Beijing 101 Hair Consultants

The Instagram Diaries: Speaking at Unilever!

February 9, 2012

Phew! Photos, finally! Back in November last year, I got invited to speak at an in-house event at Unilever. The event was all about beauty: everything from beauty tips, to consumer trends, to beauty trends to yummy snacks! I was asked to talk about the latest beauty trends, where I thought the beauty industry was leading, and what beauty consumers wanted.

I talked mostly about the explosion of color – especially the color-blocking trend – and the trend for natural and organic products.

[click to read more...]

{ 13 comments }

Beijing 101 Hair Consultants

My New Secret Weapon to Good Looking Nails

February 6, 2012

Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail and Cuticle Oil

I am not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this on the blog, but I am an ex-extreme-nail biter. It was BAD. I started around 10 years old and stopped around 14, and though some might think 4 years is not long… imagine 4 years of non-stop biting! The damage is evident too: I bit my nails so much that the front two top and bottom teeth are pushed back slightly, with the bottom more noticeable. Ugh! Stupid, stupid, stupid. Not to mention I bit them so deep in that I now have those little baby nails (super small) and the overall look of my nails are unbalanced. However, after I stopped biting my nails, to avoid biting them, I now just attack the hangnails and cuticles whenever I have the “urge”. I pick at them, chew them, and clip them until they bleed – it’s disgusting! One of my new year’s resolution is to LEAVE MY POOR NAILS ALONE. They’ve suffered enough!

In comes Sally Hansen’s Vitamin E Nail & Cuticle Oil. I was given a few of Sally Hansen’s “cuticle repair” products to try, and while they all did their job, I like this one the best.

First, it’s application is super easy – as you can tell, it’s just like a nail polish, equipped with a brush to make application easier. (I hate cuticle oils that you have to “massage in” with your fingers, it’s a big mess and a waste of time, and then you gotta wash your hands so much, blah.) This product, however takes about 30 seconds – what I do is that I “paint” the nails and the sides of my cuticles and just leave them alone. The oil kinda moves around and “soaks” in naturally, and so far my cuticles are loving it: they feel super soft and actually looks decent (as opposed to half torn and bleeding!), and the urge to pick and chew them is gone. (That’s how I overcame biting my nails by the way – I stopped biting each nail one by one, and they started to look so pretty and so I stopped.)

Other than my cuticles, I see a difference in my nails as well. They look more moisturized and less brittle-looking. Love it!

Do you use any cuticle/nail care products? What would you recommend? Any ex-nail biters out there? :-P

{ 25 comments }

…And this is why I love blogging

February 3, 2012

Blogging has really been a Godsend for me – Beauty Fool here has helped me with endless opportunities and blessings that are just beyond my imagination! Most importantly though, I have met the most amazing people. Like Beth.

Beth is a reader who won a contest recently, and sent me this as a thank you – homemade soft toys!

Beth even added details such as my name, blog name, and my dog’s name, Bailey. I am so touched by her thoughtfulness, and it really just makes me think back and reflect on my blog. I started it at 19 late one night, didn’t know what I was doing, and never thought it would come to this. I remember for over a year NOBODY was reading my blog (except my mom, haha), but I loved it so much and just kept going because I love to write – I still do, but obviously the thing that keeps me going now is you all reading. It’s been almost 4 years (Beauty Fool is 4 in April! What should we do?! Let’s do something big! :D ) and I still get excited when I get an email from you, a comment, a tweet saying you like my blog – I suppose no one would understand or think of it as a big deal, but it’s a big deal to ME – and it makes me feel so happy.

[click to read more...]

{ 25 comments }

Beer As Shine Shampoo?!

February 2, 2012

beer hair styling

Image: Unknown

Did any of you know that beer is actually a pretty great hair styling product? Nope? Believe it! According to actress Catherine Zeta Jones, it works and she loves it. Catherine says, “I do condition my hair with honey and beer. I smell like the bottom of a beer barrel for days afterwards but it’s very good for the hair.”

Hairstylists also swear by the rituals of giving your hair a quick rinse of beer, claiming this “shampoo” gives a ton of shine. Australian hairstylist Joh Bailey, however, goes one step further: “Beer is fantastic as a setting lotion”. He suggests putting some in a spray bottle and misting your hair with it for some serious shine.

The only price of your beer-shampooing ways, of course, is that stench!

Have you ever tried using beer as a shampoo or shine product? Did it work? I could never do it, I hate the smell of beer. Would you try it?

{ 34 comments }

January 2012 Favorites

January 31, 2012

Sigh… I spent a good part of the weekend trying to figure out my camera (bought a tripod and everything!) to film a video for this, but it was one massive failure. I still really wanted to film, so I ended up filming on my iPhone… 4 times, only that it won’t upload on my laptop. I guess this post is not meant to be a video, so I’ll try another time. I’m sorry!

Anyway, I can’t believe it’s the end of the first month of 2012 already! January has been fantastic, wouldn’t you say?! In the beauty front, I think I’ve also found some things that are gonna stick with me for a loong time – I can see most of this in my “Best of 2012″ post…

Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift

I’ve already written a much-deserved raving review on this one but Taylor Swift’s Wonderstruck perfume is just flawless. I think it’s already one of my favorite finds of 2012 itself, and I’d definitely add it in to my list of favorite perfumes of all time. I can only describe it as very expensive grapes chewy candy – you know Fruitella? It smells like grape fruitella, if it were $200.

Clarins Gloss Prodige

I’ve mentioned Clarins Gloss Prodige on my blog recently so I won’t say much, but this is another I really love it. The color I have is Grenadine, a very juicy reddish pink color and I think it’ll suit any skin tone. The staying power is really impressive, and you know what? It smells like Fruitella as well, I love the smell of it.

Clinique Derma White Concentrate Concealer

I am not sure if I’ve mentioned it on my blog before, but this concealer has been with me all through highschool – it was my faithful friend when I was having an awful time with zits! I found it the other day deep in my makeup bag and started using it again, and it really is fantatsic. Not only for redness and dark eye circles, which is what I’m using it for now, but it’s also amazing for pimples. It’s also a treatment, so while you’re covering up those zits, it also helps lighten the redness in post-pimple marks. And I have to say that it really works well for that because now you can’t tell I’ve had acne, they’ve all healed very well and I think this has helped a lot!

[click to read more...]

{ 10 comments }