Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing you all great wealth, health, happiness and love :)

This is one of the benefits of being Chinese. There is another chance of wiping the slate clean and starting again. I know, I know if you really want to change you can start anytime, any day but it is nice to begin at a milestone.

Saturday was officially Chinese New Year's Eve and traditionally you would spring clean the whole house to get rid of all the 'bad' and make room for the 'good'. You should also have a bath in pomelo leaves. I'm not sure what the leaves signify but my family always said if you don't have a bath you will turn into a cow. Having a big dinner with the family is another thing. Usually we have the dinner at my grandmas house and this year was no different except it felt quite empty since my grandma, auntie and her 3 little kids flew to China last week. It was weird because I always associated my grandmas house as busy, loud and lively. I felt even more bad as I had to leave early to go clubbing with my friends but I really needed to let my hair down, me and V.P even booked a holiday off work to go.

Not forgetting the red packets! This year I haven't technically received any yet because of a family passing but these are the cute ones I've kept from the years before.

There were 2 events on the night just 10 minutes away from each other and all night, to the very last minute we were still swinging back and forth as to which event to go to and in the end we all split from each other u_u Everyone had their reasons though and I ended up in the minority group. Pictures:

Ready to go!

Me and D.N freezing in the queue - The scarf isn't mine, V.P gave it to me when she saw I was cold :') I was so touched, where can you find friends like this!?

Side story - Me and the girls were dying for a toilet but we didn't want to lose a place in the queue so half of us went first, thing was only one of us knew where the nearest toilet was and she went with the first batch! So me and the others were wondering around lost until we found this public toilet. It was the first time I ever used one, but having to pay 20p to pee saved me. 

L.L, me and L.V

Me and L.L - Its been awhile since I've last seen her so it was nice to catch up.

The night might not have gone quite as I expected but it was still nice to catch up and see old friends whom I haven't seen for awhile. I also reconnected with S.H after some drama, which was a relief. I never realized just how much I missed her. It may have helped that we were both intoxicated when we first saw each other again but it was just like the old days.. Embarrassing and loud, but as long as we were having fun it never matters.

x

January Picture Diary

A post inspired by StyleSuzi. My 2013 so far..

Back in time - The road leading to my grandmas old house.

Tea and cakes with the one and only Squidy.

He makes me smile but then other times he drives me up the wall.

Overdue catch-up with the Uni girls.

A mellow view at Westminster after visiting a friend.

My new colour crush is burgundy!

Snow snow snow. Pretty to look at but painful to play in. 

[Review] Kérastase Reflection Chroma Captive Shine Intensifying Hair Masque

Today I'm going to review Kérastase Reflection Chroma Captive Shine Intensifying Masque. My hair is quite dry and is damaged from all the years of dyeing it, bleaching it and from heat styling so I am always on the lookout for a good hair treatment. Over the years I have tried many products which include drugstore brands and specialist brands but the one that I always go back to is Kérastase. I have been buying the "Kérastase Reflection Masque Chroma Riche" for about 1.5 years now and have not looked back, however it has been sold out on Lookfantastic for awhile now so I thought I would try another one of their products. I bought the Shine Intensifying Masque for £19.65. Each 200ml tub is roughly enough for me to use for 3-4 months depending on my usage in the week which is either 1-2 times. This masque is suppose to be for medium-thick sensitized coloured hair, just right for me then.

I love that the shine intensifying masque is
actually a pink product however it does have a
strong perfume smell to it which will not be to everyone's taste. 

After shampooing I will gently wring my hair of excess water and then apply the masque to the ends of my hair, I leave it on for about 2-3 minutes or if I'm going for an intensive treatment I will leave it on for 20-30 minutes (however the weather in the UK right now does not permit me to do so). After washing out the masque my hair felt immediately softer and smoother. The smell also wasn't as overpowering when finishing drying and styling my hair. I wasn't so sure if it made me hair shinier but it definitely made it softer which was what I was looking for. All in all I was quite happy with it although I have to say I prefer "Reflection Masque Chroma Riche" but that may just be because of habit and to me the smell isn't as overpowering as the Shine Intensifying masque. Another thing I like about Kérastase masque's is that they do not leave my hair greasy unlike other brands that I have tried which were either not hydrating enough or so hydrating it left my hair greasy. Available on Amazon.

Rating out of 5: