Best Hair Conditioner

My Top Pick

- Redken All soft

- Aussie Miracle

Tip: adding drops of essential oil (olive oil or avocado oil works well)

活在当下的人 - Chapter 2

一个半小时以后，我们的project已经有了好的开始。我不得不认同我许多女生朋友的观点，就算是很nerdy的做功课K依然可以毫不做作的散发他的魅力。自从他坐了下来， 我好几次都不由自主地偷看他。而他的淡褐色的眼睛却始终不离电脑屏幕。 我不知道他到底值不知道自己的这种吸引力，还是他其实已经习惯。

在我们整理好我们写好的报告之后，我终于按耐不住我的好奇心。

" You are quite popular in school, aren't you? "

" oh, yea? Who told you that?"

" Well, a lot of my girl friends have been talking about you..."

" oh really, who? If she's cute, hook me up"

" I'm sure they would love to, but I don't know, you seem to date a lot. I don't want you to break any of my girl friend's heart"

"hah, what you talking about. I know how to treat a lady."

"...have you ever had a girl friend?"

"what kind of question is that?"

"fine, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to"

K停顿了一下， 并没有再多说些什么， 嘴角却留着一份淡淡的我才不透的笑意。咖啡店里放着不知名的slow jazz，已经没有其他的客人了，只剩下我们和在一旁玩着psp的店员。 K 似乎陷入某种思绪中，我没有再接话伸手去那桌上以凉了的咖啡。

活在当下的人 （The Man who lives in the Present)

K 的魅力是我无法形容的。俊俏的外表和完美的身材也只是让全校女生为他着迷的其中一部分的原因。也许是他的言谈举止之间流入出的那种男人的不羁，也许是他上课时专注的眼神，也许是因为他在加州大学篮球联赛中成为唯一一位华人球员在决战赛上拿下35分的辉煌成绩， 也许只是他像阳光般温柔的笑容，他出现在校园的任何一个角落都会使周围的女生窃窃私语。和K约会过的女生不计其数，偶尔也会听说有女生为他争风吃醋，大打出手。可我却从未听说他有女朋友。

和K的相识是在大二夏天的暑期经济课上。因为是暑期，课上人也很少。他刚巧坐在我的前面，当老师让我们为term project找partner的时候，他突然回头，及其自然的问我 “Hey, wanna be my be my project partner?"

"me?...ok"

第一次的team meeting是在我的宿舍附近的咖啡店。咖啡店说是11：30pm关店， 我们约了晚上９点钟，刚好在K的篮球训练之后。我8点就到了想先给project做个qucik start. 暑假的咖啡店少有的冷清，刚好适合写功课。

“hey, how's going. Sorry I'm late."

K突然打断了我的思路。我抬起头，一边收拾桌子上散乱的书和case studies， 一边望向墙上的钟，９：05pm.

我笑道：“It's only ９:05, you are forgiven. How's the practice? ”

“ I hate to let people wait. The practice went well......give me a second, let me order something first and I'll get started on the project”

几分钟后Ｋ坐了下来。我们讨论了一下project plan和工作的分配就没有再闲聊什么了，各自开始埋头打字。

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盐酥鸡 - salt pepper chicken

Deep Fryer is one of the best kitchen appliance that I've ever bought. I bought mine from Amazon, $40 CoolDaddy brand

My first experiment - 盐酥鸡 - salt pepper chicken

盐酥鸡的制作材料：

主料：雞腿肉 黑胡椒鹽 蔥 蒜 薑末 辣椒末 鹽 白胡椒粉 米酒

裹粉：地瓜粉+ 酥炸粉

1。 腌肉 - 加入所有的調味料醃至少1小時
2。 沾粉 - mix 地瓜粉+ 酥炸粉, add more 地瓜粉than 酥炸粉, 將醃好的雞塊沾好粉
3。 鸡要好的时候，加九層塔 （我炸了7，8分钟）炸至酥黃即可撈起。
4。 吃的時候撒些黑胡椒鹽於雞塊上，配上香酥的滋味更佳。

Fryer's link:

http://www.amazon.com/Presto-CoolDaddy-Electric-Deep-Fryer/dp/B00066XROE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283969492&sr=8-5

I forgot to take pictures, but it looked even better than those professional salt pepper chicken that you see at Tea Station or other places.

My bf gives 10 out of 10. I love it too!! Thanks to Deep Fryer, truly my best investment of the month.

Best Moisturisers - Sophie's Pick

My philosophy in picking the right moisturiser is simple, it must have the followign qualities:

- Fregrance Free (perfume is one of the biggest skin irritant)
- Color Free
- No harsh chemicals
- Acholoh is Not the main ingredient
- Contain anti-inflammary elements

Notice that I didn't list "oil-free", I used to stick to oil free products but as I grow older and read more about eccesntial oils, I found certain oils can be very beneficial to our skin.

废话少说，Here is the list

- Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
- CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion 12 fl oz (355 ml)
- Good Skin Intense moisture cream (only at Kohls, but sold out everywhere and possibly discontinued. One of the best moisturisers I ever used)

That's it. Currently I'm still using Clinique Moisture Surge, it's desgined for super dry skin, but in reality I think it fits oily skin better. I apply this moisturizer both morning and night, except at the night time, I add a drop of Jojoba oil and mix it with it. I love it

I also recommend adding oil to your lotion or moisturizer at night time. Here is also a list of oils for you to consider ( you can buy these at Whole Food, Trader Joes, Henry's)

- Jojoba Oil (acne.org, has the cheapest and best quality bottle of jojoba oil)
- Avacado Oil
- Sweet Almond Oil

I also use the above oil in my hair care routine. I'll write about that in my next post...

Tretinoin (Retin-A, Avita, Renova) 0.025%

" Tretinoin (Retin-A, Avita, Renova) is a derivative of Vitamin A and is the treatment of choice for comedonal acne, or whiteheads and blackheads. It works by increasing skin cell turnover promoting the extrusion of the plugged material in the follicle. It also prevents the formation of new comedones. Tretinoin is also the only topical medication that has been proven to improve wrinkles. "

I had the our College clinic prescribe this for me about 2 years ago. At the time I had mild acne, more so during that period of the month. Girls, you know what I'm talking about. But at the time I didn't stick to it cuz I made my skin so dry that I couldn't even put makeup on.

2 years later, I decided to try it again with a different approach. This time my concerns are mostly blackheads and whiteheads, occasional pimples and wrinkles. I'm on retin-A for a month now. Here is what I think:

Duration: 1 month

Frequency: once a day (at night), apply ONLY every other day (do not apply daily), when skin gets dry, stop for additional day, apply every 3 days

Daily routine:

Morning - Wash with water (no cleaner used), follow by lotion and sunblock

Night - Wash with cleaner, apply Retin-A only to concerned areas, apply lotion to only dry areas

Result:

Day 1 - feel like its working already, maybe my imagination

Day 2 - love it so far

Day 3 - breakout happened

Week 1 - worsen the condition, I see pimples coming out, wanted to give up but decided to stick with it for another week.

Week 2 - clear skin, small pores, some blackheads, no pimple, lighter skin tone

Week 3 - some pimples again, skin is dry and irritated, so stopped for couple days and continue

Week 4 - lighter skin tone, no pimples, smaller pores, clear skin

In summary, I'll continue with this for another month, and provide updates. So far, I think it's working but as you can see my past month, you will see some bad reactions, but it is doing what it supposed to do.

To be continued...

Digitial Perm

This is my very first blog and I decided to start with my very first perm experience. This is my first time getting a perm. I've done my good share of research before hand, googling pictures and asking for suggestions. Cut to the chase, I got my digital perm done a month a ago at a popular Korean hair salon in Korean town LA. (See salon info below) I absoluately love it. In summary here are what I like and don't like about the perm:

Name of the Perm: Digitial Perm

Time duration: 4 hours

My description what what I was looking for (before the perm): Large loose waves, please no small curls

Result: Medium loose waves, less curls than I imagined, some part of my hair are not as curled as other parts, over all extremely natural looking

Pros:

- Natural Looking

- Beautiful waves

- So easy to manage, no need to brush, blowdry or style

- I spend about 1 - 2mins after shower to style my hair, no styling needed, it looks so naturally wave

- I was losing a lot hair due to stress or something, perm gives me more volume

Cons:

-4hours of sitting there (worth it)

- Damage hair (yes, expected)

- The curls start to loosen even more after a month (may need another perm after 3 months)

- Expensive ($200 )

Overall, like I said, I love it and I'm so glad that I did it cuz I had straight hair all my life and was very reluctant to do anything to my hair. It turned out very nice. Although personally, I still love stright hair, I have to say wavy works for me too! btw, my boyfriend loves it too!

OK, here are what you been waiting for --- Pictures

Before

After