Valen’s Vanity Square

My to-buy list for tomorrow’s shopping quest are mainly attire items - tops and slacks, a pair of shoes, a tote, plus some accessories.

Not going to spend money on cosmetics coz I already have quite a stash in my drawer, hehe. Well, I won’t need to put on full make-up to work anyway. Just apply BB cream, with or without loose powder, and lip gloss will do. Perhaps I’ll need an eyebrow pencil in case I trim my eyebrows too short, haha!

Since I’m going to work long hours in an air-conditioned office now, my main skin care regime will emphasize on skin hydration. As long as my skin is well hydrated and moisturized properly, the fine lines will become less apparent, and I don’t have to spend so much on wrinkle cream.

I won’t be having as much sleep as I’m having now. So I foresee eye bags and dark eye circles to become my new friends very soon. Haha! That means I’ll have to take extra care of the skin around my eyes. Luckily, I found this website EyeCream.org that features user reviews on various brands of anti-wrinkle eye creams and eye gels. it’s quite cool, you should take a look if you’re researching on the best eye cream around.

Jeez, I forgot to update about my expensive facial treatment I had three days ago. Guess I will do it tomorrow coz it’s midnight now. I hope I can remember to take snap shots of my face - partially though (areas between my eyes and mouth only, to show the size of my skin pores). Would be good to monitor the improvement over time.  (Am I getting a little bit obsessed about this whole facial thing? Haha!)

Perhaps if I had taken good care of my skin (if only I knew how, that is!) when I was much younger, I would have much healthier and greater looking skin right now. And I wouldn’t be splashing my money on expensive skin care products today, eh?

Of course, it’s never too late to start giving lots of tender loving care to your skin, no matter what its condition is right now. So, if you are looking for information on how to treat pimples or tips on anti-aging skin care, you can download two free ebooks by clicking on this link. What you read of course won’t solve your skin problems instantly! But it definitely will help you understand what you’re dealing with, how to stop them from getting worse, how to prevent them from happening again, so that you can regain a young, healthy looking skin.

Hey, it’s only 2 months to Christmas. If you want to have a smooth, glowing skin to show off at the Christmas parties, then you have to start loving your skin now!

I saw this really cool website about acne. If you have been facing acne problems for the longest of time, and no acne product can seem to treat it, perhaps AcneCuresRevealed.net can offer some help.

Why is it cool and how can it help? Because the site features an extensive list of acne product reviews, from which you can gain a better understanding of the acne products in the market that you would like to try but don’t know how good or bad it is. Educational articles on acne topics are also available on the site and its blog.

I’ve come across several websites talking about acne and its treatment, by far this is one I like best. Clean look, easy surfing, good info.

I wonder if I should also come up with a website like this, and see if I can make money out of selling skincare items?

Today is the twelfth day of Chinese New Year. I supposed everyone has gone back to work and their regular daily routine. But, the celebration is not over yet! More family gatherings and friends visiting happening this weekend before this festive officially closes its curtain after Monday.

As you know, festive holidays are always about eating and going to bed super late (or should I say super early?)! I think some people may actually end up being more tired, looking more haggard, and feeling less healthy than normal working days! One thing for sure, too much of cookies and oily foods cause breakout on the skin!

So for girls, here’s what you can do to rejuvenate yourself from head to toe after this CNY, by using an inexpensive 100% natural product - oat (grain) and oatstraw (grain and grass)! I got this very useful information from a newsletter I subscribed from the site Rejuvenate: Turn Back the Clock.

Here’s how! [Quoting from the newsletter]

To sooth the skin

For a satisfying skin softening experience grab a handful of oatmeal into a thin cloth. Soak it in your bath and squeeze the cloth until milky oat cream is released. Use it as a cleansing rub or for a relaxing hot bath that goes deep to heal tired muscles and joints. For a complexion treatment pat on face.

You can also use it as a foot treatment to unwind at the end of your day to relieve tired feet or as a pre-soak treatment before a self-care pedicure. The soak will also remove unwanted corns, calluses, and sweat.

Take a oakstraw bath

For a stronger solution you can boil a gallon of water and pour into a bathtub containing about 2 pounds of oatstraw. To make it less messy pour 2 quarts of strained (and reheated) oatstraw into a tub of hot water.

Nourishing hair rinse

Shampoo with your regular shampoo and conditioner. Rinse. Pour 1 cup strained oatstraw infusion on hair and massage as a leave-in treatment. Gently towel dry hair.

Rejuvenating oat tonic

1 cup oats
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon raw honey
1 teaspoon water

Pour boiling water over oats and let stand overnight. Add remaining ingredients in the morning. Mix well, pour into cloth and wring juice out while saving it. Offer or drink by the teaspoonful.

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If you want to learn a few tips and tricks on how to rejuvenate yourself at any time, sign up for the newsletter offered at the site Rejuvenate: Turn Back the Clock, or even better, get a copy of the book Rejuvenate: Turn Back the Clock to discover the secrets to look younger once and for all!

My bottle of Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher is going to be empty soon. Although the pores on my skin do look slightly smaller than they used to be 4 or 5 months ago, but frankly, the product didn’t work wonders on me. So there won’t be a second bottle of this cream on my dressing table.

May be my expectation is too high. I shouldn’t expect my skin to revert to its youngest days when one would need a magnifying glass to see clearly the pores on my face, haha! The fact is, once pores are stretched, there is no way to permanently shrink them back to their original size. However, we can do a few things to help minimize the appearance of pores and prevent them from becoming even larger.

Below are some suggestions from skin experts:

• First and foremost, practice good skincare habits. Wash make-up AND sunscreen before go to bed at night. My personal opinion: Some people tend to use moisturizers with SPF at night. That’s a no-no! If you want to use whitening products, use whitening moisturizer designed for night use.

• Do not pop or prick pimples as this will stretch the pores further, as well as lead to scarring. (May be I’ve done this too much when I was younger! )

• Use skincare products that increase levels collagen and elastin (e.g. products with vitamin C and retinol because they increase collage production) to prevent the pores from stretching.

• Use products with alpha-hydroxy acids that will help exfoliate skin, keeping it clear of oil and dead skin cells, which are culprits for enlarged pores.

• Pores look more obvious when they are clogged with oil or sebum. For oily or acne-prone skin type, experts suggest using products with salicylic acid to clear out oil in the pores.

• When the skin around the pores swells slightly, the pores will appear smaller. Experts believe facial serums containing vitamin C can do the trick. I rely on facial masks - feed my skin with water, it will ‘pump’ up and soft to the touch.

So, looks like I still have a long road to go when it comes to pores matter, huh?

Finally got hold of Beauty Confidential - The No Preaching, No Lies, Advice-You’ll-Actually-Use Guide to Looking Your Best I ordered in December.

Why I bought this book is pretty self-explanatory from the book title, right?

The author of this book is Nadine Haobsh, who is also the author of the infamous Jolie in NYC beauty blog. I haven’t really started reading the book, except for the introduction, and part of the chapter on eye make-up (hehe, this shows which part of a make-up process I like most). A quick flip through the content tells something about the book though.

First of all, the book is easy to read (unlike those thick how-to books), and is pretty much written from the author’s real life experience in beauty and skincare. It tells how Nadine’s working experience as a beauty editor for several years turned her into a beauty savvy author for both her blog and book. In her book, Nadine dispels some of the common beauty myths, and provides practical beauty tips on the how-to’s and which-to-buy’s - covering areas from hair, to eyes, to skin, to lips, to body, to manicure/pedicure, AND bikini line, hehe.

You will find a list of recommended products and product price guide in every chapter. Of course, not all products listed in the book are available in Malaysia, but it does help to keep in mind which skincare products or cosmetics are worth buying in case they hit the local stores.

No patience to read the book chapter by chapter? You don’t have to actually. If you are more eager to learn about eye make-up (like me), you can straight ahead turn to page 94, hehe. Want to know which are the best nail polish colors? Just go right to the last chapter on manicure/pedicure!

You can check out this book at local major bookstores, but I doubt there are more than 5 copies in each store! I ordered my online through Acmamall.

Well, I think I’d better wrap things up now coz I want to start reading the book!

This is going to be a very short post. I would just like to recommend to those who are keen to learn more about skin care to check out a Yahoo! Health blog called Skin Type Solutions, authored by skin expert Dr Leslie Baumann.

In her blog, Dr Baumann covers various areas of skin care and beauty – from your face, to your eyelashes, lips, hands and feet, nails, cellulite, skin care tips during pregnancy, latest advances in cosmetic procedures, and much, much more.

If you want to be skin care savvy, to be able to discern between the facts and myths about skin care, then this is a blog that shouldn’t be missed.

And, no, I’m not being paid to write this. Sharing is beautiful, okay?