People tend to think that stretch marks mainly occur in women (maybe because of pregnancy) but...it's not true! It happens to skinny people, fat people, men and women alike for several reasons. Here's a video that will sum things up when it comes to 6 things that you should know about those pesky stretch marks:



So, we now know the 6 things about stretch marks:

1. Everyone has equal chances of getting stretch marks
2. Stretch marks occur when the skin expands and contracts rapidly due to genetic reasons/ hormones/ sudden weight gain and loss and the elastin in the skin can't cope and tears
3. Stretch marks will fade over time (yay!)
4. Stretch marks can't be cured (unforunately) but they can be reduced and prevented
5. Cocoa butter duplicates the natural oils on the body and helps to reduce the appearance of stretch marks and prevent stretch marks
6. We need to moisturise our skin daily (oops...)

We've heard before about how chocolate is good for the skin (not just for eating) but it's actually the cocoa butter that's the superfood that keeps your skin supple and moisturised. How so? I'll let this video explain:



Now...I'm plagued by stretch marks too - no thanks to teenage growth spurt in the boobs and hips. If there's any way to reduce the appearance of all these stretch marks around my hips and butt...I'm all for it!

I'm sure you've seen Palmer's products around with their signature image of a pregnant lady in front as well as their dark brown "Cocoa Butter Formula" tag. Founded in America more than 170 years ago in 1842, Palmer’s has become one of the world’s leading names in skincare. Their unique heritage and commitment to quality has stood the test of time – Palmer’s can be found in bathroom cabinets in the homes of families in more than 80 countries, making it one of the most popular skincare brands. Their #1 formula, Cocoa Butter Formula, is one of Palmer’s key offering in its wide range of skincare.

Palmer's has come up with a new SPRAY version of their Cocoa Butter lotion and I love that I no longer have to deal with gloopy amounts of lotion or cream. Their key ingredient is obviously their Cocoa Butter and it uses a nique delivery system and Rapidsorb ® Technology which is non-aerosol based and uses NO propellants to deliver fine sprays which allow the lotions to be very quickly absorbed into the skin. Just point, spray and massage.

I reckon that the spray will be great for pregnant women who should be moisturising their bellies as their pregnancies progress and once the belly gets larger, it'll be harder to moisturise the bottom part of the bulge but the spray kinda negates that.

I love the smell of the spray. It's only a hint of chocolate but it's not overpowering so you will not smell like a walking candy bar after you've moisturised yourself.

Before Cocoa Butter

Not sure whether you can see the faint white stretch marks in the above 2 photos. These are around my hips and butt areas.

For the testing of the Palmer's Cocoa Butter, I only used it on my body and I skipped all other possible moisturisers/creams, including my Nivea Body Conditioner. After 2 weeks...

As you can see, my stretch marks are still there in full glory. They haven't reduced much in appearance, which was a tad disappointing. Maybe 2 weeks is not long enough. However, the moisturising ability of the cocoa butter was amazing!

Firstly, I sprayed it on other areas of my hips and waist where it was absorbed really quickly. Believe me, the lotion was absorbed in seconds! I felt that it helped with a bit of my eczema and prevented it from turning worse. Secondly, I also sprayed a bit on my legs and it kept my feet so moisturised that even my nail technician who does my pedicure could tell the difference!

Do note that because this is a spray, be careful to spray it directly onto the skin and if you're spraying it onto your legs like I did, some may get onto the floor and make the floor a bit slippery so I recommend spraying the cocoa butter on you while you stand on a bathroom mat.

You can get Palmer's Stretch Mark Spray Lotion at: Watsons, Guardian, Fairprice, BHG, Robinsons, John Little and leading cosmetic stores and its retail price is S$29.90/200g.

If you need a break from the madness known as work, join us for a day of Yoga and wellness workshops to help you RESET your life and get your balance back at WellnessYogi:RESET.

Do note that the topics within the schedule are still subject to changes.

It will be a day full of activities and ALL attendees will be getting a goodie bag worth S$60! What's inside? Stay tuned! All I can say is that one item will be a really sweet and cold treat! :)

There will also be a bazaar that's open to the public, featuring stalls that will be selling a variety of health and wellness products or services!

Grab your buddy and register here. Corporate and sponsorship packages are also available. Please contact us at ing@wellnessyogi.com or passhen.sg@gmail.com for more details.

It's the 2nd year running and it's also my 2nd time going to Universal Studios Singapore (USS) for the Halloween Horror night! Was pumped up to enjoy the rides amid the 'gorified' theme park.  This year's villain is a Puppet Master (last year's was the Director), which explains why the entrance of USS read "Welcome to the Doll House".

Creepy dolls greet you as you enter and beware of those roaming clowns that decide to greet you either from behind or they jump in front of you in excitement.  Fresh meat for the Puppet Master!!

If you are feeling thirsty on the way, feel free to get some blood bags from the undead waitresses.  Next, we entered another zone where panic ensued due to crashes and biohazard waste has turned victims into zombies with melting flesh and all...

The Transformers ride wasn't open the last time I was at USS but I'm so glad that it was this time round (although there was technical issues until about 11pm).  The ride was AWESOME! We waited for 2 hours for it but it was really good although it could've been a couple of minutes longer.  If only they could send more than 12 people each trip, the queue might move a bit faster.  This is a MUST ride in addition to Battlestar Galactica.  I don't think I will ever have the courage to take the Cylon ride...I think I'll stick to the Human side.

After our stint in the Human side of Battlestar Galactica, we entered 1 of the 3 haunted houses - the Death Alley...where the saw the horror of...

RUBBISH.  Seriously people...just hold onto your rubbish till you see the rubbish bin! There were bins along the queue for goodness' sakes!!

Anyway, back to the Death Alley.  I think USS has really outdone themselves this year with 3 haunted houses and each with a different theme.  Death Alley was Chinatown and you would know this from the Chinese song that was hauntingly looped till it would drive you mad before you entered the haunted house.  They stuck to the usual gory dismembered body parts, actors hiding behind corners and walls to come out and scare you. This time round, they even hired children and the elderly to create more authenticity.  Well done!

 At the Bizarre Bazaar, I was captured by a Mummy and then we were also hypnotised to pose with a very good looking Pharoh-ish slave driver!

Thank goodness they only closed the rides at 1am (an hour later than last year), but then again, we didn't have enough time to go to the Shrek 4D adventure and neither did we get to ride the Revenge of the Mummy.  I really don't understand the screaming girls because, with so many people...its really hard to be spooked.  All in all, my feet hurt, my back was sore but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Of course it helped that I had the excellent company of these 2 dearies of mine. Especially when Ming goes into bitch mode.  Will I go next year? Oh yes!

I've always avoided F1 because it's crowded, noisy and I simply don't really bother much about racing.  I'd rather be the one racing than watch cars do laps in front of me while I wear ear plugs.  Anyway, I decided to go to this year's F1 race simply because I wanted to watch Maroon 5 perform. :) Thanks to my friend, who is a marshal, I managed to score a pair of tickets to Sat's race/ performances! Thank you H!! :)

 The view from the Bay Grandstand...also known as The Float @ Marina.  My first time on this floating stage so I just had to sit there and soak in the view.

 

Great graffiti art at the Bay Grandstand! I wasn't expecting this but I really like the carnivalesque flavour of the whole afternoon/ evening so far.

 View from the Bay Grandstand aka The Float @ Marina. This is my first time here so I decided to sit and just soak in the view before the race began.

 

We went to MOF at Marina Square for dinner and I thought I'd try their Japanese Pasta so the above is Salmon and baby scallop spaghetti in a teriyaki based sauce.  Verdict - don't bother.  Go to Yomenya Goemon or Pasta de Waraku for better Japanese-style spaghetti and at almost the same price of $15.90.  What a rip off.

 After dinner, we headed to the Esplanade Outdoor theatre and people were already seated at 7pm, waiting for The Pretenders to perform at 8pm!!  Instead of waiting, bro and I decided to just walk around the track and see what other sort of entertainment there was.

 There were several large screens dotted around the track and during this period, we caught a clip of Max Loong checking out the various F1 merchandise.

 You probably can't see it too clearly in this photo but I thought that it was rather cute that there were laser light 'shows' of F1 cars driving up the Marina Bay Sands.  Bro thought it was tacky.  Ah well.

 The glorious track all lit up! Everyone was starting to go to their seats and watch the drivers go through their qualifying rounds.

 While waiting, Samba girls were there to entertain the crowd as they danced and roved around.

 Vrroooom......After 15 minutes, I was bored to tears but Gor was sleeping thanks to his jet lag so we didn't move off till about 9.45pm so that we could start getting a good spot in the Padang stage area.

 On our way, we met dancing hippies on stilts.  There were 2 of these dancers and a DJ too.  It was quite cute.

 Love the gorgeous flower lights that hung on the trees lighting one's way to the Padang entertainment and food area.  Really apt since we are approaching the Mid-Autumn festival.  Nope, there were not any stalls selling mooncakes.  They only had a lot of burgers, hot wings and alcohol.

 Check out the crowd!! Mind you, this is only HALF of the Padang area and soon, we'll be skipping and hopping our way further front ;)  THIS is what I really came for...

 MAROOON 5!!!!!!

 Awww...he's so cute and he can really sing! He definitely moves better than Jagger and man...what an entertainer!!!

 The energy from the crowd was great and everyone sang along to all the songs which I think really pleased the guys as Adam kept smiling.

Maroon 5...please come back to Singapore for a full length 3 hour concert!! I will definitely buy a ticket and scream my heart out while singing along.  :D More concerts please!!!

Now that I've seen the actual cars doing their rounds, I think from next year onwards, I'll go to F1 just for the concerts.  Haha...and only if I have free tix! Ladidadida

Mel has been hit with the Olympics fever!

Man....are athletes hot or what! Especially the swimmers and the gymnasts! My attention was caught the whole of today by the very cute Tomita Hiroyuki of Japan. The French gymnast who won bronze also looks like a rock star but anyway...back to Tomita-kun....


That's him on the pommel horse and he was excellent. He wasn't performing that well today though. He fell off the rings (his hand slipped) and he fell again after the vaults. His fall from the rings looked painful and that might've affected his mood during the vaults.

I went searching online and found this old video of an interview of him. Check out his hot bod!! He's quite endearingly cute. The interviewer asked him whether he uses gym machines, he replied, "No. Only gymnastics." They then went on to test his fat percentage. According to the narrator, normal men have about 20% of body fat while athletes have about 10%. When Tomita-kun held onto the machine, an error message turned up!! Haha....this meant that he has close to 0% fat! To which, his reply was: I have some, I think.....

Tomita Hiroyuki Video

Anyway...pls check out the video and let me know whether you agree with me or not.

Now now...before you start bashing me about being shallow and viewing the Olympics not for the sports but for the oggling of fit bods, this is what I have to say: STOP KIDDING YOURSELF and STOP BEING THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK!

I was talking online to a guy friend while he was watching the female diving and he kept going "Guo JingJing's hot!" So...this only goes to show that there is a percentage where we DO watch the Olympics for the sheer love of watching of the sport but we do love to see their fit, lean bods. Women oggle at men, men oggle at women. Of course, if your gay, you'd be oggling at men and lesbians at women. Now...I think bisexuals are really at an advantage! They'll be watching and then go, "Oh that man's hot! Oh wait...that girl's cuter. Ooohh...that guy is droolsome!"

Wahahahaha.....ooh...I love the Olympics!