Hope you all had an amazing festive holidy and a happy new year (extremely late I know).
Apologies for my absence because, being a final year student and all, I had a load of university work to do so I had little time to really write a detailed blog post. Luckily, since it is the beginning of a new semester, I do have time now to try my best to not only blog but edit videos!
Take note that this 'activeness' will probably only last for a few weeks more before I'm drowned in university deadlines again *groans*
I am going to kick start the first post of 2015 with one of my 2015 goals: darker hair.
No, I really am 22! (ft. spot patch, moustache mask, and Rilakkuma kigurumi bought from Japan)
Late hair dye review post, but I think it's necessary that I tell you all about my lovely experience with John Frieda's Extra Light Ash Blonde foam dye. In short, I love it just as much as Prettia's foam dyes!
John Frieda: Extra Light Ash Blonde 10A. Mini picture on the right is the foam solution.
I bought the box from Boots back in early June 2013 when it was on sale for around £6, and ended up using it in early August before my 1 year-long study abroad adventure in Seoul, South Korea.
I thought I was going to die just hours into my birthday because of this dye's fumes! Yes, I was dying my hair when the clock struck midnight, marking the beginning of my 21-year-old years. I began my 21st by dying my hair with Freshlight's Melty Cherry foam dye.
Originally I wanted to try out Rose Macaron because it was a lighter pink, but unfortunately it appears that Korea does not sell it. I've tried browsing numerous Olive Young and Watson branches in Seoul, before I dyed it and even after dying it, but still I can't find it. I think the Korean market prefers having medium/darker hair colours, and if they really wanted a light colour it would be blonde.
At one point I was searching up other brands' reviews online, one of them being Palty's foam dye. I was deliberating between the Palty's Raspberry Jam and Freshlight, but chose the latter in the end because people online had said that Palty foam tends to fizzle out quickly and you are left dealing with a pile of gloop when you're halfway through application. In Korea, they only sell Beautylabo, Palty, and Freshlight dyes from Japan. Beautylabo had mediocre reviews also. I also ventured into looking at Korean foam dyes, but reviews online were limited and I never heard anything special about Korean foam dyes anyway. Plus, a Korean friend did NOT recommend trying out the Mise en Scene Hello Bubble dyes since they dried out her hair big time.
I was VERY close to selling off my Andrew Barton curling set to fund my study abroad year. But during the Summer, on those days where I stayed inside doing nothing practically dying of boredom, I decided to play around with my AB curling set again before I decided fully on whether I should sell it or not. Thank God I didn't to be honest.
Since I will be studying abroad for a year in South Korea starting from September I've decided to open up another word blog to document my time there! I've also opened up a photo blog on tumblr as well where I will post most of my pictures.
As for this current blog, please stay tuned for a wave of Korea skin care product reviews! After all, South Korea is famous for their skin care and cosmetic products. I have a strong feeling that most of my money is going to go towards skin care for the next year. Well, skin care and food.
I have 4 days left in England before I leave for South Korea on 12th August! Shall try my very best to publish more posts that I've been too lazy to type up during the past week cosHannibalandtheMortalInstrumentserieswoops;;;
John Frieda Extra Light Ash Blonde Foam Dye review
I have also filmed 3 skin care product review videos during the past 2-3 months. I think I'm going to do less product review videos when I'm in Korea, it's just easier to type up a review these days.
I will be reviewing
The Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream (needs editting)
OMG Perfect Gel (almost done editting)
Naruko Oil Out Cleanser, Toner & Serum (needs editting)
All 3 videos will hopefully be uploaded onto my YouTube soon. I'm hoping to edit them all in the next few days on top of everything.
This is what happens when you procrastinate all summer /sigh.
On Sunday evening I decided dye my hair with L'oreal's Mousse Absolue in Very Light Frosted Blonde 1021.
In short, the experience was very disappointing.
After: Mousse Absolue 1021 under dimmed sunlight
Before: faded Prettia Cassis Berry under strong sunlight
After having seen L'oreal's Mousse Absolue hair dye being advertised on the Boots website a week prior at an introductory price of £8.99, I decided to give this a try.
Yes, I gave up the idea of getting Prettia's Rose Tea Brown despite it only being a few pounds more expensive at around £11, which is basically how much Mousse Absolue would retail at starting from mid-April - £10.99.
L'oreal Mousse Absolue is marketed as an 'innovative' re-useable hair dye. I had to visit the main website for a more detailed explanation since Boots wasn't in-depth enough. In sum it's basically foam hair dye in a spray can. Almost like hair spray: you spray on the necessary amount required (obviously enough to cover your hair), clean the nozzle, pop the lid on, and leave it on your bathroom shelf until you need it again for future touch ups.
Very handy and convenient. Far less tedious and time-consuming in comparison to other dyes out there which would require you to squeeze the tube of colour into a developer bottle - I always spend a good minute or two making sure every little bit of colourant comes out.
Looking at the diagrams for the Mousse Absolue, it hold two canisters - a developer and colourant, and mixes the two together within the nozzle once it's pressed. Meaning the developer and colourant is kept separate for future use - no product wasted!
Now that I'm back home from university for Easter break it's time to think about dying my roots! Initially, I was thinking that maybe it's best to save £10 for Korea and try out some British dyes instead, which can be risky since it can leave my hair looking a tad ginger as well as darken it. Not exactly what I want because I really want lighter and brighter hair for Summer.
Pictures taken under natural day light with camcorder set on 'sunny' white balance mode.
Alas, the pinkish/redish tone has been washed away, pretty much disappeared after about 2 weeks, and now I am left with a warm toned brown hair. Maybe I'm a tad bit delusional but I can see a slight tinge of pink here...no? Ok, ignore me.
Friend-with-experience told me that red/pink/purple dyes tends to wash away easily, so I guess this also applies to Prettia.
Now the question is what hair colour do I dye to next? Do I go back to Milk Tea Brown or venture into building a proper Chiffon Beige colour? Or do I give my hair a break and switch to a dark brown and let my natural hair colour finally grow out after 4 years?
Perhaps I should venture into L'oreal's ombre section. I dunno.
Early note that I plan on getting highlights again when I travel across the oceans to Korea later this year. I shall be blonde again! (As long as highlights are cheap over there;;;)
Yup you read that correctly! I got into Korea University for a 1 year exchange!
Pictures taken under natural light, no sun, just clouds, indoors, autocolour on camcorder.
So on Tuesday night I finally broke out of my 3 year long Milk Tea Brown hair for a more darker and red-ish/pink-ish colour: Cassis Berry.
Summer 2012 didn't count ok. The L'oreal Recital Performance dye was just a tinge darker than MTB.
I normally wouldn't go for this colour, but because my mother bought Prettia Cassis Berry from HK in Summer 2010 and realised it doesn't work on ageing white hair - thus leaving it in our home's hair dye box to collect dust, I decided to use this dye box before it expires. Waste not want not!
The colour turned out well. My hair's noticeably darker than before: more red-ish brown than golden yellow brown. I was hoping to get a nice pink tint to my hair but it didn't quite happen, but oh well, I managed to get the colour that many had sought for a few years ago thanks to Cheryl Cole.
Under warm yellow-ish lights the hair tends to look a bit red-er. In the above picture it looks more brown.
I was worried that the colour would come out patchy since I didn't actually massage it properly into my hair. I also planned on dying my brows to this colour as well as an experiment, but alas, I forgot. I only remembered to do day exactly 24 hours after I finished dying my hair. There was still some product left in the bottle after the dye job!!
Yesterday I finally gave into Andrew Barton's Designer Curling Multi Styler Set after spending weeks eyeing on it on the Argos website.
Initially I was immensely put off by the hot pink and diamante on the tongs, but seeing that most of the reviews on the Argos website was positive and that it was on 'sale' for £23.99 I decided to give them a try. Besides, it's not like I'll be lugging them around in public or anything, it doesn't represent me in any way, it's just a hair tool.
I've noticed that in my previous post on my hair colour update on January 2012 I didn't include images of my hair in cloudy natural light. I only gave images of my hair under artificial light and a warm toned natural light. Cannot neglect that cool toned natural light either! After all, some of you guys might be living in dreary cloudy Britain too!
Despite this picture NOT being taken a few days fresh after the dye job I can safely say that my hair colour has not changed drastically after these 2 months - by this I mean that I haven't noticed any changes in colour vibrancy and all looks well. Personally I'm not too picky whether my hair colour has dulled slightly or not, just as long as the colour's still there and it satisfies me still.
Take note that I have been taking care of it by using TRESemme's Colour Thrive Brunette shampoo and conditioner every other day. Not that I'm saying that this is the best shampoo and conditioner to use, but it's cheap and does the job. Better to be safe than sorry.
Once again I'm using Prettia hair dye simply because it gives me the result that I desire, it's easy to use, and it doesn't make my hair fall out as much. I left it on for over an hour (between 1 hour - 1 hour and 30 mins probably). Started and focused on the roots first then applied the rest of the dye throughout my entire hair.
This time I didn't massage as much as I did last time...
So I heard PALTY DOES FOAM HAIR DYE NOW!FUCK YEAH!
I don't need KARA to advertise it for me. The very nature and brand itself is enough to make me want it. Heck, KARA can't ever try selling me PALTY, it's futile when you have a super gorgeous model like Tsubasa Masuwaka in it. HECK! YOU CAN JUST PUT UP AN IMAGE OF THE BOX WITH TSUBASA'S FACE ON IT WITH THE HAIR COLOUR AS THE AD AND I WOULD HEAD STRAIGHT OFF TO BUY IT!
Previously I didn't want to go back to Palty that much simply because of it's thick cream formula, which I had issues with whenever I try to scrape the rest out of the bottle, and the comb that pulls out chunks of my hair. However, the results were just amazing! So I ended up moving onto Prettia because it appears easier to use and it was all the rage at that time for being the first popular foam dye in Japan. Fortunately it didn't make me lose as much hair and was super duper easy to use! However, the results weren't as strong and amazing as Palty's...
But now, PALTY DOES FOAM! So now I'm hoping that the dye would be just as strong as it is in cream formula. Otherwise I'll just dye my hair dark brown and wait for my hair to revert itself back to black.
Sadly I have yet to find any seller online, even on eBay, who sells it ;[
The 10 colours available are:
Milk Tea Brown (DEFO GETTING)
Mountain Strawberry Jam
Creamy Caramel
Caramel Sauce
Dark Ganache
Custard Beige
Honey Macaroon
Macaroon Brown
Cinnamon Churros
EDIT Oh nevermind! I has found a pre-order from a random seller on the net complete with pics of the colours 8D ...Not that I'll definitely buy from there.
...Not really. It's just a similar hair cut, with layers. Just not as styled as before. My usual hairdresser took a day off today ; ^ ; Hence why it's not styled... Got this new hairdresser to do it for me, it's not bad. Tis okay. I regretted not taking the reference pic with me...how the heck was I meant to know that my hairdresser wasn't there today? Hours after I come back to Ipswich, in my auntie's house, I flip through my phone pics. And guess what I find? The hair style reference pics that I used for my previous cut...
FFUUUU!!!!
But whatevs. It still looks nice. Just that I need to style it. Things are gonna go horribly wrong after I wash it on Thursday;;; I'm sure I can style back to Jap style! Reminds me, I need to get curling tongs soon... *is getting fed up of using rollers all the time*
Oh this also reminds me to make a hair tutorial on creating fluffy hair without teasing or using straighteners...
SO MUCH TO DO!
Oh and and. Encase you guys don't know yet... BIG BANG SHOW SHIRTS ARE COMING TO UNIQLO UK ONLINE ON MONDAY 28TH FEBRUARY AT 6AM! Check out the site here! Look up for more updates and info on their FB. Dunno whether to get 2 shirts or 2 shirts and a hoodie or 1 shirt and a hoodie...;;; Argh too difficult to choose what shirt or hoodie to get. I'm torn between the blue and purple hoodie... Shirts are just as worse. *wants 4/5 of the designs*
Who else is excited for Big Bang's comeback single tomorrow?! I DIED AT TOP'S TEASER TODAY. OMFG ♥ ♥ ♥ !!!
Julie can now tie a small hair bun at the top of her head *claps* Never done this properly before in my life! My hair was always too thin and short to even stay up ; A ; ...Then again this bun here doesn't look particularly nice, simply because my hair is still quite layered...but I like layers... When will I get my perfect bun? ; A ; Random voice: NEVAR!
In other news my half term started! Woop! Gonna spend it updating my fanfic, which hasn't been updated in like 2 months haha;;; and do some homework for school...fun.
Oh and I made a cameo in Dream High episode 13...
*fangirls over WooYoung saying my name in his adorable Kongrish*
...PILSOOK-AHH MIANHAE FOR GETTING IN BETWEEN YOU AND JASON ; A ; I'M STILL SHIPPIN' YOU BOTH!
I attempted to try out UG's backcomb in a bottle today...It was fail. Didn't poof my hair at all. Maybe my hair is too Asian straight/flat for this product that was most likely tested on cuacasians only. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic and need to Google on whatever the fuck "jujj" means... Oh Umberto Giannini. Why must you use words that I don't understand and slap it on the directions section of the bottle? Honestly. Jujj is a verb? Is jujj even a word?!
BRB while I go hunt down some How To videos on YT.
Ever since Summer 2010 during my holiday in Hong Kong and Vietnam I have become infatuated with jewellery. However, this was short lived as only Asian markets had the ability to sell cheap and pretty jewellery.
My collection of necklaces, bracelets and earrings are growing slowly with every passing week... (The picture on the left is my current collection of necklaces, hanging on this towel hanger that I hanged on on hook on top of this unused wardrobe door. I swear one day that the towel hanger's rope would snap from the heaviness of the necklaces.
However, I am planning to stop my impulse from now on...
A majority of my jewellery originated from the past, way back before I even went to HK and VN, but I don't wear them that much these days...my tastes have changed.
To be honest I don't really know why I buy so much jewellery...I hardly wear jewellery because in the morning I'm too zombie-fied to even thinking about accessorising myself, the only thing that matters to my in the morning is skincare, hair and clothes. That's it.
But when 26th December 2010 arrived, Boxing Day, my infatuation returned... I stepped into New Look, not particularly looking for something specific, just browsing. None of the clothes really appealed to me. I originally planned to take buy myself a new pair of skinny jeans since I loved my black ones so much, but it was difficult finding £10 blue skinny jeans in size 12 or 14. It seemed that every woman sized 12 or 14 in Ipswich dug out all the good stuff earlier in the morning. It was probably 3pm when I managed to actually get into town. I absent mindedly walked into the jewellery section to find some necklaces and bracelets priced £1! I was rummaging through the racks by the time I saw the discounted price tag. Eventually bought 2 necklaces and 2 bracelets, sadly the bracelets were onesize and I had trouble fitting them onto my wrists. Last week, I believe, I popped into Dorothy Perkins to check up on the January sales - I love DP when they have sales. Again sadly I couldn't find anything that I liked, so yet again I popped into the jewellery section and found 2 bracelets that I absolutely adored!
On Tuesday I passed Claire's Accessories' 10 for £10 banner in red and white, and so, without another thought, I quickly made my way in to find a vast of amount of jewellery before my eyes. At first I was reluctant, remembering that I have to save money for food when I go to University later this year...but thinking about it again this sort of an offer doesn't occur very often, plus it's near the end of January sales...why not? £1 per item? Hell yeah! Got 2 necklaces and 2 bracelets for myself. 2 scene/lolita fingerless gloves and 2 bracelets for my friends. And 1 or 2 necklaces that is/are going to my cousin in Vietnam. Joo was a happy Joo on Tuesday. Today I visited Boots and bought myself Umberto Giannini's Backcomb in a Bottle and Grunge Glamour Tousled Salt Spray. 2 items from selected items in the UG line for £7! Usually the bottles are about £5 each! £3 saved! I was tempted to buy these two bottles since last week anyway since a certain beauty vlogger/blogger mentioned about the Backcomb in a Bottle, which she didn't like very much despite all the hype. Hype or no hype, I would love to try anything that would give me volume! Also done some research last thing last night on the Salt Spray and what texture it gives to the hair. I liked what I saw on Google images and so decided to buy that as the second item, otherwise I would've picked the dry shampoo since I ran out of Batiste. Anyway I can't wait to try these out~ Nowadays I visit this Boots a lot since it's in the mini shopping center where the town's bus station is situated, so I tend to go in and browse the make up and skincare sections for offers and such whenever I have at least 10 minutes to spare before my bus for home arrives.
Yes I have successfully trimmed my bangs/fringe! After spending 5 minutes arguing with mother that I simply just can't cut it in the bathroom - since it would involved me having to hold a basin with one hand and scissors in the other, I managed to set up my cutting area in front of the window in the living room - with newspaper laid out and a mirror on top. It was difficult. I disliked it when the small strands of hair started to gather and stick to my nose. When I moved onto the sides it started sticking to my eye area, even got a few strands in my eye! Gah! Going to to have to develop my techniques, today was just fail. Duration of cut: 30 minutes. They don't look PERFECT but they'll have to do. Won't be long before I start trimming it again. Oh and ignore the eye bags/dark circles. I've had them for like over 10 years now.
Secret Garden has ended earlier today in S.K... I just finished episode 19 and glanced at a couple of episode 20 screen caps...as well as video clips...on YouTube. Yeah I'm terrible. BUT OMFGGGGGGG EPISODE 20. I NEED IT LIEK NAO!!! ASDFJKL; Yes I shedded a tear again at the last scene in episode 19! Freaking deaths ; - ; Aish that father! ; - ; ♥ Thinking about it, episode 19 didn't really...contain much. It felt like the episode has been dragged and moved at such a slow pace...not that I'm complaining, it feels like there was a lack of new information...just a couple of new pieces that had been overly elaborated. BTW I loved the date scene between Oska and Seul. I would actually love to see that sort of thing happen in real life one day, in Korea...maybe an idol and another idol...Meh doesn't matter. May be even more romantic if it was an idol and some...commoner.
Anyhoo, I'm off to do some English Language homework now. Not that I want to do it...I should've done it on Friday during my free period...I was too busy going around The Student Room instead...reading weird and wonderful threads with my friend. TSR is a great time killer in school. ...Anyway...onto reading about babies now.
After spilling the contents of the Prettia foam hair dye box all all over the floor, grabbing the English instructions and skimming through it I realised I needed to perform a skin test. Why? Because I had eczema recently = skin change. Now if I didn't have eczema I would've gone straight to dying and have beautifully coloured hair now - never had any issues with hair dyes. Oh well. Better to be safe than sorry. I really don't like the thought of getting an allergic reaction where eczema would infest my face. I already couldn't stand the look-a-like-badly-applied-24/7-red-eyeshadow patches that had sat on my eyelids for 2 weeks. I was amazed when the solution started to foam on the skin of my arm, even more amazed than when I found the piece of card provided in the Prettia box that would allow you to mix the solution! Can't wait to use this dye tomorrow...yes tomorrow. I don't want to wait...or maybe I should because of my eczema...meh, we'll see if I'm in a lazy mood or not tomorrow. Watched Secret Garden episode 13 English subbed with a friend today. Really want to watch 14 now, although I already have a rough idea what would happen in the next episode - I have a thing for hunting down unsubbed raws and spoiling myself out of impatience. I personally dislike how RaIm's hair is pulled back into a tight bun in the last scene.
