Etude House Membership Card

The haul!

If you're a student studying abroad in Korea, who is also a skin care fanatic like me, get your ARC (alien registration card) ASAP so you can pop into Etude House and set yourself up with an Etude House membership card!

With the Etude House membership card you can take advantage of their random sales.
Etude house sometimes sets up a large 'up to 50% off' poster outside their store, meaning that a majority of their products are on sale. Inside you'll see sections and shelves marked with stickers on them tellng you how much % is being taken off. The 20% and 30% stickers are more frequently seen.

Of course, this discount sale is only available for membership card owners. Visitors without a Korean ID card or ARC unfortunately cannot set  up a membership account.

This membership card is going to be like the Body Shop card for me, fantastic but lethal to my bank account.

Itaewon Skin Food Experience

So I headed down to Itaewon today to try out Wolfhound Irish Pub's fish and chips (I was craving for some and they weren't really worth the 13,900won...), as well as to explore the area when I ended up finding myself chatting to a sales assistant in Skin Food.
I do love it when the sales assistants in Korea can speak in English, you can ask so many questions about skin care products and they can recommend you certain stuff. This has only happened so far in a couple of stores in Myeongdong, the Etude House in Anam, and including this one!

I didn't end up buying anything since I was down to around 15,000won. I was doing a bit of browsing to familiarise myself with what products Skin Food had to offer. I felt bad when I told the sales assistant that I was low on money today and couldn't really afford anything, but I said I will return once I got my Korean bank account sorted!

Andrew Barton Designer Curling Multi Styler Set Review Pt. 2 (Curling Wand)

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.

Korea Summer Haul

Unfortunately the laziness kicked in again and I didn't mange to post new reviews up in time before I left for Korea.
I shall try my best to find time in future to type them up!

Here's a sneak preview of what reviews to expect in the next few weeks ;)

So far I'm loving the Clio Gelpresso liners, Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner, and Nature Republic Aloe Vera Gel (not pictured)!
Yet the Clio eye make up remover and Nature Republic Lemon Cleansing Water (not pictured) is not pleasing me so much...

My wallet continues to weep because this is only 1/4 of what I've bought in total.  

The BWCW collab store is deadly.

New side blog and future posts forecast!

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.

Please check them out: Word Blog | Photo Blog

Also, follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for more updates!

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;;;

Upcoming posts features:

• Dip dying hair (Directions Colour Hair Dye review)
• Andrew Barton Wand review
• 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.

L'oreal Mousse Absolue Review

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

L'oreal's Mousse Absolue: Very Light Frosted Blonde 1021

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! 

New Prettia Colours *SCREAMS*

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.

Prettia Cassis Berry: 1.5 Months Later

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!