How do you dress fashionably at middle age ?

1. Choosing the right hemline

Choosing the right hemline is important. Above the knee can be too muttony, whereas below the knee can seem a tad matronly — in your 40s it’s flattering to hit the knee.

2. Flatter your waist

Believe or not, we all have a waist hidden away somewhere and defining it is a good way to look chic in your 40s. You can use a belt with things you might not have thought to, such as shirts, cardigans and even coats. Structure is the key thing to bear in mind as you age. It helps to frame your body and face.

3. Cropped jackets & Scarves

This is one of my favourite tips. The cropped jacket really is like a magic wand of fashion. It’s youthful, and creates a great silhouette. Scarves are another big tip for your 40s. They soften your look and help to inject the latest fashionable print. But it’s important that you tie it carefully so it doesn’t look frumpy.

4. Don’t squeeze into clothes

This tip isn’t about being slim - it’s about thinking about the shape around your body that your clothes make, whatever your size. You want it to be strong and clean, with enough room to breathe and adequate material not to cling to tricky zones. So don’t squeeze yourself into clothes that are too small. Buy ones that give you the best outline.

5. Forget the mini-skirt

You’ll look as if you are competing with your teenage daughter, in a mini-skirt. You want to look good in your own right, not as if you’re desperately trying to cling on to youth.

If you still have great legs , & do not want to wear a mini-skirt any more, straight jeans  & leggings are the way for you to show them off. But it’s important to focus on just one area so we can kept the top half looser. The jacket provides structure and is reminiscent of a Chanel boucle jacket. It’s very elegant.

Bad Habits :

Taking bites all day instead of having a proper meal

Two bites of your child’s  leftover breakfast be it noodles or pancakes, a kopi C on your way to work, a quarter of a bun or donut before 9 , and all of a sudden, you’ve eaten at least a quarter of your daily allotment of calories before you’ve even sat down to start work for the day.

I know,it's lovely BUT so fattening !

When you’re busy and stressed, taking small bites here & there seems simpler than actually planning a proper “diet” meal. But this way can backfire when you’re trying to lose or maintain weight. It is better to have a few go-to breakfast and lunch options. They don’t need to be fancy: Two halfboiled eggs, & some crackers can work fine as breakfast.

For a satisfying lunch, make or pick up a  light tuna salad or order a fish soup with half bowl of rice. Having and sticking to a few easy-to-pull-together options that are rich in protein will keep you feeling full, help you consume fewer calories, and give your body more nutrition than simply eating whatever crosses your path. When you are older, you really need to be more careful as the body does not process food in the usual way anymore!

OMG.... Raquel Welch at 73 !!!

You might not know her, but Miss Raquel Welch was one of those super first SEX Symbol of the generation before mine :) Saw this pic of her  & I thought I really have to include it in my blog. Ladies this is how you rock it at 73 !!!!

Also the picture that made her famous & cement her status as a sex symbol. The bikini that changed everything: The then 26-year-old became one of the world's most desired woman after being cast in the 1966 film One Million Years B.C.

Tips on staying young

1.    Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them -- that is why you pay them.

2.    Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.    Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4.    Enjoy the simple things.

5.    Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6.    The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7.    Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8.    Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9.    Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county. Travel to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10.  Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

Does being attractive = being Happy ????

What’s the correlations between appearance, income, and happiness ???. Now, researchers have found that people are happier because they have more money. I don't know how much they spend on these researches but they would have just ask me, & I'll tell them the same thing for free...lol...

 Anyway these big time studies found that Personal beauty raises happiness, the majority of beauty’s effect on happiness works through its impact on economic outcomes. 

Beauty affects women’s happiness more than men’s, researchers say. (I agree wholeheartedly !)  For a woman, it just matters to go out while looking good. It hurts to walk down the street looking like an aunty when you are only in your 20s or 30s!!! For a man, beauty’s direct relation to happiness is not as great. It will give you a better-looking wife, a higher-earning wife and — most important — extra earnings. 

Another fairly well-proven path for a man to get a better-looking wife is to be rich—which, presumably, will then lead to happiness. So which comes first: wealth or happiness? Or beauty? At some point, this could become a chicken-egg discussion. 

What’s puzzling is that other studies show that the traditional rewards of being rich—buying lots of stuff—don’t make people happy, and that happiness is something that more often comes with growing older, not growing richer. Seriously I don't know who they are studying.... I can safely tell you-  you are & will NEVER be happy when you grow older- NEVER!!!! And I don't see a lot of poor people being that happy either- but that's another big time study for researchers right?

 

Researchers who study the super rich have also revealed that serious problems and stresses come with having too much money. Ok that I agree. You always wonder whether people "like"  you for being you or they just hope to 'sponge ' on you, or take advantage of you! The expensive paintings, the jewelleries, the fast cars all could be attracting all kinds of criminals to your door step & that's frightening, how to sleep at night?

 

Putting the ultra-wealthy aside, though, there seems to be a consensus among researchers that it’s better to be rich and beautiful. Again..... that goes without saying! So one should strive to make more money and improve one’s appearance right??? 

I'll say don’t  overdo it, in fact don't overdo anything & you'll be fine. Ultimately, it’s the people who obsess about their personal wealth and/or attractiveness that are less happy.
Too much worrying = too much stress, so how to be happy???

Foods that helps you age slower !!!

Many people ask what I eat to stay younger. I don’t know, my diet is not that fantastic. But it got me curious, so  here I have compile a small list of food that is ‘suppose’ to be good for you: 

Tomatoes

Lycopene, an antioxidant that can combat free radicals (molecules or ions that can damage healthy cells and suppress your immune system), gets the credit for tomatoes' ability to help protect against some cancers, including lung cancer. If possible, opt for Classica tomatoes—in a study of 13 tomato varieties, Classicas ranked highest in lycopene. Don’t ask me what it is, I don’t know, but I assume other kinds of tomatoes could be as good too, & thank god I love tomatoes & Italian food for that matter. 

Red Bell Pepper 

This immunity-boosting superstar contains roughly 60 percent more vitamin C—which triggers the production of white blood cells that fight off germs and bacteria—than its green counterpart. It may also keep you looking young: A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people with diets high in vitamin C were less prone to wrinkles, possibly because the nutrient spurs the production of collagen. Now, you know why I do that whitening jab!!!  Also this red bell pepper is more expensive than the green ones, you do the math…lol… 

Kale 

This bright leafy green is a major source of vitamin K (one cup cooked contains almost 12 times your recommended daily value), which may help ward off heart disease and osteoporosis. You can find it in most super markets now. 

Blackberries

Rutin, a potentially lifesaving flavonoid (a class of antioxidants) found in high levels in this flavorful fruit, may block an enzyme linked to the formation of blood clots, lowering the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a 2012 study from Harvard Medical School. I go to lots of functions & I usually see them using it to garnish certain desserts, strange right? 

Basil 

One of the herb's medicinal properties comes from the antioxidant eugenol. Recent lab studies found that this compound sparks anticarcinogenic activity in cervical cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct. One of my favour dish is that Basil chicken in thai food, but I usually leave the basil behind, from now on, I’ll eat it all….lol… 

Eggplant

The deep-purple skin gets its rich color and anti-aging power from nasunin, a nutrient that helps fight the spread of cancerous cells by cutting off the blood supply they need to multiply. Research also suggests that nasunin may slow the development of Alzheimer's disease by preventing free radicals from damaging neurons. Well don’t eat too much of it, as the Chinese say, it’s very cooling! 

Brussels Sprouts 

Our cells are naturally equipped with tumor-suppressing genes, and the sulfur compounds found in Brussels sprouts may help those genes by blocking enzymes that promote tumor growth. A 2012 study also found that these sulfur compounds could play a key role in treating rheumatoid arthritis by reducing inflammation and activating cartilage-protecting proteins. Hmm… this is an ang moh food so I hardly ever eat it, but please do try it if you can. It's like a mini cabbage...lol...

You can grow old & wrinkled on your own BUT me, I need more botox from Dr Keith Ong...lol....

I'm surprise that people do read my blog! WOW !!!!
I'll try to make an effort of updating my blog more often.
Some of you email me, thanks... I hear you...
Getting older for anyone is really no joke, a total drag if you ask me. The worst is I don't even feel old at all- only the body ' acts ' otherwise!!!!.... mind & body just don't align!

Some of you said I'm advocating putting poison into the face. To that I say: HELLO... that's my face. You can grow old & wrinkled & saggy all you like, but on your own- I'm sure your husband, your enemies, your BFF .... will all love it.....lol.....!

However there's a large number of us who wants to stay attractive for as long as possible!!! Be it for our own self esteem or for our husbands sake (men loves having someone attractive beside them, it does reflect status & accomplishment to a certain degree!!!) , maybe you just want to look better than your BFF, or even your own 'younger' sister......lol.....sometimes the job needs it. You could be holding a high position job by now & you do not want to look like a frumpy old Aunty right????

If you look at all the old people don't you think they look a bit sad? Well, it's that damn combo of gravity & aging skin again, that's acting on the area around the mouth & creating what looks like a perpetual frown. I'm serious, I'm starting to feel that a couple of years back already. I call it the bull dog effect! I told Dr & he couldn't help but laugh out loud!!!! I think the whole clinic could hear us roaring with laughter!!!! Had a good time.

What Dr Keith Ong did was inject some botox to rectify that- NO frowns for me people....ever !!! You'll NEVER catch me frowning  "naturally", looking like some old lady... I tell you!