Causal Saturdays

Hello beauties! I don't know about you all but I am trying to stay warm here in North Carolina. I haven't done a outfit of the day post because I hate cold weather and who wants to take pictures in the cold? Not I, and I don't want anyone to have to suffer in the cold with me over some pictures. So keep up with my post about hair and makeup because I have been doing a lot of shopping and trying new things!
 I am not a person big on name brand stuff and if I do buy something name brand I don't like it to be known that it's name brand. I love love love Buffalo exchange for those who aren't aware it's a thrift store similar to Plato's closet. I am not a sweater person but I am slowly starting to like them. The boots are great for a day when temperatures are below freezing because there is fur in them! In love well have a great day beauties!

Outfit Details:

Sweater: Ralph Lauren from Buffalo Exchange $26

Shirt: Zara  from Buffalo Exchange $23

Jeans: Old from Forever21

Boots: A gift

Skin and hair renewal 2014

If there is one thing I don’t like is dry skin and dry hair. So with that being said I thought I should do a post on how to keep your skin and hair healthy or how to get your skin and hair soft again whichever one is your situation.

Sometimes before I take a shower I will apply olive oil all over my body and I will let it sit on my body for 10 minutes to an hour sometimes it depends on what all I need to get done. The longer the oil is on your body the smoother your skin will be.

Ways olive oil can benefit your skin and or how you can use olive oil:

• ·         It can protect your skin from skin cancer
• ·         It’s good for eczema patients
• ·         If you mix olive oil and honey together you can apply it to a diaper rash
• ·         Squalene is an antioxidant in olive oil that relieves dry skin. Look for lotions and moisturizers with the antioxidant.

·         You can use olive oil and salt to make a paste and apply it on your face and this helps get rid of acne. Use three tablesppons of olive and three to four tablespoons of salt mix it together until it forms into a paste apply it to your face and rinse with lukewarm water after two minutes.

·         
     Another face mask that can also be used in your hair or anywhere on your body. Is a honey and olive oil mask. Just like Olive oil honey has a lot of nutrients that’s very beneficial to your skin and hair. Use a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of plain yogurt and mix together apply it your face for 30 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water.

 I like to use Vaseline, shea butter or Jergens once I get out of the shower. It’s best to moisturize your skin when you have just gotten out of the shower and your skin is damp because whatever product you are using will absorb. When you apply your shea butter, lotion, Vaseline or whatever you may be using, DO NOT RUB IT IN. Maybe I have said this before and I’ll repeat myself, DO NOT RUB IT IN. It’s best to allow your skin to take it all in, when you are rubbing whatever product you are using in your skin isn’t able to absorb all of the vitamins and good stuff that the product has to soften your skin.

Hairrrrrr Timeeeee!

If your hair is dry not only winter but, spring, summer and fall then try these ideas every season.

During the colder seasons it’s good to keep your mOIListurize (a word I definitely just thought of) I included oil in moisturize because if you are natural then you know how beneficial oils can be to your hair. Oils are not only good for keeping your hair moisturized but also to help hair growth. After doing my research almost every oil does the same thing! Some oils are more beneficial check out my Natural hair products part two to see more on oils! To keep your hair soft and healthy through these cold temperatures I highly suggest a hot oil treatment at least TWICE a month with olive oil (or coconut oil.) What olive oil will do for your skin it will do for your hair, just a little faster.

To do a hot oil treatment with olive oil (or coconut oil), if you have it in a bottle or a tube just boil some hot water and transfer it to a bowl and place the bottle or tube in the bowl and check it every couple of minutes you do want the oil hot but not so hot where you can’t handle at first. Some people say you should do a hot oil treatment for 10 to 30 minutes. I say go as long as you would like, if you feel like your hair needs an hour keep the oil in your hair for an hour. To keep the oil hot so it is effective, put a shower cap over your hair and  boil more water or run hot water over a towel, once you have rung out the HOT water (be careful with that process) wrap the towel around your head. You do not have to repeat this process just leave it on your head and do what you have to do around the house. 

Summer into Winter

I'm sure you all are wondering why I named this post summer to winter. Mainly because this outfit is more for a spring and or summer look and because it's so cold I'm ready for summer! Don't miss out on these deals, mainly everything on this post is on sale. Alsooooo I wore this on my first day of my second semester of college it feels so amazing to say that. It almost brings tears to my eyes because I can't believe I'm in college and enjoying it. I knew I was going to college but I just wasn't expecting to enjoy the experience this much

Have a good day and stay positive my beauties! Remember whatever your mind is set on you can accomplish it.

Outfit Details:

Blazer: New York and Company on sale NOW

Shirt: Old

Pants: Similar on sale NOW

Boots: Belk's On Sale NOW

Purse: A gift

Earrings: Express

natural hair products part two

Now to my oils I say that oils are more important because as a naturalist you have to keep your hair hydrated, moisturizing your hair is the key to maintaining healthy natural hair. Oils not only keep your hair moisturized and soft but they help your hair grow and some oils can even cause your hair to get thicker (something that has happened since I have gone natural).

My favorite oil is featured in the top 10 products under $10 the argan oil morocco penetrating oil since I have talked about this in a previous post I won’t go into many details about it I will just say that I recently co washed with the conditioner and used my shea moisturizer to twist my hair. I applied this oil on my hair after I rinsed my hair out and after I was done twisting my hair. At first I thought I may be using too much of this on my hair, but when I woke up the next morning I thought otherwise I used enough. Majority of natural hair products say use an ample amount, I’m assuming that may be for people with hair that isn’t thick. If you have thick hair pleaseeeeeee I can’t stress this enough ample amount is not enough. And this product is also good for detangling.

My second, third and fourth favorite oils are olive oil, tea tree oil and coconut oil but I will be talking about those three in a another post because they are that serious they need to be in a separate post. Be on the lookout for the skin and hair renewal post.

Avocado oil stimulates your hair can you say woo hoo to growing hair. It has vitamins A, B, D, E, protein. Amino acids, iron, copper, magnesium and heals your dry itchy scalp, which is why I will continue to use anything with avocado in my hair. If you all don’t know I use to suffer from BAD and I mean BAD dandruff some flakes would be the size of my fingernails so Avocado oil is really recommend for people with dandruff issues like me. Let’s just say my dandruff dilemma is nowhere near as horrible as it use to be.

Carrot Oil is good for hair growth it’s suppose to make your hair shine I haven’t experienced that I can’t really go on about this oil. It's one of those oils that aren't as important as the others. 

Lavender oil is new to my oil family, its purpose is to moisturize your scalp, prevent your hair from shedding which I have been experiencing so I will be using this in my conditioners or maybe make a leave in conditioner using just lavender oil. It also gets rid of dandruff another thing I need to look for because my dandruff is slowly trying to make a comeback.

Jojoba oil is good for damaged hair being my hair isn't damaged anymore I can’t say how true that is. The oil can also moisturize your hair, it’s good to use after you have just washed your hair so it can lock in the moisture. 

I hope these two post really help you ladies with keeping your hair healthy, soft, moisturized, growing and beautiful! Have a great day beauties. 

Natural Hair Product Part One

Before I get into what hair products I use I guess I can share my “natural story” January 2012 I decided to go natural because my mom has Lupus and her Lupus caused her hair to then out and my mom had thick dark hair like Kimora Lee Simmons and my mom loved her hair just as much as I love mine so just imagine how she feels. So once I get my 10 inches that’s required I will be doing the big chop again I may let my hair get to 14 inches so I won’t have a TWA.

I am going to start with shampoos and conditioners this is the shorter and to me less important part of the post I know that may seem weird.

It is extremely hard for me to find a product that satisfies me I am a 4C to and I have REALLY dry hair but my favorite conditioner which I have not used in forever, is my dollar general version of tresemme I have done a post about this conditioner and being I haven’t used it in forever I am not going into details but for it to be a knock off brand it works magic and leaves your hair soft and easy to detangle. 

Being I am all about balling on a budget and I love shea butter I thought I would try some cantu products the first product I tried is the leave in conditioning repair cream, I haven’t used this product lately because for a while I wanted to see how my twist out would look without using any type of cream or anything really.  Anyways this product wasn’t really a winner for me because I was expecting it to moisturize my hair, my hair was still dry. I love love love the moisturizing rinse out conditioner I would recommend this for people with 4A, 4B and 4C texture. I noticed that when I use the shampoo my hair gets dryer quicker so that’s something I DO NOT RECCOMMENED but still try it, it could work for you.

To my favorite brand organix I have recently tried the argan oil and shea butter, it says smooth hydration for a reason. At one point I would co wash with this and no other conditioner but I ran out so I had no choice but to use my other conditioners. The smell is heavenly it smells like cocoa butter and leaves your hair soft that’s what shea butter is for! I noticed my hair has really grown since I started using. I recommend using the shampoo 2 times a month and don’t use an ample amount don’t cheat your hair ladies. I use a palm full for one half of my hair then I get another palm full and just go over my hair (this also depends on how much hair you have). If you have a TWA please just use a handful. I recommend the same method when you condition and or co wash. I would recommend this for all of my 3 and 4 texture hair naturalistas

Since I have been natural I have been using the Moroccan argan oil and the smell isn’t as nice as the coconut or argan oil and shea butter.

For Christmas I got some new hair products which of course I can’t right a review on it but I will do a separate post for that maybe for my next beauty product and haul post.

 I want to talk about my new favorite that I hated at first because it made my hair dry but I decided to give it another chance. The reason why my Shea Moisture coconut and hibiscus curl enhancing smoothie made my hair dry was because I wasn’t using enough when I twisted my hair. Now that I use a palm full for one section of my hair (I like to section my hair evenly in “4 squares” then I will comb this through my hair). When I take my twist out the curls look better and instead of my hair being dry the next day it usually takes three days until my hair is dry. The smell is amazing though it does weigh my hair down it works realllllyyyy well and I do recommend this to 3c and all of the 4’s. You can purchase this at my favorite store Target. I can’t wait to try their other products.

Goodbye 2013 Hello 2014

Hey beauties I hope you all brought in the year right and I hope 2013 was just as great for you all as it was for me. I am so thankful for you all supporting me and visiting my blog, continue to visit for more outfit of the day post and natural hair post which I'll be doing one this upcoming week! I hope you all have a wonderful day and be sure to follow my blog with Google and follow me on Twitter and instagram!

Outfit Details:

Blazer: New York and Company

Tops: Charlotte Russe

Pants:  New York and Company

Shoes: Charlotte Russe

Clutch: A thrift store

Ring: H&M

Mr. William Marshall: Makeup artist to the stars

I was blessed with the opportunity to talk with the William Marshall a makeup artist to the stars. Of course I was nervous at first but he just sound so happy so my nerves instantly left. I want to thank my Nana and her good friend Art for arranging this and of course Mr. William Marshall for doing this.

                William Marshall has had a career in make up for 18 years but began doing makeup 30 years ago. He went to an all boys school that was next to an art school, his friends at the art school would invite him to the fashion shows they would have and he would be backstage admiring the work of the makeup artists. His grandmother would give him money to buy makeup that’s when he discovered his gift. Marshall went to Robert Fiance cosmetology school in New York. Years later he started taking pictures of his work to P.R’s at record labels. Shortly after the New Jersey native got his big break from Leslie Pitts who worked at Island Records at the time.

Eighteen years later he has worked with Alicia Keys, Keyshia Cole, Taraji P. Henson, Jon B and Monica just name a few of my favorites! His most recent work has been with the talented Tyrese for the TvOne holiday special.  Marshall has worked with Tyerse for years, doing his makeup for shows, events and magazine shoots. Though he has worked with many celebrities numerous times nothing tops the time he was able to do Lenny Kravitz makeup for a shoot in Times Square. Or when he was able to work Ruby Dee an actress, activist, journalist and the list goes on. Marshall said they were both so kind and welcoming.

                If you have never seen Marshall work or maybe didn’t know it was his work then he always goes for a neutral look. He never encourages a “bold look” with dramatic colors because it will come back to him the makeup artist, if critics bash the celebrity because of their makeup. He says, “People want to look pretty and not crazy”.  A few of his favorite products to use for African American women are Black Opal, Bobbi Brown and the Queen collection from covergirl. For Caucasian women he likes to use covergirl and NARS. Marshall suggest that if you have dry skin use a moisturizer for dry skin and a good primer to use is makeup forever HD, which is great for all skin types. His tip on highlighting is to use a concealer a shade or two lighter than your foundation never go 3 shades lighter or more that will create a ghostly effect.

His additional tips are:

Anyone that is interested in being a makeup artist should find a good class or cosmetology school.

Never go online shopping for any type of makeup products unless you are able to try it on in the store.

Cheaper can be better then expensive products it’s “trial and error”

Once again I have to thank Mr. William Marshall, my grandmother and her friend Art for this opportunity!

Click here for more information on Mr. William Marshall or to see some of his work