Sake + Rose petal Toner

Lately, I'm on a conquest to make my own natural toner. I find that these days I have become very dependent on quick and easy products.  The pros on buying a toner from the drugstore is it being quick and easy. Cons, the price for such a diluted liquid and the synthetic chemical loaded inside. The skin is the largest organ in your body and absorbs whatever chemicals you slather on it.  Doesn't that sound a little scary when you think of all those health harming chemicals absorbing into your skin?


I did some researching and stumbled upon the benefits of sake. I'm sure all of you know that the renowned SK II is made from part sake right? :) Geishas once applied the drink to their faces before putting on makeup; and Japan's toji (sake brewers) have long been renowned for their soft, youthful and smooth hands.
 
Intrigued? Read on.

Benefits of sake:

1. Sake is good for skin in retaining moisture.

2. Contains Koji acids that control melanin pigmentation.

3.Contains antioxidant properties.
4. Leave skin smooth and soft.

Steps to making your own very sake rose toner....

What you'll need:
1. A plastic or glass bottle(preferably

2. A bottle of sake
3. Handful of roses (optional)


Steps:
1. Wash the rose petals before stuffing them inside the mouth of the bottle.
2. Add half bottle of sake. Store the remaining sake in the fridge.
3. Let the rose petal soak in the sake for an hour before use.
4. Invert the glass bottle and let the toner soak your cotton pad. Apply on your face.

The rose petals mixed with sake smells heavenly!

*It is better to store in the fridge. The toner will last about 2 weeks if you put it in normal temperature. A month or longer if it's in the refrigerator.

I bought my sake at the price of RM 20 and rose petals for RM 3. It is worth it because it can last you up to 2 months if you take care of it well. :) Most importantly, there's only 2 ingredients listed in the content!

Have a cup of sake! (If you are underage, ask your parents for permission) - Amanda Yap

À votre santé,

Ugh, hairy underarms! (Epilating, depilatory, shaving, waxing)

Hi guys! 

It's been a while now. Do you like my new template? :) I apologise for my lack of updates, I have been packed with a lot of work lately. 

I'll make it up to you now! :) 
(Super lengthy, once again)

I'm sure some of you know what is an epilator. Just in case, it's a tool that helps you to pluck all your unwanted hair in less than 5 minutes. The plus point is that it plucks out the hairs from the roots. Which means, the longer it is for you to stay hairless in the underarm area. You can use it in any other parts of your body. Wondrous huh? Personally for me, it's about 2 weeks before I need to epilate again. 

However, there is a price to pay. It feels like you have been electrocuted the first few times you try it. The pain is similar to waxing. Nevertheless, waxing is more quick and painless. The con of waxing is, having to remove that sticky residue on your arm (if you do it DIY, that is). Till today, I'm still clueless why the wax strips in the drugstores doesn't work for me. 

I dislike shaving because I can feel those stubs and it is tedious to do it every single day. I have sliced my skin a few times so the blade frightens me. Depilatory cream is also a trouble for me. If you're wondering what is it, it is a type of cream that dissolve your hair without any pain. Still, the results of not having another hair removal is not as long as waxing or epilating. 

For the cream, I have to wait 3-5 minutes for the product to dissolve my hair. And if I wasn't careful, the cream will slide to the parts that I don't want my hair to be gone. The next thing you know, I have more visible hair to remove. Great.

And so after a few years of discovering and testing, epilating is best for me. I'm somehow used to the pain. And I like the idea of not doing it every single day. 2 weeks, once - why not? I'm using the Braun Silk-épil Xpressive epilator. It does a good job in removing my underarm's hair. I don't eliminate any other parts because my hair is fine on my hands and legs.  I find it tiresome to be high maintenance. Girls, kudos to you who always find time to shave your legs and arms. :D

I'm not recommending you to buy this exact same one because I don't actually know how much I got it for. Why? 

I used the points in a credit card to redeem this. So if you do see it in your credit card catalog and would like to splurge, I recommend for you to get this. It should be about $150 ± USD. Please do correct me, if I am mistaken. :)

Anyway, any epilators would do fine. Since I'm using this particular one, here's my review...

I have been using this for roughly a year now. One thing I like most about this epilator is it work both in water or without. It comes with a shaver/trimmer head (the tool on the left with something attached to it) and a charger. There are other caps in too but I only use the epilate and shaver/trimer cap. There's a brush included too.

It is rechargeable which means, yay to no batteries! The trimmer's function is to trim the hair to a certain length (roughly 2 cm) so it is easier for the epilator to grab the hairs and pluck it out. It also comes with a shaver, which means you can shave if you dislike epilating. There is a switch for shaving and trimming. Personally, I have never tried the shaving button.

The epilator also comes with visible light when shaving. It doesn't really do much in my case as I epilate in a well lit room. It comes with a tiny little brush to remove any unwanted hair on the tool.

Steps to epilate:

 1. Have a shower like you usually do. Make sure you tie your hair away from your face, just to  be safe. You don't want any of your head hair to be stuck to the epilator. That will be really nasty. You can leave your hair conditioner on while you epilate. :)

2. Switch on the epilator's button and start to epilate! (It will hurt a lot, do try waxing for a few times before epilating. It might help your underarm area to get used to the pain)

3. After epilating both underarms, make sure you apply aloe vera gel or some cream to soothe your red and hurt underarms.

You can also epilate without showering beforehand.

** Try as much as possible not to exfoliate your body for 2-3 days. Give your underarms some time to heal.

*Do exfoliate 1-2 times a week. It will  reduce the chances of having ingrown hair. Check out my exfoliator review (here).

Caring for your epilator: 
1. After epilating, wash the blades with mild soap. Don't worry, you won't slice your fingers even if you touched it. 
2. Remove any unwanted hairs stuck in the tool with a brush or water.
3. Put the blades on a paper towel or cloth and let it air dry.
4. Apply vaseline on the blades to slow down the process of rusting.

And viola! That's it, all you gotta do now is wait for another "patiently" wait another 2 more weeks to epilate again. :P

P.S - If you're interested in this particular epilator, click (here). A gentle reminder, I am not sponsored by Braun.

"Wear a sleeveless shirt today and bare those sexy arms!" - Amanda Rouge

Kiss kiss,

Rest and relax

Have you ever felt extremely overwhelmed by work? Studies or relationships etc? And the next morning when you thought your workload and stress was bad enough - you head to the showers and go "oh-my-gosh"! Breakouts are everywhere! Sighing, your day spirals into negativity. 


Well, some might say that the appearance doesn't matter entirely. True, beauty is skin deep. Personally, I don't spiral into negativity but it somehow affects my confidence level when I meet my friends or basically anyone! It's as if everywhere I go, my pimple is the first one that greets people before I could utter a word. So how about you? Does your appearance affect your confidence? I am sure deep down inside your heart, it does affect your confidence. It may be little as 0.00000000001% but it still does affect you in a small and tiny little way. 


When it comes down to it, stress and lack of sleep really tire us out. It doesn't only make us feel tired, easily irritated but also affects the condition of our skin. Sure, products will do you good and give you wonderful results in a short amount time. What will happen if you continue to take advantage of products and continue to deprive our body from what it actually deserves? Rest and relaxation? 


Definitely, at one point of time - no matter how many products you use, you can't reverse back the damage you have caused. Beauty products and rest&relaxation must have a balance.


Sleep is the best beauty product that you can get and it's completely free! 


I'll finish off my 'preaching' by saying, do your best to have enough rest. Try as much to have 8 hours a day. If you have less than that, have a 15-35 minutes of power nap. Trust me, it will do you good.

Take care of yourself because you are the only one who can!

"Power nap is the awesome-est!" - Amanda Rouge.

P.S - Doesn't the picture above looks so relaxing? :) 

ZZZ,