LOOKING GOOD

Singer and actress Karen Mok, who’s in her 30s, has an upbeat attitude towards ageing. “I don’t worry about it. I know I can’t dance onstage forever, so as I age I plan to explore my other passions such as producing films and albums,” she says. In fact, her new Mandarin album is due soon, while she has already started producing her first movie. “We are fixing the script now. It is based on a Chinese athlete who won a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. I will play the athlete and will be doing a lot of running.”

Of Welsh-Chinese descent, Karen speaks Cantonese, English, Mandarin, Italian and French, and says she never cared much about looks until she turned 17. “That’s when my mother introduced me to skin care and sun block.” She also started using SK-II in 1997 and became one of their celebrity brand ambassadors.

Here, she shares her down-to-earth approach to good looks:

Between food and staying slim, which is more important?

- I love food. What’s important is to stay healthy, and not worry about being thin.

If you were to create an ideal beauty formulation, what would it be?

- An all-in-one moisturizer, cleanser and toner. I have bottles of different things on my dresser, so I wish there was one formulation that could cleanse, remove make-up, protect with sunscreen and do all sorts of good things for my skin.

What beauty treats are always in your suitcase when you travel?

- A facial mask. It works miracles, especially when the weather is extremely dry. Next is sun protection and lip gloss. I feel gloss is a cross between skincare and make-up, as it keeps my lip luscious and prevents them from chapping.

Name one of your favourite fashion items.

- Custom-made Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. They sponsored a few pairs for one of my concert tours. I still wear them today.

Who inspires you?

- Hong Kong veteran actress Siu Fong Fong and Madonna. I’m inspired by what they have earned for themselves through hard work and great talent. And they are still at it today.

“RUNAWAY HIT”

It’s no wonder these celebs love their running shoes – pounding the road gives them a pulse-pumping workout that can burn 644 calories an hour at about 9.5 kph. Hilary Swank (who’ll star in Freedom Writers alongside Patrick (“McDreamy” Dempsey), Reese Witherspoon and Renee Zellweger all love running outdoors, while Beyonce hits the treadmill. Other cardiophile celebs include Marcia Cross and Jodie Foster, who both love Spinning, and Nicole Kidman, who goes surf and turf – she swims laps in the pool plus runs outdoors.

ESHA DEOL – WORKOUT QUEEN

Esha Deol has gone all health-savvy. Now that she’s lost oodles of weight, she wants to maintain her figure – so she’s installed a gym in her new house, in suburban Mumbai. The gym is said to be huge and equipped with the latest machines. “I’ve turned into a health freak,” she giggles. “I always used to be the sporty kind and loved playing football in school. But now, I have turned into a gym addict. It has helped me get the svelte figure that I have now.”

Eva Longoria

A new diet that lets you lose weight without starving is getting Hollywood all excited. Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, who has a weakness for cookies and pizza, is said to be one of a host of leading ladies seeking St Tropez Diet creator Apostolos Pappas, whose philosophy is to eat fat to get thin. He bases his diet on a blend of Mediterranean and French cuisine, but says the secret is to increase the intake of Omega 3 fats (found in oily fish like sardines and salmon) and “nutraceuticals” you get from nuts, red wine, veggies and dark chocolate.

time for tea

if you find comfort in your cup of tea, it may be more than psychological. A new finding by researchers at the University of London suggests that drinking black tea may help keep you calm after an upsetting experience. They found that the cortisol levels of tea drinkers stayed 20 % lower than those who had the placebo. Types of black tea you can try include the usual Chinese pu er tea and varieties like Oolong and Darjeeling

FUNGI FIGHTERS

All mushrooms contain the antioxidant ergothioneine, which helps lower risk of illness like cancer. Some contain as much as 40 times more ergothioneine than in wheat germ – previously considered the best source. So add some to your stir-fry or salad tonight.

Yoga helps breast cancer survivors

In breast cancer survivors, the Iyengar method of yoga not only promotes psychological well-being, but seems to offer immune system benefits as well, according to research reported Monday.

The research was reported at the American Physiological Society meeting in Washington, DC.
The Iyengar method, created by B. K. S. Iyengar, “is considered to be one of the more active forms of yoga,” lead researcher and presenter Pamela E. Schultz from Washington State University, Spokane, told Reuters Health.