Product Reviews

Hey peeps. I decided to do some reviews of some of the products/samples I received in my curlboxes and curlkits. I have several different textures ranging from very loose curls around the edges and nape to tight coils in the crown. My curls seem to form an S pattern, when detangled. I hope this is helpful!

Note: Some products are not shown.

Honey Curls Honey Moisturizer: (bottle of oil)

This product contains several different oils and honey. It smelled nice, but the consistency was too runny/watery.  I mixed it with a leave-in conditioner, and it didn’t react well. The mixture left my hair white, after desperately trying to get it to absorb into my hair. It wasn’t awful, but I probably won’t purchase this in the future.

Ori Essentials Leave-in Conditioner: (not shown)

This product smelled nice and had a thick creamy consistency. I used it for twist-outs and flat twists. It moisturized well on both my dry and wet hair. Overall, I liked it.

Amazing Botanicals Mint Spritz: (not Shown)

The spray smelled ok, but it made my hair frizzy. It literally took away any definition I had! I would never purchase this to refresh curls. Good ‘ole water works fine.

Amazing Botanicals Gel: 

Wow! In the words of Ms. Evelyn Braxton…this gel smelled like “hot packed down behind!” It smelled so bad I just threw it out without trying it. Sad times.

Doris NYC Mud Minerals: 

This product smelled nice. It appeared to be a mud mask, super thick consistency and muddy color. I put it on after I shampooed my hair and left it on with a plastic cap for about 30 minutes. Once I rinsed out the mask, my hair felt so much softer. Great product!

Naturalista Juicy Leave-in: 

OMG! This stuff smells delicious! It had a whipped and airy consistency, but it seemed full of oils and moisturizers once absorbed into hair. I did a twist out with this sample, and it actually has a little hold too it as well. Overall, it was a great product. I truly loved it.

Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia Leave-in: 

Once again, OMG! This stuff smells amazing! I used it for a flat twist hairstyle and it was a great leave-in and moisturizer. After I took down the twists, my hair was so soft. It was amazing.

Carol’s Daughter Monoi Hair Mask: 

This product smells great. It had a very thick consistency. I left it on for a few minutes after shampooing. It left my hair very soft and easy to detangle. I really liked it!

Giovanni Tea Tree Shampoo & Conditioner: 

I already love Giovanni products, and these samples are definitely winners in my book. You can definitely feel the tingle. The conditioner has tons of slip and it detangles extremely well. This was also a great product.

July Battle of the Boxes

This month's winner is...

Hey people! I am writing a review on July’s Curlkit and Curlbox. This month my favorite box was….Curlkit!! Once again, curlkit had larger samples in addition to brands that are unfamiliar. Also, about 3-4 samples seemed to be full size! I was surprised. I’m curious about the Phytospecific samples in Curlbox, but that was the only interesting sample, in my opinion. Here are the pictures and products in each box. Sound off on what you have tried, what you’re curious about, or what you hate.

Curlbox

Pros                                                              Cons

-Shipped on time                                          -Smaller samples           

-Nice size samples

-8 items

-2 full size product

Products

Crème of Nature Argan oil 7 in 1 Leave in Treatment (full)

Loreal EverCurl Hydracharge Shampoo

Loreal EverCurl Hydracharge Conditioner

Loreal EverCurl Hydracharge Leave in Cream

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Swivel stick

Phytospecific Intense Nutrition Mask

Phytospecific Styling Cream

Motions Heat Styled Cleanser (full)

Curlkit

Pros                                                                                                  Cons

-Shipped on time                                                                              -N/A

-6 samples

-4 full size products

Products

Eco Custard Original (full)

Eden Body Works Jojoba Monoi deep conditioner

Luscious Locks Shea Shampoo (full)

CB Smoothe Moisturizing Styling Crème (full)

Eco Styler Olive Oil gel (full)

Hi Pro-pac Intense Protein Treatment

June Curlbox vs Curlkit

And the winner is....

Okay. I’m going to jump right in, because I am extremely far behind in my reviews. I’m going to try to post a new one every other day. First off, I’m married now!!! Yay me!! Ok, so the winner for the month of June for me is CURLBOX!!!! Finally! I had been waiting for Curlbox to step it up with the product selection, and I was pleased with this month’s products. I really liked all of the products, and I was especially pleased to see the Ouidad co-wash and shower comb. I was pleased with the number of products, as well as somewhat of a complete line. I like trying product lines to see how well the products work together. As for Curlkit, once again I am ok with every now and then having non hair related products; however this kit had 2 items. I am very interested in the cashmere curls leave-in. Check out the pics and let me know what you think!

Curlbox

Pros                                  Cons

-Shipped on time                                                     -Nuaat sample was tiny           

-Nice size samples

-9 items!!

-1 full size product

Products

Ouidad Curl Co-wash

Ouidad shower comb

Crème of Nature 100% Argan oil

Eco Custard with Olive Oil

Eden Body Works Coconut Shea Pudding Soufflé

Eden Body Works Coconut Shea Leave-in Conditioner

Eden Body Works Coconut Shea Curl Defining Crème

UR Curly Quinoa Conditioner

NuNaat Intensive Hair Mask

Curlkit

Pros                                    Cons

-Shipped on time                                                  -2 non-hair products      

-6 samples

-2 full size products

Products

Curlax Twisty Curly spray

Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper

Oyin Hair Dew

Cashmere Curls Velvet Leave-In

Pooka Lemonade Hand exfoliator

Itaba Papaya Body Lotion

Until next time…

Curlkit vs Curlbox May Review...(yea I said MAY!)

Sooooo....... I am extremely far behind on my reviews. I've been planning a wedding, working 2 jobs, and taking graduate courses, and I have had absolutely no time. But, now I have a small break, so I decided to do a review on the May curlkit and curlbox. Yep! I said May! Like I said, I've been super busy. Ok, so the winner for me of the showdown between the boxes is Curlkit. The reason for my choice is I loved the Giovanni Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner as well as the Ori essentials cleansing conditioner. I was happy about the complete set of Giovanni products, and getting the Ori essentials also gave me a complete set.  April’s curlkit contained the Ori essentials leave-in conditioner, which was also a full size! I did like receiving the Carol’s daughters product in the curlbox, but I was disappointed in the other products. However, I’m not always a fan of non-hair products in curlkits. The non-hair products are cool and sometimes refreshing, but not necessarily in a box I am paying to get hair product samples. Any who, here are the pros and cons for both kits:

 Curlbox

Pros                                                                                         Cons
-Shipped on time                                                                     -Products had sulfates and
-Also, I was shipped a new                                                      parabens

  box after the post office lost my box                                       -Only 5 Products
-2 Full size products

Products
Motions Gloss

Curl Max Curl Enhancing Shampoo

Carol’s Daughters Monoi Repairing Deep Conditioner

Crème of Nature shampoo

Crème of Nature conditioner

Curlkit

 Pros                                                                                         Cons

-Shipped on time                                                                     -2 non hair related products.

-Satin scarf

Products

Giovanni tea tree shampoo

Giovanni tea tree Conditioner

Ori Essentials Cleansing Conditioner

Satin Scarf

Nyah handmade soap

Yum Yum candle

Which do you prefer?

Homemade Lolita Glasses

Hey folks. I know it’s been a minute, but I’ve been quite busy! I am working, planning a wedding and being my creative self once again! My most recent DIY project was homemade Lolita glasses. I made some about 6 years ago for my mom’s 50^th Birthday party. I made 100 glasses by hand! Yes, by hand. It took me like 3 days, because I took a lot of breaks. But this year, I made some for my 30^th birthday party as well as for my friend’s 37^th birthday bash. My glass was generic:  my name, birthdate with some music notes and stars. My colors were silver, black and white. Here are a few pictures.

Now, my friend’s party had a venetian/mardi gras theme in the colors pink, green and black. So I made glasses for the guest and a special glass for her. Here are pictures of her glasses.

Everyone loved them! People were actually asking if I could do glasses for them! Maybe I should….hmmmm.

Curls & Coils

Hey Peeps! I decided to shift gears and blog about my hair! I am currently natural and have been for about 4 years. However, I transitioned for about 2 years, and now I am completely natural! For those who do not know what transitioning means/is, I will explain. Transitioning is stopping all chemical treatments (relaxers & texturizers) and growing out your natural hair texture without cutting off all the relaxed hair. Yea, I know it’s a bit much. I was what you called a long term transitioner. I did not want to get rid of the length right away. So, I would get my roots pressed straight. I did flat twists, and then took them apart for a curly hairstyle. I also cut my hair into an asymmetrical bob.

Honestly, I was too afraid to have short hair! There was a time in my teen years where I had short hair due to bad relaxers, and it was devastating for me. I was called every name under the sun from “bald head scallywag” to “bald headed tar baby”. Even though that was years ago, many people still think like that, and I was not ready for that emotional rollercoaster again.

My family was supportive of my transition. My mom joked about my curly cues, saying that I reminded her of her fat baby…lol…and I was a fat baby with a head full of springy curls! My mom got a kick out of detangling my hair again. Some family members made comments like “at least you have a good grade of hair”. At first, those comments made me feel better about my choice to go natural. But, sometimes I wished I had kinkier hair! My hair strands are thin, which makes it difficult to rock certain styles. I wanted, and still want to be able to rock braid outs, afros, etc. I’m still trying to figure out what products work best, and define my curl pattern…2 years natural...a shame, I know!

My safe haven was/has been youtube.com. I would watch countless videos on what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and what to do it with! It was draining! But I finally settled in on a few products that I absolutely must have. I use Kimmaytube’s leave in conditioner for all of my twisted hairstyles (http://www.youtube.com/user/kimmaytube?feature=watch) . I use Joico moisture recovery line for shampooing and conditioning. I use Kinky Curly Curling Custard and Curls Goddess Glaze to define my curls.

So, on 9/25/2012 I cut off my natural hair! I now have a short natural hairstyle that I absolutely love! I originally went natural because I had seborrhic dermatitis on my scalp, and I always had huge flakes after a relaxer. Through my journey, it changed how I see myself. I love my curls and I love me! It was a valuable experience, and I am so glad that I was able to share! Be true to yourself, and let no one make you feel less than what/who you are! Strong strands create strong women!!  

Cirque Du Bebe Babyshowers

Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to post the rest of the baby shower details. It’s been a crazy few months; however, both showers went well! So, here are the details…once again the theme was “Cirque du Bebe”.  I borrowed the theme from Hostess with the Mostess blog (http://www.hwtm.com/index.cfm?page=albums/view_album&albumid=47&categoryid=10). The decorations , food, etc. were a little expensive, so I had to get creative. They used ostrich feathers for centerpieces, and had all kinds of eclectic décor from places like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and Kirkland’s. The website also provides free printables (http://blog.hwtm.com/2009/09/free-printables-cirque-du-bebe-blue/) to use as decorations. I purchased invitations for the first shower from polka dot design (http://www.polkadotdesign.com). Here is what the invitation looks like (see pic below).

 However, they are quite expensive. Fifty invites were $99! So I had to get creative with the invitations for the second shower. It took me a couple of hours, but it was worth it. First I had to find the fonts, which I found on www.dafont.com. The name of the fonts are Ringmaster, Cast Iron and Pointedly Mad. I then looked at clip art and chose the best pictures and art to create a similar look, and this is what I came up with…

I thought I did very well!  I found my centerpieces and vases at TJ Maxx for about $40. I also bought a lot of things from Hobby Lobby. I made my own signage from card stock and zebra printed playing cards.

 

I also found cheap masks to use as party favors.

Here are more pics from both baby showers!