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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

I'm over my natural hair....

You see this smiling seemingly happy girl. The one with the cute poof. Let me share a secret with you, she yes me, is over her natural hair....Don't get the game twisted, I love natural hair. I love the look, the gorgeous curls, the claiming of our God given crown, but I for one go through period of love and hate with my natural hair and let me tell you why:

The natural hair envy


















I've been natural for almost 5 years, 5 years of failed twist outs,  protective styles and fairy knots and while my hair has grown considerably, since my TWA phase. Yes it is about bra strap length when stretched, but the envy I experience is ridiculous. Case in point let talk about my sister: she's been natural since 2013,has an occasional  fairy knots, has gorgeous curls with only four twist and usually at all times, and wait for it....... hair is longer than mine. We use similar products and I know she's a little bit more religious with her nightly twist out game, but yeah somewhere in the world this has to be unfair. Combine this with YouTube and Instagram vloggers and you set yourself up for envy which equals natural hair failure. I can't help to lust after you Naptural85, you just wake it so darn easy to!

The time commitment
When I went natural, I thought I was rid of the days of spending all day and some part of the evenings on my hair. WRONG! I have to pre-poo, dry detangle, co-wash, section into 4, condition, deep condition, cherry lolita, henna, LOC, twist out and then after all of that it takes 2 score and 7 years to dry! I can't!And this is every single week! Don't forget to twist it out every night:











The styling
I too have committed hours and hours to watching YouTube videos.  I've seen the quick, or so the YouTube video timer suggest, styles that come out perfect if you use the perfect blend of that product and this technique. I've tried the said style to come out looking like who shot it and ran. Forget about trying to wash and go! My hair has the uncanny ability to knots into multiple variations of crazy and forget about finding a good winter style that leaves your hair perfectly coiled but not wet in 5 below weather.



My empty pockets

That was the perfect segway to this topic, how much we spend on products. When I was relaxed I knew my monthly hair budget was relaxer/tip+ biweekly doobie+ blue magic hair grease= definite number. Now as a natural you find yourself searching for that holy grail of products that will make your hair have that extra coiffed poof, maintain hair definition, moisture, and just to prevent it from just being an all around hot mess.  Or watching Youtube you see the natural who you love with your hair type using this product and it comes out gorgeous and your like I NEED IT!!!!!Product junkie Life is a expensive habit!





















While this is not my natural hair suicide note and I'm preparing to  jump in a vat of creamy crack, but it's more of me breaking the "oh natural hair is soooooooooo wonderful at all times" myth that a lot of the natural hair natzis like to push out in social media. I know this post might get a lot of #clapback but I had to be honest.
What are you frustrations with natural hair? Or is it all butterflies and rainbows for you?
Leave your comments below.

Till later....
Toodles Darling,

Jacquel

Monday, November 23, 2015

Makeup Monday's... It's a Girl!



So we all know from Instagram I'm not preggers! We threw a mini baby shower for one of my good good girlfriends and I wanted to be pretty in pink to match the theme of the day.


Face:
Primed with Skindinivia The Makeup Primer Spray ( a product I am growing to love more and more each day)
Hard candy Sheer Envy  Primer Long wear 12 hour power
 L'Oreal Lumi in Soft Sable
 Highlight: BH Wild & Radiant Baked Illuminating & Bronzing Palette
 Blush: Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral
 Set with Fergie Wet N' Wild Take on the Night Mattifying Powder

Eyes:
Nyx Cosmetics Eyeshadow HD eyeshadow Primer
BH Cosmetics Wild Child Baked Eyeshadows
Mascara: Essence Falsie Effect
Eyeliner: Nyx Two Timer

Lips:
Urban Decay Revolution high color lip gloss in Failbait





Can we talk about the lip gloss? This was a part of an ipsy bag over the summer and I never tried it. So knowing my intense love of Urban Decay, I wanted to be super impressed, I was horribly underwhelmed. It reminded me of a glosser Revlon Pink Pout or Maybelline Make Me Pink.
See swatches below!
Starting from the Top
1. Urban Decay  in Failbait
2. Maybelline Make Me Pink
3. Revlon Pink Pout

My personal opinion,I could have just used on of those colors, used a gloss, and would have gotten a better color pay off for a fraction of the money. Glad it was just a sample and I didn't pay the $16.00 for this product.


What are your thoughts on my soft pink look? Do you think I found a good dupe for the UD lip gloss? What are your thoughts on the UD lip glosses as a whole? Leave your comments in the box below.

Toodles Darlings,

Jacquel

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Year of no Fear

                                     
              A few days ago I started following "Shonda Rhimes," on social media, and suddenly I've become intrigued with her life and stories. I recently learned that she had publish a book titled, "Year of Yes", a synopsis of her year long journey of saying "yes," when she rather say "no.  I bought the book and immediately after reading a few pages I began to smile, because I could relate in so many ways to the words in her book. It correlated with a challenge that my friends and I had taken in July 2015. We were going to stomp fear into the ground, and not let it deter our objectives.  The only thing to fear was fear itself. The idea came to us during brunch, and in true brunch fashion, drinking our mimosas we began talking about our lives, and reflecting on our growth. "Year of no fear," is as simple as it sounds, for a year we challenged ourselves to step outside of our box, live fearlessly and hold each other accountable if we let fear defeat us from our objectives.

It's been a little challenging starting the "Year of no fear," or documenting my progress like I should. In my heart I feel that my sudden infatuation with Ms. Rhimes, and her book reminded me of my own challenges. There were a few things that I had to bite the bullet on and just say "Yes!" to (buying a home, being vulnerably in love), but there are still some things, I need to still step up and step out on. The release of her book is also a reminder, that I need to continue living with no fear.  I've only gotten through the first few chapters, but from seeing the recent changes in her life (i.e.  Her 107 lbs in weight loss!), I am certain that her year has worked. 
              

Living with no fear has been a challenge, and it's easy to talk yourself out of saying "Yes!" you can rationalize with the truth, but it really is fear, and not you being pre cautious or firm on a position. It's easy to convince yourself, that you are not good enough,  or you have doubt in your own abilities, but the premise that even if you do try, there is an underlying possibility that you may still fail or fall short of your objective.  This then becomes your crutch, your safety blanket to make an excuse of why you can't or wont succeed.  It's taking one less bruise to your ego, but I'll tell you fear can take many different forms. Fear can be disguised as the cute baby you just had, so that you don't have extra time, for friends or date night with hubby.  That new home you just bought,  made you broke so you don't have no extra money to go bowling or go to the movies with the girls.  Fear can be the last three times you tried to date and that didn't work, or the whole month you spent working out and didn't lose a pound.  Fear can be cute, cuddly and comfy, or real ugly, mean and nasty.  Fear has more costumes than Halloween, but at the end of the day fear is fear. 

We all know the adage that nothing great comes from living in fear.  Nike created the "Just do it," branding campaign in 1988, and In 1989, Mark Simo, Brian Simo, and Marty Moates created the clothing brand "NoFear".  The simple idea of living with no fear, and the saying just do it have been around way longer than those campaigns, and clothing lines.  Those marketing slogans were just an idea. The idea that if we live with no fear, and just do it we can achieve greatness, and with this post, I am reaffirming myself to the challenge of living fearlessly.  I am going to apply for a job, that fear had previously kept me from applying for,  and I am going to recommit myself to completing my book.  I am going to say "Yes," to opportunities that come my way, and step outside of my comfort zone.  In the next 8 months, I will stare fear in it's face and I won't back down.  I will update the blog once a month on my year of no fear and I encourage you all to share your journey.  Jaci and I, are both participating in this challenge, so feel free to ask us both questions, and or hold us accountable for our actions of fear.  If you're interested in doing your own year of no fear and need an accountability partner, email us at theblissgirllife@gmail.com.

Love and Light,
Amira
                         

Monday, November 9, 2015

Makeup Monday!!!!!!! Ben Nye Final Seal vs Skindinavia




Hello everyone welcome to another installation of Makeup Monday!
Today for you we have a brief review and battle of the makeup finishing sprays.
I have to warn you this is not my usual cheap  frugalista product reviews as these items are a bit pricier but they last and last, so I think  it's worth the splurge.

So Ben Nye Final Seal.....
As you may recall in one of our earlier instagram posts, I did an 8 hour trial/ review of it as one of my favorite vloggers, Jackie Ania, raved about it ability to reduce and almost eliminate transfer. So I sucked it up and  said if it saves my white blouses and my hands from scrubbing foundation out of collars, it's worth the coins.

Ben Nye Final Seal retails for $23.00 for 8oz bottle on www.starcostumes.com

Change Ben Nye Final Seal Matte Sealer 8 oz

Review:
One of the things I love the most about this product is that when you let it dry it almost completely prevents transfers of your makeup, so even if you haven't set with a powder, your makeup isn't budging at all!!! It also gives you a gorgeous dewy glow which I love. My only warning to you, is that this stuff burns, if you have open pores or you have a few ingrown hairs on your face, it will burn. It last for 5 secs, but it's really shocking at first. Also if you spray too much it gets really sticky, so go easy, tiger. I usually only use this for going out, but the 8 oz bottle has last me at least 5 months now and I'm only done 1/4 of the bottle.
  My face with Final Seal.




Skindinavia  currently retails for $29.00 for 4 oz at http://skindinavia.com/
(I believe I got mine on sale for $23.00 when I purchased it though)

Makeup Finishing Spray Oil Control
So I got on the Skindinavia bandwagon when I saw a few of my favorite vloggers and instagram MUAs  posting all about it. The reviews were amazing and although for a make up spray, its usually out of my price range, I thought it might help reduce transfer without the burn and stickiness of the Final Seal so I felt to try it, blame it on the art of makeup. Just a tidbit, the makers of this brand also make the urban decay primer and setting sprays. Everyone knows how I feel about urban decay. LOVE THEM, anywhoo.

Review:
I purchased the finishing spray for $23.00 on sale and with it I got two additional samples one of the primer spray and another one of the finishing spray. I shrugged I didn't really understand the whole priming spray thing, but conceded it  that would be nice for when I travel and give me a chance to try the system out together. So I tried the system and they worked decent together, it gave me a nice little shine. I find that to make this really work well it require a cream primer in between to get the bang out of it. The dewy finish though holds all day and your skin looks like you walk around with someone sprizzing water on your face all day, but it doesn't prevent transfer at all.
 My silly face with the Skindinivia primer spray, Hard Candy 12 hour primer, and the Skindinivia finishing spray. 

 Final Vote:
 The best bang for your buck of course is Ben Nye final seal! You get 4 oz more product for the same money, it prevents transfer, which is most important to me, and I can suck up the burn to reduce the embarrassing makeup neck.

Let me know your thoughts? Or if you would like me to review other sprays. 






Monday, November 2, 2015

Oils for Life: Eczema Relief


Winter weather is upon us (at times), the cold air means the mercury is plunging and this can cause eczema symptoms to spike. For many with eczema, extreme cold can cause breakouts because the skin becomes too dry. For those unaware, eczema is a skin condition that causes itchy, red, and swollen patches of skin. The most common type is called atopic dermatitis

Moisturizing well is the best way to ease the symptoms associated with eczema, there are many lotions and creams (prescription and non prescription) that treat eczema. However, if you're looking for a more natural way to treat symptoms try sunflower oil. You can either find cleansing or moisturizing products that contain sunflower oil, or you can actually apply the oil directly to your skin.

Due to its emollient properties, sunflower oil helps the skin retain its moisture. Using sunflower oil as a lotion acts as a protective barrier and helps in reducing skin infection. If you have a pre-term infant, it can be used daily and has been shown to reduce skin infections by 14%. Sunflower oil is extremely high in Vitamin E which is essential for preventing damage to the skin cells. Vitamin E improves the appearance and health of your skin, scarring and smoothing of existing wrinkles.


It's also rich in vitamins A, C and D and healthy carotenoids and waxes which form a protective barrier on the skin. Sunflower oil is also an excellent source of beta-carotene, which protects your skin against the sun. Sunflower oil has antioxidant properties that help prevent premature signs of aging, It's wonderful for dry, dehydrated, or sensitive skin.

One great mix for sunflower oil is using it with castor oil, the combination will effectively get rid of dead skin cells and irritating foreign materials. This mixture can be used as a cleanser and there is no need to use a moisturizer, because these oils actually have vitamins and fatty acids that will keep your skin soft and smooth. This mix will help prevent any further eczema outbreaks, and provide much needed relief.

Another mix I like is sunflower and coconut oil, coconut oil is very moisturizing and healing by itself. Coconut oil contains saturated fats which are medium chain fatty acids or triglycerides. When applied to the skin, they keep it smooth to the touch. It also contains Capric /Caprylic/Lauric acid which have have strong disinfectant and antimicrobial properties. Another component is vitamin E which is essential for healthy skin growth, and repair of wear and tear on the skin.

Using sunflower and coconut oil is probably one of my favorite mixes, its not too thick and it works wonders during the winter. Coconut oil is my go to oil for skin uses, and gives me an extra layer of insulation and warmth in the winter. When using sunflower oil it's important to remember to use it on dry skin only, do not use it on red inflamed skin. As a disclaimer I am not a doctor, so I always recommend consulting with your physician first. Hopefully, these methods help provide some relief for you this winter. Please leave a comment with methods you've used, or on how helpful these have been for you!

Love and Light!
Amira