Daily Etiquette

Ideal lady: Beauty standard in China vs. West

Dear ladies and gentlemen, we always say everyone is unique and beautiful in her/his own way. However, societies have set beauty standards all over the world. Let’s compare the ideal Chinese and Western lady in the 21st century!

1. The Height

WESTERN
In the western world, ladies do appreciate to be taller (more than 170 cm) but don’t pay too much attention.
Western ladies won’t wear high heels just to look taller, wear also to look more feminine.

The average height of European women is 167.5 cm

CHINESE
In general, Chinese ladies think the perfect height is between the range of 165cm-170cm.
Ladies will like to wear high heels to look taller.

In China, the average height is 155.8 cm.

2. The Body

WESTERN
Hourglass (lots of curves) is the goal！
Having curves is so important. Ladies will spend hours in the gym working on the perfect body! Or can also do plastic surgeries.

CHINESE
Unimportant as long as you are skinny! Having a skinny waist that can fit into A4 paper is considerate as the standard.

3. The Skin

WESTERN
Ladies prefer to be tanned, they will even use solarium to achieve the perfect colour.
White skin is sometimes considered as a sign of poor health.
They use olive oil a lot to keep their skin hydrated and young.

CHINESE
You just have to have perfect pale skin.
They will spend lots of time in nursing their skin, especially the facial skin.
Ladies will try to hide from the sun to maintain the perfect skin.

China has become the world’s second-largest market [after the United States] in the total consumption of cosmetic products

4. The Face

WESTERN
Oval face shape is considered as ideal, however, face shape is not so important as symmetry. To be beautiful, your face features have to be symmetric!
Amber Heard has the World’s Most Beautiful Face because she fits, most closely, the Greek beauty ratio Phi which determines what makes a beautiful face.

CHINESE
Slim `V` shape is the most important.
guāzǐliǎn melon seed face
é’dànliǎn goose egg face
Pointy chin
Cheekbones are acceptable if the jaw isn’t too wide.

Fan Bing Bing has the perfect V-shaped face!

5. The eyebrows

WESTERN
Thick and well-shaped eyebrows are the standard.
Grooming is mandatory: plucking, trimming, waxing, styling is an everyday routine.

Kim Kardashian is considered as an ideal when it comes to eyebrows.

CHINESE
Beautifully arched eyebrows are always one of the most popular eyebrow shapes among Chinese ladies; in recent years, straight eyebrows become the new trend.
Most of the time ladies don’t have naturally thick eyebrows so they will do the micro-blading eyebrows.

6. The Eyes

WESTERN
There is no particular shape but seems that blue eyes are considered more beautiful.
Long eyelashes are preferable, they’ll use fake ones.

Liv Tyler has beautiful blue eyes.

CHINESE
Eyes must be big! Eyes must be big! Almond eye shape AND Archan Wealatap are the most popular ones!
Preferable to have furrows under the eyes; girls will do makeup to emphasis them.
Mono lids are unacceptable, therefore double-folded eyelid is must-have.
Long eyelashes are also desired since their natural ones are very short.

7. The Nose

WESTERN
Small button noses are appreciated, but a stronger profile is also not a bad thing.

CHINESE
Narrow and pointy nose with the high bridge is the nose a lot of woman dream about. Chinese ladies are quite often unhappy because of the look of their nose!

8. The Lips

WESTERN
Large, plump lips, that you can really pout are an attractive and sensuous feature of the face.
A woman will quite often use injections to enhance the lips’ volume.

CHINESE
Small mouth is appreciated even though most of the time they have plump lips by nature that ladies from the west wish for!

9. The Brests

WESTERN
Western ladies like to have bigger size breasts but to also keep the natural look. A lot of ladies will do breast implants to achieve it.

CHINESE
Chinese ladies prefer to have a good size of breasts (B or C, depends). So they could still look slim on the upper body and with small curves to show the feminine shape.

Dear ladies, John Ray once said: “Beauty is power, a smile is its sword.” Do you agree with him: is the beauty the power? Let us know what you think and why in the comments below!

Is he/she lying to you? 6 cues to recognise

Dear ladies and gentlemen, did you know that a person on an average lies 10 times a day? It includes all the lies, even the white ones: “How are you? I am fine.” – Even though you may have a headache, etc… However, in our daily life, it can be critical if we can’t uncover a liar in front of us. Let’s do it together!

Nonverbal cues
Even though lying is very complex, and you should consider more indicators, few cues can alarm you to know when you should look for more information and be alert.

Is he lying, what do you think?

Hand-to-face activity

In response to your question pay attention to interlocutor’s head region, because they might be:

1. Touching / Hiding the mouth
If the person is untruthful, there is a natural tendency that her/his hand will cover/touch the mouth while talking to you. The brain subconsciously tries to repress the truth with the palm, fingers or fist.

2. Touching the ears, nose
Lying causes the anxiety, so to dissipate it, the autonomic nervous system will drain the blood from the surface of your face, ears and extremities. That creates the sensation of itchiness and cold. The next moment the person is touching the nose unintentionally.

3. Eye movement
Experienced liar won’t look around when lying, on contrary, he/she will look straight into your eyes because they want to persuade you. However, usually, they will overdo it which means they will blink less than normally. On average in a minute, a person blinks 15 – 20 times. Everything more/less than that is suspicious.

If the person does look aside, you can still have hints on his/her honesty:
1. If she/he looks on the upper left it means he/she is trying to recall
The person most probably won’t lie.

2. If she/he looks on the upper right, it means she/he is trying to create an answer
The person might be lying.

Grooming gestures

1. Grooming oneself
While heaving the conversation, a deceptive woman can move a few strands of hair behind her ear or straighten her skirt. In case of a man, he might adjust his tie or shirt cuffs, or maybe his glasses.

2. Grooming the surrounding
You ask a question, and suddenly the chair is too far from the table, the glass of water is too close, or the bag isn’t in the right place.

3. Long pauses
Liars can make long pauses because they might be working on what they’ll say next or they want to give the impression of a person that is thinking hard when actually he/she already knows what to say. Of course, a person can do that when she/he tries to recall something, that’s why the moment when a person uses long pauses affects whether you should be suspicious.

4. Microexpression
Microexpressions on the face expose a person’s real thoughts. Even though he/she trying to hide it, it will occur in less than a second. For this cue, it’s very important to observe the interlocutor and to know some of the universal microexpressions like:
Shame – The person looks down and the mouth droops in sorrow.

Contempt – An emotion of superiority, could be detected if the lip corner is tighten and raised only on one side of the face.

5. Frozen movement
The person that often lies, becomes more focused on the lie, therefore he/she gets quieter in their body. Gestures that normally can occur become more still so we have fewer arm and legs movement which is unusual. That way he/she may trick you because they appear calm and honest.

Dear all, I hope this article will help you in future! Is there another clue that we didn’t mention? Please share with us!

Quiz question
Watch these Gifs and tell us is she/he lying? Why do you think so?

3 tips to appear socially refined when drinking

In high-end social gatherings, there are always some tricky situations when you wonder yourself: “What should I do now?” Of course, you don’t want to disgrace yourself and let others comment you. Let me release you from some doubts with the following faux pas that definitely should be avoided when drinking beverages.

I left a lipstick /food mark on the glass, what should I do?

It would be a shame to have a messy glass in front of you no matter if you are a refined lady or gentlemen. Here is how to handle this situation.

To avoid
1. When you leave the mark, don’t take your napkin and polish the glass, that’s a waiter’s job before serving the glass.

2. Also, don’t just leave the mark for the entire night, it’s very tasteless.
3. Is it okay to ask the waiter every time to replace your glass? Absolutely not!

To do
1. Dab your mouth before drinking for the first time, to remove the surplus lipstick/food.

You had your first sip but you still left the mark:
1. Lower the glass at the belly level while having a conversation, or having eye contact with other dinner participants.
2. Without looking at, discreetly erase the mark with your thumb.

3. Return the glass onto the table.

4. Clean your thumb in your napkin and continue enjoying your dinner.

Don’t decide anymore not to apply lipstick when drinking!

My tea is ready, but what should I do with a tea bag?

These days you may quite often find yourself served with a glass of hot water and tea bag. For the correct etiquette do/avoid the following.

To avoid
1. If you place the bag in your teacup and you don’t remove it at all, over-steeping tea can make the tea taste bitter and has an astringent effect in the mouth, leaving you feeling dry and pucker. Also, it may bring stains on your cup or teeth!
2. Don’t pick up the bag by its string and jiggle it.

3. Avoid removing it without letting it drain, it will flood your saucer.

To do
1. Remove the bag with your spoon and hold it over the cup so it can drain.

2. Wind the string around the bag while it’s on your spoon and squeeze it dry.

3. Place the bag on your saucer, behind your cup.

4. When the tea is served in a mug without a saucer, go ahead and ask for a small dish.

My drink has the garnish, can I eat it?

Usually, you can eat it as long it has the edible parts! Here is how to eat it.

To avoid
1. Tapping the bottom of the glass or frantically trying to fish out a garnish with a straw is simply not acceptable for anyone.

2. Don’t eat lemons and limes because they will destroy your taste buds before your next drink.

To do
1. Eat your garnish after you have drunk your beverage.

2. Inedible portions of garnish should be placed onto its cocktail napkin, in the absence of it, place them into the glass or your bread plate. But never onto the bare tabletop!

Dear all, these summer tips will help you present yourself as gracious, polished and refined at any social gathering. Do you have any other tricky questions for us? Please share with us!

Quiz question
If your glass is wet from the ice melting on a hot summer day and you don’t want to wet your hand as well- what will you do?

Face exercises to stay young and slim

Dear ladies and gentlemen, time flies very fast and unfortunately none of us is getting younger – our face can reveal our actual age. Therefore, today I am sharing with you a few exercises to have a slimmer and youthful face!

First, let’s warm-up

Sit down and hold your back straight. Sing vowels A, E, I, O until you feel your entire face is warm.

While doing the following exercises focus only on mentioned areas, other areas should remain smooth. If some exercise is causing you pain better not to do it anymore.

Miona at the moment & Miona in 40 years if she doesn’t do exercises.

Exercise 1: Neck rejuvenation

As we age our muscles become weaker causing the skin on the neck and jawline to sag.

Instructions:
Tilt your head back, looking at the ceiling.
Press your tongue into the root of your mouth.
Keep your tongue pressed and return your head to the natural position
Release your tongue and relax for 10 sec.
Do the exercise for 10 times.

Benefits: It will tighten up your neck and give the slimmer and younger appearance, the double chin will be forgotten.

Exercise 2: Lower lip lift

Over time, our main face features are falling, one of them is our lips.

Instructions:
Sit down and tilt your head back.
Stick out your lower lip upward, like you want to reach the ceiling. Hold for 10 sec.
Take 5 -sec break and do it again.
Benefits: By doing this exercise you get more defined and higher cheekbones and jawline, also it gives you fresh and toned appearance.

Exercise 3: Lifting with a spoon

Our smile is important feature that we carry through our life, smiling muscles should be in good shape, they are also connected with our cheekbones.

Instructions:
Take one spoon and place the handle in your mouth, between the lips.
Raise the spoon upward, smile and hold like that for 10 seconds.
Relax your muscles, the spoon goes to the former position, rest for 10 sec.
Repeat steps 2 & 3 for 10 times.

Benefits: Naturally lifting your cheekbones and smoothing out the laugh lines. Also can strengthen the neck muscles.

Exercise 4: Chubby cheeks removal

Are your cheeks too fluffy, big or loosen? You should rejuvenate & reshape them!

Instructions:
Pretend that you want to send a kiss or kiss someone
Blow a hundred kisses without making a break.

Benefits: It will activate your muscles in the cheek zone by forming the visible cheek lines with losing the fat.

Exercise 5: Crows feet elimination

Everyone has crows feet, this exercise will help you to erase them when your face is at rest, when smiling you will still have them.

Instructions:
Place your index and middle fingers at the bottom of your eyes. Pull your eyes gently up a bit, but don’t stretch.
Start to close & open your eyes. You are just moving your eyelids.
Do 50 repetitions.

Be gentle with this area
Benefits: Building the muscle at the corners of our eyes which leads to stretching of the skin and those small wrinkles will disappear.

Exercise 6: Eyebrow lift

The skin on your forehead can sag and wrinkle causing your eyebrows to drift lower and lower.

Instructions:

Place your index fingers between your eyebrow and eyelid
Raise your eyebrows as high as you can and pull the skin bellow the eyebrow downward at the same time.

Benefits: It slows down eyebrow sagging and reduces forehead wrinkles.

All these exercises can be done either in the morning or evening, 6 or 7 days a week. However, we are suggesting for better results to be done in the morning.
For the first results, you will have to be persistent for one month. The more you exercise the slimmer and younger you will look!

Dear all, try on these exercises and let us know your results after 4 weeks. 15 minutes a day is nothing comparing to what you can achieve! Let us know if you have further questions!

High heels’ mishaps: How to prevent them?

Dear ladies, I am sure at least once in your life you had some misfortune when wearing heels. How to avoid falling when wearing a long dress? How not to get your heel stuck somewhere? How to walk down the stairs? Grab one pair and follow me today!

Scenario 1: Walking in a long dress

Moon So Ri before the fall

One moment you are posing, looking gorgeous. Next moment you are on the ground!

How to prevent?

1. Make short steps – That way you are more in the control of your movement, balance and dress.

2. Walk with enthusiasm- when walking , try to gentle swing your leg in front, that will raise the hem of the dress (like you are kicking the hem)

3. With one hand hold and raise one side of the dress- That way you will have space to put your foot at without stepping on the dress.

Scenario 2: Riding escalators when wearing high heels

Escalators can be found almost everywhere, it looks like a simple activity but can actually break your high heel and leave you without your favourite pair.

How to prevent?

Here you can have 2 options:
1.Sole contact: Let your heel to be in the air while the sole is on the stair. That way it can’t be stuck. Better hold the handrail for the right balance.

2.Step with your sole and heel: Make sure your hill doesn’t get into the hole, this one can be tricky because you have to match it with the surface.

Please be careful as well if you have a long dress, it can also be stuck, raise the hem so it isn’t touching the escalators.

Scenario 3: Walking up & down the stairs

When walking up & down the stairs we shouldn’t look where are we stepping, it should look as natural and elegant like we are normally walking.

The first rule is to maintain a good posture. Head parallel with the ground, shoulders back and down, belly in. If heaving railings use them as a support, if not walk slowly or ask someone to help you by holding a hand.

Walking up

1.Sole & heel contact – place the heel and sole at the same time on each stair, in the middle of each.

2.Sole contact – only the sole touches the stairs, while the heel stays parallel in the air.

Try on both styles and see which one makes you feel more confident.

Walking down

1.Put the entire foot before shifting your weight on it.

2.If wearing a narrow skirt, put both feet on each step as you walk down, in another situation you can one-step. Same stands for going up the stairs.
3.If the stairs are narrow, tilt your feet on one side.

Don’t lean your hand on the wall, use the handrail.

Scenario 4: Entering & Exiting the car

There is a simple thing, when you have to elegantly enter and exit a car: imagine you are a mermaid! Keep your knees together.

Princess Diana exiting in the wrong way, by losing her balance she has to hold the door.

When entering the car bend your knees slightly and slide in backside first. Keep your knees pressed together as you lift them into the car and swing them around to the front.

To exit, twist slightly towards the door with your knees pressed and swing your legs down onto the ground. Once you feel that the sole is touching the ground stand up.

This way you have a full balance which prevents you from falling in high heels, also it helps in keeping your dignity when wearing a skirt.

Scenario 5: Dancing in high heels

You planned a perfect night out in your charming outfit? Are you sure you can dance like a lady in those high heels?

Follow these tips for a more pleasant night:
1.Stretch before you strap on your high heels – This prepares your feet, thigh and calves for dancing.

2.Choose wisely your high heels. Those with a thicker heel are more stable and confident for dancing.
3.Your posture – shoulders back and down, pull your core in and up. This will reduce the pressure from your knees.

Dear ladies, please let us know by voting which scenario helped you the most!
And is there some other scenario you are interested in? Please leave a message and let us know.

Fragrant Journey with Guillaume and Miona

Dear ladies and gentlemen, perfumes, once exclusive to nobles, can now be seen at home of anyone who wants to keep a perfect image. Today, two of our etiquette experts, Miona and Guillaume will share with you their stories with perfumes, offering some useful tips that they have concluded from their daily usage.

Guillaume’s first perfume

This morning I found this empty bottle of perfume. It is the first and one of my favourite, so I keep it as a remark of the beginning of my fragrant journey.

It is Kachgar from Isabel Derroisne. I still remember the moment i tried it: the opening note, an enchanting mixture of woodiness and amber led by refreshing bergamot; after a while, what left on the skin is the warmth of burning sandalwood, the sweetness of mandarin orange and a subtle smoothness of vanilla…

Describe a perfume

Perfume Families

Considering the using occasions would be mostly business events or open class, the perfumes that I choose to wear are mostly Eau de Toilette. For an event of around 3 hours, an Eau de Toilette can provide enough lasting time with a just right strength of aroma.

Concentration

A perfume is basically a solution of fragrant essence as solute and ethyl alcohol as solvent. The way we call a perfume differs according to the concentration of essence, let me introduce you their differences:

Eau Fraiche: essence < 3%
Eau de Cologne: essence 2%~5%
Eau de Toilette: essence 4%~10%
Eau de Parfum: essence 8%~15%
Extrait: essence 15%~25%

Perfume for formal occasions

Sensitivity level of olfactory receptor cells can differ among people. In formal occasions, it is better to avoid perfumes with too strong or unorthodox aroma.

Givenchy Gentleman

Let’s take example of Gentlemen Eau de Toilette of Givenchy, a perfume that I like to use. The major impression of top notes is cardamom, but its spiciness goes in company with fruity scents. The heart is iris, giving soft and sweet aroma; leather and patchouli are there in the base, but both very controlled. In a word, it is well balanced, nothing too strong, easy for people to accept.

Trying a perfume

Now, perfume has become a part of my life style. I always like to spend some time on looking for next nice perfumes. Trying perfumes is one of my favourite activities when I go shopping.

It is not elegant to spray a large amount of perfume on yourself. Usually people use fragrance blotters. However, the aromatic chemicals indeed give the best scent on human skin.

What I do when trying is to take a lower concentration perfume, spray once on my wrist. Around 5 minutes later, I will try another one on the other wrist or inside elbow. I stop after trying 3 different perfumes so that my sense of smell is still sharp.

What other perfumes does Guillaume use? What is his secret of matching outfit with perfumes? More stories about Guillaume and his perfumes coming soon…

Miona: perfume lover must-knows

Like many ladies, rather than keeping a same rigid image all the time, I change my styles and I have a collection of perfumes to go with different occasions and outfits.

My Collection

When I dress up nicely for an important date or event, I would like my perfume to make the perfect even better. I like to keep a pleasant and female style, so most of my perfumes are of floral notes, Versace Crystal Bright and Burberry Weekend are the two that i use the most often.

Take the perfume with you

I have a small perfume atomizer, which can be filled with perfume from large bottles. It is convenient to carry so that I can put on in restroom whenever needed.

I also like to buy roll on perfumes. They can be easily put into a purse to take with me anywhere.

Where to apply

When the event is long, in order the aroma can last longer and give its best smell, I usually use some Eau de Parfum on the inside of wrists, inside of elbows, behind my knees and a little bit behind my ears.

Spray on body parts where you can feel the pulse.

When you are already dressed up but still want to wear some perfume, don’t directly spray on your cloth! Essential oil in the perfume can leave a stain on white shirt or even dark cloths of smooth materials like silk.

Better not spray to cloths

Alternative Ways

When I feel stressed out, I take a hot bath or go out to a SPA. Since I already have some aroma from lotion or essential oil, I will spray some Eau de Toilette on my hair or on the pillow. I enjoy this feeling of lying in bed surrounded by fragrance.

For perfumes that I haven’t been using for a while, I spray them on curtains or on furniture.

With so many perfumes, how does Miona keep them? What’s her personal etiquette tips about perfume using occasion? Find out in our next perfume article!

Dear ladies and gentlement, what was your first perfume? What is your favourite one? Please share with us!

3 secrets for gaining a perfect smile

Dear Ladies and Gentleman, I am sure you are wondering: how to always have the perfect genuine smile that captures everyone’s attention? How to keep our smile young over the years? How to smile more naturally? How to lose the fake smile?
As an answer to these questions, I propose three facial exercises that you can adopt every day.

The smile line eraser exercise
Why this exercise
With this exercise, you can work at reducing the fine lines around your mouth appearing over the years, helping you look younger and giving you a more natural, brilliant smile.
How to do it
Pucker up: purse your lips as dramatically as possible by sucking in your cheeks and rolling your lips out.

Attempt to smile while you’re puckering.
Hold this pose until there’s a mild aching sensation in the muscles around your mouth, then release.
How often to do it
This exercise should be done only once a day, in order to avoid straining the muscles of your face.

The smiling muscle exercise
Why this exercise
With adopting this exercise we keep our muscles around the mouth young and in good shape, so we are always ready to express the perfect smile with easiness.
How to do it
Start by sitting or standing in front of a mirror, whichever is more comfortable, with your face and lips in a relaxed state.
Stretch the corners of your mouth laterally (to the sides) while keeping your lips together; hold for 10 seconds.
Expand the lateral stretch and part your lips to expose the edge of your teeth; hold for 10 seconds.
Stretch further laterally and expose about half of your teeth; hold for ten seconds.
Smile as wide and hard as you can, with all your teeth showing; hold for ten seconds.

Repeat steps 4, 3, and 2 to reverse the smile gradually.

How often to do it
This incremental exercise in smiling should be done once a day, the best time is in the morning.

“Duchenne genuine” smile exercise
Why this exercise
With practice, you may be able to remove a fake smile by engaging your eyes with your mouth. When your smile has the power to enthral other people, then you have a genuine smile, so-called Duchenne smile.

How to do it
Stand in front of a mirror but concentrate only on your eyes. You may find it helpful to cover the lower part of your face with a piece of paper.
Make your eyes smile; hold it for ten seconds.
When your eyes do smile, remember how it feels, including which muscles are working and how.
Repeat this exercise 3 times.

How often to do it
This exercise should be done once a day, the best time is in the morning until you master the smile.

Let’s review together, can you detect which from the following smiles are fake genuine smiles and tell us why do you think so?

Do you have any other exercises for gaining the perfect genuine smile? Please share with me!

How does an elegant lady maintain her home

Dear ladies and gentlemen, show me your home and I will tell you who you are. Many of your habits are culturally inherited when it comes to maintaining your home, and especially your kitchen. We propose you to review what you may have done differently if you were born in another country. How would an elegant hostess maintain her home?

Chinese and Western Kitchen
As a matter of fact, the biggest difference comes from cooking habits. If you are Chinese you probably prefer stir-frying or quick frying, while if you are European or American you are rather used to heating or cooking food in the oven or fry pan, which means less oil and less cooking smell. As a consequence, the way you have arranged your kitchen space if totally different.

Spatial Arrangement
For Chinese, a kitchen is only a place for cooking. And when you cook, you have to close the kitchen door, otherwise, the smell would pervade the whole room. In other words, cleaning Chinese kitchen is more likely war with the cooking smell, as well as the greasy stains during and after the cooking process.

The western kitchen is usually open space, sometimes it could even be a part of the living room. Thus, the kitchen area is visually brighter and cleaner than the Chinese one. Some families will also set up a certain space in the kitchen to enjoy themselves (bar, coffee table, etc.), as a result, the western kitchen is no longer just a place for cooking, but also for socializing to some extent. So if you want to try Chinese stir-frying in a Western kitchen, you should really think about it first!

Kitchenware
Plus what we mention above that the Chinese way of cooking is often with more oil, the kitchen wares in China are also more diverse. That explains why nearly 90% of Chinese don’t trust dishwasher for cleaning their dishes; but prefer using a lot of detergents and cleaning the dishes with hands.

In comparison, most of the western dishes like beef, fish, etc. could be cooked by frying pan with little oil. And 90% of westerners would use the dishwasher with less or even no detergent when cleaning their dishes.

Cleaning Tips

Designated area
Water sink: Salt the greasy stains of the water sink, and then wipe the area with plastic film; wash the sink with warm water.
Kitchen tiles: Cover the tiles with a paper tissue, and then spray the detergent over the area. Keep it for 3-5 minutes, then remove the tissue and wash the tiles with warm water.
Table: Salt the greasy area on the table, add salad oil onto the area; wait and then wipe it with a piece of cloth.

Appliances
Microwave oven: Add some detergent to a bowl of cold water, then heat the water with microwave oven for 3 minutes. Wipe the inside of the oven with a paper tissue.
Dishwasher: Place a cup of vinegar on the top rack, and run the machine without dishes. The vinegar works to loosen up any mineral deposits that might have built up.

Kitchenware
The cutting board: Cover the board with paper tissue; add vinegar to a bowl of warm water and spray the mixture on to the board; wait for 5-10 minutes to remove the tissue and clean the board with clean water.
Glasses: clean the inside of the glass with toothbrush and toothpaste, then clean it with fresh water.

Faux pas to avoid

– Wash the cutleries with clean water at least twice after using detergent or the chemical residues would cause health problems.
– Don’t use detergent to clean the cutting board, because some chemical composition in the detergent would pollute the wood board.
– Dishcloths should be cleaned and dried after use according to certain cleansing need. Prepare several dishcloths in the kitchen and don’t mix-use.

No matter what, you have to choose proper detergent and clean the kitchen regularly to keep your kitchen clean. What else do you know regarding this topic? Do you know any tips about cleaning the kitchen? Please share with us!

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Impolite behaviours in daily life

Dear ladies and gentlemen, what kind of behaviour would be considered as impolite in daily life? This is a big question, and actually, I could write a book about it! Today, I will share with you 7 behaviours that I would never do in my daily life. Don’t hesitate to share yours!

Don’t: Speak loudly on the phone in public
I will pay special attention and control my voice when speaking on the phone. We all tend to speak louder when we have a phone discussion. But the truth is that nobody around wishes to hear or take part in your discussion. Please make your voice strong enough for people to hear, but not to disturb the person seated nearby.

Don’t: Check my phone all the time when dining with someone
If I am having dinner or meeting somebody, I won’t check my phone or even place it on the table. Because this would probably make him/her think “I am here with you, but you don’t want to talk with me!”

Don’t: Rush to take a seat in public transport
Don’t push and don’t rush in public transport! If you are in public transport, do not rush to take the seated place or to go first in a lane, it is extremely rude to show you want to be the first before the other, it shows selfishness.

Don’t: Stand on the left side of the escalator
The etiquette rule for escalator is “ stand on the right, walk on the left”. Avoid standing on the left side of the escalator! This side is for people who are in a hurry or who want to walk up stairs, so please don’t get in their way.

Don’t: Interrupt rudely someone while he/she is talking
It is impolite to interrupt someone while he is talking and don’t interrupt other parties that are having conversations. Just wait patiently and listen carefully if you want to be respectful. Besides, you will have more time to think about what you are going to say and how to react when he is finished with his speech.

Don’t: Stare at people in the street
Don‘t stare at people in the street, especially some handsome guys or beautiful girls, or foreigners! Your stare would make them feel uncomfortable or embarrassed to some extent. Or even worse, don’t take stealthy.

Don’t: not holding the door to someone behind
Holding the door to the person coming after you is one of the basic rules. If you want to be even more elegant and admired, you can as well smile to the person coming after you. Smiling is the key to every good feeling, sharing it helps to feel more confident and glad.

If we would all have more manners, we would create a better society. What else do you know about this topic? Please share with us!

Deportment exercises for elegant posture

Dear ladies and gentlemen, having an impeccable image is not very hard to achieve. 10 to 15 minutes a day can make wonders with your posture. Today I am going to introduce you exercises that you can apply anytime and anywhere. Please follow me!

Standing posture
Our poor posture usually comes from the weakness of our muscles. When we try to have a perfect straight posture after a short period, we feel tired. Therefore, we have to strength up our muscles first in order to gain a gracious posture.

Exercise I
Every day, you may stand straight against the wall for 5 minutes: heels, hips, shoulders, hands should be kept close to the wall. This will naturally help to correct your neck and shoulders posture.

After a couple of times, if this feels too easy for you, you may stand longer or move away one step from the wall.

Exercise II
Keep your both arms in front of you, straight elbows, hands in fists facing up, thumbs pointing on a side. Move the arms away from each other with squeezing the shoulder blades and return. Repeat 20 times. This exercise will empower your muscles between shoulder blazes which will allow you to easier keep your shoulders in a proper position.

Exercise III
Same position like in the previous exercise, but keep your elbows next to your body, forming 90 degrees angle with your forearms and upper arms, move them away from each other with squeezing the shoulders blades and return. Repeat 20 times. It’s also applied to empower the muscles between the shoulder blades.

Exercise IV
Find support for your arm in a standing position, legs apart with a straight back, bend your knees a bit, one arm placed behind your head. Rotate the arm behind your head, in front – behind motion, follow the movement with your head. Repeat 20 times each arm. Another variation for straightening up your back muscles for a painless posture.

Sitting posture
We often sit a lot and that affects our body. Actually, our body is made for movement, that’s why it’s important to do exercises during sitting. These exercises you can do more times a day, anytime when you feel it can release you from back pain.

Exercise I
Cross your arms, start moving your weight from one side to another. Continue doing the exercise for 30 sec. By doing this exercise you are stretching your back releasing yourself from a pain.

Exercise II
Cross your arms, bring your chest up and then down. Continue doing the exercise for 30 sec. Another exercise for stretching your upper back that decreases the tension.

Exercise III
Cross your arms, rotate your upper body from one side to another. Continue doing the exercise for 30 sec. Overall, all these sitting exercises are used to activate your back muscles while sitting which allows you pain-free state.

Walking posture
For maintaining a straight back we have to have a stable base. That’s why our leg muscles play an important role. In order to have gracious walking motion, our muscles should be enough strong. Therefore, I propose you the following.

Exercise I
Place your hands on your hips, maintain a straight posture, and now follow the steps:
Step 1: Raise up our right leg in front of you. Hold for 30 seconds.

Step 2: While still in the air, move your leg on a side. Hold for 30 seconds.

Step 3: While still in the air, move your leg behind you. Hold for 30 seconds.
Bring down your leg, shake it a bit and repeat steps (1-3) with your left leg.

Exercise II
This one we use to teach our clients how to synchronise the whole body while walking. The rule is: right hand – left leg go together and the opposite. Another thing to remember is that we should walk heel to toe. You can do it in one spot if the available space is small.

Dear all, you know what people say, in a healthy body there is a healthy mind as well.