CrystalPhuong.net is a Personal Style & Travel Blog based in Singapore, written by Crystal Phuong. The blog was nominated FOUR times in Top 10 Best Fashion Blogs in the annual Singapore Blog Award from 2012- 2015, voted as one of the Best Lifestyle Blogs in Singapore in 2013 by Hotelclub.com, and Best Travel Blogs in 2016 by Foodpanda.com. Crystal hopes to connect and inspire young women to lead a healthy and happy life. Be confident, be positive, and be kind.
Whenever I come back to Singapore from Vietnam after a long holiday, I know it's time to keep my ankle boots and knee-high boots away and start looking for new flats, espadrilles or strappy heels. As much as I love wearing boots, I have to admit I have a weak spot for a pair of sexy heels or quirky sandals. Although Singapore is hot all year round, but it doesn't mean I can't have four season trends of fashion in my head and my wardrobe. I guess being born in a city with Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter every year is the main reason why I'm constantly looking for outfits, accessories or shoes that are weather appropriate. Being a shoeaholic myself, I already started looking for new shoes for Spring and Summer since Winter.
We are spoiled for choices because there are so many amazing shoes available, online and in store. It took me two hours, looking at Net-a-porter's website to decide which one I like most. I've selected some of the best shoes for Spring and Summer this year. Which one is your favorite?
Bleaching your hair is bad, especially when you bleach all your hair blonde. But what if you insist on going full blonde, like me? The answer is simple: Do A LOT of treatments after that.
I've always wanted to have blonde hair for a long time. Because everyone warned me about how damaging it could be to my hair. I didn't dare to go all blonde. Instead, I bleached section by section so my hair could take it. Until one day, I took a risk and made this happen:
Honestly, I freaked out when I touched my hair for the first time, after the bleaching it. It was dry and brittle like a dried broom. It was a huge effort for me to do a lot of treatments after that (including scalp treatments). A few months later, my hair started feeling softer and smoother again. If you love dying or bleaching your hair like I do, you may want to try some of the tips below.
1. Shampoo, Conditioner and Blonde Spray.
Finding the right shampoo and conditioner for blonde hair is challenging in Singapore because we don't have these products dedicated for blonde hair here. I was lucky to find these John Frieda products when I was in the US in September of last year. I also bought Sheer blonde lightening permanent spray to help keep the color last longer. I know some shampoos are only suitable for certain people, so make sure you check the product carefully before you buy. These John Frieda products work well for me so far.
2. Hair Mask
I apply hair mask every time I wash my hair without fail. I've never done this before. My current favorite is this L'oreal Total Repair mask. It takes only 1 minute to do (perfect for busy people). I also rotate different masks every time so that my hair can enjoy different treatments.
3. Nourish and Protect.
After washing and blow-drying my hair, I apply treatments immediately. First, I start applying hair serum to keep my shine and frizz-free. There are many types of serum available, make sure you choose the right one for your hair and scalp. I like this Dove nourishing oil care as it's non-sticky and non-greasy.
After applyig serum, I apply Pantene 10-in-1 hair protection. It's a leave on treatment that offers 10 different treatments in a single formula: breakage prevention, smoothness, moisture, shine, detangling, frizz control, manageability, heat protection, softness, and split-ends prevention. Besides, it's super affordable so it's worth to try. I tried once and I loved it. Alternatively, you can also check out a range of great products for damaged hair here
After applying Pantene protection, I'll spray one more round of Sunsilk nourishing soft and smooth to make sure my hair is really well-nourished.
4. Styling.
Now that I have clean and nourished hair, it's time to go for styling. I don't use a hair iron or a hair curler at all as I'm afraid they might burn my fragile hair. Instead, I use hair rollers to create more volume. I'll leave the roller on for about 20 minutes and apply non-sticky hair spray to protect and control the curls. Then, I'll apply hair fragrance to give my hair incredible smell all day long.
The whole process probably takes you half an hour (including washing). I used to be so lazy to take care of my hair, but once I started, I kind of enjoying it. A good hair day doesn't take much time to have and it can give me confidence whenever I'm going out to meet people. Some people are quite surprised at how soft my hair is when they touch it. Best part, it doesn't cost me much money with all these drugstore products. I highly recommend you do this at least twice a week to make sure your hair looks healthy and always beautiful.
These houndstooth pants and jacket were the last outfit I wore when I was in Vietnam for Lunar New Year. Saving the best for last, I purposely kept this statement outfit until the very last day. The weather was incredibly beautiful, just chilly, not cold or rainy. It was perfect to bring this loud printed outfit to play. While I was standing in the middle of the road, many people stopped to watch us doing the photo shoot with their curious eyes. It's either they haven't seen anyone wearing houndstooth print from head to toe before or they thought we were doing a photoshoot for a magazine or something. Besides, my blonde hair was calling for attention. It was like an invasion to this city.
I felt a little bit awkward at first, but quickly got over it. Despite my injured leg that was torturing me, I enjoyed every moment wearing and shooting this look. Such a bold and loud outfit is definitely for risk takers. I took a risk to wear a houndstooth pants suit at the place where everybody is so conservative with black, white, or traditional clothes. It was also my first time wearing this eye-catching print, so I didn't know whether I would look good or bad in it but decided to try it anyway. I added a pop of red to the sea of black and white to make the outfit more colorful.
I'm so glad I brought this outfit with me to Vietnam because I don't know when I can wear it in Singapore. It's such a fun, fearless, and fashion-forward style that shouldn't be missed.
Have you ever tried a head-to-toe houndstooth look before? What were your thoughts?
Thank you so much for watching and Happy International Women's Day to all wonderful women out there!
In case you don't know, Shopbop is currently having their BIG event. Up to 25% OFF with code BIGEVENT15 at checkout. Above are some items I've been eyeing on Shopbop for a while now, I can't wait to bring them home.
Which items are you coveting on Shopbop? The sale expires on Saturday, March 7th 2015 at 11:59PM (PT). Make sure you don't let a good deal go to waste.
On the fourth day of Lunar New Year, it started raining and the sky became gloomy. I just had my leg surgery done the previous day and it was so painful that I could barely walk. I've had a sebaceous cyst on my leg for a long time (probably a year) and I didn't bother to remove it until it got swollen and infected. Thank God I was home when this cyst was about to burst. My mom took me to a nearby hospital and got it fixed. I'll probably have a big scar on my leg later on, but I'm glad it's all over.
Although, I was in pain and the weather was not cheerful. But that didn't stop me from having a little happy moment for myself. I decided to do a quick photo shoot with this beautiful pink coat and a cute black beanie on my house rooftop. Dad and mom offered help to be my photographers and we had a fun time shooting these photos together.
Before flying back to Vietnam, I was looking for a beanie to battle the cold weather in Hanoi. Mooncats asked me to try their products and sent me a cute black beanie. It's soft and warm, exactly what I wanted. I always love a beanie, but only have a chance to wear it when I am in Vietnam during Winter. I was so looking forward to pairing this beanie with another favorite staple in my winter wardrobe: a pink coat. There is nothing more fun and appropriate to wear pink and beanie to celebrate the transition period between Winter and Spring. This candy floss colored outerwear enlightened my day while the beanie gave my ears some warm love. With mom and dad trying to take perfect photos of me and my outfit (despite they didn't know how to use a DSLR camera), it was another beautiful day in paradise indeed.
[name=Crystal Phuong]
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[description=Singapore Travel & Lifestyle Blogger, hoping to connect and inspire young women to lead a healthy and happy life]
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