Green Project – 31 ways to wear a button shawl

Go green by reduce in purchasing, reuse fashion, and recycle trend! Be chic, innovative, and creative when it comes to fashion! Be a smart consumer, buy clothing that is good quality, allows you to mix and match and also enables you to style differently every time :)

Ever since I came across button shawl, it gave me a lot of inspiration especially on how we could reuse back old shawl to create many different ways to wear them!

By just using an old shawl, four buttons, and a couple of brooches – I could create 31 different ways to wear them for a month!

Here’s how to create your own button shawl:

Get an old shawl (any design will do – with frills or without) or cloth that has a width of 145cm and length of 55cm (you can opt for something wider/longer depending on your body size). And if your shawl/cloth is too long or wide simply cut it off and sew back the seams with a sewing machine.

Next, sew in the buttons as shown on picture. Space at least 6.5cm between the buttons. To make button holes, fold it to half and use a chalk to mark where the button holes should be (as shown on pic). Then, use a scissors to cut the button holes.

And you’re ready to wear them :)

Beauty Sleep

Do you know that just having 7-8 hours of sleep is not enough if you don’t have good quality sleep? Quality sleep can help you feel fresh and energized in the morning even if you’ve only slept for a few hours.

If you’re a light sleeper (wake up easily even by the slightest noise), have migraine, feel tired even after sleep, and/or insomnia like me, it means we’re not getting good quality sleep!

So what’s the solution to our problem?

Here’s how:

1.) Set the right mood

Don’t turn your bedroom into an office or a playroom! You won’t be able to sleep if you have something else to do. Always plan in advance if you have work to do so that you wouldn’t have worries or distraction when you sleep. Never play video games or stuffs that will set your adrenaline pumping before sleep instead try reading a book, put on a face masks or listen to soothing music to relax yourself if you can’t sleep. Buy a good pillow or anything that helps to make your bed looks comfortable enough to sleep in. Try dimming the lights if you can’t sleep as bright lights will send a message to your brain that it is daytime whereby you should be awake.

2.) Watch your diet

Stimulants such as caffeine in coffee, tea, and colas helps to keep you energized and awake for the day but consuming it after 3pm may keep you awake the whole night. Don’t smoke too, nicotine is a type of stimulant. Instead, consume more natural food in your daily diet such as beans, vegetable, whole grains and fruits and not sugary snack before bedtime. Drink warm milk few hours before sleep may help to aid better sleep too. Avoid drinking alcohol to make yourself sleep. This may work but it will leave you feeling cranky in the morning as you’re not getting quality sleep. The reason for this is because the effects will wear off in a few hours while your body will wake you up in the middle of the night to dispose the unwanted alcohol from your body.

3.) Exercise

Exercise at day helps to promote better quality sleep at night. Try out yoga, swimming, jogging, hiking etc. At night, try deep breathing exercise to relax your body. Here’s how – fold your legs while you sit up straight, now focus on your breathing. Gently breathe in while you expand your diaphragm. Hold your breathing for a few seconds and gently breathe out while you shrink your diaphragm. At the same time, keep your mind worry free and imagine your breathing sound as the sound of sea waves. Do as many times as you can till you feel totally calm and relax. You can practice this by day too.     

4.) Consume natural sleep well pills

Too busy to exercise during weekdays? You can still try out other alternatives such as natural sleep well pills to improve sleep quality. I recommend Rilax zzz. It contains natural ingredients – milk protein hydrolysate (Lactium) and L-Theanine, an amino acid from green tea. 

I’ve tried Rilax zzz for two weeks. I took 1 capsule every night, 1 hour before sleep. You can take 2 capsules if you have serious trouble in sleeping. In fact, some people may take some time to start regulating their sleep quality after consuming the all natural pills. For me, it took me nearly a week to have my beauty sleep. It’s not a magic pill that makes you fall asleep fasts but it does helps to promote sleep quality through its natural ingredients. I wake up feeling refreshed and no grogginess every day. I now have deep beauty sleep till morning! It helps to calm me down when I sleep too. But you’ll still need to discipline yourself to sleep early the first few days and if you can’t sleep try the above solution I’ve mentioned. Although it is said not to have any side effects, I recommend not taking it with other medication.

You can purchase Rilax zzz from all leading major pharmacies in Malaysia.  

Home Remedies for Tired Eyes

Been partying all night? Working/studying late again? Staying up to watch your favourite Korean soap drama while you sob over how sad it is?

And the next thing you know you couldn’t even recognize yourself in front of the mirror?

What had happen to my eyes?!

Well, it’s never too late to realize it now :)

I’m here to teach you 3 simple tricks to make eye masks that soothe tired eyes! And you don’t even need to spend a fortune on it! (*Please note that results takes time and loads of efforts. Not forgetting getting enough rest too.)

Trick 1. Cold Milk Eye Mask

All you need is some cold milk and 2 cotton pads.

Soak the cotton pads into cold milk and place it over your eyes. Now lie down and relax for 15-20 mins :) Once done, simply rinse it off with water.

If you think milk is too runny, you can add 1 tbsp of baking soda to 15ml of milk. Whisk it till smooth and rich and chill it in the refrigerator for half an hour. Then soak in the cotton pads and use it as eye masks.

Milk will help to moisturize your eyes area to prevent wrinkles while the cold temperature in milk will help to reduce puffiness in your eyes.

I recommend doing it twice a week.

Trick 2. Tea Bags Eye Mask

Don’t throw away brew tea bags!

Remove the tea bag from your tea before you drink and fridge it overnight. Once chilled, place it over your eyes. It has soothing effects to your eyes. Remove it after 30 mins and rinse your eyes with water.

Another option is to dip the used tea bag to slightly warm water (make sure is not too hot) and place it over your eyes. Remove it after 15 mins and rinse off with water. The warm temperature will help to promote blood circulation around the area of your eyes. This will help reduce dark circles.

Tea contains caffeine that helps to reduce eyes puffiness. I recommend doing it twice a week.

Trick 3. Tomato Slush Eye Mask

This is my all time favourite trick! First, chill the tomato and if you’re using medium size tomato, simply cut it half and blend the half into slush.

Next, take a piece of cotton pad and peel off a thin piece of cotton. Spoon the tomato slush onto the cotton pad and cover it back with a thin piece of cotton. Do the same for the other cotton.

Now lie down and place it over your eyes and relax. Place it for 30mins. I prefer not to rinse off its essence as it is not sticky– just gently massage off any excess juice. I recommend doing it 3 times a week.

Tomato contains anti-oxidants that prevent wrinkles and has vitamin C to help brighten the eye area. Chilled tomato slush also helps to reduce puffiness :)

Green Project: Coming Soon

Ever wonder what you can do with an old shawl, four buttons and a couple of brooches?

Its 31 ways to wear a shawl - green project challenge! You now can style your old shawl differently for a month!

Want to know how to do it? It's coming soon :) 

Romantic Waves

Want to know how to create soft romantic waves effect?

I’m going to show you 2 types of waves to create the whole look – outer waves and inner waves using a 3 inch circular curling iron.

First, you’ll need to know what are outer waves and inner waves.

Outer waves are waves that curl away from your face and inner waves are waves that curl towards your face.

To start off, you’ll need to apply heat protector onto your hair (I use Redken’s). Around 2 pumps will do. Next apply hair mousse while you heat the curling iron.

Always separate your hair first before you begin to curl your hair.

In this case, you’ll need to separate it into 2 sections – top and bottom. 

For the top part, I’m going to create outer waves for an airy effect. And for the bottom part, I’m going to create inner waves for a slim face effect.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure the curler is angle on the correct direction. If you’re doing it yourself – always clamp your hair through front by placing the curler in front of you (whether is for the left side or right side of your hair). This is to avoid burning yourself. Also, the curl will be in different direction if you clamp your hair from behind. 

To curl outer curl, take a small amount of hair, angle curler to horizontal and place the clamp on top of the hair. *Make sure that the clamp is on top and not below.

Next, drag it down to the hair end and slowly roll it underneath while angle the curler to near vertical. Hold it for few seconds. Release it and you’ll have a nice outer curl. 

To create inner curl, take a small amount of hair, angle curler to horizontal and place the clamp underneath your hair this time.

Then, drag it down to the hair end and slowly roll it on top of your hair instead of underneath while angle the curler to near vertical. Hold it for few seconds and release it to get an inner curl. 

Now that you know how to create the types of curls – do inner curls for the bottom part of the hair and outer curls for the top part of the hair.

Once done, loosen up the curls by going through with your fingers to make it wavy.

Spray on some hair spray and you’ve got your romantic waves! :)

Vertu’s Luxury Phones

What do you do if you’re filthy rich and has at least RM30,000 to spare? Get a Vertu gadget!

My favourite Vertu’s models are their constellation smartphones.

Here are some of their models:

Till now, there have been quite a few constellation models, in fact the British luxury phone maker, Vertu has recently came out with a new series of phone models – the Vertu Constellation Candy Collection which is designed to target the high society chic and feminine women.

Available in 3 shades – tangerine candy, raspberry candy and mint green candy. Its craftsmanship features with 0.34 carats of natural bling gemstones, encase with alligator skin, a multi-touch 3.5-inch HD high contrast AMOLED sapphire crystal display screen, an 8-megapixel camera, a unique high fidelity 11mm X 15mm loudspeaker and a stainless steel with polished finish.

Each of this Constellation Candy Smartphones has been crafted exclusively by single Vertu craftsman using only the most state of the art technology and manufacturing techniques.

To view more on Vertu’s constellation phone models and others visit one of their outlet in Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur.

Fall 2012 Trend

Have you got the right stuffs for this fall? Well, let’s check what the fashion runway has in-store for us :)

This fall is all about looking chic and tough yet sophisticated.

If you’re looking for work attire, pencil skirt is a must.

The key to this look is to search for pencil skirt’s length that is around the knee.

If you’re not a fan of skirts, tuxedo pants are also a good option for this fall.

The pants must be tailored around the ankle. Not too long or too short.

For those who like to have a little bit of fun – shop for black leather.

You don’t need everything to be leather. It can be black leather boots, bag, skirt, etc.

If you’re looking for maxi dress this fall – search for those with thigh high slits.

One of my favourite fall maxi dress would be from Elie Saab.

Vintage flower pattern will also be this fall must haves. If you’re not sure what kind of flower pattern, think vintage flower wallpapers.

Last but not least in my list would be the long coat which falls just after the knees. This may not be suitable for our Malaysia weather but you can always shop for something lighter and less thick :)

Finally, no matter what the trend is this fall – always search for something that suits you best :)

Embrace it or simply fake it

If you’re wondering exactly what am I referring to – is beauty mark that is :)

Beauty marks have been on the faces of many famous bombshells and celebrities around the world and now it has been invaded in runways too!

For many centuries, face beauty marks a.k.a. moles has been made popular by Marilyn Monroe and now even Karl Lagerfeld has come out with its Chanel faux beauty marks sticker on its model faces (too bad it’s not for sale).

Beauty mark is a fashion trend now and should you are blessed with beauty mark on your face, lucky you! If you don’t - fake it like Alexis Mabille’s models (using black Swarovski crystal) or tattoo it like Dita Von Teese.

As for me, I use faux crystal stickers (those you use to bejewel your mobile phones and stuffs). You can find all kind of shapes, colour and sizes! You get tons in a pack too :)

I have one in stars, deep blue and also the usual black crystal.

What’s my other option? Simply use liquid eyeliner!

Now, who says you need to be born with it?

Magic Wand!

If you’re a mascara girl, I’m sure you’re bound to have seen all sorts of mascara wand.

But do you know how to use them to get the most out of it?

I’m here to show you three different sorts of mascara wand and how to use them!

First is the common “U” wand where you can find in most mascara bottles. It is bended like a “U” shape.

To have volume and long lashes, first use the bend upwards part (as shown on below picture) for volume.

Next, use the bend downwards part (as shown on below picture) to lengthen the lashes and make it less clumpy.

The reason for this is because most of the mascara will go to the upwards part of the wand when dips into the mascara bottle hence, using this part will give thicker volume for your lashes. The bend downwards part will help to clean off the clumpy part of your lashes while pushing the excessive mascara upwards hence, lengthens your lashes. This applies to lower lashes too.

Now for the second wand I’m about to introduce is a vibrate wand, which is battery operated. This kind of wand vibrates up and down gently with a push of a button.

To use it, simply switch the vibrate button and use the vibrate wand to brush your lashes upwards.

The vibration will help to thicken your lashes while brushing upwards lengthens it. You can use it for lower lashes too as it vibrates very gently. Just switch on the vibration and brush it downwards :)

Lastly would be the 360 rotating wand which is also battery operated. This mascara wand rotates in two directions- clockwise and anti-clockwise.

You need to be careful of which direction to use and NEVER EVER USE IT ON ARTIFICIAL LASHES WITH THE ROTATING MODE ON! The artificial lashes will get caught in the wand when rotating. This may also happen to you if you use the wrong direction (I’ve use the wrong direction before but nothing happens to me only clumpy lashes :( ). If lashes do get caught, simply switch to another direction to release the lashes. Still the best part of using this mascara is that it really gives length to your lashes and not to mention you will look cooler with it :)

To start off, I will need to make it clear that the direction I use is for right handed people (should you be left handed simply use the opposite direction I’ve mention). If you’re applying for other people, the direction will be different too. The point is that you need the brush to be rolling upwards towards the user for applying upper lashes and rolling downwards towards the user for applying lower lashes.

Here’s how I do it, for upper lashes I first switch the mode to anti-clockwise and then gently brush upwards.

The anti-clockwise mode will make mascara less clumpy while brushing upwards help to lengthens the lashes. It won’t be that complicated once you get the hang of it.

Next, I switch to clockwise for lower lashes.

Lastly, no matter what wands you use always brush in a zigzag way followed by the directions I’ve told you. This is to ensure all your lashes are fully coated with mascara.

Now that you know the ways to use your wands, you can now perfect your lashes like magic!