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Monday, March 20, 2017

Quote of the Day

I think everyone needs a little uplifting every now and then, I know I do! So who better to do it than Queen Bey herself? This particular quote is one of my favorites and so why not share it with you guys?

“I don’t like to gamble, but if there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.”- Beyonce

Image result for beyonce


I know I needed this quote, hopefully you guys did too! Now go out and live your life like Queen Beyonce would want you to! 

Monday, March 13, 2017

Favorite 5: Makeup Products


Today we are talking about my top 5 favorite makeup products! I buy a lot of beauty and makeup products and I'm going to share with you my favorites. I recommend all of these products. If you have any questions or comments, you can always put it in the comment section below! So let's jump right into it!

  • Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

To me, this is the best foundation I have tried. It matches my skin tone near perfectly. I use the matte and pore less version and it keeps my face matte even though I have really oily skin. They don't have many good shades for Black women so they could improve on that but I still give it a thumbs up.
  • Colourpop Notion Matte Lipstick
Notion
I LOVE this lipstick! It's my absolute favorite go to lipstick. I'd wear it everyday if I could. It's described as a 'deependend raspberry'. It looks completely different on me than it does in swatches I found online. On me, it looks more like a pure darkened red. It's basically the only lipstick I wear.
  • Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner
I've had two of these glitters for about a year now. I have Glamrock (silver) and Midnight Cowboy (gold). It wasn't what I originally thought it would be so I didn't use it for a long time. I thought it would be more glittery and more pigmented. I found it to be hard to swatch because it's a clear base with glitter sprinkled in. I've been using it a lot more lately though to spice up my winged eyeliner. :)

  • BH Cosmetics Gel Liner in Onyx
I originally ordered this eyeliner last year just because I needed to get to a certain price to get free shipping. I didn't really care for it because at the time, I was a liquid liner fanatic. I tried it one day just because and I fell in love. I don't ever want to touch liquid eyeliner again! Gel liner all the way!

  • Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Image result for urban decay setting spray
This is the holy grail of setting sprays! Now I am a drugstore makeup queen but this is one product I don't mind paying full price for. I originally received it as either a 0.5 ounce or 1 full ounce free sample early last year and it's been a staple product for me ever since. This the only setting spray I use now!

So what are your fie favorite makeup products? Let me know in the comments below!

Friday, February 24, 2017

Review Alert!!! Natural Tooth Powder and Mouthwash by Garner's Garden

Guess what loves? I'm going natural! No, not with my hair. But with my teeth! I recently purchased an all natural mouthwash and tooth powder along with a natural deodorant. I'll do a review on the deodorant as well.




Okay okay so let me back up a bit. It's a well known fact that both toothpaste and mouthwash contain a lot of dangerous chemicals that can lead to cancer and other health concerns. However, because it is so heavily recommended by dentists as a way to prevent cavities, most people use it anyway. I used to be one of those people but not anymore!

So a couple of weeks ago I was scrolling through this website called WeBuyBlack (more on that in another post) and I came across a company called Garner's Garden. Let me just say, I love this company! They have a wide selection of products that are 100% all natural and I'm actually quite interested in trying them all. Okay well maybe not all of them but there's at least 10 items I'm interested in purchasing. I can do reviews on all of those too but anyway, let's get back to this review!

So the mouthwash comes in two sizes, 16 ounces and 32 ounces, with two different types, regular strength and reduced strength.. The tooth powder comes in two sizes as well, 2 ounces or 4 ounces. You can purchase them together or separately. I bought them together for $12.99.

So I placed my order and I received it about a week later. Order processing and shipping took longer than I would have liked it to but it wasn't a problem. Please note that I used these products as directed for nearly two weeks before writing this review.

Okay so guys I was so excited to receive this package! I opened it immediately and I jumped right into the bathroom to try it out.

The first thing I noticed was that my order came with a long list of instructions for using the mouthwash and tooth powder. I read through it quickly before I got started and it seemed easy enough.

Basically, it goes like this. First, you start off by swishing a small amount of mouthwash around in your mouth for about 30 seconds. Next, you add a bit of the tooth powder to your mouth and you swish that around as well. Then, you brush your teeth as you normally would but with your mouth CLOSED for about two minutes. Finally, you spit it out and finish off with a quick gargle with more mouth wash and then you're all done!

So how'd it go? The very first time I did this, it was a mess. I never realized but I'm used to brushing my teeth with my mouth open so keeping my mouth closed was definitely a problem for me. Also, I'm used to using a tooth paste not a powder/liquid combination. The hardest part (also the messiest) was trying to brush my teeth and keep the combination in my mouth. This was such a struggle because anytime I would move my toothbrush to a different section, I'd end up spitting out some of the mouth wash and powder. It actually got to the point where I had to keep some tissue underneath my mouth to catch all of it lol gross!

But OMG you guys, my mouth felt amazing afterwards! Like it left my mouth feeling so fresh and clean! Like I just couldn't help but smile. I know I looked like a fool sitting there in front of the mirror smiling all stupid but I couldn't help it. My mouth felt great!

As the week went on, it was easier for me to do it. I had to remind myself to keep my head titled downward while I brushed my teeth.

Final Thoughts: I love this stuff! It was hard adjusting to a new regimen at first but now I don't even think twice about it. I love this product but I do look forward to trying out other all natural tooth paste or powders in the future. From this day forward, I vow to never use regular toothpaste again!


Overall Product Rating: 5/5

Link to purchase: http://garnersgarden.com/product/natural-mouthwash-and-tooth-powder/

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

My Hair Journey: How I Pre-poo My Relaxed Hair

It's wash day guys and I'm trying out something new, a pre-poo! Pre-pooing has been around for awhile. It's basically a combination of oils you place on your hair before you wash you hair to keep it from drying out. There is no one way to pre-poo. You can find a recipe online and use that or you can mix it up and make it your own.

I have a dry, itchy scalp and I have to make sure I keep my hair as moisturized as possible. Sometimes I forget and a couple of days go by, I touch my hair and it feels so dry! I have to constantly remind myself not to scratch my hair because all that does is make it worse.

I did a little YouTube research and I decided to you stuff I already have instead of going out and buying specific products which my hair may not like. At least this way I know for sure my hair already works well with these products because I have used them before.

So in this pre poo I am using:
  • Coconut oil
  • Jamaican Black Castor Oil
  • Hollywood
  • Shea Butter
  • Jojoba Oil
I did not use any specific portion sizes nor did I measure anything out. I just eyeballing it. Looking back, I should have definitely measured it out. I made way too much. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of it. I have short hair now so I won't need much product.

The first thing I did was melt down the coconut oil and the shea butter. The shea butter I'm using comes in a crumbly, rock like form so I'm using one large piece. I also melted two scoops of coconut oil. To melt my oils I simply boiled some water and then poured it into a bowl. I then placed a second container with the oils inside in the hot water to waited for it to melt.


I prefer this over microwaving simply because I have a hot water boiler that heats up super fast. Microwaving takes too long because I'm constantly checking in to see if it's melting yet and trying to make sure my bowl isn't overheating. It's just such a pain.

So after I melted my oils, I added the Hollywood deep conditioner, the jojoba oil and the black castor oil and mixed it together. It didn't mix very well simply because the conditioner has a really weird texture and didn't combine with the oils. It looked gross but it wasn't a problem.


After this, I simply applied the mixture all over my hair paying special attention to my roots. I put a shower cap on and I accidentally left it on for about two hours. My sister came home and we started gossiping as usual, complaining about boys, cooking dinner and I completely forgot about washing my hair.

I shampooed and conditioned as usual but this time I decided to air dry and OMG you guys! My hair was completely tangle free afterward. I usually I try to detangle my hair after washing it and it's always a mess! It's so tangled and I typically tend to get so frustrated because I could never get the knots out. But this time, the comb slid through my hair like butter. It was so easy that I couldn't believe it. Even if that was the only benefit to doing a pre poo, it would be worth it for me.

Overall, I'm very impressed with how it turned out. I think I might be doing this every time I wash my hair now!

So have you tried a pre poo before? If so, what ingredients do you use? Let me know in the comments below! 

Friday, January 20, 2017

The Happier You Challenge

2017 is off to a pretty good start so far. I've been applying for a second job and I'm planning to get my license soon so things are going well. One thing that I really want to focus on is making myself happy.

I am at a point in my life in which I'm no longer worried about what other people think. As long as I am happy, that is all that matters. The first step to making myself happy is to figure out what makes me happy! So I decided to make a list and I challenge you guys to do the same!

So here's what you have to do. First, make a list of all of the things that make you happy. It should be a decent list but if you don't have a lot of things, that's okay too. You can always add things to the list later on.

Then make sure to do AT LEAST one thing that makes you happy every week. Now you may be wondering why I said only once a week. I know that for many people, myself included, I can't do some things on my list everyday so a whole week gives me some wiggle room. Also, I think if you set it for certain day, it'll give you something to look forward to throughout the week.

So I'm posting my list here and I challenge you to post yours somewhere and keep it visible and refer to it often.

So here's my list. I'll be adding new things as I think of them. I'll keep you guys updated on how things go and maybe even do a 1 month update showcasing how I felt and how well I kept up with it.

Things That Make Me Happy
  • Wearing makeup
  • Sweets/chocolate
  • Pedicures
  • Making wigs
  • Seeing plays/musicals
  • Shopping
  • Getting my nails done
  • Baking
  • Iced coffee
  • Getting my hair done
  • Cuddling :)



Sunday, January 1, 2017

2017 Goals

So it's the new year!!!!!!!!!! 2017 is finally here and I am so ready for this new year to begin! I have so many great plans for this year that I just can't wait to get started. I'm still shocked that 2016 is coming to an end.  So I decided to share some of my goals for 2017.

  • Earn a 3.0 gpa
I've been in college for the last four years and I have yet to get all A's and Bs in all of my classes in a single semester. I always start out saying that I will change and work really hard but somewhere along the line, I screw up and I get behind in my assignments. I can't do that anymore. I have to get a 3.0 next semester.

  • Make and sell my own wigs
Now I already got started on this one. So far I have made two wigs but I can't wear either of them. I definitely need more practice. I have found lots of good hair that I like. I just need to perfect my technique and maybe, JUST MAYBE I can sell them and make that a side business.

  • Attend Nicki Minaj's new tour
This is a no brainer. I've been a Nicki fan for years! I've only been to see her on tour once and that was just last year. I want to see her again but this time I have to be much closer. I've been putting away a little bit of money every check in my savings. I am so ready to see Nicki live again!

  • Take my driving test
I have put off driving for YEARS! I'm 22 and I still can't legally drive. Now don't get me wrong, I can drive. I'm actually a really good driver. It's just that I was never interested in driving. At this point, I can't keep putting it off. I'm finally ready to take my driving test!
  • Buy my first car
Now I've been saving up for my first car since early 2016. I want to get something used since I definitely can't afford a brand new car. I'll probably get something from Craigslist but I'll talk more about that later as it happens. Like I said, I've been saving up so prayerfully I'll be able to buy a car shortly after getting my license.

  • Commit to my blog posts
I know every couple of months I say I am going to post more and that I have all these plans and ideas for more posts but I never come through with it. I suck, yes I know but I'm trying. I'm going to post more and I mean it this time because I actually will have real content for you. 

I have lots of things I want to try out this year and I'll definitely be chronicling it all for you guys right here! So stay tuned with me as we go into 2017.

See you soon! :)