Category: BEAUTY

Let’s Talk About Lip Beautification – An Insider’s Guide

BY LISA WILLIAMS Full lips have always been associated with youth and beauty. Because of this, lip enhancement is one of the most frequently requested procedures in a cosmetic practice. We speak to Dr Low Chai Ling, medical director of SW1 Clinic who takes us through SW1’s six steps to achieve aesthetically pleasing augmented lips. While there is no single prescription for a “perfect” lip, nor a “one size fits all” approach for lip augmentation, these 6 steps created and coined ‘Lip Beautification sextet’ by Dr Low can be used as a basic template for achieving a natural look. Read more: HOW TO (NOT) AGE LIKE A SUPERMODEL!     In virtually all women, since the beginning of recorded history, full lips have been associated with youth, beauty, and voluptuousness. Robust, pouty lips are considered to be sexually attractive by both men and women. Even in a period of economic downturn, women continue to buy products to adorn their lips. The “Lipstick Index,” a term coined by Leonard Lauder, Chairman Emeritus of Continue Reading

My Quest for a Sharper Nose without Surgery

BY LISA WILLIAMS Though my nose is perfectly straight and sits well proportioned on my face, the somewhat bovine curve at the bottom bothered me. Not the curve, per se, but a childhood memory related to it. When I was about six, my mother casually mentioned my nose looked like Miss Piggy’s—which, in itself, is not a bad thing to say except no woman wants to grow up to resemble a porcine cartoon character. A few months later, forgetting all about her comment and the fact that I have a spectacular memory, she said, “Miss Piggy has a really ugly nose.” This caused an unintentional scar that remained on my psyche; I would never pose for pictures in profile. I was convinced it wasn’t my best face forward. However, I am a real coward when it comes to surgery. The furthest I have gone in my foray into the medical world was a blood test for my annual health screen. Hence, my dilemma.   Jumping into the deep end When I found Continue Reading

The Best Beauty Fixes to Try in Your 30s, 40s & 50

As we grow older our skin goes through many different phases depending on our hormones and how much we indulge in life’s excesses. To help you understand your skin better, we look at what happens to our skin during our thirties, forties and fifties and give you the best beauty tips for each stage. Read More: 5 Anti-Aging Must-Haves for Graceful Living 30s WHAT IS HAPPENING? More babies are born to women aged between 30 and 34 than in any other age group. Pregnancy is a good skin care conditioner and it’s common for women to appear to ‘glow’ during this time. This is because a healthy hormone production of oestrogen and progesterone can give your skin a healthy look. Read More: 5 Ways to Tackle Stubborn Zits FAULTS & FIXES: Pregnancy spots: Some women complain of ‘pregnancy spots’. This is an overgrowth of blood vessels lying deep in your skin caused by too much oestrogen. During pregnancy, your skin texture may also start to become drier and tougher because Continue Reading

The Truth about Acne Scars

Scars from acne can seem like a double punishment – first you had to suffer through the oily pimply skin and now, you have unsightly marks to remind you. Some people ignore their scars and some wear them with pride, but if like the rest of us, you want a smoother complexion, fret not, there are a variety of ways to help improve the appearance or get rid of your old acne scars.   POTIONS & PEELS The common ingredients in topical creams for acne scars include Vitamin A, which helps with stimulation of collagen, and Vitamin C, Kojic acid, arbutin, that help to lighten the pigmentation associated with early scars (post inflammatory changes). A chemical peel involves the application of a high potency acid upon the skin, and the more potent the acid, the deeper the penetration into the skin. You may want to consider Professional Chemical Peels that are excellent in lightening the post inflammatory marks and reducing the oiliness, which also helps to control new acne outbreaks. Continue Reading

The 4 Faces of Ageing: Which One Are You?

BY LISA WILLIAMS The first step to amazing skin is to find out how yours is holding up. “Not all ageing is created equal. Depending on the complex interplay between multiple factors such as genetics, the environment, hormones and our facial structure, we tend to age differently,” explains Dr Low Chai Ling, from SW1 Clinic. Look into the mirror: Your primary problem tends to be the one staring right back at you first. Armed with this knowledge of their top challenges, beauty writers and willing friends of SKIN tested out this guide to radically rid their faces of visible signs of ageing and prevent future problems. Read More: You Can Now Shape Your Body While Naturally Augmenting Your Breasts