Hair Hack- How to condition your hair properly

A short post on a little trick I’ve discovered. Again, a disclaimer that I did not rip off anybody’s idea. I thought of it on my own so if you’ve seen it somewhere before, all I can say is that great minds think alike.

After shampooing, we know we have to use a hair conditioner to seal in the moisture. However, we are not supposed to apply it to the scalp. Hair conditioner and hair masks applied too close to the scalp can make the hair look limp and oily. They also clog up the hair follicles and cause hair loss so the rule of thumb is to apply them to hair below the ears.

So what’s the problem?

Applying hair products to hair that falls below the ears is just a guide and if you apply hair products to these sections of hair, then it’s likely you’ve applied them too close.

I don’t know about you, but this has bothered me for a long time until I came up with a little trick and I’ve been using this little trick for years ever since then.

After washing my hair, I tie it up in a pony tail with a waterproof hair tie. Those curly telephone cord looking ones will do just fine.

Squeeze out excess water from the hair and then simply apply the hair conditioner/mask to the entire pony tail. This way, I know I’m not getting too close to the scalp AND it gets the hair off my face so I can do a facial mask at the same time. You can also use the same trick for when you’re applying other haircare products (e.g. hair oil).

It also works for short hairstyles. You can just section your hair and tie them separately then condition them.

I didn’t condition my hair when I sported a short hairstyle though. The hair ends are “new” so they have not aged as much as the hair ends of longer hairs. And rougher hairs make styling much easier. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but those with shiny silky hair can’t really make their hair stand up as well when their hair is short.

Anyways, this is my little tip: To tie your hair up in a pony tail before conditioning. Hopefully this has been helpful to you.

That’s all for this post. (^O^)／

How to stop the burning from chopping chilli

So, I experienced the most horrifying burning sensation yesterday for several hours after helping my mum to chop up some red chilli padi. It was worse than being scalded by boiling water (which happened to me two weeks ago).

When I got scalded by boiling water, all I did was to rinse the skin under tap water for a minute and then apply aloe vera gel. It almost immediately stopped the burning sensation. This chilli burn, it freaking lasted for hours!

I tried soaking my hands in milk and ice water. I tried washing my hands with hand soap. I tried washing with olive oil. I tried apply aloe vera gel. Nothing worked.

My fingers were literally red and throbbing. It lasted for three hours before I came across this website after googling.

If you are lazy to click, it basically says Oil, dish soap, alcohol, milk, bleach and baking soda paste.

Washing my hands with dish soap then applying a thick layer of prickly heat powder worked for me. Thank you, Mama Dishwashing Liquid and Snake Brand Prickly Heat Powder. You guys are a lifesaver.

Anyways, next time I’ll remember to use a glove before chopping these little guys up.

So feisty, I can’t believe how long the burn lasted. =_=

Yankee Candle Votives as Tarts with the Scroll Lantern

About two weeks ago, I bought three votives from Yankee Candle Singapore as they were going for 3 for $9.90. Got them in Pink Sands, Mandrian Cranberry and Good Air which I gave to Harmony.

I wanted to get an illuma-lid for my large jars and it was 20% off with any candle purchase. Hence, I bought the votives to try out some of the scents I’ve been thinking of getting in the large jars.

I tried burning my Pink Sands but it was dismal at best. Not much scent but then I wasn’t really expecting much. I mean the votives are only so small, they can’t scent the whole room right?

Then, I came across a video from Jdazzler15 that showed how to use a votive as a tart on YouTube. Click here for her video. And here I was thinking why Yankee Candle Singapore don’t carry tarts when all along, I could simply use a votive as a tart!

I don’t want to go into the specifics here on how to make a votive into a tart, you can click on the link and watch the video to learn more.

Once I had my “tart” ready, I realised that I had no hot plate or crock warmer and I wondered if my light warmer could work the same. Tried it and work it did. (I did a review on my Scroll Lantern candle warmer yesterday so scroll down to read more in the previous entry.)

All you need is a cup to hold the wax and put it into the warmer.

I’ve this beautiful cup bought ages ago from Ikea.

And also this cute cup from my student, Megan.

Both perfect for use and right then, I thought to myself, “I don’t want to wash the cup every single time I use a different scent.” Can you imagine the scrubbing I’ve to do to get the wax out of the cup? No thanks.

So, I got myself these aluminium cups for baking muffins/cupcakes.

They’re only $2.40 for 10. I got mine from SKP but I’m sure you can get them for cheaper elsewhere.

I’ve to say, this was inspired by Jdazzler15 again. In her video (which I linked above), she had this metal cupcake holder. Well, hers can’t bend but it dawned on me to get the aluminium ones, so all I have to do is to lightly tap the base after use and the solidified wax will pop right out because aluminium can bend.

I tried it with Pink Sands and it worked.

After it melted and cooled.

See, the wax popped right out and the aluminium cup is not even out of shape.

When it’s no longer scented, discard the unscented wax and put in another tart to melt.

Even if I decided to change a scent, there’s no need to waste paper tissues to wipe the container, no need to wait for the wax to harden before removing it from the holder. All I’ve to do is to use another aluminium cupcake holder and remove this one to cool.

What wax was left from my candles are also scrapped off and put into plastic bags to use as tarts too.

Top left is Coconut Lime Verbena from Bath and Body Works and bottom right is Fluffy Towels from Yankee Candle.

I’ve filed all my little tips under the section “Tips” so that they’re easier to find. That’s all for this post. I hope this is helpful to you. Until next time.
ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

Yankee Candle Scroll Lantern Candle Warmer

A review of my candle warmer from Yankee Candle. It’s their Scroll Lantern in the colour black.

This is what it looks like.

It’s a badly taken photo, but it shows that the warmer has a standard two pin plug which is awesome because I’ve a plug on that can hold up to six two pin plug appliance. They just take up less space.

A candle warmer, as the name suggests, warms up candle either by a hot plate at the base (kinda like a cup warmer), or by a light at the top that emits heat. The heat melts the wax in the candle and so releases fragrance from the oil in the wax and it’s safer than burning the candle in the night time because falling asleep with a candle burning is a potential fire hazard.

This candle warmer cost S$59.90 (USD48) before discount. I bought it after 20% discount at the Yankee store in JEM.

What prompted me to get a warmer in the first place was not one but TWO Bath and Body Works candles with drowning wicks. I was fed up with how they snuffed themselves out and they were tunnelling like crazy. I couldn’t exchange them and so a warmer would do just nicely to still use the candles without having to deal with their weak wicks.

At first, I’ve been looking for a crock plate kind of candle warmer that can be used for warming a candle and also for wax melts/tarts like the ones shown below.

Both images were taken from Candle Warmers.

But I couldn’t seem to find any in the stores and I didn’t want to pay so much for shipping so I just picked what Yankee Candle Singapore had. It is worth every cent I paid.

Look at how gorgeous it is.

It works on both Yankee and Bath and Body Works candles.

Just to show that both of them fits.

A candle warmer does not burn the wax so after a few uses, you’ll have to pour away the top part of melted wax so that it can get to the scented oil at the bottom of the candle. It’s a waste of perfectly fine wax so I don’t do that unless it’s a candle with a wick problem.

I’ve found a way to use this candle warmer to prolong the life of exceptionally strong scented candles.

For example, I’ve a very strongly scented Bath and Body Works candle that I simply cannot tolerate. It’s so strong, it’s pungent. So, all I did was to pop it into my candle warmer, use it for a few times to release the fragrance oil and then after it’s no longer as scented as before, I’ll remove it from the warmer and burn it like usual so that the scent won’t be as strong and overpowering. In this way, a candle can last me twice or even thrice as long as usual.

FYI, with the warmer, I no longer have to worry about extinguishing the flame too soon which can lead to tunnelling if the wax pool is not level. If I find it too strong after 5 mins, all I’ve to do is to switch off the warmer and the wax will level out after it cools.

Again, this is a nifty tip I thought of on my own. If you learnt it from someone else first, then good for you but I didn’t lift it from anybody. All I can say is great minds think alike.

Yankee Candle Singapore has 20% off all candle warmers with any candle purchase (even a votive count as a candle). I think this is a great gift for anyone that likes to scent up their house without the soot and flame.

This may seem like an advertisement but it’s not. I just like my warmer a lot. I’ll be happy to share more in the next post tomorrow on another way that I use this candle warmer.

That’s all for now. ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

Foaming hand wash

Ever wondered what’s the difference between a normal hand wash and a foaming hand wash? A foaming hand wash is a diluted watered down version of a normal hand wash.

That’s right! You’re paying the same, if not more, on these foaming hand wash that are so cheap to make, it should be illegal for them to sell at such an expensive price.

I was refilling my foaming hand wash and thought to include this little tip here that can help you guys save up to $60 per year. That’s not a lot, you say? $60 can buy many things. Every little bit counts if I may say so myself.

All you have to do is to get a foaming pump bottle (Daiso sells them in several different sizes.) or just reuse any of your old bottles. Make sure to clean them well before use.

I’ve tonnes of these bought years ago when Kirei Kirei first came to Singapore and the concept of foaming hand wash was first introduced. I got suckered in and bought that, and subsequently the Biore foaming face wash, which I also kept the bottles after I was done with them.

You also need a bottle of anti-bacterial hand wash of your choice. I like the scent of this one from Follow Me and it was on sale at 2 for less than $6 so I bought it.

Then, all you have to do is pump in about an eighth to a sixth of the empty foaming bottle full with the hand wash and fill in the rest with tap water. Screw on the top and you’re done. You’ve to experiment a bit with the ratio of soap to water because too much soap means it won’t foam because it’s too thick and it won’t foam properly too if there’s too much water.

For a typical Kirei Kirei bottle, I pump in about 20 to 30 times of the hand soap in and that’ll make foaming soap of just the right consistency for me.

I taught this trick to a student’s mum who told me that her baby boy liked to play with her foaming hand soap. She filled her Kirei Kirei bottle with body wash and she told me her baby boy had a fun time washing his hands and she no longer feel that it’s such a waste of money since it’s so cheap to make.

My bottle of hand wash which is barely used after two refills of the Kirei Kirei bottle.

I wash my hands at least ten times a day and so one Kirei Kirei bottle can last me about a month. That’s 20 uses in an ordinary bottle of hand wash which is only about 2 days’ worth for me!

One bottle of $3 hand wash can last me for a whole year. Do the math and see how much you could’ve saved in a year. I’ve been doing this for a few years now and I find that shower gels can also be made into foaming hand soap but they won’t clean as well.

That’s all for this post. I hope this little tip will help you to save some money to use on other things.

ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

P.s. I thought of this on my own but if someone else also thought of it and you’ve seen this tip from them first, good for them and good for you, but I didn’t rip this idea from anyone. #justsaying #greatmindsthinkalike

How to apply nail polish?

To those that thought, “Who doesn’t know how to apply nail polish?!”, I am here to say that in fact, many people that I know, can’t paint their nails properly. And by “properly”, I mean a sleek, non-lumpy, non-gloppy, uniform colour.

This post is about how I apply a basic solid one colour nail polish on my nails, and by no way am I saying that it is the only right way to do your manicure. So if you’re still interested, read on.

You will need a base coat, a nail polish colour of your choice, and a top coat.

I’m using Maximum Shield from Sally Hansen, No. 4 from Etude House, and Snap Dry by Orly.

Apply base coat, then let it dry for a minute.

Then apply a thin layer of nail polish and let it dry for a minute. Even if the colour is uneven or sheer, resist temptation to go over them again.

After one coat, my nails looked like this.

It looks badly done, but this will dry faster than a thick application. If you apply a thick layer from the very first coat, the top layer will dry but the middle part will still be wet and malleable. It’ll take a looooong time to dry, and if you fall asleep with the manicure on, the surface will be indented with marks when you wake up the next morning.

As usual, I let each coat dry for a minute even when it’s a fast dry formula.

After the second application…

As you can see, the colour becomes more opaque but there’s still some parts that are not completely done yet so I’ll have to apply a 3rd coat. For darker colours one to two coats would suffice, lighter colours normally require three coats.

Then after everything, I seal it off with a top coat.

All done!!

Hopefully this post has been helpful to you. No more gloppy nails!!

Darker tone nail polish

Painted my nails yesterday and I thought I should share a little tip here. It’s a manicure technique that you may or may not already know.

Okay, so what happens when the nail polish that you bought is not true to the colour on the bottle?

In my case, I bought a red OPI nail polish in the colour “Die Another Day” from the James Bond 2012 Skyfall collection and it was too orangey for me.

Swatched on a piece of paper.

If you have the same problem, please don’t give up on that bottle. All you have to do is to pair it with a darker nail polish.

Apply two coats of black or dark nail polish, wait for it to dry, then apply a sheer coat of the nail polish that you want to darken. And that’s it. Easy right?

I applied •Midnight in Moscow” also from OPI as my dark nail polish. It is black with a tingle of reddish undertone.

If you are worried if the combination would look weird, then try it on a piece of paper first.

This works best when the darker colour underneath is black. I’ve tried it successfully with red, purple and blue on top.

Shall end this post with a photo of my DIY manicure using the two colours mentioned above: “Midnight in Moscow” and “Die Another Day”.

I hope this helps. Cheers!!