Product Review: Yuko Lock in Color Treatment Shampoo and Conditioner

Yuko Hair Straightening, also known as Japanese hair straightening, is the world renowned U.S. patented method recognized as the leading brand of chemical hair straightening that gives you low maintenance, shiny, hassle-free straight hair. No matter how curly or unruly your hair is, Yuko will create the results you’ve always wanted.

I have here the Yuko Lock in Color Shampoo, an here is what Yuko says about it:

Herbal Edelweiss and tocha tea extracts prolong the richness of color and protect hair from UV ray exposure.

Packaging
I'm not a huge fan of the packaging, but I also don't really care about packaging. I only want to know if the product works - packaging is a bonus. What I can say about this is that it is nice and sturdy, and won't break if you drop it.

 Product
The shampoo has a good consistency, and has about a medium lather. The conditioner isn't one of those overly heavy ones that give you a hard time when you're trying to work it through your hair, which is something I'm very particular about.

Performance
If there ever was a shampoo that did exactly what it said it would - it would be THIS shampoo. I started using this shampoo not knowing exactly what it was meant to do, and began to notice that my hair was no longer frizzy after I washed it. A little while later I noticed that the kinks that normally form in my hair to make it wave in the most annoying manner had disappeared. Finally I noticed that my ends looked healthy and beautifully silky.
Now my hair is shiny and curls in at just the right places - it's pretty darn miraculous!

One thing I must mention about this shampoo is that it isn't suited for someone with an oily scalp. I wash my hair every other day, and when the time comes to shampoo my hair, it looks in dire need of a good shampooing. This shampoo flattens my hair (it is a straightening shampoo, after all) and makes it look like it needs shampooing a lot quicker, so I am going to be trying out a different Yuko shampoo after this. Yes, I will be repurchasing this brand, which is a lot to say for a beauty blogger who is prone to buying new products before her current products even start to look like they might run out!

That being said, I am still extremely satisfied with the results and would happily recommend this gorgeous shampoo to anyone who wants to get smooth, silky, straight hair.

This shampoo was given to me for consideration and can be purchased from the Tsumiki Design Hair Salon. They offer some pretty amazing services including hair lightening for dark hair that can be done without bleach and its harmful effects on the hair!

Style Tips: Achieving Style with Workwear

This post is dedicated specially to my Mom, who owns a corporate training company and for some reason can never find clothes to wear for her big teambuilding events.

Clothes don't need to be especially fashionable to be stylish. All they need is a good cut and fit, and you're ready to go. If work involves a lot of running around and outdoor activities, you don't need to settle for a bad-fitting shirt just because it's the only thing available in a corporate clothing store. All you need to do is find a website that caters to work wear. A great example I've found is the Engelbert Strauss workwear section. This is just one example that I've found, so it's not necessary to purchase from here - I am just illustrating that work wear doesn't have to be ugly and out-of-date.

Pictures taken from EngelbertStrauss.co.uk

Here are some of the examples that I found from the Engelbert Strauss website. My Mom, in particular, was on the lookout for clothes that look good and accentuate her figure, whilst still being appropriate for outdoor activities and team building training. As the head trainer, she also wants to project a more professional image. I found tops in dark colours to reflect the serious, corporate side of her needs, with great 'hourglass' cuts so her waist doesn't get lost in the fabric. She also doesn't want to break the bank with these clothes because she spends enough as it is on her normal corporate work wear, so I'm pretty glad I was shown this website - my Mom is a big fan of the polo tee, but for some reason, it is impossible to find a polo-t with a nice womanly cut unless you're willing to spend a bomb on Ralph Lauren. That's why I featured the polo-t in my selection - it's got a great cut and for a fraction of the price!

I threw in the white pants because white pants always look so nice and crisp! I know, it's a little impractical if you're going to be running around outdoors all day, but fret not, that pair has a black equivalent, so it's all covered.

If you do want to check out Engelbert Strauss work wear, put ladies in the search box and browse away. I'm looking for more websites that feature good, affordable active wear that don't feature logos or colourful patterns and designs. Do you know of any?

Product Review: Clinique Makeup

I received a few Clinique products a few weeks ago, and you may have seen them in my Purple Smoky Eyes for Asians video. I wanted to also give you guys a more detailed review of those products, just in case you were interested in purchasing them for yourself.

Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Quad in 110 Plum Seduction

This eyeshadow quad contains a mixture of different purple shades. What intrigues me most is that even the taupe colour (3) and the highlight colour (1), which are distinctly brown and beige respectively, have a purple sort of duochrome shimmer.

It looks pretty sheer in the pictures, but don't be fooled - the colours are rich and pigmented and buttery. The darkest colour is a tad chalky, but still blends out to a perfectly smooth colour.

The rest of the eyeshadows in the quad are perfect, shimmery, buttery smooth powders.

Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour in 02 Posy

I have wanted to own one of these blushes ever since they were first released, a while back. The packaging itself is Clinique's typical clean, no fuss compact, but the blush inside is so beautiful! It features a beautiful flower in a deep brownish pink colour set against a light pink background. The blush has an almost pearlescent shimmer. It doesn't show up well in swatches but for some reason looks great and natural on the skin. It doesn't have an obvious shimmer, but instead makes your skin look healthy and dewy.

Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Intense Plum

I love, love, LOVE this eyeliner! It is smooth and very extremely pigmented and very easy to smoke out. Once it sets, it is pretty much stuck to your skin.

As you can see in the swatch above, it is more sapphire than plum, but no less beautiful. There is just enough colour to attract attention to the eyes, which I absolutely love! I'm so sad though, because I am burning through this at an alarming rate!

If you want to see all these products in action, check out my YouTube video!

These products were provided for review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Help Me Choose!

I hate when I am given a specific amount of money to spend. People who are close to me know that the best gift to give me is a coupon or gift card of some sort, or just plain cash, because then I am able to choose the exact gift that I want - no hassle.

However, once I am given the coupon or cash, I go through thousands of choices and combinations in my mind and fret and grumble for forever before I finally come to a decision. It is so difficult to choose!

So I've decided that this time around, I need help! I have narrowed it down to a few different items, and now I need your help to decide which items I should get! Here are my options:

I could go with a basic Proenza Schouler purse, OR I could purchase a Diane von Furstenburg purse, a Tory Burch iPhone case, and an Ami Dans La Rue sweater. They all come down to almost the same price. Which should I get?!

I am partial to the PS, but if I get that, it means that I will have to forgo that beautiful Tory Burch iPhone case (my favourite item in that group). But if I get those 3 items, the prettiest purse available (the DVF) pales in comparison to the PS purse.

And then there's the wild card:

These gorgeous rings are similar in style to the ones that Lisa Eldridge wears in her videos, and I have been coveting these gorgeous things for forever! They are handmade gold vermeil and feature semi-precious stones. WANT!

So what do you guys think? Anyone willing to offer an opinion? I would very much appreciate it!

Product Review: Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kollection Listen to Your Momager

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the Kardashians. The show is my little guilty pleasure, and what I most enjoy about the show is the fashion and beauty. There is so much makeup and style to ogle at!

So it came as no surprise to me when Nicole by OPI announced a collaboration with the Kardashians. I then waited patiently for the range to launch on Australian shores. I assumed that they would cost a bomb but when I saw the display at the pharmacy, I was pleasantly surprised to see that each bottle only cost AUD12.95.

I initially wanted Kendall on the Katwalk, but it had already sold out. I picked up Listen to Your Momager and knew that this was the one I wanted - I love rich blue hues, and my Chanel Blue Satin just wasn't cutting it for me - not enough blue or shimmer!

Listen to Your Momager is a deep blue shade with blue glitter. It is pretty sheer, so you need to build up to about 3 coats to reach full opacity. It dries down to a nice semi-matte finish whilst still maintaining its sparkle.

I've found that the best way to use this is to layer it on top of a dark blue or black base - that way you only need two coats of nail polish overall, excluding the base and top coats.

Below are some pictures of the polish swatched on my nails. This is a gorgeous nail polish and I'm so glad I purchased it.

Style Trend: Stacked Bracelets

I've always been a huge fan of stacked bracelets. I love a 'busy' arm, and I love buying unique pieces to add to my arm candy. I've been doing stacked bangles for a while now (when I can be bothered), but now that winter is approaching, I'm turning to bracelets for one simple reason - they make it easy for me to put on and remove my jackets and cardigans!

Stacked bracelets can give you more of a boho feel, like Taylor Swift's (pictured on the left above), but depending on the bracelets you choose, you can achieve all kinds of looks.

Here are some of my bracelet lemmings!

1. Braided stone bracelet, BCBG ($49)
2. Eddie Borgo Pave Cone Bracelet ($1, 095)
3. AURÉLIE BIDERMANN Do Brazil Chain Bracelet (€290)
4. ASOS Chunky Link Chain Bracelet ($14)
5. Orelia Exclusive to ASOS Bracelet with Star Charm ($35)
6. Chamilia Disney Collection Bracelet © Chamilia.com

Most of the items above are only available via websites like Shopbop and Net-a-Porter or via parcel forwarding, but sites like ASOS and Chamilia ship their brands directly to Australia, which is so convenient!

The bracelet that most intrigues me is the Chamilia bracelet - one, because I am a sucker for anything Disney, and two, because it is high quality and you get to choose the charms that you put into the bracelet! Did I also mention that I am a total charmbracelet addict?
Their products are pricier than I am used to, so I would probably only get one bracelet. The upside? They are all sterling silver or 14k gold, and the crystals are Swarovski elements or Murano glass. Talk about your luxe charmbracelet!

If you want something more boho, they also sell leather bracelets. I am already building one on the website that is really similar to a Marc Jacobs bracelet that I saw a while back. I'm not sure which one I will end up purchasing, though, because that blue Swarovski Mickey charm is SCREAMING out at me!!
OR maybe I'll use a leather bracelet and put all my Disney charms on it O.o

This is the bracelet I built for myself so far - I based it on my favourite Disney characters and used other charms to colour-coordinate to make this gorgeous blue and gold bracelet. I am loving it so far! I love that the website lets you view the bracelet as you are building it - it makes it really easy to see the exact product that you will end up with. What do you think of my bracelet?

For more information, visit the Chamilia online store.

I am pretty much obsessed with bracelets and will be purchasing a whole bunch to add to my winter wardrobe! Do you have any websites in particular you like to buy your arm candy from? Please share! :)

Event News: ghd at Oscar Oscar Salon in Chadstone

I attended a blogger event at the famous Oscar Oscar Salon in Chadstone recently, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Not because of the yummy food, or the amazing company (OK, these did contribute to my experience), but because of the invaluable tips I got from such a short period of time.

Probably the most exciting tip I learned there was how to achieve a salon blowout look with a large straightening tool. Jacky, the amazing stylist at Oscar Oscar, used a ghd Gold Max Styler, pictured below, to give the gorgeous model a perfectly coiffed salon blowout, without actually having to use a blowdryer throughout the styling process!

Image credit: ghd Australia

So the technique that he used was extremely simple. You can use this exact same technique with a smaller hair straightener to achieve perfect, bouncy CURLS. If you're looking for the best hair straighteners, then you need to do your research. You can find out more at www.ghdhair.com.

So now for the technique:

1. Wash your hair.
2. Spray a volumnising product onto the roots of your hair. Jacky loves to use an Aveda volumniser for this.
3. Always remember to use a heat protectant. I have been using the ghd heat protectant spray (mentioned below) and I love it.
4. Lightly blow dry your hair. You can blow dry your hair with your head upside down to boost your roots and add volume.
5. Section your hair. You want to take about 1 1/2 inch sections for each curl.
6. Here's the important part: once you grab the section of your hair in between the plates, rotate your hair straightener 180 degrees, and pull it straight out, away from your head. Running the straightener through your hair at this angle adds volume.
7. After all the sections of your hair have been curled, brush your hair out with a large paddle brush.
8. Lightly set your style with a styling spray.

As I mentioned earlier, this style also works if you want to create curls instead of just waves. All you need to do is grab smaller sections of hair between a straightener with smaller plates. ghd just released a range of small straighteners with their Peacock range, fronted by Katy Perry. They are limited edition and come packaged in a beautiful box with an equally beautifully embroidered pouch.

I also received some exciting products when I attended the event. I received two amazing hair brushes:

The large paddle brush was beautifully detailed, and makes brushing your hair a breeze. My favourite product by far, however, is the carbon anti-static comb. It reduces frizz by a surprising amount, and is the perfect tool for detangling and combing through wet, freshly washed hair.

As mentioned above, I also love the ghd Style Heat Protect spray.

This baby is nice and light, and doesn't weigh the hair down. It doesn't hold a hairstyle, though, so make sure to spritz a little hairspray on to finish up.

The staff at Oscar Oscar are friendly and chatty, so book your appointment and scrounge up a couple more tips for yourself!

Makeup Tutorial: Blue and Gold Smoky Eye

Hi guys! I have another makeup tutorial for you today - it took me forever to upload this video, but it is finally up and I am very excited about it!

It was only after I posted this video that I realised it was inspired by the look that Katniss wore in The Hunger Games. Here it is - I hope you guys like it!



Here is a list of all the makeup products I used in this video:

Estée Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator
Chanel Pro Lumiere foundation
Anastasia Beauty Express Kit in Brunette
Models Prefer Eye Primer
Sleek i-Divine Mineral Eyeshadow Palette in Storm
Sleek Molten Metal Eyeshadow Duo
Sleek Contour Kit in Medium
Avon mark. Metalliner in Blue Chrome
MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Light
Vichy Dermablend Ultra Corrective Foundation Cream Stick in Opal
Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour in Posy
INIKA Light Reflect Highlighting Creme
Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in Vanilla Suede
Uriage Thermal Water

Liposuction: My Personal Opinion

So I have a couple of friends who want to undergo liposuction. They are very young, and I believe that they are nowhere near that point. I am in the process of very delicately telling them that their current eating and exercising habits are not conducive to weight-loss, and that if they would just commit to working a little harder, that they wouldn't have to subject their body to that kind of trauma just yet.

I am not opposed to plastic surgery. In fact, I see myself getting something done at various points in my life. However, I do believe that when you are considering going under the knife, you need to do thorough research and only use it as a last resort. Think about your alternatives and don't settle on plastic surgery just because it's a quick fix.

One area where I think the above sentiment applies strongly is fat. Any procedure undertaken to remove or curb fat is generally dangerous, and may affect your health post-surgery. I remember watching a documentary on liposuction when plastic surgery was just starting to become popular - it was graphic and terrifying - and I wondered what would possess someone to put their body through such stress.

That said, please bear in mind that all I am saying, is that one should always consider less drastic options first, and, when push finally comes to shove, extensive research should be done to ensure that the treatment, whether it be liposuction or something else, is safe, performed by an accredited surgeon, and all risks involved fully and completely understood.

I believe that you have to be ready for hard work either way. If you want to exercise and diet, then do your very best. I myself am trying to get lean, and it is so much harder than I thought it would be! I am trying to eat healthy, and curb my sweet tooth, and summon the motivation to work out. I don't know which is harder, to be honest. I am constantly having to suppress my cravings and push myself, and though I am admittedly aeons away from considering liposuction as a solution, I can at least begin to understand the desperate thinking behind considering it as an alternative.

And then there is the cost of liposuction. Again, I am the kind of person who believes that you should be able to buy something at least twice before you should consider buying it once. Take into consideration the cost of going to a safer, more highly accredited surgeon, and compare it to your current financial situation. Are you just starting work? Do you have anything saved in the bank for a rainy day? What else will you have to pay for besides your surgery?

I don't claim to be an expert, or understand the situation that each and every person out there is in, or to have all the answers, but I believe that these are just a few things to consider before taking that leap.

April Favourites!

Hi guys, I finally uploaded my April favourites video! It was taking a while because I was trying to upload the best quality video possible - it took a lot of trial and error!

Here's the video :)



Here are the products mentioned in the video!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate
Sisley Phyto Blanc Intensive Lightening Serum
Simplicité Rosehip & Lavender Complexion Refiner (read a little about it here)

Uriage Thermal Water

Simplicité Angelica Lip Care Balm

L'Oreal Mythic Oil

Sleek i-Divine Palette in Original

St Tropez Skim Illuminator in Violet (swatches here)

Kiss Nail Dress (review here)

Urban Rituelle Beachcomber Mango Milk candle (read a little about it here)