Review Time! It's A 10: 5 Minute Hair Repair

It's a 10: Five Minute Hair Repair for Blondes

PACKAGING:

-Comes in a medium size yellow squeeze tube

-Contains 5 FL OZ of product

-Retail $19.96 at ULTA (Also available at selected drugstores, Wal-Marts & Targets) 

FORMULATION:

I recently got my hair lightened to a dark brownish blonde. This is my first time ever having any sort of blonde hair and surprisingly I'm loving it! However for those of you who have blonde hair or are familiar you probably know that blonde hair is a b**ch to take care off especially if its dyed. Dyed blonde hair can get super dry and brassy overtime even with the use of color treated shampoo and conditioner. For blonde hair it is essential to use a purple toned shampoo and conditioner to counteract the brassiness. Over the last couple of weeks I have tried a variety of products and unfortunately all of them have made my hair cracked dry. And as much as I wanted to make an appointment with my colorist, to me it just wasn't worth the money after already spending so much on the coloring itself. So I went to ULTA in search of more products and came across this one. I have been a fan of It's a 10 products since high school (I currently use the leave in spray). 

This product is an intense 5 minute repair mask designed to treat blonde colored hair. It repairs damaged hair, adds radiance to blonde tones, prevents brassiness, adds shine, stops hair breakage, deeply moisturizes, UV protection, improves elasticity, creates softness and silkiness, and last but not least a thermal protector (10 things just like the name). Unlike other products, It's a 10 stays true to all its claims. Just after one use my hair already felt so much smoother and less brassy. It has a nice thick texture but doesn't weigh your hair down and smells amazing. After shampooing, massage the product into your hair and leave for 5 minutes (you can leave it on a little longer but don't exceed 10 minutes).I recommend using this at least twice a week. If you have severely dry hair, you can replace your normal conditioner with this. It is a pricey product but a little goes a long weigh and if you are using it as a repair mask like I am, it will last you for awhile. 

OVERALL 

5/5

First Weekly Playlist of 2016

Back at it again! Here are some tunes I have been jamming to! 

LISTEN WITH ME

Sorry

Rick Ross & Chris Brown

Without You 

Parachute

One Grain of Sand

Ron Pope

Gimme What I Want

Keri Hilson

Everglow

Coldplay

Anything for You

Ginette Claudette

Middle

DJ Snake & Bipolar Sunshine

Whisky

Marian Hill

Freedom

Akon

Big Pimpin'

Jay-Z

Tony Moly Banana Cream Foam Cleanser: Review

Packaging:

Comes in a yellow plastic squeeze bottle

Contains 150 ml of product

Retails for $10-$15 (depending on where purchased)

ULTA currently has them for $11.60 

Formulation:

Banana cleansers are very popular in Asian skincare and has only begun to touch the surface here in the states. Banana extract has properties that help eliminate dirt and other wastes from the skin's surface. Think of it as a natural exfoliate without the harsh beads that most exfoliates have these days. This cleanser also contains honey which not only moisturizes your skin but also contains anti-bacteria properties to keep your skin nice and clean. While this cleanser does contain natural ingredients such as banana and honey, it is not 100% natural. It has your typical skin cleanser ingredients that you would see almost everywhere these days.

The texture is a cross between a cream and a gel like consistency. It feels very smooth on the skin and foams up pretty nicely. I was surprised at how much I liked this stuff. It cleanses the skin very well even on days where I am wearing heavy makeup. It does feel a little drying right afterwards but not to the point where I feel my skin is cracking. It works well with steam in the shower, opening up any pores and also works with cold water in the morning to help wake you up. 

I have very sensitive acne prone skin and after using this for about 2 weeks, not only my skin has cleared up I haven't had any breakouts. I would say that this cleanser would work on a lot of different types of skin. Remember everyone's skin is different, what works for one person may not necessarily work for another. When it comes to skincare it is all about trial and error.

The cleanser has a very potent scent which reminded me of banana popsicles I used to eat as a child. It also has an acetone scent to it when applied on the skin. I personally didn't mind the scent but for those of you out there who hate or can't handle strong scents I don't recommend this cleanser for you.

Overall

4.8/5

  

Health Tips for the New Year

Happy New Year y'all! I realize that I am posting this pretty late but if you have been following me for awhile you know that outside of blogging I am a full time graduate student and I have a full time job as a social media consultant. Although one of my new year resolutions is to get a set schedule one where I can post more on here! But anyways with that aside I wanted to share some health tips to kick off the new year. These tips are not only easy but also very achievable. The main issue when it comes to setting resolutions every year (especially ones that have to do with health) is that we tend to make them non achievable and just plain unrealistic. When making resolutions/goals make sure you tailor them to your lifestyle. 

1.) Walk More

Rather than telling yourself to go to the gym constantly start out small. Walking is a great first step and we pretty much do it everyday whether we are walking to and around school/work, grabbing food or even just walking back and forth from the parking lot. A great motivation I found is to get yourself a Fit Bit or anyone of those exercise watches. You can keep track of your steps per day and also connect with your friends and family and compete to see who walks more per day, When it comes to exercise keep it fun (unless you are training to be a body builder), the more you stress about it the more likely you just will avoid it all together. 

2.) Warm Lemon Water

Every morning right after you wake up before you eat breakfast grab yourself a warm cup of lemon water. Lemon water has been known and proven to help boost your metabolism and detoxify your body. It is also great for skin. I found that drinking lemon water has also curbed my appetite. On days where I don't drink it I find myself eating more. This is a great refreshing way to start your day not too mention super easy, there really isn't any excuse.

3.) De-clutter

  In with the new and out with the old! Donate, sell, throw away anything you have no need for. Having too much stuff around you creates more chaos and chaos as we all know leads to stress. I know personally how hard it is to get rid of things, I admit I am a hoarder myself but over years I started to get rid of a few things at a time and honestly I don't miss them at all. This doesn't just pertain to materialistic crap but also the people in your life. Anybody giving you stress or just isn't a good person to begin with kick them out of your life. Why put yourself in that position to get hurt over and over again? Trust me it is not worth it. So I challenge you guys to purge through your life and get rid of at least one thing a week! 

and last but not least BE HAPPY!!!! Making yourself happy is one of the best things you can do to keep your healthy. If you are happy on the inside it will show on the outside. Life is very short so do what you love and love what you do! 

Happy New Year guys!!! xoxo

Si 

What 2015 Taught Me: A Year in Review

1.) Not all things broken are meant to be fixed...

FAMILY:

I have a very complicated relationship with some of my immediate family members. Over the years I have tried and tried to develop some sort of a relationship with them but to no avail. And as important as family is it is important to realize when enough is enough. No matter how much effort I make on my side, these particular family members didn't bother even trying and in any relationship it takes two to tango. And although I did spend a lot of time trying to cultivate these relationships with very little successful outcomes, I don't regret it. I rather I tried than just stand back. No family is perfect and it's important to spend time with those who love you just the way you are. 

RELATIONSHIPS:

This is a very hard topic for me to talk about. This year I got roped backed into a situation that I probably should've avoided all together. There has been this guy in my life for that I have held a torch for. Even today I still don't know why. This particular year I not only let him back in my life but my heart as well. There are no words to describe the pain that I went through going back and forth thinking that there was some hope out there for us. A part of me should have known better since he has hurt me before many times but at the same time I felt like I finally got closure to our situation. My heart is still broken but I am mending day by day. It has made me realize what I need to look for in a partner and also to take the toxic guys out of my life. As much as we hold on to our old loves, we need to ask ourselves is it really worth it? We all go through broken hearts in our lives but we have to make sure that those broken hearts were worth it. 

When things are broken in life, there is probably a good reason why it is. It is good to try and fix it and sometimes things can get fixed but if it doesn't don't stress out about it. Life is so short and precious that wasting even a second of it over something you don't have control over is just not worth it. 

2.) I despise driving...

So apparently this year I learned that I actually hate driving. I honestly don't know why I was so excited when I was 16 getting my license. I don't know if it is where I live or just the amount of asshole drivers there are out there but driving these days is more of a chore rather than an enjoyment. I need to make more money and hire myself a chauffeur.

3.) Don't ever let ANYONE talk down to you...

I had a professor earlier this year who was also my advisor that told me because I wasn't doing well in his class, I probably shouldn't be in the program all together. And even though I was doing well in my other classes it didn't matter to him. When he said this to me I literally bawled my eyes out for like 3 hours and was close to dropping out of the program. But with the support of my friends I got back up and retook the class. Not only I got an A in the class I ended up raising my entire GPA. It was honestly one of the best feelings I have ever experienced. Never let anyone talk down to you and tell you you can't do it even if it is an authority figure. As long as you give it your all you are capable of ANYTHING life throws at you.

4.) I enjoy eating vegetarian and vegan dishes

Ever since I was young I have been the biggest carnivore. I had to have meat with every single meal every day of the year. This year however on the road to getting back in shape, I decided to venture out my tastebuds and try some vegetarian and vegan options. And to my surprise I actually enjoyed them much more than I thought. Although I haven't completely cross over to the herbivore side I do try to incorporate more vegetarian and vegan meals into my diet. Being Asian has helped since we eat a lot of tofu.

5.)  Loving yourself first

The most important thing this year taught me is that no matter what situation bad or good always love yourself first. If you can't love yourself you can't love or help others around you. No matter what comes your way always charge and face it head on. Happy New Year guys! Thank so much for all the support these last couple of years. <3 xoxo

"Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about"

-Marylin Monroe 

Countdown to CHRISTMAS: Christmas Tag 2015

What is your favorite Christmas...

Song?

This is a hard one! I don't think I have one particular favorite but some of my top ones are 

MistleToe by Justin Bieber

The ENTIRE NSYNC Christmas Album

Snowflake by Jason Chen

Santa Baby by Madonna

Activity?

Making tons of junk food and binge watching Christmas movies with family and friends

Food?

Candy Canes (The fruit flavored ones... I know I'm unoriginal) 

Movie?

It's a tie between Elf and Love Actually 

Do you have a Christmas tradition?

My family watches Elf every single year... multiple times haha

What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

Just being able to spend time with family and friends. As we get older we are now farther apart and don't get to see each other as often anymore so the holidays are extra special when we can get all together. 

Countdown to CHRISTMAS: JINGLE JINGLE- Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Hey guys welcome to another Countdown to CHRISTMAS POST!!! Today I wanted to bring back an old series of mine that I do every year and as you can pretty much see in the title it is my JINGLE JINGLE series where I share my all time favorite Christmas inspired recipes. I have a delicious and satisfying peppermint hot chocolate recipe that will put the Starbucks version to shame.

What You Need:

No exact measurements, make as much or as little as you want!!! 

-Semi sweet chocolate (the good expensive kind trust me it makes a HUGE difference)

-Whole Milk (none of that reduced fat 2% stuff)

-Heavy cream

-Candy Canes

-Peppermint Extract 

-Coconut Sugar (White sugar will work as well_

-Whipped cream or topping

-Marshmallows (optional)

How To Make:

Using a double boiler (if you don't have one no problem just put a glass bowl on top of a small pot of boiling water) melt your chocolate. The double boiler helps your chocolate melt a lot more smoother plus it also prevents lumps and the chocolate drying out.

After the chocolate is melted, stir it into a mixture of hot milk and cream very slowly (1 part cream per 2 parts of milk) 

While stirring add your sugar and adjust to your taste. Then pour in a couple drops of peppermint extract. BE VERY CAREFUL this stuff is very strong. 

After everything is dissolved and mixed pour it into your mug of choice and top it off with some whipped cream or topping and some crushed candy canes. You can also add some marshmallows.

Serve warm and enjoy!!!