Friday, October 5, 2007

Beauty talk

04 Oct 2007, ST, Urban

Beauty tips at your fingertips - just go to these fashion forums, says EMILY LEK

For your daily dose of beauty news, click on to online beauty forums.

Fashionistas are now hogging forums like Flowerpod and Cozycot to yak about everything from hair extensions to pedicures.

They post threads seeking fashion advice, rave about favourite make-up brands and trends and even double as fashion consultants to dispense help to hapless wannabes.

It's like a big bonding bash over shoes and bags. Which explains why several forums, both local- and foreign-based, have already attracted tens of thousands of members, many of whom are in their tween and teen years.


Urban picks out five of the hottest online beauty zones.

COZYCOT

www.cozycot.com

With a sleek homepage - chick-lit cover illustrations rule - and a slogan like Where Beautiful Minds Meet, you know this local website is out to seduce all women.

Here, Cotters - as CozyCot users are called - can find forums on fragrances (CozyFragrance) and spas (CozySpa), which are noticeably missing from most other forums.

If you're feeling narcissistic, tell the world what you wore today on Look of the Day, a thread in the CozyFashion forum.

OHGENKI

forums.ohgenki.com/fashion

Oh Genki, one of the most popular local online forums, hosts more than 60 sub-forums ranging from Automobiles to Pets.

Little wonder then that it has a shoutbox for fashionistas too. Under the Fashion sub-forum are seven categories like Shopping Sprees, Footwear and even Body Art for tattoos.

It may be fascinating, but the most popular of them all is still Beauty And Grooming, which has more than 800 threads and 16,000 posts to date.

FLOWERPOD

www.flowerpod.com.sg

This local site may just be the complete package for beauty fanatics. Hair Talk, Nails Talk and Intimate Apparels Talk are just three of more than 30 sub-forums available to members, most of whom are Singaporeans. Podders, or users, can devour beauty-related news and tips or even post their own. Watch out also for the Videos segment where you can view video tutorials on make-up.

Non-beauty-related sub-forums like Finance Talk and Food Talk offer respite for first-time users dizzy from beauty overdose.

ULTIMATE COSMETICS

forums.ultimate-cosmetics.com

This site, which attracts members mainly from the United States and Europe, is the only foreign site among this lot. Introduce yourself to other members worldwide at sub-forum Introductions before making a stop at Homemade Beauty Secrets where users share quirky stories of homemade beauty recipes. Tales of using toothpaste and banana peel to ward off zits are included.

The New And Upcoming Products section may be useful for its make-up and skincare recommendations by fellow users, though reading the posts feels a tad like watching commercials on the telly - buy, buy, have a heart, please buy.

SHOPPINGLIFESTYLE

www.shopping lifestyle.com/forum

This local site is more of a beauty site than a forum. It is divided into rather broad sub-forums like Skincare & Face and Fashion & Accessories, so looking for body part-specific advice may take quite a while.

The DIY Makeover section dispenses essential fashion tips such as how to choose the perfect sunglasses to suit your face shape. Extras like the What Is Your Nail Polish Personality? quiz entertains while the Bra Size Counter calculates your bra size in a jiffy.


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