There were three things I wanted to fix at 99 Percent Hair Studio: my overgrown looks, my bad haircut (please don't ever trust your precious mane to a neighbourhood salon!) and a switch in my hair colour.
I was bored of my blue hair so I told Nicole, my hairstylist, that I'll trust her to do whatever she likes to my hair since my job allows crazy hair colours and I don't have any particular colour in mind. The end results? I've been getting so many praises for my new galaxy dip dye hair and even had strangers tapping me to ask where I dyed my hair!
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| Flat, limp, over-layered hair with terrible black roots |
My roots were obviously overgrown because I was afraid of bleaching my hair again after a previous bad experience at a neighbourhood salon where the apathetic hairstylist simply slapped the chemicals on my scalp, OUCH. But I decided to let Nicole bleach my hair because I knew I could trust 99 Percent Hair Studio.
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| Tea and snacks provided by 99 Percent Hair Studio |
The hairstylists at 99 Percent Hair Studio were extremely observant, refilling my tea whenever I finish them, and providing me with little snacks knowing that I've been there the entire day. They also frequently checked if I was hungry or needed any takeaway.
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| 99 Percent Hair Studio even provides phone chargers in case your battery runs out! |
To top things off, 99 Percent Hair Studio provides not just power sockets, but also phone chargers in case your phone battery runs out after spending a day at the salon.
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| Olaplex hair treatment |
We got right down to bleaching and Nicole explained to me that 99 Percent Hair Studio uses Olaplex, a type of treatment formulated to strengthen bleached hair.
I've been bleaching and dyeing my hair since the day I graduated from secondary school (I bleached my hair literally one day after my final O Level papers!), and my friends are always very surprised by how well maintained and smooth my hair still is after the rounds of torture I put it through. My secret? A salon who knows what it is doing.
Even after two rounds of bleaching at 99 Percent Hair Studio (my fourth time in a year), my hair remained healthy — in fact, my hair was even softer than it was pre-bleaching — due to the Olaplex treatment.
I bleached my hair twice to get rid of the stubborn blue ends, and Nicole from 99 Percent Hair Studio was extremely gentle when bleaching my hair and the bleach didn't irritate my scalp one bit! In fact, I was so comfortable and relaxed that I kept dozing off, especially when Nicole was washing my hair and massaging my scalp :x
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| Shiny, healthy hair even after rounds of bleaching |
Nicole then dyed a shade of violet over my bleached hair and maintain my blue ends since the colour was extremely stubborn and wouldn't budge even after two rounds of bleaching. The bleach, however, did turn my blue ends a little lighter and Nicole and I both agreed looked beautiful against my purple hair.
Thank you for the gorgeous galaxy hair, Nicole and 99 Percent Hair Studio!
99 Percent Hair Studio
(Facebook / Instagram)
Haji Lane
Address: 40 Haji Lane, #01-01, 189233
Telephone: 6396 3667
Opens daily from 11am to 8:30pm
Katong
Address: 42 E Coast Rd, Singapore 428762
Telephone: 6702 7062
Opens daily from 11am to 8:30pm
Orchard Central
Address: 181 Orchard Road #04-10/11, Orchard Central Singapore, 238896
Telephone: 6238 3667
Opens daily from 11am to 9pm
99percenthairstudio@gmail.com
Iconic Glico Man sign located right smack in the middle of Dotonbori. Glico Man sign first gained popularity among locals who gathered at Dotonbori to celebrate Japan's sports victories as the Glico Man resembles an athlete in a victory pose.
Address
Dotonbori, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0071, Japan
(Glico Man sign is located near H&M and F21, along Shinsaibashi 心斎橋)
Nearest Subway Station
Umeda Station (Midosuji, Tanimachi and Yotsubashi lines)
Opening Hours
Some shops are opened 24/7
Glico Man was only recently revamped with LED Lights in 2014.
I initially wanted to catch sunset at Dotonbori, but the weather in Osaka that day was too misty.
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| Osaka Castle Park (can totally imagine how beautiful the park will be during cherry blossom season!) |
Osaka Castle Park
Address
1-1 Osakajo, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 540-0002, Japan
Nearest Subway Station
Tanimachi Yonchome Station (Tanimachi Subway Line and Chuo Subway Line)
Approximately ¥240 without one day pass
Opening Hours
9am to 5pm daily
Fee
Free for Osaka Castle Park
¥600 for Osaka Castle
You can't tell, but I was trembling in the above photos because the platform was raised high up and if I slipped — a high possibility considering how clumsy I am — I would have fallen into a deep river. In winter.
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| Got over my fear of heights for nice photos #doitforthegram |
Was still a little too full from my airplane food, or I would have darted into one ramen shops along Ohatsutenjin Dori Shotengai for a piping hot bowl of ramen.
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| Tsuyunoten Shrine (Ohatsu Tenjin Shrine) |
Tsuyunoten Shrine (Ohatsu Tenjin Shrine)
Address
〒530-0057 2-5-4 Sonezaki, Kita-ku, Osaka City
Nearest Subway Station
Higashi-Umeda Station (Tanimachi line) (¥240)
Opening Hours
7am to 10pm
Fee
Free
Tsuyunoten Shrine (Ohatsu Tenjin Shrine) is a famous love shrine in Osaka, which tells a story of the forbidden love two lovers — a prostitute and ownder of a soy sauce store — who tragically committed suicide in Tsuyuno Tenjinsha.
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| Osaka day trip |
I always wanted to visit Osaka, the capital of Osaka Prefecture and second largest metropolitan area after Tokyo. Most of my friends who went to Japan followed a Osaka – Kyoto – Tokyo travel itinerary so, call it the fear of missing out, I decided that my first stop in Japan should be Osaka. Air tickets from Taipei to Osaka was also cheaper compared to Taipei to Tokyo.
Thank god for charger ports on the bus from Taipei Main Station to Taoyuan International Airport because I had absolutely to time to charge my phone prior to boarding. Even though I was absolutely thrilled about my Japan solo travel, I was basically a zombie the entire time I travelled from Taipei Main Station to Taoyuan International Airport to Kansai International Airport because I was still intoxicated.
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| Imano Tokyo Hostel Review |
If there's one thing Japan's infamous for, it's their high cost of living — especially in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. After scouring the internet for hostels in Tokyo, I finally found Imano Tokyo Hostel through booking.com, and paid SGD $83 for two nights there. Other than being within my budget, Imano Tokyo Hostel fit all three strict criteria I set for any accommodation during my Japan solo travel — safe, convenient, and clean.
1) Safety
This one's a no brainer. It was my first time travelling solo, and I'm a petite girl too, so I had to exercise extreme caution even on a budget in Tokyo and my safety is my utmost priority. I read through thousands of reviews online — I went from booking.com to tripadvisor, and even googled for blog reviews. So long as I spotted one bad review concerning safety, the hostel, no matter how cheap, is immediately out of my list.
Unbeknownst to many, other than being a popular shopping district, Shinjuku is also Tokyo's red light district. I almost made a deathly mistake by booking a cheap hostel located right smack in Tokyo's red light district just because the address stated Shinjuku. Thank god I caught one of the reviews expressing concerns for female solo travellers.
Since I was going to have a late night with my then-colleagues (now-friends) and I had already seen most of Taipei, I slept in a little before deciding to have a slow day in photogenic spots of Taipei — mainly Heritage and Culture Education Center of Taipei City and Treasure Hill at Taipei Artist Village.
Being a muddle-head who's terrible with directions, I stumbled upon a wet market in Taipei and got to experience local life a little while watching Taiwanese purchase ingredients for their meals.
