BIOTIN (Nature Own 300 mcg)

OMGGG i love frigging BIOTIN!!!!
I've been taking them for around 2 months with 2 more boottles to go :D

Dessciption: Natures Own 0243 Biotin 300mcg is needed for the maintenance of healthy hair and skin. It is a co-factor for some carboxylases, which are enzymes that catalyse reactions within biochemical pathways in the body such as fat metabolism.

DIRECTION:Adults:
Take one tablet daily, or as advised by your healthcare professional.

Each tablet contains:
Biotin 300mcg.

EXPERIENCE: So as i've said i absolutely love this. The bottle says take one a day but at the moment i'm taking 6 a day since one table only contains 300 mcg. Apparetly the dose you should be taking for hair growth is 1000mcg to like infinity mcg (some people take 10 000mcg) there is no effect of taking alot of these tablets since...its a water soluble something... i dnno but you can search that on yahoo answers. Sadly where i live i cannot find any product with more than 300mcg which makes me sooooooo annnoyed, and i've been searching like everywhere (still on the search).
I heard of Biotin since forever ago but never thought i would need to take it since my hair is long and my skin is at a very decent level. However after going to vietnam and getting her perm twice (got stuffed up frist time) and had to get hair cut twice...my hair was soo short (to me) and it was incredibly dead :(. I can't belive how dead it is. i don't ever even wanna get hair perm straight ever again.
But after 2 and a bit more month of consumption, my hair has gotten smoother, softer, less frizzy and has grown about 7-8 cm (hair suppsobly grown 1.2 cm a month).

Interestingly some people gain an effect of achieving a smaller stomach from this product (since biotin helps with metabolism). This effect is sersiouly something that i've noticed fromt aking biotin. My stomach has gotten flatter than ever and moreover ive lost apparently 2-3 kg!!!! My mum was quite angry when she saw that i weighed 3kg less that what i was when i got weighed recently at the hospital.
In regard to skin, the first bottle of biotin i took made my skin sooo spotless and smooth. hwoever second bottle... nothing really happened even till now my skin is good but not as good when with the first bottle.

Additonally my nails keep growing and growing and i ahte having to cut them so often. Nails aint really a thing for me but if you want nails to grow quickier, biotin is the way to go.
DOWNSIDE: Beacuse the tablets only contain 300mcg of biotin, i have to take 5 or more a day so taht my hair will grow longer, hence one bottle only lasts me 20 days. A bottle is around 11 dollars which is really expesnive for me as well. Continuosly, i am still in search for a 1000mcg one which i find is sold online but nowhere around i live (buying online mite be dangerous since...u know..). But hoefully when i go to sydney, my long time search will be over.

Overall, this product is abosulely one of my best investments for 2011. Although it is expensive (since i take 5 tablets a day) i want to continue taking it. even when my hair is long enough i want to continure to take these tablets since they help with other factors as well.

RATING: 99%/100% (one % is for price)

Clinique Pore minimiser

Along with my bunch of goodies which i received from Megahan, i also received the Clinique Pore Minimizer.

The description of this product states
Improves the skin condition as it refines the look of pores with natural-looking, long-lasting matte finish
Instantly de-shines the complexion
Enhances skin resistance to sweat & humidity
Promotes a soft & velvety smooth appearance
Lift up your spirit & confidence
Suitable for all skin types

EXPERIENCE: The consistency of this odorless product was sooo soft and smooth once applied, which was something i soo loved about this product. Once i applied it around my nose area, the area became soo soft and my pores actually looked more closed up and smoother, with a slight shine to it. However i was hoping that it would cover the red patches all around my pore area, which it didn't (it doesn't say that it does that, but i thought it would). It was a decent product, but not something i would use everyday...maybe on special occasions since i'm lazy to apply those sort of makeup, hence i'm more of a skincare person rather than a makeup person since i like long term effects rather than the short term stuf..... thus the product didn't make my pores smaller on the long term side. but for those who have big pores and don't mind applying makeup, this is a really good product to try out (although i hear its discontiniued).
RATING: 7.5/10

My beauty diary apple mask

I got this face mask from a good friend not so long ago and after trying it out i fell in love with it instantly!!!
"This face mask contains Roselle Acid and AHA which help to remove dead skin cells, improve and prevent enlarged pores problem. With advanced nanospheres technology, the skin care essence contained in this face mask is able to deliver several benefits to your skin. It also contains Hyaluronic Acid that helps to stimulates synthesis of collagen for skin firmness and resilience."
How to use?
Use after cleansing and toning. Put the mask on your face for 20-30 minutes. Remove the mask and massage the remaining skin care essence until it is absorbed. Use moisturizer afterwards for a complete protection.

Experience: Usually i hate face mask with the paper and all that, but with this one, it completely cahnged my mind. The smell once opened was soo nice and once i placed it on, this nice cooling affect had come across my whole face. the mask dries and absoorbes quite quick leaveing absolutely no residue. After using it, my face was soo much smoother brighter, and more hydrated. The next day, upon waking up, i could feel my face quite elastic and more moisturized and i got no pimple effect.
I would definelty be purchasing this when i go to sydney.
RATE:4.5/5

Thanks heaps for the pressie Meghan btw :P

Essential Ultra Honey and Shea Butter Hair Mask!

Hello :D
I got this hair treatment from Cindy when she went to Japan and i absolutely love it!!!
The description of this product is below (from sasa.com)

description
Essential NUANCE AIRY Ultra Honey Hair Mask is formulated with 3X more high purity honey and milk protein to protect and strengthen. It provides intensive care, especially to the last 15 cm of hair, which is prone to dryness, tangles and split ends. Hair is left soft, elastic and easy to manage. The mask gives a scent of flower and fruit.
It is added with shea butter, a repairing and moisturizing ingredient, to make hair extra smooth. Wild rose essence leaves a protective layer to keep hair soft and moisturized.

The product leaves hair airy. It gives limp and flat hair a light and bouncy feel. It provides iIntensive care for severely damaged hair, without the heaviness.

Recommended for use 2 to 3 times a week.

how to use it
After washing hair, gently dry it with a towel.
Apply an appropriate amount to hair (it is recommended to apply a table-tennis ball-sized portion to medium-length to long hair).
Leave on for 5 minutes before rinsing with water.


ingredients
Shea butter, wild rose essence

country of origin
Japan

MY OPINION
The texture of this cream is really thick, but i think hair mask should be thick so it stays on your hair better. The treatment of this hair mask is quick as well. You only need to leave it on for like 5 minutes ( i leave it for 10min) and rinsing is also quick (You don't get that slimy effect on your body...if you know what i mean) .
The after effect of your hair is very smooth and soft and their is an obvious difference. It transform your hair instantly, like magic. The smell of this product is wonderfull...i could even eat it..JOKES
Also, price of this product is only 7 dorra which is heaps cheap. I usually use the de lorenzo EQUILIBRIUM hair mask and i thought that was cheap and great...but this japananese hair mask is wayyy beyond great!!! and its 3 times cheaper than my delorenzo.
Overall...this product, at the moment, is going to be my 'can't live without hair product'. Hence i'll definitely be repurchasing and highly recommend it for those with dry, frizzy, un-nice hair.
RATING - 5 out of 5

Lavshuca liquid eyeliner review + Etude House Proof 10 Liquid Eyeliner review + MY NEW PHONE

This is a Japanese brand called Lavshuca, I found it and bought their liquid eyeliner on impulse (since my Maybelline Stiletto is friggin awesome...not). It works like those lip gloss twisty ones where you twist the end. I got black #2 which is meant to be a dark brown but it's actually pretty dark anyway (I don't care, I was meant to get #1 anyway). It's VERY waterproof and hard to remove even with make-up remover, which is good when it's raining but bad when I get home since it's a pain in the ass to remove. Overall I love it except for the twisty thingy cause it won't get the right amount - sometimes it'll come out in a blob when I twist it too much, then it goes all over my eye which is hard to remove and it looks bad. This is when the eyeliner is having a good day.

This one is the Proof 10 Liquid Eyeliner by Etude House, it was 7USD I think. I don't know why I bought this, I was blinded by the shiny-ness and 2NE1 endorsement, thinking that this was a new product but when I opened it I realised it was not. I can't read Korean, but I think it claims that it lasts for 24 hours. It isn't waterproof, but it doesn't melt off and overall it's staying power is pretty good, but not waterproof as I said. When removed, it sort of flakes and rubs off. The applicator is dip in, which is not my favourite but it's better then the ones I've tried. The colour is very intense looking. I like this eyeliner, but it's not amazing and I wouldn't wear it everyday.

I got a new phone a few weeks ago... the Samsung Galaxy S!!! I can't be bothered to take pics of it so here's what it looks like. IT'S AWESOME!! It  does all the cool stuff like wifi and apps, HD video,  GPS (that doesnt even work in Australia) and other cool stuff. I can play lots of my dramas on there even HD and subtitles! All I do is play music and games all night haha

THINGS (PRESENTS) FROM JAPAN

THANKS CINDY!!! for all the pressies!! i LOVE everything you got me....u truly know me welll :P

More photos of my hair (my face cropped out lol)

Inside

Outside

Occasionally my hair will look like a dark brown when inside, but outside it'll be most like the colour above^^

When the light is really strong, then my hair will pretty much look like a bright hard orange which looks yucky cause then it looks all uneven. These photos are 2-3 months after application.

Japan Haul

Hey!! I just got back from Japan, and I got quite a bit hehe... Japan was superbly amazing and a really beautiful country! Hopefully I can go back there again because I had such such a great experience being there. It is truly a fusion of traditional and modern culture, and each place has it's own unique style from Tokyo to Hiroshima. I would tell more about this trip, but right now it's haul showing time!

[if you have any requests for reviews of products then I might be able to do it]

Assorted magazines: Jill Stuart, ViVi, Kpop girls, Popteen, Jelly

One great thing about Japanese magazines are that they are THICK! And for a good price too, usually you can get a good magazine for 500-700 yen. The fashion is a lot more concentrated in Japanese mags!

Hair accessories and bow ring

Random toiletries (deodorant, foam cleanser, face mask)

Laneige skincare (from Incheon airport)

On the return trip, we stopped by Seoul airport and the range of brands they sell is pretty amazing! I found these Laneige products for 17 USD each, but I got a 10 dollar coupon so it was pretty good. The sleeping pack is usually $25 on sasa

Kpop CDs

The fun times were spent exploring CD shops! All the popular artists will have their own stands like Arashi and AKB48. SNSD's Genie was playing on a screen in Harajuku, but I wasn't able to see any KARA promotion. I bought the SHINee CD in Seoul but it was actually more expensive then yesasia which was disappointing. 

Assorted make-up: 

Etude House LUCIDarling lipstick

Missha lipstick

Etude House Proof 10 liquid eyeliner

The Seoul airport has a couple of duty free shops such as Lotte and Shilla, this make-up was from Shilla and they had a limited range of stuff from The Face Shop, Hanskin and other brands. It's more common to see the foreign luxury brands then these cheaper brands so I was lucky to find this store!

ClearLast BB Cream

Kate lipgloss

Kate gel eyeliner

Canmake eyeshadow

Lavshuca liquid eyeliner

Japan has BB creams as well, except they're very different. Very sheer compared to Korean brands and colours are more yellow pigmented. There's lots of cheap brands and expensive BB cream brands. I also wanted a lippy so I got Kate lipgloss then later found eyeliner on sale. Canmake is a good find because it's so cheap but good value. 

Etc: Daiso Japanese erasers and PINK suspenders

A mountain of clothes! Mostly summer clothes that were on sale since Japan is getting colder atm, which is a lot better for me!

Presents for friends and family: chopsticks, erasers, Hello Kitty, figurines, pencils etc

Van's stuff

Van received a very good present from me, she should be eternally grateful haha. Lots of hair products, jewelry and make-up!

Cute pink teddy bear necklace for 1000 yen

I also bought some decorative stuff for home like fans, sandals and figurines, but unfortunately I hardly got any cute stuff like phone charms and Hello Kitty stuff but I can always get that in VN. There's really so many fun places to shop, but it's also really interesting to learn about the culture when you do go to these places.

This is my hair colour atm. It has gone a lot redder as it was a more ash colour before, and my roots are def showing! This is basically what it looks like in natural lighting, but once I find some more pics I think the colour can be judged better. This is about 3 months after dying my hair.

Biore Triple Action

I purchased this a few weeks ago and have been using it twice a day everyday.
Description: Go for a clean sweep. Tingly-cool toner, with salicylic acid, unclogs and tightens pores as it reduces surface shine. It penetrates pores to clear away dirt, oil and blackheads.
Direction: After cleansing with your favourite Biore cleanser, moisten a cotton pad and pat over face and neck. Use daily, or as often as required or as directed by a doctor. For best results, follow with Biore Shine Control Moisturiser.
Ingredients: Water, Acohol Denat., Salicylic Acid, Isopropyl, Alcohol hamameus, Virginiana (Witch Hazel), water, Glycerin, Alcohol, Menthol, Benzophenone-4, Polysorbate 60, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium Edta, Fragrance, Yellow 5, Blue 1.
Price: Because i work at the pharmacy that sold this i got 20% off whilst the product itself was on sale.In the end the price was $6 which was super cheap.
Packaging, smell, Product: The smell is very freshening, however there is a strong smell of alcohol.
The product contains very strong ingredient, hence sometime when putting it on, it may sting. But to me, the feeling is suppper refreshing and intensely cooling and its such a good way of helping me get refreshed in the morning. It has further helped control oil on my face, keeping my face feeling cleaner through out the day. The texture is just like water, and it absorbed extraordinarily quick.
Results: After about 3 weeks of using this, i do think my skin is more radiant and my pores have slightly reduced. It does not cause break outs however i don't think it helps reduce them either.
Rating : 4/5
Would i purchase again: Yes, considering the price, and the sensational feeling after using this...i would definitely purchase again. However i will keep searching for other toner alternatives, until i find the perfect one.

'MY NAME NECKLACE' Purcahse

Heyyy, long time...no post
i'm so bored and cindy is in japan and since its been so long that i haven't post, i've decided to post something.


Well on my birthday, Cindy gave me a necklace with my name (Kimvann) on it YIPEEEE.
we ordered it on mynamenecklace.com.au.




Review
The postage time was around two weeks, which was alright. The company and online store itself is very trustworthy and did a great job on my necklace.
The price was quite decent (30 something i think)and it is real stirling silver.
The quality: The actually pendant thing is very thin and seem quite fragile, but compared to other types, this one is actually really good. Except i am afraid that the pendant and the necklace itself might snaps.
But overall, I really like how its blingy and shiny in bright lights and i REALLLLY like it.

THANKS HEAPS Cindy for the birthday present:D.

PS: if you want to purchase this necklace, heres a coupon for you...just type in "GIFT" and you'll get 10% off.