Wednesday, March 30, 2011

WILL YOU BE HERE?? MUFE PRO SOCIAL 2011!!!

Hey Blossoms,

So I just received this email from Make Up Forever so affectionately referred to as MUFE. This is their first PRO SOCIAL of 2011 and just in time too. April 9th & 10th marks IMATS NY 2011!!!! I will definitely be in attendance for IMATS and on both days. I will post a blog soon of my WISHLIST of items I'd like to purchase while there. I can NOT WAIT to meet my fellow MUAs, hairstylists, photogs, bloggers, youtubers, cosmetic brands, makeup lovers, and celebrities!! If any MUAs in the NY area are available be sure to drop by the PRO SOCIAL and IMATS NY later that weekend (hope you purchased your tickets.. HURRY!!) and be sure to say "Hi!"




Until Next Time,

Later Blossoms

Monday, March 28, 2011

WHY DO YOU LOVE MAKEUP?

Hey Blossoms,

This is a question asked most commonly by others, rarely by ourselves and almost never answered in it's entirety to either...

WHY DO YOU LOVE MAKEUP??

I say: WHY NOT?!

It's great to wear to help you look your best, it boosts your confidence and makes you feel good. You can wear any look you desire or create one. It's like being a walking Picasso painting to me...

Blossoms: I want to know "WHY DO YOU LOVE MAKEUP???"

*WINNER* of Celebrity Makeup Artist, Ricky Wilson, Couture Beauty Makeup...

BEST PURPLE LIPSTICK LIPGLOSS COMBO EVER! *WOC* *HD VIDEO*

Saturday, March 26, 2011

HEALTHY HAIR JOURNEY: 6 INCHES TO 3 INCHES!!! BIG CHOP?!

Hey Blossoms,

So yes my hair has gone from 6 inches at its longest point (front of head to tip of nose) to 3 inches in that same spot! I know your wondering how???? I discovered something entirely by accident. While attempting double strand twists for the first time I noticed that the ends were super long and straight as opposed to curled or puffy. I went online to the natural hair channels I'm subscribed to on Youtube and even to the natural hair blogs I follow and looked at tutorials of two strand twists as well as pictures of a full head of two strand twists and noticed not one person had long straight ends! They were either curled  or puffed. My mind didn't want to believe it so I began to look at Youtube videos and blogs on hair textures during transitioning and my thoughts were confirmed. I STILL HAD PERMED ENDS!!!! I didn't notice before when I did bantu knots because you coil the hair together and wrap it into a "knot" so the ends aren't exposed. Nor did I notice during washing because of all the strinkage I had. When I attempted the double strand twists I could see my curls from my root to the middle of my hair strands but the ends were limp and straight.

Those straight ends had to GO! So I double strand twisted my hair and cut off all the straight ends. Now my ends either curl or puff. I'm a little disappointed that all the length I thought I had wasn't all natural BUT I am soo happy to have my CURLS!!! So if I had to do it over again so that my curl definition could shine through I would. I went from 6 inches of length to 3 inches!!! Although I literally lost 1/2 my length its better to get it out the way or risk the permed ends splitting all the way up the hair follicle to the curled end.

My hair before I cut the remaining permed ends measured as follows

Front: 6 inches (front of head to tip of nose)
Side: 5 inches (sideburn to jawline)
Center: 5 inches (pulled straight up)
Back: 4 inches (nape of neck to bottom of neck)

My hair NOW

Front: 3 inches (front of head to 1/3 of forehead)
Side: 3 inches (sideburn to tip of ear)
Center: 3 inches (pulled straight up)
Back: 3 inches (nape of neck to 1/3 of neck)

WOW huge difference.....check out the photos before I cut the permed ends

Front of head (6 inches)

Side of head (5 inches)

Back of Head (4 inches)

Close up: Back of Head (4 inches)

Here are length check photos now with hair in double strand twists....




I like the double strand twists because when they are taken out your natural curl pattern is defined. This isn't a style I'd wear by itself now but as I gain length to my hair I'll part my hair more uniformly better wear it. I finger parted these twists.


Here's the amount of hair I cut and I've taken a strand to show how straight the ends were.

All the permed ends I cut

Close Up of permed ends I cut...notice there are NO curls anywhere in this mound of hair

Close up of end of double strand twist...notice the long straight strands and I made sure to cut the point where the permed hair and curled hair met to avoid split ends

Here's a fro hawk I attempted a few days ago. I now notice how many straight ends there were. It definitely took away from the style and I am excited to attempt this style at a later date now that I have all curls.

Goodness look at those permed ends I honestly thought it was because it was an old bantu knot out and I had manipulated the curl out...lol...naive

Side profile..those permed ends are so flat and lifeless




 Here  is my afro puff ponytail before I chopped off the permed ends. Notice the very slight wave pattern and more importantly the straight strands all about the puff. It makes it look very uneven and thin.





Here's my afro puff ponytail after.

Notice the DEFINED wave pattern all about my head not just in the center like in the above photos and also notice my ENTIRE puff is curled and even. There is a lot of shrinkage so it does look significantly shorter. However if I pick the ponytail out I can make it as big as the one above. The one above wasn't picked out either.








All in all TODAY can actually now be referred to as MY BIG CHOP!! Inadvertently of course but a big chop nonetheless. I will keep the double strand twists in overnight and see what it looks like tomorrow. I'm excited to see my TRUE CURLS!

I definitely don't consider this a set back in any way shape or form...I am more motivated, excited and eager now than ever before.

Hope you enjoyed!

Until Next Time,

Later Blossoms!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

DRAMATIC HOT PINK PURPLE & BLACK CUT CREASE LOOK *HD VIDEO*

HEALTHY HAIR JOURNEY: IM NATURAL!!!

LOOK WHAT I WON FROM L'OREAL PARIS!!

Hey Blossoms,

I love Twitter. It connects a universe of people from all walks of life and backgrounds in 140 characters or less. What's even better about Twitter is the sheer availability of information, advice and tips in the makeup world from Celebrity Makeup Artists, major cosmetic brands, freelance makeup artists and makeup lovers alike! My favorite hashtag (#) chats on Twitter are #makeupchat & #makeupmonday. If your in the Twitter world be sure to visit these two "places".

Many times people and companies conduct retweet contests/giveaways. Basically you retweet their tweet for a chance to win a prize. L'oreal Paris had a recent retweet contest/giveaway and yours truly WON! I was super excitied and the prize was L'oreal True Match Super-Blendable Blush!!! The packaging was awesome and  the blush arrived to me quickly and intact. There was even an awesome note attached from the L'oreal Paris team, which is based in my home state...NY!






I was able to pick which blush I wanted based on their color system and I decided the color N7-8 Sweet Ginger would be the best match. The other colors seemed to have too much of a pink undertone that wouldn't  show up as vibrantly against my deep skin tone.




This color is best described as a "corally pink". The swatch on L'oreal website showed this color to have a warmer & darker tone than it actually has. Most "swatches" available on websites are rarely true to color. However it was helpful in guiding me to the best color for my skin tone via it's color coding system. This blush is best recommend for N7(classic tan) or N8(cappuccino). I haven't tried the foundation because the color range is limited and doesnt't have any choices for deeper skin tones so I was definitely interested in seeing how this blush would hold up.






After swatching (swiped finger across blush 3 times), I  believe this could work as a highlight adding some light shimmer along the cheek bone. Using a very light hand. As pictured if too much is use you'll have a pale pink shimmer on your face. It does have an awesome buttery texture, is SUPER BLENDABLE just as it claims and doesn't look powdery on the skin. As far as being worn solely as a blush it's not that pigmented enough to show up on my deep skin tone. This blush may be awesome for those with lighter skin tones that like a faint wash of color on your cheeks. There are limited shades in the blushes for all skin tones. L'oreal has an amazing range of colors for those of lighter skin tones in the cool, warm, and neutral range. L'oreal has other amazing products but their foundation and blushes doesnt have an extensive color range. Thus, I will not purchase other blushes from this line, but it was still nice to win, and will find some use to it.

Have any of you tried this blush? What color did you get? Did you like the pigmentation/color range?

Be sure to comment below!

Until Next Time,

Later Blossoms!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

HEALTHY HAIR JOURNEY: 1st BANTU KNOT OUT!

Hey Blossoms,

I had to post about my first successful bantu knot out. A very simple and easy to do style but its so versatile in the ways you can wear it. I love afros so of course I did this look and created an afro puff ponytail.


When I first went natural I wore a high ponytail and didn't pick out my hair so there was lots of strinkage. That's fine by me I love my cute little ponytail puff! Here's my hair before the bantu knot out...




I didn't take a picture of my bantu knots while they were in but they look like a coil wrapped into a "knot". You can part the hair however you like and do as many or as few as you like. I believe I only had 12 knots I wanted lots of curls! The knots are actually knots! The hair is just twisted and wrapped around and doesn't damage the hair at all and is easily removed. You can secure the "knot" in place with a bobby pin.The more hair you have the bigger the knots will be....


Here's my hair after the bantu knot out...



LOVING IT!!


Here's a sneak peak of my bantu knot out jazzed up with a pretty flower hair barrette. Stay tuned for the makeup tutorial Youtube video to be posted tomorrow for this dramatic makeup look I'm wearing!





Have you ever tried a bantu knot out? Do you like this style? What ways to do you wear yours? Let me know...

Tune back in tomorrow....you do NOT want to miss this makeup tutorial!


Until Next Time,

Later Blossoms!

Monday, March 21, 2011

HEALTHY HAIR JOURNEY: IM ALL NATURAL!!!!

Hey Blossoms,

I wanted to share with you all that I've embarked on a hair journey....to healthy AND natural hair! This has been something I've been working towards since May 2010. Here's a brief history of my hair story..

Age 12: First Perm. I remember being so excited to get a perm (after months of begging for one) although my hair was really short. I remember thinking I'd prefer straight and short hair over coarse and short hair. Initially that's how I felt but as time went on I grew to dislike my hair in general whether straight or coarse. I can remember clearly my aunt telling me if I didn't keep a silk wrap on when I was lying down that my hair would break off. The silk wrap would always wind up on the floor or somewhere else. I was a "wild sleeper". At first I didn't see a change and then it seemed overnight I lost so much hair especially along my edges.

Age 13: Perm & Silk wrap war continues with more hair loss!

Age 14: I REALLY disliked my hair by this point and made sure it was always kept in box braids. I did not bother with moisturizing the scalp or any thing else. I figured the braids protected my hair enough and would do all the "work" for me. I couldn't have been more wrong and would be frustrated when I took the braids out how my hair would shed and break and wouldn't grow that much. The little it did grow was so insignificant. I was looking for a dramatic change in length. I was very naive and unrealistic in my expectations of my hair especially since I didn't take care of it how I should have in order to achieve those same expectations.

Age 15: I discovered wearing weaves and ponytail extensions. The "slicked back or side ponytail" became my signature look. I STILL didn't take care of my hair. Using the bonding glue to place the weave in and literally ripping it out my head to remove instead of taking the proper steps. I used the strongest holding gel and A LOT of it and when it was time to wash my hair I had no idea what the purpose of deep conditioning was or even conditioning at all and would skip that step altogether using the strongest "sounding" shampoo I could find and after a 10 minute or less wash I would be on my way. I also constantly self-permed every time I felt a strand of hair was becoming "unruly" sometimes as often as every 3 weeks. I would say I'm touching up the "new" growth. By this time I was also on my own and thus everything dealing with me was MY responsibility including hair.



Age 16: Weaves & ponytails continue...bonding glue, super hold gel and all!


Age 17: I discover wigs!. I would either have my hair braided in cornrows underneath or I would wear a stocking cap until my hair flattened against my head. I thought I was now treating my hair right since I no longer used hair bonding glue. However I STILL wasn't moisturizing or properly maintaining my natural hair underneath those synthetic hair wigs.

Age 18: Wigs continue...as does my NON-existent maintenance of my natural hair!


Age 19: I become pregnant with my son and decide I'm going to stop all the madness with wigs and weaves and CUT my hair! My hair was at my nape when wet and by the time I left the hair salon it was in a short & tapered cut!. That salon used gel and other holding sprays to create those hard crunchy flips and curls. So I am now RE-introduced to gels and something new...moose & holding/setting sprays. Of course I just drown my hair with all these products day in and day out and my hair is only washed when I go to the salon to get it "curled" (gelled, crunched, heat applied with flat iron/blow dryer/ curling rod, moosed, setting sprayed and flipped). Every 2 weeks the same tedious and unbeknowst to me...hurtful process. This was also the first time it was permed professionally.


Age 20: I got tired of the short cut process and resorted back to wigs and weaves...this time I opted out of bonding glue and started going with sew-ins which I believed to be "better" for my hair. STILL I wasn't maintaining my hair. I truly believed if I left my hair alone it would just grow. WRONG!

Age 21: I was convinced by someone to go "natural"...of course they just meant...no more wigs and weave and just wear my "natural" hair out: permed & blow dried. I reluctantly did. I had no connection with my hair at this time and couldn't care less what it did or how it looked if I tried. I was PLEASANTLY surprised when the finished product revealed my hair to be SHOULDER LEVEL! Whoa! Where did this come from??!! It was a coarse bush before the perm, blow out & wrap and now its to my shoulders?? I was shell shocked. This also automatically made me feel as if all I was doing before was justified and helped my hair grow..I mean how else did I get this length that I NEVER had before.


Age 21: The "long" hair (longest I ever had at least) was short lived. I now cared about my hair and had been doing a little moisturizing and conditioning (albeit at the salon weekly). Yes I still had trouble maintaining my hair on my own even WITH the length. I then was scared of losing it all so when summer rolled around I opted for braids again  because it would "protect" my hair. I unfortunately was unaware of the fragile state of my hair, although with length it hadn't been permed professionally in years, so this recent perm had it even more in a fragile state. I also didn't moisturizer or maintain my scalp at all. So of course when I removed the braids I had so much shedding and breakage I was BACK to a short coarse mess. All my hair was GONE! I cried a little. At that point I said I HATED hair and definitely wouldn't ever care about it again because I felt like I was manipulated into caring about it only for it to fall out. I thought "I didn't do anything different than I normally did and it grew with that process before so what happened?"...you know the process I mentioned above where I just let the braids exist in my hair without moisturizing or maintaining my hair at all...yes I was VERY naive to how hair actually worked and what it needed.


Age 22: Ah the discovery of lace front wigs and indian remy hair weaves. LOL! Goodness..I felt that I now had the ability to have hair that "looked" like my own but wasn't really mine. I honestly didn't care if it looked fake or not but having that option just seemed to be more alluring to me. When I first started I wore the synthetic pieces that looked very unnatural then I opted for the human hair. I hated the "hairline" on the lace fronts and then went entirely with indian remy hair! I loved how sleek it looked, how it flowed like real hair and the versatility of it. ..I experimented with different colors (1, 1B, 2, 1B/33 I believe) and looks. I loved my hair best when it looked "ethnic"...a huge coarse curly, kinky or bushy afro. I knew my own hair could one day look like it but Oh how I wished my hair WAS already NATURALLY like that!




Age 23( May 2010): I wanted all the madness to stop so I cut my hair again. This time I made sure to go to a salon that specialized in short cuts but didn't use all the harsh chemicals to curl & set  it. I DID have my hair permed. My hair came out super short, tapered,soft and cute. I continued going to the salon and noticed my hair was growing at a fast rate. By 3 months time I could place it in a ponytail and I decided to start back with sew-in weaves as protective styling. Last perm was about July-August 2010 At first I wasn't maintaining my own hair underneath but then I decided that I had no one to blame for my hairs dire state but myself. I decided to TACKLE that! I researched on how to help hair grow healthy, how to maintain hair while in protective styling, how to grow thicker hair and the steps necessary to go TRULY NATURAL! Honestly I knew for SURE I wanted HEALTHY LONG hair but I was undecided if I would go natural or permed. My love for BIG hair fixed that quickly...NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY IT IS!




Age 24(Feb 2011): I had a HUGE setback. I had opted to remove my last sew-in myself and completely tangled my hair into the thread coupled with having kept my sew in longer than usual(my old stylist no longer worked in a salon so I was on the hunt for a new one) the new growth grew out around the thread.



I told her of my plans and what I wanted to accomplish with my hair. The new hair stylist helped me remove the tangled mess in my hair (my hair was coming out in HUGE clumps! I believe it was the worse she's ever seen)  and cut the last remaining strands of permed hair still left. I noticed that although I wasn't as vigilant with maintaining my hair underneath my sew-ins from July-Aug 2010, after my last perm, my hair HAD changed. It was no longer thin and brittle. It was thick and soft with a slight CURL PATTERN!! I knew then that after this last sew-in(to help me grow back what I lost) I would be going natural. The stylist did a braid pattern that allowed me to easily maintain my scalp and hair daily! I also opted for a style similar to what I would LOVE for my hair to look like down the line on this natural hair journey...my hair may not be exactly like it but I'd love something similar..Those of you who are subscribed to my youtube channel may remember this hairstyle in my recent HD videos.




Well after ALL THISSSS here I am now!

MARCH 20TH 2011 FIRST DAY NATURAL





YAY!! I made it and it was NOT easy. There will be people who do not believe I will STAY on this journey, or believe that I'm STILL beautiful WITHOUT straight or synthetic/human/indian remy hair, or that probably don't or WON't ever understand. The single most IMPORTANT thing is I'M HAPPY! My hair does NOT define me. However it IS a part of me and I want it to be free to grow, curl & shrink as it may.

My goals for 2011 are:

1) grow out my edges

2) grow out the nape of my neck

3) have a HUGE 'fro!

4) LOVE MY HAIR UNCONDITIONALLY!

I love the fro puff but still want to protect my hair so although I have one I will from time to time wear a protective fro ponytail piece over my own. Similar to the one worn by the model below.





Sometimes the weather can be unforgiving to hair especially ends( the oldest most fragile part of a hair strand). We all know the ends make the puff LOL! Although Beyonce is wearing a fro ponytail piece (maybe even a full fro wig as a piece idk) this is my ULTIMATE GOAL!!! I want a HUGE FRO PUFF!!



I am not opposed to ANYONE who wears their hair in any style weather weave, braids, natural, permed, straight, kinky, loc or any thing else you can think of. This is just MY journey and mines alone. I'd like to thank ALL the amazing Youtube women with natural hair channels, natural hair blogs, natural hair forums, and a huge thank you to a childhood friend (who you all may remember from a previous post: CELEBRITY MAKEOVER: KANDI BURRESS) She answered my phone call when I called her one evening and offered her opinions on products I could use to begin my journey and gave amazing suggestions. She is gorgeous and I have admired her for some time. She is also known as my "Airbrush Beauty" (I used Temptu Pro S/B foundation and she's now a part of my  portfolio) Thank you soo much!!!





Thank you all for reading this blog. For those of you who inspire me, support me and helped me along the way.THANK YOU! For those of you who will not support me and who will change due to my decision (who knew what you do/dont do to your OWN hair could make people change!) I forgive you! For all my subscribers and blog followers THANK YOU!  I WILL record Youtube videos of my healthy natural hair journey and I will blog on the steps I take along the way. For all who are interested feel free to comment, leave suggestions, tips, warnings and anything else below and don't forget to share your  hair journey!

Until Next Time,

Later Blossoms