EVENT: ION Insider Workshop - The Beauty Edition

In the final week of May, I had the privilege of attending the ION Insider Workshop. The ION Insider is an upcoming blog by ION Orchard on the latest happenings on beauty, lifestyle, food, events... Well, just about everything! And this workshop was a sneak preview of what the blog would be about. Previously, I attended the ION Orchard's Blogger Beauty Brunch (Read it here.), and it was so fun! So you can imagine how beyond thrilled I was to have another opportunity to blog about ION Orchard again. After all, it is my third home. :D

For this workshop, we visited 3 of ION Orchard's favourite beauty brands.

YVES SAINT LAURENT BEAUTÉ
#B2-34
Tel.: (+65) 6509 7423
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm

Yves Saint Laurent started out as a luxury fashion house, founded by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. However, since launching Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, the brand has established quite a presence in the beauty scene as well, especially with their Touche Éclat. It returned to our shores when it opened its first South-east Asian stand-alone boutique in late 2012.

Here are some products which caught my attention during the makeup demonstration:

• Yves Saint Laurent's Forever Light Corrector Skintone Serum
  This serum is a delightful anti-aging concoction of GlycanactifWT™, Actyl C and L.H.A to help even out skin tone, by working on your dark spots and skin's clarity and radiance. Upon application, your skin turns luminous and more even instantly.

• Yves Saint Laurent's Le Teint Touche Éclat
  This weightless foundation is created from the famous Touche Éclat. It works its magic by providing a flawless complexion, that is free from imperfections, highlighted in all the right areas and well-protected from the sun's harmful rays. Read my quick review here.

• Yves Saint Laurent's Kiss and Blush
  This dual-purpose makeup contains Hyaluronic Acid Spheres and Pomegranate extract to help moisturize your cheeks and lips, while adding a bright wash of colour to your face. Give yourself a face lift by dotting it on the apples of your cheeks, and blending it upwards. Or create luscious lips by applying it from centre outwards.

This evening smokey eye look was created with Yves Saint Laurent's Couture Palette n°7 Parisienne.
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ESTÉE LAUDER
#B2-42
Tel.: (+65) 6634 7287
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm

Estée Lauder is the birth child of Joseph Lauder and his wife, Josephine Esther Mentzer, or more affectionately known as Estée Lauder. Back then, the brand only had 4 products; Super-Rich All Purpose Creme, Creme Pack, Cleansing Oil, and Skin Lotion. But armed with Estée's firm belief that 'every woman can be beautiful', it quickly expanded to become one of the biggest beauty brands.

Despite the arsenal of makeup that many of us are guilty (and proud) of owning, we often do not have the time to glam up for daily happenings. Hence, Estée Lauder created this '3 Minute Beauty System' that will take us through the day, glamorously.

Here are the 6 quick techniques:

1. Mix Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair with Estée Lauder's Double Wear All-Day Glow B.B Moisture Makeup to create an instant glowy complexion.

2. Conceal your spots with Estée Lauder's Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer.

3. Highlight your face by drawing an inverted 'E' with Estée Lauder's Brush-On Glow B.B Highlighter.

4. Draw 2 'C's around your eyes to brighten them up. Don't forget to blend!

5. Wing your eyeliner. And if you are feeling a little braver, apply a bright colour under, over or on top of it.

6. Create the perfect pout by highlighting your Cupid's bow and the bottom of your lips. Add gloss or dust a shimmery white eye shadow in the middle to make them fuller.

This natural sweet look was completed with was created with Estée Lauder's Pure Colour Gloss in No. 31 Wild Lilac.
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DIOR BACKSTAGE STUDIO
#B2-44/46
Tel.: (+65) 6636 7232
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm

The only Dior Backstage Studio in Singapore recreates the exciting backstage ambience, typical of a Dior runway show. The studio is divided into sections dedicated especially for the face, eyes, lips, nails and fragrances... Basically, every girl's dream room. Just look at that gorgeous wheel of nail polishes, lipsticks and lip glosses!

The studio is run by a specially selected team of Dior's The Backstage Makeup Artist to bring you the full runway experience; whether it is to help you choose the perfect product or translate the latest trend onto your face, they are very happy to help. The MUA for the day was really friendly and very patient in explaining the steps to create the 'no-makeup makeup, radiance-from-within' look.

Here's the list of services and products which are exclusive to Dior Backstage Studio:

• Backstage Pro makeup products and tools to help you achieve red carpet-worthy looks. Be sure to keep a lookout for the Lash Bar, which is equipped with 9 sets of intricately-designed Backstage False Lashes.

• A specially-trained team of Backstage Artists is always on standby to provide trade secrets and transform your look. Backstage Makeup Lessons are also held for a group of 2 to 6 people, where 2 Dior Makeup Looks are created over a span of 2 hours.

• Curated runway iconography, illustrations and visuals take you through the rich history of Dior. Immerse in it and soak up the Dior spirit!

• Exciting Backstage Shows are held 2 to 3 times annually to showcase the prowess of Dior International Makeup Pro Team and Regional Makeup Artists.

This porcelain complexion was created with Diorskin Airflash Spray Foundation and a foundation brush.
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The very lovely gifts that ION Orchard, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté and Estée Lauder prepared for us! Thank you! :D

featuring Estée Lauder's Double Wear All-Day Glow B.B and Dior Addict's It-Lash Mascara.

featuring Yves Saint Laurent's Light Creator CC Creme and Dior Addict's Lip Glow.

WORLD CUP 2014: 5 Soccer Players to Watch Out for This Season

Wohoo, it's just 2 days more till the first match between Brazil and Croatia! This year, I'm pretty excited about it because my bestie, Audrey, and I will be joining Eli's club come July (We used to be in our junior college's soccer team.). But just the recreation team. Haha. Anyway, to commemorate this quadrennial event, Brand's and I will be teaming up to help 'prep' you for the games.

Today, let's get to know 5 soccer players to watch out for this season! (:

1. Lionel Messi for Argentina
   At just 26, four-time World Player of the Year Messi is arguably one of the most outstanding players over the past five years. If Argentina wins the World Cup, and Messi has the influence that he so often has at club level, then he would surely be elevated to the status of Maradona and Pele, among the greatest we've ever seen.
   
2. Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal
   Everybody knows who he is; Ronaldo is now perhaps, alongside Lionel Messi and David Beckham, the best-known player on the planet. The Portugal captain is also the 2013 winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or, and has also won the Champions League with Real Madrid. Scoring 55 goals in just 45 appearances for club and country in 2013-14, a large part of his country's hopes for winning rest upon his shoulders.
   
3. Neymar for Brazil
   Born on February 5, 1992, in São Paulo, Brazil, Neymar drew attention for his impressive soccer abilities at an early age. His small frame masks incredible skill and speed, silencing doubters with his top-class ability to finish off both feet
   
4. Mesut Ozil for Germany
   Arsenal attacking midfielder Ozil is only 25, but has already been compared to football legends his finesse and skills. Former manager José Mourinho likened him to Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane, massive shoes which he has no trouble filling.
   
5. Andres Iniesta for Spain
   With recent rumors of links to Manchester United, 29-year-old Iniesta is a beast on midfield, and is even hailed by fellow superstar Xavi as 'Spain's most complete player.' Known for his passing, dribbling, vision and movement, he is definitely a player to watch on the Spanish team, and in fact even the whole tournament.

Will you be watching the matches? And who are you watching out for? :D

The World Cup 2014 series is a collaboration between Charlene J. Lee and Brand's. Images are taken from Google.

REVIEW: ORBIS' Petit Shake

Back in April, ORBIS launched its popular one-meal replacement Petit Shake in limited edition tropical flavours:

• Yoghurt & Pink Grapefruit: Mixed flavours of mildly sour yoghurt and juicy pink grapefruit.
• Mixed Tropical Fruits: Well-balanced sour and sweet pink guava, passionfruit and pineapple flavours.
• Mango: Sweet burst of ripe mango flavour.
• Acai, Banana & Red Grape: Contains 'superfruit' Acai, known for its weight loss and anti-aging properties.

Containing 10 types of vitamins, iron and a water-soluble dietary fiber, these Petit Shakes make a healthy diet option with its good nutritional balance. Pectin, a thickening agent and a natural ingredient found in apples and strawberries, is also used in the making of these shakes. It mixes with the calcium in milk to create a smoothie-like beverage. The shakes' flavours are enhanced with the natural sweetness of fruit extracts and real fruit pulps. Hence, satisfying your sweet tooth even when you're dieting. (:

Each packet of Petit Shake, when mixed with 100ml of cold milk, makes up 150kCal approximately. A month of these shakes reduces calorie intake and helps to bring about a weight loss of approximately 2.5kg of body fat.

Of the 4 different flavours, Mango is my favourite. It tastes almost exactly like a mango yoghurt smoothie; sweet (Not diabetically sweet. Just right. (: ) but with an edge of tanginess.

For me, I don't use this to replace an entire meal because I'm really quite skinny (Thanks Mum, for the metabolism rate.). But I do get hungry easily so I snack a lot, especially in the afternoon. So I drink one of these shakes around 3pm, to replace all my (very unhealthy) tidbits and it lasts me all the way till dinner time. It really helps when I go for my evening jogs because I usually get hungry halfway and it totally zaps away the fun (Running IS fun.).

The Petit Shakes are very easy to make. It consists of just 3 simple steps.

Step 1: Empty the packet into a cup.

Step 2: Add 100ml of cold milk.

Step 3: Blend well till the beverage thickens.

Psst! The Petit Shake is a one-meal replacement, so do take note that you don't replace more than 1 meal in a day.

The ORBIS Petit Shakes retails at $8.90 and $6.90 per box of 2 servings, for limited edition and regular flavours respectively. They can be found in Robinsons Orchard Level 1 Beauty Hall, Bishan Junction 8 #01-46 and Raffles City Shopping Centre Level 1 Beauty Hall.