Mise En Scene x Blackpink hair dye: Perfect Color Series in 9N Sand Brown Review (with vlog!)

Reviewing this Mise En Scene collaboration with Blackpink's Perfect Color range of DIY hair dye. This is less well-known compared to their Hello Bubble DIY hair dye range which you've probably seen thousands of reviews and TikTok videos. The color options for the Perfect Color is less 'experimental' compared to Hello Bubble, which almost need no introduction. 

Then there are shades that seems rather similar between these two range _ Perfect Color's Smoky Ash vs Hello Bubble's Metallic Ash or Perfect Color's Gold Blonde vs Hello Bubble's Vanilla Gold.

By the way, this is NOT available in the local pharmacy. I got mine from a Shopee store that ships this directly from Korea. 

I'm quite obsessed with the idea of dyeing my hair in either ash brown or blue! In order to achieve the colors I want, I would need to bleach my hair. Because of really bad experience bleaching which damages my hair real bad, I didn't want to do that again. However, I'm much confident that I can take care of my better and I know which products work (Refer to my favorite hair care products posts)! 

Also, there are more options of DIY hair dye to either lighten up your hair or bleaching that seems to work based on reviews I've checked out online. Here, I'm attempting the former and chose Perfect Color in 9N Sand Brown which gives a ashy light brown result. I didn't want the yellow-ish, golden-y, blonde color like Perfect Color in 11G Gold Blonde. It doesn't seem to compliment my skin tone!

IDK why but I kiasi these days and actually do the testing at least 48 hours. Because the manual is in Korean and there are little explanation on the manual, I assume it's mixing the applicator & color cream at 1:1 ratio.

The product is not strong smelling which is great but still don't go sniffing directly from the bottle like I did! The cream glides smoothly on my hair and doesn't harden so application was easy. Still very time consuming with the amount of hair I have! Formula-wise, this is amazing and not drying _the L'oreal Excellence Fashion hair dye fare better in this aspect. Still very impressed of the quality of DIY hair dye available these days! I do have a bias and think some cream/liquid type ones gives uneven results unlike bubble ones. I tried to get the hair color distributed properly but nope, didn't happen. 

I think the graphic designer or colorist or whoever's in charge of the whole product is failing at many levels. My expectation was a muted, ashy gold like what I see online or the front side of the packaging BUT the back packaging shows a different caramel brown. And then the result is this honeycomb yellow to orange-y brown? SO-O-O CONFUSING! Btw, I try to edit minimally in the photos I upload to give you the colors closest to what I see.

I try to give the benefit of the doubts and assume the orange-y brown is because I have dyed my hair with orange-based dye (L'oreal's) just a month before and mahogany red (existing color I have that has outgrown) but nope! The other YouTuber who tried the same color too has orange-y brown result from (what appears to be) her original black hair. Let me try taking more photos the next week to see how the color turn out with more washes!

Photos taken the next day. I think it looks better 'cuz front camera. Also, no filter and edit because I was lazy.

Close up on the hair situation using back camera. I think this photo is the closest to the real thing. As you can see, the scalp is in honeycomb gold which I'm hoping it'll darken with more washing. Then there are obvious uneven or missed-out sections in black (middle part) and dark orange-brown (top & bottom). Feels like there are so many shades on my hair now LOL

My final verdict? I don't dislike the vibrant orange shade, it doesn't make my skin looks darker as oppose to another shade I had tried before. The uneven part isn't nice but it does make my hair more 3D-ish. I wouldn't get this shade again (dyeing lighter shades can be so tricky!) but wouldn't mind trying other shades in the Perfect Color range. I do want to try the more well-known Hello Bubble range that seems to give very satisfying results based on the hundreds of reviews on YouTube and TikTok.

Sharing the vlog I made while trying this product out~

what I eat during CNY while celebrating apart from my fam

The this-year-different-kinda-CNY-celebration theme😓 A bit sad situationlah. Anyways, using my free time to make this video, also because I have to cook for myself during the lockdown. Hope you like this video!

Shopee Malaysia Hauls | home cafe & kitchenware

Sharing another video I have fun making _ this time it is a haul video! Been obsessing over the idea of a home cafe since a friend introduced me to some videos on YouTube. After plentiful of contemplations, I decided to get a few things which I promise myself to use over and over again! Without further ado, jumping straight to the video 

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Links to all the items which I shared in this video are as below:

1. Short & tall glass  ShopeeMY | Amazon N/A

2. Gold flower spoon  ShopeeMY | Amazon

3. Japanese style cat print fabric  ShopeeMY | Amazon N/A

4. Ceramic coffee mug  ShopeeMY | Amazon N/A

5. Oval wooden serving plate  ShopeeMY | Amazon

6. 19cm/7.5inch Glass plate  ShopeeMY | Amazon

7. Oil spray bottle  ShopeeMY | Amazon

8. Rattan coaster  ShopeeMY | Amazon

9. Hollow bamboo coasters  ShopeeMY | Amazon

10. Cat paw wooden coffee coaster  ShopeeMY | Amazon

11. Stainless steel coffee clip-cum-spoon  ShopeeMY | Amazon

12. Wooden spoon, fork (& chopsticks)  ShopeeMY | Amazon

13. Wooden spatula for jam or butter  ShopeeMY | Amazon

14. Wooden citrus juicer  ShopeeMY | Amazon

15. Long wooden spatula  ShopeeMY | Amazon

2021 Chinese New Year shop & cook with me (updated)

Another video for y'all! This time I kinda try to get this video out soon because it is meant to give you ideas for what meals you can make this Chinese New Year. 

This year will be quite different as many of us will not be able to balik kampung_ myself included (T___T) _ nor visiting our relatives and close friends face-to-face. That also means a lot will be celebrating with just a few family members or even alone. Despite that, I do think we can make this a memorable one.

I had a lot of fun making this video because it motivates me to try all the recipes I've been wanting to do (like menbosha aka mian bao xiang or homemade lemonade), dishes I miss (like my mom's jiu hu char and fried ice cream) or try (OMG crayfish!!!!). Most importantly, they're super simple to make for even the laziest person like me to do LOL. I even shared the recipes with my friends so that they could try do and when we meet up virtually, we can eat together. You can do the same!!!! (≧▽≦*) I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoy the process of making it!

Before I jump right to the video, wishing y'all a Happy Chinese New Year!

~♡~

Part 2 of the video is now up! Enjoy~~!

(Still!) Experimenting with other Hair Care Products

Even after I have found the best combination of hair care routine for myself, I am still very willing to experiment on different hair care products. Maybe I'm hoping I'll chance upon affordable alternatives that can give me satisfactory results.

#1 Watsons' Avocado

Conditioning Treatment Wax

I was brainwashed by the whole avocado craze (except that this isn't edible) and decided to get this when my last bottle of the treatment I had was used up. At RM15.90 for a 500ml bottle from Watsons (ShopeeMY), it actually makes my hair softer but needs to be used at least twice a week just to maintain the result.

#2 Refibra by Elgon

I'm so eyeing ampoules these days! This is a random brand I bought from a shop selling hair care products in 1Utama (forgot the name) for about RM25 per ampoules. There was an option of getting a set for a slight discount but I didnt want to spend a lot for something I wasn't sure its going to work. According to the salesperson, it is meant to treat damaged hair from dyeing and heat styling your hair.

The result felt like using a hair styling cream that hardens and keep your styles in place. Unfortunately this isn't something I'm looking for because my natural wavy hair already have some staying power to some extend, usually when its properly moisturized. I also couldn't tell if my hair felt healthier with Refibra and so I'm glad I only bought a bottle.

#3 Bene Premium Rougeria 

Shampoo & Hair Mask

It wasn't my intention to include this in the first place since I only had the one-time use samples. However, I like how they made my hair smells good and feeling super hydrated, giving an almost similar to when using my Bioma Plant +9 Hair Treatment (Bioma still top the chart though!). Besides that, my hair has recently become quite thin due to using my new shampoos and that lead to more hair fall. This shampoo and hair mask combo seems to reverse it slightly. I'd need to experiment further if I want to be truly sure of this. Meanwhile keeping this in view while I am using my hair care supplies!






#4 Everything Dove!

Somehow noticed I've literally stock piled an entire set of Dove products! Wasn't intentionally, I have forgotten that I haven't used some of them and ended up with 3 bottles of conditioners _ the Dove 1 Minute Serum Conditioner (ShopeeMY), Dove Hyaluron Serum Conditioner (ShopeeMY) and Dove Detox Nourishment Conditioner (ShopeeMY). Kinda silly because with the lockdown and WFH situation I don't wash my hair daily anymore never mind condition them so frequently! On top of those is the Dove Intense Repair Shampoo (ShopeeMY).

It will take a while before I dive into the others but I must say, Dove doesn't disappoint! Their 1 Minute Serum Conditioner works just as the name suggested. I do think they works best for my super dry hair though they definitely cannot compare to more expensive brands. With shampoos, I do think the price reflects the results _ which mean the pricier the better.

~♡~

 I would say among all of these, Dove and Watsons' avocado hair masks are my preferred products in terms of the results they give. Because Dove came out with quite a huge range of products which I'm super interested to try them all, I don't think I'll be getting other brands soon even though I'm seeing a lot of brands have either been doing facelifts or have new formulas. Dove, can you sponsor me already?

Meanwhile, I actually bought another DIY hair dye but couldn't decide if I should at least lightly bleached my hair before I do all this hair dye. The last few attempts at DIY hair dye my hair has been disappointing which I think the color isn't showing because a lot of hair dye brands works best on lighter shade hair. Yet I cringe at the thought of destroying my hair again. After so much effort to maintain my hair! And so the pondering continues...

my second #whatieatinaday vlog

Second video up on my #whatieatinaday series! I'm surprised at how fast it takes but then again, I try to prep my food almost daily since the lockdown. Once again, I hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching!

super realistic what I eat in a day & bubble tea instant noodles?!

Something different is brewing in today's post! 

I have decided to revive a forgotten hobby _ video making! Instead of forcing myself to make videos on subject I'm not comfortable in, I choose to record and share things that I do during the whole lockdown _ attempting to cook! I can cook basic stuff, but have been privilege not having to until the pandemic. The first few months last year I was eating plenty of instant noodles and dry food since I don't do much food delivery orders. It's only in the recent months that I have decided to be healthier by brushing up my dusty skills on how to buy and cook using variety of ingredients.

I'm trying to plan my content "in season" for my YouTube channel as a way to encourage myself to create more videos. So I'd be like making 2-5 videos of different series before deciding if I really want to continue producing contents.

Speaking about series or the genre I'm producing, I have several in mind. The #whatieatinaday will probably be the most frequent one considering I try to cook daily & on weekends if not every other days. Then you've seen me posted on my review for the L'oreal Excellence Fashion in 10.11 Crystal Ash in just the last blog post. Beauty products reviews will still be one of the subject I write so when possible, I'd also produce some videos. I have a few other ideas which is essentially things I do during the lockdown that you may (hopefully) see them posted on my channel this month.

Meanwhile, do check this video out! Definitely give me some feedback or suggestions on new but simple recipes by leaving a comment on my blog posts or YouTube channel, I'd love to hear from you!

Hope you enjoy the video I've made and thank you for watching ( v^-ﾟ )