Beauty Snippets : Pore Problem?

This is a problem faced by many. I've never addressed it before so here it is now. I hope this tiny article will help those facing this problem :D

Firstly, how does our pores usually gets enlarged?

Image via embarassingproblems

I hope this diagram helps you in visualizing what I'm about to describe. We all start from the pore size we were born with. Without proper care, the above will happen. The opening of the pore can be clogged by dirt or sebum and that will result in the formation of pimples. If you notice, pimples are generally swollen and painful to the touch. That is because all the pus has been building up thus causing your pore to expand AND swell.

Yes, you can burst it / poke it / heal it / squeeze it but what happens is that you'll get the dirt / pus out yet the pore remains enlarged. My main point here? They first key to solving pore problems is PREVENTION. To save yourself from pore problems, you have to keep your skin clear and healthy.

One way to do so is to use deep cleansing clay masks such as this.

Image via Queen Helene Masque

I own this green mask and I love it :D Use it twice a week to suck out all the oilies and dirt in your pores to prevent them from clogging and expanding! This one's hard to get though, I'm lucky the little beauty shop near my home sells these.

But what if, it's too late? 

Not everyone starts a proper skincare regime from an early age. What if your pores are ALREADY clogged? This is the next step to getting rid of your pore problems. If your pores are clogged, UNCLOG them. I call this step, EXTRACTION. You've heard of those pore strips right? Here's an example of a very popular one out in the market.

Image via iOffer

The Biore Nose Strip Pore Pack thingy. You know, the cloth thing that you first wet, place nicely over your nose, wait for it to dry and peel off with a satisfying but painful feeling? If you haven't used it, it's time to get one. But my problem with nose strips are that they're hard to put anywhere else except your nose. You can cut them up but they're not going to cover those hard to get places. The good thing is that these are always easily available at Watsons / NTUC / beauty shops.

So alternatively, one can always use something like this.

Image via hazel-yap

That product in the middle will be your savior. It's the kind of extremely stick mask that you have to slather all over your pores and let it dry before peeling. Personally, I think this extracts blackheads a lot better if you know how to use it well. It will be great if you pair it up with those two little bottles you see at the side. First you "soften" your blackheads, then the mask to extract them and the last bottle to "close" up the pores after extraction.

Imagine your pores being expanded by those dirt / sebum / pus, after you remove those dirty stuff, they'll automatically appear smaller because it is no longer being stretched. I hope everyone understands me till this point because it is really hard to explain without pictures. Imagine a lumpy wet cloth, after you squeeze all the water out, it looks smaller / more shriveled up right? Same theory applies.

This product is harder to find though, I believe Shills has a similar one that I mentioned before HERE.

Minimizing them

After you've done all of the above, your pore should be free of nonsense. Yet it still looks big. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? This is something I've mentioned over and over again. I cannot stress how IMPORTANT it is to EXFOLIATE. Wait what?! How will exfoliating help in minimizing pores?

Here is an extremely ugly picture I have drawn in hope that it will help all of you better visualize my explanation. Don't laugh okay, I honestly am not an artist and this is the best I could do with paint.

Get it? Get it?! No really, don't laugh. I'm serious. Exfoliating helps in minimizing the APPEARANCE of your pores. When you remove the upper layer of dead skin, the "opening" becomes smaller hence the pores will all look smaller ^____^ A gentle, effective yet affordable choice can be the Meishoku DetClear that I'm using! See the review for it HERE~

Here's the harsh reality. You can NEVER really shrink the pore itself /.\ You can only minimize the appearance of pores. This is why you MUST remember the 3 key points to NOT having pore problems. Prevention, extraction and exfoliation.

I hope this helps those who don't know what to do with their pores. And as always, should any of you have a question, feel free to post it on our Facebook wall or email to Domokie@gmail.com! Also, please understand that you don't have to use the items I've specified, similar items that do the same job will do!

Love,
Chiharu ❤

Beauty Snippets : Is your mascara wand doing its magic?

"With a wave of the almighty wand, your lashes appear beautiful, luscious and simply magical." Is that what your mascara wand is doing for you? By now, we know that there are all sorts of wands in the market. Let me show you a few examples. Also, do note that this post is just a sharing of knowledge, for sharing is caring and why not let everyone know how their mascara wands work?

We have this curved brush applicator kinda wand...

The comb applicator~

The bendy rubbery bristles kinda wand~

And another kind of comb applicator!

These are just some examples to show you the 1927405679103 kinda mascara wands out there! Before you say that your mascara is lousy / not performing to what it says / clumpy / not up to your expectations, have you checked your application method? Here's a very detailed picture to show the right way of applying your mascara!

Here's the original instructions in Chinese :

1）將睫毛向上夾翹，再刷上睫毛底膏，讓纖維包覆睫毛。
2）用睫毛​小鋼梳插入睫毛空隙梳開。
3）用”頂”的這個動作，先刷睫毛根部。
4）眼中部分睫毛要​向前刷。
5）眼尾睫毛則是朝著太陽穴方向刷。
6）眼頭往眉頭刷；記得睫毛刷對方向，才​能呈現放射狀的美感。
7）避免睫毛糾結，可以隨時用小鋼梳整理，完美的睫毛完成囉！

記​得，不論你想要刷幾層，記得都要等乾了才能塗下一層喔！！

And then here's my pathetic self translation in English, hoping that it's more convenient for all readers :

1）Curl your lashes such that it extends outwards and upwards. Coat evenly with your mascara primer.
2）Using a metal lash comb, separate your lashes and get rid of clumps.
3）"Push" your lashes upwards by starting with the roots of your lashes first.
4）Brush the lashes at the middle of the eye forward, slightly towards your inner corners.
5）Lashes at the edge of your eyes should be brushed upwards and outwards towards the temples.
6）Lashes at your inner corners should be brushed upwards, in the direction of your forehead. It is important to brush your lashes in the right direction so as to fully open up your eyes.
7）To prevent any clumping, simply take the metal lash comb and comb through your lashes again! Perfect lashes are done!

Also, you must remember that regardless of how many coats of mascara you'd like to apply to your lashes, you have to wait for each coat to dry first before applying the next one!

At this point, I'd like to add that should anyone not get my translated instructions, do refer to the picture for a better understanding!

Remember how I like to watch the Taiwan beauty show 女人我最大? If you watch it too, you'll know who I'm talking about! I've always been impressed by the make up techniques of Kelvin 老师, otherwise known as 凯文老师. The above picture and tips are given by him! And so are the following information that I'm about to share ^_____^ Now find out more about those wands!

【睫毛膏刷頭比一比：傳統刷毛】睫毛膏刷頭非常的重要，能決定刷出的睫毛效果！以下四​種刷毛的睫毛效果：

1）刷毛間距密，能刷出超級纖長的睫毛。
2）刷毛間距寬，能刷出濃​密感十足的睫毛。
3）間距介於中間的普遍型刷頭，能刷出纖長且濃密的睫毛。
4）刷毛有​疏有密，比普遍型刷頭能更快刷出纖長濃密感，快速看到妝效。

傳統刷毛最大的優點就是可​以重複刷，並且可以進行Z字型的刷法，大家要注意喔！

Now for my attempt at translating that chunk into English!

【Mascara Wands Comparison : Traditional Brushes】The wand of your mascara is extremely important as it determines the outcome of your lashes! Below are the 4 outcomes with the 4 different wands :

1）Bristles are closely packed, gives you extra long lashes.
2）Bristles have big gaps in between, gives you thick lashes.
3）Gaps in between bristles, brush is flat when turned sideways, gives you both long and thick lashes.
4）Brush contains bristles that are both closely and loosely packed, gives you long and thick lashes but with lesser effort as compared to No.3, for those who like fast and immediate visible difference.

The greatest advantage of a traditional mascara wand is that you can brush it through your lashes repeatedly and the Zig Zag way of coating your lashes is easier with this wand.

【睫毛膏刷頭比一比：梳子型刷頭】梳子型刷頭比較硬，無法做出塑型的效果，但可以根據​齒距達到瞬間濃密又根根分明的效果。齒距越密，根根分明效果越好。梳子型刷頭還可以細​分為兩種：

5）全梳型：能夠快速刷出根根分明的睫毛感。
6）類梳子：一邊是梳子可刷出​根根分明感，一邊是刷毛可刷出濃密感。

想要有什麼樣的睫毛效果，就要挑選適合的睫毛膏​喔！

Lo and behold, my translated chunk!

【Mascara Wands Comparison : Comb Applicators】Comb applicators are slim and hard so it enables you to separate each lash beautifully while giving you the volume you need. There are two types of comb applicators :

5）Full comb applicator : Separates and coats each lash efficiently. Gives you nicely separated lashes.
6）Fine and thick toothed applicator : The fine toothed side helps to separate your lashes while the thick toothed side provides volume.

To achieve the desired outcome, you must choose your mascara wand wisely!

Also if you find that you are the kind that tend to accidentally stick the wand in your eyes while applying mascara, you might want to try a comb applicator. It's thinner and easier to control. Now you know, it's not only the mascara formula that affects the outcome of your lashes. The magic wand plays a big part and you just have to know what you want!

All in all, I hope this mini article has helped everyone, even if only slightly.

Much love,
Chiharu ❤

Disclaimer : Pictures without watermark belongs to Kevin 老师's Facebook. Tips in Chinese also belongs to Kevin 老师's Facebook. I translated the tips myself so should there be errors, feel free to correct me. This post is just to share and give people more knowledge on their mascara wands. All credits go to Kevin 老师's Facebook.

Beauty Snippets : OILY skin vs DRY skin

This is a really random post, but it's something I've noticed for quite awhile. Mainly the oily VS the dry. Have all of you always noticed how the people with oily/combination skin complain about how irritating it is to have to constantly blot... To have their make up melting off their face... OR, the dry skin people complaining of flakiness, sensitive skin and tight painful sensations.

Tonight, or morning, I'm going to list down the usual few main advantages and disadvantages of having dry/oily skin.

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The oily people :

Disadvantages -

X Prone to having enlarged pores
X Prone to having acne / blemishes / blackheads / clogged pores
X Prone to looking like a grease ball
X Make up is unable to last on face for long hours
X Make up will turn dull because of the excessive sebum

Advantages -

✓ Usually do not have fine lines and are less prone to having wrinkles
✓ Less prone to sensitivity from certain ingredients of a product (Alcohol for example)
✓ With proper care, make up can look "dewy" / "glowy"

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The dry people -

Disadvantages -

X Prone to having flaky skin
X Usually more sensitive towards ingredients of a product / product
X Can crack and bleed when under extreme weather conditions
X Extremely prone to skin damage (Aging, fine line, wrinkles)
X Prone to having a patchy make up base

Advantages -

✓ With proper care, make up can stay on for hours
✓ Generally easier to hydrate skin as opposed to controlling sebum
✓ Usually doesn't break out or get clogged pores (Might occur if skin is sensitive)

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As you can see, different skin types will have their own pros and cons. There's really nothing to compare unless you prefer to have sensitive skin over acne skin or greasy skin over flaky skin. I'm no exception. I used to whine all the time about being extremely oily and I still do at times. But what I've learnt is to accept our skin no matter what classification it falls under. It's okay to complain at times because it's still irritating to have my make up completely slide off my face! I am dead serious. Sometimes I can't find foundation/BB cream on my cotton pad!

We were born with it. We can't change it. So let's embrace it and do the best for our own skin and protect it.

All you readers, what are your concerns? Feel free to comment below and we'll help should you require any. We'll also give relevant tips if needed!

PS, Ringo and I are attending our very first official bloggers' workshop tomorrow! What is it about? Stay tuned to find out! Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

Have a nice weekend my lovelies!

Cheers,
Chiharu ❤