iPhone Photo Effects

Instagram'med Spaghetti Bolognese


Instagram'med Stuffed Tomato



Frankly speaking, ever since the iPhone and it's variations are released, everyone's on a storm uploading their Instagram'med photos onto Facebook. And honestly, I do like turning my photos into Instagram-style, but I am rather stingy when it comes to forking out money to buy an iPhone just for the sake of downloading the Instagram app. So, what is Instagram all about?

Instagram is a free photo-sharing program and social network that was launched in October 2010. The service allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it, and then share it with other Instagram users they are connected to on the social network as well as on a variety of social networking services. A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 4:3 aspect ratio typically used by mobile device cameras.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

In short, Instagram is just like an expensive version of many Lomo cameras combined into 1 app via the purchase and usage of an iPhone. True that there are quite a number of cool after-photo effects available on Instagram, instead of having to inididvudally buy separate lomo cameras just to achieve that effect you wanted or needed. Other than the hassle and trouble of uploading "Instagram'ed" inamges from a lomo camera.

But at the same time while showing off, what about those of us who either cannot afford an iPhone or refused to buy an iPhone just for the sake of Instagramming? Sounds like regular folks like us kinda lose out on a lot! But not, I assure you!

I've come across a wonderful website while trawling the vast Internet and have come up with a cheaper solution, without the use or purchase of an iPhone. No doubt you don't have an account on Instagram to glorified all your photos, but hey, it's cheap, and you have 1 less account to worry about in the long run, or mean time.

Introducing: Pixlr-o-matic at http://pixlr.com/o-matic/

This is an online Instagram-esque photo filters where you can upload photos you have taken and give them an "Instagram" effect. Those 2 photos above featuring a Spaghetti Bolognese and a Stuffed Tomato? Those are done using http://pixlr.com/o-matic/, not an iPhone. I'm still using my LG Ice Cream Phone, partly because of the "HD Camera" function as so claimed by the phone manufacturers.

So, how did you have fun with Instagramming your photos now with http://pixlr.com/o-matic/? Drop me a comment and let me know, so I can pop over to your blog/website and take a peek too!!

And before I'm done with this post of the day, humor me a little by taking a look at some other Instagrammed photos I've churned out and for the record, these 2 dishes in the photos below were not cooked by me, I found them on the Internet as well.


Instagram'med Lasagne Cupcakes


Instagram'med Lasagne Timpano

Hospital, Coffee & Nail Art

I apologise for the non-existent updates for this blog and my Beauty Junkie Review blog yesterday. I went down to the hospital once more as my father had to go back in due to infections on his injuries. So, I'm going to consolidate yesterday's and today's post for -Chopsticks-. As for my Beauty Junkie Review blog, I think I'm still reeling from the after-effects of that Nature Slim Green that I gamely tried and hated on the spot. So, new reviews for my Beauty Junkie Review blog tomorrow instead.



So, my father had to go back to the hospital for another round of hospital stay due to the reason that his injuries were infected. I don't really understand how on earth can a bandaged wound get infected just like that? I still remember when I had surgery, my wound wasn't even anywhere near to the point of getting infected by anything, now I blame the surgeons responsible for the surgery -_-"


For a start, my father was located at the 8th level of the hospital. 8 is a lucky number for Chinese-speaking Asians, so, here's hoping that this lucky number prove to be lucky for him.


Apparently, after his wounds, stitches and everything was cleared up and re-stitched once more, nobody actually thought of bandaging his wounds back up. So, you can see bits of blood stains here and there. His skin was rubbing too much on the bed sheets so, back the bandages go. Should have forseen that earlier, KTP..


Finally, SMRT/TIBS representative showed up when my father had to go back into the hospital for a second time. Only the woman was in-charge of the talking/liase session, no frigging idea what those 2 men showed up there for, except to nod and nod and nod and nod... Took those piss-tards long enough to make a special grand appearance with regards to the bus incident regarding their irresponsible bus driver!


Didn't even realized that Khoo Teck Puat Hospital looked so nice. I kept hearing them on the news, read about them in the newspaper and I initially thought that the hospital would be those type of old 3 to 4 storey high buildings that oozes stuffiness. Turns out I was wrong. But then, it's a 10 minutes walk from the nearest MRT station (more SMRT crap again, with the train station) or a free Shuttle Bus ride away.


Only 3 towers here, but, the hospital overlooked a pond. Father complained that he's sick of lying in bed, so we pushed him out on a wheelchair to this area for a couple of cigarette smoke breaks.


Here's the pond, it does look nice and tranquil. The pace for the hospital staffs seemed rather okay, not that busy since it's only a good 3 towers. And it doesn't looked as if everyone's rushing because of an unseen armageddon scenario, there's still a touch of humanity in there, unlike the other hospital I was previously in. Rush, but still remember enough to catch a breath.


My father's bed by the window overlooks the foodcourt in hospital, and apparently, the food is so horrendous he only wants bread, butter and jam for his meals. Every evening, my mother would go visit him, then bring him down to the foodcourt to have a proper meal (o.o);



Well, the next day, I decided to go redeem my various goodies in a bid to brush away all the gloom and negativity. Nescafé Singapore was my first stop of the day, and seriously, the place to redeem my $50 hamper was all the way at Changi area. It's at the Northern side of Singapore, and I lived in the West area ^^; But when I opened up the "hamper" a.k.a bag, well, the trip was worth it in the end. Oh, the security guard at the building do annoy me though, asked for my Identification card in exchange for a visitor pass. And I ended up having to show my old résumé in order to redeem my hamper, I ended up feeling a little lame when redeeming my prize (>.<)


A big Nescafé bag with goodies inside, waka waka~


Nescafé Gold 3 in 1, Low Fat, 20 Stick Packs. A fantastic perk-me-up in the morning!


Nescafé Gold Pure Soluble Coffee (50g)


Nescafé Vintage Spoons, there's 4 spoons in there!!


It's Stainless Steel and Not For Sale. No worries there, you'll have to murder me to get this Nescafé hamper. Muah-ah-ah~


Looks Christmas-y, with the red box and green ribbon huh? The color red is what makes Nescafé so recognisable from a distance. Which brings us to... "What's in the box" surprise again! Honestly? I came up with the phrase and idea of "Surprise in a Box", my concept/idea got stolen by these Beauty Box subscriptions in Singapore and various beauty bloggers alike, and no one bothered to credit the originality back to me. Sad huh? They get upset when you re-use their images, but when they use your idea, no "Thanks for the idea/concept" at all. Sad blogosphere in Singapore :(


*opens! Ooh, there's something soft in there, it's to cushion something delicately fragile.


Nescafé teacup and saucer :o


Now, to store it and take it out for some admiration every now and then.



Second stop of the day, The Manhattan Pizza Company @ Orchard Central, Singapore. I gladly welcome MPC to Singapore. Knowing that not every single one of my family members appreciates or even like pizzas, except for me, it can sometimes gets rather frustrating when you want to order pizza, and end up having to finish everything all by yourself. At MPC Singapore, your pizza comes in the form of a Pizza Set Meal. Buy a slice with a drink, and it's less than S$10, guarantee no wastage on food at all. And I also got to exchange an e-mail voucher for a membership keychain, where I can get free upsize when I have daily cravings for MPC pizzas! But then, I should try out their pasta dishes as well, and it seems that their Papi's Pasta Combo is "Pasta of the Day". I love surprises when it comes to pasta, always new discovery when it comes to guessing what goes into your plate of pasta!!


Front of the keychain


Back of the keychain

I am definitely glad I was one of the early birds when requesting for this little goodie. Most interested consumers on Facebook apparently didn't receive their initial email from MPC and had to get their voucher re-emailed again. They probably forgot to check their Spam or Trash folder. Let's face it, I used to work for a bookstore where customers dropped in their name cards to be included in the mailing list. And guess what? If they don't like what they received in the first email, they automatically file that same company email address into their Spam or Trash folder and then claimed they didn't receive anything. Can't blame MPC if this scenario happens as well, since they are trying their best already!




And to end today's post, a DIY Marble Water Nail Art. Only 2 fingernails were to my liking, the rest didn't exactly turned out as I expected them to. And my initial color choices of black and dark wine red colors ended up at the bottom of the cup. So, my nails looked more like a Strawberry Sundae moment instead.

Spaghetti Bolognese: Pu Niao's Style

So, to continue where I left off previously, here's my own version of Spaghetti Bolognese. Here's the list of ingredients that are must-haves for my version of this spaghetti. And since I couldn't find any minced beef in the supermarket, I had to make do with beef cubes which I cubed them some more to make smaller beef cubes.

Start by cooking an appropriate amount of spaghetti first. And while the spaghetti is boiling in hot water, prepare the next set of ingredients listed below. I've decided not to snap photos of the spaghetti cooking since it's rather redundant and almost everything knows how to cook it. But there's another step to the spaghetti cooking part, which will be talked about after the imgredient list.

Oh, do throw in your prepared capsicum with the spaghetti as well so you don't need to cook the sauce + ingredient for too long just to ensure the capsicum is thoroughly cooked. Missed this part out >.<


Must have ingredients includes:

• Chopped tomatoes with seeds removed (to trick people into believing that it's home-made spaghetti sauce with the chopped tomatoes)


• Minced beef (but if you cannot find minced beef, you will have to do the laborious task of cubing your beef into smaller bites. Or if you cannot eat beef, use another meat like pork or chicken, which happens to be good choices for spaghetti bolognese as well)


• Green capsicum (green capsicum looks good in tomato-based spaghetti recipes because of the color).

• Garlic Powder (If you happened to not enjoy mincing up actual garlic)


• Olive Oil (In my humble opinion, olive oil is a much better choice when cooking the ingredients + sauce for spaghetti. I've tried Canola oil before and the taste is rather weird and evoke a sense of akwardness)

• Tabasco sauce (If you like a hint of spiciness in your spaghetti, go ahead and get some Tabasco. If not, it's alright to skip it)


• Black pepper (A little more "spiciness" in it, it's ok to skip black pepper if you're not one who likes black pepper)


• Parsley Flakes (If you do not have fresh parsley, it's alright to use the store-bought ready ones instead)

Not forgetting cheese, to give it a little more cheesy-kick in there. If you don't like cheese, skip this as well.

Now that your meat has been minced, cubed or however way you like it. Go back to your spaghetti, it should be almost close to al dente. As soon as the spaghetti is almost at the al dente stage, off the fire and let the spaghetti sit in the boiling hot water. The hot water itself will slowly cook your spaghetti to al dente, so there's absolutely no need to continue wasting fuel/fire for it.

Besides, the ingredients may take just a little smidget to cook thoroughly (because of the meat in there), but I assure you the spaghetti will definitely be al dente once the sauce and ingredients are done.


Remember how I asked you to cook the capsicum together with the spaghetti together? Once the spaghetti is close to al dente, fish out the capsicum and set aside. Get a little cooking pot, heat and add in some olive oil. Next, throw in the pre-boiled capsicum, chopped tomatoes and prepared meat to cook.

Once the meat looks halfway cooked, pour or scoop in some spaghetti sauce as well. And while the sauce + ingredients are being cooked, you may proceed to add in black pepper and tabasco sauce, if you are adding these in. Leave the parsley for garnishing.


While the sauce + ingredients are still slowly cooking, fish out your al dente spaghetti into a bowl (or plate, your choice). Once the spaghetti is transferred to a serving dish/bowl, sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top of the spaghetti. The heat from the spaghetti will melt the cheese a little, it's alright.


Now that your sauce + ingredients are thoroughly cooked, use a spoon to scoop the sauce onto your spaghetti. Just scoop enough to cover the layer of cheese. Once done, sprinkle another generous layer of cheese once more and pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the 2nd "layer" of cheese.


Next, sprinkle some parsley flakes and let it sit for under 30 seconds to let the heat melt the sprinkled cheese that you add in earlier. Then, you eat it!


A hungry blogger is an angry blogger, so feed the hungry blogger. Pronto! *burp*

Let's talk about something happy for a change..

I love meat. Simple as that! But then, my preferences mostly tend to gravitate towards seafood on the whole. When I was young, I used to hate vegetables, especially the celery-variety. It just tastes weird to me. And until now, I still have a fond dislike for celery. However, asparagus, lettuce, cabbage and capsicums are my favorite all-time food choices.

The reason for liking asparagus and capsicums are from buying yakitori sticks and spaghetti. The barbequeuing, marinating and slow-cooking actually covers the harsh taste of capsicums in particular, so I tend to like my yakitori sticks with asparagus and capsicums. And I love green capsicums in my spaghetti dishes.

For lettuce and cabbage, it's more of the salad and fast food options that resulted in it. If I can have my way, I would like to see my burgers veggie-based than bun-based. Just like the Natsumi Burger from the MOS Burger franchise ones. Oodles of lettuce to keep lettuce-lovers happy!

For fish, it started with a self-impose dare to try sushi back when I was still in secondary school. I've seen Japanese TV shows and inforterment programs where people actually ate raw fish. Tried it that once and fell in love with raw fish (sashimi) ever since. My personaly favorite is actually raw Maguro (Tuna), but then, Singaporeans are not that big into other types of raw fish (sashimi), hence I mostly see raw salmon-types more than other variety. This little nugget of information actually proves that Singaporeans aren't that big foodie enthusiasts as claimed.

For cooked variety, I prefer my fish to be steamed, more than barbeque or fried. Steamed fishes are good in the reason that you can easily test the freshness of the fish and the ingredients that go into steaming them in the process. Barbeque version(s) tended to be cooked to the point that it's too hard and crispy. And fried version(s), it's not that healthy.

As for meat, if I really had to choose in order of preference, it'll be beef first, followed by venison (baaa~ baaa~) and then chicken. Not a big fan of pork due to the smell of it. Ack!

Outgoing: Singapore to China

For the last post-card for today that I am preparing to mail out, (I know I can send 5, but my hands are too sore to write anymore. It's been 18 years since I last wrote so much) this is going to a young lady from Shanghai, China.

She mentioned that she likes to receive post-cards depicting Singapore architecture, but unfortunately, I do not have postcards that showcase Singapore architecture at all.

However, she doesn't mind post-cards that showcase our local custom, so I'm using a 2001 post-card that showcase the start of the Singapore Food Festival in 1999 instead. I hope she will like it ^^

Post-card I choose to mail to China:

Distance of Post-Card from Singapore to China: 3,801 km

Status: Postcard Arrived!

The driver of this bus with the license plate number SMB249K knocked down my father!!

Image Source: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZLOtXEti_TlYCwunmw7JytMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0


If you guys remember my previous post about my father being involved in a bus accident, here's the full details. And I would need help from every Singaporean who has a blog to reblog this entire post and I will tell you why?

On the 14 August 2012, my father was enjoying his off day and went out for a walk. As he was crossing the pedestrian crossing, which happened to be green in his favor, a TIBS bus with the license plate number SMB249K was driving errantly and knocked down my father. He was immediately rushed to the hospital a.s.a.p and underwent surgery to have screws inserted into his leg bone as one leg of his was broken.

As for the bus driver with the license plate number SMB249K, I highly doubt he (or she) reported this incident to his superiors. My father insisted on getting discharged despite his legs being in pain, because hospital bills aren't cheap. And neither are we ATM machines where we can easily dispense cold hard cash for medical treatments, despite this entire incident not being my father's fault. (The green light was in his favor, I mentioned that, remember?)

This is what happened to my father's legs after an irresponsible bus driver from TIBS knocked him down.

The 5 days while my father was in the hospital, nobody from TIBS called our house to find out more about the accident. Neither did they even bother to show up in the hospital to enquire more about the accident. It's as if they are either trying to cover up for their irresponsible and errant bus driver or they are pretending none of this crap happens.

All of this despite my brother calling and e-mailing TIBS, until today without a single reply from them!

And the only ones who bothered to visit my father in the hospital were family, relatives, friends and colleagues. Not a single squeak from anyone belonging to TIBS!

And more than just demanding compensation, provided if TIBS actually had the "courage" to step up and admit their fault and mistake, I demand answers from TIBS! This is the second time my family has been involved with dispute from TIBS. Previously, I encountered a racist bus driver while on my bus journey home who not only shouted and insulted me. He also insisted I was the one getting aggressive when he was the one doing the shouting first. He even dared me to lodge a complaint, thinking I wouldn't. But I dared! And I refused to be bullied by TIBS anymore, and I refused any of my family member being "bullied" as well!

Is this how TIBS run their company? Letting rude and racist bus driver insults passengers who are not of the same race or religion as them. And is this how TIBS handle their passengers safety? By acting ignorant about the fact that one of their bus drivers knocked down my father and no one bothered to ask or even care??

So, if you are a Singaporean who happened to be a blogger, have lots of friends who are Singaporean, or even a Singaporean who likes to hang around websites like STOMP. Kindly do me a favor and re-post this blog post in it's entirety. I demand justice!!!

And although we have made a police report regarding this incident, we want to hear TIBS side of their story. Why did they took so long to take action?

Outgoing: Singapore to Germany

For my 3rd post-card I am mailing out, its travelling from Singapore to Germany. The recipent is a lady (younger than me, now I feel old *sniffs*) who happened to love a wide-variety of music. Although her requirements for post-card designs seems varied, but I feel that she likes the ones that are really special and unique.

Therefore, I'm choosing a Heineken collector post-card introducing Blue Note Bar in Tokyo. I hope she will like it though =)

Post-card I choose to mail to Germany:

Distance of Post-Card from Singapore to Germany: 9,924 km

Status: Postcard Arrived!

Outgoing: Singapore to Russia

Okay, on to the 2nd post-card I am going to mail out. It is to a guy living in Russia who seems to be interested in architecture. But sadly, I do not have any post-card with pictures of architecture, so I'll have to choose one that reflects the 1999 "Towards A Society For All Ages" campagin.

In Singapore news lately, there have been alarming reports of young able-bodied people being mean and nasty to the elderly folks. The one that left an impression on me is the report of this young Singaporean male pushing an elderly folk off the bus cos she (if I recalled correctly) was too slow in getting off the bus.

My own grandfather passed away a few years back and I kept missing him everday. And it is really saddening to see young Singaporeans being mean and nasty to elderly folks they do not know.

Post-card I choose to mail to Russia:

Distance of Post-Card from Singapore to Russia: 8,175 km

Status: Still travelling!

Structure of Skin

The Structure of Skin

Imagine a slightly flat cream cake slice with three main layers sandwiched together and lots of thinner ones within them. Our skin is just like that. The main layers are the epidermis. the top layer we see and touch; next comes the dermis; and underneath that, the subcutaneous fatty layer.

Epidermis
The top layer, or epidermis (epi means over and derma means "skin" in Greek - hence the term dermatologist) is a light-reflecting,

translucent covering for about 0.04 inches (1mm) over most of the body, twice as thin (about 0.02inches) on areas such as eyelids, and at its thickest (about 0.06 inches) on the soles of our feet or palms of our hands. The epidermis contains no blood vessels and is nourished by fine capillaries in the top layer of the dermis beneath it.

All day, everyday, skin cells (keratinocytes) are being born, developing and dying within the five levels of the epidermis. The cells begin life at the basal layer of the epidermis, then move up through the five levels, constantly changing shape and developing. By the time they reach the surface (or horny layer), the cells have died, flattened and are being sloughed off - a process called exfoliation or desquamation - paving the way for more "daughter" cells on their way up. The whole process takes 26 - 42 days, according to dermatologists. Over our adult life, however, the process gradually slows, and dead cells linger on the surface. This is why we tend to notice duller, less radiant skin in older people.

The Structure of the Epidermis

1. Stratum basale or basal layer: The skin-cell factory, where millions of new, column-shaped cells are produced 24/7 from stem cells. As soon as they are formed, they're pushed up through the other skin layers by the constant production of new cells beneath them. Melanocytes, or pigmentation cells, start here too. The amount of melanin you produce controls skin color, how much we tan, and hair color. Melanin also helps protect your skin against sunlight. The skin's immune cells (Langerhan cells) originate here, to act as one of our first defence against invading bugs. Nerve endings reach up from the basal layer to the surface layer, where they respond to touch, heat, cold and pain.

2. Stratum spinosum or spinous layer: The cells, now irregular in shape and multi-sided, start to produce keratin, the main protein that makes up skin, nails and hair. Lipids (fats) appear, also making their way up to the surface to form the skin barrier.

3. Stratum granulosum: The busy shop floor of the skin factory, where keratin and lipids, include moisture-retaining ceramides, are developing further.

4. Stratum lucidum: Often referred to as part of the next layer (the stratum corneum), this layer exists only on your palms and soles. The cells flatten and clump together to produce an extra layer of protection where they encounter most friction.

5. stratum corneum or horny layer: The top surface layer - like the frosting on a layered cake slice. The cells here, called corneocytes, are now 25 to 30 layers of dead, flattened discs, tghtly packed and cemented with lipids (fats) and proteins, forming a barrier structured much like a brick wall. its thickness varies enormously, from 0.01mm in fragile areas, such as the eyelid (making them very sensitive to harsh detergents such as soaps or SLS)
to 0.1mm on the soles of our feet.

Although the corneocytes are technically dead by this stage, they contain many chemicals that enable this dynamic barrier to respond to, and protect us from, the environment and prevent the loss of water. One important chemical group is called natural moisturizing factor (NMF). NMF acts like a magnet for water, attracting it into the corneocytes so they swell up, preventing the formation of cracks in between them.

This is why healthy skin is so smooth and dewy. In dry skin, however, there are reduced levels of NMF within the corneocytes and small cracks can develop - which is why dry skin feels rough and loses its healthy luster. Good moisturizers contain constituents such as plant oils, glycerin and hyaluronic acid that mimic the deficient NMF, thus helping to rehydrate the corneocytes and restore skin's smooth, healthy surface.

If the stratum corneum barrier is damaged, it allows for transepidermal water loss (TWEL). Bad burns, for instance, cause massive water loss - but this loss also increases with dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions. High TEWL is linked to raised permeability, making it easier for external irritants to enter the epidermis, resulting in increased sensitivity and dryness. Moisturizers work mainly by reducing TEWL.

pH and the Acid Mantle of the Skin

The term pH stands for Potential of Hydrogen, which measures the hydrogen concentration of any substance. We also know it as the acid/alkaline balance. It is graded from 0 to 14, with 0 being the most acidic, 14 the most alkaline, and 7 the neutral, or midpoint. The stomach has a pH of around 1, because you need stomach acid to break down food. The protective layer on the skin surface known as the acid mantle (a mix of sebum and sweat) has a mildly acidic pH, which helps kill bacteria and fungi; it's thought to function optimally at the skin's "normal" pH of 5.5. Many skin products are labeled pH balanced, meaning they have been formulated to have a pH close to 5.5. Soapy water has an alkaline pH of around 9.5. If you overwash your face with strongly alkaline soaps or cleansers, the acid mantle becomes more alkaline, and skin is left more prone to infection and damage.

Dermis

This middle layer is connected to the epidermis by the "basement membrane", a soft, pliable but strong layer of tissue. The dermis is thicker than the epidermis, again varying over different parts of the body, from about 0.01 inches on the eyelids up to 0.1 inches or more on the back. The thickness doubles between the ages of three and seven, and again at puberty.

The dermis is made up mostly of bundles of collagen - one of the strongest natural proteins, which gives skin elasticity and bounce - held together with fibres of another protein, elastin. It's the breakdown of collagen and elastin, due to sunlight and other external assaults as well as internal factors - most notably, stress - plus the natural changes of aging, that causes skin to lose its tone and start to sag. All around the collagen and elastin is hyaluronic acid, a sticky, slippery substance (because it attracts and holds water), which is essential for skin moisture.

As you can see in the image above, this layer has lots of sweat glands and follicles, nerves and blood vessels, which supply oxygen to the epidermis and take away waste products.

Sweat Glands

Sweat is vital for regulating body temperature and keeping the skin moist. As you perspire, the moisture on your body evaporates and cools the skin, regulating the temperature of the whole body. These glands are also activated when you're nervous or frightened - as in the sweaty-palm response. You have between 2 million to 4 million sweat glands, capable of producing up to 1 litre of sweat an hour, and even more in hot weather.

There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Both began life in the dermis. The eccrine glands, which are rsponsible for most output and are found all over the body, are long, hollow tubes with a coil at the bottom where the mixture of water and salts that constitute sweat is produced. It then flows up the tube to the opening (pore) on the skin's surface.

Apocrine glands are similar, but they're attracted to hair follicles, mainly in the armpit and in the genital area. Although they produce much less sweat, it's more concentrated and contains the proteins and fats responsible for your individual smell. Apocrine sweat glands can be turned on or off by the autonomic nervous system, but the system operates as a whole, so when one gland is activated, all glands spring into action. The eccrine glands are more precisely controlled and different parts of the body work independently, which is why your palms can sweat when you're extrmely nervous, but your face remains dry.

Follicles

Tubelike structures called follicles - some containing a hair, some empty - orignate in the bottom of the dermis, extending up to the skin surface, where you see them as pores.

Branching off the follicles are grapelike clusters of sebaceous (oil) glands, which produce the oily substance known as sebum. Sebum makes its way into the follicle and then up to the skin surface, where it mixes with sweat to become what's known as the "acid mantle".

Each follicle has small muscle fibers called corrector pili attracted to it, which contract when you're cold or frightened, causing the follicle to protrude slightly above the surface. This is technically called piloerection - more commonly known as "goose bumps". Stem cells located around the arrector pili are mainly responsible for our hair growth. In a healthy head of hair, average growth rate is around 0.02 inches a day.

Subcutaneous layer or hypodermis

At the bottom of the imaginary layered cake slice is a cushion of fat called the subcutaneous layer, which is filled with adipose (fat) cells, blood vessels and nerves. This varies in thickness: On the bottom, for instance, it may be a tenth of an inch thick, but it's entirely absent on eyelids, and considerable thinner on the neck. This layer helps plump up the skin, keep you warm, and protect your bones. It acts as a useful energy reserve in times of famine. It's also involved in synthesizing Vitamin D from the sun, which is vital for healthy bones and teeth, boosting the immune system and reducing inflammation in the body.

Normally, the skin is quite loosely attached to muscle and bone with connective tissue, but if the fatty layer overexpands (because you put on weight, for example), then the fibers in the connective tissue are pulled tight, resulting in the mattress-like dimpling of our favorite skin villain, cellulite.

Page Source: Skin Care Secrets by Liz Earle

Finally... Some good news

My father's doing well, he just got back from the hospital just now. Both his lower calves are heavily bandaged though, but at least he's alright. He probably will be unable to walk around on his own for at least a good 3 to 4 months.

But luckily, I managed to find a new job. Salary's quite good too, in fact, this company is almost paying their employees extra so they look pretty at the shop. Nope, it's not those Japanese nor Korean fashion houses.

But my dilemma is this: How on @#$%& earth am I supposed to look for foundation and BB creams that actually looks natural on my skin? I already look so pale and ghostly most times, if I put on makeup, it's rather obvious I did so. And the foundation and BB cream tone colors will clash with the rest of my skin color on my arms and legs.

Any female bloggers would like to give me some pointers on makeup meant for pale and ghostly looking skin tone? I would be really appreciative!!