Grow It & Grow It Right

Image source: http://casarei.net/2011/06/ruiva/seaofshoes/

I've been a bit busy lately and so I have yet to do up my Clinique vs YSL mascaras post. I decided that to do this one first because I've planned it for a very long and would be able to whip it up within half an hour or so.

Currently, I'm embarking on a journey to grow my hair long. I've only ever had short to shoulder-length hair until last year when I decided to grow it long. Why? Why did I leave it till now to grow it out? It's because I attended schools that did not permit long hair. If you're one of those people who are taking on the challenge of growing and maintaining long hair like I am, you might want to read on because apparently, it's no easy feat! I've done a fair bit of research over the World Wide Web. So now, all you have to do it read or watch some of the Youtube videos that I've included.

Things that I have learned:
1. Wash your hair once every TWO days. You will hear this over and over again. It cannot be stressed enough. Even if you have and are keeping short hair, you should only be washing once every two days. This is because you don't want to completely strip your scalp of all the natural oils that it produces to keep your hair healthy.

2. Any form of heat damages your hair. You're meant to apply heat protectant on your hair when you blow dry to keep it from drying out. It goes without said that you have to do the same before straightening or curling your hair. You want to retain the moisture in your hair. I've included some links to blog posts that will teach you the technique of blow drying your hair.

TBD: Blow Dry Basics
ROH: Blow Dry Your Way To Beautiful Hair

3. If you wash your hair with hot water, STOP! It removes the moisture from your hair and that's how you get dandruff. Here's a little more on why. Be sure to check out "the cuticle" link that's in that post. The best is to wash your hair with cool water. If you're afraid of the cold, try this: adjust your water temperature until it matches your body temperature. You can tell because you would not be able to tell if it's warm or cool. Then turn your cold water up just a tiny bit more and ta-da! You have water that's just cool.

4. You should wear your hair in a braid to sleep. It doesn't have to be tight or proper. Just a loose braid would do. Otherwise, when you thrash around in your sleep at night, your hair gets tugged and pulled against your "rough" pillowcase. I find that ever since I started sleeping with my hair in a braid, I hardly find any loose strands of hair scattered on/around my pillow! How does that work, you might ask. Well, think of it this way: it's very easy of you to snap a single twig. But if you gathered and bunched ten twigs together, it's much harder for you to snap them all together. The same applies for hair. Together, they are stronger. Another option is to use satin pillowcases.

Here's an extensive guide to taking care of your growing hair. I know the web design looks a bit old but the content is still very much relevant.

5. You'll probably experience a lot more hair fall than when you had short hair. Don't fret, my pet! It's natural. Our hair has a cycle of growing, stopping growth, falling and regrowing. It does not mean that you are balding. Luckily, TBD's Kristin Ess has done all the research for us! Read her post to get the details on how/why hair loss occurs and how it can/cannot be fixed. Here's a simpler hair loss article. Just in case you're sick of TBD!

Lastly, if you want seriously lustrous and gorgeous hair. Follow Kristin's hair bootcamp! She's written out hair routines tailored to most, if not all, hair types. If you don't have the time, you don't have to do it. You can live without constant treatment. It's for those hardcore hair lovers out there. Here are some of her more general tips.

Another hair guru whom I love is Krista Bradford. Watch her videos for some tips on growing healthy hair. Krista's hair FAQ and foods for healthy hair.

If you want a list of hair products Lets Make It Up! has made a pretty good video about it. She also covers some basic hair care rules. So you can pretty much watch this instead of reading everything but you will miss some other important info.

Here are some easy DIY hair treatments!
TBD's version
Krista's version

Do you have any tips for growing long hair? Please do share it in the comments section below! I'd love to hear them.

Do It Yourself: Half-moon Nails

I know it's spring now (well, over here anyway) and I should be donning light, bright and fancy colours like pale blue (which is the "in" colour right now). But ever since I saw this tutorial on thebeautydepartment.com, I've been obssessed with trying to get my nails done that way. It's so cool you should try it too!

Follow the instructions and you should be able to "reproduce Lauren Conrad's nails"! I bought my transparent reinforcement stickers for about $6 from Officeworks, which works like a charm. As you can see, I haven't perfected the art yet. My hands are still unsteady when it comes to painting my nails in general. Going to need more practice!

I used a glittery gold from The Face Shop, which was given to me by a Korean friend, as the base. So don't ask me what the name of the nail polish is. It's in Korean. However, you should be able to find them in malls in Asia. Otherwise, there are plenty of other brands here in Australia that stock something similar. On top, I used Iris by Witchery. In the photo, it looks like navy but with the naked eye, it's a dark purple hue. My camera somehow picked it up as blue. It rhymes! Man, I sounded poetic! If you want other colour combination ideas. Check this out. And if you're feeling really glamorous and want to shake things up a bit, try this one, I dare you! Enjoy!

Coming up

Clinique vs. YSL
Who has the better mascara?

Grow It and Grow It Right!
Tips for growing and maintaining long hair.

Do It Yourself: Bookmarks

A couple of weeks ago, my dad handed me a few of his optical seminar freebies, this included a hand sanitiser (which I was happy to receive), a writing pad and a set of mini cardboard laminated pamphlets (I'm not sure if there exists a word to describe the thing). Anyway, my dad suggested that I use them as bookmarks. A dose of inspiration hit me. I decided that if I was going to use them as bookmarks, I might as well make them pretty ones!

Here's how I did it:

1. Remove the chain and separate them out. (Duh! Well, I just had to match the photo with a step)

2. Flip the "bookmark" over and use the end of another one to trace out it's "end shape". Do it just below the metal eye because you want to get rid of it.

3. With a pair of scissors, cut the "bookmark" following the line that you have just traced. This removes the metal eye and you're left with a rectangle "bookmark" that has rounded corners.

4. Select a card stock with the design/pattern/colour that you want on your "bookmark".

5. Flip your card stock over and lay your "bookmark" over it, faced down as well. Trace the shape of the "bookmark" onto the card stock. Tip: align the bookmark with the corner of the card stock so that there's less tracing and cutting to do.

6. Cut the shape out from the card stock.

7. Line the top side of your "bookmark" (the side with the advertising) with double-sided tape. You may use a glue stick but I find that they are not adhesive enough. They are many other types of glue that work as well. Align the cut-out and the "bookmark" at one end and then slowly smooth it down (just like how you would stick a protective film on your smart phone). It should fit perfectly... assuming that you did everything perfectly.

8. For me I didn't do it perfectly, so I had had to trim the edges a little afterwards. But that's no biggie. So voila! A pretty bookmark!

As you can see I made a few. I gave one to my mum and one to my dad. I did this a few days ago and yesterday, I made two more but I can't be bothered to take another picture and post it up here. After all, you get the picture already (excuse the lame pun). Enjoy!

Love Letters

Bet you thought this post is gonna be about letters that I've received from an admirer or a lover/paramour or a boyfriend/love interest or... you get the picture. If you're a food lover, perhaps you thought of those tasty rolls of chocolate wafers? Yum...

Anyway, this post is a continuation of my previous post. Remember I mentioned that I keep letters in my folder? Well, here are some pretty letters and postcards that I've received and would like to share with you.

Christina sent me this postcard when she was visiting Perth.
Looking at it just make me feel so loved!


My cousin and his wife sent me this when they were on holiday in Cambodia.
Pretty cool, huh?


A friend of mine sent me this postcard when she moved to SA.


Christina sent me this one when she was on holiday in Japan.
I'd love to go to Japan one of these days!


A friend from England brought me postcards when she visited.
I reckon it's pretty cool. I like it.


This is another one.
Please excuse my poor photography skills.


Sometime back, Myra, Christina, Jess and Megan wrote me a really funny letter.
They decorated the envelope. Isn't it beautiful?


Megan and I used to write each other letters.
She'd use these really cute Peanuts envelopes.

That's all I have for now!

Procrastination, Thou Art My Enemy

Last week, I found myself going through my five-year-old new clear folder. I use it to keep newpaper article, letters, print-out of lyrics (ah, those days when I did not own an iPod...) and artwork that I recived from friends as gifts. "Why?" you may ask. I was evading the grueling task that lay ahead of me ...... Studying.

As you can see, it was quite a mess! I collected a lot of items of sentimental value over the years. But I decided it was time to move on. I recycled the lyrics, the newspaper (goodbye Twilight and Cathy Kelly, I'm so over you!) and some wrapping paper that I saved from presents. Yes, I keep wrapping paper that I find really pretty. Everything else went back into the folder.

After an hour's worth of procrastination, my folder was in good order again. Time to study... Ahhhh!! Before I finish off this post, I would like to share with you two lovely pieces of artwork that my best friend, Nop, gave to me.



Simply gorgeous!