Sunday, April 12, 2015

Staying Fit & Healthy in Winter


I know it's hard to keep fit and healthy during winter, when most of the time you just want to hibernate in front of Netflix with a bowl of hot chips! 

I've been there. 



Usually in the morning I would love to get my day started with a  bowl of granola with apple crisp but all I want these days is a big bowl of fried rice, or something hot and filling. 
Alternative :
Now, in place of something full of carbs and saturated fats, replaced it with warm oats with fruit and but toppings. Alternating between flavours each morning so you don't get bored of its flavour.

Salads and healthy food that I used to love in summer don't taste as good anymore. I've been having cravings of pasta, pizza and BUTTER!  Don't punish yourself and scull it down without enjoying it, because the chances of you eating something unhealthy right afterwards is very likely. You were probably better off having that fried chicken instead of that pumpkin salad AND fried chicken. Just remember every time you do treat yourself, stick right back into your meal plan so you don't make it a habit. 


My workout focuses mainly of the butt and thighs with occasional ab crunches on a yoga ball. I never go to the gym unless I wanted to do extra strength training on the machines. But most of the time I loved doing at home workouts because no one is watching and you could be butt naked if you wanted to and no one would question.  

Having trouble getting off your couch to workout?  Take off your warm layers and get yourself cold and chilly. That way you would want to quickly raise your body temperature by moving around. Exercise releases endorphins which are HAPPY hormones, so when you're feeling bored and stressed with life, do a mini 15 minute workout to reset your mood. It's like brain yoga. 

Blogilates videos are my favourite. Don't know what I'm talking about?! Get out of your hole and start exercising to these great at home videos. My favourite workout video is this one, it burns! Burns so good!

BRAND FOCUS - YVES SAINT LAURENT

Yves Saint Laurent

Ah, the infamous gold packaging that all girls adore. Not only does it look super luxe but the quality of the product is definitely there. Yves Saint Laurent is about creating light in the skin and adding focus to the feature with use of colour. With emphasis on colour, the texture and shade of lipsticks are out of the world. YSL makes coloured mascaras which adds a subtle tint to the lashes to emphasise the natural eye colour.

FAVOURITES

Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Baby Doll

Defines each single lash and stretches them to its longest without clumping. The lashes look so defined and clean, recreating the lashes of a child, full and fluffy. The formula of this mascara is impeccable. You will serious fall in love with it.
Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Shocking

 If you are looking for highly pigmented and voluminous eyelashes, the shocking mascara gives you that with such ease. With just 2 swipes your lashes will look so full, the formula create a web between each lash building volume and density across the lashes. Just don't over do it on this one or you can start to get really spiky chunky lashes.



Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stains

Amazing colours, amazing texture and shine, and most impressive is the longevity of the gloss finish. My lips literally stay glossy till I eat. Favourite colour: Glossy Stain 11








 Rouge Pur Couture Lipsticks
One word. Irreplaceable. The texture of these lipsticks are like melted butter swiped on the lips. The colours are beautiful and they don't accentuate fine lines or dryness in the lips. Reapplying is easy, it doesn't make your lips look cakey or get caught into patchy dry flakes.





OVER-HYPED


 Touch éclat

 Sheer and very little coverage. Feels
like a watered down concealer

Rouge Volupte Shine

I love all lipsticks from YSL but I find these ones don't last as long. But if you are looking for a natural and shine finish and don't mind reapplying, these lipsticks are still wonderful.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Makeup and it's different faces


Through advanced technology we have seen the beauty industry grow. From foundations, to tinted moisturizer, BB creams, CC creams and now DD creams? It's no wonder why women love makeup so much, they can instantly transform one’s look by playing with different colours, shapes, shadow and light to create a face. I will show you THE POWER OF MAKEUP!

WINTER KNITS

OBSESSION

My latest obsession are OVERSIZED knits. I like to call them a blanket of warmth because  it literally makes you feel like you have not left your bed. Now thats its winter in Melbourne, these oversized knits are popping up everywhere!


My favourite way to wear them is over a fitted outfit. Jeans or leggings as a bottom with a fitted or loose singlet. A nice ankle boot heel with hair up in a messy bun with strands of loose hair falling from the side of the face.

Thinking of a night out but its too cold outside to wear you favourite body con dress. DO IT! but pair it with a loose knit cardigan. It will still look sexy as the cardigan drapes across your body. SEXY, understated and chill

 


"fashion fades, but style is eternal" - Yves Saint Laurent


TEARY NIGHTS


Feeling a bit down? It's healthy to have a cry and let it all out but after that big release we don't look the most inviting. Hair all scrambled, swollen eyes, red nose and dull complexion. It can happen at the most uncalled times, whether you have work the next morning or you have to go see someone.

We don't want to walk out the door looking helpless do we? Get your emotions sorted and when you are ready to crawl out of your bed to conquer the day, look in front of the mirror and tell your self that you can fight these emotions!

I don't know about you, but I usually cry at night and wake up with puffy red eyes and a dull complexion. As soon as I check in the mirror and see last night's aftermath, the first thing I do is get my tea bags ready. I don't have any more time to think of upsetting things, we have a whole day ahead and the show must go on! Wipe those tears away and bring that complexion back to life using these tips.



STEP 1 
PREPARE TEA. 

Not only are tea bags good for the eyes, but having a glass of green tea in the morning will detoxify and cleanse the system. Place your tea bags into hot water for a minute and take the tea bag out and allow it to cool. If your don't have green tea in your pantry, most teas will work to de puff the eyes.

STEP 2
EXFOLIATE 

While the tea and tea bag are left to cool, lets fix our dull complexion with a bit of mild exfoliation. (Leena recommends: AVEENO Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub) Exfoliating will get rid of any dead skin cell build up on the top layer of the skin therefore letting our skin look more translucent and allowing our natural radiance shine. Note to self: Do not take your anger out on your skin!  Do not scrub hard especially if you have other things on your mind. Treat yourself to a mask if time permits, if not, follow up with your regular toner and lotion.


STEP 3 
DEPUFF

Once the tea bag has had some time to rest, place them onto the eye. This is an important step because the skin around the eyes are delicate and thin, anything too hot will damage the eyes and lead to wrinkles, dryness and saggy skin. Usually my eyes take 5 minutes to de puff with the help of tea bags, but this may vary from person to person. Whilst waiting for the tea bags to work its magic, take a sip of tea and allow this time to unwind and relax.


STEP 4 
ADD RADIANCE

Once our skin and eyes are back to normal, there may still be a bit of redness in the skin. Apply a BB cream or a light foundation to even the texture and tone of the skin. (Leena recommends: YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat) Try to a achieve a glowy rosy complexion. If you have a natural redness around the cheeks, do not try to conceal all of it but a sheer foundation will still allow it to peak through giving the illusion of a natural rosy complexion. A rosy complexion reflects youth and healthy skin.

STEP 5
ADD COLOUR


If your eyes are still looking red or puffy, distract the attention by adding a beautiful pop of colour to the lips or cheeks. If you are not comfortable with bright colours, swap it with a tinted lip balm for a more natural effect and add a pair of false lashes to hide minor puffy eyelids (optional). Remember to keep eyes very minimal by applying a light champagne colour, or no colour and just a few pumps of WATERPROOF mascara.






Lift your head up high and remember that when one door closed, two doors open. Opportunities comes and goes, things happen for a reason so do not give up on hope. Xx

Thursday, April 9, 2015

5 small ways to annoy any beauty consultants



1. CROSSING YOUR LEGS 

Whether you are getting a foundation match, or getting your makeup done for your prom. Please restrain the temptation of crossing your legs unless you want the makeup artist to straddle you. It makes it hard and awkward for the makeup artist to get close enough to your face without getting nudged by your leg in their mid section.

2. PLAYING ON YOUR PHONE

 Similar to the first point, your phone is a barrier and a distraction. especially with eye makeup applications. leave your Facebook and Twitter posts after. 


3. ROBBING TISSUES 


At least ask, don't just come barging in without saying hi and taking a tissue and leaving. We feel robbed. 


4. "NO! JUST LOOKING" 

 "Hi! How are y..." "NO, just looking" 
I only said Hi. DON'T INTERRUPT MY GREETING. Don't think that every consultant will come hard on you the minute you walk to the counter. Its in their job description to greet you. It would be a different story if i said "HI, would you like to try this amazing product that you just randomly picked up?!"

5. TRASHING THE COUNTER


I'm fine with people testing and trying products themselves but please unwind the lipstick down before you place it back into a slot or putting the lid back on. Yes it's part of their jobs to clean the counter on a daily basis but a simple gesture of putting a lid back is not that hard. 

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Formal Introductions


HELLO!
My name is Leena and welcome to my space!

I still have yet to decide what this blog will cover. But, I have a passion in beauty, health and lifestyle topics. Therefore this blog is created to gather glam content into one space to relieve BEAUTY hungry readers!

I've been meaning to open a new blog since the start of this year but life gets in the way. I hope you all enjoy reading this blog and I look forward to meeting fellow bloggers and readers with alike minds. 
"don't just dream, dreams don't come true unless you work for it"


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