Last week I attended a media event for Bliss Spa, an extremely popular spa chain in the States, to let all of you know that Bliss has now been launched here in Singapore, and to entice you with some of their awesome services…!
Bliss was founded in 1996 and quickly grew – today, there are 16 Bliss spas worldwide, including the USA, Hong Kong, London, and now, the sunny island of Singapore.
Bliss Spa Singapore is it’s first foray in a Sephora store (the Sephora here is the largest in Asia!) and is tucked away in the giant beauty store. And don’t worry – it’s in its own complete area, so there are no shoppers or crowds anywhere near the place – it is quiet and peaceful and feels so cozy and warm; I can really see myself hanging out here a lot!
The spa offers services such as waxing, facials, body treatments and nail care. Bliss also retails its bath, body and skin care lines, which is available to purchase inside the spa, as well as outside on shelves in Sephora.
Bliss Spa Singapore is located at Sephora in ION, 2 Orchard Turn 01-05/06, ION Orchard, Singapore 238801. Their number is 6509 3511, do check them out sometime!
Here is a sneak peak into their new services:
- The Ginger Rub, a heavenly massage that consists of a rub of freshly-grated ginger root and warm detoxifying essential oils, a 20 min warming foil wrap, and then a 75 min massage. (Damn! Me want.)
- ‘Pedi’ Colada, a treatment including a pineapple-infused coconut milk soak, a stredded coconut scrub, a soothing massage and a pedicure – all while sipping a virgin pina colada.
- Double Choc Pedicure is a true chocolate fete for your feet. It starts with a hot chocolate milk skin-smoothing soak, then a shin-sloughing sugar scrub, and finishes off with a pedicure, again, while enjoying a chocolate treat.
Don’t they sound great? I have to get a Ginger Rub ASAP!
I was very excited to be invited – as a VIP apparently, and almost squealed when I saw my cute little name tag, pictured on the right! The event included a briefing about the spa, some mingling, and fun and games for us to win products and services.
Here I am at the entrance side, looking very impatient for the event to begin! The spa is so cute and youthful – there’s nothing ‘holier than thou’ or pretentious about the place, and it really is a wonderful place for any girl, whether it’s an afternoon with the best friends or a quick ala carte service for those of us who want something quick.
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It’s that time of the week, again! This week’s beauty tip is an oooold beauty tip that I read ages ago from a magazine. You probably already know it and it’s such an amazing tip.
For super smooth feet (after a long day walking, or a long night in heels) rub on your favorite body lotion. I’d recommend something really moisturizing, like the Body Shop’s Body Butter or Vaseline. Coat your feet with a thick layer of the lotion, put on a pair of socks, and go to bed.
In the morning, your feet will be as smooth as a baby’s bottom – I can vouch that this tip definitely works, I’ve done it a million times and would highly recommend it! The socks allow your skin to really ‘drink’ in the moisture. Also a great tip to accompany my other post, How to: Make High Heels More Comfortable.
And there we have it! Moisturizer + Socks + Beauty Sleep= Soft Feet. Who knew?! (And speaking of feet, here’s how to pretty your toenails with an at-home pedicure.)
What about you – have you heard this tip before? Do you do this tip for soft feet, too? 
One of the greatest beauty way to relax is to give yourself a pedicure in the comfort of your own home. (Here are more beauty ways to relax and de-stress.)
(Sure, getting a professional pedicure is even more relaxing, but I would’nt want you to spend money on extravagant pedicures – unless it’s for a special occasion – when you can do it just as well at home.)
So here are my tips on giving yourself a great at-home pedicure. It may not be exactly what the “professionals” do but it works for me, and hopefully it will help you out.
As always, if you have any other suggestions or ideas, do add them into the comments.
What you need:
- nail polish: base coat polish, nail color, top coat
- conditioning oil
- cuticle stick (optional, a nail file will do fine as well)
- a nail file
- a tub
- warm water
- foot scrub
- towel
What to do:
1. Start with completely bare nails. Grab a bowl large enough for both your feet and fill it half with milk and half with warm water. Place your feet in and allow it to soak for 10 minutes or so.
2. Drop conditioning oil on your cuticles and massage gently, allowing your cuticles to become even more softer. Gently use whatever tool you prefer (a nail file with a curved edge does the trick for me) and gently push back your cuticles. Clip off anything that is hanging off, if not, gently pushing them back will be fine. Not having any cuticles can lead to infections!
3. File your nails so that the edges are smooth, and also to the ’shape’ you want them. I normally do my toenails in a square shape, which is fairly easy to do: just file straight across! If you like your toenails to be more rounded, start filing as if you were filing them straight, then go back to the outer corners and file them into the center in a circular, ’round’ motion.
4. Soak your foot in a little tub, to create your very own foot bath. This could be simple warm water in the tub, or you can add a cup of milk to smooth your skin as well.
Remember: keep the water lukewarm in case of any spills, so no accidents happen. Still, be careful when handling the warm water and don’t fill it up too much – just enough water that goes under your ankles is fine.
5. Apply a foot scrub (you can make this DIY scrub recipe and use it for your feet) and then wash it in your foot bath. Let soak for as long as you like, but the recommended time is no more than 15 minutes.
6. After your foot scrub, dry your feet with a towel. Grab your nailpolishes – base coat, nail polish, and top coat – and find a quiet spot that also helps you reach your feet easily. What I normally do is sit on my couch and put my feet on the coffee table. Easy access!
7. Apply your base coat. Allow to dry for at least 7 minutes. (If you have a super quick drying formula though, it could take less time.)
8. Apply two coats of the nail polish color, with a 10 minutes interval from the first coat to the second. If you’re like me and only like deep dark colors on your toenails, wait at least 15 minutes.
9. Next, apply your top coat and then leave your nails again for at least 7 minutes.
10. Last but not least, once your nails are completely dry, apply moisturizer all over your feet.
I personally like to give myself a pedicure when I’m watching a DVD and have snacks all around me, because there are quite a few waiting intervals and the movie will help the waiting time pass much faster. Also, I like to multitask. Do you do pedicures at home?
Overly dramatic individuals such as myself might know about the self pity that starts to creep in after being sick and living in your own filth for a few days. I always find myself being very dramatic when I get sick.
I’ve been sick these few days with a horrid fever (don’t know if you’ve noticed it’s been a bit quiet around here), and wanted to banish all self pity and misery, so I decided to try one of those DIY beauty recipes I keep hearing about.
I decided upon a DIY body scrub, (which I previously wrote about on my post Exfoliation 101) since I’ve haven’t had too much experience with them. I researched some easy to do recipes – especially easy for the sick and miserable – and found this organic recipe from Organic Authority. What also drew me to this recipe was lemon – it really lifts your moods!
These ingredients are simple and easy to find in your kitchen, and the scrub literally takes 5 minutes to make. The brown sugar exfoliates your skin gently without being harsh or drying to your skin, the grape seed oil is a great moisturizer, and the lemon invigorates your senses and lifts your mood, the smell was amazing!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup grape seed oil
- 1/4 cup grated lemon peel
Directions:
- Mix ingredients together in a jar.
- Gently rub the product on your body in a circular motion. Concentrate on rough areas such as your elbows, knees and heels. Next, breathe in the scent and relax!
- Rinse off when your done.
This recipe really relaxed me, I highly recommend it! Writing about it brings back the calm memories. Now, if only someone hadn’t renovated the bathroom and removed the bath tub, then I could really go all out in the at-home-pampering sessions! What do you do to relax at home?
Bust enhancement creams raise a big question mark in my mind. I’ve seen many creams, lotions and ‘magic’ treatments aiming to make your bust bigger, but the way I see it… the only way is to stick two silicon funbags underneath your chest.
However, I was approached by Pupa (an Italian brand that I’ve been very interested in for awhile) to try out their new Breast Enhancer Intensive Treatment with Volufilne. At first, I hesitated: First of all, I love my cup size (that may or may not have the same starting letter as the word Apple), and second of all, I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I condone such silliness as obsessively rubbing cream and believing your bust will magically grow – because the way I see it, there are no magic creams, period. (Although I would love to be proven wrong.)
So I did what anyone else does in this tech-age and Googled the living soul out of breast enhancement creams. Believe it or not, I did find some glowing reviews that didn’t seem like there was anything suspicious going on in the background (read: $$$). And when I re-read Pupa’s brochure on the product, it didn’t give us any wild hope; it basically just said it helps give a firming effect to breasts that have lost it’s elasticity due to weight loss, pregnancy and breast feeding. The lotion was used with lasers where the results did show an increase in volume, but that’s another story and there was no talk on lasers for me (thank goodness)… all they wanted to send me was a simple lotion.
So I lightened up and obliged. Also, I admit – I’m pretty damn curious.
Breast Enhancer Intensive Treatment achieves its cosmetic lipo-filling effect thanks to a vital Bio-Extract: Volufiline which promotes the natural process of accumulating lipids in the adipose cells supporting the skin.
Adipocytes (adipose cells) are specialized in accumulating a large quantity of lipids within them in the form of triglycerides. Volufiline is formulated to stimulate a particular protein – adipophilin – responsible for the physiological accumulation of triglycerides and their organization into lipid drops. This helps to store the lipids in the adipocytes until they mature.
This cosmetic lipo-filling action leads to an increase in the volume of the subcutaneous adipose layer, enhancing the size of the breasts and leaving them rounder and better contoured.
One thing I really like about the Breast Enhancer is the smell. It’s something like a mix between baby powder or something from a high class spa in Paris (I’m guessing, of course).
I’ve been using it for a week now and no; I won’t be shopping at Victoria’s Secret anytime soon. While I do feel that it does live up to its claim – the surface of the skin does seem smoother and the skin seems ‘taunt’ – I have not been pregnant, breast feeding or have any drastic weight loss, so I’m not sure I’m the right candidate for any ’serious’ effects.
Either way, if you feel your breasts need some ‘help’, this is worth a try; it’s fairly affordable, moisturizes, smoothes the skin, and has a pleasant smell. And like I said, my skin does feel more taunt, but I suspect you’d need to use this cream even longer (or forever) to keep that feeling up, which would be quite expensive. So it’s really up to you! It’s worth a try though, I do like it as a lotion. And if it doesn’t work, you can do what I do with all lotions I don’t like: just use them as hand cream.
Girls, give it to me: what do you think of breast enhancements creams? Also, if you’ve ever tried any of them, do let me know! 
The Body Shop Body Butters are pretty much a cult product, wouldn’t you say? Since I could remember (or when I started reading magazines), they’d always write about The Body Shop’s fantastic body butters. And from the many, many different scents they come in, there’s really something for everyone.
I recently wrote about another body lotion and mentioned that one of the reasons why I liked it so much was because it was non- greasy, didn’t have an overwhelming scent, and didn’t leave on a ‘film’ that would later run on clothes, your bed … you name it. I feel a bit like this post contradicts what I said, but hear me out: if there is one product that I will look past the greasiness, smell and stains, it’s this product.
The Body Butters are very thick, smells quite strong, and can rub on sheets and clothes – the reason being is that they are made to be extremely moisturizing. But that’s why I like them so much; they are ridiculous in terms of moisturizing. (Also, I found a bit of a solution: rub in the lotion for a few minutes – like 5 full minutes – and it lessens the greasy feeling.)
With that being said, I love the Body Butters; but only once in a while.
Like I said earlier, I don’t like the greasy feeling most body lotions produce, but these are so moisturizing that you need them sometimes! I think I use this maybe twice a week at most, when I feel like a ’spa’ treatment in one: the scents are calming, and the thickness of the product makes your really need to rub it in, so it is somewhat like giving yourself a massage – definitely a relaxing experience. The scent fills the room, so it’s important to get a scent that you find really calming.
My favorites so far are Cocoa Butter and Shea butter. I’m on the hunt for the Vanilla version, like I said in my fragrance post that mentioned The Body Shop, they don’t carry the Vanilla range here. I know that scent will be my favorite already!
Do you use the body butters from The Body Shop? Which ones are your favorite?
Don’t know about you – but I like having soft skin, not only on my face, but especially on my body too. I like to moisturize my legs and arms at night so I wake up with smooth skin, but the thing with most body lotions is that they are ridiculously sticky and greasy. In some ways I appreciate that because it means my skin is getting full moisture, but at the same time the lotion rub onto your sheets, blanket, whoever’s sleeping next to you … it’s a hassle. I also hate the scent that rubs off all over the place, because after a day it makes everything smell so stale. Enter Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion.
New Vaseline Sheer Infusion with Stratys-3 body lotion is a breakthrough in moisturizing technology that delivers superior moisture across all skin’s layers of skin.
Stratys-3, the most powerful, patented moisturizing complex on the market, combines three ingredients that infuse and suspend moisture across the skin’s top, core and deep down layers. This results in unprecedented hydration leading to better, more healthy moisturized skin and an unmatched silky skin feel. Clinical studies show that more hydration leads to improved skin softness, smoothness and quicker elimination of dry skin.
I’ve been using Vaseline Cocoa Butter for quite a while because it’s insanely good in terms of moisturizing, (and from my blog you can probably tell I like Vaseline in general) but I’m gonna have to switch. Vaseline’s Sheer Infusion has many more benefits. One; the dreaded greasy feeling is gone. You rub it on, within a minute it has sunk into your skin. Amazing! And two; it is has a patent pending formula so that it moistuirzes every layer of the skin.
So even though I’ve always thought that the greasier the mositurizer the more “work” it’s putting in, Sheer Infusion does just that minus the greasiness. In the shower the next morning, I can still ‘feel’ it so I know it has lasted all through the night, which is also amazing. Plus, the scent isn’t overwheleming, I recommend the Mineral Renewal – it’s the lightest scent available and I quite like it, it’s very soothing for night time use.
So if you’re on the lookout for a nice body lotion, try it out! I’ve been using it daily for over a week or so now and I like it a lot.
What body lotion are you currrently using? Do you have any other non-greasy body lotions to recommend us?
Take a leaf out of my cheap (but resourceful) book and use your regular hair conditioner as shaving cream. You’re already in the tub, right? I read this tip in a magazine ages ago and this is what I’ve been doing since the beginning of time. (OK, since 14). The conditioner softens the hair so it’s easier to shave off and makes legs feel amazingly smooth and silky after.
Genius I say! Has anyone tried this before?
Image: runninginheels.co.uk
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My ex had the whole rockstar thing so the nail polish suited him....