Sunday, July 31, 2011

Toddler Roll to Side Pony

My little one asked me a little while ago for a side ponytail.  With her hair being so short and thin, I wasn't sure how I was going to pull this off.  I have done this style on my oldest all the time but had never thought it would work in my toddlers hair.  But lucky or us it turned out and she loves it.

We started with wet hair then we rolled adding new hair with each roll until it was rolled to the opposite side of her head then we secured it with an elastic.
She likes flowers so we added a flower. 

Foundation Review


Light Coverage
BOURJOIS 10 HOUR SLEEP EFFECT
Available in 5 shades – Slight yellow tone
Beautiful Scent - Peaches
Goes on like a tinted moisturize looks sheer but secretly evens out the skin tone.
“Barely There” kind of look
Great for Normal to Dry Skin, gives a dewy sheen.
*My shade 71








Personal Recommendation – Great for the inexperienced women, one step-up from a tinted moisturizer.
Application – Works best with finger tips but also works well with stippling brushes.


Light/Medium Coverage
BOURJOIS HEALTHY MIX
Available in 5 shades – Slight yellow tone (works with most undertones, even difficult ones)
Beautiful Scent - Fruity
Very comparable to “Sleep Effect” but has a slightly higher coverage. (Buildable)
Great for normal/dry (Combination in the colder month)
Has been recommended as a wedding day foundation.
*I use this daily, Shade 51








Personal Recommendation - Anyone who is scared of trying foundation young to old this is an easy texture to work with.
Application – Any including stippling brushes, fingers tips, sponges or foundation brushes.
Also Available – Matching Concealer which is full coverage.


Medium Coverage
MAYBELLINE 24H SUPER STAY
Available in 12 shades – Mixture of tone
Fragrance-free and oil-free
Super long lasting, no transfer withstands heat, sweat and humidity.
Finish is kind of neutral so can work on the oiler skin types who hate matte finish foundation.
*I use this for a night out, In Ivory.









Personal recommendation – Can give full coverage if you need it with a fresh look even after hours of wear.
Application – Work best with sponges, fingers tips or foundation brushes.

Also Available – Matching Concealer which is full coverage and featured in my Friday Favourite.




Medium/Full Coverage
Rimmel Lasting Finish 16&25 Hour
Both Available 6 in shades
Both very long lashing and very similar!
Comparable to Maybelline 24H and Revlon Photoready foundation but cheaper.
Finish is kind of dewy/neutral, works best for dry to combo skin.
*I use it in ivory shades
*Best set with a finish spray rather then too much powder.




Personal recommendation – Great foundation for photos and videos, Wedding and proms/Debs.
Application – Work best with sponges, fingers tips or foundation brushes. Different applications give different coverage.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Side Cornrows Into Box Braids

This is a style I did on Keyanna in summer 2010, I didn't have a style in mind when I started but this is what we ended up with. I loved it, she loved it, and we got tons of compliments. We got about 2 and a half weeks out of it before I took it down.

INSTRUCTIONS:

-I began by parting her hair down the middle and tying off the left side.
-Then I started braiding the cornrows diagonally, going towards the top of her head. I did about 7-8 braids, and ended right below her ear.
-After finishing the cornrows I untied the loose hair and began parting and doing box braids. And finally, ended the style by adding beads to the ends of all the braids.
-This style took about 1.5 hrs.







Friday, July 29, 2011

Upcoming Review: Beemine Products

We recieved our BeeMine products a few days ago, courtesy of Tracey Q. over at Beemineproducts.com

Here's what we got:
BeeMine Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer
BeeMine Bee Hold Curly Butter
BeeMine Deja's Hair Milk

I've just started using them on Keyannas hair so i'll let you all know how we feel about them soon, keep an eye our for our review!


Kai-Lan Inspired Style

So, I was thinking.. What better way to kick off our FIRST blog post than  with one of the FIRST styles I ever did on Keyanna!
So here you have it.. Our Kai-Lan inspired style.
When Keyanna was younger she was obsessed with the show, so I thought I would try a style to resemble Kai-Lans hair in the show. It came out great and is my daughters all time favorite style! I love it too beacuse its something quick and simple that I can do if we are pressed for time. 



And heres a variation we did.. Hanging braids with beads in the back instead of the buns.







Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Simple Toddler French Braids

I know this style seems simple which it is but this is a huge style for my toddler who has such thin and short hair.  She was so excited when we could finally french braid.
All you do is make a center part and then french braid each side down to the ends. 

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Prime Time

Gosh Vs L’Oreal Vs Elf  


Gosh Velvet Touch Primer - €18.50 – 1.0 oz (30ml)

L'oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer€14.50 0.49 oz (15ml)

Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer - €6.80 - 0.49oz (15ml)




These Silicone based primer are all fairly similar in consistency but have a few differences so let me break it down.

Gosh Velvet Touch Primer

Gosh primer is expensive and hard to find. (A|wear in Cork City is where I usually get mine.) Its one of the first primer I’ve ever tired and I love it. It really helps the foundation to smooth on and last longer. 
Claims to “It fills in fine lines and deep pores in the skin, creating a uniform, matt and silky soft surface, enabling the easy and smooth application of foundation”
I have this in my kit and use it on most (if not every) client.

For all skin type - It is more suited to normal skin.

Also available from this line:
- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Primer Apricot with Matrixyl 3000 (a face firming peptitde)
- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Primer Cream
- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Lip Primer
- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Eye Primer

L'oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer

L’oreal as a brand is more easily available however it is not the best price. If you compare it to the Gosh primer which has twice the amount of product is doesn’t seem that worth it. However if you are travelling any time soon, L’oreal has some great duty free products. I got two for 18euro on my flight back from Rome.
Claims – “this primer masks wrinkles and uneven textures in the skin, making the complexion feel smooth and soft, with a remarkable velvety touch”
I feel like this is a good summer primer the smallest amount (seriously less is more) on the t-zone really helps to keep oiliness and large pores at bay. I have been using this for awhile and I love it, It has a slight pink tint which brightens the skin.

It is more suited to Combination/oil skin.

Also available from this line:
Studio Secrets Professional Primer Anti-Shine
Studio Secrets Professional Primer Anti-Dullness
Studio Secrets Professional Primer Anti-Redness

Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer

Last but not least my favourite primer – Elf primer from the studio line. I talked about this so many times. It is comparable to smashbox and the above the Gosh Primer. The texture is very similar, light clear gel and I would consider it a dope for sure. 
Elf primer is available on the Elf websites though you get less then the Gosh primer in one bottle if my calculations are correct buying two Elf bottles are still cheaper then the Gosh Primer.
The only thing I do not like about the Elf primer is the packaging, the pump got clogged and I had to scrap out the product in the end but I still love it, it’s like that puppy that eats your favourite shoes but you still love her. Plus I would rather have some thing wrong with the packaging then the product because the packaging can be fix (Elf are you listening)
Overall I LOVE this one more then the others! :)

For all skin types.



Friday, July 22, 2011

Lauren Braid to Pony

This is another Lauren hairstyle from the TV show Make it or Break it.
We just recently cut my daughter's hair and gave her bangs so her style looks a little bit different. 
First start by making a part from front of her ear to the front of the other ear.  Pull the hair in the back out of your way. 
I started just above her right ear and made a french braid.  The key to this braid is pulling the hair under rather than over.  This makes the braid stand up on her head rather than lay flat. French braid all the way across the top front of her head. 
Secure the bottom of the braid with a clear elastic.
Pull all the hair into a low ponytail. 
Take a small piece of hair and wrap the elastic. 

4th of July Fancy Hair

This was done for the 4th of July but can be used for any holiday all you have to do is change the decorations you use.
I started by making a front poof. 
Then I braided her sides up.  Each side gets french braided up to the middle of her head.
Then pull all the hair into a ponytail
Now make a messy bun. 
Then I found a red white and blue paper weight at the dollar store I pulled them apart and the 2 picture below are the items separated.
I pulled this one into individual strands and started to tie them into her hair. 
The picture below has wire in it and was easy to wrap in and out of her hair. 
Below is the back of her hair.


Right before it got dark we took glow in the dark bracelets and wrapped them through her hair as shown below.

Monday, July 18, 2011

$100 Gift Certificate Giveaway! Ann's Bridal



Ladies! When you're planning a wedding, what's better than a really good deal? A freebie, that's what! Ann's Bridal Bargains is giving away a $100 gift certificate to one very lucky African-AmericanBrides.com reader.

Entering the contest is super easy. Just leave a comment on this blog post and that's it. Two weeks from now we'll use the random generator to choose a winner. It could SO be you!

Friday, July 15, 2011

4th of July Firework

I apologize I didn't get this up for the 4th of July things have been busy as most of you experience too!
The state we live in celebrates the 24th of July much like the 4th of July which I forget that other states don't celebrate.  

This style was so simple and she turned out to be the most patriotic hair around our town.
All I did was make a poof then put her hair into pigtails (since she doesn't have much hair this was the easiest)
I went to our local dollar store and found a patriotic paper weight that had the strings below 
and stars attached to a metal wire wrapped in red white and blue. 
I folded the long strands of red white and blue over so they weren't so long and secured them with an elastic.
Right before we went out for the night we wrapped bracelet glow sticks in between each pigtail.  Since the bracelets were much heavier than her hair we added a 3 on across the top of her head.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Rolls to Side Ponytail

This is a quick and simple style. 
Start with a small roll.  Rolling her bangs back but leave a couple small amounts of hair around her face (these will be curled in ringlets)
Then roll all the hair starting on the opposite side.  Roll the hair into a side ponytail. 
Secure all the hair on the side with an elastic.
I then put ringlets in the hair around her face and the ponytail along with wrapping the ponytail with her own hair.