14 November 2011

American Apparel Sample Sale

Haha. The review of this sample sale is really late, the sale took place on 05Nov2011 at Herbst Pavillion. It was the first ever AA sample sale in SF and it advertised prices "up to 90% off retail."

Let me tell you, I really hate shit like that. "Up to 90% off" means only a couple items are truly marked down to sample sale prices. Despite that, I went to check it out based on the review on Refinery 29.

So how was it?

Beyond lame. Seriously, things were not even cheap. A regular plain hoodie was around $40. The hosiery was even more expensive than the prices I paid at the outlet (granted, there was a special 80% off promotion going on at the time). Oh and they didn't even stock the winter leggings which I was interested in buying. They had all kinds of basics and tacky leggings... and an ugly vintage clothing section.

Since parking in Marina is a f'ing nightmare, I felt that I needed to buy something to justify the trip there. I ended up buying one item: a thin sheer navy cotton lawn shirt. I think this shirt has potential to be cute layered in the spring. I was interested in the houndstooth or striped jacket... but it was more than what I wanted to pay (~$50 maybe).

I believe I went on the last day (or second to last day), and I was surprised the prices were essentially the same as what was reported by R29. There was however an additional 10% off for some reason... which was not advertised anywhere. Strange.

Basically... American Apparel is one sample sale you may skip out on. The prices are not cheaper than the outlet, so why bother? I can't believe there was a riot in London over this type of sale. Lame lame lame.

10 November 2011

A Forgotten Hair Product

I used Redken's Crema Care in combination with Redken's Fresh Curls Curl Boost spray gel when I had a digital perm 3 years ago. That was a winning combination for my hair at the time. It moisturized the permed hair and held the curl after heat styling. These two products helped me maintain my permed style for one year.

A coworker liked my hair so much she got a digital perm as well. Unfortunately, she thought a digital perm was some sort of magic bullet for looking like a JJ model. HAH. It's not, that's a myth! Digitally permed hair still has to be styled to get the magazine-like results. Without proper styling, hair can look messy... or even worse... like it wasn't even permed! My coworker asked me what I used ... but I didn't tell her... I duno... I felt like a copy cat like her should at least try various products and figure it out herself. That's what I did~ ;)

Anyway... I think I have successfully gone to ash blonde hair myself. Yes, I did it myself (with the assistance of my boyfriend). Since bleach and multiple dyes were involved, my hair suffered quite a bit of damage. I don't have elastic hair nor excessive breakage... which is a testament to how much abuse my hair can actually take (it was already damaged from previous dye jobs ^^;;).

I have had to make a few changes to my hair routine to preserve the health of my hair (and the dye job as well). The changes I made were:

1. Switched to sulfate free shampoo
2. Blow dry on low heat setting or cool.
3. Resume hair treatments once a week.
4. Try to wash hair 2-3x per week only.
5. Shampoo once in awhile with purple toning shampoo.
6. Spray hair with Aveda brilliant protecting spray prior to blow drying

Despite all these things, my hair still had a dry texture due to the porosity. I was using rich conditioning treatments (Bumble and Bumble damage therapy), but they seemed to be ineffective. My hair would always feel dry, although it was partially from my styling products (ie volumizing sprays).

The other day I decided to dig out my Redken Crema Care... and I'm so glad I did! This leave in product makes my hair so easy to manage! The problem with dry hair is that it tangles terribly... even my conditioners couldn't really take care of the tangles. But working Crema Care in damp hair after a wash was like magic! I could separate the tangled sections much easier. After blow drying, my hair was voluminous... yet smooth (no frizz!)... and soft! WOW!!! Why didn't I use this earlier? I guess I forgot about it.

I'll continue styling with this product... I'm so glad I took it out of the graveyard of haircare products ~_~;;;

08 November 2011

Rachel Zoe


Sometimes I feel like Rachel Zoe with this blonde hair color. Heh.

25 August 2011

yesterday's hair



Milk Maid x Princess Leia.

;)

11 August 2011

JJ September 2011 Issue

I thought I'd share the images I liked best from JJ's September 2011 issue.

I like blazers:



This sweater is really nice, but super $$$:


I don't really care for the clothes, but the boots and background geometrics are nice:


This hair style is super cute! It reminds me of McQueen's Spring 2010, but tamed down:


The illustrations are just sooo cute. Are you getting a cavity yet?




09 August 2011

12 May 2011

Followers