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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A {short} Guide to Curly Hair


The reason I'm calling this a short guide to curly hair is because my hair isn't super curly. I don't have ringlet curls, but my hair is definitely textured. Before this last month, it had been years since I had actually worn my hair curly. I would try to, but end up straightening it in a hurry because I just wasn't happy with it.

As you can imagine, constant blow drying, straightening and then curling (to get more manageable curls) has done a number on my hair. It gets crazy frizzy and dry with the dreaded split ends. Well last month I was just over it. At work, my hair would grow bigger and bigger throughout the day because of all of the frizz and I knew I needed to give it a break.

So, I decided to spend an entire week leaving it curly. I wash my hair every other night, so now, after one of those washings a week I'm letting it air dry and wearing it curly for 2 days before I wash it again. 

Here's a few helpful tips for managing it controlling the frizz and looking out for the health of your curly hair.

one.
Get a leave in conditioner, whether it be a spray, as I have below, or something more traditional. Use it often. Curly hair is more porous than straight or fine hair, so it needs moisture and it'll absorb as much as possible. I use my leave in conditioner in my wet hair probably every other time I wash my hair.

two.
Use a comb to get out tangles and distribute product evenly, not a brush. Using a brush can cause damage, especially when your hair is wet and it can make it more frizzy.


three.
Shampoo less. Some nights when you wash your hair, skip the shampoo and just condition. You can buy sulfate free shampoos and all that fun stuff, but in general, shampoo strips and dries out the hair, so try skipping it!

four.
Buy a deep conditioner or a conditioning mask. In my last post, I told you guys about one that I've been loving and that I feel has made a real difference in the health of my hair. The more you can condition your hair and the more moisture it's able to absorb, the less it'll absorb when you're out in the world. Make sure to focus on the ends!

five.
As I said, I don't wear my hair curly everyday, but when I do I take a little mini spray bottle of my leave in conditioning spray and use it throughout the day. This helps provide extra moisture during the day and control any frizz that starts happening.

six.
This goes for anyone that gets frizzy hair, but try not to touch your hair during the day. I'm so guilty of constantly twirling my hair around my fingers and just messing with it through the day, but using your hands in your hair can add to the frizziness! The more you touch it, the more friction you add and it causes damage to the cuticle, resulting in..you got it- frizz!

seven.
I've read articles that say to let your hair air dry, and others that say not to let it air dry and to use a hair dryer. I let my hair air dry about 70% of the way and I blow dry it the rest of the way. If you blow dry, use a diffuser because it'll distribute the heat more evenly to your curls.

eight.
When you get a hair cut, get it cut dry. Even though I don't wear my hair curly everyday, I still need a dry cut because I do wear it curly sometimes and obviously the curls make it shrink up. A dry cut will make sure you know exactly what you're getting!

nine.
If you're out in the middle of the day with nothing to help tame it if it's getting out of control, use a little water! Like I said, curly hair can be dry and dry hair needs moisture so a little water will calm it down by providing some moisture and won't be obvious if you don't use too much.

Alright, that's all I've got. I hope this helps some of you curly haired girls, or any of you prone to frizzy hair!

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Monday, September 8, 2014

L'Oreal Deep Conditioning Mask



You ladies know that recently I got about 6 inches of my hair cut off and had it thinned slightly. However, before I decided on cutting it, I was going to try to "save" I guess is the word, my long hair. I love having long hair, it makes me feel girly, but my hair is curly, so it gets really frizzy and dry and all around hard to manage. Lately I just felt like the frizz was just out of control, during the work day my hair was just growing and I looked like a kindergartener that just got back from recess.

I bought this L'Oreal deep conditioning mask because I wanted something that would really put moisture back into my hair. The first time I used it, I took a palm-full of this stuff (seriously) and massaged it into the bottom half of my hair. The immediate difference was crazy. My hair felt thinner...in a good way if that makes sense. It felt like it just calmed it down and made is SO silky smooth. It didn't feel as big and puffy anymore. Finally my hair felt hydrated!  Since then, I've been using it about once a week and I'm very generous with the amount I apply.

I don't want you guys to think that because I bought this product in an attempt to avoid cutting my hair and the fact that I did cut my hair means this product was a fail. I still use it, I still love it and I would really recommend it if you have dry hair. I know it doesn't have the best ingredients like some higher end brands, but hey, I see results, so I'd definitely repurchase it.

If you have no humidity where you live, I'm SO jealous of you.

Happy Monday!! :)

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Friday, September 5, 2014

Five on Friday/Friday Favorites

I promise this blog isn't going to become a collection of Five on Friday/Friday Favorites posts, I just had some spare time on Wednesday and figured I'd compile a list of things for a Friday post.  And by the way, I haven't figured out if I want this to just be "Five on Friday" or "Friday Favorites" sooooo I'm combining the titles until I decide. I'm leaning more toward Friday Favorites but I think it just might depend on what kind of week I had!

NUMBER 1:

My new hair!!
 If you remember this post where I asked you guys what you thought about the "subtle long bob" you'll know that I've been wanting to try this style for quite some time. My step-sister is in cosmetology school so when I went home this past weekend I had her chop it off! This may not be "short" hair to you, but to me it was a huge step! I was sure I would regret it but I've been loving it! I may even get it cut a tiny bit shorter in a couple weeks :)

NUMBER 2:


DaVinci Gourmet French Vanilla Syrup. 
You can use this stuff in everything. We've been putting it in baked goods (like vanilla extract), coffee, hot chocolate, homemade frappuccinos and it's been a really yummy touch! Makes it taste extra special, and it comes in several flavors...I think we're going to go for hazelnut next!

NUMBER 3:


NYX Liquid Lipshine in Clear. 
In my last post I talked about how I was loving Mary Kate and Ashley's natural makeup in one of their old movies. I bought a clear lipgloss to help achieve the glossy, pouty lip look from the movie and I think it's so cute! My lips are naturally very pigmented, but I like that this looks natural but that my makeup looks "done" because my lips do have something on them. Also, I surprisingly like how flexible the applicator is. I can apply this without looking, yes because it's clear, but also because I know no matter what angle I'm holding it, it's going to hit my lips and not be a goopy mess.

NUMBER 4:


The progress of the master bedroom! 
I love the white fluffy bedding and we finally ordered and received our headboard! I was so excited to come back and see it. I feel like a headboard alone makes a bed look much more complete, but I love how lush this one makes everything look with the tufting. Also, the starburst mirror is something I've been searching for so when I went home I went to a Kirklands and when I spotted this one I knew it was the one! Plus, it was only $60 and usually starburst mirrors are well over $100 (the one we almost ordered was $160 on sale so this was an awesome deal!) We still need accent pillows and matching nightstands, but I'm really happy with the progress so far!

NUMBER 5:

hello, september
Image courtesy of Google.
It's September! 
Even though I'm not a fan of how quickly time is going by, I'm ridiculously excited that fall is on its way. That means pumpkins, leaves changing, a chill in the air, boots, halloween, Thanksgiving and of course Christmas festivities will begin!


Let me know what you've been loving! Have a great weekend!!

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Friday, August 22, 2014

5 on Friday/ Friday Favorites

It's been a long week, so I'm really excited that today is friday! I've never done one of these posts before but I figured I'd give it a shot!

NUMBER 1:


I'm not a huge fan of summer....don't hate me! I just prefer fall because it's just cozier, does that make sense? haha. I just love the transition period because it's just a really exciting time for me. All of the holidays are on their way, there's lots of baking and spending time with friends and family and obviously, there's pumpkin EVERYTHING. Pumpkin is my absolute favorite, so I obviously love fall.

NUMBER 2:


I instagramed this photo last week when I made these carrot zucchini muffins. I was skeptical about them because it's obviously bread with vegetables and the unfamiliar tends to be scary! But these were really yummy and incredibly moist because of the zucchini. It was basically like eating carrot cake- so good! Here's the recipe if you're interested- Carrot Zucchini Bread Recipe.

NUMBER 3 & 4:

Image: Google

(3) My coworker and I turned back time to 2001 and watched Holiday in the Sun with Mary Kate and Ashley a few days ago. I've always loved them and admired their style and after watching that movie I think I've decided my Christmas list is going to be all of their movies on DVD. Yep, I loved their movies when I was young and it's nice to watch them now that I'm older, just to look back :)

(4) I've been really into clear lip gloss ever since we watched Holiday in the Sun, because the girls makeup in the movie is very natural looking with pouty, glossy lips and thought the look was adorable! So naturally, I've been doing the same thing with my makeup lately and it's been really refreshing!

NUMBER 5:


This has been my computer screen the last couple of weeks....Scouring the internet for furniture and home decor pieces all day everydayyyyy.

 So that's pretty much it! I'm  off work all day Saturday and I'm looking forward to having a fun weekend this weekend! I heard the fair is in town and that only means one thing to me: funnel cakes! What are your weekend plans?

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Monday, August 18, 2014

Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash


Thanks to Julie's review on her blog, The Salt Life Wife, when I ran out of body wash about a month ago I decided to pick up one of the Olay with a jar of moisturizer body washes. The one that I picked is the "coconut oasis." It's not overly coconutty, it just has a really nice creamy scent that I looooove. 

So why do I feel the need to talk about a body wash? Well, it is extremely moisturizing, I really do feel like it has a jar of moisturizer inside. I love to not wash it off right away and just let it sit on my skin for a little extra time because you can really feel the difference after using this. 

Let's call it what it is- lazy, but after my showers I don't generally moisturize so it's so nice to have a product that I can really feel is making a difference. It doesn't take the place of moisturizing, but for us lazy gals, or just those of us in a hurry, it's a good product to have to bridge the gaps inbetween moisturizing.

This is probably the most luxurious drugstore body wash I've ever used and I love that about it. It's extremely creamy in texture, lathers really well and has a soothing scent. When I run out I'm definitely going to repurchase this because I always look forward to using i!

I know this is a short review, but I don't have a ton to say about it besides it's amazing and you should check it out, because it is just a body wash after all...Let me know, though, if you guys have tried it or what your favorite moisturizing shower products are!

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Monday, August 11, 2014

Old Faithful: Revlon Colorstay



Quite a few months ago I was going through a foundation situation. I felt like nothing was looking good on my skin and when your base is bad, it's all bad, do you guys agree? haha.  Even my old faithful, Revlon Colorstay didn't make me happy, but a couple weeks ago I decided to try it again. I'm done with being adventurous when it comes to foundations for a while!

With a damp beauty blender especially, this foundation has been a dream for me recently. It does claim to last 24 hours, which isn't really true, but it does get me through an entire work day. When I'm at work all day, it's generally a 10 hour day and when I get home at night, my makeup doesn't look flawless, but it looks really good to have been on that long without being blotted or touched up.

The coverage is medium to full, which is just what I like. It doesn't have a completely matte finish, but also isn't dewy (neither of which I like). It doesn't get cakey looking on me when I apply it or throughout the day which I have a huge appreciation for. The color 150 Buff is a really great match for me. They have a good selection of colors for this foundation, but they are kind of gray toned, which I know some people don't like. For my neutral tones though, it works out well.

I believe this foundation is around $10, which is average. It also has an spf of 6, which is low enough that if you're going to be taking photos it won't reflect the light.

Overall, if you have yet to try this foundation I would definitely give it a go. I know it's not the most exciting thing out there, but it does the job well and that's what really matters!

Have you tried this foundation? What products do you know you can always fall back on?

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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Happy Birthday to my Blog!!


Image courtesy of Google; edited by me.

I'm celebrating a birthday today and it isn't my own! It's my blog's 1 year anniversary today! It's pretty exciting to think that a year ago today I said to myself, "I've been wanting to do this for a long time, I' just  gonna do it!"I started my blog because I was out of college, looking for a job and just wanted to do something that I would feel accountable for. I wanted to feel like I had something to do other than scanning through countless job sites and wanted to actually use my brain to do something! It has been such a great year of blogging, improving my skills, meeting all of you and having a hobby that I seriously enjoy.

To celebrate, I thought I'd link a few of my favorite posts from Beauty, Fashion and Food!





I wanted to do a big one year blog anniversary giveaway but I just haven't had the time to organize it with a new job and moving but there might just be one in the near future...that's all I'm sayin'! ;)

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to offer 15% off of everything on my etsy store! Just enter the code BLOGBDAY1 at checkout! It's today only, so pop on over and take a look!

Thanks so much for hanging out with me here for a year! Here's to many more!

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