Sunday, October 21, 2012

I love this article and think you might just love it too!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

awwww man!

okay - this is a quick 'awwww man' rant!

just a few days ago - I was talking about pimples - and now I have a new one again - right under my nose! boo hoo!  it looks like several small blisters - all soooooo close together it's like one HUUUuuuugee one.  trust me - i just measured - 1 cm wide, 0.8 cm long.

thanks to my earlier post - I remembered to quickly apply the Neutrogena On-the-Spot!  very painful - there's a biting feeling - I take it as a good thing!  It's killing all the bacteria and trying to dry the pus.  hee...lucky I don't have to step out of the house too much these few days! hee...

anyway, I think I caused it by scratching my face with my fingers...and my nails are probably full of germs. boo.  anyway, lesson to remind myself - DO NOT SCRATCH FACE WITH FINGERS - USE A TISSUE IF ITCHY!!

okay. end of rant.  remember - if you have an itch - use a tissue yah!  cos' you would want to keep your skin beautiful!:)

Monday, October 15, 2012

CD Baby

A couple of days ago - i stumbled upon a website by David Sivers and LOVED LOVED LOVED his animation!

this is just one of the many cute ones!

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/25494440 w=400&h=300]

Essentially the videos on his website are extracts from his book 'Anything You Want'.  I borrowed the book from the library and it is a really quick read - you can easily complete  it in under 1.5 hours.

What amazes me is that he accidently stumbled upon a business, worked and grew it, sold it for 22 million, and gave most of the money away.  from the book, i gathered he knew himself very well - well enough to know that even more money doesn't make him happy.  Of course it is something we all need to survive - but his ability to detach from it and keep enough for himself without being too attached is amazing.  Lesson I took away is that money itself doesn't make you happier.  of course a certain level is required to ensure you have less worries - beyond that  - we all need to know how to be happy regardless.

I was out running errands today and many times I found myself uttering thanks for the many small things in my life - my wonderful cats that keep me happy, my family, the pretty red flowering tree just outside my flat, good cold blasting aircon on the bus, the fact that I am born in a wonderful country and many many others.  when you start being thankful, amazingly it becomes easier to recognize the good things in your life.

If you happen to come across this book - do pick it up and give it a read.  for me - there were many good lessons within the book - of course, everyone interprets information in their own way - but I hope you enjoy it regardless!:)

[caption id="attachment_264" align="alignnone" width="470"] hahaha...much as the boy is cute - i dont' really get the cover, but heck! it's a happy cover!:)[/caption]

 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

home made hair gel

my sis-in-law made a simple DIY hair gel months ago, and gave us a bottle.

'oh?  you made it yourself?' was my initial surprised response.  In this age and time - normally we buy whatever we need - we have mostly lost touch with making things on our own.  In the frenzied lives most live in - the convenience is very much desired..  BUT...it's really simple to make!  No more than 15 mins of your time and it is wayyyyyyyyy wayyyyyy better than the commercial ones.

My husband tested the hair gel, and here's what we observed!

Pros

  • sufficient holding power - quite similar to the commercial hair gels he was previously using (of course - he has short hair and it tends to 'stand' on its own and  just needs some help staying put.  I tried it too and it's okay if you are looking for a more natural look.  definitely not enough holding power to really style hair.  I use store bought hair clay when I need to style it a little.

  • scalp smells better and i believe it's also healthier - before when the hb was using the commercial hair gels, there was a smell from his scalp!  Now, the smell is significantly reduced, and on most days - no chemicaly smell anymore!  i can only think this is good for his scalp!

  •  easy / cheap / fast to make - previously a bottle of his hair gel costs about SGD 7-8 and can lasts him a month and a half.  now, I make a bottle for him once every month, and I don't even know how to calculate the cost!  probably < SGD 1??  and it's a dollar cos' I use essential oils which is the expensive part (then again, if you order online - it would be even cheaper!)


Cons

  • personally i think it's none. - probably  the 15 mins you have to spend on making the gel?  but i find the process therapeutic...


so after he finished the bottle, I promised him to make a new batch for him.  and boy is it simple!!

all you need?

  1. flaxseed

  2. water

  3. essential oil (optional - it supposedly helps to keep your hair gel longer.  i personally love the nice burst of smell!)

  4. sieve (or pantyhose - see video below!)

  5. container for your finished product!:)


instructions

a video says a thousand words - so this youtube video was what I referred to!  Instead of the pantyhose, I used a sieve .  have fun making your DIY hair gel!



I got this huge pack for less than $4! and to make each batch of flaxseed, I only use a tablespoon or so...so I'm guessing this pack will last me years!  since i'm not ingesting it - i think i can risk going beyond the expiry date. hehe. 


[caption id="attachment_244" align="alignnone" width="470"] This is the expensive part - this small bottle costs about $25 or so. The essential oils are supposed to keep your hair gel good for longer. Of course, if you just wanna try w/o the essential oils - it's okay - just make a small batch and keep your hair gel in the fridge.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_247" align="alignnone" width="470"] ta-da! home-made DIY hair gel!  i make small batches at time...and this round, i made it a thicker consistency on request of the hb.:)[/caption]

Monday, October 8, 2012

Pimples! My way of tackling them!

this will be one of my rambles on skin care - one of my favourite topics!

I have been blessed with a relatively pimple/acne free complexion (save for a recent memory of a horrible terrible HUGE pimple years ago - almost 1 cm diameter at the bottom of my nose!  morbidly I snapped a photo of the scar - maybe to remind me that it was really THAT huge! *shudder* and no, i shall not gross any of you out by posting it here. kekeke...that would be funny though!).

However in the past year - I had a period where pimples kept popping around my nose and I was a tad upset cos' it left faint albeit visible marks on my nose and it looked well...distracting.  and before the mark completely fades - POP! another comes along.  I was trying hard to pin point what caused the pimple outbreak and I can only weakly assume it's either

  1. hot humid environment - when I used to bake frequently for orders

  2. loose powder  - i was using to reduce the shine of applying sunblock.

  3. some other reason - but i just haven't figured it out...maybe getting older? hmm...


So I tried clay masks, dead sea mud mask soap, exfoliating 2-3 times a week, and the pimples still popped!  boy....was it really annoying.  Then I started using Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair serum, and much as I'm a cynic at times (normally I don't buy the major cosmetics products as I feel that I am paying more for the marketing and advertising costs than the product itself) - it really really worked!  at least for me!  the marks went away quicker and the pimples stopped for a period!  plus it feels good - to be trying to protect my skin from aging!

[caption id="attachment_214" align="alignnone" width="460"] Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum - thank you to the people who created this wonderful product![/caption]

Though I have to disclaim - the pimples unfortunately came back for a little while - i suspect it's because I changed my loose powder and maybe maybe the new powder included micro/nano particles and with the heat of the kitchen, probably clogged my pores. I think.   The nano particles really gave a smoother finish - but ney - not worth the pimples, and to think about it - being nano sized means it's easier to go into my blood stream huh?  Okay - to the dustbin!  Note to self:  Please remember to look at ingredients list!

[caption id="attachment_219" align="alignnone" width="300"] Love the packaging and the finish it gave - but i suspect it caused my pimples. The sales lady said it contained nano particles, hence the smooth finish - but couldn't find much information on the ingredients / packaging.  It was also an impluse buy and i didn't read the ingredient list until much later and i vaguely remember being horrified. then again....i suspect most commercial products contain less than desired ingredients.[/caption]

Still, i do get pimples - albeit a lot less now.   You know when a pimple is about to erupt - that small but painful bump under your skin, you may wanna try what my sister recommended - Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment and it works!  I generously dot the area with the cream before the pimple even has a chance to appear, and instead of an angry red burst of pimple erupting - a small red dot appears.  It's a drying cream - so dab it only on the pimple area - else your skin will flake.