Blogs Merged

To my dearest lovely readers,


Thank you so much for reading this blog from time to time. Just want to inform you all that I have moved all the blog posts here towww.josarine.com and I will be updating my beauty related blog posts there from today on wards as I am not able to maintain 2 blogs.

Thanks again for your support! :)

<3.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Schwarzkopf Berry Ash Fresh Light Foam Colour (Bubble Hair Dye) Review


Hello ladies! Christmas has just passed, but i've been so busy with preparing for Christmas, especially shopping, searching, and wrapping the presents that I did not have time to review this BEFORE Christmas. I had outgrown hair because I've not dyed my hair for about a few months now, you can actually see black at the top while brown at the bottom which is a horrible and unpleasant sight, especially in pictures! 

Anyways I wanted to dye my hair, but at the same time broke from all the christmas presents so couldn't afford to go to the salon for a proper hair dye. Obviously my alternative would be DIY, however I was so so lazy that DIY felt like a hassle to me and the chemical sometimes can be quite strong till it would irritate my scalp. My last choice was to use "Bubble" or "Foam" hair dye. I've heard from friends that the colours from bubble hair dyes would not turn out as well as the usual DIY hair dyes, and it would also fade faster. But I was so lazy that I couldn't care less at that point, just wanted to cover up the roots/outgrown hair for Christmas so I won't look horrible in pictures.
With that, I decided to try the bubble hair dye from Schwarzkopf in Berry Ash. Why? Because I personally like Schwarzkopf brand and thought hey why not? I've tried Liese before and the results was just okay, and because this is a Salon brand I had high expectations from it.

Like most of other DIY hair dye products, it includes gloves, dye, mixture or developer for dye, after dye treatment, and a manual. A hair dye product without the pump would just be like any other hair dye, so yes the pump represents the bubble or foam dye. 

Just pour in the mixture into the bigger bottle stated as "Developer 2" and mix it in a gently by swinging side to side. Do not shake or mix it by pouring up and down like the Liese product. For this product mix with the end of the bottle swinging side by side not passing the straight line of the 180 degree. Move it for about five to 10 swings will be good enough. (Read manual)

Once that's done just replace the cap with the pump cap and pump the foam out! Okay when I first saw the colour of this foam I kinda freaked out a little because it is GREY! I actually stopped for a second and wondered if I bought the wrong colour! But after checking the box, I felt a little more relieved and went ahead with it. :p

So this is my hair colour before dye. Notice black on top and brown colour from the center to the bottom? It's so ugly!

I followed the instructions from the manual and waited for about 40 minutes before rinse off. By the way, apparently after rinsing the product, I've got to SHAMPOO my hair to remove any excess chemicals that may be stuck in my hair. At first I got really confused because they used the word "shampoo" in the instructions, but yeah to conclude we do need to shampoo after rinse. Remember to use a shampoo for coloured hair to prevent the colour from falling out.

Results
I do like the outcome of the colour, it is the kind of Dark Ash Brown I wanted. At this point I really love my hair colour. HOWEVER, after a few washes, I noticed my hair got lighter. The grown out part still remained coloured so the colour isn't exactly washed off but I noticed my brown has gotten lighter. I guess what my friend said was right, the colour does not last long, not even for Schwarzkopf. :(

Pros:
  • Fun and Easy to use,
  • Untangles hair while using
  • The product is able to colour pretty decently
  • Did not cause hair to damage or feel dry
  • Did not cause irritation to my scalp (I have sensitive scalp)
Cons
  • Colour doesn't last long
  • The smell of ammonia is pretty strong for a bubble hair dye
  • Not exactly cheap
Quality: 3/5
Repurchase: Maybe when i'm feeling lazy or desperate. 

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!

Hello dearests!

Merry Christmas in advance! Now Kiss Me Malaysia has been very generous and decided to give you ladies their Mascara and a Mascara Remover!

All you need to do is follow me at Google Friends Connect at the Right bar here and visit this link:
CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY

Details are all in the link above,

All the best! ;)

*Giveaway open to Malaysia only

Friday, December 21, 2012

Schwarzkopf BC Bonacure Color Save VS Color Freeze


Hey there ladies,


Just here to inform you the difference between the Bonacure Color Save (old packaging) and their new one which is Color Freeze. As we all know, Color Save is Sulfate Free! That is one of the reasons why people love this shampoo including my friend Karmun who recommended this shampoo to me, and I. 

This is the old packaging, well kinda looks the same but the label is different.
Old Packaging - COLOR SAVE SULFATE FREE SHAMPOO

New Packaging - COLOR FREEZE SULFATE-FREE SHAMPOO

The other packaging - This packaging states COLOR SHINE SHAMPOO

When it comes to buying products it is important to look at the labels, not just the packaging anymore. All thanks to BC Bonacure, now we have to look at the labels while purchasing their products unlike before where we can just grab it once we see it cause of the packaging. Pink colored packaging under Boncare is for coloured hair, people who use their shampoo would know that.

But I have no idea why did they create another color shampoo under the SAME COLORED PACKAGING. It is ridiculous! Especially if you're in a rush and when you see your shampoo you just wanna grab and ciao but now you have to read properly and check if this is the "Sulfate-Free" or "Color Shine" range. 

So far for COLOR FREEZE I've not seen any with the label Sulfate-Free, I've only seen it online on other blogs from overseas. So here's a note to you all Bonacure lovers! If you prefer Sulfate-Free Shampoos and been using the Color Save for a while now, please check the labels properly before purchasing. 

I can assure you that the COLOR Shine Range has Sodium Laureth Sulfate because it is stated in the ingredients at the back. 


Pictures credit to Karmun Ng, http://beautyblogbycat.blogspot.com, and http://www.strawberryblondebeauty.com

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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Modbox's December Beauty Box Review


It is finally here! If you saw my Instagram, I actually received 3 beauty boxes on one day and that is the best feeling I've ever felt in a while now. Unfortunately only two were mine, while the other one was my friend's, Lina. 

Remember the awesome giveaway I had for ModBox? As a gift of appreciation, Modbox sent me their December box, sweetness. :) So right now i'm going to unbox it with you all and review along the way. :)

Used bubble wrap, a point for that!


Awwww.... look at this, so cute! I love the mini santa hat, and the "Merry Christmas" ribbon. Hey look there's a card!

This may sound weird, but I can actually feel their appreciation and sincerity while reading this card. Thanks Modbox. :)


So the first few things I see are these two vouchers. 

And what's in the box? There are a total of 6 products in the box. Thanks to their guide card I am able to discover more about the products in the box. The box smells really nice too. :) Let's get in details about each product.

LuView Glossy Kiss (full-sized) - RM36.90.
Contains dual colour lip gloss that is able to give a finish look of sweet pink or rosy pink. This easy to glide lip gloss is able to deliver the perfect shine due to the moisture-boosting Vitamin E. I'm not really into lip gloss, but I might give this a try because the packaging is just too pretty to give it a pass! Also, I prefer pink tones than red. 

Skin 79 Diamond The Prestige BB Cream - RM33.90
Get that great dewy look with a slight of shimmer finish. This triple-function BB cream is able to provide medium to full coverage, complete UV protection, whitening and moisturizing effects. I'm a BB Cream user, so i'm really happy and excited to try this product. 

1) Himalaya Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo - RM24.90 for 400ml (this is only 100ml)
Have a healthier hair with this breakthrough formula, free from parabens, silicone and SLES. This shampoo nourishes roots and strengthens weakened hair to reduce hair fall due to breakage. I've tried this shampoo and I think they are really not bad and they work too! Check out my review here

2) Himalaya Honey & Cream Body Wash - RM22.90 for 400ml (this is 30ml)
Want a soft and supple skin? This herbal formulation with the nourishment of cream and honey will help rejuvenate, moisturise and soothe skin. I've never tried Himalaya's products for body wash, but i'm definitely excited to try this one! :) I always preferred natural and herbal ingredients. 

1) Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel for Sensitive Skin (the little jar) - RM195/50ml (this product is 7ml)
Bask in the luxury of a brighter, glowing complexion with this best-selling, patented at-home peel. It exfoliates and refines to even out skin tone, leaving your skin feeling completely soft and silky. Can't wait to try this one! 

2) Juice Beauty Oil Free Moisturizer - RM145/50ml (this product is 50ml)
Clogged pores, be gone! Packed with organic juices and antioxidants, this lightweight moisturiser feeds and draws moisture to your skin, all without the weight of oils. I'm very happy to have received this as it is what is my skin needs! Really excited to try this product as well!

Conclusion
Overall I am very satisfied with Modbox. Can you imagine? All the above for only RM19, even cheaper if you subscribe for 6 months with RM16.50 a month!!! Gosh I've never been happier or more satisfied with a beauty box. 

However, there is a draw back. The drawback is that they only accept credit cards for monthly subscriptions. However if you sign up for their 3, 6 or 9 months subscriptions you may pay via bank transfer, so YAY for me and for the rest of you too. :)

Rate: 4/5
Repurchase: Yes

If you're interested head on to www.modbox.com.my or their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/modbox.com.my

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

BBF November's Beauty Box Review


Exactly yesterday I received 3 beauty boxes! 2 were mine and 1 was Lina's. The two boxes that are mine are from BBF Beauty Box and ModBox. In this post I'll be unboxing the BBF Beauty Box. For ModBox please stay tuned! Updating soon. :)

The Packaging

The packaging for delivery is somewhat similar to Fabulous Finds (not in service anymore). I'm happy that they were considerate by putting the "Fragile" sticker on the packaging to prevent our beauty products from damaging.

The box itself on the inside is a solid box in which I'm happy about too. You have no idea how excited I was when I was about to open this box. Why? Because the normal price for BBF Beauty Box is RM48, but because of Deepavali I got mine for RM40 instead. :)

Unlike most of the other beauty box, where the way to open is to lift up the top part of the box, BBF made it a little different by having it designed in such like opening a drawer. I was really really excited at this part.

The Products
However, once the box was fully opened, I was VERY DISAPPOINTED. The box is kinda big but the products inside did not fill up the box. I mean what's the point of making the box so big if you're only going to put a few products in it right? 

Like most beauty box brands, there will always be a product guide to explain to us what products are given so we would know, but for BBF there weren't any! Here are the products I've got from BBF for the month of November.

A face mask from Guardian. Price? No idea.

Vaseline Anti-Aging Lotion. Price? At first I did not know either, until when I went over to Guardian earlier I saw the price. You know products that are usually placed near the paying counter means promotion or super cheap deals? Yeap I saw this there for about RM2+ (if i remember correctly, definitely not more than RM3). - VERY DISAPPOINTED.

Wardah Lightening Scrub, price? No idea. I've never even heard of this brand before, but sounds kinda cheap.

L'occitane Hand Cream, the product was not in perfect condition, 

Crabtree and Evelyn Hand Cream. Erm why do we need two hand creams from the same beauty box?

Lullabelle Soap. I think this is the only product from the box that's decent. Smells nice.

A random candle. No brand, no information about it at all. I'm not even sure if it's a scented candle? Because it does have a very slight scent when I smelled it, but then again it also smelled a little like the Lullabelle soap!

Conclusion
I am very very very disappointed. Original price is RM48, so it is only natural that we expect more than this right? What happened to their previous beauty box? Do you remember last time when they used to have Cleo Magazines, and other really really cool products, in fact  there used to be a lot more products. I did not pay RM40 for this.

Rate: 1/5
Repurchase: No. (I wanted to subscribe to their December box, but thank God I waited for this one if not i would've regretted)

PS: I do not recommend this beauty box, if you are still interested in subscribing it is obviously up to you. :)


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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Top Passion @ Tropicana City Mall


Wednesday, 5th December 2012.

My friend Lina and I discovered Top Passion via Groupon, the offer was RM59 each for Cut+Wash+Hair Spa+Scalp Treatment. We bought the 2-person promotion in order to get RM59 each, or else it's slightly more expensive. We were given two outlets to choose from, Tropicana City Mall and One Utama, we chose Tropicana.

Before actually trying this place out, I somehow had a good feeling about this salon, about how this might be my future salon. I've been searching for a salon that's affordable and good and looks like i've finally found it. :)

Sometimes we see discount vouchers from those sites like Groupon, there are some that are really cheap but location wise is in KL City, a place I dislike going cause of the jam. I was feeling tired of thinking where to get a hair cut whenever I need one. Thanks to Groupon, I've found my hair salon. :)

Lina with her before hair spa picture. While mine at the bottom looking flat and out of shape. :/

After our hair cut, we were brought to the back to wash our hair. They washed our hair twice because of the scalp treatment. First with normal shampoo, then with their herbal shampoo for scalp detox. I love the herbal shampoo as it smells and feels very ice minty. <3 If you're wondering how was the hair wash, I would rate 2.5/5 because personally for me it was a little rough. When I wash my hair I'm often very gentle, and especially when your hair is long, damaged and tangled it can be very painful when not gentle. But the hair stylist told me I have to inform them when it hurts so they will be more gentle, i'll do that at my next scalp treatment in January then. :)

In this picture, the lady is applying the treatment for the scalp. Love this too because the sensation was icy minty cold. After application they would rub the treatment and massage your scalp for better absorption. 

Hair spa, they apply the hair mask onto my hair. Unlike conditioner, they applied thoroughly by separating my hair into small sections and made sure all of my hair have been thoroughly applied with the hair mask. 

After the application of scalp treatment and hair mask they put this band thing at the front of my head. Honestly I don't know what this is for, if you do please let me know. :)

My head is in the steam! For the first few minutes I could not feel the heat because of the scalp treatment. The minty icy cooling feel was really strong until I could not feel the heat from the steam until much later on. 

After rinsing my hair, it was time to dry and style it. Honestly I think they should be more gentle when drying the hair, using the round comb and kept combing the same area for countless times have hurt my scalp a little. :/ But not too big of an issue, will just inform them the next time. Another thing I don't really like is how they comb my hair flat instead of creating some waves at the top from the beginning. 

Lina was done earlier than me because the hair stylist cut both of our hairs, she cut hers first then mine. Look at Lina's hair now, compare this picture with the picture above, can see her hair is so much smoother and less frizzy as compared to before. 

When we left the salon, we went to the bathroom and stared cam whoring which I haven't really done in a while. :p. Please tolerate the last few pictures here. :)


My hair has been so smooth throughout the night and the following day and that felt wonderful. I've not felt my hair this way for a very long time since I started dying them regularly. We were given 20% off because of the Groupon voucher so Lina and I bought the scalp treatment! RM96 after 20%, normal price is RM120 which I feel is quite reasonable for scalp treatment. I love scalp treatments. :)

Here's the pricing, OCS means organic or herbal. For normal scalp treatment they use Bonacure. 

That's about it, to conclude I would say this salon by far is pretty decent. I like the way my hair stylist cut my hair and will most probably go back to them for a hair cut, and as for scalp treatment, if there's any where else that's cheaper then i might go for the cheaper one. Even so I will come back here again for my hair cut and probably by the same stylist, Sophia Chan. 


Service: 3.8/5
Quality: 3.8/5
Ambience: 3.8/5
Overall: 4/5
Revisit: Yes

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Details

Hi ladies! Welcome to Beauty Sanctuary. Please do check out my lifestyle blog here.

My lifestyle blog includes:
- Food Reviews
- Events
- Movie Reviews
- Wine Reviews
- Random videos that are interesting.


Cheers!
joanna.cwm@gmail.com