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.

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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

My Thoughts: Natural Hair, The 2nd Time Around

When I went natural in 2001, I was 18 years old, and didn't really have any hang ups about hair. I relaxed, colored/bleached, braided, weaved my hair all the time. I liked long hair, but I think because I was so all over the place, I never allowed my hair to grow long, or even thought about it like that--plus I loved cutting my hair short. Whenever I wanted longer lengths, I'd just wear braids for a time.

I did a big chop after 8 weeks post, right before graduating from high school. To all my friends, it was a HUGE deal, lol. They came with me and took pictures because I was "so brave" :-)  Natural hair care communities on the internet had just gotten started (the discussion forums, and trying out new styles, etc) so really there weren't the resources back then that there are now for people to look in to. So I did whatever with my hair, lol.

And for 4 years, my hair looked the same--no different from my relaxed hair except for it was curly. It was still "blah", so I continued to braid, weave, color, experiment just like I did with my relaxed hair. I didn't do any of the regular care maintenance things that I do now (though I did study the Ouidad method for a time).  In fact, it wasn't until I relaxed my hair again in 2005 that I began to invest the time on the forums and develop a regimen. And realized that if I wanted to make my hair look a certain way, I had to do the necessary work and stay consistent.  Then in 2009-2010, I realized that while all my efforts and dedication into caring for my hair was working and I was on the right track, for my situation there was one factor that was undermining my whole plan: relaxers.  I learned about hair texture, porosity, etc and determined that if I was really going to maximize my hair's potential I had to go back to natural.  So I transitioned for a little over a year (to gather more research on my hair's 'tendencies' lol) and here we are today, entering my 3rd month natural. And off to a much better start that I was the last time.

So, all that to say, I learned a lot about basic hair care by caring for relaxed hair, although that's kind of weird to me, lol.  I think it should have been the other way around, but oh well :)  Anyhoo, going into natural hair now is a walk in the park because of the [informational] baseline that I have to work with. I don't even post on forums anymore or really share in the bandwagon discussions nowadays because to me there is just no need. I am still a PJ, though--that'll never change haha. But I do look at products very differently now that I have been into hair science for over 5 years. And to me, curl type does not matter at all. I remember when I was really "forum-active", all the time board members would straight up say that they would not take the advice of someone who had 3c hair because their own curls were 4a or 4b,c, whatever, but that's just dumb.  Nowadays, I use the same kinds of products that a type 3, or even a 2 would use! What matters now (and should have always been the priority) is hair texture, porosity, density and elasticity.  But mainly texture and porosity.

By Texture, I mean the size of the individual strands of hair (fine, medium, coarse), and sometimes [but not always] the feel of of the strands (silky v. wiry).  This determines what kind of products you should be using and how frequently you use protein (if at all).

By Porosity, I mean how well your hair receives and retains moisture (and how your curl pattern shapes up). Your hair's ability to retain moisture can tell a lot about the integrity of the strand when the texture cannot.  This is vastly important if you are throwing chemicals (color and/or relaxers) into the mix.

IMO, if these factors aren't at the top of your checklist when trying out products or just handling your hair in general, then you aren't even in the game.  While it's fun and interesting to watch other people's YT videos about shingling, banding, twists/twist-outs, bentonite clay treatments, etc., I personally just cannot be bothered with all of that.  Back in the day I spent 4 years doing twists on my hair and it didn't do anything positive or negative to my hair--it was just a style. Now had I focused on the basics of hair science and hair care prior to making certain styling decisions, maybe things would've gone differently (and I probably wouldn't have even gone back to relaxers!! *Real Talk*)...

So to anyone out there looking to step their hair science game up, I highly recommend you start researching texture and porosity.  Also, a good starting off place would be Live Curly, Live Free .  I am not affiliated with this site in any way, I just value the info and am passing it along :)  Even without that, the general internet has tons of valuable information to provide those who really want to learn. Once you learn it, you'll see how simple it is, without all the over-production of some of these new marketed systems and techniques out there.  Save yourself some mental energy (and...maybe some cash lol), y'know?

Peace!

xoxo

FOTD: My interpretation of Pink 4 Friday, lol (+ thoughts)

Hi guys! So I'm sure you all know about MAC's Pink 4 Friday promotion/collaboration with pop artist/rapper Nicki Minaj. See here for MAC Cosmetics promo page.

I am not a super fan of her music, but I do think she is quite a creative and expansive young woman. LOL I sound like an old lady--she's...what...2 years younger than I am, hehe.

Anyhoo, I've been looking about the 'Net on this new lipstick shade, Pink Friday, and I must say that I am all for a sexy Barbie-style pink lip, however I will not be buying this one for the plain fact that I don't think this is the best for "our" skin tone. At all. Pink Friday is actually lighter than her previous fave, Pink Nouveau. Swatches I have seen on women of color have been (in my opinion, of course) quite horrible, to be honest. If you are lighter than NC43-45, then maybe, but then the undertone is all wrong. It's way too cool, imo. I don't even think it looks that good on Nicki, either...

Now, as ingenious as she can be, why oh why would she select an even lighter shade that what she normally wears?? Can you say "mega-jizz lip", people?! This is something that I will never understand. This color doesn't possess nearly as much color saturation and pigment as it should.  Don't get me wrong, though.  We can rock Barbie pinks, but not icy pastel pink!! In order to truly 'rock' a color, you have to take skintone and product pigmentation into account.  And you know all kinds of folks are going to try this lipstick (it's only available online for a limited time, so you cannot try before you buy)...and trying their best to 'rock' it b/c it's Nicki. Using whatever lip liner with it to "make it work", lol. I'm sorry, but there's not enough Currant, Cork, BBQ, Plum, whatever(!) to make this look cute. Esp if you're darker than NM. Bad form, my dear. Seriously. *smh*

Also, I sort of which the proceeds would have gone to, like, a girls' charity, but that's just me...C'mon, you're already going to make tons from your album coming out...but I digress.

So...if you have Pink Friday or plan to try it out, tell me your thoughts...If you like it, or not, and what your other fave pink lippies are. Love to hear from you guys!!


I want to check out Pink Nouveau and see how it works with my skin tone, but in the meantime, I did a look today (a really quick and lazy one--today was a heavy gym day and my arms hurt lol!) with MAC's Fast Play, which is a neutral pink.  Hope you like :-)

What I used:
Face
Becca Concealer Compact - Syrup
Prescriptives Anywear Powder Foundation - Antelope
Brows: MAC Brows - Spiked, Stud
Bronzer: Bobbi Brown Illuminating - Bahama
Blush: Nars Desire

Eyes
Base: UDPP, Bamboo/Brule e/s
Lid: Era, UD Toasted/Hustle
Liner: L'Oreal Lineur Intense (upper), Stila Kajal - Sapphire
Maybelline Full N Soft mascara

Lips:
MAC Cork lip pencil
MAC Fast Play lipstick

Happy Friday, y'all!!

<3

Keep it Simple: My thoughts on Healthy Hair Care

 

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After spending so much time, energy, and money (!!) over the years on a healthy hair journey, I found it quite bittersweet when I realized that achieving and maintaining healthy hair is actually extremely simple.  I think because I spent so many years on hair forums, reading books, and interviewing stylists from all walks of life to pick their brains, I felt like there was some mystical secret that everyone had been keeping from me.

But the truth is...I was the one getting in my own way. Always looking out for the next great product or technique. Always touching my hair, thinking about my hair. Like the saying goes, "A watched pot never boils"...my pot didn't even get warm for years, lol.  I got so mad, so frustrated that I threw my hands up and said, "Forget this!" (well, what I really said wasn't so polite, lol!). And I moved on to other aspects of beauty. Namely skincare, makeup, nail care, and now fitness. I even dabbled into fashion here and there, but I have never been one to follow trends, so that just got me even more frustrated. I digress.

The point is, that while I focused on other aspects of how I could improve myself, my hair started to do its own thing. I left it alone, in a positive way. What the Long Hair Community called "benign neglect". I literally did what I found to be the bare minimum, and my hair turned around. I also had to leave those notions of what "healthy hair care" is, based on the hair forum community standards. I had to stop everything, mentally start over, and do what works for me, nevermind what "they" had to say about it. "They" did not have my hair, or deal with it on a constant basis. I had to trust what I learned and make it work for me.

So, this is my advice to those folks out there that may be spinning your wheels in the hair care journey. Take the advice that the forums, the stylists, the homegirls all give you. But only keep what you can use. Discard the rest. And make your own educated and objective decisions on what works for you.  Experiment with techniques, products, etc., but don't let them run you...There really is more to life than hair. Especially since your hair's health depends on how well you treat the rest of your body.  Just something to think about...

The Bare Minimum:

1. Keep scalp clean: Only wash your hair when it's dirty. If your scalp is oily that may mean every other day. If it's dry, that may be once a week. Figure it out for yourself, not based on some "rule".

2. Condition and Deep Condition regularly: Yes, conditioner should be used on most hair types after every shampoo, but deep conditioning may not need to be done every single wash for every head of hair. Too much of anything can be a bad, bad thing. Most cases, it's more purposeful to deep condition only 1-4 times a month.  Regular conditioner will keep you in good shape in between.  Again, figure out what your hair best responds to, and go from there. And more importantly, do whatever it is you do on a consistent basis. The results come not so much from what you do in your routine, so much as how consistent you are with that routine.

3. Keep ends healthy: I already wrote about the importance of trimming, so I won't go there again, but it is important to keep the ends in tip-top shape in between trims, so that when trim time comes, you won't have to remove very much, if any, length. So if protective styling works for you, do it. If moisturizing and sealing your ends every night or every other night works, then do it. It's all you, my dear.

4. Prevent Damage: Most damaged hair occurs overtime. I know some people out there may disagree with this, but it's true. One unadulterated blowdry session isn't going to completely ruin your hair if you have been keeping it in good condition on a long-term consistent basis. Typically, someone who has heat damage or chemical damage had some damaged parts of their hair before the incident and either didn't know it, or ignored it. How could that happen, you say? Easy.

With a lot of the popular products out there ("natural" and mass-produced), there is the commercial need for the hair to "feel" or "look" a certain way after using a product or tool. Usually it's "slip" and smoothness, or a high gloss shine. But what are those ingredients that provide that slip or shine doing to the inside of your strands? Most of the time, they're doing nothing (or they do the wrong thing for what your hair requires at the moment).  And over a period of time your hair dries out, and it's not protected like you thought. So when you go to use that blowdryer, flat iron, relaxer, or hair color, you end up with huge surprise...

You must do your own investigating of products and determine if what that product says it will do is really accurate for your hair. Clarify you hair on a routine basis and "look under the hood" so to speak. If your hair is dry, it may not be your hair's fault...Go by feel, overall look, and manageability of the hair--with and without product. The more you know about how your hair "behaves", the quicker you can tell if something is working for you or against you.

(Note: For the reasons above, I am a huge proponent of salon quality hair care products. Based on my own personal experience, I find that those small-to-medium sized companies that spend a bit more to conduct in-depth lab and salon testing of their products are the ones to invest in. These types of products, while a bit more pricey, require smaller amounts of product used in order to be effective. And results occur much faster. In my opinion, totally worth a few extra dollars.)

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So yeah, anyway, as long at the four bare minimum principles are upheld, your hair will thrive. Have goals for your hair, but be realistic. If you were born with thin hair, you won't wake up one morning and have thick Amazon Goddess strands :-) The best thing to do for sanity purposes is to just keep working towards the best hair you can have and it'll be there before you know it.

Hope this helps!!

Peace <3

A.

Devil in the Details: My thoughts on the Flawless Face

Lately, I have been looking back at old photos of me wearing makeup, and trying new looks, and I can definitely say I am so glad I bought that digital camera a few years ago. I don't think I would have ever gotten better at doing my brows, finding a perfect (well as much as humanly possible!) foundation match, or even finding the best makeup colors to suit my skin tone.

I definitely feel that I have a long way from perfecting my own "Flawless Face", but I wanted to list here some things that I have learned that I am now practicing like crazy in hopes of mastering :-)

Note: As I said these are just my thoughts and opinions. I am not a professional, but I do passionately study the art of makeup and have learned from many sources along the way.

1. Foundation: Foundation (that is, foundation/concealer/powder) application is the most important part of a flawless face. I once heard from a Nars Artist that great skin is 50% of all makeup applications. Foundation should match your skin; don't let anyone tell you different (especially if you are a Woman of Color!).  If the color of the product doesn't match, it won't work. If you don't set your base with powder, you will be hating life. If you think blending is not worth your time, you are wrong! Also, if your skin care is not on point, you are wasting your time. Check your work in various lights and environments before committing to a foundation. This includes natural light. I remember when I first started wearing foundation and got colormatched and looked like an Oompa-Loompa when I checked makeup in the mirror outside. I had been wearing it everywhere! I was so disappointed. Now I apply my foundation in a window with natural light to check the undertones, making sure the face, neck and chest are all in balance. Taking pictures for my FOTDs is also helpful (when I get to do them).

Remember, the purpose of foundation is to even out the skin tone, not cover imperfections. So, use less product than you think you need and go from there. If you have imperfections that need covering, use a dense concealer only where needed to prevent a mask look.

One final point: Not everyone needs to wear foundation, but EVERYONE should use concealer. I have not seen one person in my everyday life (and in my career I've been around tons) who could not benefit from at least some undereye cover-up. Even it it's a light bit, it's a small gesture that makes a huge difference.


2. Blush/Bronzer: I often see this either overdone or underdone. Most of the Women of Color I know do not use blush or bronzer (or gosh, even both!), but this is the perfect way to get a glow without trying too hard. When using bronzer, take note of your skin's natural undertones. Not your new tan, or your allergies flaring up. Use a big bronzer brush and lightly sweep the bronzer on the outer parts of the face. I think using the "number 3" motion works best to start with, and if you need to add it anywhere else, use what's left on the brush; don't go back for more product. It looks the most natural.

Blush should go on the cheekbones. Not the hollows or apples, the cheekbone. When you first apply blush, the most concentration of the product will be wherever you first place the brush. So if you start at the apples and try to blend from there, you will look like a clown. If you start in the center of the cheekbones and blend out from there, it will blend better and look more natural. Blending forward will give that great flush to the apples; blending back toward the hairline will create a natural transition into the bronzer you applied. For applying blush, I love the MAC 116 brush--it applies color straight to the cheek bone and can blend it. For a more diffused blush application, I like to use the MAC 129, but I use a clean one to blend out whatever color I've applied to the face with the 116. (Used alone, the MAC 129 spreads the color too much for me).

3. Lips:  I am often quite negligent of my lips in looks, but I am working on it. My biggest crime is that while I am very compliant with keeping lip balm on my lips at all times, I hardly ever exfoliate them. Once I do, I am reminded that I need to do it more often, because my lipsticks/glosses last longer and look great.

Lipliners, I'll say, are optional for just basic looks. However, for a flawless face, it is a must. Women of Color typically have a natural lipline, and thus counter reps and makeup artists tell us that we don't need liner, but I disagree! That natural lipline imo is a great base for creating awesome dimension with a liner pencil. We don't have to create a new line, per se--we just trace what's there naturally, blend it, and keep it moving. And yes, blending lipcolors is just as important as every thing else.  For a flawless look, take the time to apply and blend lipsticks and glosses with a lip brush. It definitely makes a difference in the look and the wear of the color.

4. Eyes: I am going to lump brows into this one, even though I could probably go on and on about them separately.  Groom them, please! Even if you don't wax or tweeze, trim them and use a brow gel.  Natural brows without a contrived shape look great and are classically timeless.  Next, please use an eye cream that is truly hydrating. Even if you have oily lids. During the day just apply the cream to the lower occular bone, if this is the case. I have normal to dry lids, but they are sensitive (contact lens wearer), and I am really bad about rubbing my eyes when I am sleepy or removing makeup. I am trying to do better on this, too. Be gentle, eyes can be easily damaged.

Priming the eye for makeup can be simple. You can do either of the following:

• Use a primer, like UDPP, TFSI, or the Nars Smudge-Proof
• Use concealer, then set with loose powder
• Use a cream eyeshadow and set with a corresponding color of powder eyeshadow 

Any combination of these are fine. I tend to use a primer and then a cream shadow, but primer and then concealer and powder is just as effective (again, because I don't have oily lids). Either way, when applying eyeshadow take care to blend colors together well--this does take some practice, but it's worth the effort. MAC has awesome blending brushes for all eye shapes and sizes and makeup looks. Make sure to be aware of the finish you are going for and balance them where needed (frost shadows with mattes, etc). Either way, blend blend blend!

Curling eyelashes changes the game. I never like my eyeshadow applications until I line my lash line, curl the lashes and then apply mascara. Then I am happy! Even if I not wearing shadows, I will line, curl, and then mascara.

Oh, one other thing thing that ties back into #1--set your undereye concealer with loose powder. Press it into the skin gently and then brush away the excess with a small fluffy brush. If the product tends to crease during the day but you need a lot of coverage (like me), press a thin layer of kleenex tissue onto the area to blot it before powdering. Brightening powders are cool, but check different lighting to make sure it isn't ashy on your brown skin.

Okay, I think that's enough rambling for now. As you could probably tell (if you don't read my blog), I am a very detail-oriented person, so having makeup as a hobby is pretty good for me. It's fun to practice and get better at looks and techniques.

Take care, and hope this was informative :-)

Holla <3