winter

2018 christmas gift guide

Christmas is just right around the corner. If you need to find a dope gift for your family, friend or even you coworkers I think I have the guide for you. Best of all the brands are created by women. Happy shopping!

  1. Erin Condren Hard Notebook these notebooks come in beautiful colors and can be used for planning or just as a journal for thoughts.  Another bonus that makes this the perfect gift is that it can be personalized  Order early to receive in time for Christmas.
  2. Felicia Leatherwood Detangling brush for your naturally curly, kinky hair lady this is the perfect gift! It makes detangling a breeze because the brush is strong yet flexible so it won’t rip her curls out. If the brush is available don’t wait.
  3. Fenty Bomb Baby set includes Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in “Hu$tla Baby” and Gloss Bomb Universal Lip in travel-friendly sizes for your beauty queen. She can have favorites on the go or you can introduce someone to the greatness that is Fenty Beauty.
  4. Elle Vie body butter is the perfect moisturizer with beautiful scents. Especially with winter right around the corner this is a beautiful gift for the lady in your life. She will be soft and smell amazing!
  5. Posh Candles soy wax candles that have cute names to go with their wonderful smell. This is the perfect gift for the person who loves cute decor and the candles smell better than those found in your local stores.
  6. My Lit Box a subscription service for the book lover in your life. It is delivered quarterly so she won’t  over run with books. They send you the latest in new book releases and have three different options to choose from.

Great gift ideas for every woman in your life no matter her age. Happy Holidays

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Cold Weather Nail Colors

I’m not super girly when it comes to my nails but I do like for them to be polished most of the time. Summer is all about bright colors and oblige but I truly love fall and winter nail colors. I love black and navy nails they just look so edgy and fun to me. I also love deep wine and greens they just scream winter to me. But a nice red will forever hold a special during the Christmas season for me. I have linked below some fabulous dark nail polishes for  fall and winter.

 L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Nail, Haute Couture Red– this color is more of a wine colored red than bright red. L’oreal polish does stay on pretty good I can get at least two to three days without any chipping. Also this is a drug store nail polish so the price is affordable under 5 dollars.

L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Nail, Breaking Curfew– the color look for this one is purplish navy almost like a night sky. This is similar chemistry to the previous polish so once again I can get few days before this starts to chip. The price point is also below 5 dollars.

Essie After School Boy Blazer– if you are looking for a true navy this is the polish for you. This polish does require a retouch after a day or two but will be chipped off without a retouch. I think Essie is considered a salon brand and the price reflects it. You can occasionally find the Essie polishes on sale but original price is 8.99

Opi Black Oynx– is black black but very beautiful if you like black nails. I tell people if you don’t want to do all your nails black do it as an accent nail. Either way this is black that you want in your nail collection. The price is also around 8.99 and can be found on sale.

Hope you find a new color that you will try this fall.

 

 

 

Fall and Winter Natural Hair Necessities

Welcome to fall! Now is the time to make sure we have what is needed to get our natural hair through the cooler weather.

A good deep conditioner is always needed no matter the weather but two I’m going to are great for the fall and winter. TGIN Honey Miracle Mask  and Millie Organics Hydrating Condition are wonderful.  TGIN gives that protein protection with a ton of moisturizing properties. Millie is great for deep moisture and is protein free. The cooler air along with the heat in our homes can be super drying but these two provide deep penetrating treatments to help keep your hair from getting dry.

I will admit I’m a little slack with wrapping my hair up in the summer because I use a satin pillow case all year. However in the winter I make sure to have my satin bonnet on to protect my hair. As I previously stated the heating system in our homes are very drying so even if you are sleeping on a satin pillow case you natural hair can still be exposed to the dry heat in the home. I really love my slap cap but if you search I’m sure you will find plenty of other companies making beautiful bonnets to sleep in.

Last but not least try to protective style. I know most people think of protective styling in the summer with braided styles but the winter is also a great time to do those braided do’s also. If you don’t want to do braids try a wig or even head wraps and turbans are a great alternative. I have purchased a few head wraps that are satin lined but if you are using a traditional head wrap make sure to use some sort of stocking cap or satin scarf under neath your head wrap to protect your strands.

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These a just a few things that help your natural hair continue to flourish during the colder months. Is there anything special that you do for your natural during the colder months if so share them with me!

 

Fall and Winter TBR

I have met my reading goal for this year already so now I’m taking a little more time with books and will be getting into a little more non-fiction to finish out the year hopefully. Some of the books have yet to be released so they may actually carryover into next year depending on if I’m able to get my hands on them. What are some books you looking forward to diving into during the cool/colder months?

Fiction:

The Talented Ribkins – I saw a review this book last year on YouTube and it has been on my TBR every since. I was browsing my local library and saw they had it so I will be picking that up soon.

My Sister, The Serial Killer -this book isn’t set for release until November but I am excited to read this one. The cover looks amazing and premise is interesting to me. –

Praise Song for Butterflies– after doing some research this a re release for Bernice L. Mcfadden. I’m slowly making my way through her works but I this is one I want to read sooner rather than later.

Whiskey and Ribbons– I have seen wonderful reviews for this book. I started reading it this summer but they kept talking about snow. I decided to put this down until it gets cold so I can fully appreciate the cold weather and coziness I think I’m supposed to feel reading this book.

 

Non-fiction:

Becoming– Michelle Obama’s memoir the cover is beautiful and that is enough for me. It will also be released in November.

The Warmth of Other Suns– my sister told me about this book last year. I ordered it early this year but once I saw the size I knew a book like that it could be overwhelming for me to read. I’m waiting on the audio copy from library but I may just end up purchasing the audio because I don’t want to continue to put this one off.

All the Pieces Matter: Inside Story of the Wire– I have a confession I have never finished the Wire series. However I love reading behind the scenes or how events are put together.  I want to really to read this one because the Wire is a piece of pop culture.

This definitely isn’t a complete list of what I will be picking up but just some books I’m excited to read the latter part of 2018.

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Photo by Jesse Yelin on Pexels.com

Coming Up

Summer is winding down I was able to accomplish four items off of my summer bucket list. I can truly say I had a great summer. I took a few vacations got to put my feet in the sand. I also read some great books and watched some wonderful movies. The biggest thing my son started his freshman year of college!

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some seasonal blogs about books and beauty the things I love I hope you are enjoying the content.

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Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com

Winter Natural Hair Routine

textile-3106934_640We still have a few weeks left before Old Man says good bye so I thought I would share my routine for anyone who maybe struggling with one during this harsh winter.

  • Shampoo: I wash once a week with shampoo to make sure my hair is clean because I tend to use heavier products to keep the moisture in my hair and protect my hair from the cold wind and temperatures. You want to get all of the old products and oils off your hair and scalp to avoid build up which can become drying and make your hair appear dull. So I shampoo vs co-washing.
  • Deep condition: Deep conditioning is important year around but even more so in the winter because of how cold and dry the air can be inside and outside. I use my hot head for an extra boost to get the product penetrated into my strands.
  • Leave-in:  Always use a leave-in! I know this may seem crazy but I prefer the spray leave-ins in the winter because I do use heavier styling products this prevents extra build up. Also if you read the ingredients on the spray leave-in they contain better oils and wates or aloe juice that sometimes aren’t in the cream leave-in.
  • Style: I alternated between wash and go, twist outs and protective styling. I will typically check the weather for the upcoming week( my wash day is typically on Saturday). If the majority of the week will be below 50 degrees I do a protective style ( bun or flat twist pinned up. Temperature over 50 I go with wash and go or twist out. I always sit under the dryer post styling to help my style set and products better penetrate vs air drying.
  • Night care: For twist outs only re-twist twice during that 5-7 day time frame other nights I will pineapple my hair taking care to tuck my ends under. Wash and go will pineapple but also cover with my satin bonnet. Protective style I will just wrap a satin scarf around my style and go to bed. I like to cover my hair because the heat can be extremely drying on the hair and skin. I always sleep on a satin pillowcase so the nights I don’t have an extra layer of protection I’m not worried about my hair drying out to bad. comb-350077_640

I hope this helps anyone looking for some steps to help with your winter natural hair routine. The ultimate goal is making sure your hair is has plenty of moisture and your ends are sealed against the cold and wind.  I have linked a few of my favorite products to use in each section.