Celeb Stop

Monday March 8, 2010

Yummy mummy Daphne Iking

By K.R. MING

Looking gorgeous, as always

Her personal life may be all over the news but we speak to Daphne Iking, NTV7's The Breakfast Show host, about something decidedly less stressful – her beauty secrets.

clove@thestar.com.my

LIFE is never black and white. I learned this over the past year. True love goes beyond your average fairytale story," muses Daphne Eleanor Iking. "(Love) is not just romantic notions. My love for my daughter made me see this."

That's all that the 30-year-old host of NTV7's The Breakfast Show is willing to say about her personal life, which was thrust into the limelight last year when her now ex-husband dragged a corporate figure to court in a private summons for allegedly "enticing'' her into an extra-marital relationship.

Anyone following the progress of this case will agree that she has had a turbulent 2009 and plenty has been said about the whole "situation''. Iking has stayed silent about the debacle but early last month, she spoke to an English tabloid about how upset she was with online sites which were spreading more gossip – this time about her supposed involvement with the former husband of a local actress.

Away from the scandals, Iking – whose daughter, Isobel, is two years old – leads a rigorous work schedule.

Her day begins when most of us are still tucked in bed – as early as 4am on days when she needs to sit in front of The Breakfast Show's green screen.

Glamorous mum

And she doesn't get to sneak home for a nap when taping is over as she keeps herself busy with emcee-ing for events, hosting Malaysia's Supermodel Search, working on her weekly lifestyle programme for NTV7 called Ladies Day Out (Fridays, 7.30pm) and doing photo shoots for magazines. She is also stretching her acting chops in starring roles for two movies – My Spy and Belukar – which will be screened later this year.

One begins to wonder where this Sabahan beauty finds the time to maintain her svelte figure and look after that porcelain-perfect skin.

As it turns out, Iking has a sleight of tricks up her sleeve to keep her looking ship-shape.

Here, she speaks candidly about her beauty secrets and some of her favourite people.

What makes a person beautiful? I must say it all boils down to personality and inner strength. A person with a kind heart and an honest soul is more attractive than the man or woman with the "picture perfect" symmetrical face – like that of a person who graces the cover of magazines and tops "most gorgeous" lists but is horrible, mean and unkind in real life.

Which beautiful person do you admire? Clichéd, but true – my mother. She has amazing inner strength, great insight and sound advice for everyone around her. I have never seen her being moody or unkind. And she never raises her voice.

Even in her darkest times, she held it all in and walked with her chin up, refusing to give up or to let the situation get her down. She ‘‘fought'' her way through with kindness, unconditional love and patience. Her beauty lies in her eyes – soulful and doting, kind and sincere.

What's your basic skincare routine? In the morning, it's cleanser, toner, eyecream, moisturiser, sunblock and lip balm. At night, a makeup remover, cleanser, toner, eyecream and night cream with lip balm. And thrice a week, I use a scrub and don a face mask.

What do you like about your appearance? I like my nose. We Ikings have my father's nose. (Her father is Mozes Iking, a Parti Keadilan Rakyat member who contested in the 2008 general election.)

What do you not like? We inherited mum's stumpy legs. Ha ha!

Are there any beauty myths that you believe in? My Filipino maid told me that you should take a drop of your first menses blood and mix it with water, then smear it on your face, let it dry and wash it off. She swears it prevents acne. For the record, she's been right so far.

What makeup brands do you use and why? I have a mix of makeup brands in my makeup bag and drawer. Because of my line of work, I am lucky, or unlucky enough – depending on how you see it – to be given plenty of exposure to different brands. I get to work with a lot of makeup artists so they usually tell me what's hot and what's not.

Right now, I am using Sisley Phyto Teint Eclat Fluid Foundation No 2 for shoots – it gives enough coverage without being too "heavy'' on the skin; a Shu Uemura base – it has such a soft foamy feel; La Mer foundation that I mix with a bit of moisturiser to give a sheer tint for days when I want to go almost au naturel; Shu Uemura loose powder – because the powder is very fine and sets better, according to my makeup artist, Deric Lim (from Diva Productions).

For the eyes, I use a Chinese eyebrow pencil that my makeup artist bought from Sungai Wang Plaza (Kuala Lumpur) but I don't know the brand name. I also have a mix of Benefit, M.A.C., Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown and Red Earth eye colours. For the lashes, I use Estee Lauder's TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara – my vibrating wonder; M.A.C. eyeliner in both liquid and pencil.

Also on my list are M.A.C., Bobbi Brown and Estee Lauder blushers, Bobbi Brown, Clarins and Kiehl's lipsticks because they don't dry out my lips. I use Benefit's Hello Flawless SPF 15 powder for touch-ups as it doesn't give an oily, heavy feel after application. My brushes are from Bobbi Brown and I also use a Bobbi Brown concealer.

What other products do you swear by? La Mer Moisturizer, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Vaseline for lip balm – and I use it on Isobel's bum to prevent nappy rash, but we don't share the same jar! I also love Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil, Clarins face sunblock, Kerastase Bain Age Recharge hair mask, Sebastian Laminates shampoo and Adidas For Women Action 3 (control) deodorant.

When did you first use makeup? I was in university. I learnt how to do cabaret makeup for shows from my "mak nyah" (transvestite) friends! ( She used to be a dancer to pay for her education fees).

The makeup was thick and quite often over the top. I learnt how to fix false eyelashes and my friends taught me the tricks of shading. I had fun experimenting with that but I prefer going out bare-faced. Close friends and family will tell you this.

Do you believe "less is more"? Definitely, less is more.

What kind of makeup works for you? Makeup that doesn't clog my pores. I know of a prominent makeup brand that's popular among makeup artists and local personalities. But I can only use a few of its products. I find it too "strong" for my skin and drying.

Even after proper cleansing, I find that using the product too often makes my skin yellowish and dull. I rarely use makeup. I have combination skin so when makeup is applied to my face, it looks great for the first hour, then it oxidises and looks oily and gross. So I tend to stick to my favourites because it doesn't make my face look too greasy at the end of the day.

How long do you keep products? I spring clean twice a year.

What beauty items do you always have in your handbag? My Benefit touchup powder, M.A.C. blusher, Estee Lauder TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara, Bobbi Brown eyeliner, RMK lipcolour in nude and Clarins in red and Kiehl's lipstick and lipgloss. Also my blush brush, eyelash glue (for touchups on days when I use fake eyelashes on photoshoots), concealer, Dettol hand sanitiser, wet wipes, tissues, hairpins and hairbands.

If you only had five minutes to do your makeup, what would you put on? After cleansing, I will just apply concealer under my eyes and on the spider veins on my cheeks, brush my eyebrows neatly, pile up on the mascara, give a swirl of blusher to the cheeks and swipe on lip balm. Maybe eyeliner if I feel like it.

Have you had any disasters with makeup? I love how Middle Eastern women have really dark, mysterious eyes with thick mascara. I tried to do that and overdid it and walked out of the house with panda eyes. The people that I had a meeting with were too kind (or embarrassed!) to tell me that I had black streaks under my eyes and just above my eyelids!

Moral of the story? Leave it to the professionals when trying out new things.

What's the best trick you've learnt? Apply foundation first. Then concealer. Most people apply concealer first.

What's more unbearable: A hairy upper lip or unshaven legs? Both – that's why I do IPL (Intense Pulse Light treatments to remove unwanted hair)! But if I had to choose, it would be hairy upper lip. If I had hairy legs, I could always wear long pants or skirts.

Have you considered plastic surgery? Yes. After breast-feeding Isobel, my left breast is asymmetrically uneven. If and when I have the resources and am no longer scared of needles, I will give myself a lift on my left side.

I have actually asked around to see who would give me a 50% discount. I don't plan to do a Pamela Anderson – I just want to balance out that little problem. No one has said yes yet, though. I also want to do Lasik one day.

Do you follow a special diet? I have recently decided to cut meat out of my diet, for health and personal reasons. It was easy to do this because I am not a huge fan of red meat anyway – I've always preferred fish. No special diet, although I really should cut down on banana leaf meals.

What's your favourite beauty indulgence? Massages!

Do you have a beauty philosophy? You are beautiful when the soul is at peace.

When was the last time you felt beautiful? When I was pregnant with Isobel. I loved how my skin just glowed and my hair was so thick and luscious. I was also very active right until I gave birth – I continued running and doing aerobics. I was blessed because my (former) mother in-law also made me delicious yet healthy soups that made me feel oh-so-good!

If you could inherit one celebrity's beauty, who would it be? Gisele Bundchen. She is tall and has beautiful curves – not your average stick thin supermodel. She has unique features but the best thing about her is that she is a smart and a tough cookie.

I read an interview about her sometime back and was impressed with how she dealt with the shock of finding out that her boyfriend (now husband) Tom Brady's ex-girlfriend was pregnant with his baby. Also how she deals with the bi-coastal routine of the new family life she has with him.