Happy Halloween: Creepy Cool Cosmetics & Spooky Skincare

Not directly related to the tropics but way too fun not to share; the best Halloween beauty products! Judging by the amount of Halloween costumes and gadgets in stores, Singapore seems to be getting ready for Halloween taking this holiday very serious. The following Korean Beauty brands offer great products to add to this weekend’s celebration of horror. Colour your lips deep blood red with Holika Holika’s Bloody Oil Tint as the perfect finishing touch to your Zombie Nurse costume, or bring your skin back to life with Too Cool For School’s Pumpkin Sleeping Pack after a long night of spooky partying…

How to smudge-proof your mascara in the humid tropics

Being blessed with a set of long lashes, my mascara tends to smudge on the skin below and above my eyes somewhat, no matter what climate I find myself in. Heat and humidity unfortunately do make matters worse for me – and many others with me.

Palm Oil & Haze: How to Choose Your Cosmetics Well-informed

Haze or not, I'm a firm believer of being conscious about the choices we make as consumers. For example, my preference goes out to beauty products that are not tested on animals and whenever possible I pick these product over others. With the ongoing haze I notice people around me getting more conscious about the relationship between our palm oil consumption and the heavily polluted air we are now suffering from in South East Asia.

Tropically Sun-kissed or Born Bronzed: Where to find the right shade of foundation

Many of our favourite Western makeup brands (a.o. Chanel, Dior, Estée Lauder, Guerlain, YSL, Clinique and Lancôme) don’t carry the same foundation shades in Asia as they do in Europe or the US. Given the multi-racial melting pot that Singapore is, this calls for brands with a wider range of shades, to cater to all of our beauty needs. From the pale-skinned Scandinavian expat with a sun-kissed shade from an afternoon at Tanjong Beach Club to the to-die-for eternally bronzed cheecks of our Brazilian neighbour; finding the right foundation shade is pivotal yet proves to be a challenge in Singapore. If, like me, you need a slightly darker shade than is commonly offered in South East Asia, make sure you check out below brands and discover my foundation beauty hack at the end of this post.

No Stain no Gain: How to get a Healthy Glow on the Cheeks in the Skin-dulling Haze

Ah, the haze. No one told me about this buzz-killer before I moved to Singapore, and it’s an understatement to say that it was quite an unpleasant surprise. Learning about the hazardous effects that the haze has on our health, it is no wonder we all spend more time inside to avoid being exposed to the polluted air – fellow expat women all across South East Asia alike. The lack of fresh air and a healthy dose of vitamin D from the sun leaves me with a dull looking skin. My complexion lost its glow and is less radiant than usual, with an overall less fresh and healthy look as a result. Naturally, we will need to adjust our daily skincare routines to external factors such as air pollution – the right exfoliation, cleansing and moisturizing can do a lot. But sometimes we just need a quick fix. There is one product in particular that I find the ultimate fast and easy solution in this situation: a cheek stain.