I was recently sent some stickers from Funkkit. They are completely waterproof and perfect to revamp your old sneakers and give them a new lease of life. I love that super-comfy sport-luxe sandals are still in. Yes, they are “ugly-beautiful” (particularly paired with socks) but in the Singaporean heat, I favoured this than a sneaker project even though I love the Balenciaga high tops. 

You will need: inexpensive sports sandals, nail polish, shallow dish, water, Funkkit stickers and masking tape.

Take your sandals and cover the entire top half with masking tape.

Marble the bottom of the sandal using the method shown here.

When the soles have dried grab your Funkkit stickers.

Grab the transparent plastic that comes in the pack and trace the shape you need on the clear plastic.

Cut around the shape.

Remove the backing and stick it to the shoe. Make sure you remove all the air bubbles.

And that’s it! Excuse my pedicure (or lack there of) because I have been so busy moving countries!

Happy DIYing!

 

I am not the most sentimental person. I am the kind of woman who would move country tomorrow and not even tell anyone. I regularly sell 80% of my wardrobe without a second thought. So it seems strange for me, that my birthdays in recent years have taken on quite an attachment. Last year’s 30th in Thailand was amazing but was also met with mixed emotions in Perth as I was dealing with my mother’s illness and the absence of all my good friends who are based everywhere in the world except Perth!

So this year when my management, Fly Entertainment, suggested a retreat for the talent under it’s representation on the weekend of my birthday, I jumped at the chance to be with some of my closest friends in the world but in Bali. We stayed at Hidden Hills Villas in Uluwatu, founded by my old teen idol Max Loong (who is also represented by Fly Entertainment).

Check out the images for yourself and me wearing a DIY scarf dress I had sewn from this tutorial. My mentor and close friend, Joey Mead King, (as well as judge on Asia’s Next Top Model) shot the images of me in the dress. As is the policy with most posts on this blog, the images are not retouched. The first image here is of the room I stayed in called Villa Grande:

The weekend was packed with eating great food, massages and lying by the pool. I even enjoyed watching a movie on the smart TV. The staff were amazing and even organised a birthday cake for me, you can check it all out on my Instagram.

What I love about Hidden Hills Villas is that each villa is themed from a country or region around the world and that the facility is so quiet and peaceful.

There are some amazing promotions at Hidden Hills Villas for their launch:

Rates: 1 Bedroom Ocean View Pool Villas –> USD $400 (nett) –> Soft launch promo until end June 50% room rates discount = $200 (nett)
2 Bedroom Ocean View Pool Villas –> USD $550 (nett) –> Soft launch promo until end June 50% room rates discount = $275 (nett)

3 Bedroom Ocean View Pool Villas –> USD $700 (nett) –> Soft launch promo until end June 50% room rates discount = $350 (nett)

Promos: We will be running opening year promos until mid December –> opening year promo until mid Dec 30% discount on room rates.

Complimentary: – Pick up and drop off from airport
- Breakfast
- Internet/Movies

Contact them through www.hiddenhillsvillas.com for more.

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my amazing whirlwind stop off in Dubai on the way to Switzerland from Perth. It is actually quite funny to think I have lived in all of those 3 cities at some point in my life.

I make no secret of the fact Dubai is one of my favourite places to live and work. I have many very close friends still there and one of my best friends Clara had a baby and I decided to take a flight which stopped over in Dubai for 19 hours on the way to Zurich and see her baby. The lovely people at Al Ghurair Rayhaan Rotana had recently written to me to try their fabulous Zen the spa and Persian restaurant Shayan. They very kindly also extended to me a night’s accommodation in Deluxe suite with the best view. (I am so lucky!)

I arrived on the 30th of March to Dubai completely exhausted and bleary-eyed. I was met at the airport by a lovely driver from the hotel who chatted to me about Australia winning the Cricket World Cup that very day!

We then high-tailed it to the hotel which was only a 15 minute ride away.

My suite was so gorgeous it blew my mind!

I jumped into my massive bath and got nice and clean before dashing over to Clara’s to see her new baby!

My favourite part was the lovely L’Occitane products which I got to use. I am all about the products!

I finally returned for a relax and was hungry after running through the city so I ate some of the complementary dates and fruit displayed below. The view was amazing! I did not want to leave!

I had to buy a couple of things from Al Ghurair Centre (which is conveniently attached to the hotel) and was overcome with a wave of nostalgia for the city I used to live in and love so much. Then back to my room to get ready for dinner. I invited 3 of my good friends to dine with me in Shayan, Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana’s Persian restaurant.

Shayan restaurant is an authentic Persian dinner restaurant with a contemporary modern setting. The restaurant features a live nan bread oven inside the restaurant and guests can watch their every meal prepared by our specialist chefs. My friends and I enjoyed a cozy seating booth and impeccable service from our waiter.

It was also really nice for me to have authentic Persian food as I haven’t had any cuisine from the region since I left Dubai one and a half years ago.

I then checked into the Zen the spa at 9pm (the spa closes at 10pm but my therapist kindly stayed an hour later for me so I could enjoy not one but 2 treatments) and was booked in for the Aroma Radiance Facial (so relaxing, I fell asleep) and a relaxing aromatherapy massage. What really impressed me was the potency of the scents used in these treatments. Just so sweet to the nostrils! I am ashamed to say, I probably snored!

I drifted off to sleep and woke up at 4 am with a punctual wake up call from the hotel staff, I enjoyed another gorgeous bath and then made my way to check out. A driver was waiting for me and kindly took me to the airport for my connecting flight to Zurich.

I cannot imagine a better way for a single person to enjoy a stop off in Dubai. The hotel is located near all the great sights of old Dubai, so if spas aren’t your thing and you’ve never been to the Middle East before, you can soak in some of the atmosphere. I was so blessed to have the opportunity to stay at the Al Ghurair Rayhaan Rotana because it allowed me to get some relaxation and at the same time also able to see some of my good friends.

You can check out Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana’s packages here and also follow them on Instagram  here.

So many of you ask me about my skin. Since my days endorsing skincare in my 20s, up until turning 30 last year and this year 31!! I am glad to say that I look a lot younger than my 30 years due largely to the 10 years I spent out of the Australian sun in humid environments like Singapore and Dubai. Those cities are nice and humid which keeps your skin plump.

Upon returning to Perth last year, I was horrified by how dry my skin became under the Aussie sun! Seriously, so dry! And because I have been sick since returning from Singapore, I had a lot of congestion around my nose and chin.

Hydrafacial is one of the few facials “approved” by Hollywood A-listers. It works amazingly well for busy women because it treats numerous concerns at the same time in a 25 minute treatment. It’s breakthough technology is hydra-dermabrasian that hydrates as it resurfaces.

The little probe removes pore-clogging and skin-dulling dead skin cells while dousing the skin deeply with medical-grade cleansing and moisturising serums. My skin was left cleansed, exfoliated and strengthened with anti-oxidants to refine texture.

What happens after the Hydrafacial is unique to Dr Anh’s medispa. I was immersed in Healite II which helps with faster healing, skin rejuvenation, acne reduction and pain reduction.

It most certainly stopped my drippy nose from running (I was still a bit congested) which I thought was bordering on miraculous. My therapist, Holly, described it as “a mixture between sunbaking and being abducted by aliens.” Indeed that’s a pretty good description of how you feel when it first goes on but after that it’s relaxing and you drift off to sleep with a luxurious hand massage.

After that, a brilliant cloth mask (I love cloth masks, I have been using them since my first time living in Asia 10 years ago) was used which was absorbed really quickly into my skin because of the Healite II treatment. I was so relaxed!

Here is a picture of me after the treatment with not a scratch of make-up on and actually being ill.

My skin was left dewy and de-congested. The best was, the lack of redness! Normally, any type of exfoliating treatment leaves some redness or sensitivity afterwards, but there was nothing. My skin felt so clean! I love that clean feeling!

I highly recommend this for skin which has been dehydrated over the Aussie Summer.

Dr Anh is also a plastic surgeon as well as having therapists to cater to your medispa needs. The whole space for my treatment was filled with luxurious French pear candles and a gorgeous soft blanket. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Give Dr Anh a call and book in for the Hydrafacial, it’s life changing! Holly was my brilliantly well-versed therapist. 9322 2659.

 

By now, if you follow this blog and my Instagram, you would know I am a addicted to getting my brows “resurrected” with Browhaus. I was in their Raffles City store with Lydia in June of last year and you can read all about it here! It was time for my return as my brows had certainly started to fade, as you can see from the picture below (this is me with no make up!).

Brow Resurrection is a signature semi-permanent treatment, an advanced brow embroidery technique that is unique to Browhaus. Each strand is constructed to give the illusion of actual hair strands. Browhaus also uses 100% vegetable dye and a top-grade anesthetic, making it a completely safe, comfortable and near-painless treatment.  Hence, why my eyebrows have never faded blue and don’t look like a McDonald’s is sign drawn half way up my forehead (or a fivehead as I like to think of mine, because it’s so damn big).

As always I went to see Browhaus’ amazing therapist Lydia, who I always go to.

So here’s how the process went down:

First the therapist draws on your brows with a super fine eyebrow pencil. Every single hair is defined to show you how the 3D-treatment will look when it’s done. This way you can see the exact shape you will get.

Here’s what my shape looked like at the end and I was happy with it.

From here the eyebrows are numbed with numbing cream and covered with some cling film type material. This is left for 15-20minutes until your brow area is numb. During this time, the Browhaus team will ask you if you have plans to dye your hair and if not, they will recommend you a shade of vegetable dye for your brow embroidery which best matches it. I didn’t know if I’d get to visit Singapore again in 90 days for my touch-up and I wanted my treatment to last longer than last time so I opted for a slightly darker dye this time.

Then Lydia uses the finest multi-pins to craft life-like brow strands into my brows following the lines of the shape she drew in with pencil earlier. The vegetable dye is then deposited into the skin. This process is done within 40-45 minutes.

BEFORE                                                         AFTER

As you can see. I couldn’t be more happy with how my brows turned out. They recommend no swimming, sauna, steam baths or excessive sweaty exercise (I gave up my long runs) for 2 weeks. No facials for at least 2 weeks and of course no tanning (which let’s face it, none of us smart girls who want good skin do anyway)!

The lovely team also gifted me these amazing new eyeliners and mascara from their range. I swear, if you find that your makeup is not humidity proof (my Dubai readers especially!) you should try these eyeliners on for size. They come out like cream and set like a waterproof liquid eyeliner. Speaking of liquid eyeliner, Browhaus’ has the most precise brush I’ve ever used. The mascara is also clump-proof and fabulous.

Thankyou so much Browhaus for another reliable treatment. I had so much fun giggling with Lydia. I cannot recommend this treatment enough to women in the public eye especially, who have no brows. I will be going back every year for this.

Here’s a special off for DIYnamic Style readers:

Enjoy Brow Resurrection Define at $800 (U.P. $1284). 
It comes with one full session and one touch-up session. Applicable to all new Brow Resurrection customers till 31 March 2015 in Singapore only. Offer may vary or not apply for master specialists. Other terms and conditions apply. 

What woman doesn’t love getting her hair done. I’ve been really blessed to be sponsored by some of the best salons in Singapore and Dubai for my entire entertainment career. I must say though, I have never seen the art of hairdressing taken to the level that the team at Maurice Meade (right here in Perth) do. They make a trip to the salon practically science and you know the best thing about science, it’s very exact. You know what you’re going to get and your hair comes out exactly as you asked. One less stress in my life is great!

So here was my hair BEFORE and AFTER:

(*I’m wearing my DIY Chanel blazer. Full tutorial coming soon).

So this is how your Maurice Meade first session rolls. You’re welcomed into the salon and placed in a luxurious waiting area. Your colourist/stylist comes to collect you then talks to you attentively about what you’re looking to get done. She then gets a pink and orange cloth and places it near your face to demonstrate how different pink and orange toned colours will affect your appearance/complexion.

She then gets a Kerastase scalp camera and takes an image to diagnose your scalp type. I’d had this done by Ponds for my skin before but never for my hair. It was a revelation and then she used a chart to show me where I lay in the range of healthy scalps. Thankfully my scalp is pretty healthy.

From here your hairdresser is able to work out what products will work best with your hair and how to maintain a healthy scalp.

I then filled out a history of my hair health and we were ready to go!

I have to say I really believe that this sort of care for my hair made me trust the hairdresser Sara so much and true to her word, the colour she gave me was EXACTLY the same as the image I’d shown her on my Instagram. I was so impressed. She literally glanced at it and two hours later it was on my head!

It was a wonderful experience and the team at Maurice Meade in Garden city were so professional. Special thanks to Sara and Charlotte for the new tresses and of course massive thanks to Maurice Meade.

 

This is my first post of my series on Telstra Perth Fashion Festival. To coincide with the festival and the best season in Aussie weather (SUMMER!!!) enex100 threw Perth’s largest shopping party. The one day only event saw exclusive offers from over 70 retailers at enex100 and Forrest Chase including Myer, live entertainment and delicious treats all day!

enex100 kindly let me shop until I drop and choose pieces for my Summer wardrobe. At the moment my wardrobe faces a few huge problems as I have just moved back to Australia in January and my Dubai clothes are all wrong (I am aware that this is a huge #firstworldproblem):

1) No comfortable heels: In Dubai not only did I have a driver to drive me around, I also wore flats and caught taxis everywhere. When I did go out, my heels were sky high and for events because I didn’t need to walk anywhere and the idea was to make me look a lot taller. Now I drive everywhere and I wanted some great comfortable shoes to wear to to work that had a small heel.

2) Not enough basics: In Dubai colour and bling was everywhere. I was earning way more money too so I didn’t bother to buy a lot of mix and matchable outfits. I was able to buy outfits from shoes to hat that were perfectly coordinated. This doesn’t work very well in Australia, the wind, Sun and salaries just don’t make highly embellished and groomed looks practical. Here, you need to have a wardrobe with mileage.

3) Not enough versatile/casual clothes: I just don’t have much everyday wear. In Dubai I’d wear sweatpants and sneakers to work at the radio and then go home and change for events in the evening but now I find myself working a full day and going out straight after work so clothes need to be comfortable and versatile. I’m selling most of my cocktail dresses soon.

Here are some pictures from my wonderful afternoon off shopping!

I ended up buying the white off the shoulder top you see above and another amazing snakeskin print blouse in grey from Gingham and Heels. I loaned a dress for the Future Runway show at PFF from Generics Accessories Pop Up plus a basic white t-shirt and got a pair of delicious low heels from David Lawrence that were 100% leather. Everything I got was neutral and filled a hole in my wardrobe.

A visit to enex100 is a must do, for the $250 I was given I got 4 items. Amazing value! You can spy all my new purchases on my Instagram account.

I have paid for this treatment before. I have flown over from abroad for this treatment and I am so in love with what Browhaus do, I am sincerely looking into bringing the company over to Australia!

Here’s where I yell out, IF YOU ARE AN ASIAN WOMAN WITH SPARSE BROWS, YOU NEED THIS. YES, YOU DO. DO NOT GO TO ANY OTHER TATTOOIST/BEAUTY PARLOUR BESIDES BROWHAUS, IF YOU DO, YOU WILL END UP WITH CRAY CRAY BLUE EYEBROWS (and people may stop you on the street and call you Aunty) Phew! glad I got that out.

From the time I went through puberty I became aware that my eyes were so dark and my eyebrows so sparse. I have a very high forehead and without my eyebrows drawn in, the space from my eyelids to my hairline looks like it’s almost half of my face! It’s insane! #firstworldproblems I know.

Don’t believe me. Here is a picture of me sans make up:

These are my brows after my Browhaus Brow Resurrection:

*Now do note they are newly done here and fade down by 2 shades after the first 10 days. I also opted for the “Define” treatment. You may want to go for “Natural” for something lighter.

Below: These are my brows now, 3 weeks later, with no eye makeup.

The first time I got my brow resurrection done was in April 2013. The guy I was dating then was so impressed at how much better I looked without makeup and my new brows, he actually said it was a “vast improvement” (needless to say I am no longer dating this tactless wonder). I didn’t how know to take the comment, as a compliment or an insult, so I just took it as a compliment to the team at Browhaus, particularly the therapist Lydia Li Xia Yan. This is Lydia and I below:

Every Brow Resurrection Define comes with a complimentary touch up within 3 months to redefine the semi-permanent treatment but as I was living in Dubai I wasn’t able to last time. The months whizzed past and by June 2014, I was well in need of a touch up. I was so blessed and ecstatic when my management in Singapore, Fly Entertainment, managed to book me in. I am so passionate about the treatment, I had been bugging them for months that I needed to come to Singapore just to get it done. Yes, I have flown once from Dubai and now once from Australia for a Browhaus Brow Resurrection, it’s that damn good.

I think the thing I love the most is that I can wear only some BB cream and with my brows resurrected, I am ready to walk out the door. I don’t have to be scared that people will be shocked that I am not the same “Simone Heng” they see on Google images when they see me sans make up. This used to happen a lot in Dubai.

So by now you’re wondering, what is this Brow Resurrection exactly? Brow Resurrection is a signature semi-permanent treatment, an advanced brow embroidery technique that is unique to Browhaus. Each strand is constructed to give the illusion of actual hair strands. Browhaus also uses 100% vegetable dye and a top-grade anesthetic, making it a completely safe, comfortable and near-painless treatment.  Hence, why my eyebrows have never faded blue and don’t look like a McDonald’s is sign drawn half way up my forehead (or a fivehead as I like to think of mine, because it’s so damn big).

The way the treatment is done, it creates a defined yet “non-golden arches” look because every single strand is thicker at the root and tapered off at the tips to mimic real brow hair. How do they do that? You may ask…Let me walk you through it like it’s one of my step-by-step DIY tutorials:

First the therapist draws on your brows with a super fine eyebrow pencil. Every single hair is defined to show you how the 3D-treatment will look when it’s done. This way you can see the exact shape you will get.

Here’s what my shape looked like at the end and I was happy with it. I had Lydia (by total coincidence) as my therapist in April 2013, so I trusted her completely this time. I later found out she’s one of Browhaus’ most prized therapists for Brow Resurrection. She also tolerates me speaking infantile Mandarin to her (she’s from China) and I love seeing her giggle.

From here the eyebrows are numbed with numbing cream and covered with some cling film type material. This is left for 15-20minutes until your brow area is numb. During this time, the Browhaus team will ask you if you have plans to dye your hair and if not, they will recommend you a shade of vegetable dye for your brow embroidery which best matches it. I didn’t know if I’d get to visit Singapore again in 90 days for my touch-up and I wanted my treatment to last longer than last time so I opted for a slightly darker dye this time.

Now from what I am told is going on here (I barely “feel” what is going on here, because it’s almost painless), Lydia is using the finest multi-pins to craft life-like brow strands into my brows following the lines of the shape she drew in with pencil earlier. The vegetable dye is then deposited into the skin. This process is done within 40-45 minutes.

As you can see. I couldn’t be more happy with how my brows turned out. I suffered only 1 week of minor scabbing and took home my after care kit and followed it religiously. They recommend no swimming, sauna, steam baths or excessive sweaty exercise (I gave up my long runs) for 2 weeks. No facials for at least 2 weeks and of course no tanning (which let’s face it, none of us smart girls who want good skin do anyway)!

Thankyou so much Browhaus for another reliable treatment. I had so much fun giggling with Lydia that I got the boyfriend threaded straight after. He needed some giggle sand grooming! He said the brows were amazing and not blue as he feared! LOL. I cannot recommend this treatment enough to women in the public eye especially, who have no brows. I will be going back every year for this.

Here’s a limited offer specially for my readers!!
Quote “Simone Heng” to redeem a Brow Resurrection Natural Trial at $300!
Only available at the following outlets – Browhaus 100 AM #03-06, Raffles City Basement #B1-17, Raffles City Street Level #01-15, Westgate #03-23 & Holland Village 18A. For bookings, please call Browhaus call centre at 6471 2769 (BROW).
Valid for new brow resurrection customers till 31 July 2014 only.
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