Today it’s an amazing weather in Taipei! I walked around Da-an district to Sogo and mini boutiques everywhere!!
Really reminds me of Hong Kong (cause that’s probably my only memory of Asia).
I purchased some lingerie and eyelashes today. There are many manu little aisles of stores and I’ve found myself getting lost through all of them!!
I’m currently drafting this post in a restaurant where I ate the infamous Taiwanese beef noodle soup!! It cost NT140 which is equivalent to about $4.50!!! And I also ordered a mango juice for NT30 which is less than $1!! I’m stunned at how cheap Asia is.
Taiwan is relatively safe compared to many parts of Asia. Most people here mind their own business and no one really stares at you like most other parts of Asia!!
I’m struggling with everyone speaking mandarin but I’m surprisingly pulling through with communication! #day1
Hopefully the next few days will get better!! I’ll leave you guys with some pics!
If you’ve been following me for over a year now.. you may be excited by the title. OMG.
So… I loved my ombre.. like, trust me, I really loved it.. it was low maintenance, it was easy, looked amazing in photos, etc, etc… but I had one problem.
I was bored of it.
Being a Gen Y, I’m extremely impulsive, impatient and ever-changing. I can’t help it. We have easy access to a million things in this generation. I can walk out the door, down the road to the closest mall to buy bleach and bleach my hair, or I can buy hair dye on beauty supply stores online, or I can drive down to the closest salon and walk in without an appointment to get my hair done with a picture I save on my phone from Google Images.
Look, the point is, if I want it, I can do it. Now.
So right before my trip to Taiwan on Tuesday, I decided.. I’m going to get rid of this ombre.
My best friend, Joanna (also known the red-head in my photos) was going to get my hair cut so I went along with her.
Here is the before photo.
Ombre, dry ends.. nothing spectacular. You’ve seen my hair like this in a million and one photos in the last year.
The first step to achieving any ash shade unfortunately… is bleach. And for me… my hair can handle it quite well. One bleach session was enough for me. Some may need two or three depending on your current/natural hair colour. Don’t ask me any questions please, I’m not a professional.
Close your eyes..
Because I had to close mine.
It’s so effing bright.
After bleaching.. yes, it’s yellow, it’s bright.. but ofcourse it’s time for a toner.
I used a level 6/7 ash blonde toner for my base colour and I also have 3 sections of highlights which are golden blonde. You can’t really see the highlights from this photo, but you can also see that the tips of my hair is slightly lighter than the rest of my hair. That was intentional but I only wanted an extremely subtle effect.
Final result.
I am extremely 100% happy with it!!
I initially wanted a dark ash blonde, but decided on the ash blonde in the end and so it’s a little light for my liking and also a shock to my eyes. I think I’m going to get used to it, but I might go darker when I do my regrowths.
I love it but I’m definitely still getting used to it.
Should I go darker or leave it this shade during my next salon visit? I definitely look much more “gyaru” with this hair (although I still don’t have the reknown gyaru fringe haha) but I think I’m less into the gyaru style as I was in the previous years. Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
I’m an extremely festive girl when it comes to special occasions and I tend to love having parties and dressing up for Christmas!! This year, we held a house party at my best friend’s apartment and had kris kringle (also known as secret santa) with my loved ones.
Jeanice gave me a photo frame filled with our memories and a jewellery tree! Thank you baby!
To complete our christmas party, we also ordered Laos dishes from one of my favourite laos restaurants called Laos Village in Fairfield. You guys have to try this place. It’s cheap & their dishes are mouth-wateringggg.
Pic of me right before heading to Christmas Dinner. I think my makeup & hair looks abit different because I had darker pink lips and had my hair tied up, but it’s definitely still the same night!!
It was also raining in Sydney on Christmas (hence the umbrella)
And ofcourse Christmas isn’t christmas without driving around scouting out the best lit-up houses. We drove to about 10 houses this year and found some of the best ones I’ve ever seen in my 24 years of life! :O
That’s it for my christmas. I hope you guys had a great christmas break and had a great getaway – if you went anywhere!
On December 13th – 15th, Gloss cosmetics invited nail artists from Iscreamnails (based in Melbourne) to come to their new Parramatta Flagship store and help girls do their nails for free!!!
(I hope you guys went after I tweeted about it ^O^)
The new GLOSS Flagship store – like all the other Gloss stores – is super bling and pink!! You can spot it straight away!! This is their second Parramatta store and is located right beside to Ice & Supre in Parramatta Westfields! Find all their other locations here.
LOL. There is a guy in this photo. That was unintentional.. but there were quite of few of them in the store! :D
The nail artists doing free nail art for the girls. I must say.. they were super quick at it!! Each girl took about 5 minutes each! The design below was done for the girl infront of me.
They even catered for these designs which looked super time consuming! I like the diamond one on the bottom left corner!!! *sings “we’re like diamonds in the sky”*
After getting your nails done, you can walk your nails through the manicam!!! This is a new concept Gloss is really excited about!!! It’s essentially like a catwalk but for your nails!!!
**Check it out!**
They were also giving out free fairy floss at the front of the store!!! What a way to attract girls. Girls and sweets and beauty!!
The best thing about Gloss is that they always have your big brands of cosmetics – Revlon, BYS, Maybelline, SugarBaby, Chi chi cosmetics, Model Co – just to name a few – for discounted prices!! There are usually quite a few shades of the products too – unlike some discount outlets!!
Unfortunately I couldn’t get my nails done that day because I had shellac, but I generally love Gloss!! My closest store is in Hurstville and I quite frequently bump into readers in that store!! (Funnily enough)
Anyhow, hope you guys have been having a good week – it’s almost Christmas.. and it’s almost 2013!!! I can’t believe it!
Here’s a quick camwhore shot of me (on a Monday, hence why I had a sad face) to keep you guys updated! I have a few reviews for you guys that I will hopefully be able to post before Christmas.. which I think will be very exciting to read!!!
After what seems like months of waiting for my ring to arrive, it’s finally arrived!!!
“Oui” means “Yes, I do” in french. ^O^~
I purchased this ring from Etsy early November, and it’s only just arrived at my house yesterday. It is made of sterling silver wire and a CZ stone on the dot of the i. Inspired by the Dior Oui ring, it’s one amazing ring I’ve added to my collection.
Sorry I’ve been so MIA. I’ve been away on road trips and spending time with friends and family. It’s almost christmas and I’m feeling really festive. What is everyone else doing for Christmas?
He and I broke up 7 months ago and we’d been dating for around 2.5 years. Whilst I know that we weren’t right for each other, am now a lot happier away from him and know that I’ve grown so much since the breakup, it’s still a punch in the guts to see facebook photos of him with a new girl. (I’ve deleted him from FB, but photos still appear because all our mutual friends.)
There’s nothing to hate about the new girl either – she seems sincere and long-term relationship material.
I just feel so pathetic right now. I’m a girl who’s got a stellar bunch of girlfiends, a dream job lined up next year and dare I say it, I’m quite happy with my looks. How can a boy from the past make me feel so rotten and teary right now?
Ex’s…
I think this is a common issue for us girls… actually, for anyone!
Although you have “moved on”, when you had a close relationship with your ex, when you’ve found out they have a new partner.. you are bound to feel strange at the beginning!! It’s not because you still want to be with them, but it’s because.. you are so used to seeing him with you.
What I can say is… if you strongly feel that you were better off apart from him and that you’ve grown so much from the past relationship, the best way to overcome this “frustration” is to “get used to it”. I often get told this alot – “You need to be comfortable with having him in the same room!”
Now, if you’re much like me – stubborn and rebellious, you’d most likely refuse to accept this idea. But the sad truth is, if you can’t be comfortable with having him in the same room, you are only making yourself unhappy. You’re allowing him to affect you!
Much like learning to walk, learning to draw, learning to play a computer game, learning to put on false eyelashes, you always start somewhere. At first, you will be frustrated because you have no control over your feelings, but once you’re there for some time, you will eventually learn from this experience and become a stronger person.
Such a cliche, but it’s a famous quote for a reason – “what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”
I’m really happy to hear that you feel you have a great bunch of girlfriends, your dream job lined up, and strong self-confidence!! Please do not let this bring you down!!
Once last quote because personally, I think quotes have really helped me get through a lot in life..
“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. Everything happens for a reason”
If you are not already seeing someone, I promise you will find someone who you will develop a much stronger chemistry with, have a much stronger bond with, and be much happier with. It will be worth it. And when it comes, you will be thinking back to this moment… and you will say to yourself “it was worth the wait”.
For now, have fun with your girlfriends!! Whinge to your girlfriends if you must, but do not let it affect you for that much longer. Get used to it, shrug it off, and move on :)
Remember, you can email me on janice@chaigyaru.com if you’d like me to write a post for you!
Sorry I was MIA. On Thursday, I had a sudden attack of conjunctivitis which caused me to be blind for a whole half day. I was freaked out like anything and left work immediately to see a doctor. I’ll tell you more about that later.
More importantly!!
I made a new purchase last week that I’m really excited to share. I’ve finally reinvested in a dslr after selling my Canon 450d two years ago. I swear I will learn how to use this properly and keep this camera until the end of time!! #nods
Here are some pictures I took.
And ofcourse, this can be a little beauty post too! These are my most recent shellac nails. Yes, they are my real nails!!! I’ve been shellacing for about.. 2 months now!
I call my nails my “claws” as you see on Instagram. They are majorly long!!
I know some of the pictures are still blurry, but I’m still learning so bare with me! :D
Here are some of the other test shots I made whilst testing out the settings on my camera. I used Manual setting for these!! #Reallyproud!
Does anyone have any photography tips they’d like to share with me?
