Beauty Stash: Spa Line from Imperial Leather

I'm loving the Spa Line bodywash of Imperial Leather. So far, I've come across the Korean Spa, Bali Spa and Japanese Spa. Imperial Leather's bodywash comes with triple moisturisers, is rich and creamy, skin-friendly and soap free. 

The Korean Spa bodywash is a moisturising shower cream with Pomengranate and Hibiscus milk. The Bali Spa has Coconut milk and Tiare flower. The Japanese Spa is made up of Jasmine and Green Tea. All three  have refreshing fragrances that doesn't irritate the skin. The moisturising cream leaves my skin soft and smooth. 

This is not a paid post.

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Style Musings: Finding My Hair Stylists in Sydney

It took me years to find hair stylists in Sydney that can cut my hair the way I want it. My hair need is simple: soft-layered hair and a bit thinned out.

When I moved here, the instinct was to find a Filipino stylist which I did. I found one or two salons in Sydney Metro but I was never satisfied. The last Filipino salon I went to did an average job but I was just so tired of stylists making me wait, "unpolitely" chatting me up and doing experiments with my hair just because I am a Filipino. So I vowed to never again go to a Filipino salon here.

I started another quest to finding a good stylist in 2010. I tried having my hair cut by a Chinese stylist and that didn't work out. I had issues with how the stylist cut my hair. 

Then I searched online and the name of a Korean salon came up. Walked in Kim Sun Young Salon at Pitt Street, Sydney and met a pretty Korean lady that styled my hair the way I want it. Since then, she has become my official hair stylist.

When my stylist is not around, I have a secondary stylist who also cuts well and can blow dry my hair with use of her hands (yes, just her hands!) which results to me having straighter hair.

Another thing I appreciate when I go to Kim Sun Young is that they never ask you too much about getting hair treatments, hair colours or buy their products. My stylist once suggested I should have my hair coloured because I have white hair showing. But I told her I'm not yet ready to colour my hair and thoughtfully added that maybe in a year or so I'd have it coloured. She never asked me again.

A big bonus is that I feel at home at Kim Sun Young. If you've followed my blog entries, you probably know how much our life is influenced by Korean culture. When I visit the salon, I get to look at Korean magazines where I get to see photos of my favourite Korean celebrities. The staff all speak Korean (they are like me who migrated to Sydney) and I don't mind. I can understand a few words they say and it's like I'm part of a real life Kdrama. The best part is I get to talk to them about Korean stuff and they tell me about their life in Korea and in Sydney.

Finding a hair stylist or salon is like finding a gem. It should be a place where you know your hair (or nails, etc) will be safe and well-taken cared of. This is a big deal for me because I want my money's worth and leave the salon smiling because I loved the results my hair cut experience.

Miss Chu (Vietnamese Tuck Shop in Sydney)

The highlight of our Fridate last week was lunch at Miss Chu, a Vietnamese Tuck Shop located inside a building at Regent Place. We passed by the restaurant a couple of times before but can never get seats. We arrived at exactly 12 noon for lunch on Friday and lucky us! We got ourselves a decent table.

The table was actually an ironing table which has cutleries and condiments and two sets of list for ordering food and drinks. 

The Husband pointed out immediately that they serve Iced Vietnamese Coffee because he knew how fond I am of their sweet and milky coffee. 

We started off with Tiger Prawns and Green Mango Paper Rolls. It was so fresh and filling. 

The Husband had Lemongrass Beef with salad and brown rice. This was delicious as the beef was tender and had the strong taste of Lemongrass.  I loved this. 

I had the Caramelised Pork Belly Stew with Asian Greens and Brown Rice. Another beautiful dish, the flavour of the pork left a wonderful taste on my mouth. It had a bit of chili but it was only mildly spicy. 

My rice dish came with an egg that seemed poached and fried at the same time. It's perfect!

This was a wonderful dining experience. I loved our food and enjoyed every bite of it. I'm very glad we found a Vietnamese restaurant in the city that serves great food. 

Miss Chu
501 George Street, Sydney
Phone: 02 9283 0357

The Husband Gifts Me With Photographs

The best thing about being a wife to an artist is that I get to be his muse. I giggle with glee whenever he gifts me with his art. Whether it may be art designs or photographs, whether I'm in it or not, I appreciate receiving them. I'm proud of his talent and I'm his number one fan.

We had a very busy long weekend which started with visit to the Korean Consulate. And while our thoughts were preoccupied with a million things to do, we made it a point to have fun too.

We recently got an olloclip for the Husband's iPhone 5. Since we'll be travelling soon and saw the potential of the iPhone 5's camera in capturing good, clear photos, we decided to invest on an olloclip. The olloclip is a 3-in-1 lens which includes a fisheye, wide angle and macro lens. We were amazed with the capability of an olloclip as it enhances capturing photographs via an iPhone. We love it!

Last Friday, the Husband gifted me with his photographs, some of which he captured using an olloclip. Here are some of them.

The Train's Here. He used the fisheye lens for this and then processed it into monochome via the Snapseed app.

In Transit. Again in monochrome...because the Husband knows I love monochrome photographs.

All Ours. Caught a different train when we arrived at Central and what a nice blessing to have the carriage just to ourselves. This one's just a normal phone photo. No olloclip involved. 

 Levitation. Jump when no one's watching. I think this was my best photo that day. And the of the most fun photos we've created. To levitate inside a train carriage - check! :)

Train leaving. Still in fisheye lens. This is one of Sydney's old underground stations. There's a something dreamy and spooky about this photograph.

Husband's Got My Back. Me walking out the tunnel in St James Train Station. So lucky that for one moment, we got this tunnel all to ourselves. The Husband told me to walk ahead of him and took of snap of me.

In Between Buildings. This was Pitt Street in wide angle lens. 

The Husband made a monochrome version and posted it on his instagram.

Those were just a few photographs that made me very happy on Friday. Grateful for a Husband who thinks of me while he creates his art.