It's Skin: Cookie & Hand Cream Mint Review

So, the It's Skin Cookie & Hand Cream, perhaps my most favourite hand cream to date. Mostly because of its delicious scent. It's just so damn delicious smelling that I want to take a lick of it. But I shall hold back, because from a foolish past experience, where I took a lick of the Skin Food Black Sugar Mask, I realised that no, skincare products will never taste nice - unless you mix up your own facial mask concoction. If only...

'The Standing Desk' (+Downsides)

In hopes to lead a healthier lifestyle in 2015, I had gone and bought myself a laptop stand off eBay for £9.99 that can elevate the laptop from a desk so that I can use it whilst standing. Because standing is said to be a lot more healthier than sitting for it reduces the chances of heart problems in future, and ever since I came back from Korea it felt weird and uncomfortable for me to remain stationary and sitting for long hours on a daily basis.

My work space.

However, this particular structure (and possible many others) comes with a couple of setbacks that I believe everyone should be aware about.

A/W 2014: Evening Skincare Routine (Mini Reviews)

A continuation of of my A/W 2014 Morning Skincare Routine post!

My evening routine tends to be longer than my morning, which is a given since I need to remove my make up. It can be even longer if I plan to use masks.

The evening arsenal.

A/W 2014: Morning Skincare Routine (Mini Reviews)

You'll probably be surprised to see that my skincare routine doesn't comprise mostly of Korean products! This is mostly because I decided to swap stuff around for university, and plus most of my newly bought Korean products just arrived back home from Korea.
My night routine will feature more Korean products, so stay tuned for that!

Products will be listed in order of application.

CLIO Lipnicure in #3 Crime Pink Review

CLIO Lipnicure #3 Crime Pink

Up until now I never had a bad lip product experience. That's right, CLIO's Lipnicure disappointed me a lot.

During Autumn, CLIO released a line of lip laquers titled 'Lipnicure'. The packaging looked sexy, and so did the colour range. The price was not so sexy, retailing at 16,000₩ (almost £10). 
Not knowing much Korean, I guessed that its selling points were that it offered vivid matte results and long lasting colour. 

Clio Gelpresso Pencil Gel Liner Review

During my first few weeks in Seoul, I passed a small Clio store whilst shopping around in Myeongdong. On that day, I didn't take my 'Korean cosmetics shopping list' with me, but I did vividly recall wanting to try out the Gelpresso liners after reading numerous positive reviews of it online. So I went straight in and headed for the eyeliner section.

The staff there didn't know much English. So when I asked one of the female assistants if they sold any non-glitter/shimmer ones she had no idea what I was talking about. My friend helped out by saying "Bling Bling" and that was then that they understood! I should of said matte because then one of the male sales assistants proceeded to loudly say "MAT-TAY! MAT-TAY!". The female SA then started plucking out all the brightly coloured matte pencils and started making swatches on my hand. Unfortunately, there were no matte black liners available in the Gelpresso line, only Golden Black which was a black liner with gold shimmers.

CLIO Gelpresso Mini Liners in Beige Shine, Golden Khaki, Star Purple, Dark Choco, and Golden Black

John Frieda Precision Foam Colour: Extra Light Ash Blonde 10A Review

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.

Freshlight Hair Dye: Melty Cherry Review

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.

CLIO Waterproof Pencil Liner in Killer Black Review

Hope you all had a great new years! *laughs nervously*

So I may have accidentally abandonned this blog for a long while since my last post in early October. This is because I wanted to focus on updating my Korea blog more as well as be able to balance a social life and uni work. I know, I actually have a social life in Korea *le gasp*
But now that it's Winter break, and a majority of my newly made friends have now left me forever since they only came to study for one semester (*cries*), I now have time to update you guys on my latest experiences with Korean cosmetics! Huzzah!

So let's start off with a product that I have a love-hate relationship with. The CLIO Waterproof Pencil Liner in Killer Black!

CLIO Waterproof Pencil Liner in Killer Black. The black end of the pencil is the sharpener.

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.

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

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!

Winter Hair: Prettia Cassis Berry

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!!

Rooftop Prince & The King 2 Hearts Finale, I Do I Do, and Queen InHyun's Man.

I'm on a K-drama roll this year. Really. I haven't seen this many dramas consecutively in ages.

I'm writing this entry within the comfort of my own room, back home, in Ipswich. Yes I just finished my first year of university, it feels so damn surreal. Feels just like yesterday when I spazzed about moving into Leeds with my friend to start my university life. And here I am now, trying to comprehend how fast time has gone by...

Anyway, back to the main topic of this entry. I shall be talking about 'Rooftop Prince' and 'The King 2 Hearts' finale - spoilers ahead, thoughts on the first two episodes of 'I Do I Do', and 14 episodes of 'Queen InHyun's Man' - I have a lot to say about this drama mainly due to Ji HyunWoo.

Right now, where to begin?

Andrew Barton Designer Curling Multi Styler Set Review Pt. 1

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.

'The King 2 Hearts' and 'Rooftop Prince'

The King 2 Hearts
And so with the demise of 'The Moon That Embraces The Sun' 2 weeks ago I was left feeling lost and saddened upon the fact that I would be unable to see Hwon (Kim SooHyun) and YangMyung (Jung IlWoo) on my laptop screen again. I will dearly miss them.
Especially the eunuch with a Chopper-like grin, HyungSun. The comic relief and pistachio to the drama.

However, it's sucessor, 'The King 2 Hearts' (however it is spelt), having been featured on EpDrama's video player countless times before I viewed the last few episodes of TMTETS caught my interest, for it had appeared that Ha JiWon and Lee SeungGi (I thought it was Song JoongKi at first because of the angle) would be playing the lead roles.
BAM.
Instant interest.
Having loved Ha JiWon from 'Secret Garden' and Lee SeungGi in 'My Girlfriend is a Gumiho' I was intrigued as to how this pairing will fare in a drama. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a HyunBin and JiWon shipper after 'Secret Garden', hah.

MY FEELS: TMTETS Episode 20

And so, the finale aired on Thursday night in Korea, peaking pretty much at 52% (rounded number) viewership which could pretty much reflect its success and popularity.
In reality this is partial, merely because it is the final episode where the rebellion took place, countless deaths occurred and we get to see Hwon and YeonWoo together at long last.
Events that would grab any viewers attention, not necessarily in a good way.

MY FEELS: The Moon That Embraces The Sun

I'll keep this nice and brief.

'The Moon That Embraces The Sun', starring Kim SooHyun, Han GaIn and Jun IlWoo, has potential to become drama of the year. I'm not even exaggerating. Look at its ratings and popularity!

As promised...

In correspondence to this video:



Updates (pics) on my re-dyed hair!

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...

UG Backcomb In A Bottle, Fail?

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.