Flirting's got this amazing power of attracting the opposite sex and obviously, as teens, that's exactly what we want to do. But for you newbie flirters out there. How the heck do you do it? First, it's an innate talent. But don't worry. Everyone can flirt. It's imbedded in our DNA. Everyone had this talent hidden up their sleeves from the moment they hit puberty. Ah. Puberty. It's a wonderful thing. But I'll save that up for another blog post if I feel like it.

So enough talking writing. How do you use this amazing talent?

Pick your target

He doesn't even have to be your crush. You can practice flirting with anyone you meet. At school. At parties. On the street... You need to hone your flirting skills by the time you target people who REALLY matter.

Use an opening line

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" "Where have you been all my life?" "Is it hot in here, or is it just you?" JUST. DON'T. Cheesy pick up lines are the worst things ever invented. Of course, if that's who you are, by all means, do that thang, but if not, don't think about going all cheese on your crush. Have an opening line that actually makes sense depending on where you are. If you are in class, ask a question about the assignment you just had. If you're at a concert, ask about music or the band you're listening to.

Speak with your eyes

Eye contact is serious business. It makes you look confident, which in turn, makes you look attractive. But at the same time, don't stare him down. You don't want to seem like Overly Attached Girlfriend.

Smile

Don't be self-conscious about your smile. Every smile is beautiful. (: :D C: In fact, smiling can speak way more than words sometimes. That'll let the guy know that you like talking to him. And as guys can get super confused about whether a girl likes him or not, a smile and a little blushing could give him the confidence he needs about your interest.

Compliment him

Compliments are amazing. They give confidence, they give a reason to talk, and they provide more tips for the clueless boy that you really do like him. Here's a tip from me to you about compliments: don't do it when there are other people around. That leads to annoying teasing. Besides, complimenting him when you're alone has more impact. *winks*

And right before I end this blog post with my name, just a couple of don't's:

Don't let awkward silences edge they way into the conversation.

Yeah, I really don't have to explain this one, do I? Keep the conversation flowing.

And don't over flirt.

Or else you'll just look creepy and desperate.

Do you have any flirting tips that you want to share?


-Barista Mia- Read more »

Myth #1: Trimming your hair makes your hair grow faster

Nope, it really doesn't. The only thing it does is make your hair SEEM longer as you no longer have unhealthy tips. So getting a trim isn't a bad thing, but it doesn't make hair grow like people imagine it to. I feel a little guilty saying this as I have never had a trim for the past few years. I should go to the salon, but laziness forbids me to leave the house.

Myth #2: Your natural hair texture can't be changed

Wrong. I've actually experienced this myself. I was born with super, super straight hair. It was so straight my mom had to resort to getting my hair curled 'cause my hair would annoyingly stick to my face. But as I grew older, my hair started to turn curly and now, it's so curly and dry and ugh. I WANT MY OLD HAIR BACK!

Myth #3: Washing your hair more often is good

No, it's not. This is a horrible idea. Your scalp will be stripped off their natural oils. And those natural oils on your hair doesn't mean greasy, nasty hair. They mean healthy, strong, and shiny hair. Yay!

Myth #4: Shaving makes your hair grow darker, and thicker

Both my parents warned me about this myth when I bought my first razor. I got a little worried at first, but then I asked my best friend, the Internet, to double, triple, and quadruple check. And this myth? A total fake. Shaving just makes the re-growing hairs appear thicker and darker because of the blunt bit at the tip that you shaved off.

Myth #5: To keep healthy hair, brush your hair often

I believed this myth for a long, long time. Apparently, it's the exact opposite. Brushing your hair could actually hurt your hair. Brushing your hair once gently is good, but doing it again and again could lead to breakage and split ends. Ouch.

There! Now those are five hair myths busted. Do you know any others?


-Barista Mia-

Images:  Ed L, Sodanie Chea, Desi, worak, Klaus Post Read more »

Hunger Games fans! Tributes! Citizens! It's nearly upon us! Just two weeks till the premiere of Catching Fire, the second movie in the series, and everyone's getting ready- in Katniss' case this involves having twenty enormous designer dresses made complete with real fire. We have to be content with copying the Capitol looks though- there is such a thing as health and safety, after all. And how funky these are!

•Eyes

I am in love with the Capitol eyes. Big liner. Big shadow. Bright shadow. Wide shadow. Stripy shadow. Beautiful shadow. And as long as you don't twitch (easier said than done, I know), it's easy, too.

• Hair

  

Even more outrageous than some of our own world's people are, the Panem fashion-plates like bight pinks, purples and oranges in puffy bobs. (Game: what fruit does each citizen resemble?) If you don't want to take risk and do this to your hair, you can curl it, sprinkle in a generous amount of glitter, and tie it up with a big fat coloured ribbon- viola!

• Dresses

Simple dresses- you probably already have ones like these in your wardrobe- can be turned into a Capitol outfit when you add the makeup, hair and accessories.

•Handbag makeover

Take 1 plain handbag, apply approx. a doz. sparkly bits of ribbon, beads, etc. Sit back and enjoy the frilly, frizzy result! If you have Effie Trinket in mind while making it, you'll get just the right look.

•Shoes

Funky, chunky heels. 'Nuff said.

•Nails

The Capitol people really love their bright, unusual colours. If you're being really adventurous, try these! I'm going to.

• Dress up as a character

Or why not dress up as Katniss herself? Her District 12/hunting outfit is quite simple to copy- just add your leather jacket and long lace-up boots to a plain shirt and trousers. Instead of putting glitter on your frizzy hair, put it into a lose French plait that moves down toward one side. You could even add a bow and arrows; though be careful not to get chucked out of the cinema for use of dangerous weaponry...

So what wacky looks are you guys planning for Catching Fire? Tell us in the comments below!


-Barista Sabita-

Images:  Courtney Rhodes, Leonid Mamchenkov, K.oa, danielle_blue, Tomasz Stasiuk, Courtney Rhodes, GabboT Read more »

Hi guys!

I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. But we are going through major blog post updates at the moment. You will notice that some of our blog posts are missing. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring at least half of them back, but there's no guarantee. But we will continue with the blog posting as usual. So don't worry too much about that!


-Barista Mia- Read more »

Yeah, this music video's puh-retty old, but I had to rewatch it recently as I was planning my lesson for an ESL student. She does this thing where she fills in the missing words I print out while listening to the song. Anyway, I was rechecking the lyrics for "Just the Way You Are" by watching the music video for the first time.

"Aw," I thought. "I want a boyfriend like that."

Here's the music video for you guys who want to watch it, so we're on the same page here:



I was passively watching the music video as I was checking the lyrics when it hit me:

THAT GIRL IN THE MUSIC VIDEO IS FREAKING PERFECT! She has a face FULL of makeup on, she clearly has had her hair done by professionals, she's wearing flattering clothes, she's got, like, THE perfect body any girl could ask for... ARE YOU KIDDING ME, MR. BRUNO MARS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Sorry. *breathes in and breathes out*

Okay. I'm calm now.

But let me show you what I am talking about. Shall we take a look at a couple lines of the song to illustrate?

Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shinin'

Yeah. Thanks to pollution. Next.

Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin'

If I had hair that was professionally done every single morning, my hair would fall perfectly without my tryin' either.

etc.

And not only that. Bruno could have just used a normal-looking girl who just got out of bed, but no. He had to use a perfectly perfect model who's just basking in all of her perfect-ness. Even One Direction used gorgeous models for "What Makes You Beautiful". Being beautiful is what makes those models beautiful, thank you very much.

I dunno.

Maybe I'm feeling a little bitter because I look like poop today. But don't you girls agree? I mean, it's easy to sing about the girl being amazing just the way she is if she looks like THAT. Sigh. Life, man.

Seriously, though. I would be really happy if a male singer actually invited a normal non-model to star in his music video as he sings about how perfect she is although she may not think so.

It's time to petition something like this. Imagine how much this would lift the average teenaged girl's self esteem! Well, here's to hoping a music video with a normal girl will come out one day! *clinks glasses*


-Barista Mia- Read more »

Yeah, long hair can get pretty tiresome and heavy and oily and ugh. I totally understand when people want to chop their hair off. But the problem is that it's really hard to gather the courage to actually get a haircut. I JUST managed to cut my waist-length hair and now my hair comes up to a third of my back. Even saying good-bye to 15cm of hair was bad enough, but imagine those women in Hollywood who actually took a step further and are baring their necks for the world! The horror! But then again, these women are actually beautiful, so they don't really need hair to frame their faces to begin with. Humph.

Well, now that Jennifer Lawrence has got her new haircut (because her hair was waaaay too fried from dying it again and again for different roles, by the way), I guess it's time to list some celebrities who actually had the heart to sport a pixie haircut.

Jennifer Lawrence

Before:

After:

Say hello to the most recent addition to Team Short Hair: Ms. JLaw!

Charlize Theron

Before:

After:

Can't I please look like Charlize? She's absolutely stunning.

Emma Watson

Before:

After:

As much as I love Emma and her new hair, I kinda miss Hermione. *enter sad face* My entire childhood...

Vanessa Hudgens

Before:

 
After: 

She doesn't seem to like her short cut very much. She keeps adding extensions. Dunno what her problem is, she's be-u-tiful

Shailene Woodley

Before:

After:

OMGOMGOMG! I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT FOR THE FAULT IN OUR STARS!

Miley Cyrus

Before:

After: 

And... this haircut marked the demise of Miss Hannah Montana. *bows head*

Anne Hathaway 

Before:

After:

Sigh. The sheer emotional intensity of her portrayal has Fantine has yet to be rubbed off my eyes. Can't believe she actually chopped off her beautiful hair for just, like, 30 minutes of a movie, though.

I just don't get it. I look like a man without my hair. But then again... These celebrities get the advantage of professional makeup artists. *wink*


-Barista Mia-

Images:  Mingle MediaTV, Ms. JLaw's Facebook, Gage Skidmore, Charlize Theron's Facebook, Worthy FM, Emma Watson's Twitter, Vanessa Hudgens's Instagram, Mingle MediaTV, Nick Step, Shailene Woodley's Instagram, Philip Nelson, Miley Cyrus's Instagram, GabboT, DWNews Recent Celeb Gallery Read more »