mini review: Farouk Biosilk Silk Therapy

Summary: so-so product.

Silk Therapy is a silicone hair product for smoothing and adding shine to your hair. It's marketed as a hair treatment, although I don't understand the science of silicone treating your hair. I think it might protect your hair a bit from heat.

Cons: It has a very strong chemical smell. Maybe I got a bad batch? If I apply it on wet hair, the smell dissipates, but on dry hair, it's rather bothersome. I feel uncomfortable inflicting it on my coworkers.

Pros: It does an okay job of smoothing my thick hair, whether applied wet or dry. Perhaps I need to apply more product.

h&s hair care

I'll say it now. I'm going to buy h&s's introductory set of shampoo, conditioner and treatment primarily because Tomoko Yamaguchi is the spokesperson for it. Actually, I only want to buy the treatment, but the set is cheaper so I'm going to get it all.

Pantene Smooth and Sleek

I've been using the shampoo, conditioner, and treatment for 6 days now, and my hair is actually smooth and sleek! It's not quite straight, but I love the texture of my hair now. Best of all, it's easily available in Japan. I'll have to try the Silky Mousse Essence once I use up my Muji Hair Fragrance essence (which smells wonderful and does make my hair shiny, but the fragrance disappears quickly).

Anyway, just had to share.

I finally used up my hand cream, yay! That stuff smelled antiseptic. I love using stuff up. Then I can buy new stuff. Ahem. Materialistic? me? I just like change. A little change.

Oh, could share my experiences buying underwear in Japan. Depending on the store, the fitting assistants are very very thorough, which can be disconcerting at first. It took a couple visits to various stores before I was sure of my size though. I was being told different sizes each time for the first three visits, but after wearing purchases for a week or two I finally figured out which size was likely to fit me the best. Of course, it varies by style, so I still have to try everything on for the best fit, but now I know where to start. And I know which stores to try.

Amo's Style is a little gaudy but they may have the most comfortable items. "une nana cool" has simple but cute items for a reasonable price, but I can feel the underwire at times. It doesn't actually dig into my skin, but touches it. Amo's Style's stuff doesn't touch at all. Amphi is nice too, but for the most part their items have too much decoration for my taste. They had exactly one series of items which were simple and elegant, but unfortunately that series was a pain to put on. Amo's Style is probably in between Amphi and "une nana cool" in terms of designs. The best time to shop is during the New Year's sales, and probably the summer sales.

I found The Budget Fashionista helpful for basic advice on fitting.

my hair looks horrible!

I give up. It's simply impossible to communicate with hair stylists. Even having a picture doesn't help. I should just let them do whatever they want.

Maybe my hair stylist is just bad at cutting hair. I'll have to try some other places.

If I don't like it in a week, I'm getting my hair cut again.

weekly grooming

Laf. Grooming has the nuance of pet care, doesn't it?

Anyway, after my recent (er long term?) apathy, I finally trimmed my eyebrows a bit, and tried out a nose strip. Nose strips are really fun when they work. Probably really gross for the observer, but really fun for me. I also applied Biotherm D-stress lotion, which smells lovely. A nice, clean, relaxing scent. I looked online but it doesn't appear to be carried anymore! Ironic. I could have the name wrong. I'll have to check. The bottle looks like the packaging for Biotherm Biopur Melting Moisturizing Marifying Fluid for C/O but it's hard to say.

Trying out Givenchy Only perfume today. It hasn't made much of an impression on me. Wearing zero hair products, and Shu Uemura Lip Shimmer in Strawberry Compote (discovered via Berta). It's lasted me two years now. I can't wait to use it up and start playing with the Shiseido clear lip gloss I bought. Suckered in by the limited edition lip gloss. It's wonderfully light and glossy though.

Ooh, Shiseido Garden C has a free eyebrow consultation available for visitors until the end of this month. I will have to take my mom there. Perfect timing, as she was curious about getting her eyebrows done. Should be fun!

2005-10-26 note:
The Biotherm lotion that I like is actually Biotherm D-Stress Nuit, apparently no longer part of their product line. Oh, the irony.

the fallacy of buying hair products

I have been highly entertained (obsessed) with shopping for hair products lately.

Today I realized why it has been so engrossing. Basically, my hair has been less than attractive lately, in addition to needing to be cut. So I am hoping that the right styling product or hair conditioner will make my hair smooth and manageable. (I sound like a commercial). Of course, while possible, it puts all the blame for my hair on using the wrong products, as opposed to the way I care for my hair.

At any rate, even with the right hair products, I will still probably need to spend a little time every day on my hair. As opposed to the 0 minutes I currently spend grooming my hair. Laf, at least I wash and condition it.

I really need a hair cut. But I want to find a good picture of the hair cut I want, so that I don't need to explain much to the stylist.