Vacation

Apologies for not updating yesterday but I've been quite busy. So this is a quick post to say that I'll be away for a week in Spain. I'll be back with plenty to talk about on the 2nd July, see you then :)

I'm Chinese and I'm GOING TO GET MY TAN ON.

For years I've been going back and fourth to Hong Kong for my summer holidays, but this year there's been a turn around and I'll be going to Spain for a week with the family instead. I don't know what's more shocking; me wanting to tan or going away as a family, as we've not been on one in years.

In the past I crumbled to the pressures of being and keeping pale, and on top of that spending a large sum of money on serums to fend off any signs of darkening. At the moment I sport a 'milky yellow' tone with freckles on just the right side of my cheeks, which are an addition from sun damage. When I went to HK I would sometimes feel embarrassed by my freckles and asked if I was mixed raced, that's no problem, my issue stands with the pressure of having a perfect pale slab of a face.

My friend who came from China to study for a year in the Uk had tanned considerably during the winter, and that was because she held an umbrella every time she was out in China; obviously that's kind of frowned upon here if its not raining. She started freaking out when I told her she had tanned since I last saw her in China, but I was thinking no biggie. I remembered my mum talking to me about being tanned in her generation: that the rich and upper class were pale as it was a symbolism of wealth and status, whereas the tanned were the peasants who had to work in fields all day to feed themselves. That is plausible, or there are controversial lines where Asians aspire to be white because they are more 'superior'? I'm a fan of Asian celebrity culture and I don't object to people getting their eyes widen or rhinoplasty, but its damaging to the young girls who feel that beauty is only achieved when they look remotely Caucasian.

Anyway that was just my nostalgic rant built up from my track history. I'm going to embrace every ray of sunshine, but before that happens I need to check my sunscreens.

Caution: no matter how high the factor is, the sun will still damage the skin when sun bathing in long periods of time. A common mistake people have is buying high factors such as 50 and not reapplying regularly because its assumed it'll last all day. Aka getting a higher factor doesn't mean you won't tan faster so please don't expose your skin to sun without any sunscreen.

For my face I'm bringing my Clarins factor 30 Sun Wrinkle Control Cream (£17.50). It smells lush and it offers UVB and UVA protection. The UVB protects you from sun burns (although staying in the sun for hours won't keep you safe) and UVA will contribute towards preventing anti ageing, both of these are right up my street and things you should look for.

For my body I'll be using Nivea Sun factor 50 (a few £s) just because my mum had bought bottles of them. I do quite like these but I've not yet used factor 50 so it might be stickier than usual. I'll still be able to get a nice tan and get that protection.

NB: I used Atorrege AD+ serum to lighten blemishes and brighten skin, which can be found in HK drugstores. I don't use it any more as I've ran out, but I recommend it to minimize appearances of sun freckles.

Top 5 ways to preserve your nail varnish

When my nail varnish starts to separate in the bottle or thicken up, I always add nail varnish remover to thin it out again, but after searching for alternative ways to keep my nail varnish in top knotch condition, I found that adding nail varnish remover could be more damaging. So here are 5 simple ways to keep your summer colours cool:

♥ Always keep your polish in a dark and cool place. Keeping it in the suns way will only just dry it out.

♥ Why not store your varnish in the fridge? A few of my friends do this and it really works! Its not pratical to store it in the fridge all the time, but you can just put it into the fridge a few hours before use and its just as effective.

♥ Gently shake the bottle every few days to remove any old streaks (the oily marks that sometimes appear). If there is only a little bit left I just tip the bottle upside down a few times to blend the streaks.

♥ Nail varnish will eventually naturally dry out, so try adding a few drops of clear nail polish to help it from drying out.

♥ Lastly, If you don't have clear nail varnish then just go for the varnish remover. Warning: it can ruin the polish and its texture by thinning it out too much. I would suggest to use this method as a quick fix option.

Hope this helps...

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The perfect '2 in 1' slant powder brush by Benefit worth £18.50

Before I found Benefits Slant Powder Brush I had way too many brushes to carry around with me, especially when travelling it can be a hassle. I like to keep things simple but effective so this brush is brilliant for applying both blusher and bronzer.

I apply bronzer using the slanted side of the brush, gliding it from my ears to the mouth area.

However for the blusher I use the side of the brush with the longer edge facing towards me, then I would simply brush it along my cheek bulbs; keeping the colour concentrated in the bulb and then diffusing it slightly nearer to the ears.

The only criticism I could give would be that the bronzer and blusher would mix get messy, BUT to avoid this problem I just run the brush back and fourth in the palm of my hands to get rid of any loose powder. I'm not dismissing other brushes but this is ace for carrying around when you're out and about. I will definitely be taking this away with me on holiday.

Anybody fancy a swim in a Chinese water park?

This is one pool I sure don't want to get thrown into, although it would be quite funny to go crowd surfing through all the people in their swimming gear. The Chinese population has now reached 1,339,724,852 and growing. Soon people will stop having to say 'I'm not racist, I have a black friend' to 'I'm not racist I ahve a Chinese friend'. Back to the photo, I've wondered why my dad didn't allow me to go to the water park that time, and now I know why....

 

 

David Walliams as...Pippa Middleton

This is for those who watched the royal wedding. This is hilarious and I love it. Epic picture by Walliams.

My Top 5 Everyday Lipsticks

If you're like me and like to wear subtle colours for a day to day look then check these little numbers out.



(Left to right)

Dior Addict 'Ultra Shine. Perfect glossy finish with a hint of pink to get that girly look.

Benefit 'Jing-a-Ling'. Get the Dior ultra shine look with Benfits own. I love them both.

Rimmel 'Fancy'. Great for adding some colour to your lips when you're having a lazy no make-up day.

Rimmel 'Nude Delight'. Go nude to bring out your eyes with this natural shade. Give your look the  glamorous factor with dark eyes and a tint of blush, brilliant for night and day.

Benefit 'Good-To-Go'. It may look quite dark at first glance, but its actually very similar to Nude Delight. Get the sophisicated look with this and a dab of bronzer. Effortless and good to go.

Tip: Lipstick on dry and cracked lips isn't a great look therefore prepping your lips is a must. Take a damp flannel and stroke your lips to get rid of any flakey skin ,OR my new favourite method by mixing sugar and Vaseline together into a paste and rubbing it gently on the lips. Also applying lip balm before lipstick gives it moisture and extra smoothness.

 

Get the hint LOUD & CLEAR

These beat the normal dull page labels, they are bold and different which is perfect for making revision fun. They use different phrases to stress which pages are important and without fail gets your attention. I'll definitely be getting these out for when I plan out my dissertation.

Review: Clarins Eye Revive Beauty Flash. Worth £26.50 20ml

There are tons of eye cream on the market to choose from, and when you finally have to make a decision on choosing one, which one do you go for? The first things I ask myself are what are the qualities I'm looking for in my eye cream i.e. moister and hydration, brightening, or anti-age. I'm only just 20 therefore anti-agents is a no-no for now, so this leaves me with hydrating and brightening creams.

So what's next? I turned to Clarins for something new as I've never bought products from them before, so I was a new customer hoping to be impressed, and I am! The cream isn't scented which is always a plus, because I don't want perfume diffused in something for my eyes (the skin around the eyes is a lot thinner and in my case easily irritated by heavily
perfumed products).

Tip: My rule to applying any creams would be applying all face/body moisturiser within 3 minutes of drying, as the damp skin will absorb the product by locking it in.

The biggest problem I had around the eyes was when I applied concealer and it got quite cakey. After using the eye cream day and night it reduced the dryness, making it easier to apply make up around that area without drying.

What's my verdict? I would suggest this if you're eyes need that extra push in moister. The main thing to keep in mind for first time buyers are to not expect everything to change after the first application (don't expect miracles). Always bare in mind creams do take a few days to take full effect, so no getting stressy about whether its working or not. I use eye creams on a daily basis and compared to the previous hydrating serum by Lancome, this is far better. This is a pricey product even I had to think twice about it, but I wouldn't dismiss it as it does what it says on the tin. You don't always have to purchase the product, most department stores especially Clarins will offer you testers. Tell me how you find this.

Look out for my review on the Garnier Roll On for eyes.

TOMS eyewear 'one for one'

We may all be aware that TOMS donates a pair of shoes for every sale they make. Its an awesome campaign and up until the recent years I had never heard of a charity who has worked in this way before. Now the inspiring TOMS has branched into TOMS eyewear, when each pair of eyewear is purchased medical treatment, prescriptions and surgery is given to who are in aid of eyecare.



Each pair are priced at £82, which is not too shabby considering the cause and not to mention the styles.

Check it out on http://www.toms.com/eyewear/

What you need to do to get views on your dating profile.

Don't worry guys this is only a viral (a video that becomes popular through internet sharing). This left me in stitches after enduring Debbie's fanatic cat campaign, after all we're suppose to believe this is her actual eHarmony 'about me' video.

This viral is a sensation and received 4,523,330 in just a week after posting, just shows how many views you can get for making fun at cat lovers.

Strawberry Mojito

I'm quite a lazy person especially when it comes to drinking, even fetching ice from the fridge for my cider is a massive effort. I've been meaning to experiment with cocktail mixing, and when I came across the adorable pink cocktail photos on Pinterest, I couldn't resist replicating these drinks myself. So without second thoughts I got myself down to the supermarket and got myself a 'bullet' of a blender. Its perfectly cheap and if my parents ever ask me why I need a blender, then I've got the excuse of using it for soup blending, its a win-win situation.

Mojitos have been my favourite drink since that one fatal meeting on a Portuguese beach. Since then I choose only to drink this when I feel like treating myself, as its pretty damn expensive for a student to indulge in the long run. I admit I've got better with alcohol though, well at least I no longer chug Sainsburys £1.21 2litre bottles of cider.

So how did my amateur attempt go? I'm crap at following instructions so I just went with the flow, and I've got to admit it was sw-eeet. Never mind the recommended ingredient measurements, I just based it on my own preference (note:probably not the best idea for other cocktails based on measurements to create a particular taste, but for this one you'll be safe)



What I used:

Rum, sugar, mint, lime, strawberry, ice, and soda water.

My method:

1. Chop up strawberries into smaller pieces into the blender, along with the rum. I added sugar here to blend in the sweetness, as the ice would make it hard to dissolve.


2. Tear up a few mint leaves into the glass adding a few ice cubes.


3. Pour the mix from blender into the glass (just over the half point)


4. Top up with soda water.


5. Drinking responsibly.

Result! Takes about 5minutes to make, and its delicious.

What're you going to be drinking this summer?

The up and coming Face'Detecting'Book

"Tagging launch: Facebook accused of eroding privacy"

Today's Metro newspaper ran the headline with an outburst on Facebook's new face detection feature, created to enhance our tagging experience. Facebookers are currently using the new pop up image viewer, but what hasn't quite caught on yet in Britain is the new recognition feature, which can also help the lazier bunch of users who can't be bothered to draw a mouse over a face to tag.

On the positive note, Facebook claims to improve the tagging process with its precision in tagging. It works like the face recognition function on digital cameras; when you next want to tag someone in a photo an automatic box will border only around the face, so all we need to do is type in the name and its ready to go. EASY and FAST.

So what makes this a piece of innovative technology? Well, Google Maps street view developed a complicated face tracker that ensured that the peoples faces in shot were blurred. The funny thing is in 2009 I was on holiday in Lisbon with my friends, and we actually saw the giant google mobile roaming around the tourist spot, and a few months later we found ourselves on street view with our faces blurred (for privacy issues). Now Facebook has latched onto the idea of face recognition to improve the convenience of tagging, I can only imagine the convenience when you get the moments when 2 heads are too close together to tag, instead you end up having to tag a leg or something stupid.

Unfortunately this has only been trialled in the U.S and has not yet reached us. As for Metro's headline, this technology is not breaching privacy, well not unless they are capable to detect individual user faces along with the persons name-which they can't do...yet?

 

A Panic Attack Can Be Quite a Panic!

Last night one of the most haunting things had happened to me...a panic attack. This may sound normal to those who suffer from it on a daily basis, but for me it was a far more tense affair. I felt like I was in some kind of freak horror show than in my room.

Let me take it from the start. I was lying in bed watching my beloved Tvcatchup online as per usual, when suddenly the screen started buffering continuously. This startled me slightly but I decided to ignore it and call it a night. When I crept into bed I started feeling like my head was swelling with an intense ringing in my ears (still from Saturday night), then things started to become more trippy. I started seeing white blurs all around the room as if some kind of spirit had entered. I am quite superstitious and a believer in the supernatural, so naturally I started shitting myself. So I started panicking and the worst came to worse I couldn't breathe properly and felt like I was being possessed/heart attack/asthma attack blah blah blah, but quick to my wits I decide to ring my expert friend in panic attacks to sort me out!

Voilà, I was diagnosed with having a panic attack, which I was extremely glad to hear. Popular culture has shaped horror flicks, and has also taken over my conscience, I'm starting to edge towards the idea of inviting a priest to house viewings, just to reassure that I'm not going to turn into the crazy girl in the Exorcist.

As dramatic as everything sounds, the sequence was so distressing I could have won an Oscar for playing the girl in hysterics. Next time I will definitely be more prepared when I start experiencing; unexpected racing of the heart, feeling dizzy/faint, breathing difficulties, and the feeling of impending doom or death. The only thing is to keep calm and take deep breathes counting 3 elephants at a time to restore breathing rate.

Hopefully tonight I can get a good nights rest.

 

 

Review: Save the Nail. Repair & Rescue Treatment by Nails Inc. Worth £7.50

I was in Boots when I came across this little number, my nails were peeling and wrecked from overkill of nail varnish that I needed something to sort it out pronto. Sometimes nails just need to bare it all and breathe, taking a break from varnish, or alternatively I went for this 'repair' treatment. This is just one of the nail 'enhancing' packs available from Boots. The Nail Inc range also provides a base gloss for longer lasting varnish, glossy wet look top coat, but with this one I can use as a base coat as well as healing.

Save the Nail claims its a 'first aid treatment for damaged nails from nail extensions or in need of a rescue'. It contains the chemical Nonychosine-E that aims to strengthen nails for a healthier growth, and along with a 'bio extender' to increase durability and nail resistance.

How does it work?

To get the best results I need to apply one coat everyday for a week and remove it by the end. I can either keep the process going or I can just start using it as a base coat, depending on how much progress I feel it has made.

So what's my Verdict? Day 3 into the process I found my nails feeling protected and stronger, it definitely doesn't feel as soft and bristle at the tips. The glossy appearance can act as a clear nail varnish, or as a base coat. I tend to grow my nails which always ends up chipping, but after trialling this for a week it has made quite a difference to its firmness. I would definitely recommend this to prevent nails from chipping, and I would gladly use this as a base coat to protect and layer my nail from any harsh varnish.

 

 

Facebook will need to try harder

So a few days ago I was mooching about on Facebook on my iPhone, doing the usual checking out my photos from the night before, but when I wanted to save a photo there wasn't such option anymore. Instead in early 2011 Facebook issued a crack down on security and privacy, and who's to blame-The stalkers/peado's. Too many people were saving photos that didn't belong to them or didn't have anything to do with them...they were simply taking it without permission which proved to be a problem.

To be fair I've done it, you've done it, everyone has saved a photo on Facebook that doesn't belong to them, but for the 'slower' people who hasn't figured out how to save yet then its simples; just below the 'tag yourself' option you can download the image, which works just the same as right clicking and save.

Have fun saving...

Birthdays

Birthdays to me is just another day of spending a wad of cash treating myself, it can be enjoyable but recently birthdays just doesn't feel the same. However today is my brother's 19th and not mine so I'll stop feeling sorry for myself. He ditched the traditional plan of coming home with sick on his shoes and settled instead for a civilised meal at home. Today wasn't just a welcoming of a new age, but for the first time my dad suggested that we go down to the pub! Just imagine one of those cheesy moments when the dad grabs onto his son's shoulder with pride in his eyes, handing over a pint...it was like that! Going to the pub with your old man is a symbolism of age, masculinity and acceptance, now suddenly my dad is trying peel me off Apprentice to go for a drink. It then got me thinking after I refused to go that both siblings have reached the age of adulthood; drinks is on the meunu for celebration rather than a cake shaped as a caterpillar, where has all the time gone? What happens next?

I found it unnerving thinking about where the 'innocence' of birthdays have vanished to; what the hell has happened to birthdays over the years? Importance of birthdays seems to be based on how many Facebook birthday messages received rather than a card, and a birthday bevvy is more endearing than an actual present, and then God created the greatest excuse for all students 'I'm skintos'. What I'm trying to say is where has all the friggin' fun gone? Only feels like yesterday when my limited English speaking rents turned up at (Notts people would know) the Maccys opposite Victoria Centre, and requested a little bash full of flying fries, ketchup and those godly nuggets. The limelight was all on my 6 year old brother with the flimsy cardboard octopus hat, and me suited with my mushroom haircut bobbing about like jellyfish to musical chairs. Now McDonalds is looking 'bangtidy' in there metallic and forest green walls with the drizzle of red, or was that ketchup?

Back to birthdays, my main stream of thought is what happens when our generation grows up, how would we celebrate then? Society is moving so rapidly that I can only hope that I celebrate my 80^th in a spaceship to Mars.