Pikachu and Teddy Bear!

Isn't this he cutest thing!? Poco and Coco sleeping together!!! (This doesn't happen often, it was only because Poco spewed on his sleeping blanket and I had to take it away..)


I gave Poco a new blanket to sleep on!


She ALWAYS sleeps like this! It's so cute!

Banana Split

Yesterday afternoon, I felt like eating a banana split from Cold Rock so... I got one!! I had 3 flavours to choose from so I got vanilla, double chocolate and coffee TOPPED with banana, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, nuts and a malteser! YUUUuUUMMMM! I ate it all by myself..

How to get perfect nails..

We all put nail polish on ourselves and how many times has it bled from the side, has big clumps or it has that streaky look to it?!

Well here are some simple steps to getting the perfect nails!





1. You want to get a good amount of nail polish on the wand. What you do is drain the nail polish from ONE side of the wand from the top of the bottle!



2. Turn the wand to the side that has nail polish and make a BLOB/DOT in the middle of the nail.



3. After that, quickly wiggle the wand to as CLOSE as you can to the cuticle, starting from the blob you made.



4. Once you got down to the cuticle, stroke the wand up in one straight line, so that you have a straight line of nail polish.



4. Then create a HALF MOON on one side.



5. Create a HALF MOON on the other side.



YOUR DONE! ^_^

TIP: Make sure you apply base coat first and a top coat to protect your nail polish from chipping off!

Day 8: Advise on Beauty Services

Yesterday we had a whole booklet to go through 'Advise on Beauty'.

We learnt about:

1. Improving, maintaining and sharing knowledge
2. Researching and applying product and service knowledge
3. Demonstrate an understanding of competitors products and services
4. Identifying clients needs and matching these to products and services
5. Evaluating products and services according to a client's requirements
6. Demonstrating and accurately explaining features and benefits to clients

So the whole thing was pretty much about selling beauty products. So this might come in handy for anyone! Even if you're not working in the "beauty" industry. :)

(I'm going to try my best to just keep it short with the important notes)

1. Improving, maintaining and sharing knowledge
Some clients who come into your workplace may already know what they are looking and what service they want. But most of the people will seek your advice on which product or service will suit their requirements.

Many clients will make the purchasing decisions based on the depth of your knowledge and how you communicate about the product. It also comes back to good customer service, if you're all grumpy and you don't really care for the clients requirements, their not going to buy from you.

Understanding product and service knowledge relates to:
- the basic contents of the product
- the procedures of the product
- the storage and handling requirements
- the effect and uses of the product
- the effect and purpose
- the feautres and benefits
- the advantages and disadvantages of the product
- the price
- the brand (is it good?)

2. Researching and applying product and service knowledge
Within your workplace, you may have a large range of products displayed for clients to choose from. Similar products vary to some degree in brand name, contents, price, appearance etc...

It is very important that you understand the features of the products in your workplace and also know the needs and wants of the client. This is because you may come to a time when you have to think why is this product more suitable for the client than the other one?

3. Demonstrate an understanding of competitors products and services
Competitors are everywhere! You have to understand what your competitors offer to their clients. With this knowledge, you can compare the products and services in your workplace and describe the advantages and benefits of your range to clients.

Clients consider making decisions when purchasing a product from one particular beauty business. This is include of:

- Price range (expensive, inexpensive)
- Service options (is there a wide range of products to choose from?)
- Treatment options (are there different types of treatments available?)
- Brand options (is my favourite product brand avaible?)
- Guarantees (is there a client satisfaction or money back guarantee?)
- Ingredients (do the products use natural ingredients?)
- Likelihood of allergic reactions (is there information about possible reactions?)
- Appearance of the product

4. Identifying clients needs and matching these to products and services
Before you can explain the benefits of the product and encourage them to buy it, you must establish the requirements and preferences of that client. The six main categories include of:

1. Safety (will it irritate client?)
2. Performance (will it work?)
3. Appearance (packaging attractive?)
4. Comfort (does it have a frangrance?)
5. Economy (is it afforable?)
6. Durability (what strengths does it have?)

5. Evaluating products and services according to a client's requirements
This is mainly about the knowledge of the benefits and features of the product.

Features - the physical characteristics (texture, smell, colour, long lasting etc..)
Benefits - benefits build on the feauture of the product (what can this product or service do for me?)

For example:
Features Benefits
smooth texture feels comfortable, easy spread
fragrance smells pleasant
long lasting do not have to re-apply

6. Demonstrating and accurately explaining features and benefits to clients
Giving the clients a visual demonstration is good way of encouraging them to make their final decisions.
Demonstrating the best techniques for apply the product or showing them the colours, texture, how it feels on the skin can be a great way to communicate with your clients. You can simply demonstrate a lipstick colour by applying it on the back of your hand.

Well, I hope this comes in handy! :D

I love Jojoba Oil!!!

Introducing Jojoba Oil:

Jojoba (pronounced ho-HO-ba) is a botanical extract of the seed of the jojoba tree (Simmondsia chinenis). What’s interesting about it is that it isn’t actually an oil, but rather what they call a wax ester. Why do we care? Because out of all of the compounds in nature, this wax ester is the most similar to human skin oil (sebum). Jojoba oil is non-comedogenic so we can use it without fear.

(http://www.acne.org/jojoba-oil.php)

The best thing about Jojoba oil is that you can use it in MANY different ways!

Moisturizer: You can add a few drops of Jojoba oil into your everyday moisturizer feeling your skin soft and smooth. It can also be applied to your skin by itself. This includes your face and body!

Make-up remover: Jojoba oil can easily remove makeup including foundation, eyeshadow, blush..etc! I actually do this at home. It works quite well! I put some Jojoba oil onto a cotton pad and gently remove it, the makeup pretty much just glides off. It wont irritate the skin and it feels nice because I know the oil is good for the skin other than other makeup removers with harsh chemicals.

Also good for hair conditioner, lip balm, shaving oil, massage oil, restoring the skin, stretch marks, acne scars, cuticle oil....

If you get ingrown hairs, you might want to read this site..

(http://hairremoval.about.com/od/shaving/a/ingrown-home.htm)

Its a recipe to make your own home made sugar scrub!

All you need is cane sugar, jojoba oil and an essential oil! ^_^

Rocky Road!!!

Last night I decided to make some Rocky Road!!!

Now if you want to make some yourself. Here is the recipe, along with photos I took while I was making mine! ^_^

Total cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Makes: 2 slices


Ingredients:

150 g unsalted butter
1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
250 g coloured marshmallows
100 g coloured glace cherries, halved (optional)
200 g dark chocolate, chopped
15 g white vegetable shortening

1. Preheat oven to moderately slow 160C

2. Brush two 26 x 8 x 4.5 bar tins with melted butter or oil

3. Line with baking paper

4. Using electric beaters, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy in large bowl

5. Using metal spoon, fold in combined sifted flour and cocoa; mix well.

6. Divide mixture evenly between both tins

7. Press mixture into tin using both fingertips

8. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly coloured. Stand in tins to cool



9. Top base with marshmallows and whatever else you want to put in your rocky road!





10. Place chocolate and shortening in medium heatproof bowl

11. Stand over pan of simmering water and stir until chocolate and shortening have melted and mixture is smooth



12. Spoon chocolate mixture evenly over both slices.





13. Tap tins gently on bench to distribute chocolate evenly.

14. Finally, cut lice into squares or fingers!!



And wa-lahh!!! You have your Rocky Road!!! >_<

Day 7: Lash Perm and Tint

Today we did our lash perms and tints!

I thought it was fun but it was also very difficult. Since your working around another person eye area especially with chemicals, you have to be really careful!

I found it a bit challenging curling the eyelashes onto curling rod. After I put the glue on the rod, I tried curling the lashes but since the glue was still really sticky, the lashes didnt stick on properly. But once the glue dried a bit and became tacky (just like the eyelash glue when putting on false eyelashes), it was much easier for the lashes to stick on the rod. :)

My classmates did my eyelashes and this is how they turned out! (perm and tint)





I think they did a good job! :)

The bad thing was... my left eyelid actually reacted to the perming solution and after awhile, it started to sting. My right eye was perfectly fine but somehow, my left eye was stinging and after they washed it off.. my left eye lid was all puffy and swollen!!!

I have no idea why that happened, because I have gotten an eyelash perm before and my eye has never reacted like it did today. The perm solution might have gotten a bit too close to my eyelash root and reacted or my left eyelid was sensitive.

I cooled it down with some ice and just left it alone to heal. It has gone down now.. luckily! ahah :)

Other than that, the eyelashes did perm nicely! I have Asian eyelashes that are normally straight, so now I dont have to worry about curling them everyday!!! You can't really notice the tint because my eyelashes were already black..


^_^

Day 6: Manicure

Yesterday we learnt how to do manicures! It was quite fun!! :)

The last few days have been theory and we finally got to do some 'hands on' stuff!

We all got a manicure and pedicure kit.... here it is!



Cool aye?!

Well we all had to bring our own mani/pedi kits and our towels we received on orientation day!

I'm thinking, instead of writing down the procedures now on this blog, I thought when I practice on someone, I will take some photos. Then I will write down the procedures step by step along with photos on another blog so that you can get a visual idea! :) That way it's more interesting...

So I will upload the manicure procedures as soon as I practice on someone so you can see how to do it yourself!!!!!

Heart mended

I am no longer heartbroken!!!! I am happy and I am okay!! :D
YAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D
xoxo

Heartbroken

I hope it's all worth it in the end.