August 23, 2015

Hair Update #2 | Hair Q - Tai Po, Hong Kong Hair Salon Review

Getting your hair cut can be quite daunting huh? Especially when you're getting it cut in another country! >//< I always get my hair cut whenever i'm in Hong Kong, i've had some wonderful experiences and some welllll... a fricking waste of money. :) So having hair salon reviews are definitely very helpful. Today i'll be reviewing Hair Q~

I chose to go Hair Q, as my auntie recommended it and I remember BubzBeauty used to get her hair done here too. (anddddd because majority of hair salons recommended on the first page of Google were expensive af, don't want to waste HK$1700 again. I'm a broke student yo!)

Hair Q is located at Uptown Plaza Shopping Centre, Tai Po. I spontaneously went in without an appointment as I didn't plan to get my hair cut that day. As a last minute person, do I ever plan anything lol. Even without an appointment, the wait wasn't particularly long. I waited probably 20-30 minutes before a lady took me to get my hair washed.

Waiting area~

After washing and conditioning my hair~
My hair smelt like apples; they also massage your head when rinishing, it was soooo nice. :') I found it interesting that Hong Kong salons usually wash their client's hair before cutting. In the UK it's the other way round.

The person that cut my hair was called Kay. I didn't have a hairstyle I was after, so I just asked him to trim 2 to 3 inches and cut what he thinks is best. He was very friendly and answered all my questions, as well as giving me useful hair advice.

*Apologies for the lack of photos, as there were other customers. ><

Hair before cutting~

Hair after cutting~

LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEEEE the results! All my dead ends are gone, my hair looks much healthier and fuller too. I feel like an anime character~ What makes me even happier about the hair cut, is that Kay actually only cut 2 to 3 inches and not a good proportion off like my previous hair stylists have. Finally, someone that understands the definition of a trim! Overall I am super pleased, the service and skill was pretty good. I had my hair washed, cut and blow-dried for $168 which is suchhhhhh a good price for such a pretty hair cut. Would definitely visit them again when I next visit HK. :')

If you ever plan on visiting them, details:

Location: Uptown Plaza Shopping Centre, Tai Po (ground floor)

Tel: 2651 7765

Have you had your hair cut recently too? If so what was your experience like? ^^

August 21, 2015

MEOW | FIVEPOUNDTEE

Meow meow~ bet you wasn't expecting the mother fxcker at the end? xD This graphic is tee quite a statement I must say; the swaggy cat grabs attention to basically say "hai bxtch~". I kept the quote low key in this outfit by tucking it under a skater skirt. Makes it more appropriate for casual wear (and to reduce the amount of profanity on my blog xD). The shirt will pair lovely with any colour skirt, I chose maroon simply because it matches my hair. :') On days where I feel more expressive, I simply pair this tee with black skinnys and let the tee do talking.

Also thank you to everyone that entered the Circle Lens Giveaway! The lucky winner is Sora Kim - congratulations! ^_^ I'm planning to do more giveaways in the future, so there's many more opportunities to come if you didn't win this time~ ^.^

Outfit Details:

Shirt: fivespondtee (sponsored by fivepoundtee)

Skirt: River Island

Do you have any "expressive" shirts? ^^

August 20, 2015

SHOWER SHELFie - Shower Confidential | What's in my bathroom.

Shower SHELFie - get the pun? ^.< Photo of the current products I use during and after my showers~

I always talk about my bath experiences in my Lush bath bomb reviews, so I may as well share my shower confidential with you guys. :') This shower routine is a basic one, so that I can quickly refresh myself ready to seize the day ahead. I don't really switch it up apart from shower gels and hair masks. On mornings where I have more time or desire a bit of pampering, I switch over to high end products. Which I shall write about some other time, so this post won't be too long hopefully~ ^^

Starting off from left to right~

• Imperial Leather Enchanting Romance Body Wash

I only go for two scents - fruity or seductive florals. Not a huge fan of calming/ocean scents (apart when I'm stressed). Currently loving this shower gel! The key notes to the fragrance are plum blossom and violet, which creates this beautifully seductive scent. Although the plum does reminds me of Christmas, giving me a festive vibe rather than sensual. Along with the lovely scent, it also does a pretty good job at moisturising, so kudos to Imperial Leather!

• femfresh Daily Intimate Wash

I was sent this item by femfresh but I actually ended up adoring the product more than I expected. It's so refreshing and soothing, it is now one of my favourite shower essentials! Getting a bit intimate like the wash, femfresh's Daily Intimate Wash is great for taking care of sensitive skin (down below). Just like the rest of your body, it's essential to give some love to even the most sensitive areas of your bodies, which is why femfresh works great since has a fantastic low pH formula to meet the needs of intimate, delicate and sensitive skin easily bothered by perfumes and harsh soap-based cleansers. You can also use this as a body wash or face wash because the formula is that gentle, making it very versatile. ^.<

• Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo

My go to drugstore shampoo. I've had my whole head bleached 4 or 5 times in total; how my hair is still in pretty good condition with my constant dying on top, I don't know. But I believe this shampoo plays a little role in helping my hair, the hydration it offers is bliss. It also smells amazing like all Herbal Essences product do.

• Kao Essential Ultra Honey & Shea Butter Hair Mask - Rich Premium

You may have seen this mask in My Top Hair Mask For Damaged Hair. I don't use conditioner because wellllll this mask plays the main role in keeping my hair alive! My hair feels straw-like when I use conditioner so I like to stick to hair masks. I do use other hair masks too but I always end up running back to this baby.

• Soap & Co Body Scrub Large Passion Fruit

Scrubs and exfoliators are essential to me as I have keratosis pilaris, which is a skin condition where too much keratins builds up, causing the surface of the skin to thicken. Exfoliating dead skins cells and moisturising is a must. On the pricy side, I am yet to find an cheaper alternative body scrub that works as well as Soap & Co's one. Packed with sea salt, minerals and natural moisturising oils, it honestly blesses my skin. I use this before my shower gel, it leaves my skin baby smooth and so hydrated! Loveeeee it~

• Superdrug Cocoa Butter Body Lotion

I'm not really fussed with body lotions as long as they smell nice. I prefer Superdrug's cocoa over Palmers as it's more light. It moisturises and smells great, but not one of my favourites as I mentioned before I prefer fruity or seductive floral scents.

• femfresh Everyday Care Freshening and Soothing Cloths

Of course sensitive skin also requires care after cleansing too. ^.< To keep fresh throughout the day (especially when mother nature strikes) these are very useful. Also formulated with a gentle and low, pH formula , they do a brilliant job at cleansing, refreshing and soothing. These are almost like baby wipes but it's focused on making your intimate skin happy clean.

• The Body Shop Mango Body Butter

Surely everyone knows of the body shop body butters. :') The mango one is formulated for very dry skin, it's very thick, melts, moisturises and nourishes intensely. I love the sharpness of the fresh mango fragrance, can't get enough of it! I don't recommend this during summer though, as it does feel quite heavy.

What are some of your shower/bath essentials? ^^ Show me your SHOWER SHELFie, let's get it trending hue~

*This post is sponsored by: femfresh

August 19, 2015

Nature Republic Fresh Green Tea 70 Emulsion Review

This is actually my first Nature Republic product~ I would be lying if I said I didn't purchase it because of SM. With Girls' Generation's Taeyeon using the Snail Solution line and EXO promotional cardboard cut-outs placed outside of every Nature Republic store, I was intrigued to give it a try! Who doesn't want their skin looking like KPop idols? *^*

Green tea products are great for blemish, oily, combination and sensitive skin. It provides moisture and is not oily. The emulsion's main ingredients are green tea leaves and blue lagoon water. Boseong fresh green tea leaves are concentrated with catechins and vitamin C, which help make your skin clear and healthy. Polynesia Blue Lagoon MD Water is loaded with minerals to provide excellent moisture, the water also helps to strengthen the skin's moisture retention capability.

You get 180ml of product. It has a sharp fresh lemon scent rather than a calming green tea one. The texture is light and feathery~ It absorbs into the skin quickly, leaving your skin feeling moist and refreshed. For my sensitive skin friends~ this emulsion is very veryyyyy gentle, so hopefully you shouldn't experience any problems with it.

I've been using it for a good few months now (day and night) and I really like it! There's this lovely fresh cooling sensation when you apply it. It feels like the emulsion is feeding my skin loads of moisture and my skin is drinking it up, since it absorbs so quickly. It makes my skin appear healthier and clearer, as well as soothing my redness. ^.^ Definitely recommend this! It moisturises and soothes very well. You get a lot of product that will last agesss. The only downside is that the bottle doesn't have a pump, you have to tap/shake the bottle in order to get the product out. Which can get a little messy sometimes, as it's hard to control. >.< But overall an amazing product and I wouldn't mind repurchasing it again. :')

Pros:

Loads of product!
Suitable for all skin type
Refreshing and moisturises skin
Smells good~ not overwhelming

Cons:

No pump - need to shake bottle to get product out

Rating: 9/10

Have you tried any Nature Republic products? ^.^ If so, which ones?
I want to try out the Snail Solution line next :D

August 17, 2015

Schwarzkopf Live Color XXL Hair Dye - Mystic-Violet V87 (On Bleached Hair) Review

Superdrug

It's been agessss since i've last wrote about my hair! >.< As a few people requested me to do so again, I shall with my most recent hair colour (which I will be getting rid of this week lululul and no my hair will not fall off!). I died a little inside before I dyed my hair this colour because I didn't want to get rid of my pastel hair! I needed to dye it darker to get my Identity Card done. Never do I want to dye my hair back black and brown is toooo boring, so opting out for a dark purple seemed like a good choice. Dark enough for my ID, yet still gives me a pop of colour. I didn't take a photo of the box contents this time, as it's your typical usuals - developer, colour cream, after treatment, instruction leaflet and gloves.

Hair Dying Process:

I first mixed the developer and colour cream together to form the dye and then applied it to my hair in sections. The dye is dark so it will stain your hands, be sure to wear the gloves provided or your own! The gloves provided are the really big, it won't cling onto your hands, so it may provide difficulties to people with small hands (actuallyyyyy including my average sized hands too) during application. One box was enough to cover my long, my hair has been thinned out so you may require another hair if you have thick hair. After 30 minutes, I rinsed out the hair dye and applied the after treatment. The after treatment is average, it wasn't bad but it didn't leave my hair noticeably soft either.

Results:

My hair colour before dying it - lilac and pastel pink ombre~ I MISS THIS COLOUR! T___T

After 30 minutes of dying. The colour matches the box perfectly!

The second my hair was dried I loveeeedddd it and couldn't stop staring at it for a few minutes. Got to appreciate the beautiful vivid colour you know! It makes me look more approachable now lolol - some people were intimidated by my pastel pink hair before .___. (sorrryyyyy - trust me i'm actually nice and don't bite! Maybe ^.<) I found Mystic Violet lasted longer than the other colours i've tried from the Live Colour XXL range. The dye made my hair look healthier and shinier so kudos to this dye!