Rant about being confronted with stereotypes and issues about China

Something that's really making me angry these days is when people shove their very offensive opinion in my face, mostly about my husband or him being born in China.

Today my coworker told me she heard I wanted to visit China in December or January and I said that it's true, that I haven't been there in years and so on. Then she asked me which city in China we're visiting, and I said "Taiyuan, it's my husband's hometown." and she googled it and said it looks nice. I told her where we went last time I've been there and so on. Then, all of a sudden, she starts: "Well, I think that China is interesting, culturally..." and I already thought: "Ugh, here we go." As expected, she went on like "BUT... I just don't like the political situation! It's so bad" I kindly told her that when I was there, I have not faced any issues with the political situation, but she still angrily told me "But the people in China aren't allowed to do what they want, that's just not okay!" In German it sounded even angrier, I can't translate it properly... I suddenly felt hurt because I thought...

Why would people, knowing that my husband is Chinese, just tell me that the country he's from is basically shit in their opinion?

Especially when they've never been there. I know that China does have some political issues, but the problem is that German media displays China in a very bad light. And people who are easy to manipulate believe it. They probably think that you'll be shot on the streets in China if you speak badly about a politician in public, and that people there are living in constant fear, which is just not true. But then again, they won't change their opinon, or simply think before saying such things. I honestly didn't know what to say to her. It would've been no problem if she simply asked me, in a normal voice "Is it true that in China...?" but the fact that she wanted to see pictures and then just angrily told me that she thinks China is a horrible country proved me that she had no intentions to learn something about the country, but simply wanted to talk shit. I felt disappointed.

Please do me and everyone else a favour. Whenever you meet someone from a foreign country, or someone whose friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife is from a foreign country: Do NOT aggressively confront them with every single stereotype you've heard about that country. If you are honestly interested, you can ask. If you're not, please keep your mouth shut.

You have no idea how often people confronted me with stereotypes about Asians in the past years. Just YESTERDAY someone made a joke about my husband eating dogs. It is not funny. I heard these "jokes" so often that I have no energy to keep explaining myself or my husband's culture anymore. How would you feel if everyone would constantly joke about the person you love? Or if you had to explain over and over that they don't do this or that? 

I had a wonderful time in China and visited a lot of nice places, I can't wait to be there again!

It's also the country my husband was born in, and his whole family lives there - all of them more kind and generous than people in Germany ever treated me. I love the country with its flaws.

And speaking of Germany and flaws. If you wish to complain about political issues, how about we start right here? What about the horrible racism going on right now? What about the refugee shelters that are being set on fire on a nearly daily basis, without media really talking about it? Do you want others to confront you with that. like it is all your fault? Like you are a horrible person for living in Germany, or - god forbid - even liking to live here? Think about it.

Shorter hair

My friend Franzis inspired me to cut my hair a little shorter last Sunday. We were chatting about how tired we are tired of having the same hairstyle for years, how annoying long hair can be at times and how nice it would be to have a little shorter hair now that it's getting warmer. On top of that I had no idea what to do with my hair recently. The ends were dry and damaged because I bleached my hair 2 years ago. I'm currently letting my natural hair color grow out, so I seriously considered just chopping the damaged ends off. And on Sunday I spontaneously did!

After washing my hair I combed it, made a ponytail and cut it off. Xin helped me to touch up the hair I couldn't reach by myself and it was done! Gone is a hair length worth of 1 year of growing, haha! But I don't regret it. It's not that short now and it's a lot more comfortable.

This is what my hair looked like when it was dry: 

And after straightening:

I think we did a pretty good job with the hair cut! Maybe I'll wear it short until my natural hair color has completely grown out, and then consider letting it grow long again. I'm just sick of the bleached blond... at least it doesn't look that bad anymore. The 10cm I cut off looked a lot lighter than my natural hair color, while now it looks more like a soft ombre. I think I'll cut it again when it's getting warmer!

Cherry blossoms

Today Xin and me went to Primark to go shopping for spring/summer clothes. We went really early in the morning because Primark is always so crowded in the afternoon. Unfortunately we haven't found anything except a sweater for Xin for 3€, haha! I was looking for a cute chiffon blouse, maybe with a peter pan collar. But the ones I found at Primark had a weird cut and were completely transparent... I guess I'm not into the trends that are going on right now. Xin said I should buy clothes next time we are in China, but that wouldn't happen before next Winter. Maybe I'll just order clothes from Yesstyle as soon as I have the money~

We were a bit disappointed because we couldn't find clothes we liked, but at least we spotted these beautiful cherry blossom trees near Primark! Cherry blossoms make me so happy, I mean they are pink and so pretty to look at. It truly feels like Spring has finally arrived when the cherry blossoms start blooming.

ETUDE HOUSE Like20 Early Anti-Aging Care Teil 2/3: Finishing Cream (Tagescreme)

Heute folgt Teil 2 meiner Erfahrungen mit den Like20-Produkten von Etude House.

Gestern habe ich euch *hier* ja schon die Emulsion vorgestellt, und nun ist die Finishing Cream dran. :)

Etude House Like20 Twenty Finishing Cream

In dem Tigel sind 50ml enthalten und die Creme hat den gleichen frischen Mentholduft wie die Emulsion, allerdings ein wenig intensiver. Die Finishing Cream verspricht reichhaltige Feuchtigkeitspflege und Verbesserung der Hautelastizität ohne einen klebrigen Film zu hinterlassen. Außerdem ist sie auch frei von Benzophenonen, synthetischen Farbstoffen und Mineralölen. Insgesamt ähnelt die Beschreibung sehr der der Emulsion, jedoch soll die Creme deutlich reichhaltiger sein.

Die Creme ist weiß und recht "fest", aber man kann sie trotzdem problemlos entnehmen und auftragen. Wie man vielleicht sieht, verwende ich die Creme schon länger - allerdings habe ich sie nur gelegentlich benutzt. Ich würde nicht sagen, dass sie überhaupt nicht ergiebig ist, aber ich habe schon das Gefühl, dass man mehr benutzen muss, als bei Cremes, die weniger fest sind. 

Hier ist ein "Swatch" der Creme, auf dem man vielleicht ein bisschen sieht, dass die Finishing Cream eine recht feste Konsistenz hat. 

Nachdem ich die Creme einmassiert habe, kann man erkenne, dass meine Haut ziemlich glänzt - und da liegt auch mein Problem mit der Creme: Sie ist sehr fettig!

Es dauert recht lange, bis sie einzieht und selbst dann hinterlässt sie einen leichten öligen Film auf der Haut.

Mein Fazit

Nachdem ich bisher sehr gute Erfahrungen mit Etude House Hautpflege gemacht habe, bin ich von dieser Creme etwas enttäuscht. Der Hersteller verspricht eine reichhaltige Pflege, die keinen klebrigen Film auf der Haut hinterlässt, und ich finde nicht, dass dies eingehalten wird. Selbst jetzt, bei der trockenen kalten Winterluft, ist die Finishing Creme für meine Haut viel zu reichhaltig und hinterlässt einen unangenehmen Film auf der Haut. Es ist natürlich möglich, dass sie für Leute mit sehr trockener Haut geeignet wäre, doch ich persönlich würde die Creme nicht nachkaufen oder weiterempfehlen.

Ich hoffe, die Review hat euch gefallen! Morgen kommt der dritte und letzte Post zur Like Twenty-Reihe von Etude House, in dem es um das Augenkonzentrat gehen wird! :)

Eure Liya <3

ETUDE HOUSE Like 20 Early Anti-Aging Care - Teil 1/3: Essential Emulsion

Nach meinem Geburtstag im November dachte ich mir, dass es doch langsam an der Zeit ist, sich Anti-Aging-Produkte zuzulegen, um ein wenig Vorsorge zu leisten. Daraufhin bin ich auf die "Like 20"-Reihe der Marke Etude House gestoßen, die genau das verspricht, was ich gesucht habe: frühzeitig anwendbare Anti-Aging-Pflege.

Das klang vielversprechend, denn Produkte für reife Haut gibt es hierzulande ja überall, doch diese sollte man wirklich erst ab einem gewissen Alter benutzen, um seine junge Haut noch nicht mit extrem reichhaltigen Cremes zu überpflegen.

Insgesamt habe ich mir drei Produkte der Reihe gekauft, die ich euch in folgender Reihenfolge einzeln vorstellen möchte:

Eine Emulsion, eine Tagescreme und das passende Augen-Konzentrat.

Beginnen möchte ich in diesem Post also mit dem ersten Produkt, der

Like20 Twenty ESSENTIAL EMULSION.

Die Emulsion wird direkt nach der Gesichtsreinigung und Anwendung eines Gesichtswassers benutzt und dient der Vorbereitung auf die nachfolgende Pflege (z.B. eine Tagescreme).

In der Flasche sind 140ml enthalten und sie verfügt über einen hygienischen Pumpspender.

Es sollen laut Aufschrift Ceramide und Murumuru Öl enthalten sein.

Ceramide sollen der Haut helfen, die Feuchtigkeit besser zu speichern und sich vor schädlichen Einflüssen zu schützen. Murumuru kannte ich bisher noch nicht und musste mich dazu erst mal belesen. Es handelt sich dabei wohl um ein Palmengewächs, aus dessen Samen ein Öl gewonnen wird, welches sehr gern in Hautpflegeprodukten eingesetzt wird, weil es sehr feuchtigkeitsspendend wirken und die Hautelastizität verbessern soll.

So sieht die Flasche von hinten aus. Dort steht in etwa, dass diese Emulsion die Haut straffen und mit Feuchtigkeit versorgen soll und der Falten-Vorbeugung dient und keinen klebrigen Film hinterlässt. Außerdem soll das Produkt keine Benzophenone, synthetische Farbstoffe oder Mineralöle enthalten, was sehr positiv ist. 

Dies ist die Menge, die man durch einen Pumpstoß erhält, und ich kann sagen, dass diese schon völlig ausreichend für das gesamte Gesicht ist. Das bedeutet auch, dass man mit der 140ml-Flasche sehr lange auskommen wird!

Übrigens haben die Produkte der Etude House Like20-Reihe einen erfrischenden, leichten Menthol-Duft. Für mich war der zuerst etwas gewöhnungsbedüftig, mittlerweile finde ich ihn aber recht angenehm.

Hier sieht man, wie die Emulsion aussieht, wenn man sie ein wenig verreibt.

Sie hat eine sehr leichte und seidige Textur, die sich gut verteilen lässt, aber dennoch nicht zu flüssig ist. Sie zieht auch schnell in die Haut ein und hinterlässt wie versprochen keinen öligen Film auf der Haut.

Mein Fazit

Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit der Like20 Essential Emulsion, da sie ergiebig ist und schnell einzieht. Nach der Anwendung fühlt sich die Haut schön weich an, und ist optimal auf weitere Pflege vorbereitet. Ich könnte mir sogar vorstellen, dass es im Sommer schon reichen würde, nur die Emulsion zu benutzen! Bei der trockenen Luft im Winter ist es allerdings wirklich nötig, noch eine Tagescreme zu benutzen - aber diese zu ersetzen soll ja auch nicht der Zweck dieser Emulsion sein!

Deswegen empfehle ich sie auf jeden Fall weiter, wenn man der Haut ein wenig Extrapflege zu gönnen!

Ich hoffe, meine kleine Review hat euch gefallen. Demnächst schreibe ich über die Like20 Tagescreme, also schaut gern noch mal vorbei. :)

Bei weiteren Fragen könnt ihr mir natürlich jederzeit schreiben!

Eure Julia

Happy new year!

I know I'm pretty late with this, but I hope everyone had a nice start for 2015! ^.^

I celebrated with my parents, brother and my nephew, so it was just a small party.

Midnight was special to me, because that was the moment when Xin and I became a couple - 7 years ago! He's currently in China to visit his family, so of course I felt a little blue on New Years Eve, because we couldn't spend this anniversary together. But he promised we will celebrate as soon as he's back! =) Which is pretty soon, too! I can't wait for him to be back. It's tough when you spend every single day together, and then you're seperated for a whole month. I do enjoy being with my family though, and I'm happy so is he. <3

Oh, and he bought me a really nice gift in China! I will show it to you as soon as I get my hands on it, hehe. But Xin has already sent me some photos and I'm really really excited!

Another wonderful thing is that I was able to meet my best friends again. <3 They live far away and I can't meet them all the time. T_T So I enjoy the few days we can spend together.

Franzis and me trying on weird hats, haha! The ones on the first photo don't even look that bad? Aside from my bangs which look horrible due to stormy weather and wearing a hat all day.

But what is going on with the animal hats? Do people actually buy these? Well, you can find them at New Yorker if you're interested! :D

After going shopping we went to have a drink...

They look cute, right? But they were freaking strong! I wish they would've tasted more fruity. -_-

By the way, I've burned my finger on New Year's Eve, by lighting fireworks. -_-

That's the lowest I can move my finger now, even after more than a week.

It hurts whenever I curve my finger a little. Not too bad, but it's extremely annoying.

On this photo ypu can see how swollen it is. (The finger is shiny because I put cream on it).

I hope it'll heal soon! T_T

This was my start of 2015 in a nutshell! ^_^

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My birthday

I turned 24 yesterday! 

I expected the day to be quite boring but it was pretty nice actually.

In the morning I was kind of annoyed because they turned off our electricity for 4 (!) hours which means no internet, no TV, no coffee, not even warm water. -_- But fortunately my sister came to visit me in the morning and we went to the city center to buy cake and look around just for fun. We wanted to go shopping but I didn't even find anything nice. >.<

We've bought a "Donauwelle" birthday cake, it tastes like chocolate, cream and cherries.

In the afternoon my sister's boyfriend arrived at my home and it was the first time we met.

We were listening to classic rock songs, eating cake and drinking coffee until my honey came home. He brought a box of chocolate and a fancy wine for me.

There was actually glitter on the cocolate!

Today I received a package from my friends including a Toothless figure (from the movie "How to train your dragon"), a bracelet and a necklace! It was such a cute gift because they must've remembered that I postet something about "How to train your dragon" on FB the other day! So sweet!

Close up of the jewellery:

Love it, thank you so much my dear friends!

In the evening Xin invited me to Yangtse restaurant in Dortmund. It's a Chinese buffet restaurant with a lot of different things like Sushi, ice cream, rice, noodles etc.

Oh here's something I found at H&M yesterday (the only thing I liked enough to buy): it's a tiny panda!

...which is actually a lip balm! It costs 2.99€ and I have to say the lip balm has no color/taste/scent and isn't even that moisturizing. But I don't mind as long as I get to carry a tiny panda in my bag!

I didn't receive all presents from my friends and family yet and I can't wait because I have no idea what else I'll get! Oh and I also ordered some Korean skin care stuff for me that I will show you when I get it! ^_^