Look for Less: Boxing Kitten Oxfords

*image from fashionbombdaily.com*


Remember these babies, the beautiful tribal print oxfords from Boxing Kitten. I'm sure you loved them, but thought twice about the purchase when you seen that they were only a measly $126 .. ya right. Perhaps they were sold out before you could get your hands on them because only 50 were made in each color. Either way turn your frowns upside down, because you can get a similar look from Forever 21 from only a fraction of the price, only $22.80 - get yours before they're sold out.

FOREVER 21

NATIVE OXFORDS

NATIVE OXFORDS

NATIVE OXFORDS

Easy Summertime/ Everyday Makeup

More Looks...

If you're not into wearing liquid foundation in the summer then this look is for you, and the best part is you can obtain it in under 5minutes. Here's what you'll need:

1. Mac Mineralized Skin Finish Natural (my shade is Deep Dark)
2. Mac Fix+ Spray or some other skin prepping mist, IE Evian Spritz, or plain water
3. Mascara & Eyebrow pencil
4. Your favorite blush (Try Nars Orgasm)
5. Lipgloss or Lipstick (I used Mac Boy Bait or Mac Right Image)

After cleansing, moisturizing and priming your face spray Fix+ Spray all over your face. The MSF blends better and gives more coverage when applied to wet skin. Then apply your Mineralized Skin Finish Natural all over your face and down your neck using either a kabuki brush or a dense powder brush. Next apply your favorite blush to the apples of your cheeks using any blush brush (MAC 116) or even the same powder brush. Next fill in your brows. Finally apply your mascara and lipgloss and head out the door. Easy as 1-2-3.
Note: If your going out at night just add a little black liner to your upper lash line and waterline.

Braid Spray: How to Stretch It

As many of you already know, my current protective style is box braids. The product i'm using to keep my hair moisturized is Africa's Best Braid & Sheen Spray with Conditioner. At my local beauty supply store this spray costs five dollars. Now I know five dollars isn't a lot, but i've had my braids in less than a week and i've already used half of the bottle. That's not a lot if you consider that daily moisturizing is necessary, and also that I plan on keeping these in for about two months, I don't plan on spending too much money running out and buying braid spray every week. So here's what I came up with :

Ingredients
Braid Spray of your choice
Aphogee Pro-Vitamin Leave in conditioner
Grapeseed oil or oil of your choice (olive, jojoba, etc)
Water
100% Glycerin
A drop of Shea moisture restorative conditioner (if you want)


Pour about a quater to a third of your braid spray into a spray bottle, add about one-third cup of water, a good amount of your oil, a touch of glycerin and a touch of your leave in. SMRC is optional. After everything is added give it a good shake, section your hair and spray away. This mix felt so good on my scalp, I love it.

If you don't have glycerin or any of the other ingredients that's fine, the main product you'll need other than braid spray are your oil and water and you should be good to go.

There you have it, keep your hair moisturized on a budget. Happy Hair Journey

Skin Care Regimen

(source)


Many of us are lacking skin care regimens. I've searched high and low for the best products to give me beautiful clear skin and I think i've finally found the best combination.

Step One : Cleanse
A good cleanser will for one, cleanse your skin, but it will also give your pores a chance to breathe ridding your skin from any dirt. For my cleanser I use Ambi Black Soap.

Step Two: Exfoliate
This helps get rid of any old skin cells that can leave your face looking dry. These can be used daily or once or twice a week as needed.
Try Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream Cleanser

Step Three: Tone
Toners close your pores and remove any final traces of dirt your cleanser did'nt pick up. Try Thayers Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner

Step Four: Moisturize
For beautiful ageless skin use a moisturizer daily. Be sure to use one with SPF for the day time. At night use a nice thick one without. At night I use Shea Butter and in the day time I use Hope in a Jar

skin care regimen by adoretayyy on Polyvore.com

Summer Protective Style: Braids

During the hot summer months, the most beneficial thing to do for your hair is to utilize protective styles. For my protective style I chose micro-braids or box-braids. I've had them in for two days now, and I plan on keeping them in until the beginning of August, so about eight weeks. For some braids end up causing more harm than good but if you keep up with your regimen your hair will thank you.

Here's my regimen:

Note: contray to popular belief, you can wash your braids. If you're too afraid try Dry Shampoo

Daily
Moisturize with Braid Spray - Africa's Best Braid Sheen Spray
Oil Scalp with oil mix: castor, grapeseed and peppermint (every other day)

Weekly
Clean Scalp with Tresemme Fresh Start dry shampoo

Once a Month
Wash & Condition hair by diluting shampoo in water and pouring or applying to hair with an applicator bottle.

Healthy hair loves a clean scalp, so be sure to keep your scalp clean. Hope this helps !

Three Month Progress

I began my hair journey on March 24, 2011. Since then I have learned so much about my hair, not everything but I have gotten to know my hair way more than I ever have. Prior to beginning my hair journey I had just taken out a sew-in. It was a straight style with a little hair left out on top. Due to frequent flat ironing you can see that I barely had any hair left on the top of my head. It really looks bad. Thankfully my hair has filled in since then. I am not quite shoulder length yet, but I have made great progress nonetheless, in my opinion. So there's my 3 month update, next three month comparison will be in September! Wish me luck!