansers. I have a combination skin, with oily T-zone. But that doesn't mean I need soapy cleanser (I actually change my cleanser according to my skin condition at the moment). The last thing I want to do is drying my skin by using soap. That will only make my skin produce more oil as it cannot produce water to counteract the dryness.

I either use my middle and ring fingers, or rotating cleansing brush to massage and cleanse my face at the same time (all the while avoiding my eye areas). I then take a wet, soft wash cloth to wipe the cleanser off my face before rinsing it with water. I just use room temperature tap water to wash my face.

My favorites:

1. Skinvigorate™ Cleansing Brush

2. Timewise 3-in-1 Cleanser

3. Botanical Effects Cleanse (Formula 2)

Step 2: Mask
After I cleanse, I will mask my face. However I don't do this everyday. I probably do this twice a week. There are two types of mask that I use, a hydrating mask, and an exfoliating mask. Hydrating mask will give extra hydration that my skin needs. For hydrating mask, I normally put it on before bed and wash it off the next morning.  The second type of mask that I use is exfoliating mask. This is one of the most important things you need to do for your skin. This mask will absorb extra oil that my skin excrete and at the same time slough off the dead skin cells. This is the step that will help your skin achieve its optimum brightness and gives you that glow. It also allows the makeup to sit on the skin properly without all the nasty dead skin cells to make the foundation looks cakey or patchy.

So every week I shall mask my face every three days or so.  First with exfoliating mask, followed by hydrating mask three days later.  I also use a mask specifically for my lips when I use the face mask. The lips is often neglected as part of skincare routine. They also have dead skin cells accumulating if you don't exfoliate. I always use soft wash cloth to wipe the mask off my face and lips.

My favorites:

1. TimeWise® Moisture Renewing Gel Mask

2. Botanical Effects Mask (Formula 2)

3. Satin Lips Lip Mask

Step 3: Freshen
I choose alcohol-free freshener and softener to freshen my skin everyday. This step will make sure the skin is completely cleansed from the step before and prepares it for better absorption in the next step.  I used facial cotton pad to freshen my face from the neck upwards.

My favorites:

1. TimeWise® Moisture Renewing Softener

2. Botanical Effects Freshen (Formula 2)

Step 4: Supplements
This step came later after I started really caring for my skin. When I was still learning to familiarize with my skincare routine, I didn't have any supplements at all. Only about four months after I started, that I introduced the supplements into my routine. I just didn't want my skin to be overwhelmed by all the products, that's all.

The supplements that I use on my skin is in the form of serum. I have a day serum with SPF 35, a night serum and a whitening serum (whitening serum that I'm using is non-peeling and non-abrasive, it only allows my skin to be the brightest that my skin can). So I'll use the serums (day/ night serum and whitening serum) before my moisturizer.

My favorites:

1. TimeWise® Day Solution Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF35

2. TimeWise® Night Solution

3. melaCEP plus+ Ultimate Serum

Step 5: Moisturize
After my serums, I'll put a little moisturizer all over my face. I dot it on my cheeks, forehead, nose, chin and neck, and spread them using the tips of my middle and ring fingers.

I also use the eye cream for my eye areas. Nobody like crows feet before its time, right? I spread the eye cream using my ring finger from the outside corner, going down towards inside corners, and upwards towards outside corners again. Once it spreads evenly, I use a light tapping motion around my eye contour areas using my ring fingers.

For my lips, I use the lip balm so that it won't feel lonely and dry and left out from the whole routine. I always reach out for the lip balm whenever my lips feel dry, so it's always with me.

My favorites:

1. TimeWise® Age-Fighting Moisturizer

2. TimeWise® Age-Fighting Eye Cream
3. Satin Lips Lip Balm

(Note: For all of the above steps, I avoid my eyes and lips, unless I use products that are specific for my eyes and lips, or water on the wash cloth. Also, I don't forget my neck.)

Step 5: Protect
Depending on my mood, I either use only CC cream with SPF 15 for this step or I'll do full on makeup. There are times when I do makeup almost every day in a week.  For this step, I will not regret my eye areas ;)

My favorites:

1. CC Cream Broad Spectrum SPF15
2. TimeWise® Matte-Wear Liquid Foundation

So there you go, this is what I do now - twice a day - well, on most days :P.  However I skip the last step for evening routine. It seems a lot, but once you get into the rhythm, it's not that hard. It may sound like a lot of things, but then, I'm thinking, it's the only one skin that I have.

If you must know what skincare routine that I had before, I only cleanse and moisturize my face. That's it. I hardly put any protection as I didn't like having foundation on my face and all the BB creams that were available didn't have my shade. Funny how I live in a country that has people from different backgrounds and ethnic groups, and yet, most drugstore makeup brands only have foundations and BB creams that only cater for those with light skin color.

Well, if you have any question regarding my skincare routine, or how you can get them do leave a comment down below or you can reach me via Whatsapp or email. Till next post, see ya!

New Youtube Video Uploaded!

I remembered I took a video when I was playing makeup with my friend, Adeline. Finally I had the time to edit and upload it. Enjoy, people! xoxo

My Secrets to Flawless Looking Foundation

I used to wonder - when looking at magazine covers or editorial photos - how does the skin look so smooth and gorgeous without looking like there's a lot of foundation being put on? Trust me it's a lot going on the face. Especially when it's for printing or video. 

I love trying out makeup on my face just so that I can experiment on different looks and colours. You can see them all on my Instagram account. I have been experimenting with skin for a long time now and only for the past few of years I got it almost right. Why almost? Well I believe there are an abundance of tips and tricks out there and what I have discovered may not include all of them. 

It starts with the skin

Who doesn't want flawless looking skin? But how many really are willing to invest in taking care of their skin? If you want your foundation to look 'like skin' or 'flawless-looking', you have to look at the foundation of your foundation. Your skin. If the skin is already taken care of and is in a good condition, it doesn't take a lot of makeup to make it beautiful. Makeup will only enhance it. How to take care your skin? That topic deserves a post of its own. 

Well moisturised skin

When your skin is well moisturised, the foundation will blend nicely on your skin. In a way it clings on and it will stay longer as well. That's why it is important to understand your skin type so that you can use proper moisturiser for your skin prior to putting on makeup. Even if your skin is oily, moisturiser is a must. Look for oil free or gel type moisturiser. For dry skin, you can use the more creamier type. 

Is foundation primer necessary

Yes and no. Nowadays a wide range of primer has been developed for many reasons - to smooth the skin, to give sun protection, to correct colour, to give radiance - just to name a few. In that case you will have to look at the needs of your skin. The use of primer also helps the makeup to stay on longer. Some primers have multiple purposes so you get more mileage with the use of a single primer. 

That being said, sometimes I skip primer when I am using my CC cream for daily use. Or when I only need the makeup for only a couple of hours, like when going out for dinner function. 

Choose the right colour of foundation

It is crucial to match the foundation to your skin. Not lighter, not darker. The effect of foundation is to make your skin to look even toned, not to make your skin fairer than it is. With the contouring hype going on right now, I would recommend to get the shade of foundation that matches the highlight tone of your skin. What's the highlight tone you ask? Our face is normally not one colour all over. Some parts are lighter and some are darker than the others. So you can look at your forehead or the top of your cheeks for the lightest colour of your skin.  If you want to contour, choose a shade or two darker, and blend well to make sure the effect is soft and subtle. That way your face will look neither too made up nor too flat. 

Setting the foundation

When you're using cream or liquid foundation, depending on the formulation, you will need to set it to stop it from moving. Yes it can move. Some liquid foundation however can set on its own after a while. So choose the right setting powder for your foundation. If you're looking for a lot of additional coverage, you can use two-way cake. Otherwise, sheer pressed powder or loose powder will give a slight add-on coverage. I personally prefer to let my foundation set on its own for dewy finish. If I want a matte look, then I will use the translucent loose powder, which will not alter the foundation colour at all. My favourite foundation at the moment is Mary Kay matte-wear liquid foundation which has the coverage and finish that I love. It will set on its own without using any powder. 

So I hope this sharing of mine is helpful for you. Happy experimenting and playing with makeup! 

Tips: Eyebrow Shape

Eyebrows that are well-groomed and -shaped will frame your face nicely. If you are shaping it the first time, consider having it done by a professional makeup artist. Tell your makeup artist what kind of eyebrows you would like to have. Bring a picture as reference. He/ She will be able to advise whether or not the shape you want is suitable or achievable for your face. You can easily maintain the shape after. All you need is a good tweezer. However, if you choose not to do anything with your eyebrows, the least you can do is to use eyebrow gel to tame it in place :)