pretty ghastly

yesterday on the online edition, we had an extensive spread on the fashion selections you can make for halloween (the capes, conventional and centrepiece). i sincerely hope that it helped those of you who are still tossing and turning in bed about what to wear? (do not listen to your friends who tell you to 'don't wear anything'!) anyway, since the clothes / outfits aspect has been covered yesterday, today will be about the make-up element.

yes, the joke about going as yourself... i've heard that a million times. it's not funny anymore. is it scary? yes! scary because someone can still recycle that joke and expect people to laugh at it. NOT FUNNY... move on (i must say that i'm a tad angsty while writing this post.)

so let's talk make-up and you should know by now that foundation application does not end at the jawline... if you don't know, read this! for the pretty ghastly look, it's all about looking pale which means you want to go for a foundation that is many shades lighter. should you go for white? if you have to buy it, then don't bother... you won't use white foundation often unless you are a performer but even performers don't use white foundation frequently.

image from halloween emakeup

now, the ghastly look also requires a powdery finish. so after the foundation, go generous on the fixing powder... you won't need blusher or any contouring for this look... if you must, do a smoky finish for the eyes. 

as for the lips, i would apply a thin layer of foundation and powder over. of course, you can do the red lip or glossy lip if you have a little more time to spare.

the pretty ghastly look is probably the fastest one to do. start to finish, ten minutes... max! goes well if you are turning up as a spirit or a vampire (think twilight!)

fash'on... BAM!

@dd it: basic white top

time for the online editor to look into the crystal ball of time and see what's trendy versus what is not? so this week, we dealt with fundamentals. in this week's @dd it, i have selected a basic white top as my choice. yes, it's not anything unfamiliar to the most of us but that is what this week is all about. going back to the core of fashion and understanding the foundations before we take on the more complex aspects of fashion.

now, what is fun about this week's @dd it is, there are no restrictions to the type of white top to trend. the important part is for you to get a basic white top, wear it in a variety of ways. we will always have a special place in our hearts for our basic blacks and the little black dress, but like i always say... there are only that many ways to wear black before one gets know as the guy / gal that's forever black. 

to help all of you along, here's how different people wear their whites.

Super Junior in full white

image courtesy of Trend Report

works great for beachwear too

have a great weekend! fash'on... BAM!

hollywood's top asian!

so who is the most famous asian in hollywood? the reigning king of the box office... 

here are a couple of clues:

1) he has released two movies so far in his career... the first made US$631,744,560... the second, US$665,692,281...

2) he's pretty minimalist in his sense of style

(if you were hoping for more clues, obviously, you're new around here... when i say a couple, i really mean A COUPLE!)

guessed the answer yet? well this is the man (not exactly...) himself!

yup... whether we like it or not, Po is more famous than many many MANY asians in the fashion industry... if you don't believe me, just go to an eight year old and try to ask him about vera wang (yes, the designer... not the girl that sits two tables away...) 

came as a surprise to me as well... here i was trying to find out which asian is a 'shaker' and 'mover' so that i can evaluate their sense of style and fashion sense... but the search results proved that Po was just formidable...

so let's get it out of the way... yes, the black and white panda in a pair of nice-fitted boxers is the one star that shines brighter than all its competition... 

going global, staying local

good monday morning... hope you slept well last night... i did! much early than my usual bedtime because i was utterly worn out by dragonboat training and work. a heavy dinner after that helped too... so i'm feeling refreshed for a new week (not as gloomy as the week before... evidence here!)

so i'm starting the week with a question: if you have a voice... make an impact... say what you want... what would your message be? 

for the entire past week, i was attempting to find my voice as a blogger... this week, i am still on the search... i am, after all, an infant when it comes to blogging... of course, when i feel down, i hear of encouraging words from friends and a friend of mine even wrote a post to you! (yup, it's for you, my virtual friend reading this post!) all these kept me going for another week...

in addition, The Online Edition has gone 'global' in the past week with views from Austria, Malaysia, Germany, United Kingdom, Costa Rica and the United States. a big shout out to everyone reading from Singapore... 

last week we went back to basics... from black and white... ran a full day of posts featuring Chanel (post 1, post 2, post 3!) to trending the hoodie (a basic must-have...)

this week, i'm digging further than before... i'm going to tap on my asian voice... i am asian (proud to be one) and singaporean (proud to be one) and chinese (also proud to be one)... it's going to be a great week on The Online Edition so don't miss out on the fun... fash' on, BAM!

ps: if you don't want to miss out on any of the posts that i put out, follow me on twitter or just key your email address into the email updates box and let technology do the rest!

mirror, mirror on the wall

who's the fairest of them all?

 would it be Snooki from Jersey Shore, Mariah Carey, Fann Wong or Nicole Kidman? 

or does Gisele Bundchen reign supreme?

the notion of a fair beauty has always been a hot topic for discussion. does fair beauty refer to porcelain white skin or is it about the features? that pair of striking eyes, the nose with the perfect angle, the jawline that is oh-so-perfect!

in singapore, the Asian trend is often for ladies to go fair and the men to go tanned. guess that has to do a lot with our cultural roots. fair ladies helps one associate with the notion of the gentle women sewing in the confined spaces of their ancestral homes. whilst, men have to adopt the tanned skin tones... the hours we spent not working but lazing by the pool under the blazing sun just to adopt that bronzed, golden brown tan (of course, there is indoor tanning now...) why do men do that? when one is tanned, one is linked to hard work... ruggedness... everything 'manly'...

culturally, we don't seemed tolerant of tanned ladies... the ladies from my dragonboat team have often had to endure snide remarks because of the tan that they sport... you know what? that's your own problem in life, not theirs... like a saying that has been going round, 'ladies are not expecting you to be Brad Pitt, so why are hoping that they become Angeline Jolie?'

so if we are going to experiment with colours, prints and fabrics in the world of fashion... surely, the skin should be a palette of colours too... so whether you are black, white, tanned or fair, i say, work your colour... 

love you girls... BAM!

Sodium Hypochlorite

sodium hypochlorite, also known as household bleach, is one of the unspoken treasures around the home. if you are interesting in the full details, you can refer to my dear old friend, WIkipedia!

but i must say that, if you have old jeans / denim that you don't wear anymore and are at a loss with them, reach for the bleach... i recall years ago when i was bored and i took a pair of old jeans... laid it on the bathroom floor and pour bleach over it... yes, you would get a new design and print but it was also like a wildfire that could not be stopped...

so in case, you are inspired by me to bleach all your jeans or clothes... couple of points to note...

1) bleach is a liquid... clothes absorb liquid... so the second time round, i wet the jeans to control the amount of bleach that the jeans take in... 

2) use tools... an old toothbrush, a piece of twine, straws... the word is CONTROL... if you want your ideas to be translated on the material, go slow...

3) after you bleach your clothes, soak them, wash them (separately from your other clothes, of course), use softener... the smell will linger... you want the focus to be on your clothes, not how you smell like bleach...

anyway, here's more help...

have fun with your bleaching adventure... BAM!

you have it so flaunt it!

before i say another word... class, please tell me what is the difference between the two pictures? colour, yes... lighting, yes... the tops, yes (that's obvious!)... but what else? are you drawn to the picture on the left or the one on the right? (leave your thoughts in the comments box below)

if you noticed the smile, then we are thinking alike! so yes, it's going to be white wednesday and first up, let's discuss your pearlie whites. teeth is something we ALL have... doesn't need much training in the gym or a super strict diet to get teeth... 

however, there are a couple of things we can do to our teeth to enhance our smiles...

1) whitening: this i did and boy was it a painful S$600! i got my teeth moulded then they give you this tray in which you squeeze in the whitening gel... you wear that tray with the gel for an hour every day for two weeks... my memories of those hours were mostly tearing, salivating, pain... but yes, my teeth became whiter. if you have a low threshold for pain, try something else...

2) braces: this i have yet to try... most people do it to correct their bites and align their teeth but boy, the experience takes a whole lot of endurance. for a start, they have to pull out teeth that are in the way... then they put on the braces that gets tighten every couple of weeks (depending on the severity). also you have to put in rubber bands...

on the good side of braces, it's a surefire way for weight loss cos you can't eat or bite properly... you won't be eating much cos you worry about having to rid your teeth of stuck food...

what's bad? ulcers on a regular basis... and yes, if not careful, you might cut yourself (and the person you are kissing...)

but whether you do something to fix your smile or not, a genuine smile is always a great fashion accessory to have... don't believe me? ask Jessica Simpson!

read more here...

just a little trick that i learnt... the best smiles usually show little or no gum and eight of your teeth (just the upper jaw...) so here's what we are all going to do the next time we walk past a reflective surface:

flash your pearlie whites...

eight to get it right!

have fun! BAM!

something old, something new

note to self: do not announce a giveaway that happens at 8am in the morning... that just means that i have to wake up before that to write the post... perhaps 8am on a friday is fine. just not a monday morning... so here i am yawning endlessly whilst typing.

first up, big thank you to everyone who read my blog... i am humbled by the figures... we crossed even the 300 barrier so thank you once again to my readers from singapore, the united states and the latest addition, malaysia!

anyway, let's deal with the business at hand... MY VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY! 

so this post is titled, 'something old, something new'. here's something old...

it's a book entitled, 'Chanel: Collections and Creations'... interesting pictorial look into the house of Chanel. i've had it for a few years now and it's just been sitting there after i read it hence the decision to part with it. this is a combination of two of my interests... books and fashion... more information about this book can be found here... http://www.amazon.com/Chanel-Collections-Creations-Danièle-Bott/dp/0500513600

now for something new...

it's a wallet from Levi's... i got it as a gift from the store but it was just days after i bought my current wallet so this was left in my drawer for a couple of months now... if you are looking for a basic black wallet, this is it.

the important bits about the giveaway... drop me a note at greenmonster77@hotmail.com... do use 'something old' or 'something new' as your title depending on which item you would like... for your content, tell me which post you liked and why... i will be giving the items to the first person to write in... we'll work out postage details via email...

final note... i realised that the items are in line with this week's theme of black and white / monochrome! haha...

doom, gloom, monday blues...

all right everyone, i feel you... the weekend is ending and no one wants to head back to school or work... but we all have to. the last thing that we want to do is to have to fuss about what to wear after a comfortable weekend of jeans and tee-shirts (well, in my case, it was singlets, shorts and flip flops...) 

unless, you are me and don't have to head to work tomorrow. you can wake up as late as you want and stay in your sleepwear the whole day... you will probably have to throw something decent on (in the case of the students, your uniform...) here's are a couple of worry-free looks that you can carry using black and white... nothing over the top... just sheer chic...

look number one: white blouse, black pants, a pair of black heels and you are good to go... jazz it up with a scarf, large handkerchief, a long piece of cloth, anything that rocks your boat... it's monday... you have the right to please yourself... 

look number two: large oversized white shirt (you can always raid the closet of your father, brother, husband, boyfriend if you don't have one), a fitted skirt, a pair of boots. if the shirt is slightly see-through, a white tube would be fine underneath it...

it's monday... please yourself... BAM!