If you read my posts often enough, you’ll come to realise I like to distract myself from studying/doing important things.

This post is no different.

Recently, I’ve developed the habit of cutting, shaping and painting my fingernails and toenails. This takes a good 45 minutes, with the base coat, nail varnish and top coat. I love O.P.I and Sally Hansen :D

Instead of the typical one colour look, I prefer adding tips to the nails. Not your average white french tips, but more bold colours like pink, red and black against a coloured base – some call it a reverse french.

Some girls find it hard to paint their right hand (if they’re right handed), or their left hand (if they’re left-handed), but I strongly believe it all comes with practice.

I’ve never had much difficulty painting neatly, so adding tips is just a simple act of drawing a line across the white parts of the nail. I like to keep my nails fairly short, which makes it easier to type, write and shampoo my hair. So please don’t use the reason of: oh, my nails are too short to do tips!

this was inspired by the month of october: HALLOWEEN!

this was created when i felt like being more clean and sophisticated

As you can see, it’s more fun to play around with two colours than one. Painting your nails reflects the mood you’re in. Painting my nails makes me happy to catch a brief look at them when I’m writing my notes during boring lectures or study sessions.

Doing a self-manicure or pedicure helps me to save money, destress and feel good about myself.

A hint of advice: If you want to keep the colour on for long, I suggest using a less rich/vivid colour. A neutral base works best, but have fun with the colour of the tips. Apply a good topcoat every 5 days to maintain the colour :)

A black eye in a good way. I’m currently in love with Brown Eyed Girls’ Son Gain’s eyes! (That’s alot of ‘eye’ in one line!)

I’ve always envied girls with double eyelids…double eyelids which allow them to use all sorts of eyeliner to further enhance the beauty of their big eyes.

As for me, I don’t have double eyelids. Neither do I have single eyelids. I consider it to be a wrinkle/crease where a double eyelid should be.

Some asian celebrities swear that they never went under the knife to get their double eyelids. “Due to the use of double eyelid tape, gradually it just formed!” Yeah, right.

I’ve never liked the idea of sticking a plastic cutout onto my eyelid. It just looks too fake and obvious. On the other hand, eyeliner can do wonders to make one’s eyes and pupil’s look bigger.

One night, I caught an episode of one of the many interesting taiwanese variety shows. the theme of that night was: CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Basically, 4 girls appeared on the show, sans makeup looking totally normal, or even less than average (harsh, i know). But boy, did those girls know how to take full advantage of eyeliner and false eyelashes. True, they did look a tad overdone (doll-like), but they were so much prettier!

Over the past year, I’ve experimented with all sorts of methods to line the eye. From eyeshadow to liquid eyeliner, and I’ve come to love Shiseido’s Accentuating Cream Eyeliner. It comes in a pot filled with a crayon-like solid and a mini-brush. Simply wet the brush, slick on a few strokes and ta-dah! the eyes are lined and smudge free for a full day.

Some may ask, why not use eyeshadow? They can make the eyes pop as well. Truthfully? I’m just too lazy to blend 3 different shades on my eyelid. Plus, I probably lack the artistic skill to blend well and evenly. Ha!

In the meantime, check out the video down below. I’m not one to really try out stuff i see on youtube, but this looks easy enough! (maybe the coloured contacts give it an added ‘oomph’, but i’ll never shove anything into my eye!)

credits to : rosebabe888

I will be the first to confess that most mornings it takes me an average of two outfit changes before I finally settle on what to wear. I totally hate the feeling of not knowing what to wear, even though my closet is stuffed to the brim with clothes. I think guys have it lucky. They probably just close their eyes, stick a hand into their cupboards and grab the first t-shirt they feel to wear with the jeans they wore yesterday.

So there you are standing in front of your chock-full closet, ripping your hair out over what to wear. The clock is ticking, the morning train waits for no one. Your hair is not done, and neither is your make-up. And you can’t find a damn thing to wear. Before the day has started, you’re already a stressed out train wreck.

A messy closet is a one-way street to morning meltdowns

Well, here’s a couple of tried-and-tested tricks to help you dress without the stress.

#1 Out with the Old

I find that the more clothes I have, the harder it is to dress everyday. If you find that your cupboards are bursting at the hinges, then maybe its time for a little spring cleaning.

A handy guideline: it’s okay to chuck any item you haven’t worn in the past six months. Chances are, you probably won’t in the next six months. And do you really need 5 pairs of jeans in the same cut and wash? I love cleaning out my closet. Not only does it make room for new clothes (yay shopping!), I sometimes discover gems that I’d totally forgotten that I owned, or an item that is back in trend.

#2 Get organized!

The next step after clearing out is sorting out. First, sort your clothing by type. I hang up all my dresses and jackets. I keep all sweaters and cardigans in one drawer, shorts in another, jeans in one stack, pants next to them. Now when it comes to tops, and I have a lot of those, I’ve personally like to sort them out by colour. Sorting my tops out by colour worked really well for me. I could find a particular top much more easily by zooming straight into that colour stack. And for uninspirational days, I could fall back on black or white. I can separate keep my clothes easily after they’ve been laundered, and it makes my closet look so much neater and organized.

Sorting by colour looks good and makes it easier to find a particular item

#3 Emergency Outfit

You’ve worn something that made you feel like a princess the entire day. Great! Now keep it for an emergency. It’s always useful to prepare an emergency outfit for days that you need to look good but have no time to conjure up an outfit. I keep a simple cotton black dress for emergency days. It’s not rocket science, and it sure as hell won’t get me on a magazine cover, but I know I look good in it. Throw on some accessories and nice shoes and I’m good to go. With an emergency outfit, I can avoid morning meltdowns on the rare occasion that I’ve overslept or feel just plain uninspired.

It was 4 hours past noon when Detective Whodunnit (Specialty: Myth Debunking) found a case file on her desk, with a note pinned to it: “Be careful, it’s a hairy jungle out there”.

The crime? Spreading A Rumour - “If you shave, your hair grows out thicker.”

The Detective laughed, and stroked her own eyebrows in mirth. If hair does indeed grow out thicker, then most women on the streets would resemble Chewbacca, the poster-child for over-active follicular growth by now.

The crime solving begins..

The hair strand consists of the root, the shaft and the tip. The root is the thickest part of the strand and the thickness lessens in circumference towards the tip. For some reason, if you are unable to verify that by pulling out a strand of your own hair, take a closer look at a cat’s whiskers (and resist the urge to pull it, please).

When you tweeze/ wax/ thread… you are removing the whole strand of the hair including its roots. The new hair that will grow in its place will take a relatively longer time to emerge than hair that is shaved. When it does emerge, its tip is what you will see, which is the thinnest part of a hair strand. Not all of it will regrow. I repeat, you will lose some along the way when this method is used regularly. Thus the danger of over plucking: you may end up with sparse brows if you too get trigger-happy with those tweezers.

When you shave… you are cutting the hair midway through its shaft, the thicker part of the strand compared to the tip. The hair will continue to regrow, as soon as within a day. When it does emerge, it is the middle section of the strand that you will see, which is thicker than the tip. No. It will not split into 2 individual hair strands like an amoeba. It will not regrow as permanently thicker in size or numbers.

Which is the better way?

It is sheer preference. Some women prefer the longer length of time between regrowth and prefer plucking compared to shaving. Some women who have sensitive eyes or are intolerant of pain will prefer shaving. Plucking the eyebrows causes certain redness, mild irritation and for some even a light swell that leaves the eyes looking puffy. Which is why it is not a good idea to pluck right before say, having a picture taken or before any important, look-your-best event.

“But mine don’t. I turn out all right every time..”

Well, that is because you simply don’t fall into the ’some women’ category. With regularity, you get used to the pain.

” My eyebrows are very long do I have to remove a lot of it for a manicured look? The lady told me not to cut it…”

Which lady? Moving on.. If you find that your eyebrows comes in long strands, you can trim it with brow scissors. They are curved, and some are sold with tiny brushes. Brush down the eyebrow and trim where needed to remove stray hairs.

“Are you sure they don’t grow thicker? “

Yes. This includes all hair on the body ( you know where they are ). You can have loss of hair but not thicker hair simply by removing it.

” But I started shaving my underarm when I was 13 and they did grow thicker over the years! “

For the love of god, its called puberty.

Puberty was an awful period of time for Chewbacca.

Detective Whodunnit files this case under ‘Myth - Debunked’, checks her reflection, and books an appointment for brow threading.

]]> http://tattlermag.com/2009/10/the-case-of-the-bushy-eyebrow/feed/ 0 http://tattlermag.com/2009/10/messy-mascara-no-more/ http://tattlermag.com/2009/10/messy-mascara-no-more/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:15:13 +0000 Rachel http://tattlermag.com/?p=1146

Youtube make-up guru Michelle Phan gives us some very useful tips to prevent mascar-y accidents. And its quite a funny video too. She isn’t normally so humourous in her other videos, this one’s a laugh. I’ll definitely be saving those pesky business cards now.

The weather has been killing me for the past two days. The weather forecaster said: “Today’s weather is at a high of 33.5°C, with the chance of slight showers in the afternoon.” NOT ENOUGH FOR ME. Give me some thunderstorms and howling winds – not monsoons and typhoons though. I love the temperature at a comfortable 22°C. The things I would do to live in a country with such great weather. Does such a country even exist? (If it does, please tell me!)

In line with the theme of being eco-friendly, I would like to discourage the overuse of (almost) every Singaporean’s favourite electrical appliance – the air-conditioner. It was once reported by the Wall Street Journal that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said that someone should invent air-conditioned underwear, because that way “everyone can then work at his optimum temperature and civilisation can spread across all climates.” (Yes, I googled “lee kuan yew aircon underwear” – so wrong, so ridiculous, but TRUE).

Sure, the heat may be killing us. But switching on the air-conditioner is not going to make matters any better. In fact, it’s just going to make it worse.

Heat waves will be more frequent and unbearable. The heat and carbon dioxide produced by the air-conditioning unit is just adding more crap to the atmosphere.

If you’re selfish and don’t care about the environment, think about your wallet. For every degree raised on your air-conditioners thermostat, results in less energy being used, which results in less electricity being consumed, and ultimately, less money is spent on the utility bills.

Scientists have called this phenomenon an “urban heat island” effect, where the temperature in the city can be up to 10°C higher than the surrounding countryside. The built-up urban environment acts like a giant storage heater, with air pollution, traffic and a lack of open space contributing to the heat of the city. The heavy use of modern day appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners also add more heat to the environment.

In this never-ending cycle of consumption and heat generation, we should all play a part in trying to reduce or slow down the rate of heat emissions.  Architects can design buildings with more green solutions and solar panels can be installed on rooftops. Politicians can push for industries to reduce their greenhouse gases emissions. But as individuals, we can all do something, right here, right now.

These are some feasible tips, with regards to dealing with the heat and air-conditioners:

1. Try setting the temperature of the air-conditioner one degree higher each day, to find what temperature you are really comfortable at.
2. Petition or rally for your company or school to not have the air-conditioners on when the rooms are empty.
3. Invest in a heat recovery system. Rather than using electricity, reuse the heat generated by the air-conditioner to heat the water in your hot water tank.
4. If possible, go back to the basics. Open the windows, switch on the fans to allow for a breezy experience. Smell the fresh air -while it lasts, before the air gets really polluted.
5. Since your refrigerator/freezer is on, make some popsicles to suck on :)
6. Even when in the car, try not to blast the air-conditioning as that results in more carbon dioxide being produced.
7. If you feel like you’re melting, jump into the pool and go for a swim to cool off (and get some exercise). Don’t forget to slap on some sunblock!

With two blogs which I stumbled upon and found really amusing (whether in a good or bad way, you decide).

The first is entertaining due to her “Miss Know-It-All”+ SPG tendencies.

The second is hilariously b**chy, coming from a guy.

we went to clark quay. and 3 guys hit on me!?
this never happened when im out with others.
crazy ding dongs. im not interested! i really am not. go away.
they all had the same opening line
“I was looking at you the whole night and i just have to come talk to you..”
“I want to take you for lunch, daylight!”
“I need a date like right now”
“if your heading to att ica, pls tell me! i so have to dance with you”
“can you pls just tell me your name? or a fake name”

- the girl who would like to hook up with some Caucasians (note the typo errors -eek-)…

Years on and inured with lived experiences, I got so good at rejecting them, some of them would actually yell at me before they leave and I always imagine them to be praising me for it, only just alot louder. Then sometimes, there are the ones that just come out with the weirdest reasons.
She: “Hello.”
Me: “No thanks.”
She: “But you send me signal.”
This was highly amusing to me because for one, I wasn’t even looking at her. I certainly wasn’t waving and neither was I even smiling. And now all of the sudden, I was sending her signals? What the f*** is she? A Dolphin?
How the f*** am I even transmitting signals to her? So I used my hyper squeak sonar, “eek eek” that said, “f*** off”.

- the guy who likes to hook up with strangers (too funny. got to love the dolphin theory. And yes, I believe Tattler has a rule against vulgarities…)

The past weekend marked my maiden visit to Las Vegas, and boy, was it hot. Like hot. Hotter than Singapore hot. Who knew? That the desert in summer time is hot. That heat could be that hot.

City of Sin indeed – everywhere you looked, there were avenues to explore your every deepest, darkest desire and the vice of your choice. The one thing that really hit me though, other than the heat that slapped you in the face everytime you ventured outdoors (I think that was why they invented casinos so we would all have an excuse to hide indoors) were the boobies – they didn’t hit me literally, thank god, because it would have hurt like hell – but there were boobies, everywhere on display, barely restrained by skin tight dresses. Mostly huge and fake and ergo my expectation of the great amount of pain to be assaulted with them. It seems like Vegas is the place to go to show off your assets, surgically enhanced or no. The most disturbing thing about this though, is that even the waitresses employed to pour you drinks were obliged to show them off in the standard issue hooker-esque work uniforms (think super tight, thigh high slits, plunging neckline) – even if they happened to be 60 year old, white-haired grannies, as many of them were. I kid you not. I don’t think I’ve seen that much mature cleavage in my entire life than in my 2 nights in Vegas.

And herein ends the discussion of boobies – and on to my intended subject.

If you’re like me, a Vegas-newbie, I’ve compiled some lessons you can take away from my virgin experience, some useful, some good-to-know and a cautionary tale that wags its finger disapprovingly at you, saying, That’s What You Get for Waking Up in Vegas.

1.Be nice and win over your dealers – and they may help you to win

Many of the dealers we encountered at the Blackjack tables were inscrutable Asian aunties, renowned for their superior mental calculating abilities and the ability to deal cards like kungfu masters throwing out flying daggers. Though stern and rather intimidating in appearance at first, some of them really helped a newbie like me along quite a bit – giving out tips and recommending if I should tap for more cards or not based on their own calculation of the odds. Remember to smile, thank them, or even bet on their behalf – their way of accepting tips – and they may deign to bestow upon you good luck and more coffers to line your pocket. A little display of table manners can go a long way.

Wrench yourself out of that seat even if you feel like you’re on a lucky streak, because more often than not, the feeling is just that – a feeling.

2. Have discipline

My travelling companion was regimental in his enforcement of this – set a target, achieve it, and walk away. Wrench yourself out of that seat even if you feel like you’re on a lucky streak, because more often than not, the feeling is just that – a feeling. A good rule of thumb for a beginner would be this: to bail when you’re 30% down or 50% up within an allotted time frame, say an hour or two. Give yourself concession for when you’re feeling more adventurous, a higher target for your winnings, for example, but always set a time for yourself so you can minimise your losses or walk away while you’re still on top.

3. Don’t bother with the slot machines

Did you know that casinos earn the most from the slot machines? It’s not even fun and you don’t get to do anything other than press a button and watch it suck up your money, while glancing woefully from time to time at a picture of some lucky winner purportedly walking away with $1,135,205 from slots and promising that, ‘The Next One Could Be You!’. The next one, chances are, is really not you. You will not be the next one because the odds of winning something from slots is even smaller than buying Toto (1 in about 5 million, btw). So have some fun and play cards instead! Blackjack is really, the simplest thing to play. Even I enjoyed it so I’m pretty sure anyone can too. If you just want to practise and start small – go to Sahara, a 50-something year old establishment from the original Strip, or any of the many smaller casinos where they allow bets as low as $1, before you hit the bigger glitzier joints, where bets can go up to $10000.

and lastly, a cautionary tale:

4. Party only with your good friends who will not ditch you at a stranger’s house

On our second day we encountered a stranded girl at the gas station, wearing last night’s clothes with a pair of basketball shorts that appeared not to be hers.  She was teary eyed and asked us if we could please, give her a lift home? It was already 6 p.m. and everyone else had turned her down, she said. We were a little wary of it being a scam and we would be ambushed and bungled into some unmarked van and robbed and hacked into little pieces but phew, it wasn’t. Yay, us.

Anyway, her phone had died and she had woken up in some stranger’s house after a hard night of partying utterly stranded and had not a clue where she was. Oops. Thus walking around aimlessly hoping for a free ride.

She told she had been with a bunch of friends but, hmm, donno where they are now. And then she clammed up. We gave her some water, fetched her to some random house she requested to be dropped off at, and that was that.

It is halfway into the year 2009.

9 years into the new millennium, my 6th year of existence in this little red dot with a presence you just can’t seem to ignore.

Yet I can’t seem to shirk off that icky feeling of being bogged down by the narrow idealism and superstitions that seem to make up the mental constitution of the people I deal with on a near-daily basis.

It’s rather wondrous how as we progress as a technology-savvy society, we are so eager to embrace further the multitude of theological rites unfairly dumped on us since birth, but are unable to discard our societal obsessions to conform. Thereby rendering us vulnerable to the manipulation and puppeteering of the slightly intellectually superior but infinitely more diligent at plotting.

Or that could just be my paranoia talking.

The point being – all of us who are happily, stably, and potentially permanently attached should have sex. Like bunnies in a romp, like my best friend’s deprived, hump-happy pug, like it was the best thing that ever happened to man. And woman. And most living creatures.

However, let me just attempt to shield myself from potential lawsuits and controversy by first saying that, the sex you have (or are about to have) should be safe and responsible (ie. use a condom, preventive measures against unwanted pregnancy, against very undesirable, and unsexy, diseases, and the like). Mind you, when I say safe and responsible, I mean not only for yourself, but for society at large. Which includes that cute guy or hot chick whose pants/skirt/dress you’re about to get into. Cute and hot being only two out of a million possible criteria for someone who is about to get laid.

If you’re under the age of 16 – please keep not only your pants on, but your top on too. I would advise against bending over and kneeling unnecessarily. If it so happens that you were forced at knife point (or much less likely, at gun point), please google the following words: help, helpline, underage, sexual abuse, rape, -insert name of country of choice-. Oh and please close this page right away or click on a different link within the site. STOP reading this article immediately. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be over the legal age for having sex because if you’re not, you reading this article would be totally pointless and would only serve to fuel or ignite what could be a ravenous hunger in your loins that burns and aches with every passing second. Plus attempting to have sex then would make you a criminal. And nobody wants to be a criminal right?

That said, if you (and your partner) are over the legal age, congratulations. Even better if you’re of the child-bearing and having anxious, overbearing parents breathe-down your-neck-for-grandchildren age. You can, and should, have sex. Or make love to your partner as often as practically possible.

Dang, I have to stop qualifying each and every statement I make.

Sex is good. Certain studies have shown that sex is the most comprehensive, wholesome workout one can get as a couple making love exercises the most muscles through the simple, and very pleasurable act of intercourse. As two people engage in the repetitive movements that have become the stereotype of intercourse, the body releases hormones like endorphin and serotonin that is supposedly responsible for elevating one’s mood. In a country like Singapore where low birth rates are a problem, making love more often helps your country eradicate a social issue and pushes it towards its goal of hitting a 6 million population.

Rocking, innit? This is patriotism on a personal level, at its best.

We are mostly too closeted in this sense to admit that great sex, is great for the mind and body. In my admittedly rather insignificant daily life as an undergraduate, most of us are only too happy to criticise and judge that girl who is suspiciously, intimately happy with her boyfriend while secretly harbouring the desire to get some action for ourselves. That sort of stigma is truly a gargantuan obstacle to our progress as individuals because not only is it sexism at its worse, it is double standards, and a shameful act of conforming all rolled into one.

I recently spoke to a friend of mine who elaborated to me, much to my shock and amusement, his sexcapades in recent times – the cinema, the beach, public buses, toilets (hmm watch the hygiene, people).

I am not going to launch into a tirade against self-righteous, condescending know-it-alls because my point here is simple – make love! And share the love. Close girlfriends should exchange tips on how to improve their love lives (but please do not kiss and tell. That is just bad manners) while us guys can refrain from boasting about our ‘conquests’ and just stick to talking about that brilliant match that Man-U lost. Or maybe not.

Be adventurous too, vary your positions (sometimes be on top, sometimes she’s on top, side by side, front to back, dominant or submissive, CREATIVITY is the word), locations (watch the law though. No signs exist to tell you where it’s acceptable to have sex) and communicate. I recently spoke to a friend of mine who elaborated to me, much to my shock and amusement, his sexcapades in recent times – the cinema, the beach, public buses, toilets (hmm watch the hygiene, people). You name it. So this goes out to all the newbies and conservative types who may already be getting in the sack often enough but perhaps could do with a little more excitement. For starters, explore the various parts of your body on your own, at your own leisure, and then share whatever insights you glean from such endeavours with your partner. I say explore on your own because you yourself know best what stimulates you and what simply turns you off. Thereafter, should you feel adventurous enough, you and your partner could both try exploring in a geographical sense.

That said, the best sex is achieved when both parties are comfortable while pushing the edge a little bit at naughtiness and adventure. Plus there should always be an equal amount of give and take when it comes to matters of lust. So don’t be selfish – reciprocate. If you enjoy receiving oral favours, return them promptly, or in due time. Don’t be lazy while you are at it either, make full use of every available body part, or limb, for best results. I don’t know if it is politically correct to say so but kudos to magazines like Men’s Health or CLEO for their frequent, specific tips on this thing I am calling a sport. On special occasions, you could even indulge your partner (or each other) by partaking in each other’s fantasies. Assuming you’re comfortable enough to share such personal information and have communicated them across accurately. Be daring, take the leap, for all you know your fantasies are mutual and all it takes is a little nudge in the right direction.

So go ahead, make love, make babies, make happiness!

P/S: I would love to give tips on how to actually go about getting laid, but seeing how inexperienced I am, this is where I encourage reader participation. Unload your tips here, please! ;) Oh and don’t get caught getting it on in places you’re not supposed to be.

Tattler is a fledgling entity, sure, but we’re bursting with potential. And we need someone like you to bring us to a higher level of Awesomeness. And more awesomoness only means newer and fresher content.. so that’s why we need Moarr Bloood. Fresh. Young. Blood. We won’t bite, promise.

At Tattler Mag you’re not just any other writer. You can build your own following, play it crazy, cook up a new persona, dream up new content, or just let your nose for news lead you to what you think can enchant and entertain. Over here, you own what you write. And a chance to earn some pocket money too. Give us your ideas and we’ll see how we can roll with it.

One thing is for sure, we all work together to make Tattler what it is. And since we’re new, you have more opportunity than ever to make your own indelible mark.

Dedicated? Passionate? Witty? Amusing? Love wordplay? A yen for Twitter Haikus? Let us know and be part of us!

Tell us about yourself, along with a sample of your writing to kerrie @ tattlermag . com