Daily Vanity Logo

If you’re a C-pop fan since the Y2K days or a current RED netizen (or both!), chances are you would’ve heard of Ruby Siu a.k.a. Xiao Xiao (蕭蕭). The Chinese singer-slash-actress is most famous for crooning popular songs such as Love Must Be Magnificent (愛要坦蕩蕩) and Can’t Hold Him (握不住的他).

43-year-old Xiao Xiao has not released works in recent years and it seems like she’s turned into a club DJ now, but she remains active on Instagram as well as China’s Weibo and RED and has been gaining quite a bit of attention from netizens regarding her youthful, baby face and slender silhouette.

Lucky for us, Xiao Xiao is a sharer and frequently documents what she’s up to these days as well as her beauty tips on RED. Ahead, Daily Vanity has gathered all of Xiao Xiao’s tips that she’s credited to helping her achieve her flawless complexion and slim figure.

1. Xiao Xiao drinks a cup of nut soy milk in the morning to nourish skin and hair

For many of us looking to maintain our skin’s beauty, we drink a glass of beauty drink every morning.

For Xiao Xiao, it’s a glass of soy milk with nuts which she says is very good for the skin and hair since nuts and soy milk are rich in protein.

She soaks the soybeans and nuts separately the day before she needs to drink the concoction – her choice of nuts are walnuts, cashews, and hazelnuts.

In the morning, she’d drain the ingredients, add water, and put the mix into the soymilk maker.

Sometimes, Xiao Xiao would drink coffee with her nut soy milk too, saying that espresso with 700ml nut soy milk is her favourite coffee ratio.

2. Xiao Xiao jump ropes on an empty stomach, says it helps speed up slimming

In order to maintain a perfect posture, Xiao Xiao exercises every day and she recommends that the fastest and most effective way to lose weight is to skip ropes – on an empty stomach in the morning.

Drinking some water before the workout is fine, and the key is to skip 800 to 1,000 times a day for a week to see results.

Xiao Xiao goes on to share that beginners can do this workout at intervals of 100 for the first three sets, have a 15-second rest between each set before completing the rest of the routine.

3. Xiao Xiao likes her nutritious breakfast, says avocado nut salad is her favourite breakfast recipe

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ruby Xiao Xiao (@rubyxiaoxiao)


In addition to drinking a cup of soy milk with nuts every morning, Xiao Xiao also enjoys whipping up a salad with full nutrition.

Her favourite is the avocado nut salad, in which she pairs fresh ingredients like avocado, apples, and blueberries with butter lettuce – she prefers this to the regular lettuce because it’s sweeter and more tender.

For this nutritious and healthy bowl, you’ll need to first stir butter lettuce, avocado, apple, with the juice of half a lemon and a spoonful of honey.

Then, add red kidney beans, blueberries, nuts, and chia seeds into the mix and stir briefly.

Finally, sprinkle quinoa brown rice cakes on top – she advises against putting this ingredient in too early as it will become soggy when wet.

You can also add in dried cranberries if you like, but the entertainer says that those who are looking to lose weight can skip this ingredient.

4. Xiao Xiao loves eating chicken breast for her meals, and shares her tips for making the protein tender like a chicken thigh

ruby siu xiao xiao beauty tips chicken breast cooking tip

Chicken breast is the most common weight-loss dish with its low-fat, high-protein content, but cooking chicken breast isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Xiao Xiao, who loves this poultry cut, shares her little secret that will turn dry, bland chicken breast into one that’s moist and tender like a chicken thigh.

Here are her instructions:

  1. First, prepare the marinade by mixing salt, baking soda, black pepper, a little rice wine, and some ginger in a zipper storage bag.
  2. Wrap the chicken breast with fresh cling wrap. Gently tenderise the poultry, paying special attention to the sides of the meat so that you don’t end up mincing the chicken breast.
  3. Add the tenderised meat into the zipper storage bag containing the marinade. Spread the marinade onto the meat evenly, add some black pepper, and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  4. Heat the pan to medium heat, pour in olive oil, and fry the chicken breast. Open the lid and fry for 1.5 minutes on one side.
  5. Close the lid and turn off the heat for one minute and 20 seconds.
  6. Open the lid and turn the chicken breast over, fry for 1.5 minutes, then close the lid and turn off the heat for another one minute and 20 seconds.
  7. Take the chicken breast out of the pan, and serve.

5. Xiao Xiao blends her own vegetable juice and drinks only that during lunch when she wants to cut down on calories

She says that this “reduced-fat vegetable juice” consisting of kale, banana, and lime is also good on days that you’ve eaten too much and want to reduce your calories the next day.

To increase the fat ratio without the calories, Xiao Xiao adds hemp seeds into the mix – she says that this also makes the vegetable juice taste smoother.

The DJ also advises drinking the juice without straining the fruit and vegetable fibre.

Here’s the full ingredient list:

  • 40-50g kale
  • 1 banana
  • 1 tbsp hemp kernels
  • 1-2 small limes
  • 3-5 ice cubes
  • 120ml water

6. Xiao Xiao’s secret of zero neck wrinkles? She massages her neck 200 times a day

ruby siu xiao xiao beauty tips neck massage 200 times daily

Xiao Xiao reveals that her mother is in her seventies this year, yet her neck is practically wrinkle-free – she then shares that her mother’s secret is to massage her neck 200 times a day, and it’s a beauty tip that Xiao Xiao has come to practice every morning.

After washing her face, she would apply a cream-like moisturising mask, and then massage her neck with the remaining essence while waiting for the mask to dry.

The gesture is simple: with your thumb at the front of your neck and the rest of your fingers at the back, massage your neck by sliding your finger pads in a downward motion.

To complete the ritual, gently press the acupuncture points near the neck under the ears.

7. Xiao Xiao keeps things simple when it comes to her skincare routine

ruby siu xiao xiao beauty tips skincare routine

In several skincare routine videos that she’s made, Xiao Xiao shares that less is more when it comes to her skin maintenance.

“Don’t complicate simple things, and more steps or products doesn’t mean they’ll make your skin better,” she lets on.

Surprising, the products she loves are not expensive items either – many of them are actually recommended by dermatologists.

For instance, she uses La Roche-Posay’s Thermal Spring Water (S$29.90 for a twin pack from Watsons) on her face, and likes CeraVe’s Moisturising Lotion (S$22.87 from Amazon) and Vaseline Petroleum Jelly (S$2.50 from Watsons).

She mindfully chooses not to use scented skincare on her face, saying that she just relies on her perfume for fragrance.

In short, Xiao Xiao remarks that her beauty routine is probably really boring to others as she prefers to keep her routine fairly simple and straightforward.

8. Xiao Xiao is a big believer in self-discipline, says to keep doing what you should do until it becomes a habit

You may have heard this one before, but it’s definitely Xiao Xiao’s key to looking not a day past 20 when she’s really 43 years old.

According to her, it’s important to continuously supervise your progress and challenge yourself to the next level, saying “self-discipline is to put aside your likes and dislikes, mood, feelings, and any excuses, and just insist on doing that one thing anyway.”

“Be it exercise, diet or anything in your life, you don’t necessarily have to like it but you should definitely do it until it becomes a habit.” Wise words…