Friday, June 5, 2009

Maybelline? MAC? Dior? Mustika Ratu?

Ever heard of foot binding? Did you know some Asian women wear metal rings to elongate their necks? I love trivial facts. I found these facts from a student magazine. They are about weird stuffs related to beauty. Some are quite shocking!

  1. In ancient Greece, the unibrow was prized among women as a sign of intelligence and beauty. Those who lack this attribute routinely close the gap with kohl or lampblack.
  2. Several Egyptian queens donned false gold beards on important occasions because facial hair was seen as a sign of intelligence and beauty in ancient Egypt.
  3. It was considered fashionable to fake eyebrows made from the skin of mice in the 18th century.
  4. During the Renaissance, fake beauty marks became popular. Small circles of black velvet were used to hide ox scars, warts, and pimples.
  5. Silk stockings were severely rationed during WW2. Thus, women would use gravy browning or strong tea to dye their legs.
  6. It is believed that Cleopatra wore red lipsticks made from crushed carmine beetles mixed with ant's eggs. Nowadays, fish scales are commonly used as an ingredient for lipsticks. Pearl essence? It's the euphemism for fish scales.
  7. Digest this. Cerebrosides, used in many skin care products to increase moisture retention and smoothen the skin, are made from the brain cells and other nervous system of cattle and swines. Icky eh?
  8. Check this one: David Beckham's wife is reported to pay $200 a session to get bird poo smeared on her face. Nightingale droppings have been used by Japanese geishas as a cleanser. The product has been introduced in the western society, where the guanine, an enzyme found in the poo, is believed to be able to make the skin smooth and supple. Hmm, I think I'll stick with Nivea.
  9. I have an assignment due in 3 hours. I'm procrastinating by writing this article. Smart, right?

A summary of May..

A few important and novelty issues prevented me from posting new entries since the past few weeks. However, I feel it is important to highlight several events in the month of May this year.
First, I turned 23 last month. From the child who was grumpy and at times, silly, to the still consistent childish and short-fused me. And it was my first time receiving a fragrance for my birthday. LOvE iT!! tengkiu.. = )

Second, it was the finale of the Barclays Premier League and Champions League. Man Utd managed to retained the first trophy but unfortunately we were badly beaten by Barcelona in Rome. It sucked so hard but the better team that day won. I guess the pressure was too much for my team. There's always another season.

Finally, the season finale of Prison Break. The standalone episode (or movie) was awesome. It was heart breaking to see the main character did not survive the escape. Anyway, kudos to the writers, production crew, and casts for making Prison Break one the best TV series I've ever watched.

These are some the events which happened last month. Couldn't recall other stuffs due to lack of time and elaboration. I would post an interesting article next.

Cheers!