Having her eyebrows plucked


Drawing her eyebrows


Using kohl pencil eyeliner


Applying mascara


The trainer & his muse


The girls having a go at doing makeup for each other 

The girls having a go at doing makeup for each other 

Comment (0)

To the untrained eye, it is difficult to fully grasp this concept because we all have our own likes and dislikes which have been ingrained in us over the years. When we look at a colour, we either like it or dislike it based on our association of it with past experience. Most of us love the colour black because it makes us look slimmer. But lo and behold, not everyone can take black. Wearing black for some of us make us look devoid of life and almost dead. Yet when others wear it, they look radiant and stunning.

Yet when one truly understands the value of colour analysis and the many benefits it brings, one will appreciate the seemingly endless trying and trying of the various colour drapes. It's like playing magician and working magic except your props are colour drapes!

In my lessons, I like to demonstrate how it is done as seeing is believing. But of course, my opinion alone cannot be the sole deciding factor whether to accept or reject that particular colour drape for the model. That's when my lovely assistants come in handy. See how hardworking they are - one scrutinises the model's face closely while the other is busy jotting down the details.



My task for the students was a relatively simple one - to discover one's three best colours and three worst colours. When you know your best and worst colours, you buy your best ones and ditch your worst ones. It cannot get any simpler than this. This was in preparation for the students' mock job interview on Friday, the last day of their grooming workshop. 

Happy colour analysing! If you would like to have a colour analysis session for your school, corporation or client, please give me a call!

Comment (0)

Comment (0)

This week has been a challenging but inspiring week for me as I'm learning new skills everyday! Yes, they are new skills to add to my repertoire so as to help all my clients look their best (should they require such services).

After the previous day's manicure and eyebrow plucking hands-on tutorials, yesterday and today we immerse ourselves in the art of makeup. Yes, the very word 'makeup' would excite any woman. After all, who doesn't want to look pretty and attractive both to themselves and the other sex?

I'm truly a novice when it comes to basic makeup techniques. Yes, I've worn makeup before but that was for my different competitions & photoshoots...this time it's different. I'm going to be THE makeup artist myself! 

Applying makeup is like driving a car. It's rather methodological, as long as you follow the steps, you can't go wrong. The only challenge is the strength of your hand, eye for details and of course, quest for perfection. How else can one explain why ladies can sometimes take up to 2hrs just to apply makeup before stepping out of the house?

The heart of makeup lies in bringing out the best in any lady. We cover up the flaws and accentuate the beautiful parts. It's pretty similar to how I would dress the ladies according to their body shapes.

From doing it myself and applying makeup on the models, I learnt first-hand the different techniques used such as blending, patting and fixing...and when to use which technique. You have blemishes, dark circles, pigmentation and acne on your skin? No worries, under my by-now skilful arms, I'll 'banish' them away with some help from the foundation and concealer. 

Applying makeup on a lady is a very private affair and having the enviable task of being the makeup artist to the female models is a great honour for me. Hey, these ladies trust me so I must do a good job to transform them and make them more beautiful! Yet, I also have to take into consideration their personality (you don't give a natural lady a dramatic makeover) and age appropriateness.

Applying makeup is like painting on a fresh piece of canvas. You can add any colour to brighten it up. But the colour you choose must complement the skin tone and bring out their natural beauty. You don't add colour just because you feel like it. Neither do you choose a colour that is jarring and clashes with the original colour of the canvas. Yet at the heart of it all lies the foundation. If the foundation is applied properly, the lady looks stunning, even before the eye shadow comes on. 

Alright everybody, presenting my models with makeup done, courtesy of the newly minted makeup artist, Lionel!


Before makeup - this young lass looks a little tired with obvious dark eye circles & puffiness

After makeup - the same young lass looks younger, prettier, confident & ready for a date! 


The makeup artist & his model


Makeup is only the start...I complete her look by doing her hair & accessorising her with a red scarf too!

Before makeup - you can see all the forgiving tell-tale signs of Father Time on her face...plus the pigmentation problems that have plagued her for years


After makeup - this mother of four looks so much classier & is ready to rock the town!


Witness the power of makeup as it transforms ladies into stunning beauties!


Another different look for my model


With another one of my models after the makeup

Comment (0)

Do you sometimes feel why nothing seems to change even after you have had the best workout or expended the most calories after that run? Many a times, if not always, it boils down to what you eat. Yes, that's the truth.

And for this reason itself, I always teach my clients to create healthy associations with our food. Thus is both my very own Food Awareness Training. It's ironic how I've come up with an acronym like that as if you shorten it to just the alphabets, it spells FAT! Haha...

Many of us eat not because we have to, but because we choose to. It is surprising that we all yield so much power in our hands (or more in our minds I think) when it comes to food. A sensible eating plan needs to suit your taste and lifestyle. It's not about going bland and tasteless all the time.

The tenets of my Food Awareness Training are simple. Firstly, it aims to teach you to be mindful of what you put into your mouth. Before you embark on a feast or eat like a mouse, ask yourself if that heavenly delicacy or morsel of food is friend or foe. There are many body enemies out there (think preserved food, sugary drinks etc).

Secondly, Food Awareness Training allows you to choose, not cheat. It's not about food deprivation. Rather, it's more about food substitution. What can I eat that will give me the equal amount of calories? Should I eat that cupcake or something else? One tip I can offer readers is to go for foods that can be used to substitute high-calorie foods while getting the same satisfying taste.

In a nutshell, Food Awareness Training is flexible, not boring. You do not have to give up the food you love or change your lifestyle. You will never feel hungry. You will never change your entire relationship with food so you need never be on the same up and down weight cycle again. Best of all, you will be in control...cruise control :)

Comment (0)

The fish spa treatment is not something new. A novel spa treatment said to originate with the doctor fish in Turkey, it's been around town for a couple of years. Basically what you do is to soak your feet in an aquarium of fishes who will then start to 'work' religiously on your feet. Yes, it will be sooner than you think when different schools of fish start nibbling on the dead skin cells by crapping their tiny mouths against your skin. Think of it like using a facial scrub or going for demabrasion but this time it's exfoliation done the natural way. 

The best part of it is that you become food for the fishes as it's amusing how hungry the fishes are as they swim towards you. It's no secret that the owners don't feed them too often, less they not do their job. And all this nibbling action cum massage is supposed to reveal smoother and healthier skin. 

But if you think the fishes are only content to be nibbling away at your dead skin cells on your feet, think again. A particular fish spa shop in Singapore has now creatively introduced the fish spa hand treatment.

Looking at the both the locals and tourists in the small crammed shop seated on a neon-lighted wooden bench brought back the good old school days of sitting obediently on the tuckshop bench during recess time. The only difference was that everybody happily inserted all ten fingers into a long pond of water filled with the doctor fish. And judging from their bemused looks, I bet all were enjoying such a sight of watching the fishes swim towards their fingers and start nibbling away at the dead skin cells. Are you about to become fish food? Haha...

Who says you should only be doing your medicures and pedicures these days? Throw in a fish spa hand treatment as well to pamper yourselves and reward your often overworked hands to reveal younger, smoother skin :)

Comment (0)

I've just finished two grooming workshops today. They are of a slightly different nature from the ones I'm doing because there's more at stake for the participants today! Guess what? The grooming workshops today were specially customised to suit the needs of the Top 24 semi-finalists of the Kovan Superstar 2010 Singing Competition.

Open to all Singaporeans aged between 13 to 26 years old, the three-year-old Kovan Superstar seeks to unearth more local singing sensations. I feel really privileged to be able to provide grooming and style advice to the top 24 semi-finalists as they attend specially organised grooming workshops this afternoon.







From being a contestant myself in many past competitions to now being elevated to helping other contestants spruce up their image quotient for the upcoming last two rounds, I fully understand the feelings of the contestants. It's a competition after all and may the best guy or girl win. Yet, it's more than just a singing competition as the judges will be looking for not just vocal prowess but also the star quality. And that's what the participants were seeking to unravel during today's grooming workshop. How could each contestant up his or her own stage presence and impress at first sight with the right dressing?

Dressing for a performance on stage is different from dressing for work or play. It requires knowing your own personality style, song genre and message you want to convey to the judges. Depending on the number you are singing - hip-hop, R&B or ballad, you dress accordingly. 

I'm very happy the participants found the workshops useful as by letting me know how they felt through their testimonials, I know deep down inside I've done my part to help them ace the next round. I'm looking forward to seeing their performance and new looks at the forthcoming semi-finals on 19 June 2010 at Heartland Mall. You rock!

Comment (0)