A lot of us have fallen victim to lousy sales assistants or bad judgment, or (what I'm personally guilty of) online shopping - and gotten the wrong foundation colour. More likely than not, those perfectly good foundations are sitting at the bottom of a beauty cupboard or drawer somewhere, gathering dust.

I've found a method that not only corrects this foundation colour to suit your skin tone, it also gives your skin a lovely glow and does not require the further purchase of another foundation! Meet my new glowy-skin combo:


I received the Benefit Hello Flawless foundation to review a little while back, and while it was beautiful and glowy, it was also a tad too light for my skin tone. Top that off with a move to sunny Malaysia and a holiday to even-sunnier Boracay, and you have a foundation that does not work on my skin. To illustrate:


On the left half of my face I have applied the foundation, and as you can see, it looks a little chalky and I look kind of sick. There is no dimension or life to my face at all, as tends to happen when one applies a foundation that is a couple of shades too light for their skin.

I came upon this method completely by chance, because a while back, I'd purchased a highlighter from Becca (their cult-favourite Shimmering Skin Perfector) in a shade too dark for my skin, upon the recommendation of someone who, in hindsight, didn't have a clue what she was going on about. Anyway, this liquid highlighter was a beautiful dark bronze colour, but I couldn't wear it at all because it didn't do anything to highlight my skin. I tried mixing it in with my usual foundations, but I found that they made me look a little muddy and dirty. That's when I came up with the idea of mixing it into a foundation that was a lighter colour than my skin, to see what the result was. Here are a couple of swatches on my hand to show you what became of my little experiment:




As you can see, the foundation definitely darkened a little with the addition of the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector. All that was left was to try it on my skin:


I mixed equal parts of the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector and the Benefit Hello Flawless, and applied it to my skin. My skin looked much more dimensional, more glowy, and very much more healthy.

The benefits of mixing in a bronzed shimmer as opposed to a darker foundation colour?

The foundation was sheered out by the Becca SSP, so my skin looked much more natural. The shimmer also helped to highlight my face and give the illusion of more vibrant, glowing skin. The shimmer also reflected the light really well, which meant my unsightly bumps and small flaws were well hidden.

However, I wouldn't recommend this method for people with acne and acne scars, as well as pigmentation, because the foundation was quite sheer and didn't cover my acne scars. I am quite patient with makeup and will spend the time spot concealing when I have time to spare, but if you're a slap-and-dash kind of person then I would recommend finding the right colour, medium coverage foundation to do the job.

I hope you found this post helpful! x

Hello everyone! Just one more day to the weekend, are you guys excited? I know I am!

Today I am giving you a few tips (learned the hard way!!) about preventing and slowing the aging process.


I have learned a lot in my years as a beauty blogger, and one of the biggest (and I really mean biggest) things I've learned is that sunscreen is vital.

Sun damage can be incredibly detrimental to the skin. It can cause pigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, sagging skin, and even worse, skin cancer. The only thing that stands between you and all this, is sunscreen. Of course, staying in the shade is the best way to save your skin, but that is not always possible, and that's where sunscreen comes in.

A lot of people have misconceptions about sunscreen and how to use it, so I am here to debunk some of those myths.

Sunscreen does NOT prevent your skin from tanning, so if you want to bake out in the sun to get a little tan going (which I do not advise at all), please DO slap on some sunscreen because going without won't help your tan, but will damage your skin!

Sunscreen does NOT last all day. No matter how high the SPF, you need to reapply sunscreen at least once every 2-3 hours.

Sunscreen should be applied around the eye area. I know that a lot of sunscreens can be rich, and chemical based, and some people may have sensitive eyes. But find a lightweight sunscreen that works for you, please, because I didn't, and I am paying the price now. Press the sunscreen onto your eye area with your hands instead of rubbing it in, and remember to spread the sunscreen across your palms beforehand to avoid getting too much onto your eye area.

Apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before stepping out into the sun. This ensures that you are well-protected by the time you step out into the sunlight.

DO NOT skip sunscreen on a cloudy day. Harmful UV rays are still present (up to 80%) on a dark, cloudy day, so always wear sunscreen no matter what.

Some other things that you can do to protect yourself:

Wear protective clothing! Certain clothes have a higher SPF than others, and when you can, you should wear a protective layer of clothing to shield your skin from the sun.

Wear a hat and sunglasses. It's strange that in a tropical country like Malaysia, no one has taken to wearing hats out in the sun. You really should, as hats and sunglasses help to shield your face and eyes from the sun. These places get the brunt of the sun's damage, so if you want to look your age (or younger), try and keep your skin shielded.

When you can, stay in the shade. Shade blocks out the majority of the sun's harmful rays, so stay under a roof or indoors as much as you can.

Tint your car and house windows. Malaysians spend so much time in cars, and the evening rush hour sun can be extremely harmful to the skin.

Also, please, please, please remember that just because you don't see any of the sun's damaging effects on your skin now, doesn't mean that it isn't damaging your skin at this very moment! It takes years for the sun's effects to show on your skin, so understand that even though it doesn't seem like sunscreen is helping your skin at all, it is, and you should be wearing some.

To reiterate my point, I leave you with this link to a news article featuring a truck driver who spent most of his life in the profession, and never wore SPF. Of course, only one side of his face was exposed to the sun, and the sun damage to that part of his face is strikingly obvious.

If you have fine, straight hair, yes, you get compliments all the time on how lovely and silky your hair is, but one thing most people don't realise is that it is a total b*tch trying to get your hair in an updo.

My hair isn't fine or silky, but it is quite difficult to work with, and quite layered at the ends. It's not easy when I want to create an updo, but with the help of these products, I've been managing quite well.

The key to easy styling is to first prep your hair, so that it holds in place more easily, and moves when and where you want it to. Pictured above are some of my favourite products for creating textured, style-friendly hair.

Toni&Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe Sea Salt Texturising Spray
Most hairstyles nowadays are quite undone, and chignons and buns are now styled with loose, wavy curls that create volume and frame the face beautifully (unlike sleek do's, which can be quite harsh). If you have naturally wavy or curly hair, spritz this all over your damp hair, then blowdry with a diffuser head, or scrunch your curls in as you blowdry. This will give you beautifully textured hair to work with.

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Tousling Spray Gel
This product has slightly more hold compared to the Toni&Guy spray, and would be more appropriate for people with finer, more difficult to manage hair. It tousles the hair beautifully, and even someone like me who barely has any wave to my hair, can see a little texture going on. This spray can be worked into either damp or dry hair, but if your hair is more straight than curly, I suggest spraying it onto damp hair and scrunching it, as with the Toni&Guy spray above.

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Hairspray
Once you're done adding texture (and a little bit of hold) to your hair, you want to add more hold. This way, your hair won't fall out of place before you get the chance to pin it into position. The Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Hairspray has just the right amount of hold, so that you don't get that irritating, sticky, pulling effect when you're trying to style your hair, but your hair still manages to stay where you need it to stay.

Remember that these products are only for prepping your hair to make it easy to style, so don't forget to use your heat protectant before styling if you're going to be using tools, and remember to finish everything off with a shine spray and a hairspray to keep your locks shiny, and your hairdo in place.

I hope this post helped anyone who has a little bit of difficulty styling their hair. Thanks for reading! x

Eyeliner is big. Almost everyone, even people who barely use any makeup at all, owns an eyeliner pencil. Unfortunately, most people aren't sure how to make their eyeliner last and avoid smudging, and trust me when I say this is a big issue.

I'm here to attempt to tackle these issues in this post, so hopefully this is of some help. So here we go:

And that is the finished look! I also have a little video that I posted on Keek that I thought you might like to see. I am wearing this eyeliner and just wanted to film it to show you what it looks like in motion.



Thanks so much for reading! x

A lot of people are afraid to tackle contouring, because it seems like something best left to the pros. When I first discovered contouring, I tried it, only to come out looking like I was auditioning to be a gazelle in the chorus line of a Broadway production of The Lion King.

But with some practise, I think I've finally gotten the hang of it. I can't be bothered doing this everyday, but when I want to impress on a night out, this is my go-to contouring routine.

If you have any questions at all, please Facebook message or email me, or Tweet me, and I will get to you as soon as I can :)


Here is a picture of the finished look:


And here is the video!


Products mentioned:

La Mer Moisturising Soft Cream (read my full review here)
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in Ivory (I'm Pure 4 Sure)
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate in Intensity One
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair
Sleek Contour Kit in Medium

Read more about my favourite contour and highlight products here.

Happy Monday, everyone! I have finally managed to record the voice over (eep, my first ever!) for this video, and I'm so glad to have been able to upload it so quickly for you guys.

This tutorial features the Halo Satin Styler in a hair tutorial, to get the incredibly chic messy chignon that the gorgeous Alexa Chung wore at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

I hope you enjoy the video, and please leave a comment telling me if you liked the video! ♥



Products mentioned:

Halo Satin Styler
Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume
Macadamia Natural Oil Pre Styler (review here)
Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Spray Gel
Herbal Essences Hairspray

Check out some previous hair tutorials that I posted in collaboration with Herbal Essences! Here's a sock bun tutorial, and here is a more polished chignon tutorial.

Thank you for watching! x

Before I started posting videos to YouTube, I wrote a quick, simple blogpost on how to conceal cheek acne. It was a simple enough way that I learnt through a little bit of trial and error, and a little bit of advice and brainstorming with some very helpful beauty bloggers.


It is my absolute favourite way of concealing cheek acne, and is completely fail safe and easy to do!

I decided to put it up on YouTube after I received so many requests to film it, so here it is! I hope you guys enjoy this :)



Products mentioned:


Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2
Royal & Langnickel S.I.L.K. GL-2 Lip Brush
Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Cherub

Thank you so much for watching!

Everyone has done the research, gone to the shops, and tried to pick out a skincare routine that best suits them. Did you also know that the method and order in which you layer your skincare also has an impact on the skincare's effectiveness?

Have you ever tried layering skincare, only to find that it ends up balling up in flakes all over your skin?
Today, I will share with you the best methods for layering your skincare, so that the products absorb easily into your skin, and actually work, instead of just sitting on top of your skin.

Set Up a Good Base
Skincare will not absorb into skin that is dirty and clogged. Always cleanse your face before applying skincare! To aid the absorption and effectiveness of products, make sure to exfoliate your skin at least once a week. A double-cleanse routine - where you cleanse the skin first with a cleansing oil, and then with a regular cleanser - really helps to keep the skin clean and ready to absorb your skincare.

Density: From Light to Heavy
The best way to layer your products is in order of density, from the lightest products to the heaviest. That means after cleanser, you follow up with your toner, then serums, then moisturiser. If you have more than one serum, that's fine! Just apply the lightest serum first, followed by the heavier ones.

Treatment Rule
The treatment rule says that treatment products always go first! After toner, the first thing you should apply is your eye treatment. Eye treatments do not absorb unless they are the very first product to hit your face, so it would be best to keep that in mind when you are creating your skincare regime. After eye treatments, apply anti-ageing or anti-acne serums first, before any other skincare.

Give it Time
When you apply a product, give it a couple of minutes to absorb into your skin before you apply your next product. Otherwise, the product just sits on top of your skin and makes it difficult for the following products to absorb. This is also how the balled up flakes form.
Tip: Lightly drumming the pads of your fingers against your skin also aids absorption of the product into your skin. Make like you're playing the piano on your face, and tap away.

Beware the Active Ingredients
Most skin specialists agree that if you are using active ingredients, it is best to stick to just one, or at most two products that contain active ingredients. Otherwise, you risk irritating your skin and making it raw and red, and prone to sun damage.

Staying Loyal Helps
Unless you're good with skincare ingredients and how they work on your skin, your best bet is to stick with a single brand as much as possible. Some ingredients and skincare textures can cancel each other out, rendering your skincare (and the moolah you spent on it!) useless. Brands tend to formulate their ingredients so that they all work well together and don't impede on one another, which is why sticking to a single brand is always recommended. I love using Simplicité products, because they are formulated to work with one another, and the brand is so customer-friendly that I can always ask them how and in what order I should layer my products, when I'm not sure.

This is not to say that mixing brands is completely wrong - if you take your skincare to a dermatologist, they can help you figure out what works best together and what would be most effective for your skin.

I hope this article has helped rid you of your skincare layering fears and concerns. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment box below, or just email me! x