tiny girl's review

My hair is naturally black. I dye my hair once or twice a year since I usually only dye my hair a very natural brown, so it will create a natural graduation from black to brown even if my black hair grows out (except that one time I dyed my hair gold by mistake lol). However, since it was Chinese New Year and I have a couple of job interviews coming up so I have decided to dye my hair again! (Edit: sorry this was written a few months ago so it is now nowhere near CNY and now I got a job!)

I used to only dye my hair in the salon but it was really too pricey so I have started to dye my hair at home. I used (I think) a L'Oreal hair dye last time and the result was quite satisfactory. The color was good but it was too troublesome (since I have very long hair) and the color was uneven (since I dyed it on my own without any help). So, I have decided to use bubble hair dye instead this time!

About Confume Bubble Hair Dye

There are many different types of bubble dyes in the market now. In Hong Kong, people usually use the Liese one. But I have decided to look for an alternative one since I heard from my friend that the Liese one will cause great damage to your hair. And then I come across the Confume Bubble Hair Dye in the drugstore (Watsons)!

One of the features of the Confume Bubble Hair Dye is that it is free of 5 chemicals - including Ammonia, PG, GAS, Silicon, Benzophenone. AND it says the hair dye will smells like coffee instead of the usual stingy hair dye smell. I mean what else can you ask for? So I just picked it up the next day after doing some research on the brand.

Price: HK$90 (~USD11)

Made in Korea

Color range: 6 colors

Image Source: Internet

What comes with the Hair Dye

I have picked up the color 3N because it was the ONLY color that is available in the store lol. I was a bit hesitant at first because "Deep Brown" sounds too dark for me. However, I saw that there was 2 darker shades before the color 3N so I guessed it shouldn't be so dark after all. (Edit: and I was wrong)

It comes with 2 bottles of dyes, 2 gloves, a "cape", an instruction sheet and a pack of its (famous) hair treatment (see the first photo of this post).

Don't worry even if you don't read Korean, it comes with a simple English instruction on the package or you could have figure out how to use it by just looking at the picture. In essence, you just pour the brown bottle and then the white bottle into the container and shakeeeee it. It says the portion of the brown bottle and the white bottle should be 1:1. But I found out that the ml of the 2 bottles is the same, so just pour everything in and it will be fine!

Interestingly, the Korean instruction didn't tell you how long to leave the hair dye on. It just says leave it on for some time.

Application

Directions and Ingredients printed on the box

How the bubble looks like

The application was easy and same as any other bubble hair dye. You just pump it from the bottle and make sure you all of your hair is "soaked" with the dye. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes before washing the dye off. And remember to use the treatment that comes with the dye!

Well well well. I think we all notice that the special feature about this bubble hair dye is not the bubble nor the color but the smell! As promised, the bubble dye does not smell like ammonia (the smell you get from other normal hair dye) but instead it has a STRONG coffee smell. I am not joking when I said STRONG. Ok, or may be it is because I personally do not like the smell of coffee too much. However, I do feel a bit dizzy after finished putting on the whole bottle of hair dye because of the smell.

Result

Before vs After

As you can see from above, it works as a hair dye. It turned my black hair (top part of my hair) and bronzy light brown (lower part of my hair) into this soft dark brown. However, it is much darker that I would like it to be! (Edit after a few month: I went to a salon and dyed my hair again after a few months, and the result did not turn out great because the brown I got from this dye is too dark!) Moreover, I don't like how my hair feels afterwards. It feels so hoarse! I know it sounds weird, but usually my hair feels soft and smooth after getting dyed (including traditional box dye). But this just fried up my hair a bit :( The color also faded pretty quick as the light brown on the bottom part of my hair started showing up again pretty soon.

Overall, I think this works as a dye and I like how it does not all those harmful chemicals in it. However, if you ask me, I would rather use the traditional box dye (which some of them also do not contain ammonia) or go to the salon next time when I do my hair touch up again!

Price: 3.5/5 (more expensive than other bubble hair dye or any box dye)

Recommend: 3/5 (mehhhh)

Disclaimer: I am not paid to make this review or in any way affiliated with the company. The above is my honest review, like you know I originally wanted to name this blog as Honest Review lol

Yonsei Campus

I can't believe 1.5 years have passed already! It still feels like yesterday that I was roaming around Sinchon and Hongdae with all my friends. I have been seeing the YISS (Yonsei International Summer School) ads all over the Internet and my school email again and so I guess it is around the application period again? Apart from helping you to know more about YISS and Seoul, this is also my personal record of this amazing journey.

친구들이야, 보고싶어! (Friends, I miss you!)

Why did I decide to start this journey

Hong Kong Airport

One of the major reasons is, of course, I always love the culture of Korea. One of my dreams is to live in my favourite cities, including Seoul, for some period of time. Therefore, I stayed at New York for around 2 months during summer vacation in 2012. And I just figured that YISS will be a good way for me to experience Seoul with a legitimate reason :p (like I transferred credits back to my home university)! I was initially quite hesitant whether I should spend a summer in Korea as a summer could be better spent somewhere else for a student like me who is in a competitive major. All my classmates start having internship(ssss) during summer vacation since their freshman year and I was at that time also lucky enough to receive an internship offer in Beijing. But well #YOLO (sorry haha)!! I think I would regret when I get older if I have missed this opportunity. So I have just decided to be reckless for a summer and follow my bliss :)

About Yonsei University

Yonsei Campus - but YISS students don't get to have class in these beautiful buildings

Yonsei University, together with Korea University and Seoul National University, is often recognized as one of the top three universities in Korea. However, I personally do not think the Yonsei is too well-known internationally despite the good reputation locally. Every time people from Korea heard that I went to Yonsei (like for summer school), they still insist that I must be very smart to get in.

Yonsei is located in Sinchon which is in the middle of Ewha Women University and Hongdae University, so yon don't have to worry about having nowhere to have fun after school! Just one point to note: there is a 15-20 minutes walk from the Yonsei Campus/ Yonsei Dorm to the subway station (or in general just expect to walk a lot in Korea).

Classes at YISS

You have to take a minimum of 2 classes and a maximum of 3 classes at YISS. I took the Introduction to US Law, Introduction to Investment and Beginner Korean I. I think there is a fair varieties of courses for you to choose from but mind that most of the courses are introductory level. The classes are fairly easy with moderate workloads so you will have time to experience Seoul after class and during weekends! At my time, there was a scholarship of ~HKD10,000/USD1,300 for students who achieve 3As or above (but I think now they have raised the requirement to 3A+s now). It was a pity that I just missed the requirement by a bit if not I would have HKD10,000 more to spend on my beloved Korean cosmetics and clothes!

Korean Language Class

My classmate wrote this on the blackboard on our last day class, which reads:
Hello? Is our teacher beautiful? Yes, she is beautiful.
The heart says: I love our classroom #529.

I highly recommend taking Korean Language while you are at Yonsei. The Korean classes take place at the famous Yonsei Language Center (which is also a part of the main Yonsei campus).

Before the first class, there was an exam that helped to classify us into different classes according our Korean level. Since all i know about Korean at that time was the basic vowels and stuff, so I was allocated to the most beginner class. However, there was still a minor difference between classes at the same level. Since all of the students in my class had basic knowledge about Korean, the progress of our class was a bit faster than the classes with students who absolutely know nothing about Korean. Just let your teacher know if you want to move up or down at the first day of school, they will help you to arrange accordingly.

Yes, you will have to buy the textbooks (written by Yonsei). I remember that they are not cheap but not unaffordable too.

Accommodation

My room!

There were 3 dormitories for us to choose from at that time. I ended up choosing a single room at the SK Global House. The room was nice and new but some may think it is a bit small, though spacious enough for me.

Rooms in SK Global also come with an in-suite toilet which I personally love. The toilet compartment and the showering compartment was not separated so be prepared to have water splashed everywhere in the toilet after each shower. But there is ventilation facility inside the bathroom so it was not a problem. There was also a tiny fridge in my room. But since the electricity cut off every time I left the room, so it was not much of a use for me lol.

Oh! A major setback is that there was no wifi in the rooms when I was there! There was wifi in the common area on each floor, but you can only connect to the internet in your room through landline/ethernet. Otherwise, I am happy with my room at SK Global House.

I personally recommend SKGlobal House > International House > Muark Dorm. The International House is just next to SK Global House, so there isn't much difference except I think SK is newer and more expensive. Just try not to choose Muark. It is up on the hill and there is curfew (should be 12midnight)!

Gym inside the SK Global House

There is a gym and a tiny 'mall' within the SK Global House building. The mall has convenient store, cafe and restaurants. You basically have everything you need if you want to stay in for the day.

I understand that the dorms come in first-come-first-serve basis and so do register as soon as you have confirmed your enrollment at YISS!

But dont worry if you cant secure an in-campus dorm place! A few of my friends lived outside campus in the "고시원"(Goshiwon). There were quite a few around Yonsei so don't worry. However, the rooms at Goshiwon are usually extremely small. You will have everything you need in the room - bed, desk, small wardrobe, toilet. However, the room is so small that you are technically sleeping beside the toilet. But I think it will be much cheaper than the in-campus dorm, so you may consider them if you are on budget. (Bonus: Goshiwon often provide free rice and Kimchi) Here is a website that I browsed around when I was planning for a back-up plan:

http://www.habang.co.kr/en

So I was planning to either to go to YISS or Language class at Ewha, so I also did my research on Goshiwon around Ewha of course (i.e. googling stuff is one of my many hobbies). And I found a decent one called "Eco House" around the Ewha area. It is for girls only, pretty new, have a gym and stuff. So I would recommend you to check it out if you are attending Ewha or don't mind travelling a bit every morning (Ewha is just one station away from Yonsei). Here is a blog that has a more detailed description of Eco House but unfortunately it is in Chinese, but you can still see how it looks like.

Okay, I have a feeling that this blog will become so long that it will look more like an essay than a blog! So I think I will have to share the fun stuff - foods, shopping, hangout spots - in Seoul in separate posts! Since Chinese new year holiday is coming soon, so I think I will be able to finish them soon :)

Coming soon... (link will be available once I finish them!)

What to eat in Seoul?
What to shop in Seoul?
What to do in Seoul?

My first review has to be dedicated to my favourite face product of ALL TIME - 1028 UV White CC Essence Cream! I first came across this product in some Taiwan variety show with all the make-up artists raving about it. I have to admit I did NOT trust their reviews at all and was a bit skeptical about this product. However, given its cheap price, I just asked my friend to help me to get one from Taiwan anyways and I instantly fell in love with it!

About the brand: 1028

1028 is a Taiwan make-up brand founded by a famous Taiwan make-up artist XiaoKaiLaoShi. It offers a wide range of make-up and cleansing products with cute packaging. However, since the founder was a make-up artist himself, he (and his friends) often gets chance to promote their products on TV show. Therefore, I was very reluctant to trust the brand at first (well, now I love the brand except the fact that they don't ship internationally yet!).

About the product

Price: NT420 (~HKD100/ USD13)

Color range: only #01 Light Beige and #02 Natural Beige

With SPF50/ PA+++, 30ml (there is also a smaller version)

It can be used individually or under foundation.

This CC Cream was released when there was that trend of moving on from bb cream to cc cream. According to the website and the packaging, it is also a skin care essence with all sorts of natural ingredients extracts apart from have the functions of correcting the dullness and imperfection of your skin.

(click the picture to see the ingredients and stuff!)

The product says it has 7 main functions and I translated this chart from their website (not my opinion yet!). Hope it will help you to evaluate the product better!:

Skin tone correction/adjustment: 5/5
Coverage: 4/5
Wear/Hold: 3.5/5
Whitening: 5/5
Sunscreen: 5/5
Refreshing (like non-sticky): 3/5
Moisturizing: 3/5

Comments

First of all, I can't stress enough how much I love this product. I ALWAYS recommend this to whoever ask me for advice of buying a foundation/bb cream/cc cream.

Unfortunately, it only offers 2 color which I think mainly aims to target Asians. My skin is fairly fair in Asian sense and I usually use the lightest/second lightest shade of Korean foundations/bb creams. Therefore, I am using the lighter color #01 Light Beige. (Please note that my face is also a bit whiter than hands as showed below)

(see I am not lying when I said #01 Light Beige is perfect for me!)

It has a very natural finish yet it instantly brights up your skin tone. But of course as a cc cream with a natural finish, it has a low coverage. I was lucky enough not to have any major breakouts or blemishes at the moment and therefore the low coverage is fine for me. However, you may have to re-consider trying it out if you hope this cc cream will help you to cover your red marks or acne scars.

You can see in the above picture that it did cover some (but not all) of my redness and smooth out my pore but my skin is definitely brighten up.

Furthermore, as the above chart has also indicated, I don't think the wear/hold of this cc cream is too good. However, since it has a VERY natural finish, basically I can't really tell whether it has come off or not throughout the day haha. The only thing I can tell you is I am still happy with how my skin look everyday I go home after school. I do briefly apply finishing/setting powder (usually Banila Co.'s Prime Primer Hydrating Finish Powder) after applying the cc cream. I usually will end up with a natural shine but not grossly oily face at the end of the day.

I also agree with the chart above that the cc cream is not very moisturizing though I can still easily apply it evenly on face with ease (my skin type is dry). Therefore, I think it will also be suitable for girls with oily/combination skin. I also never had any breakouts/allergy after using this product. :)

Furthermore, I had NO idea how difficult it is to find a face product with as high sun protection as this one! This one offers SPF 50/ PA+++ which I would say is generally the best protection that is offered in a face make-up product. I was trying to hunt for another foundation/bb/cc cream after almost using up this one (because it is hard to get one in Hong Kong). But the most of the products only offer SPF 30 or PA++ (note one less + here) which I do not prefer as I tend not to put on any sunscreen product separately before base makeup (bad habit!). So, I just love how this cc cream offers SPF 50/PA+++!

Overall

Before meeting the 1028 CC Cream, 100% of the time I would recommend the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation to my friends. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum is an excellent foundation but the 1028 UV White CC Cream just has a even more natural finish and much better sun protection (where Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation has not SPF at all).

Price: 4.5/5 (it often goes under 9USD when it is on sale in the drug stores in Taiwan).

Recommend: 5/5

The best point: Natural finishing, brightening effect