Creatures of the night that you should avoid

The hot mess


The social media junkie


The gas pump attendant


The veteran SPG


The project x-er


The hanger-on


The gate-keeper


The obnoxious expat

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How to Keep Your Skin Clear and Smooth

Great looking skin doesn’t have to be something you only see in magazines or on the television. You can see smooth, lovely looking skin every time you peer into the mirror. In order to improve your complexion, you must first start by understanding what type of skin you have, so you know how to take care of those unsightly blemishes that popup from time-to-time. People generally have one of five types of skin which are each described in this article. Each type of skin needs to be treated differently

Get Rid of Acne

In order to improve your complexion, you must first start by understanding what type of skin you have, so you know how to take care of those unsightly blemishes that popup from time-to-time.
People generally have one of five types of skin:

• Dry skin is rough, flaky or scaly
• Oily skin is greasy, shiny and may have large pores
• Combination skin has some dry spots, on the cheeks for example, and then oily spots on other parts of the face, such as the nose, chin and forehead
• Sensitive skin may burn, itch or sting after applying makeup or other products
• Normal skin has a balanced appearance and generally remains clear

Each of these skin types should be cleaned differently to enjoy the best results when you get rid of acne.

How to Clean Your Skin

• Dry Skin: For individuals with dry skin, the best way to clean your face is by using a gentle cleanser that doesn’t contain any alcohol or fragrance. These types of ingredients can cause your skin to dry out even more than it does naturally. Gently wash your skin with a cleanser and then rinse with warm water. Using hot water will only remove your skin’s natural oils from your face, causing your skin to dry out more quickly. Exfoliate at least once a week to rid your skin of any flaky cells, so your skin will look clearer and more even.
• Oily Skin: For oily skin, use an oil-free foaming cleanser to clean your face. Use plenty of warm water to rinse with and you may consider using a toner or astringent after you’ve finished washing your face. However, while these types of products can help remove extra oil so your skin looks less shiny, they can also irritate your skin.
• Combination/Normal Skin: By far the easiest skin types to care for, individuals with combination or normal skin can use either a gentle cleanser or soap and water to clean their face. Just make sure you don’t scrub your skin while cleaning it and pat it dry once you’re done.
• Sensitive Skin: Individuals with sensitive skin should use a very gentle cleanser and rinse with warm water. Make sure you pat your face dry with a towel when finished cleaning instead of rubbing away any moisture. Don’t try exfoliating as that may irritate sensitive skin and don’t use products that contain soap, acid, alcohol or fragrance. Make sure you read the label of any product you consider using on your skin and look for ones that contain soothing ingredients such as chamomile, aloe, oats and green tea polyphenols. Keep in mind that the fewer ingredients a skincare product contains, the easier it is on your face.

Other Skin Care Tips

All skin care types, whether oily or dry, need moisturizing to keep from drying out. Use a moisturizer every day regardless of your skin type and apply it while your skin is still damp to help seal in the moisture. If you suffer from acne or oily skin, use a moisturizer that is oil-free and lightweight so it doesn’t block your pores.

You don’t want to dry your skin out by washing it too often throughout the day, so make a point of only washing it at night before you go to bed. However, after exercising you may want to wash your face with a gentle cleanser to help rid your complexion of sweat that could clog your pores. If you wear makeup, make sure you fully remove what you’re wearing before you go to bed, as leaving makeup on overnight can clog your pores and cause acne and makes it more difficult to get rid of acne.

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A trip to the Mama shop

Snack Attack at the Mama Shop

The Mama shop – an important part of childhood

Choki-Choki – the smooth chocolate paste you squeeze out from a plastic tube

The No. 8: a memorable tasty treat

A tempting array of childhood snacks

The first thing that hits me is the smell. There’s that unmistakable hint of curry mixed with, oddly enough, chocolate. Once I get past the smell, the colours grab my attention. Swirls of red, flashes of green, bolts of blue and other colours merge, creating one giant kaleidoscope that has me transfixed and spoilt for choice.

“Girl, what you want?” a voice barked.

And the spell was broken. I looked up and the grumpy shopkeeper and his equally grumpy wife were staring at me expectantly. Both looked at me as if I were a pest, and probably a non-paying customer. Then again, when you’re only seven, you’re not much of a paying customer.

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10 Questions Men are Too Scared to Ask Women

Inside the Male Mind

Men aren't always the sharpest tools in the shed, especially when it comes to women. Redbook's Whys Guy blogger Aaron Traister breaks down the ten things he just doesn't get about the opposite sex.

Q: Why so many shoes?

Q: My wife chats about our sex life with her friends. How can women do this?

Q: Vampires — really?

Q: Do you think we don't know it's a padded bra?

Q:How can a woman hold it together for everyone else but have such a short fuse with her husband?

Q: Why do you buy über-healthy food that you're not going to eat?

Q: Size does matter, doesn't it?

Q: Why is it so hard to talk women into having sex?

Q: Why won't you admit that The Notebook is a lousy film?

Q: Why do women stress about so many things?

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What your sleep position says about you

To sleep perchance to dream—and reveal who you really are


Position: Lying on your stomach with hands up around the pillow and head turned to one side.
Personality: Freefallers are often extroverted and brash people. They appear nervy, but are truly thin-skinned people who take criticism personally.
Health Benefit: Freefall—or any position in which you’re lying face down—is good for digestion.


Position: Curled up on your side. This is the most common sleeping position, adopted by 41 percent of the 1,000 people who took part in Professor Idzikowski's survey.
Personality: Those who sleep in the fetus are described as tough on the outside, but shy and sensitive at heart. They may take time to warm up to people, but soon relax.
Health Benefit: Sleeping on your left side can cause stress on your vital organs (liver, stomach, lungs), so if fetus is your position of choice, curl up on the right side of your body.


Position: Lying on your side with both arms down by your side.
Personality: Log sleepers are social, easygoing people. The downside: their tendency to trust anyone—including complete strangers—makes them easy to fool.
Health Benefit: This position keeps the spine straight, which should be beneficial for those who suffer from back pain.


Position: On your side with both arms out in front.
Personality: Yearners are open to new things, but also suspicious and cynical. They take a long time to make decisions – weighing pros and cons repeatedly – but once they make a choice, they almost never change their mind or have regrets.
Health Benefit: Resting on your side can help alleviate some problems associated with acid reflux disease and sleep apnea. But if such symptoms are a common occurrence, you may need to see a specialist.


Position: Lying on your back with both arms at your sides.
Personality: Soldier sleepers are generally quiet and reserved. They don’t like to make a big deal out of things, and they set very high standards for themselves and others.
Health Benefit: Research shows that sleeping on your back may lead to snoring, difficulty breathing, and an overall bad night’s sleep. Is your snoring keeping someone awake at night? Try flipping over—you’ll both wake up more refreshed.


Position: Lying on your back with both arms up.
Personality: Starfish sleepers are described as great listeners and thus good friends. They’re always willing to offer help and generally don’t like being in the limelight.
Health Benefit: Like the soldier, starfish sleepers are more likely to snore and have breathing problems while they sleep, resulting in a less refreshing night’s rest.

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14 Reasons You Should Start Eating Cucumber

Cucumbers are number four most cultivated vegetable in the world and known to be one of the best foods for your overall health, often referred to as a super food. Pick a handful of firm, dark green cucumbers and drop them into your shopping cart. Congratulations! You have just bought yourself stuff full of good health.

Cucumber rehydrates body
If you are too busy to drink enough water, eat the cool cucumber, which is 90 percent water. It will cheerfully compensate your water lost.

Cucumber fights heat inside and out
Eating cucumber will get your body relief from heartburn. Apply cucumber on your skin and you will get relief from sunburn.

Cucumber eliminates toxins
All that water in cucumber acts as a virtual broom, sweeping waste products out of your body. With regular eating, cucumber is known to dissolve kidney stones.

Cucumber replenishes daily vitamins
Cucumbers have most of the vitamins the body needs in a single day. A B and C, which boost your immune system keep you radiant and give you energy. Make it more powerful by juicing cucumber with spinach and carrot. Don’t forget to leave the skin on because it contains a good amount of vitamin C, about 12 percent of the daily recommended allowance.

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28 things you can do to cut costs now

Cutting down on expenses can be extremely difficult, especially since some thought and planning is usually required before you can kickstart major changes in your lifestyle.

However, saving money does not necessarily involve extreme life-changing decisions. In fact, cost-cutting can begin by taking small steps that can save you money almost immediately.

Instead of spending time thinking of complicated measures you can adopt to keep your bank from bleeding, follow the guide below and start saving money in these 28 areas of your life right now.

1) Cook at home - Stop paying GST and service charge for food you can prepare at home.

2) Ransack your fridge - There is probably food you forgot existed in there.

3) Bulk buy - Bulk buy items you use often from wholesale centres or places which sell more for less.

4) Buy fresh or dried goods - Instead of canned food, spend your money on fresh produce and dried foods as these tend to cost less.

5) Buy house brands - Especially if you can't taste the difference.

6) Avoid frozen meals -These are usually expensive and are less healthy than fresh food bought from the foodcourt.

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Surprising health foods

Eating well doesn't have to mean ditching tasty treats in favour of mung beans, spinach and vegetable juices. There are in fact many seemingly unhealthy, fat-laden, calorie-rich foods out there that are actually good for us. Ice cream and strawberry daiquiris are just some of the foods which have disease-preventing, health-enhancing properties. We take a look at what other foods are surprisingly good for you…

Who says pleasure foods can't be good? Recent research revealed that ice cream, one of the most indulgent treats, can actually form part of a well-balanced diet. Ice cream is low in fat and calories and, as one of the scientists at the University of Finland said, 'Is a good choice as a snack or dessert, especially when replacing energy dense products with low nutrition value, such as high fat bakery products and chocolate bars.” Make sure you check nutritional value of different brands, however, and remember that double choc-chip ice cream doesn't count.

We all know that strawberries are good for you, but strawberries and alcohol? Researchers have found that adding alcohol to fruit increases the food's health benefits. The researchers found that alcohol boosted the antioxidant properties of strawberries and blackberries. A strawberry daiquiri, by the way, is made up of lime, icing sugar, white rum, ice, liqueur and the ever-important berries. Don't overdo it on the alcohol, however, as you will soon cancel out any health benefits.

Popcorn shouldn't be regarded as diet-wrecking cinema food. Look closely and you will see it on sale in most health food shops. That is because popcorn, as long as it isn't covered in sugar, salt or sweet sickly sauce, is low in calories and fat and high in fibre.

A cup of hot cocoa may seem like the last thing your body wants, but recent research has found that natural, unprocessed cocoa contains a chemical that helps the body protect itself against some of the world's biggest killers, including heart disease and diabetes.

Good old-fashioned, regular black tea has suffered a dent in its reputation thanks to the rising popularity of herbal teas such as peppermint and green tea. However, tea is in fact a low-calorie drink that is full of antioxidants, while adding a splash of milk ups your calcium intake. And as for the myth that tea is a diuretic - you would have to drink copious amounts of the stuff for it to have this effect on you.

Peanut butter is another food with an unfair reputation. Peanut butter is in fact high in monounsaturated fat, (the good kind) as well as vitamins and protein. Athletes commonly include peanut butter in their diet to give them much-needed bursts of energy. Plus, it tastes really, really good…

Eggs have an unfair reputation as being unhealthy balls of cholesterol, but research has shown that it is saturated fat rather than cholesterol that raises levels of bad cholesterol in the body. Eating eggs as part of a balanced, healthy diet should not put you at an increased risk of heart disease. Eggs are also rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and are low in calories.

Steak can be fatty and too much red meat is not recommended, but the finest cuts of beef can in fact contain as little fat as chicken and are high in iron and protein. Hold the creamy sauces, mind you.

There is a great deal of stigma attached to a canned or frozen fruits, but this reputation is unfair. Canned or frozen fruits are cheap, easy to store and can keep for a long time. Critics say that canned or frozen fruit lose many of their nutrients, but as most producers freeze or package their products soon after picking, the nutritional value should not be affected.

The fact that crab meat is good for you isn't a secret in itself, but it is often overshadowed in favour of other seafood. However, this looks set to change and crab is being tipped to be one of this year's most unlikely superfoods. Dressed crab is just starting to reappear in our supermarkets so make the most of it and reap the health awards. Crab is low in fat and high in protein - so tuck in and enjoy.

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5 Things Parents Shouldn't Say to Their Kids

Say what?

It's no secret that parents should pay attention to how they communicate with their children. Even tiger moms and parents following the French style of raising children could agree that what we say to our kids -- and how we say it -- matters. Tiger moms and French parents get the results they want largely because of what they say. But besides using words to get kids to do what they want, how moms and dads communicate with their kids directly impacts the parent-child relationship long term. And it's the simple statements parents make, usually in a moment of frustration with their young children, which can cause the most damage later on.

"Words hurt and they can't be taken back, so be careful" says Debbie Pincus, a therapist, parenting coach and author of "The Calm Parent: AM & PM." Team Mom on Shine asked Pincus and other parenting experts about the most common phrases that moms and dads say to young kids in the midst of parental panic. Don't feel bad if you've said them -- most parents have! "We're human. Our lives are crazy and sometimes we don't give ourselves time to pause and think," she says. "We don't want to be so careful that we're not authentic. We're real. Be passionate with your kids, be real, say what's on your mind. Say it passionately. Just be conscious and responsible, no matter who we talk to." Pincus adds that calm is contagious and better things come out of our mouths when we stop ourselves from reacting in the moment

The bottom line is that as parents, we're teaching our kids how we want them to behave in similar situations; modeling the desired behavior is key. Check out what Pincus and others had to say about five things parents shouldn't say to kids--and how to turn a moment of frustration into a positive life lesson.

"I don't care."

"Act your age!"

"Say you're sorry!"

"Don't you get it?"

"I'm going to leave without you!"

related: 8 things you should never say to a mom

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