I’m back blonde…and curly. Happy hair, happy hair!

Since January, I’ve been experimenting with color while wearing red and auburn tones, and even a few highlights but nothing was really exciting to me. They say blondes have more fun and we truly do!!!  Right now, I have four different colors going on which are dark brown and auburn at the bottom and honey blonde with platinum blonde highlights at the top. Fun!

Anyway, every time I post a photo randomly on Instagram, I am asked what hair products I use, so I decided to share on my blog.

While washing my hair, I have been using Mizani True Textures Curl balance shampoo and Curl Replenish Conditioner for the last three years.  I also use Jane Carter Solution’s Wrap Foam while the hair is still wet. It defines the curls while leaving it soft versus crunchy –not to mention it’s all natural products and they sell it at Whole Foods. I’ve tried Mixed Chicks conditioner before and it left the curls crunchy and stiff.

I’m a bed head lover, so I love (more…)

For the past few years, I’ve heard the line, “You have amazing skin!!” every time I sat in a makeup chair with a clean, cosmetic-free face.  I’ve never really grasped the concept of “good or amazing skin” but I’m assuming it means smooth, with no acne, noticeable scars or huge pores. I’ve never had an issue with black heads either (Thank God!!!)

I can probably think my father for my smooth, blemish free skin, but I believe my drug-store skin care regimen helps as well. Ever since I was 16 years old, I’ve faithfully had the same beauty regimen. Every morning in the shower, I’d use St. Ives Apricot Scrub, followed by Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash.  The two combined comes to about 8 bucks at Walgreens, Rite-Aid or CVS.

Just a few years ago, I also added (more…)

I totally want in.

But at a price tag of $56.99 on Ebay. Ouch!

They say red lipstick is one of women’s most powerful allies.

I love seeing a woman who can rock red lips.  (Rihanna immediately comes to mind.)  It screams confidence while giving you a bit of scandal. It’s so sexy.

The issue most of us girls have is trying to find the right shade once we become brave enough to give that red lip a try. The color I adore and recommend, if you are going for that old Hollywood Glamour, is MAC’s Ruby Woo.  It’s so classic and goes well with MAC’s Brick Lip Pencil. ( The lip pencil is very important when wearing red. I haven’t conquered the art of outlining and coloring in my lips yet which is why my lips aren’t the perfect shape in this photo).  The one con of this lipstick is that it’s extremely dry and I would not recommend wearing it without putting on a dab of lip balm first.  If you can’t tolerate the dryness, another really great shade to try would be MAC’s Russian Red.  It’s a bit of a deeper red and it goes well with MAC’s Burgunday lip pencil.

Here’s some chicks that love to wear red and wear it well.

Are you a red lip lover? What are your favorite shades?

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I received the Ciate Caviar Manicure nail kit in ‘Mother of Pearl’ from Sephora about a month ago but wasn’t exactly sure if I was talented enough to ‘do-it-yourself’. So I finally took the kit to a nail shop.  Let me tell you, the application process is way too easy. [You paint two coats of the white polish before sprinkling the microbeads on to each nail one by one and pressing them perfectly into the surface.]

The result is beautifully iced out nails (my crazy term for them).  The cons is that it will probably only last a few days (especially in white as it tends to get dirty fast) but I DO NOT recommend setting the beads in place with a nail gel. It totally changes the whole look and texture and it doesn’t look half as nice.

Ciate Jewel Multi-color Glitter and Oil Slick Iridescent Gold Green (Metallic) are nice as well.

Originally posted on My Tumblr

Just as I was growing bored of new nail trends, the Velvet Manicure is here to save the day.  The manicure features two coats of polish covered with a furry dust/powdery like material.

I recently spoke with Sandra over at The Black Pearl Blog who has tried this manicure in pink, purple and most recently white and she assured me that they are easy to keep clean and they will make it through a few rounds in the shower. She also featured a brief Q&A on her website:

Doesn’t it feel weird? No, it feels soft and fluffy.
How long does it last? About 3-4 days
Does the velvet fall off after you wash you hands? No, it stays on until you remove it.
Is it hard to remove? It takes about 10 seconds to remove the flocking from one nail, with normal nail polish remover.

You can check out a few pics of the white velvet manicure (including a photo of them wet) here