Blog 35 | Getting Red Hair @Chicca Salon

I've been wanting to dye my hair for quite some time. I was choosing between a more orange color and a coral blonde color. It would be really hard to pull off coral blonde (mainly at work) and plus I would need to bleach my hair, so I chickened out and stuck with bright orange instead.

This is actually the first time in my life at a salon. Previously it had always been my mom or myself cutting and dying my own hair, mainly because as a broke-ass student, it's hard justifying paying $50 USD for a haircut. I looked online for reputable Japanese hair salons in Hong Kong and found Chicca. I didn't want to go to a gwailo white people salon, since I'm scared they wouldn't know how to deal with my hair. It might get bleached to a point where it's a really damaged ugly blond. 

Chicca is part of the hair-do salon group and most of its staff are from Japan. The customer service is superb and the hairstyle profiles are amazing. Below are just some examples of hairstyles that this salon has done:

The price of this salon is pretty decent for the quality you get out of it. 

Cut $300-$530 HKD

Coloring $660-830HKD

Foiling/Highlights/Ombre $370-780HKD

Perm $900-2200 HKD

Treatment $150 - 810 HKD

 *Prices range depending on level of stylist, length of hair, and type of product

This time I choose the first visit package, which is $880HKD including cut + color + treatment (you can upgrade the stylist or treatment type)

I choose a Japanese Senior stylist, his name is Hiroki, and he is super nice. The most amazing thing is, he speaks fluent Cantonese! That's crazy. They aren't required to speak Cantonese as a salon staff, but he learned it himself. He also speaks English and obviously Japanese. 

My appointment was at 5pm, and I only waited for about 10 minutes. The salon is really clean and girly, and they play hip hop there, how awesome.

(Main Entrance, photo from Chicca Official Website)

(Hair Treatment + Wash Stations, photo from Chicca Official Website)

(Hair cut area, photo from Chicca Official Website)

Since it was my first time, I had to fill out a member's form. The staff offered me water, coffee, or tea to drink while I wait. And then I showed the picture of the hair color I wanted to Hiroki. Apparently, I messed up my own hair quite a lot. The colors from previous bleaching/dying made my hair uneven, and the hair on my right side of my head is 5cm shorter than the left side. Also because the bottom few cm of my hair was damaged from bleaching, after consulting with a Top Stylist, Hiroki suggested that instead of bleaching, I should dye my hair red twice to get a lighter color but still keep my hair silky.

The first step was coloring. I had a Top Stylist and Senior stylist coloring my hair at the same time. I'll admit I felt like a spoiled princess. They also chatted with me from time to time. I found out that they actually do training in Seattle because there's a famous salon there! I mentioned that I'm going to Osaka in a few weeks time and Hiroki handed me 2 travel magazines to read! So thoughtful.

 

After 2 rounds of hair coloring, my hair turned super red. They washed off the hair dye, and then applied treatment to it, plus 10 minutes of super nice head and neck massage. After drying my hair (which took 15 minutes), it's time to cut. I wanted to keep my original length, but as mentioned I butchered my own hair and it was pretty uneven. But the stylist still tried his best to keep it the same length. 

After 3 hours, 2 stylists, and 1 assistant, my hair changed from 

Dark Brown            to                  Red

It still looks really red, but after 1 weeks of washing it will turn to a more bright orange color. For now, I'll gladly accept being the red woman :) The results are absolutely amazing. My hair still feels silky, the cut is really nice, and the service is excellent. I'll definitely go back again.

(Indoor)                                           (Outdoor)

Press here to get to Chicca Salon's website

Blog 34 | Birthday Tea Time

And I'm one year older! But honestly, every birthday after the 21st gets less and less exciting, because I really feel that I'm getting old. There's more responsibilities, more things on my mind to think about, like my career, what I'm going to do with my life. 

Usually I get super duper excited 1 month before my birthday is even here. But this year I'm a lot more chilled. It never hit me that it's my birthday until my lovely team surprised me with a blueberry Cheesecake, and a Forever 21 gift card ;) This year I wasn't expecting anything. That's one thing I learned this year, "Life is better when you don't expect anything, because then everything is a pleasant surprise." I used to look forward to everything, and imagine everything ahead of time. But then when things don't go as expected, I go nuts. Which is pretty unhealthy and puts a lot of pressure on people around us. I think I'm proud of myself for the fact that I learned to just enjoy life the way it is and let things unfold as they come.

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First thing in the morning, I got my nails done to match my new red hair. I'm still getting used to the color but I'm loving it. I think I look more mature (which is definitely what I'm going for). My boyfriend also got me a lovely Kate Spade wallet, I think it's part the Cherry Lane collection? 

New red hair done by Chicca Salon

So after I got my nails done, it was around 1pm. The Intercontinental Afternoon Tea starts around 1:30pm, and usually there is a long line. So we got there just in time. We took the Star Ferry from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui then walked over. Right after we got to Tsim Sha Tsui, it started raining, and turned into a monsoon downpour after 1 minute. Even though it was a 5 minute walk, My hair and dress were soaked like I just jumped into a pool. It was so tempting to just blow off into a rage and blame the whole world "Should've took a cab", "Why didn't I bring an umbrella", "Great, I took 30 minutes to do my hair now it's all ruined"... But I didn't want to let some stupid rain ruin my day. I also saw this family of 3 that were western tourists. They were caught in he rain too, but they were running with smiles on their faces. And the staff at Intercontinental was really nice and gave us an umbrella and towel! 

The daisies on the table immediately cheered me up! 

For afternoon tea, it's all for 2 people to share. You could pick from 3 different sets, the Champagne Set ($908 HKD), the Normal Set ($568HKD), and the Chinese Set ($568). We just picked the Normal set which includes tea/coffee, and a ton of desserts.

 

This is an Earl Grey milk tea in the making. 

On the very top there are 3 different dippings (is that what I call it?) for scones: butter, strawberry jam, and earl grey jelly. 

The middle layer is the dessert layer: gigantic passion fruit macaroon, Mango cake, Chocolate Mousse cake, Strawberry Pistachio cake, and Raspberry Tart. 

The bottom layer are the savory items:Salmon tare tare, pizza tasting tart, tuna sandwich?, and an egg sandwich. (jeeze I'm really bad with food names, sorry I couldn't remember)

It didn't look like too much food but I was stuffed at the end. So much pastries and sweets!  

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A lot of people ask "Did you get something special for your birthday?"/ "Did your boyfriend get you something special for your birthday?" 

Well, depends on what you define as special. I wouldn't say getting a Kate Spade wallet or eating at the Intercontinental is the special part. It doesn't matter what I get and what I eat. What was most memorable about this birthday is the laughter and fun I had while taking photos with colleagues at the office, getting soaked in the rain, and trying to guess what each of the yummy dessert items were.

The past year of my life has been an incredible journey. From 22-23 years old, I moved to HK, started vlogging, found my first job, made lots of new friends, travelled to Phuket and Seoul, still learning to tame my hamster, improved my ping pong and bowling skills by a lot, and definitely learned more on how to live life. Hopefully next year I will continue to improve more and create more awesome memories.

Qantas - A Journey on the Kangaroo!

Qantas Airways - a review
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Qantas Airlines is the national carrier of Australia and flies to many major cities within Australia, and connects Australia to many parts of the world - and is now connecting to more of the world with its partnership with Emirates.  There is a lot of competition in Australia, as Qantas not only competes with Virgin Australia but also with many Asia-Pacific airlines for its market.  Qantas is a full-service airline, meaning your ticket price includes baggage and meals and IFE; given all this, their prices tend to be a bit higher.  They have started a LCC brand called JetStar (on which you can use your Qantas miles, but cannot earn Qantas miles) which flies to many vacation destinations and other locations which may be more budget-friendly.  I have flown Qantas a couple of times, both domestically and internationally.  Internationally I have flown from the U.S. - both LAX and DFW - to Brisbane (I had the opportunity to fly on the longest flight in the world - on Qantas from Dallas (DFW) to Sydney via Brisbane).   Domestically, I have flown on Qantas from Sydney to Brisbane and on JetStar from Melbourne to Sydney.  This experience relays my most recent experience, from Brisbane to LAX in October 2013.

My experience on Qantas was my return flight - I had flown on Qantas from LAX to BNE in August and was now returning home.  Work arranged this flight, but when I did arrange my own flight for the holidays, I found that Qantas (in partnership with American) was cheaper in terms of flights from the U.S. as they would have sales from Dallas or LAX (versus Virgin Australia and Delta).  

TIP: If you want to use your miles and you are a member of AA miles, you can use those miles for the Qantas flight - they are the same flights and you use less miles.

Overall, Qantas is a nice airline but they are starting to show their age and they need to upgrade in order to keep up with the competition.  The perfect example of this is the airplane used from BNE to LAX (which was also used to and from Dallas).  Qantas still uses the B747 - which are nice airplanes but are older planes and they show their age in terms of comfort-ability and noise.  Qantas have upgraded the seats and each seat comes with a personal IFE, a USB charger, and a decent legroom, but the B747 cannot compete with the comfort of an A380 or some B777 - especially on the 16hr flight time from DFW to BNE or the 13hr flight time from LAX to BNE.  For extra legroom, Qantas has installed Premium Economy which provides additional legroom as well as other benefits.  You can also purchase bulkhead seats or exit row seats which also provide additional legroom

The flight from Brisbane departs is scheduled to depart at 10:35am so that means one needs to be at the airport by about 8am to check-in.  The flight goes from BNE to LAX and then continues on to JFK (although Qantas cannot sell seats from LAX to JFK so only those who boarded in BNE can continue on).  There were lots of check-in counters available so check-in went smoothly - passengers to and from the U.S. are allowed 2 bags of 23kg each but be wary of hand carry because the airport authority are very strict about only 7kg hand baggage allowance!

Seats: This flight was not very full - in fact we were only 40% occupied - so many people had the entire row to themselves.  At the time of booking, if you want to select a seat assignment it is going to cost you.  You can select it for free 24-hours prior to your flight when you check-in online, or you can pre-pay to select your seat or pay a little more and select an exit row seat or a bulkhead seat.  I am tall and so due to the length of the flight - I paid 25AUD to get a bulkhead seat with extra legroom.  The price can range though from 25 to 75AUD (other airlines have also started to charge such as Singapore Airlines).

Boarding: Because it was a light load, the boarding was quick and efficient and we took off on time (when I flew in July on a full-flight to LAX, we were late boarding by 1.5 hours - with very little explanation by the crew as for the reason for the delay - and then when we got on board we sat at the gate for another 1 hour making us not 2.5 hours behind schedule - essentially making the majority of passengers miss their tight connections!)

On Board: As you board, on your seat is a pillow (pretty big by airline standards) and a blanket.  An amenity kit is passed out which provides socks, eyeshades, and toothbrush/toothpaste.  We left at 10:35am so after we reached our cruising altitude, menus were passed out and a lunch service started.  Drinks were served prior and during lunch.  Tea and coffee were served afterwards, and a special treat, hot chocolate (either mint or regular) with marshmallows were served.  This was a special treat as the hot chocolate were served from cadbury pitchers and they were delicious (a nice touch for Qantas).  

After the trays were cleared, an overnight packet were served which included a bottle of water, an apple, and a protein bar - this to help keep you refreshed through the long journey. Additionally, in the back of the plane Qantas keeps a stock of fruits - apples mostly - and small snacks such as mini cookies (which were good) and biscuit/crackers.  There were also dispensers where you can access water.

After the meal service was completed, the lights were shut off to make the plane dark so that you can get some rest.  Even though most passengers were sleeping, flight attendants would pass through the aisles (using mini flashlights to see) to pass out apples, water, mini pizzas, and other light refreshments.  As I said, Qantas is a full-service airline and they keep you well-fed.

IFE: In addition to eating, Qantas has 'Q' - its IFE.  In terms of availability, Q is not bad.  I expected little more selection from Qantas, especially in terms of movies and tv shows.  There were some, but selected episodes - it is definitely not up to par with Emirates selection - but still a decent selection.  I would say this is something Qantas needs to improve on, as its competitors (Singapore, Emirates, Malaysia) have better choices.

As the cabin is dark, you can either watch movies or sleep until about 2 hours prior to landing.  Since we would land at 6:40am US time, Qantas served us breakfast - either hot or cold.  Hot consisted of omelet with potatoes and sausage while cold was cereal and milk.  Both were served with fresh fruit (decent), a warm croissant (very tasty), and your choice of beverage - along with tea or coffee.  After the meals were done, trays were cleared and preparations were made to land.

My flight was from Brisbane to Los Angeles, and then connecting to Washington Dulles.  QF15 goes from BNE to LAX and lands at 6:40am - in time for the early morning connecting flights to other cities.  I had 2.5 hours to get my bags, go through customs, immigration, rebook my bags to my domestic flight and then transfer to the American terminal.  When Qantas was on time (which this was) this was just enough time to do everything that I needed to do.  When Qantas was late once (by over 2.5 hours) I missed my connection entirely (almost everyone did).  Even in Australia, Qantas provides very tight connections with marginal room for error (and their on-time performance is good but definitely not great!  And when we were delayed, there was very little communication about the delays).
Overall: Qantas is a very nice full-service airline but it is definitely showing its age in terms of its fleet.  Qantas recently said that it is switching from the 747 to the A380 on the Dallas to Brisbane flight - which is a welcome change.  Qantas would need to keep this innovation up to continue to be relevant - especially in the growing Asia Pacific market where other legacy carriers have the same full-service with modern aircraft competing against newer LCC's with modern aircraft.   Qantas is a decent airline, but I am not sure I would go out of my way to choose it - but maybe with the partnership with Emirates, Qantas will retain its legacy status!  

Planes! (part 2)

plane spotting 

at MED (http://www.tibahairports.com/en-EN/Pages/Main.aspx) 
at MSY (http://www.flymsy.com/) 

at BUF (http://www.buffaloairport.com/)
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Mahan Air - Iran @ MED

Saudia @ MED

Air Arabia & Saudia @ MED

USAirways Express @ MSY

SWA Boeing @ MSY

Wifi on SWA (I flew on 4 planes and wifi never worked)

hot chocolate luv from SWA (not bad either!)

2 Deltas - an airbus and crj - @ BUF

SWA and American @ BUF

Delta @ BUF

Southwest LUV @ BUF

Blog 33 | The only 2 type of tops you need for this summer

Honestly, I hate trying to find tops to pair up with shorts or skirts (ain't nobody got time for that when summer is here!). Usually I go for one piece dresses. But I've found 2 top items that can easily be dressed up or down for the summer. 

| The Crop Top |

Originally I saw a white one at Top Shop for around $400 HKD, and I found a few more colors in Mong Kok for much cheaper. I wear this to work a lot. You can just wear a black skirt for a more formal look, or a floral skirt to look more casual! I love these pastel colors (or in Taiwanese terms, Macaroon Colors)

 

The pink, purple, and blue crop top can be found in Shop 116, 1/F, New Town Mall, Mong Kok 

(exit D2), they're only $150 HKD each.

*Sorry I really couldn't bother ironing all of them just to take photos. They wrinkle easily.

| The lace tank top |

I've been looking for these forever! I wanted v-neck lace tank tops that were fitted but still comfortable. At the end I found them on sale at Uniqlo! And I decided to stock up and got white, black, purple, and blue. They were only $59 HKD each! And you can either pair these up with some shorts, or a cardigan over it will do for work.

 Hopefully you find this useful! Happy summer.