This week was the Applied Learning Week in both BB & GG’s school for most of the week.
BB’s school had hired an external vendor to do a motivation and exam techniques camp in their school for around three days. The last day, during the last part, parents were asked to join the students and the trainer gave us tips on how to motivate them and also how to and not to scold and nag them. Quite a few students also went up on the stage and spoke to their parents. There were a lot of tears involved and then the children were asked to give their parents the letters they had written. As expected, BB did not write a letter, just came up to me, gave me a big hug and said “I love you”. I have told him I am still expecting the letter, hopefully he will give it to me later today.
GG’s school also did something similar, but without the use any external vendors. They called some junior colleges and polytechnics as well had talks by their counsellors and former students. Then on Friday, the entire cohort went on a day trip to Universal Studios Singapore, somthing they had been looking forward to since they reached Secondary 3. GG had a wonderful time with her friends and was relunctant to come home.
All in all, this is the penultimate week before the March school holidays. BB will get the balance of his marks and then we need to see what else he needs to work on before his mid-year exams.
Author Callie Logan never expected to swap her life in London for one in rural Suffolk but, after the breakdown of her marriage, she decides that a fresh start is just what she needs. Finding Owl Cottage in the tiny village of Newton St Clare, Callie determines to give up on love and throw herself into her work. But fate seems to have other ideas and she soon has two very different men vying for her attention.
First, there’s Leo who likes to live on the wild side which usually means taking his dates foraging in the local woods for their supper. Then there’s Sam Nightingale, owner of Nightingale’s bookshop. Sam, recovering from a divorce, has also vowed to embrace the single life. That is until he meets Callie.
But is Callie willing to risk her heart again and, if she is, will she make the right choice?
There is Chinese saying, attributed to Mao Zedong, which says that women hold up half the sky. But even today in 2019, there exists significant gender gaps across sectors where women have to do so much more to prove that they are just as capable as men.
A World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report says that, “women represent fewer than 50% of leaders in every industry analysed—and in some fields, like energy and mining or manufacturing, representation of women is far lower, with women holding fewer than 20% of leadership positions. And the rate of progress for women has been slow: over the past ten years, the proportion of female leaders increased by an average of just over 2 percentage points across the 12 industries studied.”
These statistics are really troubling because the report also says that at the current rate, it’ll take 217 years to close the economic gender gap. This means, all things remaining the same, true equality in the workforce won’t be reached until the year 2234. Only then will women have the same earning and leadership potential as men. Startling right? This means that possibly only our great grand- daughters or maybe even four to five generations down the line will our daughters earn the same as our sons.
The International Women’s Day is commemorated across the globe on 8th May, and is celebrated as a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. This day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. After the Socialist Party of America organised a Women’s Day on February 28, 1909 in New York, the 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference suggested a Women’s Day be held annually. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.
The theme for the 2019 International Women’s Day is “Balance for Better” while the United Nations has “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change” as their theme for 2019.
Balance for Better means having a more gender balanced world where men and women are equal in every respect. The absence of balance in all aspects of our lives has never been more glaring than now, and so this theme actually notices the absence and celebrates its presence. Balance is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. The race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance in wealth, gender-balanced sports coverage and in pretty much everything we hear, see or do in our daily lives. Gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive. This theme is a call-to-action for driving greater gender balance across corporate ranks in both the private and public sectors around the world.
The UN theme of “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change” puts innovation by women and girls, for women and girls, at the heart of efforts to achieve gender equality. Achieving a gender-equal world requires social innovations that work for both women and men and leave no one behind. From urban planning that focuses on community safety to e-learning platforms that take classrooms to women and girls, affordable and quality childcare centres, and technology shaped by women, innovation can take the race for gender equality to its finishing line by 2030. It begins with making sure that women’s and girls’ needs and experiences are integrated at the very inception of technology and innovations. It means building smart solutions that go beyond acknowledging the gender gaps to addressing the needs of men and women equally. And ultimately, it needs innovations that disrupt business as usual, paying attention to how and by whom technology is used and accessed, and ensuring that women and girls play a decisive role in emerging industries.
How do you plan to mark this day? I will be joining some women (and men) to make a pledge to build a world where women are equal and just as capable as men, where women not only hold up half the sky, but also will then be able to bear the just fruits of their labour, without wondering if their male colleagues make more than them for doing the same work (and sometimes more).
Happy International Women’s Day! May we live long enough to see true equality happen in our lifetimes!
Georgie and Flick are a girl’s best friend – and secret weapon. Their agency, Domestic Angels, provides invaluable help to armies of harassed women. After years of hard work, Georgie and Flick have built a small but grateful clientele – doing everything from booking the plumber to replacing dead hamsters.
Then one evening, they are visited by a pale, nervous-looking woman who makes the strangest request yet. Her husband has combined a takeover with a leg-over. Would Georgie and Flick help her get her own back? It isn’t long before word gets out. Inundated with requests from angry wives, Georgie and Flick begin to wonder whether all these men are really as black as they are painted.
Meanwhile, the disgruntled husband of a client has rumbled them. It may be that they aren’t the only masters of revenge after all…
I normally don’t post about beauty or skincare and so if I am right, this is a first for me!
But I have been hearing a lot about Korean skincare products and makeup and some time at the beginning of this year, I decided to start a night-time skincare ritual and soon realised that I had already subconsciously incorporated the ten steps.
Living in Singapore means having easy access to Korean and Japanese skincare and beauty products, most of which are highly affordable. This means a lot of the skincare products I use are from these countries. I am a little wary about Japanese and Korean makeup as the colours may not suit my south Asian skin, being more geared to east Asian skin. I like their skincare products because I believe that skin types are pretty much similar across races and so this meant that I could use Korean and Japanese skincare products and also start doing the 10-step skin care.
The 10-Step Skincare method refers to the number of products layered onto the skin one by one. A lot of people (including me) are initially put off by the sheer amount of time that we think this process will take. But after two months of diligently doing it, I can confidently tell you that it does not take more than 10 minutes (more if you are putting on a mask).
Although there are a total of 10 steps in this beauty ritual, most of the time you do between 6-8 steps on any given day or night. It is quite rare that someone does all the steps all the time. The steps change depending on your skin type as well as any seasonal changes where you live. Since I live in the tropics, my skincare regime does not change through the year, but if you are inspired on doing the 10-Step Skincare Regime after reading this post, then please do take note of seasonal changes and your own skin type when you embark on this journey.
So what’s the Korean 10-Step Skincare Routine? The 10 steps commonly associated with this regime are:
Oil cleanser
Foam/cream cleanser
Exfoliation
Toner
Essence
Treatments
Masks
Eye Cream
Moisturizer
Suncare/Lip Care
Step 1 and Step 2: Double Cleansing
Makeup removal and then cleansing with an oil cleanser is the mainstay of the Korean 10-step regime. Not only are oil cleansers relaxing to use, but applied to dry skin, they also remove all makeup and other oil-based product debris like sebum, sunscreen and pollution particles. You can also massage your skin as you oil cleanse which will stimulate the surface of the skin, preparing it for the products you’re about to apply. It also drains lymphatic glands in your face and neck that can cause puffiness.
Cleansing twice is recommended by dermatologists as it helps to thoroughly remove all impurities that can cause breakouts. Water-based cleansers dissolve the water-based impurities such as dirt and sweat that your oil cleanser didn’t pick up.
I normally don’t use make-up, so generally skip this step, moving straight to my normal cleanser. On days when I do apply some make-up, I usually will use micellar water to remove the make-up before cleansing with my usual foam or cream cleanser.
Step 3: Exfoliation
Exfoliation not only cleans out clogged pores, but it also sloughs off dead skin cells. When you remove this dull layer of cells, brighter skin is revealed. Regular exfoliation will also help your other skincare products absorb and work more efficiently. This step is not recommended for daily use. If you have sensitive skin, you’ll only want to exfoliate once a week. If you have a tougher complexion, you can do it more regularly (about three times a week).
I usually exfoliate around three times a week.
Step 4: Toner
In Korean skincare, toners are typically a thin layer of moisture meant to regulate your pH and soften your skin, preparing it for the steps that will follow. Toners remove any leftover residue from the cleansers while also repairing your skin’s barrier to effectively absorb the moisturisers that follow. Toners also balance the skin’s pH levels, otherwise, the skin can become dry and dehydrated.
I usually apply toner by pouring some in the palms of my hand and then patting it on my skin. I also very lightly slap my skin to help the toner melt into the skin and prep it for the next step.
Step 5: Essence
One of the keys to the glowy results of a regular Korean skincare routine is layering products. Rather than relying on one thick cream to do all the work, Koreans believe that layering products allow the skin to breathe and avoids clogging the pores. So if you think of your toner as the first layer of moisture, think of the essence as the second. These products are typically also thinner in texture, and some even feel watery. They penetrate the skin at a deeper level and aid with the absorption of the products to come.
I pretty much use the essence the same way I use the toner, which is pouring a small amount in the palms of my hands and patting it in with very mild slaps.
Step 6: Treatments
This step includes boosters, serums and ampoules. Packed with powerful ingredients, they target specific skin concerns such as acne, fine lines and hyperpigmentation. This is where you get to play with what you need for your skin. You could also use multiple treatments on the same day, depending on what your skin requires or if you already have perfect skin, you can ignore this step.
I generally use two treatment serums daily, a vitamin C serum and another treatment depending on what my skin needs. I pour a bit in my palms and then pat the serums on my skin. I normally wait for a couple of minutes before the next treatment.
Step 7: Masks
If essences are the heart of Korean skincare, masks or specifically sheet masks are the soul. The key to sheet masks is the sheet, which when in prolonged contact with your face, allows the skin to fully absorb the nutrients and moisture. The purpose of the mask is to give your skin what it needs. Korean sheet masks are also very affordable, especially where I live and it’s very easy to amass a huge stash.
I usually flit between sheet masks and other traditional wash off masks. If I am using a wash off mask, then I do it right after cleansing and before toning. If using sheet masks, then it comes here, in step seven.
Step 8: Eye Cream
The eye cream is not unique to the Korean skincare routine, but it is one of the hardest products to consistently use because it’s more a preventative product if you’re under the age of 40. The eye cream is designed to moisturize the ultra-thin skin around your eyes where crow’s feet and fine lines are bound to appear. However, if you use eye cream regularly before they show up, you’ll see a marked difference in how old you look (or in this case, how young!)
I miss this step more often than I do it, so this post is a reminder for me to do this step more consistently.
Step 9: Moisturiser
More moisture you may be thinking, but in the traditional Korean beauty 10-step routine, you use a cream – also known as an occlusive layer – to seal in all the layers before it. Think of it as making a fragrant stew and putting the lid on the pot. It allows the fragrances and flavours inside to mingle and absorb, which is a lot like what all the luscious ingredients you layered are doing in your epidermis when you add a moisturizer.
I usually use a facial oil and then any normal moisturiser in this step during the day. During the night, I use the facial oil plus a sleeping mask, which I use as a moisturiser since I sleep in an air-conditioned room and I have super dry skin which the air conditioning makes drier.
Step 10: Sun Care/Lip Care
We all know that we should always wear sun protection, even if we are inside the house. It’s the easiest and most effective way to prevent skin cancer as well as ageing that comes from the sun’s harmful rays. It should be the last step, just before you start applying make-up so that it does not get diluted by other skincare products.
I try to use sunscreen as the last step in my morning ritual. This is another step I am sometimes guilty of skipping, especially if I am going to be at home the whole day. But I will make sure I don’t do that and use SPF daily.
In the night, I use a heavy lip balm to finish up my Korean 10-Step Skincare ritual before calling it a night!
My thoughts on doing this diligently for slightly over two months now is that it no longer seems a chore to me now as it was when I first started doing it. Previously, I used to sometimes skip doing a night-time skincare ritual if I was tired or sleepy, but now it’s a part of what I do at night before sleeping, the same as brushing my teeth. It does not take very long to do, I timed it last night and it took me less than 10 minutes to do all steps excluding exfoliation and masking. So to those who are intimidated by the sheer number of steps, take heart that it will become simpler as you continue doing it.
Was this post useful? Did you learn something new? Are you using a skincare regime which is similar to the Korean one? Would love to hear comments, so please write and comment below.
Memories and Such 
