NOTD: Zoya Minka

This is 3 coats.
Base: Nail Tek Hydration Therapy II (1 coat)
Top: Poshe'

I ended up filing my length down 3 times in the past 2 days. I wanted to keep the length, but since I am growing out old peelies, I didn't want those weak spots on the tips of my nails. I'd rather have healthy shorter nails than weaker longer ones.

I do like this nude color. Kinda messy on the tips since I shortened the length. But I think it's nice for no-brainer manis or palate cleansing.  Reminds me of OPI Sand in my Suit, but it's actually much lighter.

xoxo

NOTD: Zoya Jo

I needed to wear a medium blue (my current mood...). This is two coats. I'm getting some length now but I've got quite a bit of damage to grow out. So I'm stuck filing down a little length every week for a few weeks. But geez! Look at that color. Who cares about length, right? Preeeetty.

xoxo,
A.

Braid-outs: My New Year's Resolution

Hey guys!

As the title states, I have made a personal NY resolution to do more braid-outs, which is my most hated hair style. I hate them basically because I haven't figured out how to make them look good on me. I see them on other people and catch hair envy real quick, lol. My hair is weird--the tight curl pattern makes for a good styling base, but my overall density and weight of my hair is all over the place so I have to tweak styles to hide that. So it is always a production to style my hair. Yes, having FINE HAIR is a joy *rolls eyes* lol.

But anyway, I want to start liking braid-outs because I like the pattern they create and they stretch the hair out more than twists (on me).

Here's a pic of the braids I put in

That part down the back of my head is the bane of my existence lol...

Products used:
ABBA Pure Gentle shampoo
Paul Mitchell Super-charged Moisturizer (sat under the dryer for 25 min or so)
Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie
Kukui Nut oil

Results:

I was super-duper lazy so I kept the braids in for 2 days. I had such a hard time unraveling these darn things!! I think I braid too fast because I always have these small strands get tangled up when I take the braids down. They twirl around inside braid so it's a PITA when they come down. So it's frizzy before I even get to separating them. I coated my hands with the kukui nut oil prior to separating...I needed to separate them pretty much completely to fill in the parts (that back center part esp!!) but I like that it's shiny and soft.

All in all, I am okay with the results. I will keep practicing.

If anyone has any tips for a successful braid-out, feel free to share. Also how long do you keep it in before you re-do it? Night-time maintenance?

xoxo,
A.

All You Need is Moisture

Hi guys!

I wanted to come on and write about somewhat of a light bulb moment I had recently.  I mentioned a couple of posts ago about how lazy I have been with my hair, nails, and especially my skin.  There is no other excuse for that, besides feeling too unmotivated to really go through the whole she-bang (due to life stuff).  But I realized that even when I slack off in any area, the one thing that keeps me from having to start completely over? Moisturizing.

[Source]

Moisturizing is the key to life, I believe.  If your skin is acting out of whack, itching or flaking, breaking out, etc. No matter if it's dry or oily--moisturizing will fix it. Skin is often temperamental due to dehydration.  If your cuticles look like you are about to grow another finger lol--moisturizing will keep it at bay (and can prevent nail breaks). If your hair looks like "whoshotJohn" and a little bit more, guess what? A moisturizing treatment will usually fix that too.

And let's not forget what 8-10 glasses of water each day can do for just about every aspect of life/body...

So when you are frustrated, or unsure how to fix a beauty issue...stop. Don't go and buy a ton of treatments and then try to make them all work at once. Just moisturize for a few days and then you'll see where you need to go from there.

Hope this helps someone

xoxo

NOTD: OPI Golden Rules!

My first NOTD of the New Year! Trying out a color I have had for years and have never worn.  Mainly because I was under the impression that gold would look tacky on me. I never wear gold jewelry for this reason. But with this polish I can eat my words a little haha

Base coat: Nubar Foundation (trying this out for the 1st time, too)
OPI Golden Rules! (2 coats)
Poshe topcoat (1)

This is a soft-gold color, with a little bit of a green undertone so it's not too yellow-gold.  That is what makes it work on my skin, being that I have those exact undertones. Love this one, definite undercover stunner. Now let's just see how long it lasts on my nails (currently growing out some peelies)...

xoxo

Twisty-turvy snapshot

Here are just a few pics on my twisting attempts. I have decided that this is my favorite way to wear my hair besides the wash n go. I didn't want to admit it to myself because I used to do these so much back in the day, but they really "work" for me.

11/20/2011 set

11/20/2011 set

12/3/2011 set

12/3/2011 set

Right now I am using Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream, Avocado butter, and FOTE Aloe Vera gel to do my twists. Since the December set, I decided I will continue to twist on blown dry hair (tension method). Doing this keeps the length stretched for a longer time and makes twisting go faster. (The November twists were done on damp hair.)

Seriously...when I calculated the time it took for me to re-do my wash n go every few days and compared it to how much time it took me to put the twists in, it was a no-brainer--twists all the time.  Ironically after I took this set down around Christmas (and since then b/c I haven't done them again yet), my wash n go takes less time and lasts longer, lol. So I don't know which I like best at this point. I'll probably switch back and forth between the two styles often--still haven't perfected the braid out yet *sigh*

xoxo

Happy New Year!!

[Source]

Hey what's up! Hope you all are having an amazing 2012 thus far. I know I am very eager to see what this New Year will bring. After such a challenging 2011, I am definitely game for some fun and smiling and all around good vibes.

I didn't really keep up with the blog last year due to so many challenges that came my way. I was so depressed and discouraged, the last thing I wanted was to come on here and try to be cheery.  My relationships with family and friends, the direction of my career and education path, my natural hair journey and overall physical well-being were all just taking a hit.  But I am still here, ready for whatever is coming next.

I have to be honest though, the idea of a blog is still so weird to me, despite having this one for a few years now. As I said in my last post, I am more introverted and immediate when it comes to my thoughts--I will journal tons of things before they'll ever make it to this blog.  All kinds of theories, discoveries, etc.

So that said, I think I am going to try to get more of that on here and share it with you...But first let's get caught up from last year.

Natural Hair Struggles/Realizations:
Ok, so I finally got a trim late October/early November.  The first one since I BC'd in February. And what a surprise, she only trimmed off about 1/2". I just knew I would need more off, but I didn't so I was happy. But...*dum dum dum* my hair was not happy with me. Don't get me wrong, it was healthy and in good shape, but having a trim just knocked my routine over. I'd just gotten used to how it was hanging and laying and to have a trim was a styling shock--even though shape of the hair was much better, it wasn't responding to my styling techniques.

Anyways, I had such a hard time styling that I just gave up and started twisting.  At first I did some medium-large twists and tried those for a few days, then the next set I made them smaller and wore those.  Trying to figure out what would work for me since I have fine hair and some sections are less dense than others. So after a little bit of practice and strategy, I figured out how small to make them and to part them at an angle. It took me 6 hours!! I was so happy with them, I left them in for 3 weeks--and didn't wash them at all. So not like me, lol, but I didn't even care.

Oddly enough, once I finally took the twists out and clarified my hair and scalp something serious, I just threw some random products in there (no planning at all) and my hair turned out GREAT and I got 3, 4, and even 5 day hair, which never, ever happened before.

I plan on putting some twists back in again this coming weekend. I want to leave them in for at least 2 weeks, but no more than 3.  I think my hair (and my sanity) do well with this, so yeah.

There is one particular blog that has really helped me stay motivated when I was frustrated with my hair: Naturally Obsessed. I was so inspired by her hair; I wanted to set better goals for myself, but at the same time keep it simple, since that's really all my hair requires...

Nail Care Reconciliation:
During the summer and fall seasons when I was trying to figure out what hair styles and products were working for me and what could I stick with, I ended up seriously neglecting my nails.  Rinsing and conditioning everyday is ok for my hair, but absolutely devastating for my nails. I naturally have thinner, weaker nails that are peelie-prone so keeping them water-logged is the worse thing I could do.  So when I had my hair in twists, I was able to reconcile them and figure out a game plan. Now my nails are my 2nd highest beauty priority (after skin; hair is #3...or 4 lol). So look for NOTDs more often from me :)

Here's the blog that helped me figure out how to get my nail situation in order: LoodieLoodieLoodie

Skin Care/Makeup...aka BlahBlahBlah lol:
I have been so lazy with the skin care, it's really quite sad.  Luckily the products I use allow my skin to bounce back, but the problem is that I haven't been consistent enough for it to matter (being depressed can do that). So since I have been slacking on that, I haven't been wearing makeup, as that would just make matter worse.  So while that is a work in progress, I doubt I will be doing any FOTDs, maybe EOTDs here and there since I've changed the way I do my eye makeup...again lol.

So hopefully this year will bring exciting revelations and lessons to learn and share! Or at least some funny stories :p

xoxo