Tips for Getting a Pretty Haircut

I got a new hair style since the last time i blogged. I haven't gitten back to bangs in ages, so this actually feels refreshing to have them back again. Makes me feel youthful again... Haha! I also got ombres but very subtle ombres. I told my hairstylist lady that I want it to look as natural as possible. Pretty happy with the result!

For those of you live in Phoenix, Arizona, you should really try Denise Tanigawa at Perfect Glamor Salon.

7045 E 3rd Ave

Scottsdale AZ

United States

Tips for Getting That Perfect Haircut that You Dream For:

• Do your research - ask around close friends and family if they have a fav hairstylist of their own and observe see if you like their haircut. 

• Look on Yelp.com for reviews before choosing a salon.

• Google - what hair style do you like? What's the length that you wanna go for? What color? Do you want bangs or no bangs?

• Look for the pictures of the celebrities or images that you like and either print them outnor save them on your computer/notepad to show your stylist. The more the better, so they can grasp an idea of what you're trying to go for, especially if it's your first time with them.

• Not to be racist or anything but honestly speaking, if you're Asian, try to find an Asian hairstylist and pictures of Asian celebrities or hairstyles that you you're going for. The same goes with others such as whites, black, Mexican, South African, etc. Simply because before you can do people's heads, you gotta practice on yourself and close ones to gain not only experience and the hair textures and head shapes of each ethinicity are designed differently, that only familarity becomes expertise!

On me: I'm wearing the 1-Day Acuvue Define in Vivid Style, false lashes and natural makeup!

*not a sponsored post*

The School Girl

Ladies,

I know this is a bit late since the Paris Fashion Show was over a few weeks ago, but while going through my Pinterest list I can't help but amazed and feeling excited about "The School Girl" show by Valentino Ready-to-Wear fashion for Fall/Winter 2013. Check it out! I really hope we will be seeing this trend for our Winter 2013.

Simple Face

Simple Face by tina-mai featuring short false eyelashes

Forever 21 flower hair clip / NARS Cosmetics blush / NARS Cosmetics lip shine / Bobbi Brown Cosmetics eyeliner / eylure short false eyelash, $8.04

Put Vaseline onto your lips prior to your makeup routine, it will absorb and make your lips super soft. BB Cream is the way to go for everyday makeup to conceal any imperfections on your skin, yet light enough allowing skin to breathe. Top off with a high pigmented pink blush right onto the apple of your cheeks close by your nose wings for a more youthful look. Draw a thin liner using gel liner close by your lash lines. Throw on a pair of natural looking falsies and finish off with a high shine lip gloss. Definitely simple enough for an every day look!

Bausch & Lomb Naturelle Black & Brown

Bausch & Lomb Naturelle Black & Brown contact lens Review

The Bausch & Lomb was the first company that launched soft contact lens in 1971. The purpose of the Naturelle series is to "enhance and complement" Asian eyes so they look naturally beautiful and captivative. The Bausch & Lomb Micro-Encapsulation Technology ensures that color pigments are encapsulated within the lens material, while the ComfortMoist Technology keeps the lenses bathe in moisture. The micro-encapsulation pigments are non-toxic and non-irritating to the eyes. Furthermore, the colors do not reduce the oxygen flow through the lenses, therefore allowing the eyes to breathe well suitable for all-day use.

The Bausch & Lomb Naturelle daily disposable lenses come in 2 colors: Natural Black and Stylish Brown.  I purchased both of the colors to compare.

BC: 8.6
DIA: 14.20

I'm going to show you pictures from both colors and then I will do a review between the 2 colors.

Natural Black

Picture of me wearing the B&L Natural Black

A close up one...

Taking pictures of me wearing the Black with my iPhone....

 

Stylish Brown

Another close up with a different lighting...

Here are some pictures of me wearing the Brown with my iPhone.... Please excuse me from being just woken up (no makeup you know and I already tried my best to Photoshop these 2 pics to the Z... haha)

Conclusion:

Ok... So after you have taken a look at both colors on me, what do you think? The Natural Black definitely looks natural and more enhancing. I don't like the Stylish Brown, to be honest! They make me look tired, even with make up on, as I also receive a lot of comments on me looking tired when I wear these B&L Brown. The Black contacts make me look more alert and awake, even with minimal makeup on!

Comparing the Bausch & Lomb Naturelle with 1-Day Acuvue Define....

I honestly still like the Johnson & Johnson 1-Day Acuvue Define series WAYYYY better. Do you know why? Because the 1-Day Acuvue lens though don't feel as soft as the Bausch & Lomb Naturelle, but they seem to provide more moisture to my eye balls. When I wear them I don't have to re-drop saline to the eyes every 5 - 6 hours like when I wear the Bausch & Lomb Naturelle. I feel like the Bausch & Lomb Naturelle are more prone to dryness versus the 1-Day Acuvue Define. In addition, though they both have the same Diameter listed, just different Base Curve by 1mm, the 1-Day Acuvue Define seems to make the eyes look bigger than other brand.

To read my post on 1-Day Acuvue Define is here:
http://www.fashionpassionbeauty.com/2012/04/1-day-acuvue-define-accent-style-vivid.html

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

AAlens.com Review!

I have posted a post comparing AAlens.com with Contactlensxchange.com and Softlenseye.com a few days ago. http://www.fashionpassionbeauty.com/2013/08/the-best-website-to-shop-for-your.html
 
Now I'm doing another post just solely for AAlens.com, because I honestly think they deserve it and it is because of their excellent customer service as well.

As you have known, I had been ordering my contacts from Contactlensxchange.com for awhile before. After I compared the prices between the two websites, I decided to give AAlens.com a try and made a big purchase on the first round, although there weren't any reviews on the website. I ordered:

• 2 boxes of the 1-Day Acuvue Define - Vivid style
• 2 boxes of the 1-Day Acuvue Define - Natural Shine style
• 2 boxes of the Bausch & Lomb Naturelle Black
• 2 boxes of the Bausch & Lomb Naturelle Brown
• 2 boxes of FreshLook Illuminate
• 2 boxes of FreshLook One Day Color in Pure Hazel

*Click on individual image for larger view*

 I was so relieved to see that the shipping was only $18 for my order. If it was with Contactlensxchange, it probably would have been like almost 40 bucks shipping for that big of an order with either the same wait time or even longer!

Anyways, as you can see in the pictures above, I made the order on July 15th 2013. By July 23th, I already received the boxes (2), which was like only about a week later. I was so amazed at how fast it was shipped from (also) Singapore. Not only that, when I opened the boxes I discovered that they were so nice that they gave me extra sets of contacts, probably because it was a large order or could be because I'm a first time customer - who knows, but.... regardless of the reason, it was very nice of them doing that! It definitely made me feel valued and felt like they want my business that's why they give little incentives here and there. To me, this is excellent customer service!

The ones that aren't in boxes are the extra ones that they gave. So they gave extra 5 pairs of the 1-Day Acuvue the Natural Shine style and 5 pairs of the FreshLook Illuminate. So nice! When I ordered a lot from Contactlensxchange.com, they never gave me extra of anything.

Conclusion:

I was super happy with my first purchase at AAlens.com. I will spread the words and will definitely repurchase my lenses from them again, once when I run out of them! Hopefully, I'll be able to do reviews on the lenses that I purchased soon. Reviews for the Johnson & Johnson 1-Day Acuvue - Vivid, Accent, and Natural Shine style -- http://www.fashionpassionbeauty.com/2012/04/1-day-acuvue-define-accent-style-vivid.html


Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post!

The Best Website to Shop for Your Circle Lens!

Where to Shop for Your Circle Lens

AAlens.com vs. Contactlensxchange.com

AAlens.com vs. Contactlensxhange.com vs. Softlenseye.com

Folks,

I know that in a few recent years circle lenses have become one of the most popular options for girls and even for guys to wear on a daily basis. Let me tell you this, they are super convenient (maybe when you'are a pro at putting them on and taking them off...) to be used as a form of cosmetic.  You don't want to leave the house when your face makes you look like you've just woken up, but you really don't have time to put the makeup on besides from just BB Cream or a swirl of powder.  Circle lens is your SOLUTION!  They brighten your eyes - you pupils, instantly! They give you that sharp look in your eyes and more dolly like as well.

Anyways, moving on... in my years of searching for the right lenses that can be worn daily and ultimately, for the right source to shop for these. I think I have found one and that I am happy to share this with everyone who is looking for the same purpose.

Before I even chose a website, I usually shop around a little bit at other ones just to compare the prices. These websites that I have found myself often go back in to check and compare prices are pretty expensive:

• Honeycolor.com
• Candylens.com
• Pinkparadise.com
• Eyecandylens.com

*Click on individual images for larger view*

Softlenseye.com

I started by order relationship with this website since 2009 and they offered really good deals.  They are an online company that bases in Malaysia. Prices circle lens, shipping costs and wait time were reasonable (not sure if they still do... Haven't ordered from them in a few years). But I stopped because I found a better website that, at the time, offered a better deals on the lenses that I liked to try.

My order history with Softlenseye.com

Contaclensxchange.com

These guys have pretty good of a selection and variety of circle lenses. So I started to order my lenses from them, and you can actually read my review here on One-Day Acuvue Define (Vivid, Accent, and Natural Shine style) --> http://www.fashionpassionbeauty.com/2012/04/1-day-acuvue-define-accent-style-vivid.html

I've been pretty happy with them since 2011 until this year, I have realized how much I've been paying for shipping charges. Honestly speaking, I think they overcharge the shipping! They're not the only merchant that I have ordered my products from Singapore, and I know that for it doesn't cost that much to ship something from Singapore to the U.S.  They said it's "Registered Air-Mail," but quite frankly, it takes the same time for the parcel to get here as regular mail, as I have ordered from other Singaporean merchants before with the same wait time, only paying less in shipping.

Check out all the shipping costs that I paid:

In addition, their Johnson & Johnson, Bausch & Lomb, and FreshLook lenses are more expensive than AAlens.com. I know it's about $2 difference for a box and I understand that not all merchants could negotiate the same prices from the manufacturers. But to pay a lot more for shipping when it takes the same time to get here, just doesn't make sense to me!

I mainly looked at the Johnson & Johnson, Bausch & Lomb Naturelle and FreshLook One-Day, because these are the brands that I have either used or wanted to try.

1. Johnson & Johnson 1-Day Acuvue Define lenses: $35.99/box with 30 pieces
2. Bausch & Lomb Naturelle lenses: $35.99/box with 30 pieces
3. FreshLook One-Day (Focus Dailies Softcolors): $13.80/box with 10 pieces

Here's a scenario that I did before I made my last big purchase:
If I was to order 2 boxes of each of these: 1-Day Acuvue Vivid Style, Natural Shine style, Naturelle Back, and Naturelle Brown, this would be my total and the shipping cost from Contactlensxchange.com

Total:  $323.84

Now, let's evaluate AAlens.com Prices and Shipping....

AAlens.com

An online company based in Singapore also. Here's what AAlens have for their prices for the 3 brands that I was interested in purchasing:

1. Johnson & Johnson 1-Day Acuvue Define lenses: $33.50/box with 30 pieces
2. Bausch & Lomb Naturelle lenses: $33.50/box with 30 pieces
3. FreshLook One-Day (Focus Dailies Softcolors): $12.99/box with 10 pieces

Here was the scenario that I did to compare before making a purchase with AAlens.com:
If I was to order 2 boxes of each of these: 1-Day Acuvue Vivid Style, Natural Shine style, Naturelle Back, and Naturelle Brown, this would be my total and the shipping cost from AAlens.com.

Total:  $280
I SAVE $43.84 for ordering my lenses at AAlens.com, instead of Contactlensxchange.com. In addition, they're so nice that they give me extra lenses since I made a huge order.

Conclusion:

I think you'd be better off ordering your daily disposable circle lenses at AAlens.com, since the prices and shipping are much cheaper.  It adds up, especially if you are planning to order your contacts in bulk. In the long run, it'd save you more money then any other ones.

Great Fashion Blogs to Follow

I have recently changed the look of my blog and I wanted to share how and where I got the inspiration from. I've been following some true fashion bloggers for a while, who I think blog on a consistent daily basis with a fresh new style and look everyday. I got the inspiration from them to really trim down the all the unnessarry "fluffy" stuff such as, tags displaying and pages that I don't even need. I also got inspired the way they use black color as their blog headers as well. Minimal is really the key!

Here are my top 10 Favorite Fashion Bloggers

1. Garance Dore

I love the header of this blog, this was one of my main inspiration for changing mine. Garance is a great fashion illustrtor. Her drawings are super elegant and each of them almost feels like they have a soul to it. I'm in love with almost all of her illustrations! Her blog layout and the way she writes delivers freshness, relaxation, to almost a Zen kinda feel.

2. Fashion Squad

Carolina Engman has some really exceptionally fresh and fashion-forward style. She shows off all kinds of styles, from feminine and elegant to super relaxing and easy-to-dress. I love her sense of fashion and blog in general, because of the affordability level. I tend to check her blog almost  everyday for outfit inpirations.

3. Kature

Kristina Bazan is really a gem in the sea of models. Her style is definitely fashion forward, expensive, brand-named oriented, and elegant. She's one of those that's truely about the brands and elegance. The brand that I think associates with her the most is YSL. I think she is just gorgeous! I mean she has that baby face that has so much emotions in it.

4. Native Fox

Jennifer Grace's style is really effortless and modernly basic. She can turn even the most basic piece into something that looks expensive and nicely incorprated with the rest of the items. I can see her associating with the Proenza Schouler bag, Zara, Chloe, and a few other brands (but not as much as Kature)

5. Fashion Vibe

This is pretty much like the Native Fox blog, pretty similar style.

6. The Sartorialist

Love-love-love this blog! This is like a people and fashion photoshoots daily journal. Each of his picture seems to speak a thousand words itself, so there often are no contents. He really one of those photographers that has a unique view of the people and fashion. The way he catches each his shoot is just perfect, the people are in the right place and posture, and the type of fashion that is just right for the moment. All of it is just a terrific piece of art!

7. Style by Kling

Elin Kling is a fashion editorial director for StyleBy magazine. I think she is just so pretty and that even if she wears the most basic pieces, they will always look really stunning on her. She is known for a relaxing yet elegant style.

8. Neon Blush

I really like most of Jenny Ong's Zara pieces. She's defitely the Zara girl with a Proenza Schouler messenger bag. She has always been my inspiration for Zara clothes and style. What I like about blog is that she wears less expensive brand names, therefore can relate more to the readers. One thing that I have noticed lately in her blog is that, she likes to wear Zara heeled sandals, Proenza bag, beanies, riding boots and basic neutral colors. She's an attractive Asian fashion blogger!

9. Fashion Toast

Rumi Neely, I don't think I have ever seen her wearing pants in my years of following her blog, not in the summer at least... In the summer, she wears mini-skirts, skorts, short, and short dreses with (alway) super high heeled wedges to the max. I do like her style in the beginning but she's just been wearing the same type of style and poses similarly, so it gets a little boring for me after a while coz I couldn't find any inspirations. But I still love her style though.

10. Song of Style

Amy Song's style is really about colors, patterns, and vibrancy. If you really follow her blog, occasionally she'd show off her closet and it's super nice!