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About two months ago, I started a series of Advice posts for my readers who wanted to send me questions to reach out for my opinion – about anything! As a result, 100% of the questions I seemed to have received were about relationships. Through that experience, I realised how much “romantic relationships” have taken over young adult’s minds (I assume my readers are about ages 14-25).

Romantic relationships have taken such a large part of our lives that many girls (or boys) have even gone to the path of thinking about suicide for their failed relationships. I.. for one, am absolutely against this. Now, let’s talk more about this and share our experiences together to make sure no one follows the same path as us.

 

Do not let your partner cross the line (XTL).

 

Not just for girls, but also for boys. Naturally, women are ultra sensitive and we can also go overboard sometimes. It’s important to keep this in mind.

It’s ok for your boyfriend to raise their voice at you if the TV is on and he is on the other side of the room. But it is not ok if he throws a fork at you to get your attention.

It’s ok for your partner to fistbump you. But it is not ok if he punches you on any part of your body when he is angry. Whether you get bruises or not, it is not okay.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced or heard of an experience of an abusive relationship. Sometimes, it may not just be physcially abusive, but it could also be emotionally abusive, or vocally abusive.

Any of these abusive actions are able to make you feel “worse off” in the relationship and are therefore classified as XTL.

It’s always hard to bring up a past experience that has traumatised you.. but I think it’s necessary to face the past and be able to talk about it. It is good to talk about your experiences with others who may have shared the same kind of experience.. it’s always easier when you know you’re not alone.

We’ve all gone through bad break ups. I had a particular bad one.

I mean.. we were all young and silly at one time of our lives. We meet the wrong person, love the wrong person.. and when we realise it, we try to leave, and that’s when we get stuck. No break ups are easy. If it’s easy, deep feelings were never involved.

For me.. I had a very loving “summer-love-story” – but it lasted a lot longer than a Summer. I was 16 or 17 when I met him and we shared almost every minute possible together. We sneaked into the library to play and laugh, we sneaked into golf courses to cuddle, we sneaked into schools near my house to just sit around and talk, we climbed on rooftops to watch the stars, we… did amazing.. and ofcourse romantic but childish things together. And never was there a moment.. where I felt.. unloved.

We took hundreds and thousands of selfies together each day. We were young and poor, but we were able to purchase the sweetest and cutest little gifts with minimal money.

 

 

We were so perfect together..

When we both graduated from highschool, we went our separate ways. I started to hang around a new crowd at university and he left highschool and started to work. We had very different perspectives of how our life would be in the future. I turned 18, and I just wanted to have fun. He started to settle down because highschool was all the fun he had, and started to try to lock me down.

As an 18 year old girl who had just started uni and started to make all these new friends who ran clubbing communities, and dance classes, and other societies, I refused. Again and again, I refused to stay home, I refused to spend every minute possible together.. and we started to drift…

Immediately, he started to feel like he was losing me. With the love story we shared, he refused to believe that I wanted to spend time with my own friends, and I wanted to spend time with other people but him! He started to..

XTL

Now.. lucky for me, I had very loving friends and family who supported me.

 

He continuously threatened to do things to me had I left him, he waited around my house and my workplace to find me and talk to me.. When I had refused to stay with him, he would punch the wall and shout at me. I was frightened.

As an 18 year old girl who had just stepped into adulthood, I had no idea what to do. With the threatening, with the stalking, with the hundreds of calls I’d receive in a day…

I knew there was only one thing to do. I called 000 (for those who are not in Australia, 000 is the national police line). In the end, I commenced an AVO against him, and decided not to go ahead and we worked things out from there and are now actually friends again.

But the moral of the story is to “reach out to someone when someone else has XTL”

 

We need to reach out for help when someone else has XTL. We need to educate our friends and family – especially the young ones – to reach out for help. It’s not easy to be brave enough to tell someone what’s happened to us. It’s never easy to reach out for help but with the hundreds and thousands of helplines available in each country, with the hundreds and thousands of people we have who care for us every day, it is necessary.

If you have a story you’d like to share, please tell me in the comment box.

If you are in a situation where someone else has XTL, you can reach out to me.

 

I’m finally back. I’m actually a little embarrassed that I haven’t blogged for such a long time. I want to have the perfect reason, but I don’t.. so I have come back with a Do-it-Yourself tutorial!!

Since purchasing hundreds of false lashes from Taiwan, I’ve realised that most of the ones I purchased are quite natural! I’m not a big fan of “thick thick” lashes because I feel like it drops my eyes down or looks really “fake”, but on occasions where you want to bring a little more attention to your eyes, the typical natural lash just isn’t enough.

This technique will also work for volumising your old false lashes which you’ve probably worn for about a week or two, and really need some freshening up!

 

 

 

It’s really a simple idea really, and I’ve definitely talked about it in my videos or posts before. The “doubling” technique.

 

By using this technique, you can upgrade the most simplest lashes to look more perky.

 

Lots of us spend hundreds on our favourite “style” of eyelashes, but we do not realise that these could be easily made ourselves with the hundreds of lashes we do not use.

 

Let me show you what I mean.

 

I’m taking the below two types of lashes.

The first box is a box I purchased from Taiwan. These lashes are extremely nice as they are long and really bring out the eyes, but after a few wears, I realised they didn’t have any volume in them. It was just long. I wanted to make a pair of lashes that would help my eyes stand out with miminal eyeliner and eyeshadow.

The second box is a box I purchased from Ebay. I’ve had a few of these sets of lashes for a long time. They were cheap but the band is stiff and really hard to wear. They would keep poking my eyes and I really did not find much use for them.

 

 

 

 

Our first step is to take the cheap ebay lashes and snip it in 3. I use a nail clipper because I find that it’s easier to cut. Ofcourse you can choose to use anything from a pair of kitchen scissors to a pair of nose hair clippers. ^O^

 

 

 

 

The step is to choose your piece. I like more volume in the centre because I feel like that creates more of a dolly (larger looking) eye. I know many of you may like more volume on the outer corner to create more of a sultry (sexy looking) eye so feel free to use the outer third of the lash.

I chose the middle piece.

 

 

Although this is a very simple technique, many people do not actually remember to “bend” the two lashes together. This will help to blend the lashes to help the lashes look more realistic and less “chunky”. It is almost to do so whilst it’s drying because once the lashes are dry, they will be stuck and will be hard to alter.

 

The result is subtle, but definitely noticable. I’ll let you judge. Excuse my eyes as I am not wearing contacts. I’ve cut down on wearing contacts now. :)

 

 

 

 

If you analyse the two lashes below, you can see exactly where I stuck the extra piece of lash. Be creative, you can add smaller pieces to different areas of the lash. Experiment with it and you will find which style of lashes suit you best!

 

Stop wasting money on purchasing lashes which do not suit you! Utilise what you’ve got. ;)

 

 

 

If you’ve also done this, show me your creations!

 

It’s been over a month since I’ve been to Taipei, Taiwan and I still have not had to chance to post up pictures of my beauty haul!!! Read about my adventures here, here and here.

 

Taipei is renown for its beauty industry- other countries being Korea and Japan! It’s one of the countries in Asia where beauty plays such a large role in their city. From plastic surgerys, to facial masks, to false eyelashes.. you will be able to find hundreds of these stalls in every street of Guangfu Road.

 

During my trip, I made several trips to purchase beauty products, and many of the products I had already opened up to use, but for the ones I have not..

 

I purchased 2 x Skin79 Pink Super BB Cream! I’ve had it before and I know I used to love it! There was a sale at Watsons for buy one get one for $1, so I purchased two as a backup or to gift. Below that, you can see false plastic nails. I purchased these for special events or to stick on for advertorials. I’m quite dedicated to my blog in that way. hehehe ^O^ *selfcompliment*

 

In Sasa, I found gel pencil liners (I’m pretty sure that’s what it was called) by Jealousness. They were also on Buy one get one free (BOGOF) so I got two of them as well – smoked black and sparkling brown.

 

 

 

 

How can I not have bulk bought facial masks!! They were incredibly cheap in Taiwan! I think each box only cost me about 300 Taiwanese dollars which is equivalent to about AU$10! Some were cheaper and some were more expensive of course. I actually walked around the Sasa store with a lady assistant who picked up every box of masks I looked at and helped me store it behind the counter. Poor lady ended up carrying about 5-6 boxes at a time in the end.

One thing I did notice about the taiwanese is that they say “harlo harlo!” alot. Everytime she tried to get my attention, they would “harlo” me. I didn’t know how to react much so I just nodded or shook my head so tell her whether I was interested or not.

I purchased quite a few brands so I can’t name them all, but Sasatinnie, My Beauty Diary, Lioele to list a few.

 

 

Here is the bigger picture from before. I purchased some liquid eyeliners, some drugstore mascaras (which are really cheap btw. About AU$10 when it’s about AU$20 in Sydney). I also got a Cyber Colors eyelash curler because the shop assistant wouldn’t stop showing me how amazing her eyelashes looked with this eyelash curler… and some eyelid tape – which I haven’t really had much of a chance to try yet!

 

 

 

Okay okay okay.. so now it comes to my favourite part of my shopping haul!!!! I possibly spent way too much on false eyelashes, but I do not regret it one little bit!!!

Every corner you walk to, each shop you pretty much step into, will sell false eyelashes! I never thought it could be physically possible to find so many different styles of false eyelashes!!! It almost shocked me! Here is a part of my haul.. and I’m saying this because I gave tonnes of these away to family and friends!!!!

I think each box was about 199 or 300 taiwanese dollars – which is equivalent to about AU$6-10!!!

 

 

That’s about all from my haul. If you love beauty products, I highly recommend you take a trip to Taiwan – but remember to save up lots of money or you might find yourself a couple of hundreds of dollars below your intended spend!!!!

 

 

 

 

And just a quick plug pic of myself in black hair!! I’m really loving the colour now because it’s somewhat faded to a “less fake-black” colour. Definitely need to make a video soon to show y’all, but for now….

 

Until next time!

I’ve never been a huge fan of blue lenses.. mainly because they stand out so much – especially in flash photography!

For some reason, I’ve never liked the light eyes look because I’ve found it so hard to match it with my eye makeup. But, I’m trying these circle lenses because I think it’s one of Xiaxue’s favourite circle lenses!

 

 

 

 

I love the design on them because it is so bright – It’s hard to find bright circle lenses that stand out on dark eyes.

 

With or without flash, the lenses appear amazing in photography! Lighting used here is just a ring light with my SLR!

 

 

Although these lenses are not large – only 14.5mm in diameter, they are still not very comfortable. I can’t say I can wear these for over 5 hours.. which is disappointing because I love the effect of the lenses so much!

I don’t know if it’s just me, but for some reason, I feel like the lighter the colour of my lenses, the more uncomfortable it becomes. My Shinny greys were alot more comfortable than these Shinny aquas! You can see my review on the G&G Shinny Greys here.

 

Comfort: ✰✰✰
Enlarging effect: ✰
Design: ✰✰✰✰✰

 

Overall: ✰✰✰✰

 

Anyhow, overall, I would still give it a high rating just because of the amazing colour!!

 

Without flash, it obviously does not look as bright, but it still sort of reminds me of husky eyes!

 

 

 

Anyhow, last camwhore photo because I recently wore this top out and got laughed at by a few restaurant staff.

 

It is supposed to read “I (heart) Angry Birds” but because I wore a high waisted skirt, it only showed as “I (heart) Angry”. Just a little laugh!

 

 

 

Until next time! <3

Skylar Fashion has been a little secret since a few months ago, and I started talking about it back in December when it was supposed to launch. We got held up due to some technical problems and because I had to travel, but we have finally launched!

 

We aim to deliver fashionable pieces ready for any work event or party.

 

 

Here are some of our pieces I particularly like. Don’t forget that we also ship worldwide and free shipping to Australia over AU$50!!

 

 

Sleeveless White Blouse (here) RRP $30.00
Floral Blue Skirt (here) RRP $30.00

 

 

Floral Strapless High Low Dress in Pink (here) RRP $95.00

 

 

Gold Sequin Party Dress in White (here) RRP $50.00

 

 

Gold Sequined Tee (here) RRP $35.00
Pastel Yellow Skater Skirt (here) RRP $40.00

 

 

Strapless Mesh Candy Party Dress in Black (here) RRP $50.00

 

 

Studded Skater Dress in White (here) RRP $55.00

 

 

 

And because we have literally JUST LAUNCHED and you guys are the first to find out, I have a special discount code for you!! If you input FIRST10 in the discount code at checkout, you will 10% off your total cart!!

 

Now, as we are trying to get the word out, please support us by spreading the word on our newly launched store. You can tweet us, instagram or facebook us!

 

 

 

 

Usually, I’m intimidated by “branded”/”higher-end” salons. Christopher Hanna (CH).. just sounded as if they were going to charge me hundreds for a blow dry (obviously exaggerating a little… or alot)

 

 

I mean, I’ve been to so many salons in my lifetime. Infact, high and low end. Had my hair ruined, had my hair pampered.. but I’m still too scared to risk spending hundreds if they “may” destroy my hair.

Another problem with living in Australia is that it is very hard to find a salon who knows how to deal with asian hair!

Now.. to solve this problem, I usually try the salon with a blowdry first!

 

Last week, I was one of the lucky bloggers to be invited to CH Platinum (located on Oxford Street) for a meet and greet! The staff at CH immediately welcomed us with a glass of champagne and a quick introduction of their team!

 

To my surprise, everyone was super friendly and was not pushy at all! The best part about coming to a salon is when they actually make you feel welcome, instead of pushing products to your face and telling you “what you need” for your hair.

 

Here’s Sam genuinely talking to me about what services they offer at their salon. CH Platinum actually offers more than just for the hair! They do complete makeovers with botox, fraxel and more!

 

 

 

My hairdresser was just a beauty. She discussed with me the types of curls I wanted – which is rare because normally when I walk into a salon and ask for my hair curled, they curl it in their own way!!

As we, beauty gurus know, there are so many different ways your hair can be curled. Big dolly curls, waves, mermaid waves, victoria secret style.. the list goes on! So I was very pleased she went through my preference with me!

 

 

 

 

 

The result you ask?

 

Here! Take a look for yourself!

 

I asked for curls which would not make my face look bigger. It would frame my face and were soft enough to touch with the hand. I told her I was going to a CNY family dinner and would need to keep it rather conservative.

 

And this is what she came up with!

 

 

 

If you want a blowdry for a Friday Night or an event, it’s $35 and if you work in the city, you can go right after work or during your lunch break! (Who needs to eat lunch when they can look good instead??)

 

With the rest of the bloggers who also attended the CH event.

 

 

 

Now because I also know that you may be intimidated and fear wasting money at a new salon, I will share with you a website that was unknown to me!

 

CH actually have their very own online deals site!! And like I said earlier, because CH Platinum does not only offer hair services, the deals site offers cosmedical services too!! You can receive a full fraxel restore treatment for $799, or a full hair colour package for $140!

 

 

Now unfortunately, the deals are only valid on new customers!! But if you are new to CH, I definitely recommend trying it out!

 

Christopher Hanna is located in Sydney CBD (inside Ivy) or Paddington (Oxford Street). Mention “chaigyaru” when you visit and I’m sure they will take care of you!

Sorry for the little mini break. I’ve had quite a bit to deal with in the last week. Coming back to Sydney has been quite hectic.

 

Honestly, Phuket is quite amazing even though we did not stay for long. The main attraction was Fantasea – which is a famous night time cultural theme park. We patted elephants, took photos of the amazing detailed designs of the theme park and watched the show. It’s much like Cirque Soleil for those who are wondering. I’d say you’d have to watch it if you’re in Phuket.

 

 

 

Our second day in Phuket, we actually went to the well known Phi phi island. It’s known for it’s amazingly soft sand and perfect beach. I believe it’s also the beach from the movie “The Beach“.

 

Phi Phi island is great to tour around because there are so many activities to do! I think if I ever come back to Phuket, I’ll most likely revisit Phi phi!

 

We were allowed to feed monkeys, jet boat and swim in the ocean and snorkel amongst the fish.

 

 

 

Because most of the activities were water-based, I didn’t actually get to take many photos. But nonetheless, I had a fabulous time.

 

Our next destination was Koh Samui. This was the island I was looking forward to the most because I had heard that it was relaxing and for old-retired couples!! Perfect for me! HAHA.

 

We stayed there for about 6 days and there was quite a bit of drama there! The resort we stayed at (which I don’t want to mention the name of) was amazing. We had our own private pool villa and I honestly think I could have stayed in the resort for our whole trip.. maybe even for a whole month.

The only reason I didn’t want to mention the name of the resort is because I had an accident there, which I wasn’t too happy about. Although the resort had made up with their immaculate service, I don’t want to make an influence towards their resort by writing about it.

 

During our stay there, we booked a Safari tour where we were able to ride elephants, hold snakes, watch monkey shows and elephant shows!

 

 

 

 

We also took a short bush walk to see the Na Muang Waterfall 2 – a famous attraction in Koh Samui

 

 

 

The rest of Koh Samui was great. We went jet-skiing (my first time!!!) and sunbaked quite alot. Chaweng Beach was a great location to discover great food and great bars. We hired a scooter and I think that was my favourite part of this island! There is minimal traffic and travelling from one place to another was really easy. We did not get scammed by taxi drivers or tuk tuks too!!

 

Koh Samui is more touristy and definitely more friendly.

 

 

Our best night was spent at Ark Bar on Chaweng Beach! This bar gets really busy on Friday nights and the place is really amazing. You get to sit along Chaweng beach on beach chairs and enjoy the view of the waves in the ocean at night. The music was really loud so you sort of feel like you’re in a club too! But it was really chill.

 

There were also lots of performances off the beach! Check this out!

 

 

 

After Koh Samui, I headed back to Bangkok to route back to Sydney. On the way, we checked out Chatuchak market!!! I was really excited because it’s actually one place I’ve always wanted to go to!!! If you go to Bangkok, make sure you visit Chatuchak! You will not regret!

 

The best deals for fashion and anything young and trendy! It is run every weekend next to Mochi BTS station!

 

 

 

Anyway, enough on my trip!

 

Next post will definitely be more beauty related! =)

Bangkok was fun in it’s own way, but it was probably the country I enjoyed the least compared to the rest of the islands/cities I visited – but I will talk about that later.

 

In Bangkok, I stayed in Sukhumvit – which I think is the best area to stay at due to the number of things happening around the area!!

 

We visited Soi 11 alot, which was one of the most busiest streets for bars and street food!

 

 

That being said, what I disliked the most about Bangkok is the amount of people there were on the streets at any point in time! I found it almost impossible to walk in a straight line!! Even when it was possible, you’d be stopped by promoters of Ping Pong shows or street salesmen trying to sell you their tshirts or watches.

 

One of the things I enjoyed the most however, were the tuk tuk bars!! There were so many tuk tuks which were pimped up with lights and music to be a portable bar!! The drinks were about 80B for a cup of cocktail and 250B for a bucket of cocktail! ~equivalent to less than AUD$3 per cup and AUD$7.50 per bucket!

 

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Because we only stayed in Bangkok for two days initially, we weren’t able to get much done! But we did go on a canal tour which was provided by our hotel. The experience wasn’t amazing, but I would recommend it as something you’d have to do for sight-seeing. We saw some amazing temples and the view of some of the “houses” people live in by the river.

 

We also got to see some ladies selling drinks and snacks off their boat!!

 

 

I’ll be coming back to abit more on Bangkok towards the end of my travel diaries, but that was about all we got to for the first few days!!