itsmegantaylor Archives

THE GIRLIEST CANDLES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT // SOOH YANG

Let me introduce you to the latest Pinterest-worthy candles that you are about to see everywhere. As soon as I saw the gorgeous pink box with large black writing I knew I had to find out what was inside. Within the box is an equally pretty candle which smells like a garden (Itaewon 565). Soohyang Kim is the creator of these little beauties. Kim’s name ‘Soohyang’ actually translates to excellent fragrance so was onviously destined to create her own fragrance company. The brand started as a small stall in an alley in Seoul but by word of mouth grew in popularity and now has stores popping up across Japan and Hong Kong. The candle I have here to show you is named after the original shop, Itaewon 565.

GIRLY INSTRUCTIONS

Not only is this candle adorable but it is perfect if you want to freshen up the smell of your house. You need to burn this candle asap. I love how within the box there is a little leaflet which tells you how to burn your candle with the branded little pink heart plopped around the leaflet. It may seem like an obvious thing, to instruct you how to use a candle, but I actually learnt something. It says you should burn for no less that an hour and no more than 4 hours. If you burn your candle sporadically for 10 minutes at a time you are going to end up with an uneven burn and a rather wonky wick and wax. After learning this I have been burning all of my candles in this manner (yes I am a huge candle fan and have many dotted around the house, even in the bathroom…read my latest post on a relaxing bath).

WHERE TO BUY

SoohYang candles are so new to the UK market that they are only currently available from Amazon, who for some reason don’t have an online store wahhh. The candles are also available at Nordstrom which is luckily online, yet they are already sold out! I have a strong feeling that these candles are definitely going to be a hit, so if you see one grab it quickly.

What are your favourite brand of candles and will you be heading down to Fenwick to pick up your own Sooh Yang candle?

REVLON BLOGGER DEBATE

Last week I was invited to be on a panel of bloggers to talk about all things hair and the blogosphere. On a hot Monday afternoon after a long morning of filming in South London I headed on over to Dalston, down a hidden road to find a little hairdressing gem called Colour World. A converted road had been turned into a maze full of cool urban brick rooms decked out in light bulb letters and confetti balloons…it was Instagram heaven! Alex, Gabriella and I had been invited by Revlon to chat in their own private room…I’m a bit biased but their room was definitely the best looking.

WHAT WE CHATTED ABOUT

We were invited to chat about the hair world and its connection to bloggers, or how they could in fact begin to connect. All of the questions that Laura from Little Light PR asked us were very interesting. Laura touched on topics like, how to reach out to bloggers and where bloggers and our audiences seek for hair inspo.

MY TOP SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS

• Turn your Instagram account into a business account (in your settings).
This way you can see when your followers are most active, where your followers live (city/country) and how old your audience is.
• Selfie Corners.
I do think that hairdressing salons need better lighting and a fab and super cool selfie corner. If salons want to grow their audience and have great content to regram and share across their social then they need their clients to take great photos. I find that salons currently do not have very good lighting and do not make for a great selfie atmosphere to show off what you have had done.
• Pinterest is worthy.
Pinterest should definitely be utilised by bloggers and hair dressers alike. Pinterest is a fabulous place to scroll through to find inspiration. The great thing about Pinterest is that with every photo of your own that you “pin” it can be hyperlinked back to your own site thus diverting more traffic and more business your way.

Watch our debate here.

Why Is Everyone Talking About Matcha Tea?

I feel like in the last year London has gone Matcha crazy, there is even a Matcha BAR!! The Matcha obsession has produced products such as Matcha lattes, Matcha sushi, Matcha ice cream, Matcha cakes, pastries and chocolate. I have even found matcha in beauty products and nail varnish! The most traditional way to consume matcha would be that of Matcha Tea. Why is everyone talking about matcha tea?

What is Matcha
The word Matcha actually means powdered green tea and that is exactly what it is!
Some people have been known to drink it in a shot form. This is how I take my Vitamin C tablets because I hate the flavour so if you want the benefits but hate the flavour this would be the best option for you.

What Are The Benefits
The claims that are made for matcha are impressive and if true then we should all be downing the goods.
Boosts energy
Inhibits tumour growth
Improves immune system
Helps weight loss
Provides an insane amount of antioxidants

How Much?
Matcha tea can be quite expensive to buy if you are looking for a natural 100% matcha. Pure Chimp is fairly priced and even has a starter bag which is only 30g but will last you a very long time. Buy it here.

Matcha Tea
The “IT” drink of the moment is whisked to perfection with a traditional matcha whisk. Unfortunately I don’t own one so I just stirred and stirred until it was completely mixed in. There are many brands selling matcha tea lately and teas that have a bit of matcha in. I have had a peppermint matcha tea before which I loved but I am fairly sure there was such a small amount of matcha in that it wasn’t actually doing me any good anyway. I recently got my hands on Pure Chimp‘s matcha tea which is 100% matcha green tea leaves ground up into a fine powder.

Megan’s Beginners Vegan Matcha Tea Recipe
1/2 teaspoon of matcha tea
Teaspoon of date syrup
Boiling hot water
I scooped half a teaspoon of matcha into my mug followed by a squirt of date syrup. I then filled my mug with hot water to help dissolve the ingredients. I then stirred until I thought everything was mixed together.

The flavour of matcha tea is very earthy and grassy. I definitely feel it is an acquired taste. If are a little unsure of the flavour but want to reap the benefits then you must try my recipe above. I loved it because it was a tiny bit sweet yet you could also just about taste the tea. The perfect morning breakfast tea to perk you up.

Have you tried matcha tea yet? Have you got any exciting recipes you can share with me?

Wedding hair

I recently shot a few videos for You and Your Wedding magazine. They are hair how to videos for brides taught by Ollie Blackaby who is an incredibly talented senior art director at Headmasters.
Check out one of the videos by clicking here.