拍写真（二）

今年六月回家时我又拍了一集写真。这次比上次更便宜，大约新币60块，包括有二十张照片的CD，一本相册和两张海报（一张30寸，一张24寸），效果比上次稍好些，价格却大大地便宜了，所以感觉还不错。

Laneige Makeover / 兰芝的活动

昨天我又去参加了Laneige的活动，这次我是报名比较早的，所以报名费只花了$70。我用这70块钱又加了13块买了一支唇膏，一支唇油和一盒腮红，再加上他们提供免费化妆和一张A4尺寸的相片，这应该是很划算的，再加上我上次去过，拍得照片不错，这次我又抱了很大希望，谁想却有些令人失望。
去之前我用网上的算命软件算了那天的运势，结果显示有一件事是事先抱有很大希望，但结果却不尽如人意。那时我还不太相信，因为是同一个化妆师，上次他画得还不错；可这次画得却不怎么样，而且摄影师也换人了，上次的是个年轻女孩，她每照了一张就给我看看，我觉得哪里不满意，她再重拍并指导我该怎样改进，一连重拍了几次，终于拿到了我们想要的结果。可昨天的那位大叔就没那么好说话了，他知道我拍了6张，然后让我在这6张中选出一张，我一看没一张理想的，就建议他是不是再拍一轮，他拒绝了，说就只能这6张了。本来还想请我的同事帮我多拍几张，但看了这效果觉得还是放弃比较好。

Korean Laneige Makeover Session

星期六一早，我参加了在Bugis Junction举行的Laneige化妆拍照活动。本活动费用为S$80，但全部可以用来买产品，因为事先听一位朋友说起她家的Water Sleeping Mask很好用，她在飞机上买的，是S$40，我本来也想趁去中国的时候在机场购买，但既然有这个活动，想不如一起就办了。(我买了一瓶Water Sleeping Mask S$45 和一把用来刷液态粉底的刷子S$44, 经使用后感觉刷子很好用) 于是定了星期六11点的appointment。是由那位专程从韩国飞来的化妆师亲自为我化妆。他是位典型的韩国帅哥，为人非常亲切，虽然语言不通，需要翻译，但也能感觉到他是位非常敬业的人。当我告诉他我希望他能帮我化成宣传画上宋蕙荞的样子，你还别说，经韩国人这么一化，我觉得自己也有几分酷似韩国人了。
接下来就是摆成宋的那个经典姿势，这还真的有点难度，摄影师教了我好长时间，总算差不多了。不过努力也算没白费，据朋友说效果还不错。比前两次的要好一些。

Last Sat morning, I went to the Laneige Makeover Session at Bugis Junction. It cost S$80, but was fully redeemable. I heard from my friend that their water sleeping mask was very good. She bought one on the airplane which cost $40. I thought of buying it at the airport when I go to China next time. Since there’s a chance here, I thought it would not be a bad idea to join this workshop since I wanted to try their product. In the end, I bought a water sleeping mask (S$45) and a brush for liquid foundation (S$44). I have tried both. I didn’t care for the mask too much, but the brush is quite good. I made an appointment at 11am. In fact I was the first customer. It was done by a Korean makeup artist, who purposely flew over from Seoul for this event. He’s a typical Korean man. I told him I wanted to look like Sung Hye Kyo. Although we couldn’t understand each other, he assured me using his "ok" gesture. After his work, I felt I really looked a bit like a Korean.

Then came the photo shooting. The photographer was a young girl. I told her I wanted to look like Sung in the poster there. It took us a long time to get the closer shot. Basically, it was because I was a bit slow. But it was worth it. My friend later told me it was a good job after she saw it.

Photo Editing / 编辑照片

昨天在网上浏览时，偶然发现了一个很有趣的网页，它可以帮我们编辑照片，如加相框啦，写字啦，涂鸦啦，装饰啦等等，我最喜欢的还是特效，有柔光，锐化，影楼，LOMO, 反转片，日系，哥特，复古，黄昏，黑白，彩虹渐变，冷色渐变，毛玻璃，油画，素描等15种。非常有趣。你不妨也来试试？


Yesterday when I was surfing internet, I found a very interesting site. It can help us to edit our photos by just one single click! Sounds wonderful right? It can add all sorts of frames, words, graffiti etc. But the best thing that i love is the special effects. It includes 15 special effects, like soft focus, sharpen effect, studio effect, LOMO, reversal film, Japanese style, Gothic style, retro effect, dusk effect, black & white, rainbow gradients effect, cool gradients effect, frosted glass effect, painting effect and sketch. The problem is after editing, it will lose its resolution severely. It’s quite fun. Try it!

未编辑/Original

柔光/Soft Focus

锐化/Sharpen Effect

影楼/Studio Effect

LOMO

反转片/Reversal Film

日系/Japanese Style

哥特/Gothic Style

复古/Retro Style

黄昏/Dusk Effect

黑白/Black & White

彩虹渐变/Rainbow Gradients Effect

冷色渐变/Cool Gradients Effect

毛玻璃/FrostedGlass Effect

油画/Painting

素描/Sketch

装饰新电脑 / Laptop Wrap

总算等到公司发新的手提电脑了，早就有打算等新的一下来，就给它来个个性化的大包装。以前曾听一个学生说过碧山就有一间这样的店，他做得的是现成的贴纸，才二十多块，他也说如果是换成自己的照片要三十多块，感觉这个价位还能接受，于是今天便拿了一张照片，奔向碧山第八站，你别说四楼还真有那么一间，不过不是店，只是一个小推车而已。别看她的店小得可怜，麻雀虽小，五脏可俱全。她很专业地拿出她的电脑，把我的照片输进去，在她的建议下，把它做成双胞胎造型，但由于另一个的字也是反着的，所以她又建议里面换成蝴蝶和心的造型。等做好后一报价可把我吓了一跳，她要收$99。哇噻！我一点精神准备也没有耶。最后划来划去，她才同意95块了事，我觉得实在太贵，又找她要了八颗钻了事了。

I always wanted to have a special cover for my new laptop. Finally our company upgraded our laptop. I heard from one of my students last time. He said there was a shop inside Bishan Juntion 8 which specialized in this customization and he had used them before. It cost him S$20+. But if it was self-designed, will be about S$10 more. It looked like the price was not bad, so today I quickly went to the Mall. I found the so-called ‘shop’. In fact, it’s just a shopping kiosk. She seemed very professional, took out her own laptop and loaded my picture inside. As she suggested, she created a mirror reflection. So it looked like twins. But as the words also mirrored the reflection, they couldn’t be read. So she changed to a butterfly and some hearts. It’s quite fun. But after she finished, she billed me S$100. Wow! I was totally not prepared for that. After some bargaining, she agreed to reduce to S$95, plus 8 so called ‘diamonds’. Deal!

Cherry Blossom on My Finger Nails / 怒放在指甲上的樱花

这次做得跟以往的基本相同，也是光疗胶打底，不同的是这次做的是3D雕花，一共花了￥425($83.75)，看起来也不错，只是贵了点。

Cherry Blossom on My Fingernails
This time, my design was more or less the same as before. The base is also a gel overlay. The 3D design was cherry flowers. It also looks good but a bit expensive. The total cost (hands and feet) is ￥425(S$83.75). But quite fun!

也谈保养 / How to Maintain?

女人最大的敌人就是时间。至今还没有哪个女人成功地战胜它，记得很久以前曾看到过报纸上登的一篇消息，说玉婆Elizabeth Tailor称她死后希望能保留她的头颅，否则她美丽的脸会永远消失，将对整个世界都是一个损失，旁边还附有她的照片，看后不禁觉得这老妖婆大概是脑子进水了，这张令人作呕的脸还不烧掉，其不是会污染环境？后来有机会看到她年轻时演的电影，才知道原来的她确实还不赖，她对自己的记忆多半还停留在她年轻的时代，不愿意接受她早已人老珠黄这一事实，才造成了上述悲剧。
这一现象在华人演艺界也很普遍，像潘迎紫，据说她多次拍着胸脯声称自己从没整过容，但那张表情僵硬的脸怎么看怎么都不像是原装的嘛；有青春偶像之称的林青霞，如今脸已变形得无法看出一点当年影子了；有不老传说的刘晓庆和赵雅芝，她们所用的技术一看便知比起潘迎紫来要先进，因为她俩看起来要比潘自然得多了，虽然还算不错，但也一看便知年届50；有着美人之称的李嘉欣和周慧敏曾是无数男士的偶像，现在也一看就知年轻不再，但因为年龄还不是太大，所以总体效果还行。
综合上述，本人以为这世上没人能掩盖自己的年龄，年龄就像树木的年轮，一望便知，只是别人出于礼貌故意不要讲出来而已。那保养还有没有意义呢？本人以为还是有的，如果一个人注重保养且又保养得当的话比自己的实际年龄看小1-2岁是有可能的，而一个不注重保养或保养不当的话比自己的实际年龄看大1-2岁也不是不可能，所以这一正一负就相差了4岁之多，（这还不包括整容哦）还是蛮可观的哦。
那要怎样保养呢？
1。 睡觉。俗话说睡美人，睡美人嘛，美人都是睡出来的，这可是有科学道理的哦。人的皮肤都是在夜间熟睡的时候进行修复的，如果在这段时间不睡觉，皮肤就无法得到修复，皮肤的最佳修复时间是12点至2点，其次是2点至4点，再次是10点至12点和4点至6点。但对我们繁忙的都市人来说10点睡觉似乎可能性不大，但一定要保证12点至4点药谁个好觉。
2。 喝水。喝水要会喝，不能一口气喝很多，只能一小口一小口地泯，一次只能喝一到两小口，如果喝太快则很快就会排出体外，因而其不到作用。睡觉前一定要和足够的水，因为修复皮肤的时候需要大量的水，清晨起床后也要喝水，因为要补充水分。注意，在正常情况下，即使晚上喝了足够的水，夜里也无需起来上厕所，只需在清晨6点以后解决就对了，如果你经常夜里起来上1甚至2次厕所，说明你的睡眠质量不好后皮肤已经损坏，存不住水分了。
3。 养成清晨排便的习惯。如果不能每天及时排便，毒素累计在体内，皮肤就会有问题。如果经常性出现2-3天才拍一次便，而且排泄物很臭，很可能是体内的酶和有益细菌如乳酸菌太少，要及时补充。
4。 要针对自己的皮肤问题用适合的护肤品。如果是针对皱纹，细纹，则须看其成分是否含多元胜肽，据本人所知，几乎所有的名牌护肤品都不含有，只有个别几款才有，如Estee Lauder的很小部分产品，SKII和Lancome的眼霜中有，含的最多的大牌护肤品是Elizabeth Arden。其他的几乎没有。如果不含多元胜肽相抗衰老，几乎是天方夜谭，在名牌的护肤品也没用。有的自称含胶原蛋白，但胶原蛋白的分子太大，想通过皮肤吸收简直是开玩笑。而多元胜肽分子较小，可以被皮肤吸收，它可以促进胶原蛋白的生成，但它起作用较慢，而且过了一段时间后会出现钝化现象，就不管用了，需停用一段时间后再用；如果是缺水则需买含有玻尿酸和神经酰胺的产品，几乎所有的名牌护肤品都不含，这就是为什么我们花了那么多钱却不见效的原因。
5。绝对不要做桑拿或蒸气浴。有些美眉为了减肥，拼命地做桑那浴或蒸气浴，这都是受了美容院的误导，在做减肥前，她们会为你量体重，做后在量体重，确实减了，有些美眉便很高兴，一位真的奏效了，其实大错特错，因为经桑那浴或蒸气浴后会失掉大量的水分，而水分是非常宝贵的，失掉容易补充难啊，而失掉水分人一下子就老了几岁，而脂肪的分子超大，根本无法通过排汗的方式排出体外。如果真的想甩掉多余的脂肪，可以到严寒且艰苦的地方去，身体为了抵御严寒，要燃烧脂肪，这就是为什么蒙古等地的游牧民族耻那么多肉类却从不发胖的原因。可能有些人会说我有些水肿，应该通过这种方式把水分排除，那你就更错了，水肿是因为你的肾有问题，应该去看医生，而不是盲目做桑那浴或蒸气浴，否则将有生命危险。
6。 玻尿酸的多少是皮肤含水量的标志。这就是为什么我们常形容好的皮肤为婴儿般的肌肤，因为他们的皮肤中含有丰富的玻尿酸，但当人们到了25岁后玻尿酸的含量会骤减，这就是为什么25岁以前的女孩子我们用娇艳欲滴来形容，但过了25岁就不再那么水灵了，而过了30岁人已经明显的可以看出不饱满了，因为30岁时一个人的玻尿酸含量只是最初的65%而已。那怎样才能补充玻尿酸呢？擦含有玻尿酸的护肤品或面膜能进去的玻尿酸是很有限的，对于25-30岁美眉或多或少是有用的，但超过30岁则作用不太大了，因为缺的不是一星半点，这是需要注射，在新加坡本人还没有看到那里可以注射，中国的大城市都有。勤力的保养加上适度整容以现在的科技比自身年龄看小5岁已不成问题了，大S，林志玲她们便是很好的例证。
7。 展望未来。RNAi技术已经崛起，并已获得了初步的成功，如果说DNA是制造蛋白质的图纸，那么RNA就是何时制造和制造多少蛋白质的指令，通过对RNA的干预，我们可以让我们的身体制造更多的胶原蛋白，玻尿酸和神经酰胺，从而使我们看起来年轻。据悉，这项技术将在2年后趋于成熟，在10年后可得到普遍使用，它的产生使得年轻10年不再是梦，也就是说10年后的我们看起来将和今天的我们区别不大。

The biggest enemy for a woman is time. So far, no woman can successfully defeat it. I remember many years ago I saw a news report from the paper saying that Elizabeth Taylor believed that her head should be preserved after her death. Otherwise, she considered that it would be a sheer waste!! There was a photo attached beside her story. On seeing the photo, I was thinking there must be something wrong with that old monster. What’s the point of preserving such a horrible face? Years later, after having had a chance to watch her movies, then I came to know that she was indeed not bad when she was young. Her memories basically stopped in those days when she was a young maiden and simply refused to accept the fact that she was already a totally different person.
This phenomenon is also popular among Chinese celebrities. No one it seems can successfully hide his/her age. So there will be no need to maintain? The answer I think is yes. If you maintain well, it’s quite possible that you will look 1-2 years younger than your actual age. Otherwise, if you don’t, it’s also possible that you will look 1-2 years older than your actual age. That makes about 4 years difference which is quite significant I guess.
Next question is how to maintain?
1. Sleeping. Like what was said in sleeping beauty. You must have enough sleep in order to look good. There is scientific proof of this. Skin will be repaired only at night. The best timing is from 12:00am to 2:00am, followed by 2:00am to 4:00am, which is the second best time. Next is from 4:00am to 6:00am and 10:00pm to 12:00am. It’s not possible to sleep as early as 10:00pm as every one of us has a very tight schedule nowadays. But we must make sure to have a good sleep at least from 12:00am to 4:00am.
2. Drink water. We must know how to drink. Don’t drink too much at one time. Just have 1 or 2 sips at a time so as to train your body to retain the water. One must drink before sleep. This is because it needs significant amount of water when repairing one’s skin. Early morning soon after getting up you must also drink lots of water because the skin needs to replenish at that time. Normally even though after drinking that much of water, there’s no need to go to the washroom at night. If you need to pass urine once or even twice, then it shows that your skin has already been damaged. That’s why it can no longer retain water.
3. Passing motions. Train your body to pass a motion every day in the morning. Otherwise you will accumulate toxins in your body. If you always have a constipation problem, you may have further imbalance, lacking enzymes and lactobacillus. You must have them replenished.
4. You must use the skin care products which are suitable for you. For anti-aging, you must check whether it has peptide. The majority of famous brand name skin care products do not have that except very few. For example, it can be found in several Estee Lauder products, Lancome and SKII eye cream. The Elizabeth Arden brand has more peptides than others. Without peptide is not at all able to fight with fine lines or winkles no matter how famous the brand is. Some claim that there is collagen inside their products. In fact the collagen molecules are too big for skin to absorb. So it is completely no use even it has the collagen. But peptides molecules are far much smaller and can be absorbed by the skin. Peptides are the raw materials that form collagen but it takes some time to show the effect. It will cause passivation and must be stopped before using again for a while. If the skin is too dry, you must use the products which contain hyaluronic acid and ceramides. Almost none of the famous brands contain these substances. That’s why we often spend a lot but fail to any improvement.
5. Do not go for sauna or steam bath. Some people in order to lose weight, always go for sauna or steam bath. That’s because they are misled by the slim centre. Before the treatment they will weigh for you, and after treatment they will weigh you again. When some people see a reduction, they think that they have succeeded. In fact they are wrong. After this kind of treatment what your loss is only water. But water is very precious. It’s always easy to lose but difficult to gain. It will make you look several years older once you have lost it. The molecule of fat is super large. It can’t be got rid of through perspiration. The only way to get rid of fat is burn it when the weather is cold and your body needs energy. That’s why the nomadic people in Mongolia are never fat even though they eat so much meat. Some people may think that their bodies are swollen, they must have excessive water. So, spa might be good for them. I shall say you are also wrong. Because if your body is swollen, you may suffer from a kidney problem. You should go to see a doctor instead. You may die if you ignore it and simply go for spa.
6. Hyaluronic acid levels regulate the amount of water your body can retain. We always describe beautiful skin as baby skin, because baby skin is richest in hyaluronic acid. But the hyaluronic acid level starts dropping at the age of 25. That’s why girls before age 25 are very well hydrated. After age 30, we can obviously see that the skin is no more firm and plump because at this time the hyaluronic acid level is only 65% of the original. How are hyaluronic acid levels replenished then? It’s quite limited through the application of the skin care products and facial masks. It might be useful for girls from 25-30. After 30 you need injections. So far I can’t find any beauty centre here in Singapore to offer such services. But I believe it can be found in the bigger cities of China. More detailed information will be given after I have tried it myself. But it can indeed make you look 5 years younger. 大S and 林志玲 are the very good examples.
7. Now there is new technology called RNAi which has already started. If DNA is the design to form protein, then RNA is the instructions given. It decides when and how much to produce. Through the RNA interference, we can produce more protein, hyaluronic acid and ceramides so that it will make us look younger. It will be matured in 2 years time and is expected to gain in popularity within 10 years time. So it’s not at all a dream that 10 years later on we may still look similar to what we are today.