Polish Perfection

I've been getting compliments on this nail color for a week, and it still hasn't chipped yet! It's called Green Tea and it's another Sally Hansen Salon Manicure color. So yeah, I'm basically enamored with it. It's like a turquoisey, robins eggy, bluish green. I'm telling y'all, don't sleep on the Sally Hansen!!

"Who Loves Orange Soda...Kris Loves Orange Soda!"

I love this fit!!! it's constructed of a teal romper picked up from Standard Style Boutique, this boutique does get a little pricey but they do offer awesome sales, so make sure to check them out in store or online. I purchased my romper from the Kansas City, MO location at the Country Club Plaza , a high-end  ritzy tour spot which offers fabulous restaurants, shops and other activities.  If you are ever in KC this is a MUST for your list of To Do's.

Ok, OKAY! Back to my outfit... wonderfully constructed of old and new apparel. I chose to wear a teal romper with coral embroidery around the neckline. Along with cognac color leather boots for the winter and a long orange and white stripped cardigan, which I snatched from my Momma's closet. The orange, coral, and cognac  are similar in hue, warmth and color. The large burst of teal is a perfect accent to bring the entire outfit together. It's not to matchy-matchy, but it works!

Oh and because I ain't no fool I wore sheer skin tone stockings. It does get a little brisk in the Midwest during the fall/winter months (this is surely an UNDERSTATEMENT...heck it gets COLD!)

Enjoy!

Romper: Standard Style

Boots: Steve Madden "Intyce" Congac leather boot: Super steal from Cargo Largo (retail - $130, I paid $25!!!!)

Orange & White Cardigan: My Momma's Closet

Puppy: Snyder KSU(Kay-Sue) Perkins

Today's Style

So Ive been super lazy and haven't felt like washing my hair for 3 weeks now (don't judge me). Which is very unusual since I usually wash it at least once a week. I've been moisturizing it about every 3 days with my olive oil/rose water spritz mixture, then adding Shea butter, or coconut oil to seal it and two strand twisting it.

Today before work I just put my two strand twists into several little buns all around my head. Kind of like a bantu...well not really. I'm really feeling this more than I thought I would since I added my scarf for a little pizzaz.

Cozy

My favorite sweater which you will see many more times during the cold weather months. This skirt has the appeal of the American Apparel full length accordion skirt but at 1/4 of the price. I snagged it on Canal St. in NYC on our last trip. SCORE!!!

Sweater: Thrifted
Belt: Pac Sun

Skirt: Random store on Canal St (sorry I forgot the name) 

Shoes: Lucky Brand 

Pre-Gluttony

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! One my way to my aunt's house to continue the tradition of eating until I can no longer move.  This is pretty much my fall and winter wardrobe. Oversized sweaters, leggings, skinnies, and boots for 3 more months! Just freshly popped this one outta the storage bin, I'm obsessed with the angora and the puffy shoulders. Im also digging the fact that my hair looks like a bird's nest...

Sweater: Thrifted 

Leggings: INC 

Boots: Thrifted

Wiggy Wonder's Product Review: Milky Way Saga Remy Lace Front -Jerri Curl

This is surely a LOVE-HATE relationship... I'm gonna spare you all of my mixed emotions and thoughts about this particular wig, and get straight to the review.

Pros: The curl pattern is wonderful, and soft (by touch and looks). This wig is totally be-weave-able! I can honestly say people think this is my natural hair! For example a girl in the mall the other day gave me a wonderful complement on my hair and was raving about being a naturalist. This chick was up close and personal ( ALL UP IN MY LACE ROOTS!!). I like this particular unit for the natural look, texture and amount of lace parting space you are given. Being that this is Indian remy human hair or whatever they wanna call it, I was able to dye my wig. So that was another plus in my book.

Cons: This mothasucka is the biggest headache ever when it comes to any type of detangling or maintenance or styling !!!!! HONESTLY it's a NIGHTMARE!!! To put it bluntly I paid $250. AndSomeChange for this unit and it tangles and sheds live crazy. I literally have handfuls of hair when I get through washing, conditioning, styling or simply touching this hair. And when I say tangle I mean matte, coming directly from the root of the wig. This is a big NO NO, and Milky Way needs to be ashamed of selling a faulty product and ripping consumer off big time.

Rating (scale 1-10): This is a 5, 50%, a big fat FAIL! The look is awesome, but the money, time, and effort to get the look is not worth the hassle. I'm very disappointed with the Milky Way brand and most likely will not purchase anything they construct again, unless it super cheap/FREE. You best believe I going to wear this wig till there is only one strand of hair left. I will get every cent of my $$$$ and some out of this unit. Check out my pics of this unit on its good days, and leave comments or reviews of your own.

ENJOY:)

I think the color is 1 or 1B, nonetheless its BLACK

After I lightened the unit to a medium to dark brown color. I was happy the curl pattern didn't change much considering I use Vol. 40 developer. Note: this unit is not glued or taped and none of my hair/ edges are showing.

Shea Moisture: Product Review

This cruelty-free company was started by a Sierra Leonian family in 1912, who use shea butter as their main ingredient.

Ill start with the Deep Treatment Masque. For my hair this was a no go. I used this after shampooing, and also after co-washing. This was really thick and had a nice consistency, but for some reason it felt dry as soon as it touched my curls. It had some sort of clay or paste like feeling once I applied it to my hair which was NOT cool for me. Each time I used this product I ended up having to follow this with another deep conditioner to give my hair the slip and suppleness I'm used to. I don't think I'll be using this product again. 

Next up was their Curl Enhancing Smoothie which gets two thumbs WAY up from me! My hair loves this pudding-like curl holder. It smells great, sort of flowery but not too overpowering. I use this to smooth my edges daily. I've never experienced cakey, white product buildup flakes with this as I have with some other products...(side-eye to Kinky-Curly). I also use it as a curl enhancer after washing. Once I towel dry my hair I add a golfball sized amount to my curls and let them air dry, or if I'm in a hurry I blow dry on the cool setting. This individually defines each and every single one of my 4b curly-q's and gives them great suppleness and more bounce to the ounce! I use this nearly every day and will continue to do so! My only qualm is that I wish it would give my hair more shine, but it can't be perfect, right?

These products are available at; Walmart, Target, and Walgreens, and are super cheap ranging from $9.99-$12. They also make bath and baby products that I have yet to try, but if they're anything  like the Curl Enhancing Smoothie, I surely will partake.

The Satorialist

A couple shots from Scott Schuman's "The Satorialist" 500 pages of amazing street style. I think I will flip through these pages everyday for at least a year! Street fashion from Milan to Harlem. I'm salivating over here...

Polish Perfection

This is one of my favorite nail colors for this fall. It's called Mousseline from Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. Its a peachy nude and yes, it's Sally Hansen, meaning yes I do my own manicures at home. I have so many polish colors that I don't really see the point of going to a salon to get my fingers massaged and my hands lotioned...I think I can do that myself. Plus I'm not too shabby when it comes to coloring inside the lines. This polish was about $7.00 at Rite-Aid.

Granny Booties

I'm sure you will see these on me many times in the future. I hopped on a little late to the granny bootie bandwagon (Krista has been wearing them for a year already), but I've come to love this new age little house on the prairie style. Here are a pair I picked up while thrifting with Kris in NYC for $15.

I wore them here with Kris for a look I like to call GreenWITCH Village. Humor me, I think it's  a clever name...  

Our entire outfits were thrifted from Edgewood Thrift in Edgewood, MD, No Relations in NYC, and Vintage Village in Dallas, TX. with the exception of my sweater which was from Forever 21, and Kris' Shoes which were from Burlington.

Scent-Sational

I know, I know, corny title...These are my favorite fragrances at the moment.

Lolita Lempicka runs about $50-$92. Its seems like the whole world found out about this fragrance at the same time. I love it anyway! The notes are; ivy leaves, aniseed, amarena heart, violets, iris roots, vetiver, tonka bean, vanilla and musk. I don't even know what half of those things are, all I know is it smells like a serious love potion. It has amazing lasting power. I still smelled it when I unpacked my fall jackets from last year. I ususally wear this one when I go out to par-tay, and when I wear my Lempicka, my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard!

I found out about Aquolina's Pink Sugar about 2 years ago when Sephora sent me a free sample in the mail. I immediately fell for it. The notes are; Bergamot, Sicilian Orange, Raspberry, Fig Leaves, Lily of the Valley, Licorice, Strawberry, Red Fruit, Cotton Candy, Vanilla, Caramel, Musk, Wood, and Powder. Though, the only thing I smell is cotton candy and cupcakes...I love this stuff! I wear it as an everyday perfume, no need to reserve this one for special occasions. It runs about $30-$60.  

Burberry Brit is one for the teeny boppers and the sophisticated lady alike. My mom actually introduced me to this one. This is my standard work, and church fragrance. The notes are; Italian Lime, Icy Pear, Green Almond, White Peony, Sugared Almonds, Amber, Mahogany, Vanilla, and Tonka Bean. I can definitely smell the almonds and vanilla in this but its not too old-ladyish. Its smells similar to Viva La Juicy and runs about $70-$90.  

All of these can be purchased for half the price at discounted perfume websites like www.overstockperfume.com, or Marshalls, TJMaxx, K&G Clothing Warehouse and similar stores. I love smelling yummy but I wouldn't dare pay full price for some colored water in a fancy bottle!

The Root of My Natural Hair Journey

Contrary to popular belief, I didnt go natural to embark on a soul searching journey back to my African heritage, or because it was the "in" thing to do. My hair wasn't terribly damaged from relaxers or short from breakage. The show "Girlfriends" was actually the reason for my decision...well actually Tracee Ellis Ross. Her hair was, and is just...WOWZERS!! 

I was ready for a new look. I hadn't seen my natural hair texture in years, and was anxious to see if I had hair like Joan, once I got rid of my perm.  Of course I didn't, but I realized that everyone has a different curl pattern and once I embarked on my natural hair journey there was no turning back for me. I started to fall in love with taking care of the curl pattern that I was born with.  I started gaining  inspriation from other curly girls and before long was obsessed with websites like Nappturality lending advice on styling and making your own products.

I didn't go natural because it was the cool thing to do. As a matter of fact I went natural 6 years ago, just to satisfy my own curiosity. Just to see how I looked with natural hair. There were hardly any products available for natural hair at the time. Furthermore I didn't know ANY other curly girls on campus at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, or in my hometown of Baltimore. My hair has come a long way and  I think I'm in a good place with my hair right now. I've finally learned what my hair loves and hates.

Who are some of your hair inspirations? Curly Girls and Permies? :)

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The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread!! : Palmer's DC Treatment

Long story short, today I dyed my virgin natural hair (FAIL... And yes MY actual hair, not my Virgin Indian Remy hair!); scared all my hair would fall out if I didn't ramp up my Naturalist upkeep, I bought a DC pack to supplement the conditioner that came with my dye kit.

Palmer's Coconut Oil formula w/ Vitamin E: Deep Conditioning Protein pack is Astonishingly Amazing!!!! OMGeezy, can you say "Silky Soft." No lie this pack cost $1.AndSomeChange definitely is becoming a staple product in my Healthy Hair Journey regimen. I urge EVERYONE whose ANYONE to try this product :)

*** And yes that's my used packet stuntin in the pic ----->>. I Reduce - Reuse - Recycle...remember?!?!

Chill Mode

On my way to a David E Talbert play at the Lyric Opera House. I went really easy with just a printed shirt and belt that I thrifted with some jeans, and my new favorite, the high pony.  A nice 'n easy Friday night. There's a closer look at the geometric print on the shirt in the previous post. I thought it was groovy. Yes, I do have a habit of belting everything, but its partly due to the fact that a lot of my items are thrifted. When thrifting I hardly ever find an item that is my exact size, but its also usually something that I have to have. The simplest solution is to belt it! The blouse  I'm wearing here is a large and I usually wear an extra small. Therefore to accentuate my waist and keep the shirt from looking ill-fitting I just belted it.

 I also went with a deep red lip. It was my first time wearing that color and I absolutely loved it! Its from Avon (I know right...) the color is called Perfect Red. I think it looks great on deep skin tones.

Coat: Thrifted Casual Corner 

Shirt: Thrifted 

Belt: Thrifted 

Jeans: Guess 

Shoes: Dollhouse 

High Pony

So this ha easily become my new favorite hair style. It kind of reminds me of my previous favorite, a bouffant, with less work. It also makes me look like I have TONS of hair, when I actually don't. It's all an illusion... I just brush all of my hair up to the top of my head, and apply an elastic band squarely on the top. A little Shea Curl Smoothie on the edges and I'm rett ta go... Easy as pie!!

Reduce - Reuse - RECYCLE : Platform Shoes

Stemming from Ancient Greek theatre and their similar use by high-born prostitutes or courtesans in Venice in the 16th Century. Platforms or wooden Wedge shoes continue to evolve and RECYCLE their evidence of style from century, to era, to decade. I'm no fool when it comes to eye-catching style and trends, so likewise I'm practicing the theory of the 3R's (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle), and intend to sport the new and freshly crafted styles of the mile high Platform shoe.

Yes those are GOLDFISH in his SHOES!!! WOWZERS!!!

Not only are they Fashion, but they are also unique to the designer and very artistic.

CHECK MY FOOTWORK

IDK the Brand, but they are from Burlington Coat Factory

Jessica Simpson Tootsie

*****Caution: Please tread lightly with these right herrr, I have busted my butt a couple of times trynna be EXTRA and CUTE. However the recovery is always graceful :)

Thanks goodness " we've come this far by faith(lol)," from live goldfish to tip-toeing funky fresh heels!

As always ENJOY!