Long VL Diaries: Day 7

Last night, I saw Crissey's post about Dip-Dyed Hair using Kool Aid. I got interested because I've always wanted to dye my hair redder (and brighter!) than what I got now. And I'm still aiming for that perfect ombre look with reddish effect at the end of my hair. When I read the entire post, I did not hesitate to try it on my own just to see if I could pull off a dip-dyed hair temporarily. So... I Googled and watch tutorials on Youtube before I went to the grocery.

Pardon the lack of pictures of the whole process because it was really messy and sticky. The only good thing about it is that it smelled good because of the strawberry flavor. So here are my obligatory before and after pics.

This is taken inside my room so you can't see how my dyed hair really looks like under the sun. I really, really need to bleach the hair in order to see the real color even without enough light.

Well... Unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations.  I only saw a few changes on certain strands of my hair. My gosh. I wasted time and effort (and money too because I bought 10 packs of Kool Aid!!) Lol. It's probably because I have a darker hair color. So, if you wanna try the dip-dyed hair, you should bleach your hair first. 

Because I am not satisfied, I will just dye my hair with a real hair dye!

On a lighter note... "Gee, my hair smells terrific!!" Haha!

November HHN Haul

If you're a seller of beauty products, I really think that it's also a must that you've tried and tested what you sell. Having a hormonal imbalance (thanks to my ovaries) and stressful life, I admit that it's hard for me to convince some of my buyers to try my skin lightening or anti-acne products. Despite my illness, I still try different products in order for me to make a review that I could say during my sales talk.

I don't believe in "sales talk" that you hear in the mall. My sales talk, on the other hand, is pure honesty. When I think that this certain product is not effective for me, I tell my buyer. A product may be effective for A, but not for B. You get what I mean? I don't want to give false reassurance because I don't want them to go back to me and blame me for everything. For me, it's really important that if you  build a rapport with a buyer, it should come with honesty as well so they would trust you with new products that they want to try. Thanks to my job for learning how to build a rapport and gain trust from a client.

So anyway today my order from Human Heart Nature already came. I've got so many orders this month so I also bought myself products from HHN that I haven't tried before.



 

1. Sunflower beauty oil - This is a mainstay in my kikay kit. 15 miracles in one bottle! I use it for my face, underarms, hair, eyelashes, etc!


2. Natural Hair Mask - Organic hot oil for my dyed hair. So I tried this awhile ago and I love how soft my hair is... Plus the smell is kinda addicting; I bought the Jasmin scent.


3. Hand and Foot Salve - Will try this tonight before I go to sleep. Hope this works. I bought the Banana scent.


4. Mineral Powder - Also a mainstay in my kikay kit. I have a very oily skin and it's a wonder that when I started using this, I've got lesser oiliness on my face after 8-12 hours of work compared to other brands. I am not sure though if this also an effect of the Lemongrass Toner by All Organics that I am using.


5. Organic Facial Wash - I recently had breakouts definitely caused by stress so I thought of trying this out if it can "heal" my pimples right away. Let me try this for a week.


6. Strengthening Conditioner - Because of constantly dyeing my hair, I had a major hair fall problem. I've been using this for a month and this is the only product that has solved my problem. Though I still have hair fall but it's not as tremendous as before. :) It's quite pricey but at least it's effective!

If you want to try these products too, you can order online through HHN or through your trusted dealers *ehem* like me. :)

Curlformers Review

Last week, I saw this deal from Pinoy Vouchers.  Because I want to curl my hair without having to undergo treatment like digital perming, I did not hesitate to avail this product.



But before that, I watched this video first to know how to use this Curlformers.

Here is a picture of the actual curlformers I received:



So anyway today, I finally tried it out.



Sorry for the poor quality of pictures.

As expected the curlformers weren't enough to cover my very thick hair... It's also too short for my medium-lengthed hair. The thing is, when you look at the official website, there are different sizes for the curlformers. The seller didn't give me an option to choose for the appropriate size for my hair. Or did I just miss anything?

According to the video, wait for 3 hours or longer to get the desired curls. I took it off after 2 hours because I feel sleepy already and I have duty later at 11 pm. I don't think I can rest well with these stuff on my head. Haha!

And the result?



There ya go. It's not as curly as expected because of the volume of my hair. It looks wavy... One important thing: you need to apply something on your hair for the curls to stay longer. My curls right now are already gone. Haha!

Will I recommend it?

No. I think it's a waste of money. Bye bye to my Php500.00 (I paid additional Php100 for the shipping fee when it should only be Php50 because I reside in Metro Manila. Hello, I am also an online seller and we have the same courier!). If you're in a hurry, better use a curling iron. If not, go check those Youtube videos about curling your hair with socks. I like its effect better. :) Plus it's way cheaper than availing this product. But if you prefer not doing all these things every single day when you feel like having a curly/wavy hair, then go for a digital perm. :)

Achieving the Ombre Hair

Another wish granted before my birthday is getting an ombre hair.. Err, a semi-ombre hair for now. Ombre is a French word that means graduated color.  So an ombre hair is styled with graduated color from dark to light like this one:



I really, really want to achieve that color but then I am not sure if that's allowed in our hospital so I went for the safest one...

It took me a few days before I finally decided to get one. It was yesterday after my 4-hour-from-graveyard-shift-sleep when I felt the urge to dye and bleach my hair immediately. I remember I once told myself that I am never gonna bleach my hair... Well, I lied.

The first step I did was I Googled everything about ombre and hair bleaching. I also checked Abbie's and Helga's blogs and random videos on Youtube. I don't trust the sales ladies so I researched first before I headed to the nearest HBC store.

Here's a picture of me before I took the risk!



Here are the stuff I bought from HBC: 2 boxes of Kolours Zen Auburn shade (because I have thick hair one box isn't enough) 1 sachet of Hortaleza black pelan hot oil treatment, 2 sachets of Hortaleza bleach powder, 1 bottle of 9% oxidizing lotion, hair coloring brush and plastic mixing bowl. I followed Helga's advice about the bleaching except the part where you need help from another person. I did everything alone.



I decided to re-dye my hair first because the roots are coming out. And I want a red hair ombre effect. Here's me in the bathroom after the dye-ing stage.



And for the scariest part... here's the bleaching powder mixed with the oxidizing lotion... The smell is really awful. Thank God, my migraine wasn't triggered by the strong smell of the chemical.



Here's the first part of the bleaching. I bleached 1-2 inches from the tips of my hair then covered it with aluminum foil. I bleached my hair thrice until my desired level. I wasn't able to blow dry it because our hair blower is busted. I'm wearing my "daster" that I always use when I dye my hair.



Fast forward to the result.



As you can see, it didn't turn out the way I wanted because 2 packs of bleaching powder wasn't enough pala for my hair! I need more! The left side is more bleached than the right side. FAIL! Nevertheless, I like it. And I'm gonna improve it in the next few days.



What do you guys think? Any suggestions so I can improve my ombre hair?

Of Thumping Sounds, Unlimited Yang Chow Rice and Organic Products

What a long blog entry title.

Today, I was scheduled for my Brain MRI with MRA of the cerebral vessels. My sister accompanied me as insisted by my parents and bribed by me. Haha! She didn't want to go with me at first because she doesn't like waiting but my parents didn't allow me to go alone so she had no choice. Anyway, we arrived early at the hospital which somehow let me emotionally prepare for the procedure. Lolz. After signing the papers and paying at the cashier, the MRI personnel lead me to the MRI room. Their MRI machine looks like this:



I wore this  football-helmet-like head gear to immobilize my head during the procedure. After I lied down, the bed moved inside the circular thing. I had to keep myself from moving during the scanning. I felt bored because I lied there for thirty minutes. What bothered me is the thumping sound. It sounded like an audio mix of shooting gun, moving train and ongoing construction drill. It was irritating.

After the procedure, the doctor took my medical history. He told me that I had to undergo this procedure just to check if I have aneurysm. I hope it's negative from any abnormalities. =S

About the bribe, I treated my sister at Mr. Chow in SM North Edsa. It's a Chinese fast food chain that offers unlimited Yang Chow rice for only P98.00.

Si ate, kung makacleavage, nangiinggit! Haha!

The rice topping I ordered is spicy pork rib. I missed milk tea so I bought my drink from Bubbatealicious. Strawberry isn't available so I ended up buying Royal Milk Tea which is just a plain milk tea. It tastes good but I still prefer the flavored one.



I asked for extra chili (siling labuyo) because I can't taste the viand's spiciness. Haha! I love extra spicy foods. I ate some of it with the viand. The waiter who gave this to me looked surprised while he watched me munching it.

The girl who enjoyed the bribe. My sister!

We went to TriNoma to buy Organic Products from Sessou. I've been getting addicted to organic soaps so I hoarded again today. I'm using Tomato and Lime Soap in the morning for my face as a pore tightener then Charcoal Soap in the evening to get rid of dirt and to clear my face. After two weeks of using it, I can say it's really effective! My skin is smoother now. I'm saying bye bye to my Shulammite Carrot Soap for the mean time.



In the picture above, I bought Banana and Milk soap for my mom for her dry skin, Tomato and Lime Soap for my dad's oily skin and Calamansi soap for me and my sister's body. I also bought a Natural Deodorant and Lemongrass Facial Toner.

Before writing this entry, I took a shower and tried the Calamansi soap. It's really refreshing. You guys should try it. :) I also tried the deodorant which smells good. It didn't give me the "icky" or sticky feeling since it's a spray. Lastly, I sprayed the Lemongrass Toner on my face. I love it. I love the smell. :) It's good because it doesn't contain alcohol. I hope everything will cooperate with my skin since I'm sensitive with some products. I plan to buy more organic products in the future. I'm enjoying my Organic experience. :)