Angelic Curly Hair Tutorial

First off, my hair is naturally curly (however my curls aren't as glam as they use to be), a bit thin, layered and dry so if your hair is similar then this curly haired tutorial might work for you too! I like to do this hair style when the humidity is high so that I can use it more to my advantage by letting it have a little natural frizz without looking totally horrific. Since I got complimented on my hair at least 3 different times throughout my day I figured I'd post a tutorial on here.

I think this looks better in person, plus this was toward the end of the night at work.

First I use a volumizing shampoo and conditioner (mine's by John Frieda), once washed I towel dried my hair a bit squeezing most of the water out (you can use a heat protector spray now if you want but I didn't). Next I scrunch my hair a bit with one hand and use a hair dryer on high heat in circular motions around my head while continuing to scrunch trying to bring out as much natural curl as possible. I don't totally dry my hair though, its still a little damp but mostly dry before going on to the next step. Next I use a small 3/8 barrel sized curling iron (by Revlon) and use it in random areas around my head where the natural curl could have looked a bit better. To do this I start at the ends of my hair and wrap upward toward the root (cork screw style), wait a few seconds and release it from the curling iron. Then I spritz my hair with a bit of bohemian beach spray all over (I used David Babaii) to help the tight curls relax a little. Once done I use my hair dryer again but this time on the slower low heat setting, this helps the curls to expand a bit and loosen up creating more natural looking curls, I do this till my hair feels dry. Next I use my curling iron again to define and touch up a few areas I may have missed earlier or that may look a bit too frizzy. Next I use about a dime sized amount of shine serum (I use Silicon Mix) which I rub on my palms and scrunch into my hair, don't comb through the curls with your fingers. Once I get my hair in place I spritz it with a little volumizing hair spray (I used Aussie in an aerosol form) to tame a few fly-aways and then I'm all done creating my curls.

To take this a bit further I did straighten my bangs with a flat iron (BabyBliss Pro)and bobby pinned them back into a bouffant style on top my head.

My Go-To Products for 2011

There have been a few products which I find myself loving and using quite often this year, so here's a quick list I put together...

CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara: An oldie by now but still my go-to mascara, I really don't think I'll ever change mascara's as long as this is available as I've tried practically every drugstore mascara on the market. My mom prefers the waterproof formula in this and myself the non-waterproof (in "very black" color). I apply 3-4 coats (one after another) onto my top lashes. I don't use an eyelash curler normally and voila, still lovin' it this year.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss Peach Petal 150: I have become a bit fond of this nice pale nude gloss which has found its home in my purse this year as it gets used very frequently (almost done with my first tube of this) out of all the lipsticks and glosses I own currently. I even bought this in 2 other shades this year which were nice, but this shade is still my fave and has yet to make its way out of my handbag.

Colgate Total Toothpaste Whitening: It's probably a first for me to talk about a toothpaste on here, but even my mom has taken notice that my teeth are looking whiter since I started using this. I discovered this when I stayed at a friends house in Orlando earlier this year and was surprised to feel like there had been an actual change in the color of my teeth (by the next day!). I have used other whitening toothpastes in the past which claimed to whiten but never seemed to do anything for me before, so this product will definitely be hanging around my sink more often.

Emporio Armani - White for Her, Perfume: I read another blog (can't remember who it was though) where the blogger loved this perfume soooo much but it was discontinued, luckily I had found a ton of samples online for a good price this year so I opted to try it out. I really do like this perfume, although I kinda wish it was a little stronger because the scent is kinda addicting to me, haha. It's one of those perfumes where really only the wearer can smell it because even my mom who was sitting next to me in the car didn't notice the scent (as she's usually the first to complain about overwhelming perfumes). It's definitely not like the sickly sweet perfumes I generally go for but it's soft, lovely and I wish I had a huge bottle of it.

CVS Cold Cream: I recently replaced my Pond's Cold Cream, cool classic with this CVS dupe because this has the exact same ingredients in it, it's cheaper and it works just as well. I only use the cool classic type because I noticed the others contain paraffin's and such. To use I wet my face, rub this product all over, rinse, and wipe off with a warm washcloth (if you don't use a washcloth your face will feel super oily so it's a must!). It works great for removing my makeup and it doesn't dry out my face (no need for moisturizer after really!). I love this stuff and wish I had discovered it sooner.

Boots Hawaiian Islands Jasmine and Cocoa Butter Body Scrub: I found this at Target earlier this year not expecting a miracle of course, but something in this seems to work great for me. When used as regularly as possible during my shower/bath it helped to clear the bumps on the back of my arms which I've had since I was a kid. No other scrub has done that for me, yet alone any product except for one lactic type ointment which had been prescribed to me a few years back. I'm not sure if any of the other scented scrubs in this brand do this but this one worked for me!

WnW Natural Wear Pressed Powder - Review

Wet 'n' Wild, Natural Wear Pressed Powder in Ivory 822A
AKA Natural Blend Pressed Powder

The product states it's "paraben-free, made with natural ingredients, infused with vitamins and minerals to nourish skin. Enriched with light-diffusing pigments to help minimize imperfections and provide even-looking coverage."

This product is okay, it has a nice natural minty smell to it which is refreshing and not overpowering, the scent seems unnoticeable after awhile. The packaging is cute, natural and has a nice magnetic closure on the lid. The application sponge is a bit small, I would've liked for it to have been x2 the size. I bought one of the lightest shades in 822A Ivory which looks a bit pink in the container but it doesn't seem as pink looking once applied. I was hoping this product would have longer staying power than my previous pressed powder but it didn't, so I felt like I looked a bit pasty and oily by the end of the day when this had long wore off. It seemed to have okay coverage when it went on but it did seem to wear off quickly. I wouldn't say that this has light diffusing pigments or really helps to minimize imperfections as it claims to do. I probably wouldn't buy this product again although it is around $4.99 in price for this 6.5g/0.23oz of product, but if you want something that lasts only a short few hours (probably helps to have dry skin), smells minty fresh and natural, then this could be the product for you.

Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat- Review

This past week I finally found Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat (bought in 01 Snow Blast) at CVS, and of course Sally's recently decided to carry the crackle overcoat for China Glaze (which I couldn't find before when it first released).

Milani in Bolting Blue with Sally Hansen in Snow Blast

When I first looked at the polish formula it looks a bit dry and liquidy, sometimes the crackle comes out more transparent (I guess depending on how much you have on the brush) and the cracks sometimes are big and other times fine. You can really only apply this topcoat once very quickly, it does dry matte and the crackles start immediately over the base color. Since it dries to a matte finish I like to put a shiny topcoat over it (as per the directions anyway). I think it does require a certain strategy to perhaps get more consistent sized cracks on each nail, the less I have on my brush the finer the cracks come out (I prefer this method) but the quicker it dries during application (a little tricky to get right). I like that this product gives a different and fairly easy way to make a simple solid color unique. I have a tendency to be a perfectionist and I have to break that mold with this product or it'll turn out the way I don't want it to. So thin, quick and sloppy is the best way I found to apply this :P