How to avoid hair fiasco when going to salon

Khunnais, we all agree that hair is not everything in life, right? There are so many other things in life that we all should pay attention to, like job, health, food, parents, boyfriend (or the lack thereof), or world peace.

But wait a minute.. as in the old saying, "hair is not everything in life, but it is a good place to start."

All things considered, every khunnai knows how disastrous things can go when the trip to your favorite salon has gone nowhere but wrong, wrong, wrong. And if you are a real khunnai, you would stay true to yourself and experiment with your hair every once in a while. It's so boring to stick to the same old hair for more than 2 years. And not every experiment turns out to be a good one. So here are some whats-not-to-do to avoid salon-gone-wrong fiasco.

Never, ever get a bang unless you are either really beautiful or really quirky
You have to be on the either end of the spectrum. Or else you're screwed. Bangs really suit edgy faces. Whenever your hairstylist takes the scissors and starts to chop your fringe, be very watchful. It doesn't matter how long you guys know each other. He can still stab you in the back, just like that. And let me warn you, hair once is gone, is gone. You'll get it back, not earlier than 2 months. And if your circle of friends enjoy sarcastic jokes, that horrendous hair bang will forever be the joke of the year, or longer.
OK, if you really want to experiment, try first when long bangs, really close to your eyes, longer than your brows. And then if you want shorter, just go from there.

If you want to curl your hair, go for BIG curls
Curls are nice, aren't they? They give you that bounciness, volume, making you look more feminine & sweet. Well... that works when they look naturally curly and that comes from when your hair stylist uses BIG rolls to curl your hair. So again... be on the watch when he brings small ones. Don't ever be afraid that you'd be rude. It's your head so you'd better have some rights not to like what he's doing.

If you mess up with the first perm, don't fix it by getting the second perm
That will just kill your hair. And it doesn't guarantee that the second one will be any better. It might seem like a silly warning. But trust me, a woman with hair salon disaster would do anything to fix it, even it sounds unbelievably ridiculous like getting a second perm. So be warned. Getting your hair permed twice in a week just makes your hair look & feel like a floor brush. And none of the expensive conditioner/ mask would fix it. You then have to wait for the new grown hair. There is this technique that you can get your tightly curls loosened. It doesn't kill your hair like a second perm, ask for that.

Think hard about coloring & highlight
Coloring & highlight can really make women look brighter, younger, more lively, etc etc. It could also easily go wrong. The simplest rule would be to go for just slightly lighter than your original color. If you have black hair, go for shades of brown, if you want to do highlight, go for lighter brown, but not blond, NEVER blond. Instead, ask for 'lowlight' instead of highlight.

I say so coz I've done so. Just for your info, I have permed my hair with small rolls and had my beautiful fringe cut so short. I hated my hair so much that I went to get the second perm and almost blond highlight, came back home and hated my hair even more. I went to another salon within a week to have them loosen my curl. My hair was in a nowhere land where no conditioner can fix. Only after one year that all my new hair has grown, and I was able to cut off all the curls, that my hair is ever healthy again. So, yes, you can listen to me, khunnais.

Two weeks after my worst hair fiasco (cute kid cannot help)

Six weeks after (still unheathy look)

4 months after: No highlights, just color, see how healthier the hair looks

Only after 1 year that the hair looks naturally curly

For big, important cut, go to familiar hair stylist, or invest, it's worth it
We all know what it means "big cuts". Sometimes we go to just get our fringe trimmed, to get your new grown hair colored, that's not "big cuts". When you go to change your hair style, and hoping to come out of the salon with a changed life, that's the big cut. For those big cuts, pls khunnais, go to the ones you know you can trust. Famous/ expensive/ busy hairstylists are famous/ expensive/ busy for a reason, a good one most of the time. Be patient. Book him properly. You don't want to 'just get it over with' for this. Oh, and for times like this, go dressed in a good dress with some makeup you'd wear regularly (if he doesn't know you well). He'd then know your sense of style and know what to do (and not to do) with your hair.

When you want to move from hair above to hair below, that's a big cut.

Oh well, after all, experiment and have fun. It's another testament to see who really loves you just as you are (and not just when you have a good hair day:)

How to strike a conversation with your foreign friends

Have you ever wonder how to make new friends in a new country where you don't have so many friends, khunnai? Or have you ever run out of what to say to your colleagues, new friends or even strangers? No you don't need to be good at sports, joining the gymm, or holding a sushi party like Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. All you need, really, is you and your tongue. OK, don't get too carried away, what I really mean is your mother-tongue language.

There must be many strange & funny differences between the language you speak and English. There is something innocent about teaching & learning languages. It's like you are inviting another person to get to know you slightly better. So, khunnai, next time when you're stuck at the bar not knowing what to say to a cute foreigner, just teach him some Thai, or Vietnamese, or Tagalog, or Bahasa, or whatever. You're always right coz he doesn't know what's right or wrong anyway.

It's cute, easy, fun, interactive, and engaging. Here are some Thai lessons you can start teaching some foreign friends:

1. ma, ma~, ma+
ma = to come; ma~ = a horse; ma+ = a dog
There are 5 levels of sound in Thai language, and so you could have upto 5 different words with the same basic sound. It becomes even funnier when you try to say that a dog comes to a horse. See this video for a proof.

2. Bangkok
The full name of Bangkok is listed in Guinness Book to be the longest name of any place. There's a Thai song for the name so that young people can memorize it. Usually your foreign friends would drop their jaws since "Phop Nopparat Ratchathanee..." You can even make some money out of it by making a bet before saying it.

3. 4 basic things in life
This one is a newfound one (#1 and #2 have been used again & again). There are so many Thai sayings. So many good ones too. But this saying is about 4 basic things in life that every human needs. They rhyme, so they are easy for foreigners to memorize. They are "Kin, Khee, Pee, Norn". Wow.. it seems less dirty in written karaoke! Well.. they mean "to eat, to take a poop, to ****, to sleep". You can guess the 3rd one. This one is really fun coz people always like something a little dirty.

That should get the balls rolling, really. Remember that us fellow khunnais don't have to try too hard on anything, but a little bit of tips never hurt anyone. But if they are still not interested, then maybe you need to find new friends.

How to pack like a Khunnai #1

As a typical Khunnai would do, having been to so many trips, you probably come up with a set of rules of how to pack in the most khunnai way.

1. Whenever possible, use wheeled luggage.
Don't ever think that you are able to carry shoulder luggage. No you can't. Not more than 15 minutes anyway. Not with all your heavy toiletries and makeup, no. Just go w/ wheeled luggage even if it's a two-day trip and people say you are exaggerating. Extra weight on shoulder doesn't worth it.

2. Throw in another shoulder bag, just in case.
What I mean is.. throw in another Longchamp le pliage traveling bag.
It's foldable so it doesn't eat up your space. And you know, khunnai, that once 2-3 days passed, your luggage is not as neat as when you pack. And, oh, you might shop a few things throughout your trip, so an extra bag is wise. A chic foldable extra bag is genius.

3. Only use traveling sets for toiletries
A true khunnai on the move is a little obsessed about traveling sets. Coz you don't want to carry all heavy bottles, do you? That doesn't mean that you have to compromise on your cleaning & beauty regime. If you live in the UK (or Thailand for that matter), go to Boots. They carry loads of traveling sets for everything. If you live in the cities where you can't easily find Boots, thank god there's Muji where there are all sorts of small bottles for everything, and they're very good quality. So you can simply put your Kerastrase conditioner in the tiny bottle. Also, now, many major brands understand this dilemma & come out with traveling sets. You can find them easiest (and cheapest) in Duty Free shops. I'm sure you can find Estee, Clinique, Lancome, Biotherm, Clarin, and so forth. Even Prada toiletries does traveling set, cheapest at Space outlet, 1 hr from Florence.

4. Maybe it's time to invest in another set of brushes
Khunnais, it's time to get a made-for-travel brush set and simply toss it when you pack. With brushes & makeup, there's one dilemma that you have to use them the morning before traveling. So you risk forgetting to pack your brushes and losing them throughout your trip. Are you sure you can afford that?
Laura Mercier does a good job putting together a traveling brush set, good quality set at good price. Khunnai, do me a favor, leave your larger-than-life brush set at home. You don't want to risk losing your lifetime investment.

5. Pack makeup sets in stead of makeup pieces.
We know you love your eye shadows & your blushes. But you don't have to bring all 40 colors of yours, in fact, you can't possibly wear them all anyway. So go for the collection ones. Pack according to seasons. For spring/summer trips, pack bright colors. For fall/winter trips, pack smokey colors. Remember thou, to pack light shimmers coz they work for all seasons. You can get nice collection sets during December. More on that later.

6. Leave leather bags at home, take a cloth (&chic) one.
We know how much you love your leather bags. They look great on photos too. But they are damn heavy. And during trips that you have to walk more than 6 hours a day, you don't want to do that to your shoulder, khunnais. It's also a great excuse to buy a new bag :) Oh, in this case, don't use Longchamp thou. Coz everybody else would. Go for something slightly less used. Umm.. Prada does a nice job for this fall collection.

That's all for today, khunnais, next time we'll talk more of how to pack clothes.

What NOT to do to end the conversation with the guy sitting opposite you in the train

I have to admit that traveling by train has some romanticism attached to it somehow. Yes it is a mass transportation, but it's not all bad. Especially Eurostar or EScity train which I'd recommend to all khunnai's out there that it shld be your one & only option should you need to travel in Europe by train during summer. Khunnai's, listen..

Don't ever think that you can tolerate regional trains. Don't pretend to be easy-going, down-to-earth, and backpacky coz you're not! Regional trains are non air-conditioned, so it is hot like hell, stuffy, smelly, dirty, loud, and slow. Did I mention smelly? And by smelly, I mean really really smelly.

So of course, when you need to choose which train to ride to go see an 'opera' in an open-air arena in Verona which is an annual opera festival that runs for 87 years, of course you'd go with a Eurostar train even though that means you'd have to ride the train alone. After all, riding the train alone is not so bad, you'd think. Maybe you'd bump into an Ethan Hawk like in Before Sunrise...

Well, khunnai's, what would you do if that actually happened? If there was a guy trying to catch your eyes until even a self-absorbed person like you could notice, and as soon as you looked up from the book you pretended to read, he started talking to you, about Verona, the opera you were about to watch, how wonderful Italy and Verona, where he came from, is, etc, etc. Let's assume you were not in the mood for Jessy search (Ethan's character in Sunrise). Thou he seemed nice and you enjoyed talking to him. You just wanted to be left alone, and not talking to a stranger for god knows how much longer. Khunnai's, listen:

Don't pretend to sleep to end the conversation with a nice guy sitting opposite to you.

...coz you might actually sleep.

And by the time you heard the train saying Verona station, you just woke up, and your conscience was not fully active. So you see that same guy getting up and out of the train, waving you a goodbye, you immediately thought that there might be 2 stations in Verona. Coz why wouldn't he tell you that that was Verona station and you shld get out with him, right? Khunnai's, I have to tell you this:

Don't pretend to sleep to turn the guy off and expect that he'd still be nice to you.

It's OK. So you thought there were 2 stations in Verona. Turned out there is only one, and you missed it. The nice guy turned out not so nice coz he didn't even try to remind you that you have to get off at Verona if you want to watch an opera in Verona. So what? So you'd get off at the next station and buy the ticket to come back to Verona. And you'd tell this story to warn other fellow khunnai's to handle the not-so-nice guy more gracefully when time like this comes.

One of the scenes from Tosca, missing-the-train fiasco was all worth it.

Shampoo without really shampooing, really?!?

Really!

It's ok to tell yourself that you just have to wake up & brush your teeth to look like this (or even to others -- if they believe you). But the truth is you have to wake up before other ppl to go thru your extremely sophisticated network of activities to look like what you look like everyday. Esp the day you have to wash your hair, which is, let's face it, pretty often.

And how do you look the days you don't wash your hair? Well... if you were born lucky with perfect hair even when you don't wash your hair for 3 days, you're one f**k**g lucky khunnai. If not, join the group.

Or not!

Listen khunnais, listen carefully,

From now on you can remain being a lazy khunnai, waking up late, not washing hair everyday and still looking oh-so-fabulous.

I discovered this product about two weeks ago at Sephora. It's a shampoo without really shampooing. How does it work? Just spray on your hair close to the scalp and it will absorb oil on your hair & scalp and build volume. So you look exactly like how you look the day you wash your hair. I bought Sephora own-brand one at around 10 euro for 150 ml, which will prob last for 3-4 weeks given I use it every other day.

And it works. I wouldn't lie to my fellow khunnais (Swear on my Prada white deerskin handbag.) Much better than the grandma's secret of using talc.

So today I browsed in Sephora website, and guess what. There's a whole new subsegment in hair products called "dry shampoo" with many formats: talc, talc + brush, spray. It even has a moisturizer! Retail price is $10 - $25, and with only niche brands. Thou I'm not surprised if mass brands like Pantene, Sunsilk, or L'Oreal would come out with one within 6 months.

So go forth to Sephora near you. Or to illegal imported product shops near you if there's no Sephora. It will give you extra half an hour of sleep 3 more days a week (or extra half an hour to party the night before!). What about the days you go up the mountain and there's no hot water? You have fine fragrance to fix your body odor. Now your hair doesn't have to compromise. And we know khunnais like us would never compromise on anything, would we?

One example from Sephora website:
http://www.sephora.com/browse/section.jhtml?categoryId=C17780

T3 Refresh Volumizing Dry Shampoo

What it does:
This waterless spray cleans hair without water—absorbing oil and eliminating odor while adding instant lift and volume. Available in three color tones: blonde, brunette, and auburn, Refresh blends in seamlessly with natural hair color without the powdery residue and is totally healthy for hair with its Vitamin B6 formulation. The perfected aerosol design allows a precise and even application without the mess.

What else you need to know:
Washing your hair every day increases your chances of losing your hair's precious moisture. Give thirsty strands a break and promote full, thick hair that looks and feels healthy with this volumizing dry shampoo rich in Vitamin B6. Suitable for all hair types, especially for those with fine, limp, or oily hair; it combines well with any styling tool.

Never take a train in Italy without buying a ticket

Or I may say..

Never take a train in Italy hoping to buy a ticket in the train.

You might be able to do that in other European countries, but not Italy, dear. Even when you use your broken Italian asking the conductor whether you can buy in the train and he says that you can but you have to pay extra. Do assume "extra" means 4x face value of your ticket price.

I know... some of you non-khunnais might be saying that this would never happen to you. Of course, it would not happen to ppl who arrive early to buy tickets properly, and have time to stamp the tickets (which is another important thing for you, khunnai!), buy water & snack, and magazine, and even extra time to shoot photos of the train station.

A real khunnai needs to wash & blowdry her hair and pick the right dress and match the bag with the dress and the accessories. So of course, she's gonna be late. Plus she cannot run so much because it is absolutely an unposh thing to do.

It's OK, khunnai, we understand you. Heard of 'rather be later than never'? Now it's about 'rather be later than being fined in the train in front of a lot of people'. This is especially more embarrassing and frustrating when the train is really packed and you have to pay so much to stand in the train that smells ... like anything (more on that later).

So sit back & relax. And wait for the next train. Do not run after the train. It won't stop for you. Or if it does, don't get in without a stamped ticket. The world is cruel, and even a khunnai like you cannot get away this time.

The day Khunnai Guide is born

khunnai

1 entry found
Main Entry: khun·nai
Pronunciation: \ˈkün-ˈnī\
Function: Noun
Date: Since Eve was introduced to the world

1. A female who enjoys living a life involves around comfort, luxury, and pleasure.
2. A female who thinks the world circles around her, thus her well-being is her utmost and absolute matter that cannot be compromised.
3. A state of being that cannot be altered regardless of surroundings around her, as in the old saying, "Once khunnai, always a khunnai".


We all know that an ultimate place to live a khunnai lifestyle is Bangkok, where you can go for a massage every week, where going to gym means you don't have to bring your own towel, where mass transportation is a rare adventure, where you don't have to compromise the frequency you want to eat sushi, and where you can shop every single day of your life and still not turn broke. What if your life is destined to be out of Bangkok? What if someone up there meant for you to 'go out' and 'explore'?

That's exactly what happened to me more than a year ago. And so I thought.. living in Europe doesn't mean that you have to compromise your khunnai-ness. No, rather, I should compile what is absolutely necessary for other khunnais out there who still wants to travel & live like a khunnai out of Bangkok. To be more specific, where else can be a better place than Milano, Italy and Europe, right? So read on, fellow khunnais, and remember that it is always in you, coz "once khunnai, always a khunnai".