Category Archives: Beauty

Axis Hair Salon

I had bought a voucher deal from Social Shopper for a $39 for Shampoo, Scalp Massage, Axis Professional Deep Heated Conditioning Treatment, Haircut, Blowout and Style, Plus a Bottle of AXIS mor & $10 Gift Certificate at Axis Hair Salon (Value $100)

Apparently, the old vintage looking location on Georgia had closed down and there is only now the one on Pender. It’s a super funky salon, square pyramid mirrors, interesting layout, and lots of natural light with all glass windows on one side.

My hair stylist was Steve, a really friendly guy. The scalp massage was really nice. Ah~. The conditioning treatment helped my frizzy, wavy uncontrollable hair more manageable. He did (as often other stylists I find) scrap my scalp too hard when pinning my hair up to keep them up from falling. I wish stylists would be more gentle! Do not jab those metal clips into my scalp! Steve spent just about an hour for everything. I got an inch off my hair. Although I like my bangs long, I find that every stylist will end up cutting it too short…even if I tell them not to. It’s probably because my hair tends to curl, so it looks shorter when dry…

I received a bottle of oil treatment – it smells like Vanilla – OMG it’s so good! I will have to go back to get some more of this once I run out…you massage a dab of it after you’ve toweled dry your hair after washing. Keeps it not only smelling nice, but down especially if you have dry brittle hair. On their website, it says it’s $30. It doesn’t indicate how many ml…but I’m guessing it’s the same size as the one I received, which is 120ml. It’s in a glass bottle with a pump, so after use, you can wash it out and use it for something else – like for shampoo for soap dispenser.

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I was suppose to get the $10 gift certificate to use for next time. They took my email address so they can send it in. It’s been about a few months, and I still haven’t received anything. Ok, so I’m in no rush to get a haircut at this point, but it would be nice. Ok, so I guess I’m a little lazy in not asking them about it…but hey, where’s the service if they can’t do it properly.

Steve gave me 3 cards that give first-time customers 10% that come and see Steve. Not sure if I can use this…I guess not, since I would no longer be a first-time customer.

Overall, the service was good. Steve brought me water while I was waiting for the deep conditioning to set in. We didn’t talk much, but I prefer it that way – not those chit chat people that tells their life away with their stylist. My friend is like that. I think he only goes to rant – almost like seeing a counselor, lol.

For payment,  there was the $2 tax and $1 environmental fee, and of course, the tip. Don’t forget just because you’re using a voucher.
1386 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 4S9

604.609.3535 or 604.685.0200| info@axishairsalons.com
Monday through Satuday: 9am to 7pm
Closed Sundays and Holidays

Service:      Cost: N/A due to voucher

Atmosphere:      Location:

Vision Source FREE Eyeglasses with Eye Exam!

Location:
2625 East 49th Avenue | Vancouver, BC | V5S 1KJ9
Tel: 604-435-3931
Hours:
Monday: 11:00-7:00
Tuesday: 9:00-5:00
Wednesday: 9:00-5:00
Thursday: 11:00-7:00
Friday: 9:00-5:00
Saturday: 9:00-5:00
As a full-time graphic designer, it’s nice to have places that are open after normal business hours and on Saturdays. Unfortunately, also because I’m a graphic designer, and spend most of the day in front of a computer, my eyes tend to deteriorate quicker.
Originally, I was looking for an optometry that offered Orthokeratology which is a non-surgical alternative to lasik surgery. I was getting tired of wearing glasses, and contacts were often irritating since I suffered from dry eyes. I came upon two optometry and sent both of them an email. The other one Mt. Pleasant Optometry was kind in replying in full detail for my questions which I really appreciated. I thought about going there, but it seemed that their schedule was going to conflict with my work. So even though they answered a lot of my questions and were closer to where I lived (in fact drove by it to and from work), I chose to go with Vision Source instead.
The main reason was that I was interested in their free glasses (complete with lens and frame) when you do a full eye exam for $85. I had asked the receptionist on the phone when I made the appointment if the $85 was for a FULL eye exam and she said yes. When I did the exam, it was not the full test that I had done at several other optometry. There wasn’t the colour-blind test, or the pressure test, or those drops that dilated your pupils so much you had to wear sunglasses for the rest of the day. However, I had done one of those complete one last year, so I thought it was ok.
I asked the girl that Dr. Randhawa had assigned to me to help find a pair of glasses for me. I asked what kind of glasses would go well with my facial type/features and she said we can just try them on to see. She suggested ones that totally didn’t look good on me, and she agreed. I went straight to ones that I felt would suite me, and they did. I ended up getting the ones that I knew from the very start – as soon as I saw the rack that those would probably be the ones.Since my prescriptions were high, Dr. Randhawa suggested I get the thinner lens which would cost $48. So $85+$48 would come to a total of $133.
Considering other places charged $120:
IRIS – where I had it the year before
Mt. Pleasant Optometry- stated in their email
Lenscrafters – don’t remember how much their’s was, but I always ended up buying glasses from them which were $300-$400
So I thought it was still cheaper than anywhere else. (although ClearlyContacts is pretty cheap…it just sucks that you can’t try them on to see how it looks on you)
The girl was suppose to measure something for my eye, but she didn’t seem to know how to work the machine. So the receptionist took over. The machine wasn’t turned on…though I don’t know how she got the measurements the first time. I wondered if my glasses were going to be ok. Is this what you get when you pay less? However, Dr. Randhawa did take the time to tell me some tips on how to keep my eyes from getting worse, or how to deal with my dry eyes, so I thought that was very helpful.
The glasses at Vision Source was going to take a week, but I wasn’t in a rush, so that was ok.  When I go to pick them up, I will consult with Dr. Randhawa about Orthokeratology, so stay tuned for the update! :D
See my next visit to Vision Source here when I pick up the free glasses!

Clinique

Do you suffer from acne? Are you an adult, but still breakout like you’re a teenager? Tried everything on the market and frustrated that nothing ever seems to work? Well, then Clinique may be the answer for you.

I was introduced to Clinique by a guy who didn’t seem to be having that much skin problems. But he was trying everything on the shelf, so he knew way more than I did. I have been suffering from severe acne since I was 11 or so. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to the doctors to get it treated. I tried all kinds of creams, but nothing ever worked. It wasn’t until I went to live in Japan that I was given some TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) which REALLY helped. I was super happy. I stopped taking them, but it didn’t get worse again and stabilized.

However, it didn’t mean that I was all free from acne. I still broke out, never as bad as before, but still. When I went on the one year of being on a strict healthy diet, I noticed that my acne significantly decreased. Since then, I’ve noticed that if I eat chocolate, sugar, buttery food, or chips, I break out – so I mainly avoid those foods as much as possible.

To help the skin from the outside, I now use Clinique. I started using the 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula $24.00 CAD and Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion  $17.00 CAD. I wash my face with a gentle soap, then massage the scrub. I rinse and dry. Then I apply the Acne Solution with a cotton pad. After a week, I noticed that I was clearing up. I noticed that I didn’t break out as much. I was really satisfied.

 idearabbit-clinique3Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion  $17.00 CAD

idearabbit-clinique27 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula $24.00 CAD

When I bought the two items, they were doing a special at Hudson Bay where you got a free gift bag with samples inside. One of the samples was the Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator. I apply it at night around my eye and corner of my mouth to soften the wrinkles. I am hoping to buy the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel next time since my Mary Kay’s moisturizer is running out.

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Free gift bag during promotion with creams, lipstick, eye shadows, mascara, etc.

The prices are pretty affordable compare to other competitors. And if you can buy when they’re giving out the free gift bags, bonus!  What I like about Clinique is that they’re 100% fragrance free. That doesn’t mean that they smell like crap. I’m really sensitive to fragrance so this is good.

However, after talking about acne with one of my friend, she said that Clinique didn’t work for her. So I guess it doesn’t work for everyone. Before taking the leap into investing into Clinique, go to one of their booths in major department stores like Hudson Bay or Sears and ask for samples. They’re really good out handing samples out (on certain items though).

Good luck!