Beauty Review: Shine Hair and Beauty

Credit
In frustration? Or in pain over a bad haircut?

I'm still looking for my favourite hair salon. The place I can walk in, get my "usual" and the staff will know me by name. Sadly I'm quite unfaithful when it comes to hair salons so this is yet to happen. The last three I've been to have all been different and I'm not sure why; maybe I'm waiting for the "wow" factor - the moment which I look into the mirror and I'm totally blown away by what I see.

It might be the service. I'm pretty picky when it comes to others touching my hair. I'll watch you like a hawk when you're snipping off my tresses, especially when it comes to my fringe. I guess I've had too many experiences where I've hated my fringe and subsequently hated the entire hair cut and couldn't wait for it to grow out. Sound familiar? Please tell me I'm not the only one...!

So today, I ventured into a new hair salon, still in search of finding "The One". Because like all good fairy tales, the happy ending only comes after all the hard work of slaying dragons, fighting evil witches and climbing over thorned bushes.

Did I find it? Hmmm... Jump!

Photography: Catalogue 130621: Send me a polaroid...

One Spring Morning
Carlton, Melbourne 

Helloooo there! So, it's been quite a while now. Haha, life does seem to catch up during university semesters and being busy is just part of the experience I guess. 

I have a fascination for instant photographs. Polaroids, if you will.

There is a true sense of organic emotion in each- something that can't be planned, posed, perfected and deleted if not up to scratch.

And it's something I like to collect- separate memories of my life, raw and real, through photographs.

Fashion Diary: 2013.04.09 Waiting...

Catalogue 20130409: Waiting...

Asos Meow Cat Sweater. Topshop Leigh Jeans. Retro SuperFuture America Sunglasses. Marc by Marc Jacobs Watch. Asos Satchel. Oxfords from local boutique.

Beauty Review: Shu Uemura "Whitefficient" Cleansing Oil

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil - THE Cleansing Oil

Let's talk Japanese skincare today! Shu Uemura's cleansing oils are really a cult product - recommended by beauty experts and bloggers. Several of my friends and extended family members swear by it.

Generally, I'm a pretty sceptical person; I often get too suspicious if something is "so AH-MAY-SING" or an "immediate HG" - if it's too good to be true, it often is, girlfriend #lifelessons. (...)

But as usual, curiosity killed the cat, or the Steph, in this case. Not the first (and probably not the last) time either... Sigh...

Worth the risk? Jump!

101: GMarket Tips and Tricks

Credit: ftoday.co.kr

Ah, GMarket.

GMarket is one of those things I happen to have a love/hate relationship with. I love it, my bank account hates it...

If you're new to GMarket, it's a large online shopping mall with virtually everything and anything you could ever want. Korea's version of Ebay, GMarket has everything, from Korean roadshop beauty products, to clothes, to stationery and even food. Yep, I meant it when I said everything and anything. This is awesome for those of us Aussies - most of this stuff isn't available locally or, if it is, at an extortionate prices...

Some products work on a bidding system, but most are just purchase on hand. Most of the website is in English, so it really shouldn't be a problem. GMarket deals with most of the sellers, so you don't have to worry about miscommunication and with any refund/cancellation issues, everything will be handled by GMarket themselves.

Just a heads up, GMarket works best on Internet Explorer (IE), because everyone in Korea uses that. I find that it doesn't really matter, I use Chrome and it works just fine :)

Alright, let's start!

101: Introduction to Korean online shopping malls

Ah Korea, how I miss thee...

Myeong-dong Shopping District, Jung-gu, Seoul - 11.01.24

So if you clicked on this post in desperation because you've just seen a pretty blouse on GMarket, or a cute skirt on CherryKoko or the latest shiny Super Junior CD and it's just one of those things you have to have, you know? Well, you've come to the right place, hopefully I can help you with that.

Shopping on some of Korea's many online shopping malls can be daunting and confusing. Yep, I would know. I'm not Korean, I don't speak nor read Korean and we all know online translators are ... Questionable ... (Haha, if you've got the time, google "Translate fails" xp)

So, let my failures and experiences help you!
I've compiled a list of some tips and tricks I've learnt while shopping on some of the more popular Korean sites.