Ammonia-Free Hair Colouring During My First Trimester _ Plus _ Mucota DYNA _ A t_ Headlines

Yes yes, a big congrats to me & my hubs on my first pregnancy~~

I am now in my first trimester, entering my second trimester; currently on my 11-12th week.

Being a first-time mom-to-be, of course I've had mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness both at the same time. A lot of times I think of the "Dos" and "Don'ts", "Yes-es" and "Nos" I can or cannot do during my pregnancy. And hair colouring and/or treatment was one of those considerations. 

I mean preggers could also look nice if we wanted to maintain our looks even through our pregnancy, we just have to be a little more cautious on choosing products used during the term. I've seen many preggers heading to the salon to get their tresses maintained and I don't even know what type of products they used. 

So I went back to my usual salon #HeadlinesHairDressing to get my hair fixed;

> Mucota DYNA to smoothen my hair, and

> Ammonia-free hair colour to darken my tresses

Wanted to get a dark shade so I could avoid the number of times I need to touch up my roots during the whole pregnancy. I figured out a dark shade would do just well.

If you are not new to my blog, you could have read my previous blog on the Mucota DYNA Hair Treatment. (Read here: http://vannytelly.blogspot.sg/2014/11/my-first-mucota-dyna-hair-treatment-at.html)

Mucota DYNA is an Argan Oil treatment that provides smooth and silky hair up to 3-4 months. And MOST IMPORTANTLY, it is 100% free of Formaldehyde! 3 Yays to that!

Benefits Of ARGAN OIL:

- Rich in vitamin E which restores life to limp hair 
- Contains unsaturated fatty acids like Omega 3 and 6 that provides nutrition to the hair 
- Contains linoleic acid and oleic which helps to hydrate and MOISTURIZE hair 
- Unlike other OILS, argan is non-greasy and non-oily 
- Keeps colored hair more lasting and prevents dryness 
- Easily absorbed by the hair and restores hair’s lost MOISTURE 
- Shields hair from harmful UV rays and protects hair from enviromental pollution 
- Enhances the elasticity of the hair 
- Improves strength of hair and HEALS split ends of hair

Just some pictures to re-cap the before and after effect of the treatment...

November 2014: This was taken after my first DYNA treatment and after my hair colouring session.

And more pictures to show the progress of the treatment, eg. how lasting the effect is.

February 2014: This was my typical day at work, a few days after my second DYNA treatment and after washing of my hair twice from the salon-hair. Effect seen is really natural and soft. :)

March 2015: Picture taken after my swimming session. Hair was "air-dried" and still looks soft.
(Here I just did my second DYNA treatment a week ago, and it looks naturally soft & silky - not stark straight and flat like rebonding). 

Also March 2015 (on the same day as the picture above): Right after my ammonia-free colouring session.
Charles (Senior Stylist) did not do a salon blow, only a normal drying session.

Look how smooth, its like Pantene-hair. :)

Ammonia-free hair dyes have lesser chemical content and no smell at all! Felt so comfortable through out the colouring session. No stings in my eyes and scalp, no foul chemical smells!

On the way home from Headlines, after my Ammonia-free hair colouring session.
Now im back to the dark side~~ ;p

Very happy indeed with my hair-do, as usual! Charles never fails to give me everyday-manageable hair. Thank you so much !

By the way ladies, Headlines Hair Dressing is now having a very attractive promotion on their Mucota DYNA Hair Treatment: Just bring a friend to enjoy this treatment at $198 each! (Normal price is from $350, almost half off!! Sweet!)

And for my dear readers: Quote "Vanessa" to enjoy 10-30% discount off on all other hair services. Don't say that I didn't share any good deals k. And do remember to look for my stylist, Charles. *wink wink*

Do call 62216866 to make a booking and consult the T&C.

Check Out Charles' Profile Here:

http://www.headlines.com.sg/index.php/team/item/55-charles

Headlines Hair Dressing Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/headlines.hairdressing.3

Headlines Hair Dressing Address (China Square Branch):

18 Cross Street, #01-15

China Square Central

Telephone: 6221 6866

Opening Hours:

- Mondays to Fridays 10.30AM to 8.30PM

- SATURDAYS 10.30AM to 7PM

- Sundays & Public HOLIDAYS 10.30AM to 5PM

Dim Sum at Mouth Restaurant - Probably The Best Liu Sha Bao in Singapore !

Mouth Restaurant at China Square

Mouth Restaurant was one random Dim Sum place my partner & I chanced online - we normally decide a day or two before the weekend for what we wanted to have for brunch, it would normally be a place we have not visited before. So it was one weekend we decided to have Dim Sum and so we booked a table for brunch on the weekend.

Upon arrival, the restaurant was really cold and empty. We were probably the first or second customers in the restaurant and it felt empty - but before we tried the food I didn't wanna make any assumptions.

As usual, we ordered the few must-order items (the usual few items we always have for Dim Sum).

Xiao Long Bao/ Steamed Soup Meat Dumplings

The Xiao Long Bao here is good; was tasty and the minced meat inside was soft & tender. Skin thickness was acceptable and definitely needs to be eaten HOT before it hardens.

Steamed Pork Ribs

Im not too big a fan of Pork Ribs, but we had to order 'cuz it was my partner's fav. I tried a tiny piece, the meat was really tender and had a great texture. I would say its a must-order if you are a fan too.

Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun/ Honey Roasted Pork Rice Rolls

Chee Cheong Fun was great, too. As you can see in the picture, the Rice Rolls are fully filled with Char Siew meat. Silky texture to the rolls, tender meat to the chews.

Feng Zhua/ Chicken Feet

Chicken Feet has always been my fav. I would say the Chicken Feet served here is one of the good ones. How to dictate whether a restaurant serves good Chicken Feet? #1 tender, melts-in-your-mouth, #2 general taste of the sauce. Thumbs up for both. Try it and let me know if you agree.

Stir Fry Kailan

Okay, nothing special about this dish - just my serving of veggies. Crunchy with fragrant garlic. :)

Liu Sha Bao/ Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun

Okay and now for the finale, their HIGHLY RAVED LIU SHA BAO!!!
I'd have to say that this could probably be the best Liu Sha Bao I had in Singapore.
I mean I've had Liu Sha Baos else where who's custard is really thick and full flavoured, but this, the skin adds a punch to the traditional steamed version. The fried skin is crisp on the first bite - slightly similar taste to Polo Bao's skin but less flakey. Please try and tell me if its nice! I'd bet you this would make top on your list too!

*Nibbles*...tasting the bao's crust first...

Enjoying another few more bites of the crispy-and-lightly-sweet bun........

Look at itttttt.......fwaaaaaaaa....... I totally took my sweet time to slurp and savour the custard.. it was SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOODDD..... Not joking.. haha..

And yea, I would highly recommend Mouth Restaurant for their Dim Sum - Must Try! Prices are pretty general, similar-priced to other Dim Sum restaurants.

Both occasions where I've visited was only to the branch at China Square but I am aware there's another at Plaza Singapura (the old wing) - been there too but was for a regular Chinese dinner. Reservations are available to make thru online (see website link below) but if you head over for brunch (like just around opening time) you wouldn't really need to as there would be lotsa' seats.

Awesome food! :D

Here's a link to their page: http://www.mouth.com.sg/

China Square Central Branch
22 Cross Street #01-61
China Square Central
South Bridge Court Shop House
Singapore 048421
Tel: 6438 5798 , Fax: 6438 5623

Plaza Singapura Branch
68 Orchard Road #02-01
Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839
Tel: 6337 7446, Fax: 6337 8144

Eyebrow Embroidery at CLD (Celebrity Dream) Beauty - Tanjong Pagar

For those of you who have read my blog on my eyebrow embroidery removal

(see here --> http://vannytelly.blogspot.sg/2014/04/my-experiences-on-eyebrow-laser-tattoo.html) you would probably be wondering how my brows turned out after, right? 

I actually had a free eyebrow embroidery session (should be the normal 2D type) with Best Beauty as a package I got with my removal, but I didn't use the free session as they can be really pushy.. As I previously mentioned, they have the tendency to push their high-end packages so without a thought I decided on the time when I signed up for the removal package that I was not gonna go back for the embroidery once my removal was a success. Anyway the removal package was cheap enough as it is so not going for the embroidery session didn't seem like it had gone to waste.

CLD was a place where I randomly found online on some coupon website, they were selling coupons for 3D Korean eyebrow embroidery at a cheap price. I was not prepared to spend a thousand dollars to get my brows done even though I knew that having nice brows are really important. Since CLD was pretty near my office and the consultant whom I spoke to over the phone said that I could drop by to have a look before deciding on whether I wanted to go ahead with their services, I decided to have a look-see....(desperate to get nice brows again!)

Went to CLD, as usual the consultant would share the types of eyebrow embroidery services they had, she showed me the 4D one and I tried to get a small discount (Auntie mode on) before having decided on the spot and left a deposit.

Step 1: Application of numbing cream

Step 2: Beautician draws a shape according to my preference

Step 3: The works begin

So here's a compilation of my brows on 3 stages:

bare brows, roughly drawn, and finally embroidery done.

R - bare

R - drawn

R - embroidered

L - bare

L - drawn

L - embroidered

If you paid attention to the picture above, you can see a slight reddish tone to my skin above my newly embroidered brows. That was the area of my old brows and the reason it was reddish 'cuz my skin was still healing from the laser removal. I was afraid that it would show or leave a scar later on so the beautician provided free "nude colour" embroidery onto the red area..it worked like a "concealer" over the old colour and I thought was a great idea...yea. But do not that it will not be concealed 100%, but I would say a good 85-90%.

Before

After

Both brows completed

It is normal for the brows to look super dark during the first 1-2 weeks, it will fade after that. So far its been a year after my laser removal and i've been loving my new brows. Many have commented that I have very natural and thick brows which was something that I've wanted. Although I would prefer if my brows could go even straighter and look more Korean, but I am also aware that the brows have to suit my brow bones and facial structure..yea, so I really just satisfied right now that I do not have "flying" brows like before.

For those of you who are interested in getting either the laser procedure or new brows done, I've paid total of $1k to get everything done. Breakdown: Removal package $399++, $49 for healing cream; $500+ for 4D Eyebrow Embroidery with 1-time free touch up. Yea, so I guess a total of one grand for a whole change of eyebrow and look should be considered worth while, what's your take?

_________________________________________________________________________________

(PHOTO UPDATE AS OF 23JAN2015 - ABOUT 8 MONTHS AFTER NEW BROWS)

Bare face - brows are not drawn, unfiltered pic

Undrawn

How do they look? Natural? :)

Snacks & Titbits from Taipei 7-11

I've recently been to Taiwan/Taipei for a family trip with my partner and his family, as well as to pay my Mom a visit - and not forgetting my fav part.....raiding the convenience stores!! LOL. Raiding convenience stores and/or super-marts are probably one of my must-dos when it comes to travelling. 

You can either call me a glut or I just love seeing and buying snacks with pretty packaging and the kinda excitement to try out the tastes.....simply....ah......gluttony me. :P

Here's just to share the goodies that can be found in 7-11 stores in Taipei. ;)

Banana Flavoured Sponge Cake

Look at the layers, like-a-kueh-lapis. Hehe.

*Noms*

Looks like the top part is a thin layer of white chocolate.

Banana flavour is really light, tastes more like a regular moist-y lil' sponge cake, its not the super artificial flavour-overpowered kinda taste. Its cute and definitely caught my attention, but the amount of calories just does not justify for the taste, I would give it a 3/5 munchies. On a side note, this reminds me of Japan's Tokyo Banana... hmm..

Meiji Strawberry Chocolate

This is really good!

Look at it, so pretty!

And shiny!

This is one sweet treat for the strawberry fanatics.

If you're a Meiji strawberry fan, you would know what I mean by the rich and aromatic strawberry taste it has. :P
Just that it has a tiny bit of crunch to the insides yet does not feel like a biscuit. Interesting texture and a yes-yes!
I'm giving this a 5/5 munchies, a must-try!

Dried Strawberries in Milk Chocolate - Cute?

Hey, so little inside.

Quite a decent size thought there were only 6-7 pieces.

The milk chocolate was surprisingly tasty & creamy, reminds me of the Cadbury Milk Chocolate-y taste.
The dried strawberry tends to taste a little sour, just like the real fruit, just that since its dried/dehydrated fruit, its a tad crunchy - not bad at all. I'll give this a 4/5 munchies for a quick chocolate pick-me-up & quite-a-cute packing.

Taiwan Milk Caramelized Soft Candy.

Simple sweets from my childhood.

This is called "Niu Nai Tang" aka "Milk Candy" in Chinese.
In Singapore we have the Rabbit Milk Candy, in Taiwan they have this.

This is just a really simply soft/chewy milk candy with a tinge of caramel taste to it, not exactly like the White Rabbit Candy we have in SG which tastes closer to condense milk flavour. That explains the orangey/brownish colour to the chewies.

For childhood's sake and the small packing thats easy to keep in handbags, i'll give this simply treat a 3.5/5 munchies.
Try it, tell me if you like it. ;)

Meiji Midi Strawberry Pocky~

Who doesn't love a Pocky?

Small packets for guilt-free pleasures.

:)

Okay, by know you probably could observe that I can be quite a strawberry-flavoured-anything fan. Lolz!
So without a thought, I picked this up while shopping for snacks at 7-11.

Plus points for it when I discovered they were mini packed after I tore the box apart.
Instead of the usual plain biscuit flavour, this was made with chocolate biscuits coated with strawberry flavoured cream - first bite into it shocked me as my teeth sank into the thick-coated strawberry cream, waaaayyy thicker than the usual.. this sensation & flavour was a nice one. You have to try it!

What's not to love?
Im giving this a 5/5 munchies. Yes, too much plus points not to give it such a score. ;)

Oat biscuits (?) [pardon me, I can't really read Chinese characters despite my Mom being a Taiwanese]

Really liked this!

Plain, "Oat-y", great tasting. Im a real biscuit fanatic.

I usual prefer plain biscuits as I snack them on a daily basis, so I wouldn't want to load myself with the extra calories from cream filling etc. Plain biscuits go a looooooong way I must say.

This to my surprise, though the packaging wasn't exactly appealing, tastes really great!
Probably my fav among the bunch if I had to pick one to sit my desk while I work.

It packed a light oat flavour without being too dry. I think the (bite) size played a good role for nibbling, taking small nibs at a time without having too much biscuits in the mouth to dry everything up.

I'll give it a 4.5/5 munchies (not a perfect score for being a little messy if you're not careful of the crumbs) [Yes I am an OCD! I snack alot at my desks and on my bed (Okay don't judge me kay) so having snacks that are not messy are great]

Yes, so this is also a must-buy if you love biscuits!

(Left) Strawberry Milk Tea, (Right) Plum Drink with Chia Seeds

The convenience stores in Taiwan also boasts a variety of drinks and I love-love their flavoured milks and coffee/teas.
The two above were something that I wouldn't normally try but just thought I had to try them out for their interested packing and mix.

But to my disappointment, these two drinks were not fantastic and I probably would not buy them again.

Strawberry Milk Tea taste weird, Plum Drink was okay but nothing to shout about.

Well I guess there's just too much other options you could try on your own if you ever get there.

That's all I've got for you today...hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures or even better - hungry ! Was supposed to have alot more shopping done but I fell ill the last day thus only managed to snag up a small bag of titbits before my flight back.. So until another time. Ciao~ ;) - the Glutton Girl signing off.