Kiyomizu-dera 清水寺 is Kyoto’s most famous temple. Almost every traveler who passes through Kyoto would have made a trip to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site, built on the hillside of Higashiyama, with its nailless main hall and especially during its autumn peak.
Nishiki Market 錦市場, also known as Kyoto’s Kitchen, is a more than 400-year-old, 400-metre arcade full of cooked food, seafood, eateries, shops, and fresh food ingredients that never fail to entice locals’ and travelers’ tastebuds. Time to fill your stomachs and stock up your kitchens!
Saihoji 西芳寺 or Kokedera 苔寺 is THE moss garden temple to see in Kyoto. This UNESCO World Heritage Site houses innumerable moss varieties and you feel like you are wandering through a mesmeric garden of the softest greens. However, visiting this moss temple requires early planning and reservation.
Tofukuji 東福寺 is one of Kyoto’s 5 greatest zen temples with a famed landscape garden designed by Mirei Shigemori. The temple garden is one of the best places to admire those gorgeous autumn colors and Japanese maple leaves — on trees or scattered to create a vibrant carpet of reds, oranges, and yellows.
I’ve been obsessing about my hair and nails, noticing that they are getting brittle easily with age. On days when the weather doesn’t let up with its humidity and temperature, and when I’m shuttling between appointments and meetings, my fine hair gets limp and my scalp gets oily by midday. Not good at all. While we care for the outer beauty of our hair, I thought it is as important, if not more important, to look at our diet and what’s good for nurturing healthier, more beautiful hair. The first thing to do is to take a closer look at what I eat. As we advance in age, we take more care of what we put into our mouths. Gone are the days when you can just pop whatever your heart, no, stomach desires. While there are lots of food that are good for hair, I’ve written a list of 5 Superfoods known to fortify hairs with their natural nutrients – zinc, selenium, iron, magnesium, proteins, Omega-3 and vitamins, and the recommended daily intake. I’ve …
Gone are the days when we have to use cold cream to vigorously rub off our makeup. I remember pulling at my skin using many cotton pads during my teenage years, and before discovering the wonder of cleansing oils. Since then, I’ve not looked back. Why? Because they are fast, simple and effective in removing all traces of makeup, including stubborn eyeliner and coats of mascara. Even though I have sensitive skin, veering from oily to combination depending on the weather and environment, I swear by cleansing oils to cleanly remove makeup without fuss and without breakouts. Like many, I thought that I should never use oil on oily skin. It would make it worse and even oilier, right? Wrong! It’s worse to go to bed with your skin still hinting of makeup in corners, clogged up, and unable to breathe. The technology has advanced so much that many cleansing oils are light and emulsify well to be totally removed by a single wash with no trace of oil remaining on our skin. With that …
Orange lipsticks have taken the world by storm. It is the new red for the lips! Be it the New York Fashion Week 2014 where Rag and Bone sent models strutting down in bright orange lips, or Hollywood stars donning matte oranges on their pouts, we suddenly see them everywhere. Asia is not spared from this onslaught of boldness either. Many could not fathom how they could ever wear this electrifying shade until they saw Jun Ji Hyun swiped one across her pouty lips on “My Love from the Star” (or “You Who Came From The Star”). Of course, our eyes are on the male lead Kim Soo Hyun too. We found out from the good people at Laneige, that the actual lipstick, Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick YR25 Neon Orange (S$34), has been sold out worldwide for months. This is proof of the mammoth attraction of the shades (and the K-drama) that has created waves in the lipstick scene. You can leave your name with the Beauty Advisors at Laneige boutiques and counters, and …
As some Asian cultures have it, it’s rude to ask a woman for her age directly. Some of my guy friends have shared that they sometimes guessed the age of women – not from their faces with all that makeup on and tons of SK-II – but from other parts of our body that women simply can’t hide. A quick survey revealed the top 3 telltale signs of aging. We are not talking about our faces and eyes, but other parts of our body that actually divulge our age. Some try desperately to hide aging signs of our faces with makeup and anti-aging skincare. Most forget to take care of the other parts of our body. Though we are unable to control the natural process of aging, we should not neglect to take care of our body. Aging gracefully – both body and soul, is an art, and one that we women should care about.
As a woman juggling commitments at work, family, social life and new adventures, I’m sure that I speak for many when we say that our “clock” just go haywire. Late nights, erratic meal times and lack of sleep make us look dull like old silver. Worse, our skin starts to exhibit this tired, yellow tinge, instead of bright, rosy undertones. I was given a Lunamer Trial Kit to address some of the signs my tired skin is starting to show. What with late-night crafting and writing, I need a quick fix before I head out to meet some people. And one star product worked wonders for me! Friends complimented that I looked more radiant. They thought that I have had more sleep. But how wrong they were! I was actually handcrafting products till wee hours in the morning. Curious what that star product is? Hop over to Beauty-Pati.com for the review. There’s also a giveaway happening now till April 13, 2014, where 3 lucky winners can get to try the products for themselves.
I was first introduced to Jill Stuart by a friend when I spotted her, fishing out of her makeup pouch, a neat blush compact. What’s neat? A retractable brush is attached to the blush compact. Immediately, she was extolling the cuteness and usefulness of this Jill Stuart blush compact. Yes, cute can be useful too. Add this to the princessy packaging and sweet hues, and you have a winner! I was curious instantly and made a promise to seek out Jill Stuart Beauty counters in my next trips to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Another yes. It’s not sold in the beauty halls of Singapore, though you can find it online at BestBuy-World. Without giving away too much (please read the Jill Stuart Beauty review here), I’m also a fan of their perfume and bodycare. ‘Jill’ is an endearing sweet floral fragrance. It makes you feel prettier with just a spritz of its scent. A most recent discovery is Jill Stuart Body Milk, which I purchased in my last trip to Taipei. It moisturizes my …
