Your hongbaos [red packets of cash given to the young during Chinese New Year] don’t cover the cost of dolling yourself out to go visiting? Fret not, UrbanWire reporter Penelope Ng finds free beauty advice and the cheapest bargains with just a click on that mouse.

By Penelope Ng • UrbanWire

Me, Myself & I
I’m a cheapskate ‘auntie’ in a 20-year-old maiden’s clothing.
Now before you start having visions of an bespectacled hag togged up in a long cotton skirt with dark pink sakura flower patterns tottering around on 15cm-high platforms, think again, because that ain’t my territory.

Neither do I belong to the “Mmm, pink nail polish today and red nail polish next week” category. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely care about my looks, it’s just that I don’t see the need to have to apply make up to go buy that loaf of bread.

I’m lazy to the extent that I don’t read about the latest trends in magazines, which I avoid to prevent killing my self-esteem at the sight of the countless Caucasian models in tiny bikinis.

But I’m not missing anything really. I still know my stuff after reading comments and feedback posted by many other shop-savvy consumers on the Flowerpod forum about upcoming sales in town and the best value-for-money exfoliating scrubs. And hey, I never have to bother with stuck-up sales assistants at Chanel and Christian Dior who are either too busy touching up their faces or chatting on the phone with their friends.

Flowerpod Community
Founded in June 2001, the Flowerpod forum functions as an online beauty encyclopedia, saving me all the hassle of having to decide what to buy with my limited knowledge and pathetic budget.

The name of the forum originated from the word Flower Pot. According to the site’s administrators, “the stages of a woman's life has [sic] been very much likened to that of the growth process of a flower.” Like e-pinions.com, the forum hopes to build an “unbiased cosmetic reviews database, which are not skewed to commercial interests”. 3 cheers for consumer power!

For a forum with more than a thousand podders, the only 5 administrators running the show have their work cut out for them.

Flowerpod, being the pioneer, helms the forum with the help of the other 4. The Beauty Forum, being the most important section of the website, is managed by Oceanic and Foolz, while the reviews section falls under the watch of Vit_C. Strawberry_Lush manages both the Calendar and beauty directories. These 5 administrators are also highly active contributors of beauty tips and comments in the beauty forums.

“The people here really share! They give their honest opinion so others can benefit from them. They give each other moral support as well when one needs them. Fun and cheery people to talk to,” was the online response of one Singaporean podder by the nickname artichoke, who joined the forum 5 months ago.
With just 100 podders in the beginning, the forum has managed to grow to 1,581 actively involved podders. The numbers increase daily as more internet-savvy users log into the forum.

Beauty Forum
The beauty forum is segmented into different sections, namely the General, Eye, Face, Lip, Hair, Body, Fashion, Love and Health Talk sections.

Messages that are posted in the wrong sections will be shifted, making it easy for podders to browse and access relevant posts. As with all forums, podders can also start new threads and add their views to various topics. Here’s the lowdown on what goes on in the little cosy e-corners that have sprung up online.

The General talk section discusses everything under the sun. This is where people share little pieces of interesting information and opinions on your favourite TV show or how much they earn a month.

The Eye, Face, Lip, Hair and Body sections offer you tips on how to look after your eyes, prevent wrinkles, stop pimples, get the cheapest haircut in Singapore, check out the new shades of hair dye and every little trivial matter that we are concerned with. Some podders share their personal homemade beauty tips and their own recommendations of beauty products.

Learn how to make your own exfoliating scrub or whitening mask with ingredients that you can easily grab from the fridge such as eggs, flour and oranges. Others even write brief introductions and additional information of the different various beauty products for inexperienced podders to learn more.

With the computer as a shield, podders are also able to post personal and intimate questions to the fashion, love and health talk section that would have been embarrassing for them to mention even among friends.

Mini YaHoooOO!
Besides sharing beauty tips with podders, Flowerpod also acts like a little Internet portal that offers detailed information, feedback on beauty salons, skin, hair, facial products and even make-up brushes. The Beauty Directory also ranks the different grooming salons in Singapore according to popularity.

In addition, the Flowerpod personalised calendar helps you to take note of when the massive mega sale starts, providing the relevant information on where and when to go, so you can be the first to queue outside the Singapore shopping centres even before they are open for the day.

Also, have your pick of the best bargains in the sales sections where podders try to sell off their products at dirt-cheap prices. Sell and trade freely as long as you do not cross the border of selling other items besides beauty products. This offers a good medium for you to get rid of all the beauty products that were bought on impulse. Simply do bank transfers through the ATM and wait patiently for your postman to deliver that mascara for you. Best of all, you don’t even need a credit card for this!

Now who was the one who said that you have to shop along the streets of Orchard and read heaps of magazines to know what’s in and how to look good?

Okay, I admit I’m boring, lazy and stingy. But at least, I’m street-wise!