Monthly Archives: August 2011

Magic hour

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The best time to take outfit photos (and any photos for that matter) is at around 4:00-5:00 in the afternoon. That’s when the sun sets and the light is just right (if it isn’t overcast/cloudy). If you miss it, you miss it. But there is always tomorrow.

These huge hipster glasses have my new prescription (I’m nearsighted) and got them free from Clearly Contacts (well, I had to pay for shipping which was like $15-$17). They have promotions for free glasses (select frames) every so often. I keep a lookout for  promotional codes from Smart Canucks. The funny thing is, Clearly Contacts never had freebie promos for contact lenses, even though their business name sounds like they’re all about contacts, clearly (ha!). It’s like that restaurant with the words “express donuts” in the name, but they don’t sell donuts (???) and are well-known for their quick chow mein lunches.

I’m trying not to depend on my glasses so much, but it’s really hard. I find that I even need to wear them when I’m in front of the computer! And the screen isn’t even that far away from me! I guess my eyesight is getting worse…

I kind of got a little overboard at Forever21 and suddenly bought 5 dresses from there in a span of 4 weeks! I don’t know, I never really bought dresses from there since I know they don’t last long and probably made by sweatshop workers, but they’re so cute!! And I guess, like the rest of the middle class, I passively feed the exploitative system and perpetuate bad business practices because I think “they’re so cute!”.

I try to stop and think — is wearing cute clothes a priority over ethical consumption? But it’s too late, the credit card has been swiped and the ethical shopper in me had lost. But the battle was already lost when I stepped into the store.

Now I’m trying to just spend my lunch hours with bubbly new co-workers and have insightful conversations, rather than walk around the big mall like an Olympic sport. Like any addiction or bad habit, the first step is to replace those bad activities with something else (hopefully better), and take other conscious steps to ween off of it. Baby steps….

I am wearing:

Dress: Forever 21
Purse: Vintage
Shoes: Korea
Glasses: Clearly Contacts

Review: HANA Titanium Ionic 1.5″ Flat Iron

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The awesome folks over at Misikko sent us the awesome HANA Titanium Ionic 1.5″ Flat Iron with all the tools to help us with our hair woes. Included was a heat-proof pad and storage pouch, to prevent burning of countertops (in case you set it on a plastic-y tablecloth). It’s handy when you’re done using the flat iron and need to put it away quickly while it’s still hot.

Justine’s hair is naturally super straight, in search for the natural kinks and waves that Chris has!

 

 

We normally use hair straighteners that have ceramic plates. The plates change colour when the iron is hot. New to titanium straighteners, we consulted the instruction guide and found that there is a red LED indicator light (see above picture) that starts out as a steady/still red light. It blinks when the desired temperature is reached. If the light is off but the switch is set to On, the iron is decreasing temperature to a lower setting. Good to know!

We timed the heat-up time and the straightener took about 1 minute, 30 seconds to go from 0 to 370 degrees.

Once heated up, we got iron-happy and used it to add curls to Justine’s pin straight hair, and straighten Chris’ kinks and waves.  The plates are very smooth,which allow for the hair to glide through without any tugging.

Overall, the HANA Titanium Ionic 1.5″ Flat Iron performed well and we appreciate that it maintained its heat throughout its use. The adjustable heat dial allows users to choose a temperature that best suits their hair type. Hotter if your hair is healthier, cooler if your hair is damaged. It heats as low as 140 degrees fahrenheit to as hot as 450 degrees fahrenheit. Despite the hot temperatures that it can reach, it is energy efficient at only 38 Watts. It also has a 360 swivel cord to prevent cord tangling and accidents caused by cord tangling.

The heat up time may be considered too long for some people in the rush in the morning, but we found it is an improvement from our early experience with drugstore flat irons that took 5-10 minutes to heat up (and sometimes they wouldn’t heat to desired temperatures!). It is a great iron for those who are making that jump from drugstore irons to salon-quality irons.

Thanks again to the folks at Misikko!