Hi everyone, I’m blogging from Changi Airport Terminal One in Singapore as I’m waiting for my flight to Brisbane. Getting an Internet connection this past week has been challenging to say the least but I haven’t forgotten about putting up a video this week.
One of my beauty secrets is to have a “green drink” or two a day. There are so many green juice recipes out there and you can certainly work your imagination, but if you are a newbie to this idea, perhaps you would find a basic recipe a safe way to begin your relationship with more fresh fruit and veggies in your diet.
I find that having one or two green juices a day flushes out toxins and puts a glow to my skin. Let me share a tried and tested Green Drink recipe that was made famous by none other than Dr Oz and Oprah.
Recipe (in a high-speed blender):
1 apple
1 cucumber
1 celery stalk
1/4 lime
1/4 lemon
1 inch ginger
1 big handful of curly green parsley
2 cups water
1 spoonful Meiji Amino Collagen Apple & Ginger
Strain the pulp away from the liquid with a nut milk bag, a baking sieve or strainer, or a clean sock. Drink this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach so your body can absorb as many of those juicy vitamins and minerals. Don’t be afraid of the color green!
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Whoo, I’m exhausted even though it’s just Monday. It’s always a struggle to switch off from holiday mode into frenzied work pace…
Thanks for the response to my Summer Blog Giveaway — it’s still very early in the game and you can definitely take part now because the deadline is Aug 9. Coincidentally that’s Singapore’s National Day, too.
I returned from a great weekend in Hokkaido but I think I over-indulged again. That’s a running theme for me this summer but being away from home exploring other places is just too exciting to miss out on.
I went back to basics and made a frozen banana smoothie with spinach and water. That’s it. No added superfoods or powder and it tasted great and I felt nourished. You should try to have one for breakfast — it’s filling, yummy, and energy-giving.
Anyway, I’ll like to raise a question to you: “Do you ever let your skin breathe?”
+ Gazing at summer yukatas (cotton kimonos) and wondering when I’ll get around to wearing one. Usually, Japanese women wear yukatas to a matsuri (festival), eg. fireworks, called hanabi, , or watching fireflies like the one I went to in Nagano two weekends ago.
I heard the yukata is actually quite uncomfortable, with its tight obi (belt) and wooden geta, traditional wooden slippers, but it looks so sweet and feminine… I like dark blue yukatas with pink and purple prints like this, and this, and this.
+ Summer sales. The hot weather makes me want to get more airy tops and cotton Capri pants to stave off the heat.
+ Taking two showers a day, turning off the hot water tap and just dousing myself in ice cold water… and loving it. You should try it — it’ll get rid of any sluggishness instantly.
+ Paul & Joe cosmetics. I’m a fan of pretty packaging but what’s inside must be good, too! I have a review on a makeup base I bought recently coming up in this space.
+ Giving and receiving omiyage (souvenirs; usually snacks or dessert-like munchies). If you go on a trip, you’re sort of expected, or it would be the polite/nice thing to do, to buy some snacks as small gifts for co-workers and friends. I don’t approve of it if you feel obligated, but if you really want to give a gift, it feels lovely to have someone say “Thank you!” and like your tiny token. It’s a great way to build relationships in Japan where I’m learning that actions truly speak louder than words.
Hi my lovelies, how was your Monday? I hope you made it through with finesse and calm. I had a whirlwind of a weekend in Sado Island, a beautiful, lush island off the coast of Niigata (northeast of Tokyo). It was a friend’s hen party so a big group of us girls went up on a bullet train to celebrate it with her.
As with all indulgent weekends, I felt the need to give my skin some extra love so I whipped out my greens and fruit from my fridge and made one of my all-time faves: a cell renewal juice.
I always juice one or two cucumbers when my skin is dull from too little sleep and too much fun. Some people may feel icky about drinking cucumber juice but this recipe will knock your socks off.
Recipe (in a high-speed blender):
1 cucumber
1 apple
½ lime
1 big handful of mint leaves
2 cups of water
1 spoonful of Meiji Amino Collagen Apple & Ginger
Strain the juice away from the pulp with a nut milk bag, or cheesecloth, or baking sieve. Pour into a glass of ice and serve.
This juice makes me feel like I’m drinking a mojito without the bad stuff (alcohol….). It’s also perfect for a quiet girls’ night in. Kampai (cheers in Japanese)!
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Hello my beautiful babes, today I’m going to talk about the Tracy Anderson Method. I figured that I should try out what the guru herself recommends to see if it really works. By the way, her DVDs are hot in Japan right now — apparently many models and celebrities are into them and so their fans follow suit.
And it’s summer and I’ve got to wear my bikini on a few beach holidays I’ve got lined up!
I totally enjoyed her Post Pregnancy Workout so I quickly bought her Dance Cardio DVD because she said that if you do both daily five-six times a week, you would see your arms shrink and abs tighten. She doesn’t promise that it would deliver quick results but she claims it would work.
In a bid to find more clarity (in work and in my personal life), I always start cleaning out my house. Sometimes I do it in small parts and it depends on what I find too cluttered. In May, I chucked out a whole bunch of things from my kitchen and wardrobe, and this June, I found my powder room over-flowing with un-used and un-loved beauty products so I threw those out too.
Hording is one of those things that disguises itself as being frugal or not being wasteful, but if something is not serving you, why let it hang around?
What does this have to do with my new loose powder? Well, if you’re a long-time reader of this blog, you would know I’m a creature of habit (for certain things) and this applies to my foundation and powder.
I used to be deathly afraid of breaking out because my skin used to be very sensitive like that, but honestly, since I cleaned up my diet in a big way, I find my tolerance for different brands to be better. I stuck with Clinique for ages before I switched to L’Oreal (a friend’s recommendation). But lately, I found L’Oreal to crease easily (or is my skin aging – quite possibly!) and I didn’t like how I looked. And in winter, I even found the liquid foundation to be drying so I had patches of peeling skin on my face. Sounds horrible? Well, only if you looked closely, I guess.
So, I decided to experiment with Japanese brands. Duh, I live in Japan but I haven’t tried any of the multitudes of foundation makeup available.
I took a punt and bought Beaute de Kose’s Esprique Precious Loose Powder.
I’ve been using it for two weeks and I love the texture — it’s finer than the L’Oreal Translucide Loose Powder. I’ve used both the puff and my MAC powder brush and I prefer to apply with a brush. The puff doesn’t spread the powder very evenly and I had to shake the powder onto the puff several times to get the amount I want which is quite time-consuming.
And it looks very pretty. Japan has that effect on me — I’ve grown from living with boring primary colours to more pinks and purples in my things…
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A big hello after the weekend. I don’t know about you but summer is pretty full-on socially for me and I’ve definitely indulged too much. When my skin is breaking out or I’m feeling heavy and bloated, I would reach for a juice that will detox my liver.
The liver works the hardest when you consume a lot of junk food, fatty meat, and alcohol. So, my philosophy is what goes in must come out — especially for toxins! I’ve got a classic liver cleanse juice recipe for you today and your overworked system will thank you for it. Beets contain betaine which flushes out your liver naturally plus it’s bright red and absolutely delicious.
Recipe (in a high-speed blender):
1 medium beet, skinned & chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 orange, peeled
1/4 lemon
2-3 cups water
1 spoonful Meiji Amino Collagen Apple & Ginger
Strain the pulp away from the juice with a nut milk bag or sieve or cheesecloth.
In this video, I also talk about why I prefer this straining method to a mechanized juicer.
Cheers – you will feel better after pouring so many vitamins and minerals into your body.
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I’m quite a fan of tsubaki oil, a Japanese hair tonic made from the camellia flower, so I had to try the new Essential Oil range that Shiseido put out under its Tsubaki umbrella.
I really wanted to like this but I actually don’t quite take to the scent of the shampoo. It’s a little minty and herbal in a bad way and my tresses feel clumpy after washing them and it makes me feel I need a very rich conditioner.
Luckily, the Tsubaki Essential Oil conditioner is just that. The fragrance is slightly better than the shampoo and my hair really does look shiny and smooth after using this set.
Would I buy this again? Only the conditioner, I’m afraid. I would recommend the white or red Tsubaki sets instead. FYI the red is more moisturizing and the white is lighter.
I’m quite random with haircare and would try anything that catches my fancy. Lately, I have become more careful of parabens and use Nature’s Gate Herbal shampoo and conditioner on alternate days. The conditioner is actually brown which grossed me out initially but it smells heavenly and not weird or herbal at all.
Onto other beauty things…
I love my local ksuriya because they always give me freebies when I shop there. Have a peek at what I got recently:
Coffret D’Or lipstick sample palette. I have always wanted to try this brand and glad to have an array of colours to try at my own pace. Sometimes I feel so stressed at cosmetics counters in Japan because there is always an SA who wants to help out.
Sana hair serum — might give this one a go when I travel to Nagano this weekend.
Above is a Nov skin care sample set that is not very appealing in its packaging. It seems gentle and suited for sensitive skin so I might use this on my trip too. I’m actually quite liberal with my skin and hair care if it’s just an overnight stay. If the products work — great, if not, I would at least know it’s not a good product.
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When I pick up household products like washing powder and toilet paper at my local kusuriya (pharmacy), I would be irresistibly drawn to the cosmetics aisle.
I picked up a Majolica Majorca eyeshadow palette, 1575JPY (USD17), last week. I had been thinking that I don’t really have smokey shades in my makeup bag, so I thought I would get this to create darker looks:
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