FIRST TIME JUICER EXPERIENCE

Stoked and ready to start a 10 day juice challenge, my "fine for summer time" mission begins.  It's been said, "The way you start, is the way you finish", I didn't start strong. I had a cheese burger for lunch. "Hey, I'm human! "I went to Target, only to find the juicer out of stock. Luckily Wal-Mart was near by . I picked up the GE 800 watt juicer for $49.00. I'd read several consumer reviews and it was recommended for first time juicers. Enthusiastic to start I picked up a bag of Gala apples, celery, carrots, pears , and fresh ginger.  The machine had only four removable parts, and was simple to assemble. The machine was quite noisy, but powerful.  The verdict: I got a decent amount of juice; the spout on the juicer is awkwardly short, dripping juice is inevitable; and you WILL have pulp. My biggest gripe is that it doesn't produce pulp free juice, but that can be remedied with an annoying, additional step of straining. Paint straining bags from the hardware store is recommended by fellow juicers. Other practical options include, cheesecloth, coffee filters, pantyhose and muslin.

Happy Juicing!!!!

TOTALLY THRIFTY OUTFIT OF THE DAY

NECKLACE- BAKER'S ON CLEARANCE

JEFFREY CAMPBELL INSPIRED BOOTIES- GOJANE.COM

SILK TOP- THRIFTED
DRESS- J. CREW THRIFTED
HAT- THRIFTED

RINGS: FOREVER 21 AND LOS ANGELES SANTEE ALLEY

A REAL PERSPECTIVE ABOUT TEENAGE MOTHERS & PARENTING

$8 NAIL POLISH THAT SPARKLES- ESSIE'S A CUT ABOVE

There's nothing better than natural nails, that are painted and manicured beautifully. Sparkly nails isn't for everyone, but the shine and bling makes the tedious, hour long acetone rub and take off session is worth it. Essie's a cut above caught my eye, because of the 3D rose gold glitter. Now, I'd never endorse an $8 nail polish.  I'm super frugal. Some polishes are worth it, and now I see why. With only two coats of this polish over a clear base coat, I have an almost opaque layer of 3D rose gold glitter. Unlike most glitter polishes you get more then just sparse sprinkles or specs of glitter . I picked mine up from Rite Aid on a promotional display.

Essie's  A Cut Above

MAYBELLINE COLOR TATTOO 24 HOUR EYESHADOW

FIERCE & TANGY and TOUGH AS TAUPE
      If you are a eyeshadow wearer, you need to hop on these $7 cream eyeshadows. They are extremely silky, come in fabulous shades and blends wonderfully. I like to use my finger to apply them, or with a flat stiff brush like MAC's 242 . The biggest selling points of this product is that it lasts on the lid without creasing, blends well and dries in an amount of time that allows you to work with it, but sets quickly. Not forgetting to mention you can find them at most drugstores . I opted to pick up the colors that interested me. (I wasn't completely sold ).  Fierce and Tangy is a matte orange, tangerine shade . Tough as Taupe is also a matte, flat color almost a slate grey on my complexion while in the jar you can see the brown in it.  Compared to the other shades in the collection these two are flat and matte with the tiniest hint of light reflecting shimmer. These have been compared to the M.U.A Aqua Creams and M.A.C's Paint Pots.

DRUGSTORE FOUNDATIONS FOR DARKER SKIN

I've always gotten compliments on my near flawless skin, however hyper pigmentation is something that just about ever woman of color suffers from. Discoloration and unevenness is easily remedied with most foundations and or concealor. Popular brands that are easily accessible, like Maybelline, Revlon and others typically act like women of color fall into two to three shades. I photographed myself wearing each foundation. Maybelline FIT is my latest purchase and I think requires the most "work".

This is very yellow based. Light to medium  buildable coverage.
 Gives a dewy finish, and with a light coverage didn't look to ghostly. It's not a favorite, but its not totally useless.

Has a red undertone. Buildable.

MY PERFECT SHADE.

MAYBELLINE FIT ME 355 

REVLON PHOTO READY FOUNDATION  MOCHA

MAYBELLINE SUPER STAY FOUNDATION 

MY QUEST FOR THE PERFECT VINTAGE COAT

I first became obsessed with vintage leather when my favorite cast member from The Real World Back to New York, Nicole graced my 10" television screen in 2001. She wore this amazing,  mid calf genuine leather coat, with fur trim and a belt.  Even the most experienced thrifter comes across their dream item, but the cut, condition or size isn't for you. This has been the case for me.  I consider it a "it's just not meant to be" moment.
Sade' shares my same attitude and excitement with a similar vintage coat that she recently scored. Her coat is so damn fierce, it makes me wanna snatch it right off her back :O)

I'M CHANNELING MY INNER DIANA ROSS

This this is some big ass hair! Best Lace Wigs has a full lace wig that channels Diana Ross and all her fabulousness. I feel like putting on a dress and my heels with this big and exotic hair. I never really understood the fascination and appeal that silkier hair textures have on black women. To each their own! Show you right!

Unit # SW033       16"       Color #2

MAC'S DAPHNE GUINNESS BLUSH OMBRE "VINTAGE GRAPE"

Now this blush has been haunting my thoughts since I saw it a few years ago. I typically don't follow the MAC collections, however there are some golden nuggets in their ever changing collections and  re-promotes.  Vintage Grape is one of the two blush ombres that are available in the Daphne Guinness collection, and the prettiest IMO. It's leaves a soft, pinkish, plum wash of color on the cheeks. I like this color for  days that I want my makeup to look soft and pretty . This won't look clownish on dark skin. This gets my totally stamp of approval for most ethnic skin tones.

CHEEKS- VINTAGE GRAPE BLUSH OMBRE BY. MAC

MY REFLECTION OF MY NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY

BLOW DRYING NATURALLY CURLY HAIR STRAIGHT WITH GREASE

I came across this blow drying tutorial and was fascinated by the use of Blue Magic Castor Oil grease . I would never think to use grease to blow dry the hair. I always consider grease to be a heavy product, that will weight the hair down. It may have something to do with the amount of product you use. Like I always say, "results don't lie" and her hair turned out absolutely beautiful. Now I don't know how this would work on  kinkier hair, so I will first try and blow-dry my hair with a serum . Have you tried this method before?

MY NATURAL HAIR LENGTH CHECK

It's been over three years since I cut my 5 year old locs. This go around I've learned a lot, and experimented tons with different products in my hair. I find that the products are half as important as protecting your hair from breakage. I admit that protective styling is the truth. Since rocking lace front, and full lace wigs I've been co washing regularly, deep conditioning consistently, and manipulating my hair on rare occasions.

I'm preparing for a nice blow out and looking forward to it .  I love my natural hair, but I also love the convenience that wigs allow me.

No Heat and manually stretched! I wonder  what a flat iron would do ?  

My hair was taken down from the plaits that I wear under my wigs. No separating.

At Bra Strap Length . I'm 5'8". This is after several "cuts and trims"  throughout the years

Hair just has Oyin Handmade Brunt Sugar Pomade on it

GREY MONOCHROME OUTFIT OF THE DAY

RING- FORVER 21
TURBAN- BEAUTY SUPPLU STORE

BLAZER- THRIFTED

BOOTS- JESSICA SIMPSON *THRIFTED

SIGMA PREMIUM MAKEUP BRUSH KIT

OMG. Thinking there was little difference between Sigma makeup brushes and other makeup brushes brands sold online. There totally is a difference. I was sent the Premium Makeup Brush kit for consideration, and what can I say, I was immediately impressed. The packaging was beautiful, the leather roll and brushes were held in a black silk organza drawstring bag.  The brushes are very sleek, and there is quality that you can see and feel. The handles are solid, and have a nice glossy finish with the function and name embossed on each brush. I don't consider myself a brush expert, but I own a little of everything.   This particular brush kit I wouldn't recommend for the makeup novice, but for the professional MUA, or the crazed makeup lover . It retails for $149, and you get 15 premium brushes.  This premium kit has a great selection of face brushes, and my all time favorites being the F25 Tapered Face and F35 Tapered Highlighter Brush . The kit is almost complete although it doesn't contain a flat eyeshadow brush (which are a dime a dozen) or a fan brush.  *Shoulder Shrugs* I'm not missing it.

After the first wash  of the brushes, there was no shedding and the hairs reshaped perfectly.

CLICK LINK TO PURCHASE: http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=206841

There is even a lip brush included, which I believe is new.