Review: J&J Hair Identity's NATULIQUE Hair Color Service

Sample Store is back after their revamping hiatus!

I know it's kinda aunty to say, but samples are really a good way to try out stuff before committing to a purchase, 

especially if a full sized product is expensive.

Just take SKII as an example; 

although it's formulated by Asians and touted to be suitable to people from their 20s onwards,

many of my friends/colleagues all experienced breakouts after using it, and had to give it away.

Money super wasted lor :x

#turningaunty #nodenyingit

ANYWAY, 

I received an invitation to try out NATULIQUE's products at J&J Hair Identity Salon!

NATULIQUE originates from Denmark, and they're all about using certified organic ingredients in their salon products.

They pride themselves on being eco-friendly and sustainable as well - and they actually have the certification to prove it.

Their passion for health and nature also stemmed from one of the founders' personal encounter with cancer, 

so I believe that they really are sincere about using the best ingredients for their clients.

J&J Hair Identity Salon is one of the first salons in Singapore to provide NATULIQUE products.

Not only do they provide ECOCERT certified hair care, 

J&J has their TOP identity formula, which is their professional approach to every customer.

T for Textura - analysis of hair texture

O for Originality - face structure 'that the customer may originally possess'

P for Personality - personality/style 

The combination of these three points allows the stylist to create the best hairstyle for each individual :D

J&J Hair Identity Salon is located in Katong Square, which is super convenient for me whoots.

In case you're not familiar with the area, it's right next to Katong I12 and it looks like this:

Frankly I had no idea there was this place either hahahahah.

Like eh, suddenly pop-up one. 

It's kinda too far inside from the main road? :x

J&J Hair Identity is on the second level, go up the escalator and turn right!

J&J Hair Identity

88 East Coast Road 

Katong Square

#02-11

Singapore 423371

Opening hours: 

Mon - Fri : 11 am to 9 pm

Sat - Sun : 10.30 am to 8 pm

Here's a before pic of my hair (and over-long fringe wtf why does it grow so fast)

General texture of my hair. 

Other than being slightly frizzy sometimes,

I think my hair is generally quite healthy and smooth, and its just that i'm really lazy to style it.

Where got time la, sleep more important.

The salon is spacious and airy, which is really important to me! 

I don't wanna be inhaling the smell of hair chemicals all the time. 

Other than the obvious health issues, my nose itself is also very sensitive. 

Later I come out as Rudolph how.

Aiyoh the magazine rack so cute.

Can't wait to get started!

I was offered drinks and snacks in case I felt hungry (:

How they know I is glutton sia HAHAH.

The use of wood panels and greenery in the storefront, with the metal frame to give it an industrial feel..

I kind of like how the deco brings out the salon's focus on organic products.

Ahem this reminds me of my principals in retail management module hahahah. 

I had Jac Lee, Lead designer and Salon Manager, to advise me on the coloring process!

He gave me a brief introduction on the range of NATULIQUE products I would be reviewing. 

NATULIQUE products are free of Ammonia, Lauryl Sulfate, Parabens, 

and 98.02% of its ingredients are from natural sources.

While most of the colors are natural hair color shades like browns and reds (teehee), 

it would surprise you, but they actually have pastel colors like Lavender, Blueberry and Silver too!

Photo credits to Natulique

Yeah I was kinda stunned too cause you wouldn't expect organic dyes to have these colors.

Their whiteners and color developers are ammonia and parabens free too.

Is it magic.

Jac took the time to discuss with me about my hairspirations (ARIEL hahah) and limitations.

1. I've always had red tones in my hair, so I'd like to stick within that color scheme.

2. My job (actually my manager) requires me to have tame colors, so I can't go for the wild and bright shades.

3. I'd like to have babylights - thin streaks of highlights which blends and looks natural; but red, instead of blonde

4. If possible, I don't mind having wild colors but it has to be hidden in my ponytail #rebelatheart

I'm not an easy customer :x

Jac was very patient though! 

He took the time to consider and think about the best way to incorporate what I've mentioned,

instead of just brushing aside my requests like one of my ex-hairstylists, 

which is why she is an ex LOLOL

Final decision!

1. My base color would be Violet Auburn - a dark purple-red 

2. Highlights in Intense Red Dark Blonde and Intense Violet Mix.

Jac sadly informed me that I wouldn't be able to hide wild colors - which is okay by me la, it's really hard leh.

It'll be easier for me to change job HAHAHA.

He did explain that he'll be doing the highlights not from the top of my head, but lower than eye level instead.
This is so that it wouldn't bring too much attention to the brighter colors.
Wah that's another level of detail sia.

Like there are kit-kats in my hair.

You know the amazing realization I had when sitting through the first round of dyeing?

THERE WAS NO SMELL.

THERE WAS NO TINGLY SENSATION ON MY SCALP.

What sorcery is this?!!

I have highlighted, bleached, and dyed my hair for so long, 

I've always come to expect the sharp tingly feeling and the smell of ammonia.

It's usually the point of time where you'd tell yourself beauty comes with a price HAHAH.

But seriously. I didn't even realize that I was kind of dreading it till 15 minutes into the process.

And I realized that nothing happened.

Natulique is magic. 

Other than the highlights by Jac, I was attended to by Mikko, another hairstylist.

My hair actually got pretty tangled during washing, but she combed it out so carefully I didn't feel much tugging.
*waves* Thank you Mikko, for being gentle, calming and soothing during the wash and scalp massage!

Oh the scalp leave-on treatment she applied for me had a minty tingly feeling,
but it's the comfortable kind la.
I forgot the name of the treatment though :x

After 5 hours at the chair, taaa-daaaa.
Wah their ring light is super legit.

To be really honest, I couldn't see the violet tones, 

but Jac says that it's because the red appears so much brighter hence it seems darker by comparison.

He assures me that the change is definitely there.

Actually I more excited about the red HAHAH.

Here's one with natural lighting!

Okay this one probably shows slightly more purple tones than the artificial lighting. Yay!

I really love how there is a distribution of color, without being too bright on the overall.

Hopefully it's a pass for my manager bwahahah.

Let's see the colors 3 days later, under natural lighting.

I used my color protect shampoo and hair mask - as per my usual practice in the first week of getting a new dye job.

Kind of happy because.. is it me, or did the color become brighter? :D

With the extra processing due to the highlights, my hair texture is generally still as smooth as before dyeing,

but the hair ends are unfortunately feeling slightly dry.

Can't be helped - my hair hasn't been cut for quite some time liao, hahah.

Other than that, I'm mind blown as well, because the red did not bleed off much during bathtime.

My heart always aches when I see the water trickling pink down the drain, 

because it is known that red fades off with each wash.

And you know how you've to wear dark clothing for a week,
because otherwise the dye might cause staining especially when your hair is wet?

Nope. Somehow I didn't kena all those pink stains on my necklines at all.
Towel still pink la though hahaha but eh very good liao leh.

So amazed.

On the overall, J&J Hair Identity has managed to impress me with NATULIQUE's Professional organic salon hair colours,
because I never would have expected that I would be able to achieve such bright results with organic hair dye.
I would say that the best of all is the lack of strong chemical smells and tingly scalp.
Seriously, it made my sitting there so much more comfortable.

Highly recommended for those who are concerned with protecting your scalp and hair while dyeing!

If you're interested in trying out NATULIQUE's range of products,
do make an appointment with J&J Hair Identity (:

Take a look at their Facebook or Instagram for photos of other clients,
or read other blogger reviews here!

______________________________________________________________________________

Just a quick update.
Quote my name 'JASLYNN' to enjoy 20% off hair services at J&J Hair Identity.
Yay for you if you're interested to try!

Review: Essential - Shampoo and Conditioner

Remember Essential's Damage Care hair products?

Images from Google

I used to be an ardent fan of the Premier Rich hair mask - it worked wonders for my slightly frizzy hair!
Twice a week usage healed my hair, which I used to have to bleach or dye twice to get it red.
Then I switched to visiting Shunji Matsuo, and I didnt need such a rich hair mask anymore.

Now, Essential has come up with a new range of hair care products.
Taa-daa!

Images from Google

No worries, their popular Damage Care treatments and hair masks are still available.
What's new is the expanded variants of shampoo and conditioners for daily use!

Now, from my previous experience with the Premier Care shampoo, I found that the damage care range was really effective.
A slight bit too effective, because two weeks after using,
I felt that my scalp was more prone to oiliness before the end of the day.
Maybe because I have a low exposure to heat damage, so my hair doesn't require daily damage care?
So I only continued using the mask.

This new range aims to provide basic, daily care for your hair, and comes in four variants:
Nourishing Breakage Defense, Moisturizing Frizz Free, Light Finish Volumizing, Deep Cleansing Care

Image from Essential

Sample Store has kindly sent me both Light Finish Volumizing and Deep Cleanising Care variants to try! :D

These two variants are suitable for those who have combination hair.
Combination hair is much like combination skin - oily scalp, but dry hair ends.

Very troublesome to take care of :x

You have to ensure that excess sebum is cleared to maintain a healthy scalp,
yet with a too strong shampoo it may dry out your hair ends..

You hope to nourish your hair ends and keep it smooth, but an over-rich conditioner may irritate or lead to an oily scalp..

In short, headache.

So whoever came up with hair products for combination hair, thank you!

Essential uses Smart Cuticle Care and Sebum Cleansing Technology, to take care of your scalp, while nourishing your hair ends.
Best of all, you can mix and match between the variants for the type of treatment you need.
#PersonalizationFTW

Deep Cleansing Care is more suitable for those with an oily scalp,
and Light Finish Volumizing promises natural volume as the formula will not weigh hair down.

I challenged the products on Saturday - went cycling with my clique after work, had dinner and went to sing k.
Totally putting the scalp cleansing ability to the test!

I used this combination: Deep Cleansing Care Shampoo, and Light Finish Volumizing Conditioner.
And while shampooing, I put the shampoo brush to good use :D

Dry demo! Very easy to grip, so you wont be dropping it around in the shower.

Shampoo brushes are apparently very popular in Japan.
The brush massages the scalp as it lathers and removes dirt and sebum build-up.
It improves blood circulation too.
Hehehe plus it saves my manicures from getting chipped when I scrub.

Essential inspired #jtsmani :D

My scalp felt very refreshed after the shampoo!
It remained that way even after I woke up, till around afternoon.
I wondered if it was due to the shampoo brush, so I tried another wash, using only bare hands.
The effect lasted as well; I think my scalp is in love hahaha.

The conditioner however, didn't work any volumizing magic on my hair - but sis says my hair is already usually volumed enough, LOL.
Most importantly, the hair strands didn't feel too dry despite the deep cleansing shampoo,
so I guess the conditioner still did a good job protecting my ends!

Don't think thats what they mean by volumizing.. :D

The Deep Cleansing Care range smells lightly of lychee.. which le bf loves.
Light Finish Volumizing range smells slightly sweeter, like peaches.
Both are not overpowering, so my nose approves :D
Pok's nose approves too, cause the lychee smell lingered after my hair dried.. and he wanted to eat my hair wtf.

Want squeaky clean, soft and edible smelling hair?

Get your free samples of the Deep Cleansing Care Shampoo and Conditioner from Essential!
Visit Essential's Facebook page here to redeem.

And if you love it, you can purchase the bundle pack - Essential Shampoo (750 mL) + Conditioner (750 mL) at $19.60, from all leading supermarkets.
The shampoo brush is included inside! Comes in hot pink or mint.

For more upcoming promotions and updates, follow @EssentialSingapore on Instagram and Facebook!

MY HAIR IS BLUE AND I LOVE IT.

Getting my hair dyed, finally!

Last time I dyed was four months ago, but actually I'm still quite happy with the color. Reddish brown but still more red than brown. Makes sense? :D

Ugly black roots hahahaha. And I've a spaceship circling around my head.

At my third round of bleaching already, cause I'm doing blue hair! And they need to get the stubborn red dye out if not it's gonna be purple. :x.

Gigantic head is gigantic. Guess who?

After five hours of bleaching, dyeing and treatment, here's the final color! Taaadaaaa!

Must thanks my awesome and patient stylist Zenn from Shunji Matsuo 313 for the masterpiece! 
She says it was a challenge for her to do this color combi, cause these two colors are at the opposite end of the color spectrum.

Initially she didn't believe in the combi cause it's too clashing,
and she didn't want to do something which may disappoint, 
but we're glad the final product was so successful! :D

More pics of my two favourite colors intertwined. can't believe I finally have blue hair!

Mandatory photo with @shirleelim . Under some lighting it seems dusty blue!

Gonna brighten the color even more at my next visit. 
Zenn says she wants to see how my hair will take the blue and test its fade-ability, 
before she decides on the shade of bright blue. cant wait ! :DD

I've been going back to Shunji Matsuo 313 ever since my first visit there, 
cause they have never given me a reason not to return. 
Their service is always great. 

Additionally, I'm so thankful to have found such a awesome stylist like Zenn. 
Love her professionalism cause she is really insistent on protecting her clients' hair,
and will not do slipshod work just cause the client insisted on doing so and so. 

She would patiently advise me about the procedures, feasibility and explain clearly the costs, 
so I wont suffer a heart attack at the payment counter, LOL. 

Oh and thats the good thing about Shunji; their prices go according to hair length and are stated clearly on the menu, 
instead of just quoting you a price range i.e. from $108 up. 
in my opinion such fuzzy pricing just means that I always get a varying cost, 
even when the hair length is around the same :x 

For my hair length, its $123 for matrix color and its damn worth, cause the color lasts really well. 
For this time, I did the basic matrix hair treatment ($91), but the CareTrico treatment ($128) is worth the splurge too. 
Usually I'll do that but I kind of spent enough already today. :BB 

They also have packages for their services, which are quite affordable. 

Cant remember pricing though! 
The stylist will go through your needs and suggest the appropriate package, so no worries :D

Right now Shunji Matsuo 313 is having a promotion for DBS/POSB/OCBC Cardholders! Use those cards for payment and get 10% off total bill. Not applicable for packages. (:

Random happy shitz

vesak day was spent at USS, and its my third time going there !
they're having a special promotion for students above 13;
an unlimited pass till 30th Nov 2013 for $88.
usually adult single entry is $74,
so as long as you go more than once its super worth it alr.

immediately upon going there we went for battlestar galactica; cyclon :D
the queue for cyclon was significantly shorter than that of the human track.
probably cause it looked scarier with its inverting loops.
my aunt always said cyclon was 'inhuman' LOLOL.

still the ultimate ride in USS.

other than cyclon, i only took another two rides, the Mummy and Transformers.
wasnt in a rush to go for everything cause got the unlimited pass alr hehehe.
in my opinion its always best to go on a weekday to avoid crazy queuing.
oh and the past two times i went were rainy saturdays, :x

me and ahpok :D

this time we managed to take a photo with Po! :D

he pretended to be tired and sat down floppily on a nearby bench, hahaha.

woody the woodpecker! and his gf whom i dont know her name :x

heheheh chubby baby fishball !

he was sweating so much, his mummy decided to let him go au naturel :B

self- manicure for the long weekend.

a happy sky themed set - featuring clouds and paper planes and rainnnnbows :D

_________________________________________________________________________

Saturday

attending siti aishah's wedding with my colleagues !

super funny cause all of us went to work on saturday dressed up.

all of us except seen, who was wearing polo tee and jeans.

and she was like "aiya die, i dont wanna go liao. or i go home change first?"

then she tried convincing us to swap clothes with her, LOL

_________________________________________________________________________

rise and shine to a beautiful view,

stayed over at Equarius Hotel which my first aunt booked for her anniversary :D

_________________________________________________________________________

Sunday 

loots worth $61 from KissJane inaugural warehouse sale ! 

had been anticipating this sale event for quite some time now,

gotta say that overall it was only meh. below expectations.

firstly, the queue organization was lousy.

me and bimb went there half an hour earlier, and there was alr a long queue.

not surprising cause we've seen worse queues hahahaha.

but the problem arose when a security guard told us tt the queue was for lucky draw registration.

if we have alr registered online we can join the walk-in queue, which was shorter.

so we went over to the walk-in queue.

BUT THEN it turned out to be a miscomm. -.-

walk-in queue is for those who didnt register online, and registered queue would have priority.

omgggg the feeling was like, shit i have to rejoin the long queue?! 

which by then was far longer than forever ._________.

negotiated with the organizer who then kindly let us cut the registered queue :x

secondly, the clothes were a mess !

in the beginning all the stuff were sorted according to the blogshop and corresponding price.

then chaos happened; some selfish person started digging and throwing clothes around.

and everybody soon started doing the same thing.

at one point of time some girls were tossing clothes above bimb's head. seriously.

so end up all the clothes were mixed up and you couldnt really target by blogshop anymore. T.T

nevertheless, both of us shopaholics still managed to get items at a steal :D

rewarded ourselves to Char Siu Tonkotsu Ramen at RamenPlay ! 

still the best ramen so far. 

入口即化 char siu, hot soup, springy noodles, melty egg omgggggg. *drools*

_________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday

trying out the Redken Cocktail hair treatment at Salon Vim@Bugis!

Salon Vim had a blogger's promotion in the month of May - 30% off Redken / Armino Treatment.
been hearing lots of good reviews for the Redken Cocktail Treatment, so wanted to give it a shot.
got discount leh, so why not ! #auntymode

its a four step treatment:
1. hair and scalp analysis to decide which kind of treatment combi + cleansing shampoo
2. strengthening step to reconstruct hair structure
3. shot phix to balance hair pH
4. shot phase - mask and specific treatment are mixed together in a cocktail shaker for your own personalised treatment.

i think step four is the most exciting cause of the cocktail shaker LOLOL.

for my treatment, my stylist Joyce picked color extend + extreme + real control.
and the results are amazing !
zomg so smooth until i couldnt tie my hair properly cause it kept slipping.
its really that dramatic hahahaha.

bimb looks pretty with curls ! :D

my fringe looks fine here but actually its really v toot.

have t tahan till it grows out :x

mango sticky rice from bimb's mom !

love love love that its not too sweet and its really fragrant.

#happyglutton