PJ'ism

So, I left my house this morning in an attempt to purchase some gel for my hair. Although I love my Curls Control Paste I wanted to try something new. Three stores and two hours later I have returned home with the gel and then some...( -_-)

• 2  .35oz ApHogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor- 1.99 each
• 1 16oz jar of African Formula Super Grow Hair Gel -24.99
• 1 4oz jar Jane Carter Nourish and Shine - 15.99
• 1 6oz Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream- 15.00
• Fulfilling all the desires of my inner product junkie- PRICELESS  = D

Wash and No's...

 CharyJay of 160days2lose2 is one of my favorite vloggers on the YT (yup...that's YouTube). I think she is quirky, I love her style, and her product reviews seem pretty sincere. I can actually  pinpoint the moment when she became a "friend in my head".  CharyJay made a video documenting her unsuccessful  search for her hair's curl pattern. As a natural who rarely sees a curl in her head without a twist out (or after a henna session) I could totally relate. She recently posted a video documenting her last attempt at a wash and go. Finally some one who understands my plight (and why my first and last jar of Kinky Curly remains FULL years after I purchased it)! Take a look...

Happy Holidays...

Hey folks,


It's been a while! I guess I have been caught up in the holiday (and birthday) fervor, but I am back. I hope you all have had an enjoyable holiday season filled with good friends and loving family. I am so psyched about 2012, there are so many exciting events on the horizon. First up, Fro Fashion Week in ATL! Look out for updates in the next few days about the conference, hotel, etc.


My hair: Nothing new in this department! I have been rocking a roll and tuck for the last couple of days.


 I am also considering coloring a small section of my hair soon (when I say soon I mean like tomorrow = D). I will update with pics as soon as I do.  Thats all for now. Ciao!

P.S. About the #reflect11 challenge... I meant well. I honestly did, but I didn't finish. Did anyone try it?

...Faith...

This video touched me. Every once in a while you hit a rough spot in life and wonder, why? Or, why me? I have found myself asking these two questions a lot lately and when I ran across this video it not only humbled me but gave me some things to think about it.

A Gift Idea from Jane Carter...

#reflect11: Day 2

During the year of  2011 I have had more than a few moments that I am truly thankful for:

•  I  am THANKFUL for reconnecting with a few people that I lost touch with over the past few years. From short non-verbal dialogues, blogging tips, and day long brunches I appreciate each and every one of them and glad they continue to be (large or small) a part of my life.

• I am THANKFUL for having the courage and faith to start this blog. Although it is still a tiny fish in a rather large ocean I am proud of my accomplishment.

• I am THANKFUL for having the time, resources, and audaciousness to leave the Unites States for two weeks and travel to Barbados and Grenada. Although at times I  was uncertain of what the outcome would have been in the end I learned a lot and developed myself in the process.

• I am THANKFUL for the growth I have made in my career.

• I am THANKFUL for my new found courage; this year I have found myself in a few situations that required me to step out of my shell and be myself.

• I am THANKFUL for this moment and the ability to count my blessings.

Another challenge....But this time I will stick with it! : )

As I was browsing the net this evening I came across a post written by another blogger, Carnival Divaz,  in regards to a 12 Days of Reflection Challenge created by AyeShanti.blogspot.com. To be completely transparent this post intrigued me because I am definitely in the midst of a crucial time period in my life. As I have been searching for direction, guidance, and a plan for the next steps, I have hit a road block. I was considering continuing my Rosetta Thurman Life Reset Challenge  until I came across this new challenge. Maybe this is where I need to start; simply reflecting on the blessings and hiccups of 2011. So here I go...day 1(I think the challenge is currently at day 3...so be it):

This question was difficult for me because it is a definite toss up between "On the Brink..." and "Valley of Uncertainty". 2011 was the year I started this blog, the year that I lost my car, the year that I traveled to Grenada for the first time, the year that I spoke my truth, the year that I finally decided to get fit, the year that I realized I have so much more ways to grow, the year that I finally decided I wanted to move on to the next step in my life, the year that I felt heartache in a way I haven't ever before, the year I told one of my parents exactly what I thought, the year I realized that it was a time for a career shift...  I could go on for a while. The one thing I know for certain is that 2012 HAS to better than 2011! 2012 will be called "Moving Up and Over"! What would YOU name 2011? What do you plan on naming 2012?

Confessions of a Soca Addict!

"Lorraine doh cry ah leavin..."


Trinidad is calling my name! Although I know the next few weeks will pass in a blur I simply can't wait. I think about carnival during the day and dream about it at night.  Until the moment I can step on a plane all I have is YouTube to satisfy my soca cravings. 

I loved this Machel tune from the time I first heard it, but now that I have watched this video  I LOVE it. I'm still not sure why they tried to kill off  my boy at the end BUT I guess I have to wait for the next video for the conclusion. : (

Tallpree! Just Jab was one of the best tunes to come out of Spice Mas this year. I can not wait to hear this tune in Port of Spain. #Bachanal

I have not loved a Shurwayne Winchester this much song since Dead or Alive (2005). Listen to the tune yourself and see!

Swappi! You already know....

The carnival season is picking up the pace!

Curly Girl Collective-Curl Crush : My Thoughts

When I started wearing my hair naturally in 2003 the natural hair community was NOTHING like it is today. Any natural hair advice I sought out came from stalking people's Fotki web pages and reading the forums on Nappturality.com. Today we Naturalista's have it so much easier. Information about being a natural is at your fingertips via YouTube and Blogs making the natural hair community so much larger yet so much smaller. I love it! The "meet-up" however is by far one of my favorite additions to the natural hair world. Nothing beats being able to talk to a fellow natural one on one, face to face, about all things HAIR! Curly Girl Collective however has taken the meet-up to a whole new level with their last event, "Curl Crush".  This event was designed like speed dating but  for Naturalista's. For 1 minute and 30 seconds  participants sat face to face and asked each other questions about hair.For example, how long have you been natural? Or, what hair products do you recommend for chronically dry hair (that was my question)? When time was up everyone switched partners and repeated, by the end of the allotted 20 minutes you would have received (or given) hair advice from about 10 fellow naturals. In the 20 minutes that I participated I received advice regarding retaining moisture, advised people on my current hair regimen, and shared tears with a new natural who was overwhelmed by the amount of natural hair love that was in the room. How powerful! Curly Girl Collective, I am a HUGE fan of the innovative work you are doing in the natural hair world and look forward to your next events! You all also inspire me! How often do you see a team of women of color  running a business together. I'll speak to myself when I say not often! Keep up the great work.

Sponsor Camarena Tequila created signature drinks for the event. How CUTE! I had the Curly Girl and it was DELISH.

These pictures were placed all throughout the venue. I loved the constant reminder of why we were all there: to celebrate natural hair!

The product swap table! I couldn't find anything I wanted to pick up. : (

Speed Dating!

More Speed Dating!

One of the product vendors at the event.

A sea of Naturals. : D

These are the few pictures I took. If you are looking for more pictures check out Essence.com's Street Style, they took a few pictures that night. They even captured a picture of me. : D

Smoke and Mirrors

Hey folks,

Trinidad Carnival is less than 12 weeks away and I have finally started to buckle down  and get myself in shape. Some steps I have taken thus far are eating healthier (more fruits and veggies) and taking military boot camp classes twice per week. In addition to this  I have been visiting Yuma's website and staring at my Azteca costume in order to keep myself motivated. I have a goal in mind for what I would like my ideal carnival body to look like and I have no intention of relaxing until I achieve my goal. Well that was how I felt until earlier today. Today while on YouTube I came across a video that made me rethink my obsession with having the "perfect" carnival body.

What are your thoughts on these pictures?  How often do these retouched photographs cause you to question a part of yourself?



A New Hair Regimen Is Born

Hey Folks.


As a new year begins to creep up on us I am rethinking some of my hair practices. As you may remember about a month ago I had my hair trimmed by a professional hair stylist. Now that the majority of my split ends have been removed I want to really focus on having healthy, well moisturized, length retaining, hair. Despite trying a multitude of new things over the past year, including protective styling and abolishing all things heat, I have not been able to achieve this goal. For 2012 I have decided to focus on three key things in an effort to have healthier hair:


(1) Low Maintenance Hair Styling- Essentially I will be wearing twists for the majority of the next few months. No Puffs, very little twist-outs, and all in all minimal touching. I plan on simply leaving my hair alone and letting it do what it does.


(2) Proper Detangling- I will admit that I may not be the most patient person.-_- Therefore my previous detangling practices were probably not the best which can lead to breakage and single strand knots.One thing I have learned recently is that the product you use to detangle your hair is just as important as how you detangle. It's all about slip!


(3) Moisture, Moisture, Moisture.- This may seem like the simplest of them all but honestly keeping my hair moist has been a  complete mystery to me. For months I felt as if I have tried it all. From regular misting to sealing and resealing and  by midweek my hair was either dry as a chip or super slick/greasy (letting my soul glow).


With these new goals in mind I decided to make a few changes to my hair regimen. I think I found the winning combination (beginners luck). Here's what I did:

I started off by washing my hair with my two sample packs of Miss Jessie's Super Slip Sudsy Shampoo that I received at the Shecky's Girls Night Out event. Yes, those packs are not that big (.33 fl. oz's to be exact) however I used approximately one pack on each half of my head.  The reason I opted for the Miss Jessies rather than one of my other shampoos (ie. HE's Hello Hydration) was because of the claim on the package, "The best darn detangling shampoo period". I must say that this shampoo has the most slip I have ever felt in any hair product. The only product that I would say comes close to this would be Kinky Curly's Knot Today.  I was tempted to detangle my hair using this shampoo alone but I opted to add my Joico Moisture Recovery Conditioner to the mix. Detangling was an absolute breeze. My wide tooth glided through each section of my hair for the first time EVER! This is a winning combination in my book.

After my hair was fully detangled I rinsed it out and prepared my Rhassoul Clay in order to apply it to my hair. This was my first time using Rhassoul Clay although I purchased it months ago.I opted to use it this time around in hopes of it adding moisture to my dry strands and detoxifying my scalp.

I added some of my Organic Olive Oil, Joico Moisture Recovery Conditioner, and warm water to the clay and mixed with the end of my comb (I had no plastic utensils and was not sure how the clay would react to metal). Unfortunately I did not pre-measure the amount of each  product, my main goal was to create a smooth paste. After completing this I applied the mixture to each section of my hair. The Rhassoul was easy to apply and not as messy as applying Henna ( I was relieved that I did not have to worry about staining my bathroom red).


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Rhassoul applied to hair.

I ended up leaving the Rhassoul in my hair overnight simply because it was already late. I placed a plastic bag over my head then tied it and wrapped my head with my hair scarf. The next morning I simply rinsed it out of my hair while my hair was still in twists. I was concerned that there would be residual clay in my hair but fortunately it was all rinsed out.


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My attempt to show what my hair looked like after rinsing the clay out.

My hair felt AMAZING. It had its own natural sheen and was soft to the touch. Needless to say I was extremely pleased with the results. I applied my Kera Care leave in conditioner throughout my hair along with my Vatika Oil and then twisted my hair in mini twists. I used Kera Care's Defining Custard to create each twist and Jane Carter's Nourish and Shine to the ends of each twist to make sure they remained moist.


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These two Kera Care products are PH balanced.

The results:


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Please ignore that strange stain...lol.

What do you think? I'm actually on week three of these twists and plan to take them down at the end of the week.  I'll keep you all posted on my progress.


~Nelly

NYC Naturals Have All The Fun!

The NYC natural hair community has a few events planned for the month of December. I plan on heading out to a few. Hope to see you there!


Tuesday December 6th 2011:

OR

 

Bechic: Chic and Kinky.com's Holiday Party

To celebrate the holiday season
with fellow naturalistas and good cheer,
we're planning a holiday dinner to end the year!

you are cordially invited to

Chicandkinky.com's

Holiday Dinner

@

AMPLE

15 Greenwich Ave

New York, N.Y. 10004

December 17, 2011

4:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m

On the Menu

Make it a girl's Night out, or a date night

come out and dance, and enjoy the delicious food of Ample 

RSVP for thie event at chicandkinky.com.

This Is Bar-Ba-Dos!

Earlier today my sister sent me a link to what had to be the most entertaining video I have seen in quite a while, World's Strictest Parents -Barbados. The premise of the show, which airs on BBC, is wayward British children are sent across the globe to "stricter"parents in an effort to reform them. From what I have watched thus far most of these "strict" parents are of a different, typically lower class, however I will save my thoughts on the structure of the show for another time. The episode of the show  that takes place in Barbados however reminded me of my childhood in so many ways. All of my Caribbean readers if you don't find this the least bit entertaining please let me know. : D

You don't have 15 minutes to dedicate to part one of the episode? Watch the highlight video: And remember:  This Is Bar-Ba-Dos!!

I love being West Indian! : )

On a more serious note: What  do you think of the way that the "strict" family is portrayed? What about the dynamics of the battles between the British children and their "new parents"?

A Mini Sephora Haul

A few days ago I found myself slack-jawed as I was in  my car conducting my morning "just parked the car across the street from my job" ritual. Why the open mouth stare? My trial size version of Bare Minerals was officially DONE! No matter how many times I tapped, shook, and slapped the tiny jar nothing came out. I was forced to go to work with some concealer under my eyes and a bit of mascara. Not a happy camper. Now I must clarify this by stating that I am no make up maven. I started to wear Bare Minerals because it gave my otherwise exhausted morning face a glow. More importantly it was simple to apply and I could complete the task in less than two minutes without looking like I took less than two minutes. needless to say as soon as I left work I sought out my local Sephora to rectify this situation. With the help of Sade (one of the most patient make-up reps I have ever met)  I came away with some goodies and tips!


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Bare Minerals Matte in Warm Deep and Make Up Forever Face and Body

Sade not only helped me pick out my correct Bare Minerals shade ( I am officially  warm deep as opposed to golden deep girl) she also helped me find a new liquid foundation and try out a few primers. I  purchased Make Up Forever's Face and Body foundation because it was water proof and seemed to give me more of a glow than the HD foundation. Unfortunately I have tried it  twice since I purchased it and so far I think the sheer coverage is not my cup of tea. It feels as if you are not wearing any foundation, which is fine, however it doesn't look like I am wearing any either. Has anyone had any experience with this foundation? How does it compare with the HD foundation in your opinion?


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A few extra treats: Perfume and Make -Up Primer samples

All in all I had a great time at Sephora and left knowledgeable about my purchases. I think I am going to go there this weekend to try out a few lip colors. I'll let you all know if I get anything!


~ Nelly

New Kid On The Block: Beautiful Textures Hair Care Line

The holiday season is officially in full swing and we all know what that means; sales, sales, sales! Lately my inbox has been filled with discounts from companies that I love to shop from. However this year I have noticed an influx of discounts on products from natural hair care companies, including Jane Carter and Butters N' Bars. I personally think this is the perfect opportunity to give some products that you may not have used otherwise a test drive. If you are feeling particularly adventurous maybe you can consider the new product line Beautiful Textures. A few weeks ago I received this invite via email to attend the debut of their product line:

Although I was unable to attend this event YouTube Vlogger, Ms. Vaughn, attended the Chicago launch and reviewed the product line in the video below.

After watching her review I must say I am tempted to release my inner product junkie and give this hair care line a try simply because of Ms. Vaughns enthusiasm about the products. However there is a part of me that is disenchanted by the fact that yet another hair product is on the market promising to deliver curls to us natural ladies. Sometimes I wonder if we as naturals have simply switched from "glorifying" straight hair to "glorifying" defined curls. When do we begin to truly appreciate and more importantly love our hair the way that is grows out of our head? *steps of soapbox* 

Exploring that question is another post for another day. So, has anyone tried these products? If you have, I would love to know what you think about it. I'm always looking for products to assist me with retaining moisture and would love to know if this line does so.

 For more product details check out their website, www.beautifultextures.com.

~Nelly

Another Natural Beauty: Nikki's Big Chop!

A few months ago I introduced you all to one of my favorite people, Rockie as I  documented her  big chop at Khamit Kinks. Well, last week her cousin Nikki decided to take the big chop plunge and I must say she is a gorgeous natural. I admire anyone who is bold enough to cut off their relaxed ends and embrace their true hair texture. I opted to grow my relaxed  hair out while wearing extensions and weaves and although one day I decided to rock my natural tresses I missed out on truly watching it grow and develop. Nikki I admire your audaciousness, welcome to the natural hair fam! : D

FIERCE! Be on the look out for an interview with Nikki explaining why she decided to wear her hair natural and a post chop update!

Have you ever "big chopped"? What was that experience like for you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you and your's a  Happy Thanksgiving!

My Current Lust: Sequins!

Are you seeing sequins every where? No need to rub your eyes because this isn't a dream. Sequins have in fact begun taking over every article of clothing (excuse the exaggeration I am a tad dramatic :D ). But seriously, walk into your local mall and you will see sequins all over tops, shorts, on dresses, and even on beanies. Don't get me wrong I have joined in on the trend myself and have purchased a gold and black sequined top the other day and here is a sequin top I wore recently:

I still would live to know what that symbol means -_-!

But what about pants with sequins? Ever since I saw Rihanna rocking a pair on the cover of Glamour magazine this past summer I was dying to own my own pair.

Yes, I am talking about Rihanna AGAIN! I can't help it! : )



Today as I was browising through forever21.com these sequin pants caught my eye:

$19.80 Forever21.com

Not bad for 19.80? I envision them paired  with a tank top and blazer. What do you all think?

These  two pairs of sequin shorts are currently in my shopping cart as well (in preparation for Trinidad Carnival):



$17.80 Forever21.com

$22.80 Forever21.com



Are sequins a part of your wardrobe?