My girlfriends don't believe me when I say that chocolate's good for your skin. They think it’s just an excuse for me to binge on chocolates and get fat. But I heard it from Tyra Banks or someone, I'm just not sure how it works. Do I melt some of my favorite Cadbury’s Almond bars and slop the resulting gloop on my face? How often should I do this? Or should I just replace my MAC loose powder with VanHouten's cocoa powder? Decisions, decisions! – Candyfan
Dear Candyfan,
Whoa! Go easy on the chocolate bars, girlfriend! Chocolate can be good for you – you’re right – but not the over-processed, fat emulsified stuff you pick off the corner store shelf. Done right, applying chocolate to the skin does allegedly help to smooth wrinkles and plump up skin. Plus, heavenly wafts of chocolate also help release mood-boosting chemicals into your brain. Try Estheva Spa’s (#03-25 ION Orchard 2 Orchard Rd., 65090-3900) Chocolatier’s Massage or sink your body (and teeth too, if you like) into Ikeda Spa’s (787 Bukit Timah Road, 6469-8080) Dark Choco Fondue Bath. Delish.
There's this new chick at my workplace—she's tall, blonde, extremely good-looking and…French. Her English is so accented I can hardly understand her but man is she easy on the eyes! I didn’t think any of the other local guys in the office were into her but one is and he’s a step ahead of me. He speaks French (rather horribly, but still). They share these pretentious, incomprehensible exchanges and flirt excessively, just because they can. Where can I pick up French quickly? Google Translate can only get me so far. – Francophile
Dear Francophile,
Ah, the language of love. Even long-term Parisian resident John Galliano knows better than to use French for anything nasty -- his hatespeech is all in English. Anyway, Alliance Francaise du Singapour (1 Sarkies Rd., 6737-8422) organize regular beginner courses for you to quickly learn how to communicate in simple day-to-day situations (like in the office lift). Alternatively, you could fall asleep listening to the audiobook from the “Teach Yourself Complete French” guide, available at Books Kinokuniya (#03-09/10/15 Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Road, 6737-5021). With any luck, it won’t be long before it’s not just an audio book that you’re sleeping with.