ABC's of Curly Hair

ABC's of Curly Hair

Product Review: As i Am Smoothing Gel

Again, from this months CurlKit!

I figured since i was already using something new for my hair from the CurlKit might as well go all the way! lol. Anyway i have a problem with frizz on my twists (not that i really mind it) buuuuut i like my twists looking messy but neat like more into the week than a day or two after i did it if you know what i mean. 

Yea i'm not gonna catch all the hair and some extra strands will escape me (somehow they always do.. 0_O) But with the smoothing gel i thought that it would help with the frizz, get them to lay down down instead of play around! And it did. 

When i finished my mini-twist i just grabbed some of this on my fingers and rubbed it over them and finished it off with my winter spritz before doing a few large twists and tying with my satin scarf.

From the website:

• Provides a secure hold
• Moisturizes
• Adds shine
• Rinses easily from the hair when it's time to cleanse
• Won't dry out, harden or roughen hair

Key Ingredients: Aloe Vera Gel, Sugar Beet Root, Vegetable Glycerin and Wheat Protein

Aqueous (Water, Aqua Purificada, Purified) Extracts: Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root¹, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice ¹, Glycerin¹, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein², Laureth-23, Potassium Sorbate, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Fragrance/Parfum, Limonene.
Source: 1-Natural; 2-Wheat Derived

Best if applied to clean, damp hair. Use a spray bottle to dampen hair if necessary.

• Apply gel and smooth down, using your fingers or a soft natural bristle brush. 
• Allow hair to dry completely before touching it again.
• For next-day refreshing, dampen the area where the gel was applied, and smooth.

Non greasy, very lightweight, non flaky when drying, doesn't leave any white residue, and smells heavenly (very light sweet scent). As it says helps in smoothing the hair down. 

Would I recommend.... YES

Would I buy it myself.... YES

Product Review: Amazing Botanicals Pumpkin Pomade

So over the weekend I finally used the deep conditioning mask that i bought from Botanical Spirits at this years Circle of Sisters. It left my hair almost straight, like my curl pattern was really elongated. When I twisted my hair this time there was no curling up at the end and little to no shrinkage!

YES!!!!

So this time instead of using Cantu leave in conditioner, I went with the Pumpkin Pomade that i got in this months CurlKit. 

From the website it says that it is:

Made with rich Babassu and Pumpkin Seed butter. Rich in vitamin A, C, E, and Omega fatty acids, this is "The Royal Treatment" your crown deserves! Our pomade locks in moisture without leaving a greasy feel. 

Use to palm roll, roller set, braid, twist outs, blow outs and styling hair.

Ingredients: Babassu oil, Pumpkin Seed Butter, Uccuba Butter, JBCO, Candelilla Wax, Saw Palmetto, Bergamont, Rosemary, and botanical blend

I used it for semi-dry mini-twists. I used my winter spritz in my hair first cause combing without it is a bitch!. On the body of my hair i used the pomade then on my ends my whipped shea butter on my ends. Lately that has been the method of choice. I didn't use EcoStyler gel cause i didn't like how it felt on my hair. It left my hair feeling greasy and i want to give it away. (any takers?)

But anyway it left my hair feeling super soft, which i love! And it has a light scent which i don't mindat all. It didn't leave my hair greasy feeling or anything. i didn't have to use a lot just scraped my nail along the side and rub it in my hair. Normally i would try to stay away from anything with wax or petrolatum in it but this worked out just fine!

All in all I will most certainly recommend it to others and for myself to buy a bigger tin!

Quote

“I am a lover without a lover. 
I am lovely and lonely and 
I belong deeply to myself.”

Warsan Shire

Penis Pics?.... Really?

Dudes are a trip, I've known this guy since junior high school and have never been romantically interested in him and yet here he is sending me penis pics and talking bout multiple orgasms... o_0

I won't lie and say i wasn't interested but come on tho...

why send me a pic of your penis, I haven't even promised anything yet, so his thirst right now... OOOOH BOY!

Sigh...

What happened to the original pursual of a female, like the whole wine and dine aspect, the dating, the sweet talking... NOT SENDING PICS OF BODY PARTS!

Honestly, (not that im complaining bout his size or width or anything)

But i haven't even agreed to seeing him outside of work yet, letting alone us being in the position to even consider having sex at the moment

Again, sigh...

What is wrong with men today?

Product Review: Botanical Spirits HerbExture Hair Softening & Strengthening Mask

at Circle of Sister's this year, I along with my friend Krystal (MochaNapps) stopped by the Botanical Spirits booth and we both purchased conditioners. I went with a deep conditioner, cause i was looking for a new one to try and she bought the Shea Soft Styling Creme (her review for the product alone was not a good one but she made it work for her!)

The deep conditioner i bout was the HerbExture Hair Softening & Strengthening Mask (formerly known as the peppermint mud mask)

 

What is it?An herbal base deep conditioner to soften, increase hair growth & manageability

• Formulated with herbal conditioning extracts & oils with  apple cider vinegar that will
• Moisturize, soften and stimulate hair growth
• Increase hair’s manageability and hydration.
• Condition & cleanse hair.
• Good for all hair types especially coarse hair (straight, wavy, curly)
• Decrease curly hair shrinkage factor

Ingredients: Deionized Water, HerbExture™ Proprietary Herbal Complex Extract, Malus Communis Acetic Acid (Apple Cider Vinegar), Laminariales (Kelp) Extract, Rhassoul Clay, Olea Europeus (Olive) Oil, Ricinis Communis (Castor Beans) Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Milk, Milk Acid, Glycerol Stearate, Cetearyl Strearate, Calcium Streayl Lactylate, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-40 Castor Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Glycerol Stearate, PEG-100, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Petals Hydrosol, Caramel, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Essential oil, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Geranium Essnetial Oil, Rosmarinum Officinalis (Rosemary)Leaf Extract, Sodium Hydroxymethyl Glycinate, Potassium Sorbate, Menthol.

So for once i didn't add anything to my deep conditioner. No oils or nothing. I used the conditioner as is. It looked like mud, smelled like mud and was gritty to the feel. The smell wasn't all that exciting and kind of had a herbal/minty undertone. It wasn't a heavy scent but it wasn't light either. The mixture wasn't very thick either mostly watery consistency.

I sectioned my hair in 7 big sections, and just grabbed what i could of the mixture onto my fingers (should've used a perm brush) and combed it through after i had washed my hair with black soap and aloe vera gel (will do a review on that later). I used like a third of the 8oz container. I left it in for a good couple of hours, kept myself busy with preparing food, cooking and eating it. And of course taking a good 2-3 hour nap afterwards. So my hair was deeply deep conditioned. lol!

Washing it out was a trip! like i knew that it was gonna come out gross, but seriously the water was brown! At least it was easy to tell when i got all the conditioner out! But my hair came out soft  and manageable just like it promised!

So i watched other reviews (LolaKinkz & GrowBlackHairNET) on it and it turns out after 3-4 uses it helps minimize shrinkage and elongates curls. So hopefully thats the case this time. will let you know soon!

Would I recommend to others?...........YES!

Poem: Whirlwind

The tumultuous force of my emotions
circle me
enclosing me int their tight grip
i am squeezed in the center
my heart clenching in my chest
standing still
as they lash out at me
in pent up frustration
colliding with my true feelings
and the forces external

i am scarred
i am bruised
i am hollow and fake

i bite my tongue
forcing the words down my throat
in their grittiness
forcing the pain away
taking a backseat in my mind
Impassive, stony, gaunt, and blank
I remain
Overwhelmed
Bursting from within
I cry out
In silence
and die slowly
moving away
in anger

Serenity

If there's one thing i learned throughout my 23 years of existence is that people are stupid and they do the most randomest shit to piss you the fuck off!

Also there is nothing you can do to change their stupidity other than feed into it or blatantly ignore them.

I choose the latter.....

Right now, once again, i am highly annoyed and frustrated and the serenity prayer is helping me cool down along with a dose of three days grace and breaking benjamin...

Honestly i can't wait til i find a new job doing something i absolutely enjoy!

SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i hate this place...

i hate her....

i hate this work.....

FMWL!

(fuck my work life!)

Three Days Grace - Riot

another one of my P.O. songs i listen to

Breaking Benjamin - I Will Not Bow

yea its that kind of day

Decline of the Good Mood

Despite my surprising tiredness this morning, i text my friend back in a surprisingly good mood and was all chipper like and right now i'm pissed the fuck off trying not to curse out my coworker or anyone that comes here in blatant ignorance of filling out forms or check questions. 

Honestly, i don't know how this day turned so wrong... maybe i'm fuckstrated maybe i just need alcohol, all i know is i'm annoyed as hell that it shows on my face.

Even my friend here in the office was like whats wrong... it started off with this lady not even paying attention to this form she was filling out to this lady i'm working with (always cussing or mumbling under her breath about something) saying how i left work for someone ELSE to do and not do anything about it

...................................................................breathe

Any who its getting further into distribution day and we're setting up and me being me i check off what i have and leave everything on their spots for me to put away later. Normally when i'm done checking everything, i put everything away that one time so i don't have to walk back and forth. 

And you-know-who just had to open her mouth and say something. I'm already trying to hold it in from earlier and now she's seriously pissing me off. I really just need to curse her out one time and be done with it cause this woman and these stupid ass people are gonna send me to an early grave with all the stress they piling on me.

..................................................................WHOOOOOOSAAAAAAAAAA!

Gin Wigmore - Black Sheep

A new favorite i peeped on Revenge last night during their little Count of Monte Cristo skit

also, she got it right.....
"once you go black you never go back!"

For Everyone You Meet

No matter the circumstances of how you met, or how things ended up....

In the end you decide!

GRE

So this morning I was scheduled to take the GRE or Graduate Recognition Exam, that test you take for grad school. Not mandatory in most cases but if you're like me and dont have a strong GPA or just want to show your competency in you field then the GRE is for you.

Naturally theres the general exam, which is pretty much the harder version of the SAT and then theres the subject test. i completely lucked out in finding that they had a Psych GRE! =) cause lord nows me having to write essays and start going over math again was just a big NO!

Anyway the exam lasted for 2 hrs 50 min, a total of 205 multiple choice questions based on Cognition, research Methods, Intro to Psych, Human Development, Personality, Sensation, and Physiology.... pretty much all psych has to offer. For me that was going over 3 1/2 years of psych or 7 semesters in a span of a few months.

Did i take those few months to study?
....................................................................NO

I spent summer pretty much lazing about and gave myself a month and half to buckle down and cram. NO BUENO! I suggest you never do it to yourselvves, EVER!

Stupid freaking test, they made us get there for 830am on a SATURDAY! i dont like to leave my bed before 10 on the weekends and i was up at 5. but my ass got there for 730 and the jerks started the exam at 921!

Sigh............................

All in all i think i did ok today. but if anything, I'll take it again in April. it just pains to me to dish out $150 for the exam tho... sigh. If only my poor GPA looked decent!

Natural Hair Journey...

So four days ago, was my NappyVersay! I have been natural for 2 years now and I don't regret it one bit!

So yes i did my big chop, had the boy look going, but it grew out, i rocked out with my fro out, when cool cat with my fro hawk and twist outs, and always looking snazzy in my mini twists!

would i ever go back to the crack?....................................NEVER!!!!!

I Realized I'm over Him...

That in itself is so flippin awesome. And it took shorter than i thought it would. Getting over my first love was like...

And i was just so negative about it....

I thought that i was completely over the whole love thing for a while....

And then i experienced what real 'love' was like even tho it wasn't reciprocated but then shit had to go sideways and get complicated and then it was like....

Being rejected by both guys made me doubt myself  for a while hence...

And once again i was back here....

                                           

I don't do depressing situations well so ... 

And now this morning i felt great so...

Michael Bublé - "Feeling Good"

Jammin to this on pandora and i'm just Feeling Good today! =)

Hurricane Sandy

So we've survived it down here in Queens: power outages, few casualties, lost homes, lost days off work and school... but we've survived it.

Luckily on my end the only thing I had to worry about was boredom setting in for being stuck in the house for three days. But then I got the email saying it was all clear to head in back to work. I work in the payroll office for my now Alma matter and the only thought in my head for the people not on direct deposit was that they were all dumbasses.  I mean now they know for the next time a major disaster strikes and the need their money , but still its so much easier having the money going straight to the bank then having to wait for a check to clear or losing some of it to fees at check cashing places.

So the the school has set up site for all homeplace people and those who have been affected by the superstorm as theybare now calling it.  They are giving free meals and beds to sleep in.  They are also providing funds for students and staff,  I mean loans,  for those that need the.  I think that studsnt government will be organizing a few drives soon for food and clothes. Which is all fine and dandy.

Transportation sucks ass. Like seriously the First train was the only one goijg in and out of queens for me. And it was going local and stopped at 34the street. I was lucky that I lived by the fourth stop and could easily catch the bus for the second should it come by. Also the fact that they were letting us on for free was a major plus. It was going home that was the problem. The first day back the actuly had the nerve to shut down the station. It was so frustrating but I found an express bus that was going back to my old neighborhood and I figured that I would just cry on and have my mom pick me up of necessary. Needless to say it wasn't. The bus dropped me off in my new neighborhood thank god and I only had a 10-15 min walk after that.

And that became the plan. Get frustrated in the morning with local stops and get an easy ride home with the express bus.

I feel sorry for those that lost their homes completely and for those without and hear it power that didn't. My dad and best friend being among those that did. And for those thatost their lives my condolensces to their families and loved ones.

Stay strong, be safe..

Facial Cleansing

I have combination/oily skin prone to acne from time to time. Lately that oil had been passing me of bit then again I'm not on a good skin cleaning regimen. I start of OK but its not am ingrained thing. I don't always follow through basically.

So I stopped by the body shop to pick up a few things to help get me book on track. I got a few items from the seaweed line, deep cleansing facial wash,  pore cleansing facial exfoliator, iconic clay mask,  mattifying moisture lotion. And the tea tree skin clearing lotion.

So the daily facial regimen is:

• Cleanse twice a day,  
• exfoliate afterwards every other day at night,  
• clay mask twice a week in the mornings,  
• followed by deep cleansing astringent or Aloe Vera gel and 
• the mattifying lotion in the mornings and the tea tree lotion at night

Hopefully I can stick to it this time