is wearing bikini the only way to look cool by the pool?

are you seriously writing about swimwear in september? 

well. parts of the world are swimwear season all year round, parts are just turning summer, hong kong is still boiling hot and most people love traveling to hotter countries in winter. so why not? 

i love summer- i love the water, the beaches the sand and the sun, but there are years i haven't been visiting the pool nor the beach. why? you probably got it right, it's the body issues. 

since i don't know when, beaches and pools are packed with people who wear bikini ONLY. and since it became such a norm, some people might feel like it is a must to wear them. no. don't get me wrong. bikinis are fine. they are beautiful and there is nothing wrong in wearing them. but since we are in the era of people raving about having the "perfect" bikini body, it might feel wrong for some people to wear them with the "wrong" body. 

so what do we do? we go to the beach or pool with bikini on, covering ourselves with a big tee shirt. or we still wear them feeling super uncomfortable inside. or we just simply not go to places like that anymore. but honey, you don't have to do that anymore, you don't have to force yourself in wearing bikini if you don't want to. nowadays, there are tons of beautiful one piece swimsuits out there for you . they are cute, elegant; and when styled right, they can look extremely chic on. 

so today i've put together some really beautiful one piece i've found in different online stores, from more expensive ones to more affordable ones, so everyone could have the chance to wear something they love while enjoying themselves by the pool. 

baking soda magic | does brand matter?

When you don't know what's going to work, use baking soda, well at least that's what I thought. Baking soda are like magic, they work almost on anything, but I especially like it in the beauty department.

To some people, putting baking soda on your face would sound like a terrifying thing to do. I know because up until now, people would still scream when they saw me using them. I've been using baking soda as my exfoliator for almost a year now, and I didn't really feel it up until now. FYI, I have super sensitive skin so they get irritated and red very easily. When I first started out with the baking soda remedy, I was worried because they burnt and leave my face really red. But since everyone were saying how great the result is, I seriously don't want to just give up. But to be honest, for the first half year, except for the fact that my face turned bright red after the exfoliation, nothing magical had happened, at all.

I got tired of the bottle of baking soda sitting in my bathtub, so I went ahead and bought a new box thinking that it will give me a new experience with the whole magical journey. Ended up pretty accurately because it really did gave me a totally different experience. My face didn't burnt nor get red at all after the exfoliation, and they also leave my skin feeling very clean and refresh afterwards.

This whole new experience leave me thinking whether the brand has anything to do with the result.

I was using baking soda from a well known supermarket brand here in Hong Kong. The new one that I bought is from Arm & Hammer which is probably the most common brand of baking soda one would use. Just by feeling the texture, you can tell that the latter one came out finer, which maybe the reason why it is not as harsh on my skin. But except for the texture, they are both 100% baking soda now why would it make such a great different? I don't want to make false assumption but from my experience you know, even the most basic thing can come out impure.

When you go into the supermarket, you will find baking soda selling in various price. I know the effects of branding, but doesn't it make you wonder why some brand can sell their stuff in such a low price? I am not encouraging everyone to buy only the expensive here, but I would definitely be more careful when it comes to products which we will eat or put on our face (which would be absorb into our bloodstream too guys).

Have you ever thought that pure things can also come out impure?

DON'T HATE WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

I always think of my dear granny whenever I am sick. I thought of the time when she was sick and how she had suffered. I know she was experiencing so much pain, but I am not her I would never understand. This actually applies to all other situations and people- when you criticise, complain or even hate on something or someone just because you don't agree or understand, remember, you are not them and you would never understand how it's like to be in his/her position. You won't know what they are going through nor what they bear. 

I always said I am one super lucky girl- to be able to get born and grew up in such environment; to have the chance and ability to acknowledge and change situations and problems. Most people spent their life suffering not knowing what the problems are, not to mention about changing anything. I understand there are people out there who did bad and horrible things to hurt others and I am not here to ask you to tolerance or forgive any of their behaviours. I just thought the world has too much hatred already, we do not need more negative emotions when tragedy happens, but more positive love.

  | Gala darling was right- the reaction to tragedy shouldn't be more hatred. 

Peace is when people with different voices respect each other. Life is definitely too short to spend time wasting on hating and complaining.

I MISS MY CHANCE TO LOVE MY DEAR GRANNY, DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU OKAY? LOVE WHEN YOU HAVE CHANCE AND OF COURSE I LOVE YOU ALL. XOXO

my weekly inspiration

every week I long for him- his prediction, his writing and his inspiration. I am not addicted because I care a lot about my weekly horoscope prediction, his words are inspirational to everyone no matter what horoscope you are. 

for all you libra out there, this is what he wants to say to us for the week

"I worked as a hair stylist in Chicago's Gold Coast for 20 years with some of the most gorgeous woman and men in the world," writes sculptor Rich Thomson. "Once I asked a photographer who shot for the big magazines how he picked out the very best models from among all these great-looking people. His response: 'Flaws. Our flaws are what make us interesting, special and exotic. They define us.'" My challenge to you, Libra, is to meditate on how your supposed imperfections and oddities are essential to your unique beauty. It's a perfect moment to celebrate- and make good use of -- your idiosyncrasies.

isn't this the most amazing and beautiful thing to hear? I don't know about you, but from what I know, a lot of people (even the most successful and glamorous people) are suffering from self confidence issue. We walked around the street, or go to public events, thinking everyone is talking about us. We are concern of what other people say, we are concern about how we look. But actually the only person who cares is ourselves. I know I am totally talking to myself, because I am one of the million people out there who need to start loving myself. But now I know, my flaws are what make me a person, and that make me imperfectly perfect. 

you too know you are perfect right? xoxo

lesson of the week #1 - stop whining

DO NOT AGREE?

try saying only negative things and only positive things to yourself for one day and see how that separately feel. what you felt are probably what your friends feel.  

不同意？

嘗試一整天只對自己說正面或負面的話，看看自己分別有什麼感覺。

你所感受的應該也是你朋友所感受的。

[personal bullshit]

this is what I learnt this week after a gathering with some old friends. I have been whining and complaining about everything for the last couple of months. I don't know how they feel because they obviously won't tell me straight to my face that I am annoying. But I've came to a point that even I am tired of myself. It's really time for some changes. 

這是我這一星期的體驗。突然發覺我已經好幾個月每一次跟朋友談天都在對人生投訴，

我都快要把自己逼瘋了，更何況是我可鄰的朋友們。

是時候改變了...

what's your experience? do you whine?