Salon Crawl - Shawn Cutler, Bangsar Branch

My date with Shawn Cutler was an interesting one. I originally bought a hair voucher from Number76 bangsar for treatment and professional cut by the senior stylist. And i booked the appointment like 3 hrs before i was suppose to push off to kampung for Raya celebration... And had to 'tipu sunat' (lie for a good cause) darling hubs to get my hair done.( the things we woman have to do kan??) But u won't spill on me, promise ya...

But alas, on the day itself, I was caught up with all the 'salam salam n hand kissing n asking forgiveness' mumbo jumbo.. so i was late for my appointment... and since they have a line of customers already in standby.. i had to forgo n reschedule.

But I still need to have my hair done. My layers are all over the place.

Since i was already in Bangsar area, need to find another solution. Ada ke org yg sanggup slot me in? its just a haircut... pretty please????

Ive heard so much bout Shawn n his wonderful team. But u knw la, kot2 last minute main butt in, kot2 ada junior stylist je? :( hentam sajalah.. so i drop saja. Nasib baik dkt dgn my favourite supper hangout:- Milk n Butter.

I believe, Shawn needs no introduction. Famous for doing celebrities, I'm sure he has some magical touch that maker people come to him. Frankly, ive been meaning to try too. So nw's my chance...

I was lucky a senior stylist could attend to me. Actually, shawn pun free, tp rate dia rm120. Mak ai.. belum raya dah bankrap. haha.. if I'm hanis zalika, boleh le nk splurge. Ni dapat g salon hanis zalikha pun dah ok :D so, i get to be introduced to wayne lim...

As expected like any stylist comment, my hair was quite brittle n frizzy juga. I guess i' 've been skipping treatments so cn see the effects of malasness. Nope, I'm nt using my son as alasan anymore. And wayne said due to my frizzy hair, i cnt be having too many layers.. nanti lebih kembang. (Ok, noted. Berazam utk lbh rajin nw.. ) he also offered me to try relaxing as an option. Erk! Nantilah... Wait till I'm richer.

And the results after 1 hr?

Woot! Woot! Amazeballs. Looks awesome, even though i nw have lesser layers. Bt I'm very the very satisfied. I thank wayne n promised hm.. my next project will be to get some highlights. I'm sure they''re fantastic at it.

And at a rate of rm75, that's very2 affordable.

So ladies, get your mane cared by shawn n team. Total awesomeness!

Enjoy ur raya!

The outlet I had my hair done in Bangsar

The sister outlet in Telawi Square, managed by Gibson (Shawn's Twin Brother)

Lesser layers = Thicker Hair. Loving it. 

UPDATE: My Trip to SOHO salon, Starhill

Guys, remember this deal that I purchased earlier? I promised to blog about this and so, I shall....

[78% Off] Hair Rebonding OR Relaxing OR Digital Perm OR Cold Perm OR Hair Colouring + Cut + Wash + Blow at SOHO, Starhill Gallery for 1 (RM168) / 2 (RM328) People. From RM164 per person. For men / women

Amount:
from RM168.00

Discount78% You saveRM592.00

Highlights

• Choose hair rebonding, relaxing, digital perm, cold perm, or hair colouring.
• Includes cut, wash, and blow.
• Uses Redken and Shiseido hair care products.
• Hairstylists with up to 8 years of experience.
• Suitable for all hair lengths.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Actually to be honest, the deal was already expired due to that fact that 1 month after I decided to purchase this, I changed my mind about hair colouring and decided to go for regular hair treatments instead, since my hair became super2 dry. Alas, I just decided to leave the voucher unused.

Months after that, recently in March (this month), I received a surprised call.

X: Hello Juman, my name is X from Soho Salon, Starhill. I noticed that you have recently purchased the Groupon voucher for Cut, Colour, Wash and Blow. But the voucher has already expired. Are u still interested to come?

Me: Hello there, actually I was interested to come, but the thing is I changed my mind since I decided not to colour my hair anymore and do treatment instead.

X: Oh, You should have told me earlier, then we could have switched the voucher so that you could do treatments instead.

Me: Really? Wow! (5 Stars already given for great hospitality)

So, to cut the story short, I made an appointment for one Monday, 530pm.

The Salon was located on Pamper Floor, In Starhill. For the record, this is my 2nd time here (yes, I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't come here often..obviously lah kan....) The salon is actually quite small, on the same floor as other skincare centres. You guys will be spoilt for choices!

I'm sorry, I can't remember the name of the person who attended me. But I told her that I don't want the whole treatment process to be more than 2 hours. Ha ha ha... When you're a mum, you're ALWAYS rushing.

So here's what I had experienced:-

1) A pampering hair wash that lasted quite a while..my scalp immediately felt soothed

2) Later, some protein substance was lathered all other my hair, and was steamed for 15 minutes.

3) After that, my hair was washed, and blow dried.

IS THAT IT?

I was super surprised. And guess what, I didn't like the way they blew my hair.

Gosh, does this hair look treated and moisturised to you?

Hmm.....

So my thoughts on this one?

PROS:

I guess at the end, I managed to get my hair done (FOC) in a swanky salon in KL's golden triangle. But if I were to go and pay? Hmm...I need to really2 rethink on this one... Its quite a hassle to go as well, since its in the hub of jam.

But I would say I very much appreciate their kind consideration to contact me and replace my colouring voucher to hair treatment instead. But I wished I had a fantastic experience, cuz hair's my passion and I would have became a loyal customer.

Oh well... Moving on...

-Jue-

Colour Dalam Kotak : Loreal Excellence Hair Cream

Okeyh, I must tell you that I now have enough of hair colouring. Not because I don't want to, but I find that MAINTENANCE is a costly affair. (Sure2..I know its costly, but I didn't realise that it was THAT costly! Ayoyo.... :(

So my plan was for once and for all, recolour my hair to a dark brown and lepas ni buat hair treatment je... dah tanak dah colour.... FOR A WHILE :D

But last time I had a hair colour was 3 months ago, of which in salon colouring + treatment costed my RM600. Mahall sungguhhhhhh........... I can't afford that on a bi-monthly basis... But my black roots are seriously showing... OMG....

I need a quick fix. So my plan: beli colour yang murah dari kedai, then buat treatment monthly. Cheap affair.

So off to Guardian and bought this:-

Murah tau...RM 34.90. Actually ada je brand lain i.e Garnier, Wella.... tapi I've tested this a few times on so many people and results dia best. So now, my turnnnn... kalau jadi, bestnye.......


What's nice is that it comes with triple protection coating, means that it treats your hair 3 times + the keratin essence helps to strengthen the hair too.

 I picked up the shade 'Natural Light Brown' as it's always advised to buy a shade lighter (Cheh perasan mat salleh....)

RESULTS:

Took this pic in daylight to show you guys the colour effect. Nampak ok kan? Not too dark and not too light either. Just what I want.

Oleh itu, if you guys want some quick fix and splash of great hair colour, can opt for this! Murahhhh...

Just a quick note: You kenalah rajin2 juga buat hair treatment since ANY chemical work on the hair is super drying... kesian rambut kene subjected to so many things kan?

Love, Jue

Loreal Paris EverSleek Smoothing System - Great value?

U guys know I'm a sucker of beautiful packages kan kan kan?????

I know I know, I still have stock of my Redken Smooth Lock shampoo and conditioner, but sometimes, saya sentiasa gagal melawan nafsu, especially when it comes to hair care stuff. Yalaaa, who doesn't

It was a really nice Sunday where we spend some leisure time in Ikea, not to look for furniture, but more to look at some deco ideas for our new home.... (belum siap lagi ye... lambat lagi...). Sambil2 tu, we wanted to look for a baby chair for Ammar. Iyalaa...sekarang sudah pandai duduk demand2 makanan...so its only fair for him to have 1 chair for himself!


Sukanya dia.....

Anyway, we decided to make a stop at the Curve. Boleh kire dengan jari berapa kali I datang Curve ni...maybe due to distance kot... its too far from my home and plus, KLCC is my backyard so...let's say I'm pretty much self-sufficient shall we? :D

Meriah juga hari Ahad ni... tapi sale2 mcm kurang menarik...if  I came on a different day, would it be different?

Jom teman I gi Watson? Nak cari shaver.

(Hubby changes shaver as frequent as he changes his t-shirts!...)

Scan scan scan.....

Menariknya!

Apparently, Loreal Paris came out with a new range of Hair Care Products! The best part is that its SULFATE free!

Oh my god, a few months ago, you could only get sulfate free shampoos at high end salons and now, you could get at Watsons for a fraction of the price!!!

OMG!!!!!




What happen to Old range Loreal Elseve????

Tapi ni mcm lagi best! Wooo~

Of course I got hooked! I mean I've tried Elseve range, and I hope this one is better!

Bought the shampoo and conditioner, and 2 of these products only costs me less than RM 50! ...wooo~

Am I crazy?  Or genius???

-Jue-

Groupon Voucher

Hi xxx, Thank you for ordering this Groupon "Hair: Up to 78% Off Rebonding / Relaxing / Perm / Colouring at Starhill Gallery from RM168". You just saved 78%. Once the deal has ended, we'll send your Groupon and any further information in a separate email (unless specifically contradicted in our 'Fine Print'). The deal runs until: 25.12.2012 23:59 Sincerely, Your Groupon Team

Your deal overview. Our top tip - recommend this deal and receive RM2

Discount78% PriceRM168.00 Hair: Up to 78% Off Rebonding / Relaxing / Perm / Colouring at Starhill Gallery from RM168 The deal runs until: 25.12.2012 23:59 Recommend now and receive RM2:   How it works »

Hi peps! Just recently purchased this deal from Groupon.com.my.

For Just RM168, you could do Hair Colouring/Rebonding/Relaxing/ Digital Perm + Wash + Cut + Blow at SOHO Salon, Starhill.

Fantastic! Just when I need a new colour job.

I haven't made an appointment yet, but once I do, I'll review about it, PROMISE!

Btw, if any of you guys are interested, deal runs until 25th Dec 2012, while deal lasts.

CEPAT CEPAT!!!!

UPDATES! - Redken Smooth Lock Treatment Review

Remember the time when I did the Redken Smooth Lock Anti-Frizz treatment?

Well it been 3 weeks after I did my treatment, so here are my latest updates. I was worried that the frizz free effect doesn't last long since the stylist told me it shall last up to 13 washes...

And I've lost count on how many washes I've been in.

But ultimately, this is the current condition of my hair -



Post-mandi...with some serum applied

Still looks ok... Of course I don't expect to have MISS WORLD hair...but I must say styling time has not been a problem to me so far. Aminnn....



So ladies out there, I've had my Smooth Lock experience. What about u???



SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL ADHA EVERYONE!

-JUE-

Kinks? Not A Problem! - Redken Smooth Lock In Salon Treatment

Having a darling boy in the house is great pleasure...but alas, it limits the amount of time you could afford to spend in personal care! Summore, dah la si Ammar ni asyik nak berdukung aje...... kelam kabut mummy kene bersiap! 

Sharing the same sentiment as mummies out there however doesn't hinder me from looking for great solutions. Where there's a will, there's always a way! To tell you the truth, I've always been a person who asal nak kuar je, I'd spend some time on hair styling. Bukan apa, since I'm always in a messy state MOST of the time...kkdg keluar tu, nak la nampak presentable konon2nya...

But, how can you afford to go washing and blowing when your darling boy squeals for attention and that you just don't have the heart to say "nanti la sayangggg..." ?

Ahahah...so much for little tales of motherhood eyh? Tapi, makin lama pk, makin serabut you become! And my hair become frizzier and frizzier day by day! Argh!

But as much as I'm adventurous at skin care, the same can't be said with hair though. I've always been more careful when it comes to 'doing things' with my mop.

I've cut it pixel short, and I don't like it.
I've coloured it blonde! and I don't like it either~

In that line, experimenting and experimenting was a costly affair. So.....what can I do? Right now, at this juncture I'm looking for something that's:-

- Easy to maintain
- Fuss - free
- Cuts styling time in HALF (or QUARTER even....)

Initially, I was so keen on doing Hair Relaxing. I've seen so many of my friends gone through the process but, I had a few qualms about it:-

1) I don't carry straight hair as good as they do
2) What if I don't like straight hair? What if it doesn't work on me?

Ponder ponder ponder.....

I called Curlers and Trimmers in Hartamas, initially wanting to ask on hair relaxing, but instead, they recommended me this -

Since my main qualm is that I just want to reduce the frizz, without straigtening my hair, this seems like a great option!

But wait, what's the price like? I've previously tried another frizz-reducing option, called the Brazilian Keratin Treatment (BKT)...

Works wonders, but doesn't last long and it costs me 500 bucks! Plus, the take-home care products are pricey too! Plus, I'm not sure of what the long term effects would be...

So, crossed my fingers and hoped that this will help.

The Process

On thing I love about this treatment is that it doesn't take too much time to complete the whole process. For my length, it took me about about 2 1/2 hours. (Reasonable time to wait, since colouring/normal treatment takes about pretty much the same time)

To cut short, the process goes as follows:-
1) Hair is washed and conditoned with Redken Smooth Lock Shampoo and Conditioner
2) Then,  Smooth Activator is applied to relax the hair to weakened the disulfide bonds that form hair’s structure and shape
3) The Smooth Sealer is then applied to lock the relaxed, smooth form into a finished place.

After the whole process is completed, Derrick (my stylist) used a flat iron to seal the treatment in.
And I'm told to not wash my hair for 2 days (48 hours)

Immediately After treatment....

I look weird with straightened hair! But oh well...let's wait for 2 days shall we?

After 2 days

Yup, so this is after I have washed my hair. Looks like I got my original state back... with lesser frizz. Wuhuu!

VERDICT

Great to smoothen your  kinks and add some shine, if you're not ready to go all straight. Plus, my length only costs me RM150. What's not to love about this?

So my dear babes out there, if frizziness is ur main issue, visit ANY Redken Salons and ask for the Smooth Lock treatment. Out with the frizz, in with the healthy hair!

Muax!

- Jue-

The Evolution of Oil in Haircare...

We've come a long way in life when it comes to secrets on beautiful, healthy hair. When I was small, I've seen my granny drenching her locks in coconut oil, and even sometimes crushed hibiscus leaves to extract the natural goodness, in the effort to maintain a healthy, scalp.

I've never tried the coconut on myself tho, but with us siblings coming from a family with eczema-prone skin, its only natural that our hair and is relatively dry, and having a thick mane doesn't exactly help either. Due to this, the 'hibiscus treatment' would always be a regular when we were small. And to top up to that, since we hated the smell of coconut oil, mum substituted it by using Bertolli's extra virgin olive oil on us hence, helped us improved our problematic scalp.

My point here is that, there are old wives secrets that our mums had actually practiced which they swore, works on them...and they carry these 'petuas' from cradle to grave. Little did we realise that as times changed, technology manages to transform these simple, cost-free at home remedies into high-end, in salon treatments which actually targets the same results that we want - healthy, frizz free hair. Of course, today's high-tech treatments are massively marketed everywhere, and  incorporates all the essential benefits that one would need, and since life today has become more demanding and stressful, extra care is needed to keep our locks in great shape, either to give us confidence in facing the day or even for our own personal satisfaction.

For example, olive oil and coconut oil in its simplest element has been used as a basic hair care since ages. However, the trend today has is the incorporation of these oils plus other components, and produce phenomenal hair care ranges to suit every hair care needs; this explain why at the current moment, all hair care companies have been in the rat race to produce their own 'oil-based' range. Although very similar to their other competitors, it all boils down to customer's budget and preferences.

If you do feel like splurging, these probably should be in your list:-

1) Pureology Precious Oil Range (under Loreal)

With ZeroSulfate and AntiFade Complex, this range helps colour-treated hair to achieve maximum softness, shine and colour protection.

(Contains Sunflower, Coconut, Olive and Jojoba Oil)

Pureology Precious Oil Range

2)  Kerastase Elixir Ultime 

Kerastase's first versatile beautifying oil. It contains a complex of four precious oils - Pracaxi, Argan, Maize and Camellia oil, this is suitable for every hair type to soften, reinforce and enhance the shine of your hair.

3) Loreal Mythic Oil 

L'Oréal Professionnel Mythic Oil range  gently cleanses hair with a blend of Argan, Cottonseed oils, Vitamin E and essential fatty acids. Using the whole range will deeply nourish, replenish and refresh hair from root to tip leaving it glossy and beautifully lightweight.

Out of budget? 

No worries! You could find great oil-based hair care via drug stores too! Here's what I have discovered:-

1) Sunsilk Nourishing Soft and Smooth Hair Care Range

Sunsilk Soft & Smooth and Sunsilk Smooth & Manageable now have a unique blend of 5 Natural Oils (Argan, Coconut, Jojoba, Babassu and Camellia) to give you long lasting 25-hour beautiful hair!

2) Dove Nutritive Therapy Nourishing Oil Care

This is one of my personal faves. And when I say personal, I really meant it. I was going through my pantang term and my hair was all over the place. In the mids of my despair, hubby went to Guardian bawah rumah, and bought me the shampoo and conditioner. Immediately after usage, I totally noticed a huge difference in taming the kinks in my hair, and immediate softness in texture. Really a keeper~

-Jue-

Between Splurges and Steal! - DNT Hair Salon, KLCC

Having kept my hair black has been an accomplishment (on my side at least). But then again, life's too short for safe adventures, so why not add a splash of colour in life when we're still young?

Because sometimes hair coloring could be an expensive affair! Having to color and do monthly re-touches, plus treatments to make sure that your crowning glory looks good and feels great, you really need to have the extra dough at hand... else, you'd be eating pasir and rocks until your next pay-day. Sigh...

But women being women, we constantly find ourselves in a number of unexpected adventures just to keep ourselves entertained, and to fulfill the curious cats in us...whether we make it or break, we never get bored of trying. Which is why, women are basically creatures of survival and adapts towards changes very easily!

ha ha! salute to all women!

So enough with that brief talk on feminism, and on to my next hair review. Well, talking about adventures, I'm sure all of you are familiar with Groupon, right? The website that ultimately provides discount coupons for products and services? Yep, yep..You guessed it. It turned me into an 'online-coupon junkie'...but then again, if I could get the same kinda service for like a fraction of the price, then why not? Its ultimately SMART SHOPPING at its best!

Ok..so one of the purchases that I had made recently was a Voucher by DNT Hair and Beauty Salon in KLCC of which goes as the following: -

Colouring / Perming / Rebonding / Relaxing + Cut + Wash + Blow for RM 108.

Cheap right??? Since its so near to my office, it would be foolish not to purchase it!

But wait! I haven't been to this place. I've only been to Centro and SAW Salon. So I'm kinda having doubts too... But since its so cheap, and I thought what's the worst that can happen at a place in KLCC? And anyway, they're using Loreal hair colour and Shiseido hair products so that's pretty commendable. So I bought it, and set an appointment next friday. Bismillahhhh.........

Compared to the 2 other salons, this salon is relatively smaller. It also has small nail bar for anybody who's interested to do nails. After waited for about 20 minutes, my turn came. A stylist named Zizi attended to me.

Honestly, I didn't wanna make too much of a change onto my hair. Since I have extremely dark eyebrows, its difficult for me to carry light colours. Summore, I'm no mat salleh. I'm Asian and am proud to be one! Hence, let's stick to our roots, shall we? :) 

What I like about the stylist was that he was very attentive and he even recommended me a colour of which he thought suited me best. I initially wanted to go burgundy, but then he recommended something ashy-chocolate which suited my yellow-toned skin. 

Okeyh, sounds great.And since I had made purchase through Groupon, he gave me a 'Groupon' rate for a top-up treatment, which was RM80 for shiseido hair mask. Yay!

Sorry peps, I don't have pics of the preparation. Too embarrassed to take at that moment. But here are pics after my hair colour. What do you think? 

Not bad eyh? To make it short, if you guys ada come across any vouchers for this place, I do recommend it. For the price, I received great service from them, and the colour is great too! 

DNT Beauty Salon
Lot No. 241, Level 2,
Suria KLCC,
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
50088 Kuala Lumpur

Phone: 03-2382 2828
Fax No: 03-2382 2838 

Hair Alert - Curlers and Trimmers, Sri Hartamas

I am a hair freak. Period. I've been trimming, treating and blow-drying my hair for as long as I can remember. God knows how blonde and how short my hair has been...alas, I still prefer natural black, since I have extremely thick eyebrows that spoils any effect of colouring or highlighting. 

And yes, I'm not ready to dye my brows brown yet!

And out of the countless number of salons I've been, so many good (and bad!) experiences that I've gone through. Nevertheless, this is the one I've always gone back to since I was 2!

Curlers and Trimmers

Proud owner - Annita Hisham

Its a lovely cosy, 2-storey salon situated in Desa Sri Hartamas where you could get excellent hair care and colouring service either by the Artistic Director herself, or the senior stylist. 

Reasons why I love this place:-

1) Its cosy and they serve really nice lattes

2) Professional hair cutting service, never had any dissatisfaction

3) They are not stingy with their hair products - they don't cut corners...everything they use is REDKEN..from the moment you wash your hair, until when you blow dry it.

4) Hair always looks healthy..at ALL times...

So now I present you with some pics of my visits with Curlers and Trimmers... 

BEWARE, camwhoring alert. Im only posting these pics to demonstrate their great work on my and other people...not as a measure of perasan-ness.

 Back in 2008 (I think...) - Medium length with waves

Makeup - None (I was so pimply back then, I didn't want to cover my face with anything)

 One of my faves - Chocolate colour, medium length with curls...

But colouring is huge maintenance, of which I can't afford as a monthly routine.

 An Innocent Twist 

 Neck length, layered cut

Makeup - Just a stoke of mascara and lipgloss

 With my cousins - Nad, Sha and Me.

Nad opt for medium length Anack-Su-Namun, and Sha for shorter, k-pop styled bob.

 A Night Out

Before my friend's bridal shower. No cuts, just curly blow drying at the ends.

Makeup - Dark eyes, Fuscia lips

So if you guys are thinking of some great raya hair do, come to Curlers and experience how great hair can make you feel like a million bucks!

-Jue-