Tag Archives: Beauty

Dying Natural Hair

A few weeks ago I posted a pic on Instagram showing me in the process of dying my hair…well I’m finally getting around to sharing the results.

I’ve been itching to dye my natural hair for some time now but I was on the fence about whether I should tackle it myself or let a professional do it. Well I had several reservations about letting a professional do it…one, I have yet to find a stylist that I trust; two, what if the “professional” messed up my hair….what recourse would I have; and three, I’ve dyed my hair a million times in the past and loved the results. So what the hay…I did it myself. At least if I messed up my natural hair the only person to blame would be myself, right? Lol

So after months on swooning over all the naturalistas in the social media world with a gorgeous hair color, I discovered MOSEPJONES on Instagram! Her hair color (and hair) is so gorgeous, I absolutely fell in love! So of course I had to ~~stalk~~ look through her pics to see if she ever mentioned what products she used to achieve such a fab color! And lucky me she did! I did a little research on the products she recommended and headed to Sally Beauty a few days later….

Ion Demi Permanent Creme Hair Color in Light Burgundy Blonde, Ion Sensitive Scalp Level 10 Developer and the Annie Large Dye Brush (which I already had)

I’ve seen Ion products in Sally Beauty before and even gave them a once over a few times. After researching I found that demi-permenant would be a good fit…it’s been a while since I’ve dyed my hair at home and I’ve become extremely cautious about what I do to my hair since I’ve gone natural. I like that the demi-permanent color last longer than semi-permanent color but isn’t as damaging as permanent color. And it gives me a chance to give the color a little test run before committing to a permanent shade. Check out the process below….

Here’s everything I used.

Washed, condtioned, product-free, dry hair.

Washed, conditioned, product-free, dry hair in three sections.

The mixture: 1 full tube of hair color and 1/2 bottle of developer.

Ready to go under the dryer.

35 minutes under the dryer

The Ion Demi-Permanent Creme Hair Color was so easy to use. I followed the directions on the packaging and no problems what so ever. I did sit under the dryer an extra 5 minutes or so but that’s because I wasn’t quite sure when I went under…lol. Check out the final results….

The immediate results…product free wet hair.

The results…twist out the next day.

The results…four day hair.

Well, I knew going in that the results weren’t going to be nearly as red as I would have liked or even close to that of MOSEPHJONES. But you do see a hint of red…*sigh* in the light. I’m going to keep like this for a few weeks before attempting anything else. I have discovered a salon in my area that specializes in natural hair so I might hit them up for a consultation and see what they know about dying natural hair…maybe.

So what do y’all think of the results? Do you think I should keep my natural hair this shade or go a little redder (if that’s a word)? What are thought about dying natural hair?

Free Beauty Events – June 2013

The Pillow Box – May 2013

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I hope that everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! I know I did…I enjoyed great company and ate myself silly, lol. I even had a chance to play around with some of the goodies from the May Pillow Box, that actually received about two weeks ago. I’ve been so busy with the kiddos and their end of the school year stuff that I haven’t had a chance to share it with y’all.

If you’re not familiar with My Shade of Brown, it’s a monthly beauty subscription service with products geared towards women of color, I’ve posted about them before here and here. I absolutely love My Shade of Brown….it’s totally affordable! For just $10/month you can have the Pillow Box, filled fit beauty products and samples delivered right to your door. And trust me when I say the Pillow Box never seems to disappoint! Look at what came in this month’s box…

The May Pillow Box

olive.milk.honey Brighten and Balance Bar

Soft Sheen Carson AMLA Legend Rejuvinating Oil Moisturizer

Soft Sheen Carson AMLA Legend Rejuvenating Oil Moisturizer

Nivea Q10 Advanced Wrinkle Reducer Night Creme

Mia BelleZZa Color Stick in Fabulous

Mia BelleZZa Color Stick in Fabulous swatched.

So what do you think about the May Pillow Box? I would have to say my favs are the olive.milk.honey Brighten and Balance Bar, which smells amazing and the Miz BelleZZa Color Stick.

To find out more about My Shade of Brown and the Pillow Box subscription check out their website. And you can also follow them on , Twitter, Instagram and like them on FaceBook.

What is your fav product from the May Pillow Box? What monthly beauty subscriptions to you use? Did you do anything exciting Memorial Day weekend?

Just Another MANICure Monday: Julep Maven Review

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I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that I had just recently signed up for the nail subscription box, Julep Maven and since I rocking “naked nails” right now I decided to do a review of Julep Maven instead of my normal Just Another MANICure Monday post.

If you follow me on Instagram or FB (and I hope you do) then you know how much of a couponer/bargain shopper I am…so I usually only purchase nail polish when it goes on sale or clearance. Rarely do I ever pay full price and the thought of paying over $5 is just ridiculous to me…feel free to judge that last statement. But after months and months of seeing/reading bloggers rave about Julep Maven, I finally broke down and signed up. The straw that broke the camels back was when I received an email from Julep Maven saying that the first box was on them and all I had to pay was $3.99 for shipping. Although that’s not totally FREE I thought it was a pretty awesome deal especially for a service that gets so many great reviews.

For those of you that may not be familiar with Julep Maven, it’s a monthly subscription service that “delivers exclusive access to at least $40 worth of products handpicked to suit your style” for only $19.99/month. Signing up is easy…basically you just answer the Julep Maven style quiz questions and your introductory box is shipped within 3 business days.

According the Julep Maven style quiz, I’m an “It Girl!” I placed my order on Monday and sure enough it arrived on Thursday…a total plus for me! In my excitement I opened the box immediately and swatched each polish right then. Check out what I received in the May “It Girl” box….

The “It Girl” May introductory box included three full-sized nail polishes, a nail polish remover pad and an emery board.

Simone

The picture above doesn’t do this particular shade any justice…Simone is actually a beautiful pastel lilac with a little iridescence (which I just noticed). I did a post rocking this shade which will give you a better idea of how pretty it really is.

Carly

Carly speaks for herself in this picture. As you can see it’s a bright, bold blue glitter. I probably won’t rock this shade alone but I think it will definitely make for an awesome accent over another shade.

Stefani

Stefani is an interesting shade…it’s a metallic grey polish with flecks of gold glitter. This one is not necessarily my favorite but I’m sure I’ll find something fun to do with it.

Bonus items

The nail polish remover pad, which will come in handy when I’m on road/traveling this summer, and the emery board were my two bonus items. As you can see I’ve already used the emery board…it works. Lol

So what’s the final verdict of my first Julep Maven box? I love it! I paid just $3.99 for over $40 worth of nail products. You definitely can’t beat that! What I like even more is that I can skip boxes if I’m not in love with my monthly picks and I can cancel at anytime. To score you first Julep Maven box FREE enter code FREEBOX at checkout.

Although I didn’t get a chance to share an actual mani today, you should definitely head over to Lipgloss and Binky and see what the other ladies are rocing on their nails. MANICure Monday is a weekly nail polish/mani link-up that is rotated between Mimi of Lipgloss and Binky and Effie Lynn of LA Lynn’s. Check it out!

Which polish is your favorite? Are you a Maven? Did you get a May Julep box? What is your Julep Maven style profile? Do you subscribe to any monthly beauty subscription services?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links! Sign up and become a Maven too…help me score a free box! xoxo

Just Another MANICure Monday: Didn’t Make the Cut

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I hope y’all enjoyed your Mother’s Day weekend. I had a chance to visit my folks and my grandparents which is always a treat. Since I was out-of-town, I didn’t get a chance or even feel like doing anything extra special with my nails. I ended up rocking a pretty neutral nail polish…a little on the blah side and not really worth sharing in my opinion. So this weeks MANICure Monday post is going to be a little different. I’ve decided to share the mani’s that didn’t quite make the Just Another MANICure Monday list for whatever reason…

This is one of my favs and I’m not sure why I never posted it.

Can you see the purple glitter?

This mani was a complete fail…smh

My St. Patrick’s Day Mani

I’m not sure what I was trying to do here, but I like the color combo.

MANICure Monday is a weekly nail polish/mani link-up that is rotated between Mimi of Lipgloss and Binky and Effie Lynn of LA Lynn’s. This week you can head over to LA Lynn’s to see more fab mani’s.

What are you rocking on your nails this week? Do you have a fav mani color? Did you do anything special this weekend?

Free Beauty Events April 2013

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So first let me apologize in advance for posting about the Free Beauty Events so late in the month, I hope y’all understand. With that being said let’s get right to it…

If you’ve been following the blog for a while then you know I post about Free Beauty Events every month. Why, you ask? One, I’m a fan of freebies and deals. Two, sharing is caring so it’s only right that I share the freebies and deals with y’all. And three, I’m addicted to all things beauty related. So what I love so much about Free Beauty Events is that it combines my love for freebies/deals with my love for all things beauty. A total win-win for me. Each month Free Beauty Events lists FREE makeovers, gifts with purchase, spa open houses and sampling events happening at various local beauty retailers, spas and salons across the US. And finding out what events are going in your area is easy….just head over to Free Beauty Events, enter you your zip code here and a list of FREE events will appear.

For example, there is a Walgreens SaturDate with Beauty for Coty and Elizabeth Arden on May 11th where customers can experience the top Coty and Elizabeth Arden fragrances and enjoy special discounts. Beauty Advisors will also be showing customers how to use Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs products and demonstrating Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color which dries in just 60 seconds. Don’t miss out on great coupons for Airbrush Legs and Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color for these products. Information like this is available on our website where spas and retailers can promote their events.

And if you have an event that you would like to see listed on Free Beauty Events site, it’s easy too! All you have to do is submit a form and your event will be listed on the site for free. In addition to listing events, Free Beauty Events gives it’s readers a chance to win prizes each month. Check out this month’s giveaway…

For the month of April 2013, FBE will be giving away 10 prizes. Each prize will consist of L’Oreal Youth Code Day Lotion SPF 30, L’Oreal Youth Day/Night Cream, and CoverGirl Cheekers Blush. The Contest runs from 4/1/2013 to 4/30/2013, winners will be chosen on 5/2/2013 and notified by 5/15/2013. To enter, all you have to do is enter your name, email address (only used to contact winners) and zip here. So easy, right?

Connect with Free Beauty Events….

Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pintrest.
For beauty product reviews and more giveaways check out the Free Beauty Events Beauty Blog.

Have you ever attended any free beauty events in your area recently? What’s your favorite beauty website? Have you tried any of the products featured at Walgreen’s SaturDate in May?

Good luck! And don’t forget to come back and let me know if you win!

The December Pillow Box

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SONY DSC

I received the December Pillow Box in the mail Wednesday. And I always seem to get mine a little later than others because of my location…so I always avoid reading some of the post and comments on My Shade of Brown’s FB page. However this time around I caught of glimpse of what was inside and ended up waiting in anticipation for days, LOL. If you’re not familiar with My Shade of Brown or the Pillow Box check out my previous post here and here. I know I’ve said this like a million and one times but I love MSB’s Pillow Box; it’s always filled with amazing goodies and this month is no different. Check out what was inside the December Pillow Box…

Black Opal Sample Packs for Sensitive Skin

Hair Rules Blow Out Your Curls

BONUS: Carols Daughter Hair Milk

Nabi Cosmetics Nail Polish in Iris

LiSi Cosmetics Nail Polish in Paradox

Now you see why I was so excited about the December Pillow Box. It had not one but two full size bottles of nail polish and y’all know how much I love nail polish. I couldn’t wait to try out the LiSi in Paradox, I must say so far so good. If you’re interested in trying out the My Shade of Brown Pillow for yourself or to give to someone else now is definitely the time to check it out. Right now MSB is offering 25% off all gift subscriptions! For more information about My Shade of Brown and how you can score this awesome deal check their website. You can also connect with them on FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have you tried any of the products in the December Pillow Box yet?

Disclaimer: The products/services mentioned in this post were sent to me for free for review purposes. However and as always, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

The October Pillow Box

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Hey y’all!

I wanted to share some exciting news as well as show you what came in the mail yesterday!

Well, I’m sure you can tell from the title above that I received the October Pillow Box from My Shade of Brown yesterday! And y’all know I love makeup, cosmetics and all the girly stuff so to say I was excited would be an under statement…lol.

If you’re not familiar with My Shade of Brown, it is an amazing company. MSB was created to help provide women of color with beauty products that actually meet our needs. I personally know how challenging that can be and that’s why I love the MSB signature Pillow Box. Each month a Pillow Box filled with 4-5 premium samples is delivered right to my door. I’ve posted about the Pillow Box in the past, here and here. Check out goodies in this month’s box…

Alaffia Skin Care
From left to right: Skin Recovery Facial Cleanser; Skin Recovery Face Cream; Skin Recovery Facial Toner

Ada Cosmetics Blush in Dorothy

Hair Rules Finishing Hair Cream

So far I’m most excited about trying out the Alaffia Skin Care products but I can’t wait to give them all a test run, so be on the look out for reviews.

Now for the exciting news! You can try the MSB signature Pillow Box too! MSB is a monthly subscriptions service that retails for just $10/month…totally affordable right? But even better…you can score your first box half price. Head over to My Shade of Brown, sign up and use the promo code MSBSavvyHW to score $5 off your first box. So check it out and let me know what you think! Make sure to check out MSB on Facebook and Twitter too!

Promo Code MSBSavvyHW