Suigo Shampoo and Conditioner Review~

Helloooooo~

It's been so long since I last posted... life in Leoland has taken up pretty much all of my time lately (/sadface/) because there's a seemingly endless torrent of work to do and no matter how much you do, you're never finished! >.<  I'm also pretty sure I'm living off coffee fumes, haha~

So yeah, my workload is quite heavy at the moment, on top of which I missed a day of work last week so I also had a lot of catch up to do.  As a result, the email from Joe at Suigo offering to send me some samples to review (and the subsequent receipt of those samples) was like a breath of fresh air in my otherwise incredibly hectic week~ ^^

Here's what I received:

Suigo Ultimate Control Shampoo and Conditioner
and Absolute Volume Keratin Treatment

Now a few of you who have been following my Bellabox reviews may have seen my previous post in which i reviewed the Ultimate Control Shampoo which I absolutely LOVED but never got around to purchasing mainly because I live at home and there is always an abundance of shampoo =/

Anyway, nothing has changed since my first try of the shampoo.  It still has a wonderful sweet and slightly fruity fragrance which really leaves my hair feeling fresh after washing.  It's very moisturising even when used on its own and is especially good for colour or otherwise damaged hair as it does a fantastic job of repairing and restoring your hair and giving it a very silky texture.

Hehe, actually the day that I received the samples in the mail I had been having a rather trying day so it was a great surprise to find the parcel waiting for me when I got home :)  I immediately jumped in the shower and gave my hair a thorough shampooing with the Suigo shampoo sample and, honestly, it really lifted my mood because it was just a little bit of luxury after a really long day ^^

It's definitely something that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a convenient way to spoil themselves with an after-work treat :)

Moving on to the Ultimate Control Conditioner, I mentioned in my previous post that I don't generally use conditioner because it can make my hair feel really oily.  Well I decided to give it a go since I love the shampoo so much and Joe was kind enough to send me a sample.  I was quite pleased to find that not only did it not make my hair feel oily or greasy, it actually made it feel kind of fluffy~ ^^

It's not something that I would use everyday simply because my hair type doesn't really require much conditioning on top of the moisturising afforded by shampoo, but that said, it's a great product and I would definitely recommend it~

Unfortunately I haven't tried the Keratin treatment yet as it requires me to "Heat for 20-30 minutes" and I just haven't had enough of a spare moment of late to try it out.  It is definitely on my To Do List in the coming weeks though as school holidays means that I have one less commitment - tutoring - to manage ^^

Additionally, I have a Suigo Hand Soap from one of my more recent Bellaboxes which I've been wanting to try~ A review of these products will follow soon~

Stay tuned~ ^^

FIRST DAY~

Today is the first day of classes for my Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice~ ^^ I'm really looking forward to it because it's a full-time commitment and my first step towards a legal career :)  Although I'm still technically studying (do we ever stop, really?), participants in the Practical Training Course are recognised as Trainees as everything that we do in the course is hands on and preparing us for future practice.  We have to set up our own legal 'practice', keep proper accounts which will be audited periodically and manage case files as well as 'represent clients in court' and conduct client interviews :)

Overall the course looks to be pretty full on, but that's probably a good thing for me because I tend to work better under pressure and when I've been given proper responsibilities~ ^^ Speaking of which, I better hustle as class starts soon~ More later, maybe~ :)

<3

Update~ ^^

A super cute kitty to brighten up my day~ =w=

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Once again sitting at Starbucks... just chilling, taking a bit of time for myself :) Despite what I said in an earlier post, I've currently more or less discontinued my internship; given that I haven't gotten my licence to practice yet, the stuff that I've been doing (drafting contracts/ drafting pleadings/ drafting affidavits/ etc) can be construed as unqualified practice under the Law Institute of Victoria Ethical Guidelines =.= Don't really feel like getting into trouble for doing what I'm told, but my boss said I could come back for my practical placement towards the end of the course, so that's pretty awesome~ :) and given that I'll be starting my Practical Training Course at Leo Cussens in July, I think i'll just take it easy for the next few weeks :) 

Hopefully that won't mean being at home all the time... really, I find it more stressful being at home than being anywhere else because my parents -- being super traditional Asians -- are always on my back about one thing or another. Sometimes I just want to sit and do my own thing; blog, read/ write my novels, play some video games (Dishonored is SO. FRICKING.AWESOME!!!), watch tv, etcetc, but I can never really do these things at home. As a result, I end up spending a small fortune on coffee and public transport because Starbucks has pretty much become my second home =/

...And then my parents complain about that... =.=

Anyhoo, on the bright side, I actually managed to get a lot of writing done the other day (by which I mean I got about half a page done :P). My plot is slowly coming together and I'm actually largely happy with the stuff that i'm writing now. I think this largely has to do with the writing course that I did earlier this year with Lilliane Grace. Basically, in 'busting the talent myth', she taught us that the only thing that really prevents anyone from writing well (you know, aside from actually having a good grasp of English...) is our inner critic. And the only thing that can help us to deal with that critic is an attitude of trust and acceptance.

I've since found that this outlook is applicable to life in general, and it has certainly helped me go after what I want, both professionally and in my personal life. In terms of writing, I'm finding that I have more confidence in my ability to write something decent because I'm not always thinking "well that sounds stupid".  Oh, that reminds me! I got Derick to read over some of my story the other day and after perusing the prologue, he was like "...this sounds familiar..." then proceeded to give me a synopsis of my own writing from when he read it three years ago :P (Yes, this has been a masively long work in progress :P)

The funny thing is that I don't actually remember sending him my story, but I was really touched that he actually remembered everything so clearly ^^ And that's just another example of why I like him; I can't think of an exact English equivalent, but in Chinese I would describe him as "细心" (?? xi xin?? - cannot chinese :P) which I guess is a combination of attentive/ thoughtful/ considerate :)

Anyway, on that topic, I went clothes shopping with Scott the other day~ ^^ We were all supposed to meet up in the city at 1:30 after Scott's exam but Derick and I both slept in so we ended up meeting up at about 3 for lunch :P It was a pretty good day, not in the least because I got to watch in amazement as Scott wolfed down TWO Simply Grill'd burgers, PLUS chips, PLUS a large Mango Magic Boost Juice :P Anyway, we ended up going to Jay Jays where Scoot bought a couple of t-shirts, a shirt and a hoodie-shirt~ ^^ They all looked really good, so I think that despite the time constraints, we did pretty well for ourselves :P Although I actually think that Derick was a lot more helpful than I was... =/ Which really just makes me wonder...

IS IT THAT HE'S REALLY GIRLY OR THAT I'M NOT GIRLY ENOUGH?!?!?!?! ;A;

Anyway, in the end, I also bought a couple of skirts, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt~ ^^ Probably the most random of all were Derick's purchases... a Mickey Mouse cap (which I picked out~ :D *proud*), random badges and a super cute panda pluggy that lights up when his phone rings (also me~ :P *pride x2*)~ :3

Derick with his hat~ :D
He looks like he's about to go beat up someone =.=
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REFUSE TO SMILE AT THE CAMERAAA~

Nail art with the Natio nail polish that I got in my June Bellabox~ ^^
(Shade: 'Valentine')

Later, we met up with Seb for coffee which was great~ ^^ It had been a while since he and I had been able to have a good old fashioned bitch session without having to worry about social niceties so it was really good to be able to talk openly with him instead of having him act as a mediator between me and my other equally opinionated friends =.= In any case, it's really good to know that we're all on the same page now~ ^^ and as usual, Seb gave his opinion in his fabulously bitchy way~ :P

Probably the only bad thing that has happened in the last week or so is that I burned my hand at Starbucks :( My cup of green tea essentially exploded and scalding hot water managed to soak through my glove. Apparently Starbucks doesn't have anything to make into a makeshift ice pack (i don't believe it for a second, stingy bastards... and if they really don't then... really?? OHS people!!! >.<) so I had to hightail to the pharmacy to get some burn cream =.= It's slowly getting better now, although I still have it bandaged up.............

...............and it makes me feel like a ninja~ >:D

Anyway, this seems like a good place to leave off for now :)

Once again, I've unfortunately been too busy to test out many of the beauty samples from my Bellabox, Violet Box or Lust Have It box... although what I have tried (Natio nail polish in 'Valentine', Street Star (?) lipgloss in 'Transparent Baby Pink' [this sample was expired but I tried it before I realised, lol~], and the Seacret Body Lotion in 'Ocean Mist'), I've been quite happy with :)

I have, however,unsubscribed from Lust Have It. I had my doubts about the quality of their boxes earlier in the year, but after seeing their great January 2013 box, I decided to give them a go. I have since been more often disappointed with their boxes than I have been happy, especiall last month's box which, aside from being incredibly empty, just looked like a bunch of left overs =/

I'm still looking forward to receiving my Bellabox every month though~ ^^ and, as I haven't made up my mind about them yet, I can't wait to see how Violet Box fares in their second month :)

♥

A notebook that I made for Derick~ :D may have gone overboard with the aging/ antiquing~ ^^;

And a seal for the finishing touch~ ^^
........ I WANNA KEEP IT NOW~!!! ;A;

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~ Update ~

"hmmmm... I should get up... but this rug is so fruffy..."
hehe~ the look on this kitty's face sums up my feelings so well~ ♥

So in my last post I mentioned that I had landed a few Legal Studies tutoring gigs... ultimately these fell through pretty badly (one because of sudden changes in my schedule and then the parents being super rude when I approached them about changing class times, the other because the student was incredibly slack and made any excuse to skip his classes) =.= it's so difficult trying to tutor kids who don't really care about their studies.  In any case, I'm not particularly broken up about losing those jobs, especially the one with the rude parents; tutoring jobs come and go, but ultimately I have my own career which I need to be focusing on and if parents can't understand that, and more over, are going to be incredibly rude about it (to the point of being verbally abusive and calling me 'naive', 'manipulative' and 'dishonest')... well...

I don't have to deal with that! >.<

On a happier note, other aspects of my life are going pretty swimmingly~ ^^ I started an internship at a law firm a few weeks ago which I'm pretty pleased about.  Even though it's unpaid, it's pretty good for the experience~ ^^ So far, I've been drafting pleadings, affidavits and contracts so there's definitely a good amount of hands-on stuff~ I'm really happy that I'm actually able to put to practice some the stuff that I learned during my degree, especially in Civil Procedure~ ^^  I put in a lot of work for that unit when I was studying it but the outcome wasn't as great as I had hoped (I got a Credit T^T) so it's really, really rewarding now to have a barrister who has had about 40 years of experience praising my work and telling others to base their work off mine~ ^^

Hopefully this internship will open some doors for me in the long run~ I should probably be less slack about going into the office tho :P tbh, I find the idea of being in an office to be mighty depressing.  It's okay when I'm already there because I get pretty caught up in my work and sort of power through without a care for my surroundings, but when it comes to dragging myself into the office, I usually end up finding myself at Starbucks instead because I love the (pretentious?! XD) atmosphere and I actually get a lot of work done~ ^^  Anyhoo, I should probably just buckle down and show up more often :P FOR MY FUTURE~!!! *war cry*

In other news, things with Derick are going really well~ ^^ I've always said that he's the nicest, most genuine guy I know and that still holds true.  He is so incredibly sweet and even when he's being incredibly frustrating, I never for a moment doubt his intentions.

He has his lazy moments, but when he puts his mind to things, he is also incredibly focused and determined which I find to be quite endearing.

There are those times where the conversation lapses and neither of us are sure of what to say.  I was quite worried about that to begin with, but as he said to me "topics come at go, but that doesn't affect how we feel about each other" and we're together for those moments where we go to have dinner at Yoyogi and spend the next three hours wrapped up in a wonderful conversation about video games -- to the chagrin of the staff -- and end up forgetting about dessert~ :P

Happily, those moments aren't too far or few in between~ ^^

Obviously it's still much too early to be counting chickens, but at this point in time, I'm fairly confident in how I feel about him.  It seems like over the last few years we've been going around in circles -- whether it be because of poor decisions on both our parts or, more often than not, simply poor timing of circumstances -- we've disappeared from each other's lives time and again, and it's been one hell of a ride to get to where we are right now.  I think, though, that things can only look up from here~ ^^

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Quick Update (on the status of updates)

My goodness, it's been a long time since my last post!!! >.<  I keep meaning to post an update but I've been incredibly busy of late.  Still, it's no excuse to be neglecting my blog and I shall endeavour to update more often now that things in my life have calmed down a bit~ ^^

Several major events have occurred in the last few months, namely:

• My Birthday (post re. presents from awesome friends coming up soon~ ^^;)
• My Graduation
• ....................................... ok maybe not as many major events as I thought @.@ WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIIIIIIIIIIIIFE?!?!?!?! ;A;

hehe~ anyway I'll post about those in more detail when it's not 1:30 in the morning~ :P tbh, this is more of a 'note to self' sort of post to remind me that I actually have things that I want to blog about~ XP

I also managed to land myself a couple of Legal Studies tutoring gigs (huzzaaaaaaaah~) so I'll probably post about those soon too~ ^^ Hopefully I won't be so swamped in actual work that I can't post about said work... (._.)

Oh and of course, I will be posting about my April/May beauty box subscriptions so stay tuned (maybe? XD) ~ ♪ ^^

Bedtime now as I have work tomorrow~ ^^

Ciao (Knives!) ~ :D

The Search for Happiness

EDIT: hehe~ coincidentally, the awesome George Takei just posted this pic up on  Facebook and I just had to share because it's so applicable~ ^^

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As a few of you might know, I initially started this blog to review stuff -- really, anything and everything -- but recently I've noticed that a lot of the people around me seem to be unhappy for one reason or another so I wanted to write a post about this because it makes me really sad to see all of these amazing people losing confidence in themselves and their ability to be happy.

Of course, everything that follows is merely my opinion so please don't take it as gospel and if you have a different point of view, please feel free to share :)

Anyway... to start off, I want to talk about acceptance.  Whether it is acceptance of others or of yourself, this is the first step towards achieving happiness.  I so often hear people saying that they don't have anything to offer, or that if one thing about them were taken away, they wouldn't have anything left to bring to the table.  That is simply not true.  People are not one dimensional creatures (except maybe Kristen Stewart...); we are not defined by any single aspect of our being and by nature, we are constantly finding new ways to add to who we are.

So really, to believe that you have only one or nothing to offer the world is kind of like denying the truth of your existence that you are a multi-faceted individual whose ability to be happy is not governed by any one aspect of your self.

Trust and acceptance.  I really believe that developing an attitude of trust and acceptance is the key to overcoming the lack of confidence which seems to affect so many people (myself included).  I'm currently taking a creative writing course with Liliane Grace (author of The Mastery Club) which is in some ways also a course in personal development.  Anyway, one of the first things that she said to us was that the key to overcoming writer's block and 'busting the talent myth' is to simply put aside your inner critic and to just approach your writing and your ideas with an attitude of trust and acceptance, because it is really just a fear of failure which blocks our creative process.

By the same token, if in our everyday lives we actively chose to give our inner critics a grounding, to trust in our ability to achieve our goals (within reason... no jumping off buildings in an attempt to fly), and to learn to accept ourselves for who we are and for what we have to offer, wouldn't we be able to overcome the 'block' in our lives?

Admittedly, if you have been living with a negative mindset for a long time, it can be a huge challenge to even begin to see what you have to offer, but believe me, it's there.  You just have to be willing to look.

Which brings me to my second point that happiness is a choice, not an inevitability.  Without a doubt, at some point (or several) in your existence, life -- being the sadistic beesh that it is -- is going to throw everything that it has at you, and more.  And even if you make it out, it won't be without a price.

Quite often, this will be your confidence in yourself and what you believe you can (and can't) achieve.  If your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you, you might start to believe that you are incapable of maintaining a successful relationship or that you are incapable of making anyone happy.

If you fail an exam or a university unit (sometimes more than once) you might start to think that you're stupid because no matter how hard you study, you never get the result that you hope for.  You might even begin to think that you're not cut out for higher education and consider quitting your studies.

My question is, why are you choosing to give up your hopes and dreams instead of choosing to try again, perhaps with a different approach?  Why are you choosing to allow sadness -- and yes, the sting of failure -- to dig its claws into you instead of shaking it off and allowing yourself even the slightest chance to achieve happiness.  Remember that those goals, those hopes and dreams that you initially had, existed for a reason... so why give up on them if it means that you're only going to be miserable and/or hate yourself later on?

Happiness is a choice, so choose to make the commitment.

And finally, don't 'catastrophise'.  Human beings have an inherently amazing ability to adapt to their situations, but over-thinking can lead to overly dramatic reactions to even the smallest things and negative thinking which in turn yields even more negative results.

Example A:

You are in charge of organising a social event.  At the last minute, several of your friends cancel and you discover that the venue has forgotten to enter your booking into their system.

You have two options:

(a) chuck a tantrum/ panic/ break down and cry; or

(b) explain the situation to the friends who are present and figure out what to do together.

Example B:

You have been in a relationship with someone for a while when, out of the blue they break up with you.  When you ask for an explanation, they avoid giving you an answer or, at best, give you incredibly vague responses that you can't really make sense of.

You once again have two options:

(a) chuck a hissy fit which involves a lot of name-calling and tears/ become incredibly hostile and refuse to talk to or acknowledge the person ever again, leading to incredibly awkward encounters and, if you have mutual friends, social events/ become vindictive and start spreading rumours about the other person in an attempt to get back at them for hurting you; or

(b) try to see things from the other person's perspective and talk through the issue with them, or, if they are unwilling to talk things through, accept that that person probably wasn't for you and move on.  After all, a relationship is, at its very core, a commitment by two people to work though challenges together. If one person doesn't want to make that commitment to you, then you are probably better off without them.  As cliche as it sounds, if a person merely treats you as an option, why compromise your happiness with them when there will be others who will treat you like a priority? And there WILL be others.

Example C:

You're a university student who has just failed a unit or three.  You tell your parents and, as expected, they are extremely disappointed in you and don't hesitate to let you know it.

You have (you guessed it~) two options:

(a) soak up your parents' criticism like a sponge and let it dampen the rest of your university experience by severely affecting your academic confidence and giving you performance anxiety (mind out of the gutter people!) which in turn finds you up for expulsion from your course a semester later because your inability to concentrate on your studies caused you to fail over 50% of your enrollment for the year; or

(b) choose to learn from your experience, shake off the negativity and concentrate on finding a more effective method of study which will help to improve your grades while at the same time, attending university-run seminars on stress management and exam preparation.

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I think that by now I've made my point; rather than letting our situations or mistakes drag us down, why not choose to see them for the learning experiences that they are?  Giving up and sinking into a negative spiral may be the easiest thing to do, but it is simply that: an easy way out.

And ultimately, we shouldn't let our failures/ failings define us because we are, all of us, so much more than that~ ♪ :)

♥

Is there anyone in your life who has inspired you?

My Life of Late~ Plus March Bellabox and LHI~!!! ^^

So my life has been a bit up in the air lately… complicated friendships, difficulty sleeping and being completely overworked by one of my employers means that for the last few weeks I've essentially been living off caffeine.  Even more than usual =.=

In terms of friendships, I don’t suppose it’s anything overly major; just that an imbalance in the dynamic between me and my friend is making things incredibly awkward =.=

I guess the problem is that I don’t really feel like I can be normal around him anymore because certain events from the last couple of months have raised a boundary between us that wasn’t there before.  And without both sides making a conscious effort to overcome it, it just feels like there is a massive elephant in the room.  As a result, I don’t feel like I can really be myself without accidentally overstepping that boundary and making things even more awkward =/ I’m not really sure what to do about all this but I suppose that giving things time might help... If only I were a patient person~ >.<

On the work front, things have been pretty blergh lately.  I mentioned in a previous post that I’m an English tutor. Generally this is a pretty fun and rewarding job -- it definitely is at Quantum~ ♪ ^^ -- but one of the other places that I work (let's call it 'Company E' for privacy's sake) at has been dumping mountains of work on me at the very last minute and expecting me to drop all of my other, equally important commitments to get everything done.

Given that I also tutor English, English Language and Legal Studies at Quantum, it would be completely unfair to my students there if my quality of teaching suffered as a result of having to put all my effort into picking up after my co-workers at Company E >.< 

In any case, I guess this isn’t such a big problem anymore because, after putting up with their terrible worksheets and poor organisation for three terms, I’m pretty intent on quitting that job.

They just don’t really seem to take their students’ education seriously IMO… =.=

Anyhoo~ enough of my whinging~ ^^  I was super happy that I received both my Bellabox and my LHI subscriptions really early this month~ I haven’t blogged until now tho coz I’ve been pretty swamped (*cough* lazy~! *cough* ;P).  So without further ado…

~BELLABOX – MARCH 2013~

March Bellabox~ ♥

 I'm always super excited to receive my Bellabox each month and the March box was definitely not a disappointment, although now that I look at it, I think I got more items in my LHI box this month :P In any case, I was still much happier with my Bellabox~

Ocean Essence: Summer Breeze Shower Gel --  I haven't gotten around to trying this product yet as I've already got shower gel in my shower and I keep forgetting to take this one into the shower with me :P  In any case it seems to smell alright so I'll give it a go as soon as I remember~ :P

I know some people got a Coconut Moisturiser instead which seems like a nice, convenient 'chuck-in-ur-purse-and-go' sort of product~ hehe that would have been great for me since I'm so forgetful =.=;

Anyway, moving on~

Suigo: Ultimate Control Shampoo and Conditioner -- I loooooove getting shampoo samples in my Bellabox~ they're always so decently sized, making my Bellabox super heavy which makes me feel extra special~ :P (don't judge me~ XD)

They even came in a pretty bag~ ♪

Anyway, I was really excited to try the Suigo shampoo because it smells absolutely awesome (kind of fruity and sweet) ~ :3  It lathers really, really well and leaves my hair feeling super nice and moisturised~ ^^ I've been having a bit of trouble with really dry hair of late (since I dyed it last December =/ ) but in the last week that I've been using this product, my hair has regained some of it's sleekness~ :D

As I mentioned in a previous post, I don't use conditioner because it makes my hair feel kinda greasy so I think I'll give away the conditioner sample :)

Designer Brands: Lip Pencil (Pink) -- I've tried a few DB products before and even though I know that a lot of people think that it's a cheap brand, I've never been disappointed.  This lip pencil was no exception~ ^^ I got one in 'Pink' which is a really nice colour and suits my skintone perfectly :) It's got a creamy texture, is easy to apply and blends really well~ I would definitely recommend this product~ :3

Yes to Carrots: C Me Shine Lip Gloss (Flirty Pink) -- So Bellabox said that they were going to include two colour products in this month's box and I must say that I have absolutely not been disappointed even though I didn't receive the Clinique lipstick.  As my lips aren't particularly pale or anything, I definitely prefer lip glosses for a more natural (if somewhat shiny~ :P ) look.

I'd never tried anything from the 'Yes to' range so I wasn't sure what to expect.  That said, I was definitely impressed with the lip gloss which has a lovely minty smell and leaves a cool, refreshing sensation on the lips. In terms of colour, it's quite sheer and un-intrusive although it has a little bit of glitter which actually adds rather than detracts from the overall effect of the gloss.

I tried it over the DB lip pencil and was very happy with the result~ ^^

TOP: DB Lip Pencil (Pink)
BOTTOM: Yes to Carrots Lip Gloss (Flirty Pink)

Swisse: Active Energy Bar -- I'd been looking into these bars recently as I have decided that I should perhaps get more exercise so I was pleasantly surprised when I received this in my box.  That said, I haven't actually gotten around to doing that exercise so I might give this to my brother =/  I'll get round to it eventually (maybe...)~!!! >.<

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My favourite part of the March Bellabox hehe~ :P
♥ Strawberries~!!!

So overall, another good month from Bellabox~ I loved the items that I received and I'm looking forward to the April Box~ ^^ My birthday is around the time of the month that I usually receive my box too so it'll be like getting a prezzie in the mail~ :P

~ LustHaveIt! MARCH 2013~

March LustHaveIt box~

 As I mentioned before, I was much happier with my Bellabox this month despite getting more products in my LHI box, largely because Bellabox never fails to send me products that I will be able to make at least some use of.

This is what I got in my March LHI:

Goldwell: Dualsenses Rich Repair -- I haven't actually gotten around to trying this product and I probably won't any time soon.  While I have been having a problem with unusually dry hair of late, my lifestyle and my general lack of patience means that I rarely get the time to actually go out of my way to treat damaged hair.  That's why I find that products such as the Suigo Shampoo that I got in my Bellabox are much more suitable in terms of hair treatment as they don't require extra effort.

I think I'll give this sample to my mum who actually has a nightly beauty regime beyond teeth brushing and face washing ~ :P

BioElixia: BodyShaper Cellulite Contour Creme -- I have absolutely no idea why LHI decided that this would be the best product to include in every single box this month.  Given that they already don't do beauty profiling and merely divide their customers according to age catagory, in my opinion they really don't have much excuse for dropping the ball with this product.

While I understand that there are some young people out there who will find this product useful, I think that it is fairly safe to say that most 23 year olds like me don't suffer from cellulite.  As a result I think that it was a complete waste to send us cellulite cream which we will probably never use, not to mention that it was sure to (and has done) spark a lot of complaints.

In any case, rant aside, I did actually give this product a try because I thought 'what the hey'...

On top of being a bit sticky after application, it really smells =.= I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it smells like, but it's nothing pleasant.  It is an overwhelming smell and the worst part is that it stank up my entire box to the point that I could smell it even though the lid was closed =/

Definitely won't be trying this product again, largely because I really don't need to, but I'm sure that other ladies out there might have had a more positive experience :)

Ocean Essence: Strawberry Rose Rubber Mask -- I don't generally use masks as they tend to dry out or sting my sensitive skin, but I must admit that I am intrigued this the idea of a mask that can be peeled off like rubber :)

The promise of  a strawberry and rose scented half hour as well as being able to relive my childhood memories of peeling PVA glue off my fingers means that I will definitely be trying this product~ ^^

...when I get the time =/

Keratase Paris Nectar Thermique -- Hmmm... like a lot of other LHI subscribers, I have a hard time believing that a 10ml sachet would have pushed the February LHI box over the weight limit but I can understand that it was better safe than sorry.  In any case, I dislike sachets with a passion (except makeup sachets that u can just empty into a tub) so I'm not particularly enthused by this sample.  I think I'll shelf it for now.

Alash: False Lashes in 'After Work Drinks' -- This is perhaps the most exciting product for me in this month's box and even then it's a bit underwhelming, all things considered.  Anyway, I've been meaning to try false lashes for a while now but have never gotten around to buying them so I'll definitely enjoy giving these a go the next time I go out :)

The Natural Source: Camouflage Colour Skin Crayons in '044' and '038'-- According to the little card that I got from LHI, these skin crayons "can be used anywhere on the face or body to create your own individual look".  I received one crayon in nude and another in a sort of plum colour.  I think that I might have been a little more excited about these crayons when I was in high school and could have used them to show what little school/ house spirit that I had :P (yes, I was the girl sitting in the corner reading while everyone else competed in the sports carnivals :P)

Still, I suppose that I can at least use the plum colour as an eyeliner now :)

---

So in summary, while I was super happy with my March Bellabox, it was another disappointing month from LHI.  Aside from several coupons that I'm never going to use (that includes the one from The Iconic... although I am more inclined to use that one than the others, I would have much preferred to have gotten the Buy 1 Get 1 Free voucher for Warm Bodies coz I actually go to the movies a fair bit) LHI's continual inclusion of full products that are so incompatible with my beauty needs -- Summer Tan last month, Cellulite cream this month -- is quickly making me consider unsubscribing.

This is especially the case since they're implementing a price hike from next month.  While an increase of $5 isn't particularly drastic, their lack of beauty profiling and the inclusion of incompatible full size products every month continues to get my goat... and I only have so many goats =.=

I'll give them one more month (my birthday month!!!) but if the products prove again to be a disappointment, I'm going to have to unsubscribe as I would prefer to spend $15-$20 per month on things that I will actually use and enjoy.

And while I was happy to see the lovely packaging, I don't think I'm going to spend $20/month on a pretty box.

Were you happy with the products in your March beauty boxes?

What would you do if you had friend troubles?

Bellabox~ February 2013~

I have finally gotten around to updating my blog (yay~!!!).

This post has been a long time coming partially coz I'm lazy and partially because I have been legitimately busy with work and such :P

Obviously since it's now March, (almost?) everyone will have received their February Bellabox by now so I'm a bit late for a 'preview' post ;P but I still wanted to share my thoughts on the products received in the Feb box, a few of which I'm super excited about~ ^^

(Also no risk of spoilers~ yay~)

  

So without further ado, I give you the products which I received in my February Bellabox~ ♪

Products from my February 2013 Bellabox :)

From left to right:

• Batiste: Dry Shampoo (Blush) -- This is without a doubt my new favourite product~!!! :D I'd never used dry shampoo before getting the cute 50ml sample and I was eager to try it out because my hair can sometimes get a little ewwy throughout the day.  Batiste is great because of its immediate and long-lasting effect.  If you're someone who takes a shower at night instead of mornings, this product is great for de-oilifying your hair and getting rid off that 'slept-on' look.  It's great for adding volume to your hair and comes in a handy 50ml aerosol (RRP $4.99) that is perfect for chucking in your handbag~ ^^
  
  For use at home, it also comes in a 150ml can (RRP $9.99) and a 200ml can (RRP $12.99 -- not sure if they have the 'Blush' fragrance in this size).

I was so happy with this product that I bought both a 150ml and 50ml for my bag~ :D

so convenient~ Batiste Dry Shampoo in 'Blush'

• Sally Hansen: Complete Salon Manicure (Shoot the Moon) -- Having tried a few Sally Hansen products now, I have to say that I'm absolutely in love with the brand :) I had been experimenting with O.P.I but I found that it left my nails in a terrible state after being attacked by nail polish remover =/  Peely nails and tinted skin aside, give me a nail product which doesn't fight back when I try to remove it and I'm a happy camper~ =.=
  
  
  That being said, not only is this product easy to remove when you feel the need for a change, the colour (#677 - Shoot the Moon) is absolutely amazing~ ^^  I had seen lots of people get the other available shade (Mermaid's Tail) which was super, super pretty and initially I was disappointed that I got the silver instead.  But upon reflection, I realised that I didn't have a solid silver polish, only clear with silver glitter.  So I gave it a try and I am absolutely over the moon (hehe~ see what I did there? ;P) with this product.
  
  
  The colour is great and gives really solid coverage.  It is incredibly chip-resistant (about a week chip-free a going strong~ ♥) especially when combined with Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails Strengthening Topcoat, and is easy to remove.  The price is also not terrible, especially when compared to O.P.I., etc. :)

• John Frieda: Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Shampoo and Conditioner -- Given that Bellabox does to some extent take into account your personal beauty profile (i think?), I'm not exactly sure why I got this product because my hair is naturally as black as hair comes =.= It is, however, currently colour-treated so I gave it a go.
  
  
  Not overly much to say about this product to be honest.  The fragrance is ok, the shampoo is a pleasant, silky purple colour and it does appears to have a somewhat brightening effect on colour-treated hair (colour-renew and all).  Price-wise, it's pretty meh ($17.99 for 250ml).
  
  
  At least it will last a while if this product suits your beauty needs~ :)

• Natralus: Natural Paw Paw Ointment -- I'm not particularly fond of pawpaw so hearing that in the name of product sort of made me hiss and run away a bit~ :P jk~ I would have been willing to give it a go anyway since I'm pretty sure it doesn't actually taste like pawpaw but I honestly have soooooo many lip products already, I decided to give it to my friend who had been complaining about summer-chapped lips :) after all, sharing is caring, right? :P
  
  
  Anyway, the verdict is that this is a really effective product~ ^^ After putting it on his lips every night for just under a week to prevent them from drying out overnight, he has informed me that his lips no longer spontaneously crack during the day~ :)
  
  Definitely a good option if you're looking to try a new lip product~ ♪

And finally we have....

• USkin Solutions: Clarifying Cleansing Gel and Gatineau: Nutriactive Nourishing Day Cream --
  I actually haven't tried either of these products yet =/ Mainly this is because I'm not really sure what to do with either of them given that I'm not currently looking for a moisturiser and the USkin sample is so incredibly tiny that it doesn't even look like it will cover my face >.< ....... not to mention that it also looks suspiciously slimy @.@
  
  I guess I'll shelf these two for now and we'll see what happens later down the track~ ^^

Anyhoo, that's it for last month's Bellabox~

Thankyou to everyone who has been reading my blog posts so far~ ^^

♥ ♥ ♥ ~Your support is greatly appreciated~ ♥ ♥ ♥

Were you happy with your February Bellabox?

Lust Have It! - February 2013

So I received my first ever LustHaveIt! box today.  Normally I'm super excited to receive my beauty boxes (or any mail for that matter~ :P) but I have to say that for a first impression, the February LHI! box was incredibly underwhelming.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been subscribed to bellabox for a couple of months (February post coming soon~!! ^^) and even though I wasn't quite as psyched about the second box I received from them, I was still quite happy to give the new products a try.  This first box from LHI! however... I'm pretty sure I'm not going to use at least half of the products.  I was also disappointed that it didn't come in a super pretty box this month, but having received emails from LHI! to that effect last week before the boxes were shipped, it's all good and I look forward to getting it in March :)

Anyhoo, on to the actual products~~

My February LustHaveIt! box

So from left to right, we have:

• Summer Tan by Mancine: Self Action Tan (Dark) -- while I can appreciate the sentiment of trying to maintain a summer glow throughout autumn, I have never used fake tan/ spray tan/ tanning moisturiser or any other kind of tanning product before in my life =/ And given that my skin (unfortunately T^T) tans really easily on it's own, I don't really have any need for it.  Maybe I'll give it to a friend or something~ ^^ I'm also a bit of a klutz so I have a feeling that if I tried to use it it'd end up looking really patchy~ XP

• Lon Vitalite: C9 Crystal Moisturising Hand Mask -- I don't really have all that much to say about this product other than it's not something that I would normally consider using but since I have it, I might as well give it a go~ :) that's the whole point of the beauty boxes, right? ^^  Who knows, if they work well, I may be well on my way to having super smooth baby bum hands~ :P (not creepy AT ALL... >.>)

Timeless Lipstick (Eternity) and Camouflage Colour Nail Lacquer (Brown Plum)

• Styli-Style: L3 Timeless Lipstick (Eternity) -- I am really more of a lipgloss person as I often find that lipstick makes my lips stand out a bit too much, but I was actually really looking forward to trying the lipstick in this month's LHI! as I saw from some other posts (on blogs and the LHI! Facebook page) that they had some really lovely shades.  Unfortunately I got the shimmery nude colour which I have a feeling will make my lips look unnaturally pale =/ Still, no harm in trying it out~ ^^;

• The Natural Source: Camouflage Colour Nail Lacquer (Brown Plum) -- The final item in my box was once again in a disappointing shade of what a fellow LH-ite (?) called the "same colour as poo"... and bad mental images aside, I don't disagree with her in the least :P  I noted that other bloggers got really lovely reds and blues but unfortunately I ended up with a rather muddy brown.  The only plus side is that it matches the nude lipstick (I wonder if that was intentional) :P I think I'll try adding some glitter on top or mixing it with some other colours, but as someone said on Facebook, if all else fails, it could be used for reindeer nails come Christmas~ :P

Overall, not a great month for LHI! in my opinion, especially given the amazing box that they sent out in January.  Unfortunately i missed out on that one (nooooooooooo~ THE BB CREAM~!!! T^T) but it did convince me to subscribe to LHI! I really hope that next month will be better~ :)

What did you get in your box this month?

Valentine's Day 2013, Blogging at Work... plus Bellabox January 2013~

So it's been about two weeks since I last posted an update.  I had been hoping to post about my February Bellabox which should have arrived on Thursday (Valentine's Day!) but unfortunately it appears that there has been a delay with Australia Post and I will be (hopefully) getting it next week *fingers crossed* >.<

In the meantime, I thought I would spend this lovely Saturday afternoon at work (test week~ huzzah~!!) finally getting around to writing that looooooooooooong overdue post about my January Bellabox :P

So the January Bellabox was my first ever Bellabox............. and I must say, I was absolutely not disappointed~ ^^  Of the 5 items that I got, I've tried every single one and bought one of them for a friend~ ^^  This is a pic of my box~ :3

My January Bellabox with lots of awesome goodies~ :D

So from left to right, we have:

• You, Me & Everybody Cool It Aloe Vera Gel --  This was without a doubt my favourite product in the January box.  Aloe vera is so good for your skin and the cooling effect of the gel makes it perfect for summer~ ^^ I happen to have incredibly sensitive skin which can be prone to heat rash a lot so this product is great for me~ at the first sign of itchiness, I just put it on and my skin is fine within a few minutes~ :D  I loved this product so much that I bought a tube for my friend~ ^^ Definitely recommend this product~ ^^

• Natio Pure Mineral Skin Perfecting BB Cream -- So as I mentioned in an earlier post, I absolutely adore BB creams............ but I absolutely hate sachets~ >.< I trick that I learned from another blogger is to empty out the sachet into one of those cute little travel makeup jars so that u can get more than one or two uses out of them~ ^^  Anyway, this BB cream by Natio is quite nice in that it's quite light and doesn't make my face feel all mudgy (yes, mudgy) after application.  Decent coverage but I try not to use too much anyway, once again because of sensitive skin =.=

I'm not 100% about the smell of this cream though.  That's not to say that it smells bad in any way... the smell just doesn't particularly appeal to me =/  After much consideration, I think I prefer Garnier's BB Cream better but this is a good back up~ ^^

• Jurlique Replenishing Cleansing Lotion -- This was a really decent sized sample of a really great product that has definitely made it onto my 'to buy' list~ :D The cleansing lotion is gentle and non-abrasive to the skin and leaves it feeling instantly clean, smooth and springy~ ^^ It also smells absolutely fantastic with its combination of rose and lavender essential oils.  With approximately a $45 price tag for the full size product, it is a little on the pricey side but it's SO worth it~ ^^ Hopefully I'lkl be getting paid soon so I can go and splurge on this~ hehehe~ X3

• Jurlique Purely Age-Defying Ultra Firm and Lift Cream -- I wasn't really sure exactly what this product was supposed to do or why I got it since I'm only 23... >.> (I'M NOT OLD~!!!!!!!! ;A;) But I tried it anyway jsut for funsies~ ^^ I put a bit under my eyes and pretty much instantly felt my skin tighten.  I gather that it would be pretty good for eye bags and panda eyes but since I don't really get either and I wear glasses anyway, I might just give this to my mum or my brother~ :P

And last but not least...

• Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Lip Shine Lip Gloss -- First of all........ IT TASTES LIKE CHERRIES~!!!!!! XD Plus, it smells great~ ^^ It is a little bit sticky when you put it on but it does leave ur lips feeling incredibly moisturised.  I highly recommend this for anyone who suffers from chronic chapped lips or anyone who just wants their lips to taste super kissable~ ;) hehe~ ♪

Anyhoo, that's it for the January Bellabox~ ^^ I can't wait for my February box to arrive~ I also subscribed to Lust Have It! this month so I'm super excited about comparing the two boxes~ ^^

In other news, Valentine's Day was last Thursday~ ^^ I had to work for some of the day -- marking tests and such -- but I ended up going to the movies with Spiffy and Derick~ :D We watched Flight, a movie that came out at the end of January in Australia starring Denzel Washington~ ^^

I actually wanted to watch Anna Karenina which came out that day but I was totally outvoted... those bullies! XP But I suppose that's what you get for going to the movies with guys~ =.=;

Hehe~ in all honesty it was actually quite a good movie~ ^^ I think it was a bit cliche in some places but not so much so that it made you face palm~ :P The cast was pretty great too, no weak links there, and there was a great moment of suspense towards the end with a bottle of alcohol~ but I won't give anything away~ :P  Definitely worth watching~ ^^

Dinner was once again a guy-dominated affair... I guess I can now say that I've had chicken at Nando's now :P  Anyway, overall it was a pretty fun day~ ^^ Oh! And I had a raw tuna salad at Gaijin before the movie~ ^^  I also found out that Derick doesn't like raw fish @.@ Who doesn't like raw fish? :O

In terms of presents, my sudden over-enthusiasm for make up and skincare products led me to get Spiffy a range of skincare products including the Kosmea Skin Clinic Rescue Balm and the You, Me & Everybody Cool It Aloe Vera Gel~ ^^  Unfortunately, the rescue balm makes him smell like watermelon... =/ I hate watermelon~ >.<  Anyhoo, Spiffy got me a super cute Guess bracelet with locks and keys on it~ ^^  He also gave me a pair of awesome boots that I haven't taken a picture of yet~

My Valentine's Day present from Spiffy~ :3 He gave me a pair of boots too but I haven't taken a picture of them yet >.<

Hmmmmmmm... that pretty much wraps up the last two weeks~ ^^ I won't bore you with details about work (which has been pretty hectic of late)~ :P

How was your Valentine's Day?

Did you spend it with someone special or just go out with friends? ^^

Teaching English at Quantum~

hello my lovelies~!!! ^^ how is everybody's weekend going?

I'm currently at work~ :) Since this week is all about revision tests, I don't really have all that much to do :P So I decided to stick to my resolution and post a quick update~ ♪

So... work you say? Tests? :O Is this girl working in some sort of insane science lab conducting human experiments?! :O

Haha~ I wish~ ;P  As some of you might know, I work as an English Teacher on weekends.

I teach Year 5&6 English and Year 7&8 English at a place called Quantum Education Victoria.

Quantum is run by my good friend Aaron so I'm really happy that I can help out and support his business~ ^^  Atm we offer English and Maths tuition for all year levels and After School Homework Sessions~ hopefully soon we'll expand into tutoring other subjects such as Legal Studies and sciences :)

I would really love to tutor Legal Studies~ ♥

Webcam pic of me and Aaron in the English classroom~ ^^

Anyway, I know what some of you are thinking~ :P Tali? Teaching? What is the world coming to?!

To be completely honest, when I first started doing private tutoring, teaching English was simply the easiest way for me to make use of my knowledge to earn some pocket money (I know~ I'm a terrible person!! Don't judge meeeeeeeeeeeee~!!! ;A;).  But once I started doing class tutoring, I actually started to enjoy my job a lot more.  It can be a bit challenging to teach a whole class of students sometimes because you always have those difficult students or the students who need a lot of extra attention to learn effectively... but I like to think that it's all part of the job :)  Things have definitely been better since I started teaching at Quantum though~ The classes are quite small so it's easier to make sure that all the students get the attention that they need.  Plus we actually have a pretty structured curriculum which we devised to make sure that the kids are learning at a consistent pace ^^

As I mentioned before, my students are doing a revision test this week~ :D  I'm really glad that Aaron lets me make my own class material~ no random spelling mistakes for one, and it means that I can really properly test the kids' knowledge :)

Also, I've got my students reading a book per term~ ^^ I think reading is so important to learning English (especially for developing vocabulary) and I think it's a huge shame that a lot of the places that I've worked at don't place a greater emphasis on giving students appropriate reading material
:(

Anyhoo, this is the reading list for this term:
Year 5&6 English: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Year 7&8 English: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

And this is a pic of me holding the Year 5&6 English Test~ :D

Hehe~ can't wait to see how they do~!! ^^ I hope I didn't make it too hard~ @.@

Where do you work?

What challenges does your job present?