Are you the life of the party or do you prefer to sit in a corner nursing your wine and watching others? Find out how sociable you really are with this quiz! By: Melanie Lee How many good friends do you think you have? 4 to 10 0 to 3 10 or more When you feel like you need cheering up you: Have an ice-cream pig-out session with your posse for some serious girl talk. Spend a morning at the beach alone listening to the waves. Call your best friend on the phone to confide. You are invited to a friend of a friend’s...

Some of us are unaware of how much impact our words have on others, and we may end up with our foot in our mouth, or worse still, deeply hurting others or ruining relationships. As the wise Benjamin Franklin once said, “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” By: Melanie Lee We’ve all been there before — saying the wrong things at the wrong time. An awkward silence, a sense of unease, a look away, and you suddenly wish that the floor...

Relationships between women are often complex affairs. We love our intimate bonding sessions with our girlfriends, but we also have the tendency to gossip, backstab, or exclude the very same close friends sometimes. While many may say that this mean streak is just the natural behaviour of most women, this is certainly no excuse to behave in a way that so deliberately sets out to destroy valuable female friendships. Nanz Inc takes a closer look at where this cattiness comes from and how you can stop yourself from being a meanie. By: Melanie Lee Why...

Happy Women’s Day! In honour of this wonderful celebration of every female in the world, Nanz Inc launches our Superwoman series, starting with how to give yourself the best present ever: Space! Busy, busy, busy – that’s what the life of a modern Asian woman seems to be about. “Give me my space!” you feel like yelling out to the world as countless to-dos stream in, clamouring for your time. Here’s the news: it’s really up to you to create some room in your life to just Be. By: Melanie Lee Your to-do list is never-ending...

Writing is not just for the “arty”, it is also a great way to develop self-awareness and appreciation for the life you have and the world around you. Singaporean novelist Suchen Christine Lim, winner of the first Singapore Literature Prize in 1992 with her book, Fistful of Colours, shares her insights into the healing power of writing with Nanz Inc readers. She is also a tutor with the Arvon Foundation , an organization in the United Kingdom that runs residential creative writing courses. By: Melanie Lee How has writing changed your life?...

Everyone loves the accommodating person who is always willing to lend a helping hand and full of the “can-do” spirit. However, if your plate is piled way up high with deadlines, favours and obligations that are just sapping your energy and time away, then it probably means you’re not saying no often enough. By: Melanie Lee The problem with most of us women is that we feel like such baddies every time we refuse something. However, it’s probably worse if you grudgingly agree to do something, but do with such a negative, reluctant spirit,...

Prescription drug abuse is the use of prescription drugs in ways that are not intended by the prescribing doctor. It is a serious and growing problem worldwide, affecting people from all walks of life, from teens to senior citizens. By: Sharlene Tan Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy, DJ AM, Anna Nicole Smith. These celebrity deaths are all related to prescription drug misuse. However, even away from the Hollywood spotlight, prescription drug abuse is destroying lives in many households. Homemaker Debra Jones, 50, began taking six...

Taking good care of yourself is not just limited to healthy diets, exercise and grooming — there’s also your emotional and psychological wellbeing to think about as well. A good state of mental health not only enables you to fully enjoy what life has to offer, it also provides you with the necessary resilience to hold your ground during stressful situations and turbulent times. By: Melanie Lee Writer’s note: This topic hit close to home when a friend committed suicide last month near Christmas. It was such a sad, tragic shock and at first,...

After an absolutely exhausting day, the last thing you want to be bothered with is flossing and brushing your teeth. But here’s why you really need to pick up that toothbrush and spend those few minutes at your sink – this set of teeth is meant to last you for the rest of your life, so you ought to take good care of them! By Sharlene Tan The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that 20% of all US teens have untreated tooth decay. It’s worse in Australia, where newspapers recently proclaimed a tooth decay an “epidemic”,...

Are your jeans faded beyond recognition? Does your makeup kit contain untouched two-year-old mascara and lipstick that’s discoloured? Are the greys in your hair getting more noticeable? If this sounds like you, read on to find out why it is important to care about your appearance (and it’s not just about vanity). By Lianne Ong “Letting yourself go” is a common phenomenon for older women but we often don’t detect it till it has grown an ugly head. It starts off with something small and innocuous, like not waxing as regularly as you used...