Freetress Equal Whole Lace Wig "Sapphire "

Long time, no see.  I know.  I've been busy with life and what not.  I should actually be studying right now but I'm here writing a wig review for you beautiful people.  So, I wanted to give my hair a break from all the styling I've been doing.  I haven't protective styles since my faux locs back in July.  I decided to get a wig so I could still get to my hair for weekly washes and moisturizing.  It's just way easier to do with a wig rather than a sew-in. 

After perusing the interwebs and looking at reviews  I decided on the Freetress Equal whole lace wig "Sapphire". I ordered the unit from www. HairWigHarlem.com. She (Sapphire that is)  is a whole lace wig meaning the entire cap is  a breathable lace like material, and still has the traditional lace frontal material in the front to blend with the hair line. She has baby hair around the perimeter (it doesn't look super natural but it doesn't look super fake either).  It's good enough to fool the untrained eye. When I received Sapphire and took her out of the box she was super soft and bouncy. The hair had a medium luster. It wasn't too much shine, but I still added baby powder to dull it a tad bit more.  I also cut and thinned her out some.  It's a very, VERY full wig and was just too much for my little self to pull off so I had to cut her down to size in a sense.  I also flat ironed her to get some of the deep waves out because it looked really weird.

The hair is synthetic made of Futura hair which can stand up to 400 degrees.....supposedly.  I only used 300-340 and some times styling a piece worked and others it didn't.  When I used 340 it all went limp and lifeless and wouldn't really take a curl after that. So,  I would recommend staying closer to 300 degrees.  I'm not used to synthetic hair I usually get remy or virgin hair. This wig cost me a little over $60 (it was on sale)  and has lasted me about a month.  I didn't expect much and I didn't get much.  It was a nice wig while it lasted, but now the ends are beginning to get tangled and matted. I am  wearing her in a low bun now until the Virgin Brazilian Curly hair I ordered from www.Hairaddictsonline.com comes in.  I'll be back with an initial review for that as soon as I can.
Final thoughts Sapphire... She is a great looking wig straight out if the box.  She needs a bit of styling to make her look natural, but not too much.  She didn't last as long as I hope, but it was a great run while it lasted.  If push came to shove, I would purchase her again.

The ends got super matted and gross

EDIT: After I made this post I ended up making this wig last about 2 months longer. How you ask? I CUT IT. First in to a bomb ass bob and once that started to get mated I made her into a bomb ass pixie cut wig. The wig always had body so no styling after the cuts were required 

After cut #1 into a bob

Cut #2 made her a pixie 

How I left my acne behind

circa 2012 when my face was exploding 

Just like millions of adults before me and millions to follow, I suffered from acne for quite a while. Surprisingly  enough I didn't have bad skin as a teen, but for some reason once I hit 21 my face flipped out on me. I don't know if it was hormones or what, but it was awful. It took a serious toll on my confidence. I tried literally every over the counter face wash you could get,and nothing worked. I even tried vitamins for hair skin and nails, but the biotin only made my acne worse. I searched the interwebs for all kinds of DIY remedies, only to come up empty handed. I had given up and just figured I would grow out of it.  Until one day my friend, who had suffered from acne for as long as I could remember, made a post on social media about her skin care routine. To my surprise her  sercret was organic honey!

Bentonite clay mask in action

Organic honey was the secret to her beautiful skin. At first I couldn't understand how putting a sugar on your face could possibly make your skin better. But, I figured that I had tried so many other products it couldn't possibly hurt to try a little honey. At least if it didn't work, I could just out it in my tea or something, right? So I gave it a shot, and HONEY! Let me tell you!! My skin has never been better!!! I have been using raw organic honey to clean my face every day for about 2 years now, and I will never go back to regular facial cleansers. Honey has antibacterial properties that gently cleanse the pores. It also doesn’t contain any of the harsh chemicals found in facial cleansers. Every morning and night I wash my face with honey. After cleansing my face I use witch hazel as a toner (my friend uses green tea) and follow up with avacado oil to lock in the moisture. In addition to washing my face daily with organic honey, every week or two I do a face mask with bentonite clay. That stuff is the TRUTH! After a 20 minute mask my face looks so smooth and bright it’s amazing.  So, my love bugs, ditch over the counter facial cleansers and give the natural approach a try.

Just lipstick and eyeliner. No need
for concealer!!

Wine chronicles No. 1

As I sit here drinking my glass of wine I realize that I’m at a crossroad in my life. I notice that I have been here, at the very same spot, time and time again. In my life, I have tried to do things the “right” or “safe” way if you will. I went to school, made good grades, went to college etc…. Only to end up like many others before me, working in a field completely unrelated to my degree. I’ve always been in the world of sales despite my futile attempts to break out. Every now and then the stars align, and this feeling comes over me. My gut tells me that I need a change and an idea pops in my head. The idea of owning my own business. While I enjoy the steady income of working for someone else, I know that I am missing out on the autonomy I long for. I want the ability to do as I please and answer to no one.  Now is the time for me to risk it all and become the BOSS I know I can be. 2017, I’m coming for you!

Faux Locs

Hello hello hello!!! So, over the past few months I realized my hair hasn't been growing like it used to. It may have just reached the max length it will grow. If that's the case, that's fine. I'm APL (Arm Pit Length) so no real big. But, if it can grow more then great. My hypothesis though, is that I have been too rough on my hair and stressing out the last few months causing excess breakage. So, what I've decided to do is really get into protective styling. This time around instead of sew-ins and wigs I opted to go a more fun route and try faux locs!! Honey chile-boo let me tell ya this is no hair style to do by yourself if you want it done quick. I did it by myself for the most part and had a few hours of help from a friend of mine. Honestly, it took around 20 hours to complete. I broke the work up over five days. Granted it wouldn't have taken nearly as long had I done them as big as I had seen people do them on YouTube, but I wanted the to look thin and natural. I succeeded, but my hands were feeling it for another week.  Also, what no one tells you is this mess is heavy. It is really two hairstyles in one (box braids which are then wrapped in marley hair). All in all I used about two packs of braiding hair and eight packs of Marley hair. I used two different kinds of Marely hair because I went to different beauty supply stores to get them. You cant tell the difference though they both look the same. I used the method from Mariaantoinettetv's YouTube channel only I did burn the hair at the ends because it began to unraveled at the ends and I couldn't commit to redoing this ish all over again. I have had these twists in about 3 weeks no and they look good still, a lot of people believe they are my real hair.  I do love them I just think I should have waited until the weather cooled down. This Georgia heat is relentless. I will probably keep them in another two weeks. Hopefully this is the break my hair needs, but its killing me not to touch my fro.. It will be worth it, I hope. Here is a couple of styles I've worn while I've had them in.

Shea Moisture Color System Review

So I've been growing my hair out a lot since the last time I colored it. I realized I don't like my natural hair color. So I thought about it and I decided to go back to being a red head. My favorite color system has been the Shea Moisture line. I tried the soft black color back in January. It looked great but my hair felt icky. like there was just this coating that would never wash off. The Bright Auburn however is great. This time it took so much better than the first time I tried it. I started with dry and somewhat dirty ( my hair had been in mini twists for a week) . I split my hair into four sections and applied the color all over from root to tip. I then sat with the color on my hair for 45 minutes under a hooded dryer. The system requires you to wash your hair with the moisture retention shampoo then condition with the provided conditioner. I let the conditioner sit for another 30 minutes, rinsed then styled. Annnnddddd Voila!!

I like it. Its brighter than before I think its because I used the dryer this time. My hair feels soft like usual, not dried out and brittle. My curl pattern remained the same also. So all in all I am still pleased with this color system and will probably use it the next time I color my hair. If only I could get the blonde color would show up in my hair without me having to bleach my hair first. Then we would be in business.

Camille Rose Almond Jai Butter Review

So its been a while since I did a product review so today I will be reviewing Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Butter. Ill start off by saying this stuff is great! I had been seeing the line in Target for a few months, but I didn't buy it for a while, one reason being the price ( its $17). I didn't want to spend that much on a styling butter that I may or may not like. A few months later I decided to do mini twists as a protective style and I realized I didn't have a moisturizer to twist with. I remembered seeing the Almond Jai Butter in Target and started watching reviews. Everyone seemed to have positive things to say so I figured " what the hay, I'll splurge a bit". So i blew my hair out and the twisting began. So my first impression of the butter? It was really thick but still light. The smell was a little sweet but very subtle. The container is pretty big and it is packed to the brim with product. which I appreciate.. Also, a little goes a very long way with this. I did mini twits around my whole head and you cant even tell that I  used any when you look in the jar. When I was done my twists were super soft and very shiny. I loved it. Now its about a week later and my twists are still super soft and they still have a sheen to them without any more product being reapplied. All in all this product gets 5 stars from me. After seeing how well this product works I'm fine with spending the money on it. I like it more than my old staple Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie so I'm willing to spend a few more dollars.        

All good things come to an end

This entry isn't about hair or food, its about getting over a break up and finding yourself again. Me and my boyfriend recently split after a two and a half year long relationship. I know you're probably saying two and a half years ain't nothing to bat an eye at, but its significant to me. It's hard getting over a break up, especially when things ended at your own hand. The blame and self loathing are a lot to get over but I am making due. I've had time to think about things. The first day I didn't want to get out of bed or eat, but over the last few weeks I have learned a few things that help out a lot when getting over a break up.

1. Stop blaming yourself
  Sure things may have been different had you done this or that differently. You cant live in the "shoulda coulda woulda", because things are the way they are and you can't change them. Accept the situation for what it is. You may get back together one day but you have to get over things first.

2. Don't live on the hope that you are going to get back together
Like I said this could very well happen in the future. The both of you have to make sure you are ready, and not just staying with whats familiar vs what is really best for you. If you keep basing your life round this person who is no longer there you might miss out on opportunities that could put you in a better situation.You may always love you ex but don't let that stop you from finding love again. Your "Prince Charming" could be right in front of you and you will miss it because you are still looking behind you.

3. Surround yourself with great friends and family
This by far has been the most beneficial. Don't sit at home by yourself and dwell on things all day. The sadness will consume you. By surrounding yourself with awesome people that make you laugh, you wont have a chance to be sad. By doing things with them you won't have time to think about what you had, only what you have. You begin to realize that life isn't over and there are people that will always love you, and that's a great feeling.

4. Find a passion
If you are like me then you put your heart and soul into your relationship and you lost site of the things you once loved. Now that you have the time go revisit these things. I am getting back into a healthy lifestyle and reading. I am also getting into new things like Yoga. Finding something you love will make you feel better over all as a person.

5. Learn to be content by yourself.
The one thing we all get hooked on in a relationship is the companionship. Having someone to wake up to, go to sleep with, and talk to all day whenever you want, its great. Getting over not having this is hard and honestly I have no fix for this. Over time you have to get used to not having someone there all the time. You can only hang out with friends and do little activities for so long. You are going to be alone sometimes with no one to talk to and nothing to do. Don't slip into sadness though just think about all of the good things in your life and keep the positive vibes going. Limit the idle time and find something good  to focus on.

Everyone has there way of finding happiness after a break up these are just a few things worth trying. They have worked for me and a few others I know in the same situation. Overall just give things time, they will get better. You wont be sad forever. Now put on your favorite dress, make yourself pretty and go hit the town. You might just meet someone new.