How do you know its time to bin the mascara?

One of the items that is hardest to figure out when to get rid of it, is mascara. Mascaras always come in a solid coloured tube and you never know how much there is in there in the first place. Unlike lipstick where you can see the stick growing shorter day by day, mascara is almost a closed book.

From my rather limited experience with using mascara, here are some sure signs its time to bin the ol’ mascara and open up a new tube:

• The brush looks dry when you pull it out of the tube.
• The mascara flakes from your lashes onto your face
• It gets harder to apply it and to see any effect on your lashes.
• Your mascara-ed lashes just don’t look as lush and long anymore
• Its been more than 3 months.

Hygiene experts recommend that mascara be binned after 3 months because in that time, it would have dried up, or have bacteria in it from regular use. I’ve used some mascara for slightly over 3 months without problems, but it isn’t recommended by the experts.

In order to prevent the introduction of air and bacteria into the tube, take care never to pump the wand in the tube like you see in some movies. This pumping in and out action only serves to introduce air into the tube which not only dries out the mascara inside, but also introduces bacteria into the tube. With something going so near your eyes, you do not want bacteria in the formula!

So, check your mascara and if any one of them fall in the any of the categories above, its time to bin it!

Magazine Subscriptions for cheap

The only time I indulge in the glossy womens and fashion magazines is when I’m browsing at a bookstore or when I’m at my hairdressers. I find them too expensive to purchase monthly otherwise, even with a subscription. This is especially when I particularly enjoy reading the international editions of magazines like Cosmopolitan and InStyle and Lucky. I love Allure and Lucky and they cost a bomb here.

I once thought to sign up for magazine subscriptions direct from the USA as it appeared to save me some money. However, at the time the exchange rate was not in my favour and I did not have a credit card then so it was out of the question.

However, I have now been invited by Magazine Agent to do a review on their site which has to do with magazines and I’m absolutely amazed at their low prices! Take shopping and fashion magazine Lucky for example. The subscription for 12 issues costs just $15 ($1.25 per issue) which is a huge 57% saving off the newsstand price.

I tried to see if they ship internationally at low prices, and saw that they have actually partnered with a site called magazinecity.com that ships internationally. So now, it is actually possible to subscribe to international editions or USA only magazines from outside the USA. Granted, you pay a higher price than you would in the USA but hey, its not that bad when you consider that its impossible to get your paws on Lucky otherwise.

Important Tip: Use Sunscreen!

As the picture shows, it is never too early to use suncreen on your face and body. Now, I’d be the first to admit that I’m not always as religious about using sunscreen on my arms and legs but for my face, its a top priority every single day.

Its a fallacy that if you refrain from going out into the sun, you don’t need sunscreen. Or, that if you stay home with all the windows and doors closed, you don’t need sunscreen. Closing your windows and doors and staying indoors doesn’t prevent the UV rays from reaching you. So yes, maybe you won’t tan, but your skin isn’t protected from UV rays either.

And for anyone who indulges in anti-aging creams and cures, its best you start now with sunscreen. That is the best anti-aging cure you can hope for because it is a fact that the sun’s rays and UV rays damage the skin and causes skin to age and in extreme cases, skin cancer. Sunscreen blocks or filters these harmful UV rays thereby reducing the skin damage and therefore acting as an anti-aging measure.

I found this very helpful article about sunscreen and what kinds of sunscreen one should look out for. This other article about sun protection too is very insightful. In gist:

• Use a sunscreen that blocks or filters UV-A and UV-B rays. These are broad spectrum sunscreens.
• Use a sunscreen that is SPF15 and above. According to reports, there is no evidence that very high SPF will actually protect your skin more but here in the tropics, SPF 50 is the norm. The Japanese have their own system of rating sunscreens with PA+++ for the highest and PA+ for low ratings.
• Reapply often especially if you are going to be out in the sun. However, for practical purposes, I can only see this reapplication for the body for most of us who work will have our faces made up and thus, reapplying sunscreen isn’t much of an option.
• When applying sunscreen do not forget areas like your neck and ears. Men or women with short hair tend to forget the back of the neck and the tips of the ears which can burn easily.

For myself, I use L’oreal UV Perfect sunscreen for my face because thus far, it has worked best for me and it blocks both UV-A and UV-B rays. Biotherm Sunfitness isn’t bad too as its non-sticky. My foundation too has SPF. For my body, I use the one by the Australian Cancer Council. Its only available for purchase in Australia.

This post was actually prompted by my discussion with a friend about using sunscreen. I was appalled that anyone would not use sunscreen because I’m a great proponent and advocate of using sunscreen if not for beauty, then for health reasons. I’ve read some articles that say that sunscreens may not be all that good for you because of the chemicals, but in general, the pros have thus far outweighed the cons.

So, slap on the sunscreen. When you are 50, your skin will thank you for it!

Edit: This tip applies equally for both men and women. If you don’t use any other skincare on your skin, use sunscreen. It does make a difference.

Picture courtesy of vamcmag

Health and Fitness Tips and Tricks

I previously participated in a Blog writing project where we had to share our tips and tricks. The full list has been compiled at Daily Blog Tips but I’d like to share my top 3 from the Health and Fitness section:

• How To Be Gorgeous Like Me by Kendra
• Some Tips on Preventing Childhood Obesity by Tina
• Effective Ways to Losing Weight by Tine

Read them and learn and pick up other tips and tricks from the finalists.