Ever since I went ombre, I have become really conscious about the "health" or the condition of my hair.  I have never ever take care of my hair like that because I didn't feel the need to when I was younger.  But after being exposed to more and more hair care products/information (thanks to YouTube, Stacey Brennan, and Emily from THISWASFOREVER), I realize I am not treating my hair very well.  So this time, after damaging my hair by leaving hair dye on for a wee bit too long, I am determined to "revive" it, or at least condition it to prevent it from getting worse.  And here's what I'm currently reaching for the most...



"Wow!  That's a lot of hair products!"  I know!  I think so too.  I do use them all but hear me out...  And since this post is going to be VERY long, I have sectioned it up!

1. Shampoo and Conditioner

Left: LUSH BIG Shampoo; Right: L'Oreal Total Repair Replenishing Mask

I used the LUSH Cosmetics BIG Shampoo every day.  Yes, I know, you're not supposed to wash your hair every day but I just can't stand how greasy my hair would get.  My hair gets greasy even at the end of the day even I just washed it 16 hours ago.  It also smells too... yikes!  I think after a whole day of work I deserve some refreshment by just shampooing my hair.  You may think that this small tub might not worth the buck, but a little goes a long way because this lathers up crazy.  I use about a little less than a quarter size amount and that's probably too much.  I massage the product on the scalp and bring the lather to the ends and then rinse it out thoroughly.  I especially like this one because it makes my hair squeeky clean and SHINY.  My hair is not dull per se, but it gives it an extra lift.  Literally!  I do find my hair have more volume after using this shampoo.  I don't think I have used something quite like this and I'm enjoying it!

LUSH BIG Sea Salt Shampoo

LUSH BIG Sea Salt Shampoo

Since I do wash my hair so often, I make sure I do condition it as well.  And my go to conditioner is the L'Oreal Paris Total Repair Replenishing Mask. I have had this for ages but I have never opened it.  It is not until I coloured my hair that I decided to take it out from my cabinet and use it.  My friend Jill from Batting a Lash had talked about using this as her conditioner before, so did Emily, so I gave it a shot.  It makes my hair really soft, silky soft! They probably have changed their packaging since I acquired this one. (I don't even remember when!)  I'm hoping that it works the same because I'm gonna need one when I run out.

L'Oreal Paris Total Repair Replenishing Mask

This year's Father's Day, I did not have any plans with my family because they're 7000 miles away.  So I went to the Garnier pop-up tent at Luminato.  It's not the first year that Garnier had participated in the Luminato festival.  This year, they were offering hair colour diagnostics, skincare analysis, and hair styling!

Hair Colour Diagnostics Station

Skincare Analysis Station

Hair Styling Station

Nathalia from Garnier showed me around the tent.  My first stop was the Hair Colour Diagnotisc station.  Everyone who visited the tent was given a pamphlet to help them take notes and see what Garnier products would suit them.


The hair colour specialist used the hair colour diagnostic tool that you can also find on the Garnier website to help you identify which colour would go with your skin tone and eye colour.  For me, my natural hair colour is Level 200, and the lady told me I can go up one or two level (that's level 300 or 400) if I want to see result with semi-permanent hair dye.  Of course, if I was looking into permanent hair dye, I could go a little higher too.  However, I would like less damage done to my hair, so she recommended me to try the HerbaShine ones.

Hair colour diagnostic tool!  You can try it out here

Garnier hair dyes are my go-to when I used to dye my hair every 6 months.  I need to try their semi-permanent ones!

If you live in the GTA, it's very likely that you have heard of or been to Luminato.  Luminato is a Festival of Arts and Creativity that happens every year in June for 10 days in Toronto, Ontario.  This year is their 6th anniversary and it is happening right now (June 8 to June 18)

Maybelline Pop Up Tent at Luminato

This year, Maybelline has set up a tent offering touch ups, an instant photo booth, and a free lipstick for everyone who stopped by!

Waiting lounge

Pretty editorial!

Another one!  Look! It's Doraemon =D

A free lipstick and a coupon for everyone who stopped by

The beauty blogger in me told me I should swatch all the colours!

Kiss N Tell Wall

Maybelline MUA in action!

That's the kind of vanity I want lol

I headed down there on Thursday after work to catch the Maybelline Summer Trend workshop by the one and only Grace Lee!  Grace is the Maybelline Lead Makeup Artist in Canada.  She did two demos on two beautiful girls form ROI relations.  First, Grace created, as one of the beauty editors there like to call it, the mermaid look...