First Twist Out Since BC! + New Products

I'm so happy with how my first twist out turned out! I showed you guys a couple of days ago my hair with the twists I did with Shea Moisture Curling Smoothie. 

Yay!

I also picked up some new products [and replenished old favorites] to try on my hair: 

I tried a second twist out with my Curling Smoothie and the Eco Styler gel I bought and I did not like how it turned out at all! It looked nothing like the picture above! The two differences were: I did it on dry hair [which I was told would help with shrinkage] & I used the gel. I'm not sure which one made my twist out unsuccessful, but it was very frustrating to take hours doing twists and to not have them come out right!


Right now I'm wearing my hair in a faux mohawk with the sides twisted and pinned up and 2 day old twist out.

I had to filter the picture to make it lighter. Look how poofy my hair looks ^_^
Excuse the weird face lol

Well that's it regarding my hair. I'm still experimenting with it and this length. It's still too short to do a poof just yet, unfortunately. Thanks so much for reading!!!

Are Your Lips Pucker Perfect?

Hey Guys! 


Last Week, I talked about my top picks for Spring/Summer lips, but lip color will do your pout no justice if they're dry and flaky [ew!]. So, today I'm going to share with you how I plan to keep my lips perfect during the upcoming hot months! The product I use is the Fresh Brown Sugar Lip Polish:

I have the mini version, which came in this set along with one of their tinted lip treatments, from Sephora.


I've used it a few times and haven't used too much product because it's really packed into the tube.

It smells really, really good!! It's packed with brown sugar crystals and oils like meadowfoam, jojoba, and grapeseed. It also has shea butter and that really helps with moisturizing your lips.




How To Use The Brown Sugar Lip Polish:


What You'll Need:

• Fresh Brown Sugar Lip Polish
• A small amount of water [About 1/4 cup]
• A paper towel or wash cloth
• Lips that are ready for rejuvenation! 

First: Wet your lips with some of the water. They don't have to be dripping, just make sure they're noticeably wet.

Next: Scoop out a small amount of the Brown Sugar Lip Polish

You don't need any more than this!

Then: Apply it to your lips [try not to eat it!] and massage the polish in. I usually massage for about 20-30 seconds because I like to make sure they're exfoliated. It can get messy once your fingers heat up the shea butter, so be warned! Add more water to your lips if you need to, it'll help move the brown sugar granules around. Your lips will look like this:

Not the prettiest sight!! haha

After: Wet your paper towel or washcloth and wipe the all polish off of your lips. You may still have some brown sugar still sticking around, so make sure you get it all off.

Exfoliated & Flake free!!

Finally: Apply your favorite moisturizing balm to your lips. [If you're looking for a new one, check out this post] I used my L'Oreal Colour Riche balm [reviewed here] because it was the most moisturizing product I had on me.

Yay! No Dead Skin!!

You can purchase the Fresh Brown Sugar Lip Polish at Sephora.com or Fresh.com, the full size retails for $22.50. If you want the set I have with the mini lip polish and a tinted balm, you can purchase it in Sephora stores or Sephora.com for $25.

Your lips need exfoliation and moisturizing just as much, if not more, than your face & body. Make sure you take care of them, keep them picture & pucker perfect, and don't forget SPF!! Thanks so much for reading!

 What do you think of this product? 

**This product was bought with my own money**

*Pretty Poll*

What is one color that you stay far away from? Why? 

I haven't found a color I necessarily stay away from. Because of my skin tone, I tend to not go for many pastel or light lipsticks/glosses. It just makes my lips look ashy!

Current Natural Hair Style

Hey Guys!
I've been wearing the protective style of crochet braids since the middle of January [two separate installments] & I love them so, so much, but I was missing my natural hair and anxious to play in it again! I took them down, shampooed, conditioned [and detangled], applied my leave-in, sealed with my oils, and applied my styling product. I'll list all the products I used down below, don't worry! 


For a little background [skip if you know], I BC'd on Nov. 3, 2011 and I have Type 4 hair. If you want to see all the posts I've done on natural hair, just click on the tab up top! Anywhos, my hair is still relatively short and I had no idea what to do with it...so I twisted it up! I like it but it's taken some getting used to. I did it so I'll have curls, but I'm going to leave them up for a little bit and do maintenance on the individual ones that need it!. Ok, enough rambling!


Products I use:

• Shampoo-  Shea Moisture's Organic Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo 
• Conditioner-  Aussie's Deeeeep 3 Minute Miracle [an HG product!!!!]
• Leave In- Giovanni's Direct Leave-In Weightless Moisture Conditioner
• Oils- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Peppermint Oil
• Styling Products- Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie [Thought I had a review on this, but I don't, so it's coming soon!] + EVOO + JBCO

Pictures!

Top/Front

Back [Sorry it's blurry. I couldn't get a focused one!]

Bleh, I don't really like this picture, But I wanted y'all to see how I looked with them! I was on my way to work.

The tips of my hair are the color red because that's the color I'd dyed it when I BC'd or right before I BC'd, I can't remember. My natural hair color is how much its grown in 4 months! I want it lighter but I don't want to damage it by dying it, so is there any henna that you know of that makes your hair noticeably, significantly lighter?! Let me know please! Also, any of you natural followers have any more ideas about hairstyles I can do with my hair at this length? Thanks so much for reading!!

Hunger Games NOTD Pt. 2

Hey Guys!
Have you seen Hunger Games yet?! I'm hoping to go see it this weekend! My first Hunger Games NOTD featured a polish from the actual China Glaze collection. This NOTD is an inspired one by the fire that's shown in some posters.


I used a random red Wet N Wild polish that didn't have a name, sorry! I topped it with Essie's Shine Of The Times. It came out really neat!!

Thanks so much for reading!! May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor.

Calling All Lips!

Hey Guys! 
Spring has officially sprung [how many blog posts have you seen type that phrase? haha]!! Here in Alabama, we really didn't get a winter. We had, maybe a month of really cold weather, but other than that, Mother Nature couldn't decide which temperature she wanted to be. All that said, I am happy that warmer weather is here to stay and I don't have to take chances with my wardrobe everyday! 


I wanted to show you some lip products I think will be nice to rock these upcoming seasons. I love bright lips. I love how it can add color to your wardrobe if you're not too comfortable with wearing something like...orange platform sandals, maybe. This list includes 13 different lip products broken up into 3 categories: Mild, Wild, & *BAM!*




Mild:


These lip products will be for those who don't really want to have their lips look too shocking, but are still looking for stand out colors. These products are also great for those who are trying to slowly transition themselves into wearing more bold lip colors.

• Sally Hansen Diamond 12 Hr Lip Treatment in In Love
• Palladio Lip Stain in Rose
• Palladio Lip Stain in Berry
• Tare LipSurgence Lip Stain Pencil in Amused
• ELF Glossy Gloss in Tangy Tangerine

*Swatches in the same order as the above list

Wild:

These lip colors are for those that are slightly more daring, but not all the way there yet!

As you can see, these are all Revlon Lip Butters. The Lip Butters are a great way to have color on your lips, without having it scream out at you!

• Tutti Frutti [see me wear this, here]
• Gumdrop
• Sweet Tart
• Lollipop [see me wear this, here]

*BAM!*

These colors are in your face. You want to be noticed when you wear these!

• Wet N Wild Mega Last Lipstick in Purty Persimmon
• Wet N wild Mega Last Lipstick in Don't Blink Pink
• Jazz by Diamond Cosmetics Lipstick in Only Orange
• Jazz by Diamond Cosmetics Lipstick in Texas

What lip colors are you looking forward to rocking in the Spring & Summer? I challenge you to push the envelope and wear a bright lip, whether it be Mild, Wild, or *BAM*! Thanks so much for reading!!

Weight Loss Journey

Hey guys!


 I wanted to talk about what I've been doing since January of this year... and that's losing weight! I decided that I was tired of being over weight and once I tipped into the 300lb range [yikes] I knew I needed to do something about it. I am on a weight loss program through my primary care doctor which includes a 1500 calorie diet, an appetite suppressant and a weekly B12 shot. I've also stopped drinking drinks [or soda, pop, whatever you call it lol], eating fried foods, and sugar completely. I sometimes have a cheat day, but I don't make it a habit! I haven't been exercising as much as I should be, but I will get on the ball about that. As of Friday, I've lost 26lbs and I'm very excited! My weight is plateauing now, so it's time to kick up the cardio! I'm already in a smaller pant size! Stuff like that motivates me to keep going. I hope to be down three or four more sizes by May and be #summertimefine according to Brittany on Twitter lol!*crosses fingers* That's my next goal. I really feel determined this time, I want this weight OFF!!


I don't have a set goal weight. Many have asked me that, and honestly I don't know. I've always said that when I feel comfortable in the way I look, I'll stop! I'll try to take pictures for my next WLJ post.

Starting: 308lbs

Current: 282lbs

Some Inspirational Pictures:

[They look great!]

via

via

via

Do you have any tips or tricks you have picked up along the way that'll help? It doesn't matter if it's exercise or food wise, any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much for reading!!!

Silly Lips™ Lip Balm Haul & First Impressions

Hey guys! About a week ago, Silly Lips posted on their twitter that they were looking for bloggers to review their lip balms [Thanks Morena for RTing it so I could see it!]. I emailed them, and they sent the balms right out! A little bit about Silly Lips:


From their website:
Our goal is to show you our different personalities through our products. We love that you can get to know the “silly girls” through their quirky stories located on the back of each box. Each girl is unique in her own way and that’s what makes her so beautiful. Although our company lives by the word “silly,” we do stand by each and every product we create for you by using “serious” ingredients with the highest of qualities.

We are so pleased to introduce our new line of lip balm, silly lips™, and we hope that you, not only, enjoy the moisture and aroma of this universal lip balm, but more importantly we hope you have fun getting to know the “silly girls.”

Silly Lips was created by Leila Larsen 6 years ago in her kitchen. There are three different flavors: Bekah, Katie, and Tracy named after her 3 closest friends, how cute! 

The 3 flavors are:

• Tasty Tracy -Peach Coconut
• Kinky Katie- Vanilla Mint
• Bangin Bekah- Sugared Strawberry

The names are super cute and I love the personal adjectives that describe the different girls. The girls told Leila their favorite flavor, and that's the one that was named after them. There really isn't a taste to the balms and that's because Silly Lips feel that, when there are sweeteners in lip products, you lick your lips more and waste product. Smart Thinking (although I love my flavored glosses!). They smell divine, it was such a pleasant surprise!! These balms are tinted, but the pigmentation of your lips have to do with how much they show up on you.

On to the photos!

The balms in their boxes.

The tins they're in look just like the boxes.

Peach Coconut[Tracy], Vanilla Mint[Katie], Sugared Strawberry[Bekah]

Back of  Tracy's Box.

Back of Katie's Box.

Back of Bekah's Box.

Tracy, Katie, Bekah

Final Thoughts:

I think these are a great thing to have in your bag. They are pretty moisturizing and, as far as I can tell, last a fair amount of time. I've only worn the Peach Coconut and it lasts a few hours, but of course it'll come off when you eat and/or drink. My only complaint is that they're in a tin and I don't really like lip balms you have to dig into with your fingers, for sanitary purposes. I hope, as they expand this line, they'll make a tubed version as well, because I know I'm not the only one that feels that way about lip products!




Silly Lips balms are available on their website. They are $12.50 for .40oz of product. A lot of the balm doesn't need to be used, so these will last you a while! I can't wait to see what else this brand brings out in the future!

Will you be purchasing a Silly Lips balm? Which Girl do you identify with most? Thanks so much for reading!!

**Product sent by company for review but had no influence on my thoughts. All opinions are honest.**

Hunger Games NOTD

I am planning on seeing the Hunger Games this weekend, but I am not as into it as a lot of others are. Maybe if I'd read the books, I would be...and nothing tops Twilight in my eyes...Nothing. Haha anywhos, I've been more   into the nail polish collection that China Glaze released. The one polish I'd wanted since day 1 was Fast Track and was so excited it was included in the mini set! Fast Track is a light beige with beautiful gold glitters throughout. AH! I'm in love!

I could easily wear this alone, but I am really into fleck polishes right now, so I decided to top it with Luxe & Lush since its more on the warm side and can easily  go with Fast Track.

These polishes are so pretty! The flakies can stick off the end [like on my pinky in the picture], but all you have to do is pull it off or push it back onto your nail. No big deal!






Thanks so much for reading!! Have you [or are you planning to] bought any polishes from this collection? Which is your favorite? Also, are you seeing the movie this weekend?! Thanks so much for reading!!!

Lost My Mind In Ulta

Sooo I went into Ulta this past weekend and went crazy. I haven't found my mind yet BTW lol. It doesn't look like a lot, but my price tag was more than I was planning to spend!!

Everything is pretty much self explanatory and visible. The two tubes at the top are the NYX  Studio Liquid Liners in Extreme Black && Extreme Coffee.




What have you hauled lately?! Thanks so much for reading!

*Pretty Poll*

How long does it take for you to apply your makeup? Does it differ depending on the time of day? 

For me, it definitely depends on my laziness and how much I feel like doing. If I'm going out for the night, I take more time and do more stuff than if I'm just going out in the day time, what about you?!

St. Patrick's Day FOTD

This look is more for going out to the club on St. Patrick's Day haha. I didn't mean to make it as smokey, but that's what happened. I really like how it turned out though and if I end up going out, I'll definitely wear it! I can't remember what I used because I pulled stuff from so many palettes, sorry! I do remember that I used my BH Cosmetics 88 matte palette for the greens.

Thanks so much for reading!! Are you going to do a St. Patty's Day look?