Hair Horns Tutoral

Sorry it's messy, I can't help my layers!!
Deffo recommended for One layer hair if you want to do all of your
hair like this, otherwise, use the top layer for a half-up do.

I will be back on sunday! Also AV tutorials soon as long as my eyelashes
arrive!
xoxo

Permanent Straightening

Heya all!

So as some of you may know, I am getting Extensions next week!

In order for this all to go to plan and look awesome, I have had

my hair permanently straightened!

I went to Stage One salon in Brighton yesterday afternoon & 

had it done by one of their lovely senior stylists. 

The salon is really cute and modern, themed after a dressing room

as it is situated next door to the Backstage doors of the 'Theatre Royal'

in Brighton.

The process took 2 & 1/2 hours with a blowdry and head massage

and I can tell you it was well worth it. It's now just past the 24th hour

and It's pretty damned straight! I can't wait for tomorrow evening 

to wash it and put on a hair mask to make my roots less frazzled :S

Haha - sorry I don't look my best - Just in my Ma*rs PJs lounging in bed!

The main bulk of my hair is still extremely soft, just the roots where I 

recently bleached them feel like Shredded Wheat.... :'D 

Been through the rain today with an umbrella and hat, I dont think any got on 

my hair but I blow-dried it a little anyway when I got home.

Also received my NYX Candy Glitter Liner in the post today!

(not my photo - mine was rubbish!!)

It's a lot more watery than I expected, but wow it dries quickly

and leaves a good amount of glitter on your eyelid so I am pleased!

Bit of a shite picture but you can see it at least! ^^;;

I will be doing a Makeup tutorial finally this Saturday or Sunday

as I am getting tanned Friday night again! WOOOO. 

I don't like being pasty any more ;___;

For the tutorials, I am focusing on more "Extreme" styles,

If there are any AV Actresses/models/Shop-staff you want

to see tutorials of - ↓↓please suggest in comments below!!↓↓

AV Gyaru @ MCM Expo?!

Hey readers,

I got my weekend coverage for you with a good few shots!

So as I may have mentioned, I was working all of Expo this

past weekend for TokyoBookstore.com .

I was to be their "booth girl" as always :P

So on Friday morning, I got up super-early and after making sure

my new tan was okay, and curling my hair - I caught the train to London.

Friday I dressed like an AV Nurse! I saw a couple DVDs and really wanted

to use my MA*RS stuff and go OTT on it.

my result:

This was "my" half of the stalls, selling all the sex toys, badges and manning the Raffle.

(Looking at that picture of Moka - I really wish I had her boobs...)

I also ended up in this outfit on Sunday, but It didn't look as great :(

The Friday was pretty quiet for a convention, so that's why there were lots of photos taken.

Saturday was waaaaaaay busy though. I wore something a little more practical but still sexy.

I had seen these pictures

And found that someone was selling the same tutuHA top - so I jumped that sale and bought it.

Alex had ripped and distressed a pair of shorts I bought & lent me his gold Diavlo belt,

which was very nice of him,

and then I wore it with these huge-ass platforms that eventually just hurt. haha!

myself with my other lovely friend named Alex,

With Steve as Rinzler (lol I gave up on wearing shoes at this point!)

lastly, just a mirror-shot in our hotel.

Over-all, it was a really fun, but super-tiring event to work at this time round.

I am really glad my work everyday at the gym had started to pay off, so I am

happy with these pictures now <3

Still looking to be my perfect measurements by Xmas of:

84-58-88cm so not really that long to go. I'm not going by weight this time,

as some muscle is a good thing. As long as I don't end up looking like

a right Powerhouse.

Two things I've learnt with this dark tan, is that I shouldn't highlight my nose,

as it looks huge! and the other being that my eyebrow powder wasn't dark enough LOL.

Tell me what you girlies & guys think, and I will improve as much as I can.

The Nicky Clarke Experience + Haul :)

I have a love-hate relationship with going to get my haircut - I love it because it's another aspect of pampering yourself, but I hate it because 1) I never know what I want and 2) even if I do, mostly like than not it wont turn out the way I want.

Could it be because I just go to local salons, and never really make the effort to ride on reputation or go to more 'style'-oriented salons? Maybe. So I took a shot, and booked myself an appointment at the Nicky Clarke salon on Mount Street in Mayfair (for those of you with NUS cards gets 40% off which ends up about £39 for a cut and blow dry!).

My expectations were somewhat shaped by a review I read earlier - a snotty, charge-for-everything atmosphere. I was both wrong and right.

Making an appointment raised my hopes, as the guy on the other end was very nice, and I recognised his voice when I spoke to the receptionist when I got there. But there was another bloke at the counter who was a snotty, stuck-up *bleep*. He shook his head, smirking at customers, and was just generally rude.

Now I got there 10min before my appointment, but ended up waiting about 10min after my appointment as well, in which time 2 others had been collected by other stylists. I was offered a coffee or a tea, but had been told earlier that Nicky Clarke charges for drinks, so I refused. Whether it was because my stylist had another client on (which she did, and I did hear the receptionist ring up to tell her) or what - I have no idea but it was starting to take the piss.

Taken from LDS.

However, when Theony, my stylist, eventually did come she was absolutely great! (Beforehand I was sent to the cloakroom, where you can leave your coat and get the fashionable cloak on :P I did notice a tip jar, but wasn't quite sure if I was prepared to or not.)

Anyway, Theony knew what she was talking about, and I could tell because despite my incredibly layered and thinned out hair, she could tell that I originally have very thick hair. I told her I wanted some volume and fat hair and she talked me through what was "wrong" with the style I had now, and how I can change it.

I got my hair washed by a different guy, and he was friendly enough. After shampoo-ing I got asked if I wanted conditioner - I've NEVER been asked that! Anyway, I refused in fear of being charged like an extra tenner (although I'm not sure if they do lol).

During my haircut Theony gave me tips about how to take care of my hair, and accommodated it to what I asked for - low maintenance and low budget. She was an absolute delight!

So after my haircut I went back to the cloakroom to get my cloak off, and to get the hair dusted off me, which to be honest didn't help that much. For a professional salon I must say it was quite poor. I do realise I should've tipped as I'm guessing these girls don't get paid too much, but if I'm honest - the girl put a gown on me, took it off, and brushed away hairs.. maybe if I wasn't a student I would have.

Anyway, when I went to pay, they didn't ask me if I had any drinks so maybe they don't charge anymore - but they also didn't even bother asking for my NUS card, so they were quite relaxed in that sense. Or I just screamed, "STUDENT!" :P

ANYWAY! Here is the result :)

I know, it's so short! But Theony had told me that my hair was much too layered to have the natural thickness, and also that my ends were relatively damaged so she said she would cut about 2 inches off. After she had done that, she also said that it would be better if she could cut a bit more off but that it would be okay if I'd come back in 3 weeks and had it done then - but I can't afford £80 over 3 weeks! So I asked her to do it then and there :P

So hopefully now my hair will become thicker and more voluminous after it grows out :) On the way back, I bought a hair mask from Herbal Essences which I had read in Glamour was good, as well as a round volume brush from TRESemme, to add some life into my roots and ends.

Those weren't the only things I bought then, but the other thing can wait for another time :)

Overall, I'm glad I didn't walk into Nicky Clarke with a naive attitude to the place - I got what I expected, but I also got some good tips that I'd never gotten from a stylist before. I do feel my hair is more like what I want it to be, and I would consider going back early next year for another trim (Theony was never pushy about me coming back to her which I liked) because I genuinely think I got my money's worth.

The most surprising thing I learnt today? Don't apply masks or oil treatments every time you wash your hair! I was my hair once every 2 days, and she said that I should be applying the oil once every 4 days and a hair mask once a week. Why? Because it can actually make your ends TOO soft and therefore become prone to breakage - WHAAAAT? I was surprised, but I might be the only one :P

Have you ever been to these "big" salons?

What's the strangest/most surprising hair tip you've gotten?

If anyone has any recommendations for hair salons in central London (which are affordable :P) I'd love to know! :)

<3yu

P.S. I'll be at TOWIB tomorrow - will you? I'm so excited to meet everyone! :) See you there!

Straight Perm and late-night update

Sorry to harass your feeds again, 

but I just wanted to do a little outfit post

and a picture of my straight perm. As I just realised I haven't posted

pictures of myself yet in a post!

Suppin~! But it's pretty straight, no? 

Sorry I look like a Child without makeup on XD

My warm, casual outfit for yesterday~!

Socks and Cardigan bought by My Alex

Silly Face!! Some light makeup in an adapted "Himena Osaki"- style.

A strange photo, but never mind :'D 

Just am keeping on praying that my hair will stay straight in humid Tokyo!

Review: Matrix Biolage Fortetherapie Conditioner

So I'm back to reviewing products, as I've been finishing and using lots of products that I've hoarded over time :) One of my favourites has been this conditioner from Matrix, the Biolage Fortetherapie Strengthening Conditioner.

It comes in a 250mL tube, and sells for about £8.75 in salons, and £8.10 at CheapSmells. As far as I'm aware, it's not available in drugstores.

Just as a starting point, my hair is super damaged. It's permed, coloured and it's quite long, and it has a tendency to tangle at the nape of my neck. It's as damaged as it can be without bleaching it really! So if it works on me - it's good stuff.

First things first, I'll admit that the lid is a bit hard to open, especially with wet hands. That being said, the rest of the packaging's great and I have no complaints.

The formula is gorgeous! It's very light, and almost like a gel consistency. It's white and smells kind of like coconut, but not as strong - it's mixed with something that waters down that thickness of a coconut scent. It's a very natural smell though, and I personally don't find it offensive at all.

The way I use this, is that I wash my hair with my shampoo (which isn't from Matrix actually!) and then apply a generous amount of this all over my hair and then tie it up with a hairtie. I then leave it in while I do the rest of my showering business and wash it out in the end.

And oh. my. god, my hair feels like SILK when I wash it out. It's not that heavy, creamy kind of moisturized but it's that clean, light, soft kind of moisturized. It also leaves a really natural gloss, and leaves my hair really healthy-feeling and bouncy - full of life! (Queue cheese). In fact, it's better than any drugstore mask I've tried.

I also don't find the split ends coming back as quickly after I got my hair cut - I really do feel like my hair is strengthened! Also, I shed a lot less using this conditioner. This has changed my hair completely, and has actually made me believe that hair products actually do something and can make a difference! :)

Now I know that £8.10 can seem a lot to spend on a tube that is going to run out in a few months, but I got a tip from a hairdresser, who told me that it's a myth that your conditioner and shampoo have to match. She said that she always buys cheapo shampoo and invests in a really good conditioner. I took her advice, and have not regretted it - I mean, shampoo's just meant to wash your hair right? Why spend fortunes on that? It makes this £8.10 seem a lot more feasible and a lot more efficiently used if you know what I mean :)

For those of you who have sensitive scalps etc., I have no idea about ingredients, so I've taken a picture here so you can double check :) (Although Matrix do a range for those with sensitive scalps!)

 

If you don't have weak hair as a problem, Matrix actually has quite a wide range of products for different issues with hair. You can check them out here. They have stuff for troubled scalp, for dry hair, for coloured hair, for sensitive hair, and for volume. Impressive range ey, I was a bit surprised lol. I'd love to try the Hydratherapie some time actually!

I'm pretty sure I'll be repurchasing this, as I don't have anything else I want to try or think will do a better job than this at the moment. I used to want to try Redken stuff, but honestly I can't imagine myself being more satisfied with a conditioner, and I'm just a bit wary about the pricing of Redken and I much prefer the calmer looking packaging of Matrix. I give this a 10/10!

Have you tried any Matrix products? What hair products do you swear by? :)

<3yu

I'm On A Haircare Kick!

A week ago I got my hair cut for the first time in a while, and I had lots of layers put in to boost my volume and to get rid of my insanely dry ends. Determined to make a new start and really take care of my hair, I've invested in some products I usually wouldn't have, and have stuck to this routine to keep my hair soft, bouncy, moisturized and shiny.

Here are the products I use:

Tresemme Luxurious Moisture Shampoo

I bought this after reading Roseanne's post, because her hair ALWAYS looks so nice, shiny and smooth. It was on offer at Boots so I snatched it up, and so far I love it except for the fact that at 900mL it's so heavy and I feel like it'll slip in my hands and hit my toes in the shower :P It's usually about £5.50 I think!

Matrix Biolage Fortetherapie Strengthening Conditioner

I was told by a hair dresser a month or so ago that it's better to invest in a high-end conditioner, and that it's a myth that your shampoo must match your conditioner. She said that she buys cheapo shampoos, but always buys good quality conditioner. I took her advice - have NOT looked back. This conditioner is simply amazing. Left in for a couple of minutes, it works MIRACLES - definitely deserves more attention in the beauty community! I work this into my hair with a wide toothed comb. Cheapsmells stocks the conditioner for about £8.10 :)

Umberto Giannini Mask

I bought this after reading through many hair mask tubs in Boots, and after trying it once I can feel a big difference in how soft my hair is, in addition to what the rest of the products had been doing until I used this. I got this for about £5.60, Leanne has a proper review on it here.

Asience Hair Treatment Oil

This was bought in Japan, and I'm almost tempted to ask my Mom to buy me another bottle and bring it over when she visits. It works so well in damp hair, and helps to keep my ends very soft.

Now it's hard to distinguish whether one product among the 4 is doing all the work, or if the 4 combined are a match made in heaven, but either way it's working. My hair is bouncy, smooth, supple, untangled and softer than it's ever been. I LOVE running my fingers through my hair, I can only describe it as finally feeling some life in my hair! :P The bounciness is addictive!

I'm almost out of my hair oil, and am thinking of switching to Lee Stafford's Arganoil - has anyone tried that or have any other suggestions? :)

What are your hair miracle products/routine? :)

<3yu

Review: Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo & Conditioner

I bought these about 2 months ago when they were on offer from Superdrug, and I'd never tried any Aussie stuff before (except for the hairspray) primarily for the price, so it was a good opportunity for me to try them out. I've used them up now, so here's what I think about them :)

The first thing I love about these is that the conditioner is smaller. I always, without fail, have conditioner left over so this was a major plus in my books. The packaging itself is good, and you can take off the purple bit to get the last drops at the end which was useful. But as you can see, the ink on the shampoo melted when I was in the shower so I had a few times where I got out of the shower and I had little purple letters on my fingers.. lol not nice. However, the opening is easy to use even with wet hands, and the look of them is super cute and unique :)

The formulas are very very light compared to other shampoos and conditioners. The conditioner especially is like somewhere between a cream and gel. They are both very hard to spread and literally sits where you put them, so you really have to use a lot to cover your hair, which isn't great considering you don't get a lot of product in the first place and it's not the cheapest of drugstore brands. But the 2 did last me for 2 months which was a good amount of time before I felt I wanted to try something else.

Despite all this, the actual results were pretty good. Considering the fact that I have permed and dyed hair, the 2 kept my hair healthy - I wouldn't go so far as to say moisturized, because unless I used a hair oil afterwards my hair would tangle quite badly, and they didn't feel extra soft or supple. I did feel that they made my hair a lot lighter which was a relief. However, I also felt that the conditioner doesn't do too much unless you leave it in for a couple of minutes, so I always tied my hair up after I applied it, and washed my body before I washed it all out.

So all in all, they were a bit tedious, but at the same time, the results were satisfactory. It might be better for people who have "kind of" dry hair, because I have really dry hair. I'd probably rate the two at about 6.5/10, and I would repurchase if they were on offer, but otherwise I'm still on the lookout for the HG shampoo/conditioner :)

Have you tried any of the Aussie haircare range? Which ones are your fave?

<3yu

Major Hair Dye Fail! :(

Unless this is the first post you are reading by me, you know that I had reddish dark brown hair with highlights at the bottom. Now the only issue I had with this was that the bright highlights were really accentuating my dryness and frizziness, so I decided to go for an all over light-ish pink-based dark brown and hope my highlights would still peep through as it was way lighter than my other hairs.. I used L'Oreal Sublime Mousse in 40 Pure Dark Brown that looks like this:

Total fail by the way, if you couldn't tell by the title.

I ended up with pretty much my natural hair colour, which is black with a tint of brown:

Like, how does that even happen?

Okay I know there's the rule of going for a lighter colour when choosing, but I'm not sure if it was a really bad image on their part or if I should've known better. Here are the things I thought about the image on the box:

1) It's definitely more than a shade lighter than what I ended up with.
2) It's a very milky brown.. mine's reddish, in bright bright BRIGHT sunlight.
3) The swatches made it look like even dark hair people will end up with a bit lighter brown as on the box.

The thing that bothers me the most is not how I look, as it's my natural hair colour and I like the fact that I can wear darker eye make-up without looking overboard. It's the fact that it's spring, and I now have dark hair colour, and my highlights are gone.

I'm hoping for the colour to keep washing off in the next couple of weeks, but until then, does anyone know any miracle cure? Maybe an at-home way of highlighting?

I'm so pooped :(

<3yu

Picking Up Some Essentials..

I've been running out on many things - moisturizers, deodorants etc., so it was about time I plopped myself on a bus to town to pick up some necessities.

L to R: BOTANICS Instant Glow Tinted Moisturizer, Night Shift Moisture Cream, Day Shift Moisture Cream

I was in dire need of a day and night moisturizer so I went to Boots to take a look. Botanics won me over with their good reputation for the make-up remover and the 3 for 2 offer. So I picked up these 3. I LOVE the jars, they are visually pleasing, sturdy, and I wont have to cut up tubes to use up every last drop! They all smell very light, subtle and fresh so I'm very excited to try them out :)

I picked the tinted moisturizer just because it's something I've never had and the rest of the Botanics range were things I have from another brand :)

Tinted moisturizer: £4.59, both creams: £5.10 = £10.20 for the 3 :) Available at Boots.

I also went in wanting to try a new Aussie product, because I have fallen in LOVE with their shampoo & conditioner. Again on offer in Boots, you can get 2 Aussie products (from shampoo, conditioner or 2-in-1 products) for £6. I didn't have anything else I needed so I got this for £4.69. However, if you are wanting a shampoo & conditioner, pop over to Superdrug instead cuz they have a £1 off each which actually works out cheaper :)

On the right is Sally Hansen's Cuticle Massage Cream with Apricot Oil. This was £4.07, and hopefully will cure me of my eternally dry cuticles and nail beds. They are a nightmare, and I often have bandaids on my fingers because they hurt :( So hopefully this will work, because Sally Hansen has an amaaaazing reputation!

This is my HG deodorant, if there is such a thing. These are from Bodyshop, and the one on the left is the actual casing that you can get for £4 - obvs comes with 1 cartridge. The one pictured is the roll-on one, but there is also a stick one too. I'll do a more in-depth review on these, but I bought myself the cartridge that's on the right today for £3 - very eco-friendly and cost-effective. Amazing quality, let's put it that way for now :).

Other than that, I was VERY disappointed by the local H&M, as everything I had hoped to buy online was not in the store. I walked out with yoga pants, a V-neck white t-shirt, and a dust roller. Not too exciting, but these yoga pants are so comfortable.. *wiggles in seat*.

<3yu

New Hair! - My First Ever Perm :)

Behold! :)

 

My first ever perm!

(not true, I tried something out when I was 12 and it failed so it doesn't count lol). 

The story behind it..

It all started last spring when I realised, I like big curly hair, a la Shakira. I think it's sexy, it's fun and it adds more character. However, as with any girl doing something drastic to her hair, I was really scared. However, over the last few months I've started to realise how flat my hair is, how low maintenance I really want it to be, and how I just needed a haircut (and I always wait til I'm back in Japan because there are different consistencies in hair between people from the UK and Japan, and so stylists are better on me in Japan!). So literally, I arrived in Japan at 9AM, and at around 2PM, I was in the hair salon.

What it's like now..

It's a bit smaller, more tame, and bit more curly now. This kind of perm is curlier when it's wet and so if I ever blow-dry it, the curls don't come out as nicely. In the picture above, I'd blow-dried. These days I usually just let it dry or I blow dry the roots only. You can see it a bit better in my recent videos..

How I feel about it..

I love it! Much lower maintenance, and I don't need to get it cut as often, and it makes my highlights look better. However, the best thing about it is that it's much more 'me' than my normal straight hair. I'm bouncy, I'm giddy, I'm loud, and my normal straight hair did not reflect that (totally did not notice it until I got it done). I think people get a better preconception of who I really am with this hair.

I absolutely hate the assumptions that I have to face a lot of the time when I meet someone, or someone looks at me. There are a few that I never ever mind - that I might not speak very good English, that I grew up in Japan my whole life, or that I'm American. But the ones I cannot stand are like the ones when people assume I am shy, naive, quiet because I am Asian, and the confused looks I get when I don't match their preconceptions. They are massive generalizations and stereotypes, and no one likes people assuming things about them. I feel like I get less confused looks now that the hair gives some kind of signal LOL ('prepare for noise!'), and I think I must look more comfortable with myself in general :)

So.. I hope you guys like it :) It's a step towards being truly happy with myself on the outside (like this whole make-up fiasco), and matching it to who I am on the inside (I'm quite happy with myself on the inside, how cocky ;P). Everytime I feel like I succeed, it's another boost in confidence levels! :)

<3yu