The first and (until recently) last time I attempted to use a hair iron was when I was a wee girl of 13. I was jealous of my classmates' straight hair and wanted so badly to have the same thing! When I finally had the chance to use my aunt's iron, I was incredibly giddy with delight. I was so excited!

That is, until I burned off a section of my hair during my first attempt. Ha ha. Since then I avoided heating gadgets unless it's wielded by a professional. Well, I gave in and bought a hair blower but I mostly use the cool air setting. I didn't want to take any chances.

BUT. It always pays to grow out of small fears like this - especially when the tools to succeed are just literally lying around. I recently received the Avon Style Specialist line so I thought why not? Wouldn't hurt to give it another go! I'll review those styling tools another day. For now I want to gush about the Prostyle Fuwarie Straight Styling Mist (P450).

Fuwarie Straight Styling (L) and End Curling Mist (R)

This product is supposed to "set" your hair straight and to prevent your iron from damaging it. It also has UV protection apparently, which is a big plus this summer! I adore it becase it did keep my hair fairly straight the whole afternoon I wore it; my hair didn't feel crunchy and dry at all even though I lavished it with heat. It was an extremely humid day so I was expecting frizz, but that didn't happen.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Straight Styling is a fruity-smelling fluid, not quite as sticky as hair spray but it does have a tacky feel on the hair before it dries.

If it's a hair product that says "fine hair" and "shine" then you can count on me to try it. My main hair concern is how flat and thin it is, and on top of that it looks dull. So when I received the Kérastase Cristalliste Bain Crystal Shampoo and Lumiere Liquide Serum I knew they would be well worth the risk of breaking out (I get pimples from hair products).

Indeed they were!

Let's start with the shampoo. The Kérastase Cristalliste Bain Cristal Shampoo (P1,200) is for fine, long locks and promises free-flowing and lightweight hair (btw there is a variant for thick hair). True enough it doesn't weigh down hair - it feels quite like baby shampoo, as a matter of fact. A more fragrant and expensive version at that.

What the Cristalliste Shampoo does that baby shampoo doesn't is it removes product build up like a dream. Do you ever feel like sometimes your hair is so greasy and heavy even though you wash it every day (or every other day)?

Remember the epilator I was so excited about last January? I still like it, but I find that waxing is still the best way to remove body hair. The epilator is great to use if I'm in a rush but the downside is I don't get ALL the hair and sometimes, if I'm not careful, I end up doing a half-assed job. Waxing is much more thorough (when done by someone else) and has a better guarantee that I won't get those pesky ingrown hairs.

Now I won't be throwing out my epilator anytime soon but if time permits, waxing remains to be my first choice. :) That said, have you heard about the newest hair removal place in town? It's called Wink Laser & Wax Studio, located in Bonifacio High Street Central on top of Slice.

Now before we go any further I want you to know that I do PR and marketing work for Wink. :) Let's get that out of the way first! Nonetheless, I hope you can trust me to share a review that is honest. Believe me when I say that I won't chuck Project Vanity's credibility out the window just because of a client.

So! Let's get started.

Wink is the baby of Holly Chang, a 24-year old woman who claims to be extremely hairy (and pimply in college - but that's another story!). She's funny, down-to-earth, a true-blue skincare junkie, and yes, all of 24 years on the planet. She decided to start this business because she found out that laser is so cheap in other countries that people would prefer to get it instead of wax. Here it costs an arm and a leg! She wanted to bring affordable laser hair removal treatments to the Philippines and so Wink was born.

Laser gun!

Laser is Wink's specialty, but the salon also offers waxing services. Brazilians, legs, femstache, knuckle hair - if you need them taken out, Wink can take them out. I love that the pricing is quite affordable considering the location and how beautifully appointed the place is.

I've been wishing for a real, professional blow dry bar in the Fort area for some time now. I've only read about the bars in Pasig but they're just too far for me. Yes, hair salons offer blow dries but the ones I like are in awkward pockets of Makati. The only reason I would get a pro blow is if I'm going to an important event, and these events are usually in Rockwell or The Fort area.

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the "Coming Soon" sign of Blo Blow Dry Bar in Serendra late last year! It just opened last week. I was also v.v. happy to find out that there's already another branch in Powerplant. Double yay!

But wait, what is Blo Dry Bar? It's actually the first to market the no cuts, no color concept in North America. It specializes in blow drying alone. From what I've seen in my visit, they only use reputable hair products and tools to achieve that perfect coif! The attendants are well-trained and pleasant. The interiors are in hot pink and white with a feminine minimalist feel.

Reception area in Serendra branch

Seating

The procedure is fairly straightforward: the attendant will shampoo your hair, then she'll hand you a menu of services.

Since we were already on the topic of hair removal, I thought I would smoothly follow through with a treatment I tried recently. Last December, I vamoosed to Strip Serendra to try out their sinful Warm English Gingerbread Cookie Wax and V-Blush treatment on my underarms. I love the end results! It's been five weeks and my 'pits are still super soft and fairly hairless.

Did I say five weeks? Yeah that's how good it is. The Gingerbread Cookie Wax is only offered for a limited time so I'm not sure if it's still available, but I would still highly recommend the waxing services of Strip. They are so quick to pull out the hair - one try, actually - and it didn't hurt at all.

Waxing was my favorite way to get rid of body hair, but most days I just shaved and called it a day. I don't really have time to drop by a waxing salon for an hour or so (including travel time), and besides it can be expensive if you must get it done twice a month. That comes down to P1,200 a month at a modest salon ha! I can buy better things with that money than getting rid of my leg hair, truth be told.

So, I embarked on a casual online hunt for electric hair epilators. Basically it looks like a razor but instead of cutting the hair close to the skin, the gadget pulls out each hair. Sounds like torture? Eh, depends on your pain tolerance. I'll discuss that later.

What is this sorcery and where can one buy it

I didn't know there were electric epilators available locally. The blog posts I've seen about it all talk about getting one abroad, or via pre-order. Clearly, my Google-fu needs improvement. Imagine my surprise when I saw one in Watsons Mall of Asia (SM department store area) a couple of weeks ago! I was actually checking out Baby Bliss hair curlers when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the mythical epilator. I knew I was going home with it, no questions asked!

Well there were questions asked because the first one I saw cost almost P7,000 I think. Haha. Good thing I rummaged behind the box to look for other models; the boxes look alike. The one I bought, the Philips Satinelle HP6400, is only P2,299.

A "holy grail" beauty product is something that is irreplaceable - at least, as far as you know. It's something that you use all the time, finish off, replace, even hoard. It makes you feel beautiful. The word "love" is loosely thrown around in beauty writing, but it approaches the truth when you love your ultimate HG find.

My holy grail hair conditioning and styling product is the Kérastase Elixir Ultime. I won't go into the nitty gritty because I've reviewed it already, but to summarize all that: it's the best thing that ever happened to my hair. It keeps my locks shiny, soft, smooth, and bouncy all day. It's also economical as I've had my bottle since last May and I'm only less than halfway through. Take note, I use it every single time I go out!

Now the success of the Elixir Ultime led Kérastase to bring in three new variants in the line. The Grand Crus Collection is composed of scented serums that target specific needs - the Millenium Rose (fine sensitized hair), Imperial Tea (color-treated hair), and Immortal Moringa (damaged hair).

I'm kind of embarrassed that I'm only writing about this now, considering I'm one of the people who made this much pink happen in one afternoon. Lol. It's certainly one of the most memorable events I've taken part of this year. Good food, good friends, and exciting new things always make for a fab soiree, after all!

The Pinkbox event last October 24 introduced amazing hair products that I'm sure you'll love - the Hair Donut and Hair Puff. I've already showed you how to use the hair puff to get an instant bouffant! The Hair Donut is for creating the famous sock bun with actually bothering with socks. It's made of an ultra-light foam that doesn't feel heavy and hot on the head, and makes these huge Korean buns a breeze even for hair noobs.

A few people have asked me how I style my hair. I must admit that I'm not that adept at fixing it, but recently I've settled on an interesting routine because of my short hair. It involves a couple of products and my blow-drier, of course! I rarely ever used this gadget when my hair was long, so now I'm happy to finally be acquainted with it.

I love this routine because it gives me lots of volume, softness, and shine - all under 15 minutes. If you're interested in doing the same thing for your hair, here are a few tricks!

Damp, unstyled hair

Step 1: Work a conditioning oil like the Kerastase Elixir Ultime on your hair. I prefer using oils because they (1) keep hair soft without making it greasy (2) give shine and bounce (3) serve as heat protectant to reduce damage from blow drying (4) never break me out! Most hair products seem to give me pimples/bumps near my hair line and chin. Not Kerastase, specifically.

"So why do you charge P6,500 for a hair cut?" I asked Jude Hipolito as he was busy snipping at my hair. He looked me in the eye and said, "It's not about me, it's about you." He explained that some women are at that point in their lives when they can afford to splurge on themselves. They're able to buy designer bags and clothes - so why not a designer hair cut? He knows what he's worth, and he has his price out there. If you can splurge for the best hair cut ever then go to him. If not, you don't have to.

Jude and Rose, the dynamic duo behind JURO Salon

Now I don't mean that to sound snobbish. Even though Jude has 20 years of experience as a hair cutter, doing the hair of the stars and training celebrity hair stylists, he's a pretty laidback guy with a genuinely warm and humble personality. He relishes telling stories and you can see that he also likes to listen. He's a quiet, soft-spoken guy, not the big shot hair stylist type who can't even part with a smile.

Jude doing my hair

Jude tells me that he trains in the US every year to be updated on the latest trends and techniques in the business of hair. He calls himself a precision hair cutter, meaning that each cut is tailored to your face shape, hair texture, lifestyle, down to how your hair will grow out in the months to come.

I've had this drastic hair cut for two weeks now and I feel guilty not telling you about it sooner. It's just that for a few days I didn't know how to feel about it. When I left the salon I was squealing in delight. When I woke up the next morning I was all "What the fck did I do to myself?" But now I am super happy about my new look. 

Given that my hair is wavy, frizzy, and my face is wide and chubby, only a master hair cutter can make my bob look this good. Oh and a blow drier along with some awesome hair products! Anyway I will write a separate post about my salon experience, but I'll tell you now that this hair cut is worth P6,500. Well, P7,500 including the dye job. I didn't pay for it although when my hair is long again, I have half a mind to go back to that salon!

So why did I do it?

The thing about pomeranians is that they're well, extremely hairy. They have fine, dense hair that sticks everywhere, plus it grows super fast. That's why I have Snaps groomed at least once a month - that's non-negotiable!

When Purple Groom asked us if we want to be brand ambassadors, we immediately said yes. I was pretty excited because Snaps loves having his photos taken. :D It's his first time to be in a real shoot so I knew that it would be a grand experience for him. There would be other dogs too which means that he'd get a chance to play!

So! Here's what happened at the shoot.

Last weekend was awesome. I went to Marco's birthday party (he's 30!). I played a ton of Atelier Meruru on the PS3. I rekindled my love for singing and playing the guitar. I recorded a few videos to show for it but since I'm not really, well, good, I don't want to upload to YouTube. I have a screencap though!

Feeling pop star

Aaaanyway. I'll have you know that I realy like my hair there. It's shiny and smooth! TMI but I just woke up when I started recording. Predictably, my hair was a mess! I didn't want to use my fave Kerastase Elixir Ultime since it's too expensive for something that I'll just do at home. You know what I mean. How many times have you chosen to use a cheap product instead of your high-end one for an activity that won't get you maximum exposure?

It's a girl thing. So yeah, I decided to try the Vitress Cuticle Coat.

Okay, two things about me: I am inept when it comes to styling my hair and I have very thin hair. That kinda limits the number of options for me, doesn't it? I just usually let my hair down to allow my natural curls to do the work but that can get old pretty fast!

Good thing we live in the future. There are a lot of cool implements and tools to style our hair now, one of which is this Pinkbox Hair Puff. Disclaimer: I work with the brand. Still, I think it's a pretty neat product so I decided to share it with you guys. :)

Basically, the Hair Puff is a velcro insert that you can use to do bouffants on the front or middle part of your head. Instead of teasing your hair and using loads of hair spray to create volume, you can cut the prep time by simply attaching the puff. This is very useful if you want volume on top of your head without the work and the nasty part of cleaning it all up.

So, without further ado, here's a super easy tutorial on how to do a bouffant using the Pinkbox Hair Puff and only two clips!

Last Thursday, I got a haircut at the newly-opened Louis Phillip Kee Salon in Burgos Circle. I've heard of so many good reviews so I decided to get my waaaay overdue cut there (P750 / senior stylist)!  

I didn't take pictures because they're still on their soft opening. The place is a bit crowded and smells like paint and smoke. I found it odd, the slight smoke odor, but apparently there was a small fire there a couple of weeks ago. Anyway! Ambiance and decor aside, I like the salon because I got a fabulous hair cut.

Not a lot of hair stylists understand curly hair, so I'm really glad that the lady from LPK (didn't get her name unfortunately) did my hair properly.

People tell me, "Wow, I wish I had naturally curly hair like yours." and I would always reply, "What I would give for straight hair like yours!" Straight hair is so low-maintenance, for me. There are also so many styles you can cut it, whereas there's not much you can do with curly hair.

But enough of wishing for things that cannot be! While it's true that the grass looks greener on the other side, it's also true that the grass is greener where you water it. So let's stop bitching and work on what we've got, with everything we've got! Obviously, this doesn't just apply to hair trouble. ;)

Speaking of hair trouble, I would love to present a new find of mine: the Kérastase Elixir Ultime (P2,215), a serum that's the perfect combination of four beautifying oils: Argan, Maize Sprouts, Camellia and Pracaxi. I've tried a variety of creams, gels, and liquids to style my hair but there is nothing quite like it. Here's why!

Why I LOVE the product

• It makes my hair feel silky and smooth like you wouldn't believe. I currently use a drying, hypoallergenic shampoo so I have to moisturize with conditioner afterwards. Bu

I thought that the Love/Serum Moisturizing Curl Enhancing Serum from Davines was the ultimate product for curly hair. It was everything I wanted! But when I tried the Bed Hed Tigi Foxy Curls (P1,645), I realized that the Davines serum was missing something crucial: hold.

Foxy Curls makes curls stand out without feeling greasy or heavy, much like Love/Serum. It is a lot stickier and thicker though while it's wet. This texture helps keep curls and stray hair in place, something that Love/Serum does not do all that well, since its main focus is to show up curls and moisturize hair. Oh FC also smells amazing!

Anyway, Foxy Curls was put to an extreme test when I used it before attending a media event.

Summer is usually the time when I get terminally bored with my hair. It's also super hot so a girl must suffer a haircut, or at least a trim! Good thing Hair Philosophie took care of that for me. As for styling my hair at home, I bought a hair blower a couple of weeks ago to help with the frizz.

Well...actually I bought the blower mainly for my dog. :P I've never owned one before so I don't have the slightest clue on how to maximize it! I thought Snaps could use some quick drying after a bath, although I swiftly found out that he is deathly scared of the machine. Oh well. I might as well use it on myself.

I went to Watsons to buy a VS Sassoon blower because I heard of good reviews. They were at 10% off too, with a two year warranty on all the products. Not bad! I wanted to buy the pink hair dryer because it's the most affordable (less than P1,300 I think?) but I got talked into buying the bigger one called the VS Sasson Ceramic Jetset Dryer at P1,800 (price after the discount so I guess the original price is ~P2,000).