Talored underwear for health and fashion

By Chu Meng

Luxury haute couture has been clogging up the Chinese catwalks for so long that many women believe that the best way to look elegant is to spend gads of money on ready-to-wears dresses.

But the real mark of class is a properly fitted, fine-textured bra or lingerie ensemble that is seen by no one except the wearer.

Photos provided by Zhang He

In spite of the thousands of dazzling cotton, seamless, lace and strapless bras at the mall, some women just cannot find underwear that is a perfect fit.

For Dong Yanqing, the 28-year-old party planner at a public relations company, the answer is tailor-made underwear.

“Wearing formal dresses is an important part of my job. With dress designs getting more novel and complicated, finding the right bra to match can be impossible,” she said.

Finding the perfect bra among conventional products is impossible if she needs a base strong enough to wear with a backless dress the entire night. “It’s even harder because one of my breasts is a slightly different size from the other,” she said.

She passed up numerous evening costumes until she found Liu Bo, a custom bra and lingerie designer, this summer.

Located in Wangjing, Liu Bo’s studio is decorated like a European palace beauty parlor with crystal lights, big purple velvet sofas and cozy accessories. It features a floor-to-ceiling three-sided mirror and a 3D breast measuring machine.

Since July, Dong has been visiting Liu Bo for tailor-made bras to match her evening dresses and personalized cups for daily use.

Kate Middleton recycles old coat for Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday celebrations

Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG8571345/Kate-Middleton-recycles-old-coat-for-Duke-of-Edinburghs-90th-birthday-celebrations.html

The Duchess of Cambridge wore the same blue coat to the Duke's birthday service as she wore to a wedding in 2009, right

The Duchess of Cambridge may be one of the world’s most-watched women but she showed her thrifty side yesterday by “recycling” an old coat for the Duke of Edinburgh’ 90th birthday church service.

BY VICTORIA WARD

The 29-year-old donned the same blue brocade coat that she was last seen wearing in 2009 for the marriage of friend Nicolas van Cutsem to Alice Hadden-Paton.

But she refreshed the outfit by teaming it with a pair of nude heels and a jaunty blue hat as she accompanied her husband, the Duke of Cambridge, to the service at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel.

The newlyweds mingled with among 750 guests after the special celebratory event in which the Duke of Edinburgh was praised for his achievements.

The Dean of Windsor, the Rt Rev David Conner, drew warm laughter from the congregation as he acknowledged that the Duke “doesn’t like to the praised”.

But he went on to insist that despite not wanting to be the topic of conversation, praise was due for the senior royal who over more than six decades had been the Queen’s tireless supporter and patron of more than 800 charities.

The Dean’s sermon had a light tone and he described the Queen’s consort as “modest” whilst praising his years of public service.

The senior cleric’s address combined the tribute to the Duke with the topic of Pentecost, which fell yesterday.

Among the guests were many associates connected to the Duke’s interests such as sailing, polo, carriage driving and shooting, along with foreign royals, members of the Mountbatten family, the Duke’s godchildren and former and present staff from the Royal Household.

Senior members of the Royal Family the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and the Duke of York with his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, sheltered from heavy downpours as they arrived in a fleet of state limousines.

Other royals who braved the rain included the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, daughter Zara Phillips and son Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn.

After the service, the congregation left for a private reception in the castle’s magnificent St George’s Hall and grand reception room.

It was followed by a private lunch for around 100 of the Duke’s close relatives and wider family.

During Philip’s birthday week, the Queen sprang a 90th surprise on the Duke by making him Lord High Admiral, the titular head of the Royal Navy.

A royal insider said the Duke was “really, really touched” by the honour, which the Queen told him about during a private birthday lunch for two at Buckingham Palace.

The Duchess of Cambridge has become adept at recycling her outfits.

On Saturday, she attended the wedding of close friend and jockey Sam Waley-Cohen and Annabel Ballin in the same fitted monochrome spotted dress she was photographed in four years ago when leaving Boujis nightclub.

She also wore the same black hat that she had donned earlier in the day to watch her husband take part in his first Trooping the Colour.

Asos plans Chinese invasion

(Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who do not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/02/asos-plans-to-move-into-chinese-market

Zoe Wood guardian.co.uk,Thursday 2 June 2011 19.52 BST

Fashion website Asos said on Thursday it was plotting a move into China as it confirmed it was on track to hit an ambitious sales target of £1bn in four years’ time.

“It is not a question of if but when,” said its chief executive, Nick Robertson, of China, although he conceded the move could take several years to come to fruition.

He added: “We will need to have a partner because we can’t do it independently.” The company said it would provide more details in the autumn but it was likely its business partner would be Chinese.

Asos reported a 40% rise in underlying profits to £28.6m. The website, which is aimed at fashion-hungry twenty-somethings, has been growing at breakneck pace for the last decade, benefiting from the internet shopping boom as well as the youth of its shoppers. “Twenty-year-old girls are never going to stop buying fashion,” said Robertson, although he added the retailer was keen to reduce its reliance on the UK – which now accounts for less than half its sales.

Robertson said the company wanted to be a “global fashion destination” rather than a UK shop, and he flagged up initiatives such as the Amazon-style “Asos Marketplace” and the “Asos Finder” which gives customers access to more brands: “If there is something going on on the internet in fashion we should be doing it,” he said.

Total sales were up 52% at £339.7m in the year to 31 March. The UK was up 25% but international sales raced ahead by 142% on the back of website launches in the US, France and Germany. Robertson said the company had made a good start to the financial year as shoppers planned their wardrobe for the coming season of music festivals.

Shares in Asos, which have more than trebled over the last year thanks to stake-building by Danish supplier Bestseller, closed down more than 4% at £22.32. Arden Partners analyst Nick Bubb said the stock was “priced for perfection, even though it is hard to see what could go wrong”.

The retailer said it would launch websites in Spain, Italy and Australia this year but Robertson also noted the importance of new channels such as its Facebook store and mobile phones. “Mobile is going to be huge,” he said. “This is about the shopping experience coming to you … that could be via apps, on your mobile, on Facebook.” He said more than 7% of visitors to the website were already using their phones: “This is the next shift in terms of how we perceive shopping online.”

The clean look

Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/the-clean-look-20110528-1f92v.html

Natural beauty ... make-up is no longer mandatory.

If the high-maintenance look is too difficult, don’t worry. Going minimal is the new make-up mantra, writes Natasha Silva-Jelly.

If the 1980s were all about heavily painted faces, caked-on base, neon-bright eyeshades and pop-tastic lips, the minimalistic ’90s signalled the arrival of make-up cleverly applied to look like you were not wearing any. And now comes the noughties twist: not actually wearing any make-up at all.

Perhaps it’s a backlash to the cosmetic surgery boom that during the past decade yielded so many expressionless celebrity faces. Or maybe it’s the next step in our desire for more natural skincare and make-up products. But in a move that would make our grandmothers cringe, women are eschewing make-up and scoring serious sartorial points for going au naturel.

The trend was witnessed at Australian Fashion Week earlier this month, where many shows were void of the usual show-stopping hair and make-up sensations.

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The head of artistry for Mecca Cosmetica, Tony Baumann, who was responsible for the pared-down faces at Arnsdorf and Amber & Thomas, says there is definitely an air of nudity on and off the runway.

”Designers wanted clean faces and make-up to look effortless,” he says. ”At Arnsdorf, the girls looked like they had just woken up, thrown their hair [back] and put on a touch of make-up before heading out the door.”

The no-mascara look – which has led to something of a revolution for semi-permanent eyelash applications – is a strong trend, Baumann says. And the focus for the face has become about correction, rather than wearing colour. ”The trick is to perfect the skin with concealer and illuminator to give it luminosity, which most foundations and skincare products now have in them,” he says.

While the look for models at Australian Fashion Week was about enhancing their own beauty, back in the real world that also appears to be the mantra.

”The most common request we have from customers is that they want to look natural and the best they can without wearing a lot of make-up,” Baumann says.

Thankfully, today’s technologically advanced beauty products are designed to do just that. ”Make-up lines have become more compact,” he says. ”It’s about less steps, less products but more function.”

Hourglass, the latest celebrity brand to arrive at Mecca from Hollywood, is free of nasties such as parabens and silicon and is turbocharged with skin-enhancing properties. The colour offering is small and neutral and the range is organic, vegan and gluten free. Oh and did we mention Madonna is a fan?

The fact women are embracing their natural beauty is good news for skincare professionals. A leading facialist at Woollahra’s Polished Beauty Bar, Rosa Francisco, says the best investment you can make is in a good moisturiser and regular exfoliation.

”Heavy make-up, especially on more mature skin, can actually accentuate lines as opposed to softening them,” Francisco says.

”Tint your brows and have them professionally shaped, as this defines the face and opens up the eye area.”

A facialist at The Paddington Beauty Room, Anna Field, believes wearing make-up has become a choice. ”What makes a face beautiful and interesting are our differences and we are definitely seeing a move away from all the botox and lip enhancers,” she says.

Out of the box, a bold thinker bends minds

Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/out-of-the-box-a-bold-thinker-bends-minds-20110512-1ekjc.html

Innovative designer Gareth Pugh (clubwear pictured) will take part in a Skyped discussion at the Wheeler Centre on Friday July 29 as part of the State of Design Festival.

Janice Breen Burns

AFTER one of designer Gareth Pugh’s loftier flights of creativity in 2005, a plucky young model with a soft spot for the British fashion wunderkind was asked to sign a ”death waiver” to walk in his show. Which she did.

Pugh had incorporated the same flash-and-blip technology used to light up mobile phone screens into the luminous, waved frock-coat design the girl was assigned to wear. The result was revolutionary, and gob-smackingly lovely, but included a small problem. Its tangled web of off-catwalk powerlines posed a risk of ”electrical accident”.

”Basically, it was a phosphorescent powder, screen printed onto plastic in one of my geometric patterns, and then laminated,” explains Pugh from Paris. ”When an electrical current was passed through the plastic, the design illuminated.”

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The stunt, by fashion’s fastest evolving ”next big thing” at the time (one of the inflatable, balloon-like garments from his graduate collection at London’s infamous Central St Martins College in 2003 had already featured on the cover of cult magazine Dazed and Confused and generated global interest) thankfully elicited only pleasant shocks – not the 240-volt kind. The girl lived to strut another day and the young Pugh’s show was hailed another prelude to future greatness. Which it was. Just six years on, Pugh is one of the world’s five ”most important design thinkers”, according to organisers of Melbourne’s State of Design Festival (July 25-29).

They have invited him to appear in one of a series of Skyped discussions entitled

”9 to 5” at the Wheeler Centre. Nine top local designers in the fields of fashion, graphic design, education, interior and industrial design and architecture, will lead the talks with questions to Pugh and, over five evenings, five other ”design thinkers”. Audience tickets can be booked now.

Genie Bra: what’s your #1 wish from a bra?

(Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.)

 http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/genie-bra-what-s-your-1-wish-from-a-bra-2481007/

80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size. This means we’re not maximizing our bosom to it’s real potential and struggling with straps that slip off, underwires that pinch, and bra cups that are too small or sag. When we polled Shine readers, 94% admitted they have problems buying a great bra with 33% saying they could never find the right size bra.

Thanks to a late-night infomercial, the Genie Bra may make all our undergarment wishes come true. Yes, I was completely skeptical at first, but a cleverly staged demonstration has me convinced that it may work.

The Genie Bra looks sort of like a sports bra but has separated cups and NO underwire. Many ladies feel they need an underwire for support, but the video clip shows some well endowed women wearing their regular bras versus the Genie Bra and I have to admit, the new brassiere seems magical! The other weird thing about this bra: it isn’t sized by chest or cup measurements. Instead they are sized from Extra Small to 4XL, and you buy the size you normally wear in tops. The cups are made to stretch and support your bust, no matter how large or small. The best part: you get six bras (two white, two nude, and two black for only $59.99! (Am I sounding like my own infomercial yet?)

The Genie Bra got me thinking about what I look for in a bra. Of course we all have different types of bras for different occasions, but this week I did a clothing purge and found myself in dire need of a new flesh-colored everyday bra. I thought this would be a cinch to find, and I headed out with a Victoria’s Secret gift card I still hadn’t used in two years. Ick. All their bras had lots of padding, too many bells and whistles, or full-figure style cups that would poke out of low cut tops that made me feel like a granny. They were also way more expensive than I realized. I tried several other shops until finally I purchased a Calvin Klein bra at Bloomingdales for about $40—way more than I wanted to spend for an unattractive bra, and it still didn’t fit perfectly.

First of all, several bras in the same size by the same brand all fit so differently! And the cups were foamy and molded and didn’t seem to curve to my bust shape the way I wanted them to. Why do all bras have so much padding and sculpting these days? My lacy unpadded bras make my boobs look better and lay flatter under my tops than a “seamless” one. Hmph. I guess I should have looked around some more.

Would You Get Your Tattoos Removed if It Was Painless?

(Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.)

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/would-you-get-your-tattoos-removed-if-it-was-painless-2474124/

by RealBeauty.com, on Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:29pm 

Angelina Jolie has 13 (known) tattoos. Though meaningful and definitely original, do you ever wonder if she wakes up in the morning and thinks to herself, “I’m really tired of looking at this huge creature on my back?”

Related: High-Tech At-Home Skin Care

As it turns out, there’s hope for Angelina and anyone else who may one day or already have second thoughts about their ink. Traditional tattoo removal was often seen as painful and hard to achieve, but with a recent procedure called the Candela Alex TriVantage Laser, getting off your ink is much easier. Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, M.D. F.A.A.D, F.A.A.C.S, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine told us all about the  procedure.
Related: Expert Q&A: Covering Up a Tattoo with Makeup

“Tattoos are essentially pigment particles in the dermis of the skin,” Rokhsar said. “Old removal methods consisted of using laser light to break up pigment particles into smaller ones. This could take anywhere from three to 12 weeks, depending on how dark or big the tattoo was. With the new method, the TriVantage Laser uses two wavelengths to break up color pigments. It’s considered to be more effective and the healing profile (depending on the tattoo) is much quicker, anywhere from three to 14 days.”

Related: Beauty Boot Camp

Rokhsar’s been using this laser for over a year, and says his patients seem completely satisfied. It’s comforting to know that though it is a procedure, getting de-inked isn’t as big of a hoop-jumping ordeal as it once was. That includes you, Angelina.

2 Fixes for Dark Eye Circles You Never Knew

(Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.)
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/2-fixes-for-dark-eye-circles-you-never-knew-2481561/;_ylt=AhqqREAjwjtyFker0afT0eVobqU5

How to get Kate Middleton’s hair style

Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/how-to-get-kate-middletons-hair-style-20110505-1e9vs.html

Katherine Feeney

Kate Middleton’s hair has inspired a fashion frenzy, writes Katherine Feeney.

Kate Middleton’s dress might have been the key Google trend during the royal wedding, but now the pomp has passed, public fascination remains fixed another aspect of her appearance – her hair.

Like Mia Farrow’s famed pixie cut, Farrah Fawcett’s flick and Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel, the new Duchess of Cambridge’s expertly groomed, chocolate brown tresses are having their own fashion moment, inspiring women the world over to rediscover the hairdryer and good, old-fashioned volume.

Celebrity stylists Oscar Cullinan of Oscar Oscar Salons and Darcy Stratford of Fabrik both agreed the Duchess’s ‘do is a hot look, with customers already requesting their own ‘Middleton Mane’.

And the good news is, unlike Gwyneth’s poker-straight locks, this style suits pretty much everyone.

“I would describe it as more of a refined, English look,” Stratford said.

“It’s sleek and styled, but definitely not over the top.”

A product of regular visits to her long-time stylist Richard Ward, Middleton’s ’style’ is really just a classic volume blow-dry enhanced with a multi-vitamin ‘infusion’, worth about $10, which gives the glossy finish.

In other words, it’s not that fancy, a fact that leaves a slightly sour taste in mouth of at least one awarded hair stylist, Fruition Hair director Craig Smith.

“It’s boring,” he said.

“Until she cuts her or does something drastic, she’s probably not going to be at the forefront of hair fashion, partly because the blow-dry has been the number one trend for at least the last 12 months, so she’s probably following trend there, rather than setting it.

“However it’s still a really beautiful, classic look and one that I expect to start seeing taking off, particularly for weddings and other big events.”

Stratford said buzz around Middleton’s hair had already hit his salon, despite clients Kate Miller-Heidke, the Veronicas and Megan Washington who represented a far more edgy style.

“A lot of ladies don’t want to have extreme styles; they want to look pretty,” he said.

“They want to look like themselves, that the hair doesn’t overtake them.”

Indeed, Middleton famously requested as much on her wedding day, asking that Prince William be able to ‘recognise’ her at the altar.

Cullinan said this common touch showed Middleton was a woman influenced by the same desires and trends as his own customers – the old Hollywood looks favoured by retro-loving Katy Perry or characters of 60s costume drama Mad Men.

Just like Diana before her, Middleton was poised for ‘it’ hair status because she was reflective of what normal women wanted, Cullinan said.

“I think millions of women had cut-out pictures of Diana to take to their hairdressers [because] her style really summed up the look of the 80s, with lots of teasing and hairspray; it defined hairstyling of that time,” he said.

“In the 90s, everyone wanted the Jennifer Aniston, [but] now it’s all about Kate Middleton, and for good reason, she never has her hair out of place and is an elegant style that is envied by everyone.”

How to Stay Cool in a Suit in Summer

Beijing Today website’s blog section does not represent any view of Beijing Today or its reporter. Anyone interested about the story can find the original text from the link above the article. The Blogger column aims to introducing foreign media’s interesting stories and expat blogs in China to more Chinese readers, as 50 percent of Beijing Today readership remain young Chinese who have experience of living abroad, white colors or school students. Authors who does not want his or her story linked at Beijing Today’s website, please email to info@beijingtoday.com.cn to take down the stories.