Product Review: Remington Smooth & Silky Epilator Follow Up

Back in January, I purchased and did a review on the Remington Smooth & Silky Epilator and many of you requested I follow up with you all how I was liking it and my thoughts on it since first trying it out. Check out the vid below to see what I think about the product now.

I Think I Want This Wig

My once burgeoning (half) wigs habit became dormant after last summer. I fell in love with my own hair and wanted it out all the time. Seeing this wig in Dezi1016's vid below though, I think I want it!



The Details
Invisi Lace Lace Front Wig
Style: IL-110
Where to Buy: varies- she purchased hers at her local BSS. I found it online at for about $64 (free shipping) at Favorite Wigs

Wigs are so great when you wanna change things up without doing anything to your own hair. We already know when you care for your hair well underneath, they make for great protective hairstyles. So fun.

Product Review: Suave Professionals Almond & Shea Butter Conditoner

I first learned of this product when I was watching one of Nappy Chronicles'  Youtube vLogs on plopping (more on this technique later. I plan to try it next month when these braids come out).

It's NOT a (100%) natural product. The ingredients do include some natural ones like almond oil, shea butter, lavendar flower extract, and aloe vera juice to name a few. It's also silicone free which makes it CG (curly girl) friendly, and it's paraben free. I looked it up on the Cosmetics Database to see how "hazardous" it was but there hasn't been a review done on this product yet (probably b/c it is still kinda new). So I looked at some ratings on conditioners with similar ingredients to this one and have surmised that this conditioner would more than likely be rated as a "moderate hazard" product. So do with this information what you will.

I decided to try co-washing with it in the braids just to see what it would do. I haven't co-washed for years b/c once I got hip to castile soap, I no longer had a problem with "shampoo" stripping/drying out my hair anymore. I just felt like trying something and why not when you can get 32oz for $3, right?

MY THOUGHTS?

Check out my vid:

This is a great conditioner to have on hand when I'm traveling and can't bring all my oils to condition with (they always end up spilling and making hideous messes in my suitcase. So not the business). The price is right and you can find it many places. If you're an avid co-washer and don't care about it being rated "moderately hazardous"/that it's not a natural conditioner, then this may be a product of your interest. I don't plan to use it very often, myself, but when traveling this is coming with me, not all my oils that make such a mess. Lol.

Don't know what co-washing is?

No need to be bashful about it. Co-washing is short for conditioner washing. It means instead of washing your hair with shampoo, you use conditioner to do so. It's popular because it cleanses your scalp just as well and helps your hair retain more moisture. Just be careful as it can leave you with a lot of build up over time. If this happens, use some shampoo or add some baking soda to the conditioner for a "clarifying" co-wash.

Accessories That Can Mac: Jewel Bee Designs

Accessories That Can Mac was on hiatus for a while but it's back! I've got some cool lines/pieces to share with you all. This week's feature is one of my close friends for life and fellow O-State alum (GO BUCKS!), Felisha. We were talking recently and when she told me she came out with a jewelry line, I knew I had to feature her and she's a BOB (Black Owned Business).

Her mother and aunt design and create pieces in the line as well. Everything is hand designed and they also do custom work. When asked about the brand's philosophy/what kind of woman rocks her pieces, she had this to say:

The type of girl to rock my items would be that jazzy, classy, type of woman. One that loves to have her accessories jazz up even the most casual outfit. The woman that wants to look cute after 5 but still look sophisticated at a mid-day meeting. I also design custom pieces based on request of the customer. My slogan is to provide "custom made jewelry for your custom made style"My philosophy is to provide women of all ages with affordable uniquely designed jewelry and accessories that will exceed their expectations. You shouldn't have to waste your time looking all over town for the perfect accessories.

Fabulous! Check out more of her work HERE. If you are interested in getting pieces custom designed, you can email her at: JewelBee8@gmail.com

Quick Beauty Tip: Reduce Bags Under Your Eyes

Hate those puffy bags you get under your eyes when you wake up in the morning?

Ladies, here's a quick beauty tip that I learned recently. I learned of it from a guest doctor on The Dr. Oz Show (Luv that show! You learn so much.) earlier this week.

The puffiness is fluid that collected there and didn't drain properly. The doctor on the show said a helpful remedy to this is to sleep with your head slightly elevated to help that area drain the fluid properly. Put a small/thin pillow under the main pillow you sleep on at night. Make sure it's not too fluffy and big though or it may be uncomfortable for your neck. She also mentioned in addition to this, to make sure that you are either sleeping on your side or your back. This helps with the draining as well.

I don't know about you all, but I DETEST those bags in the morning so that night, ya grl got right to it and put a thin pillow under my main pillow I sleep on.

The ish WORKS.

The next morning, my eyes were waaaaay less puffy, if at all, when I woke up. It's the little things that get me excited and not waking up to bags under my eyes is cause for celebration. I had a goooood day that day. Lol. I've been doing it ever since and same results as the first time I tried it. It's a keeper in my life. Might I also add, since doing this my face is also less puffy [in the morning] too. Woot! Woot!

Who says we can't look beautiful when we wake up in the morning, eh? :D

My Hair: Twists Challenge Update #3

Fri- February 26th

One more month! I can't wait! This time next year, it will be bunning challenge this time next year instead. Lol. Thanks to all the lovely ladies that joined me and left encouraging words in my 2nd update. I really appreciate it and that some of you are feeling my pain. Lol. Keep me updated on your progress! You can email me or leave comments and let me know. You guys really kept me accountable in this thing. :D


I couldn't wait till today and spent 2 hrs yesterday, taking them down. I conditioned my hair with my homemade moisturizing mist and olicoco (olive and coconut oil combo) oil, put on a plastic conditioning cap, and sat under my conditioning heat cap for about 45 minutes. My hair felt so luscious, soft and moisturized.


Right before washing my hair, I did a scalp exfoliating scrub to help lift and dislodge all the dirt and build up that was driving me crazy in the twists. My scalp felt grrrrr-eat.


I had that set in for 3 weeks and wanted to wait 4 weeks till I blew out my hair again for the next set so I decided to (semi-) straighten my hair using NO direct heat: rollerset and silk wrap. I wanted to see how much hair I really had and do a good trim (if it was necessary). I plan to straighten once (or twice) a year to trim.

My hair's grown quite nicely in 14 short months eh?

Sun-Feb 28th

Spring is so close I can taste it! I got bored with my straight hair (I know, quick right?) and put my hair in small braids last night. They took me 5.5 hrs to finish them. Once I finished them, I wet the ends to get them to coil up. I like them and am glad that I can wash my hair in them so my scalp will be happy. I'm going to mist them every day or every other day (or when I can find a good hair lotion or cream apply that to them) and apply castor oil to the ends to keep them from drying out. So I'm riding the rest of the challenge out in these suckas. Woo hoo!

If you like this up-do, you can click here to check out the quick tutorial I did.

Fri-March 5th
I'm diggin the braids and this was a reminder why I prefer them over twists if I'm going to wear a protective hairstyle long term. I co-washed my hair last night, because my scalp was a lil itchy, with Suave Almond & Shea Butter conditioner (review on that coming up soon) and no shrinkage. It felt so good. I guess some of the conditioner was left on my scalp and I forgot to ACV rinse afterwards so that's probably why. So next time I wash/co-wash, I shouldn't have this issue anymore. I will only be co-washing when in braids and it won't be more than 2 times a week. I moisturize and seal the braids daily. Right now I'm moisturizing with my mist and sealing with castor oil. As far as styles, I keep the braids pinned up. The hairstyle is my favorite and most used one at this moment. It's easy and never disappoints.

And that's all, folks. :D

Music That Can Mac: Teedra Moses Mixtape

Hmm... My recent feature (click here to see it) on Brandon* has me wanting to talk about music a lil more on here. For those of you that don't know, I'm a certified music junkie (especially when it comes to underground music). I usually start, get through and end my day with music. I have different songs that I associate with different people, times, and experiences in my life. Funny story: my freshman year in college I was dating this guy and during the course of our dating, the song that was stuck in my head was "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Jay-Z. It was one of his favorite songs at the time. Go figure. I should've gotten the sign about why that song was stuck in my head sooner. It was warning me about him. Lol!

Anyway, Teedra Moses is one of my favorite R&B singers and she's got an ILL mixtape on her site you can download for free. Unless it's really bad, Teedra can do no wrong in my eyes. Lol. Click here for more details. I luv it and have been rockin with it since I dl'd it.

Again, don't forget to check out Brandon*. He's got talent for centuries! If you like good music that's original click here to check out his work. Also expect to see more of his work featured on here. I've made it a hobby to "pester" him for projects to share with you all b/c that's how much I believe in his work/talent. :D

Reader Mail

You guys never cease to inspire me and touch my heart. Some of you write really touching letters to me (I'm going to start sharing more of them on here) and I'm just glad that I can be of some help! As I always say, so many inspired me and helped educate me on afro textured hair when I was thinking about going natural and then when I finally started transitioning so all I want to do is pass on/share the inspiration and information that I received and continue to receive now that I'm natural.

After I read this letter, I cried yall. Seriously. Letters like these add extra joy to my heart. Sometimes when you're doing your thing/this "cyber" writing, you don't know if anyone's really listening and/or how it affects people till you read letters like this one:

HEY MILAN,

YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ME BUT WE BOTH STARTED OUR HAIR JOURNEY AROUND THE SAME TIME AS WELL AS OUR BLOGS. WELL I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE LOOP FOR 8+ MONTHS BECAUSE MY LAPTOP DIED IN JULY AND I HAD MY DAUGHTER IN SEPT SO LETS SAY I'VE BEEN TIED UP. SO I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO AFFORD ANOTHER CPU SO I'M BACK SO TO SPEAK. LET ME SAY YOUR HAIR LOOKS AMAZING OMG NATURAL HAIR FITS YOU GIRL. YOU TOTALLY GAVE ME THE PUSH TO BC SO I DID IT ON SUNDAY AND I'M LOVING IT!! ONLY REGRET IS THAT I DID'NT DO IT EARLIER. JUST WANTED TO SEND YOU THIS AS A THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING ME TO STAY ON THE NATURAL PATH WHETHER YOU KNEW IT OR NOT YOU WERE A SILENT HELP IN MY JOURNEY. WHENEVER I HAD INTERNET ACCESS YOUR BLOG WAS ONE OF THE ONES I WOULD READ AND WHEN YOU CHOPPED I WAS SO PROUD =) IT TOOK ME A LITTLE LONGER BUT I NEEDED TO GET TO A PLACE OF COMFORT AND SELF ACCEPTANCE. SO AGAIN KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ON YOUR BLOG

MUCH LOVE,
NIKI

I answered Niki back but I want to say again, thank you for leaving such touching words! And WELCOME TO THE KINKY KURLY LAND! If you all would like to follow her journey, you can check out her blog at Only1nicole.blogspot.com

Niki's 1st Twist Out :D

Thank you all for listening to/reading my ramblings and I always hope that you are able to take something from them and that you enjoy your time here. Let us all continue to be a blessing and inspiration to each other.

Grapeseed Oil a Natural Heat Protectant for Hair?

I had never heard about this till I was watching Natural Chica's latest vid on how she blows out her kinky kurly hair. I was instantly intrigued and then started to do some research.

Turns out that, yes, grapeseed oil could make a good heat protectant. It resists heat up to 425 degrees (F). It's also chock full of antioxidants (protect your skin and hair from various free radicals) which is great for your body, hair and skin. I don't know about you, but I'm a little excited about this!

I don't use heat frequently and when I do, it's blow drying. It's nice to know when I do, this could be a good oil to use when blowing out my hair. So all you heat lovers or those that use heat more frequently, here's a more natural and eco-chic way that could help protect your hair from heat. You can find grapeseed oil in any of your local grocery stores and health food stores.

What say you, Jc? Lol.

Music That Can Mac: Brandon*

Kurlies! You gotta check out my boi, Brandon*. He produces music and plays a plethora of different musical instruments; he's something like a musical genious. Well, at least I think so. Werd to ya mutha. He's so wonderfully talented. He sent me a snippet of one of his latest projects and said it was ok for me to share it with you all. The lyrics and vocals are by an artist named Trumaine Lamar. It's called Luv Sik.

"Luv Sik" Produced by Brandon ft Trumaine Lamar

Doesn't the beat put you in such a sunshiney mood? Even though the lyrics are talking about getting your heart broken? Haha.

Hear more of Brandon's sounds on his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/beeisme123 and he's also on Twitter: www.twitter.com/eyelovebrandon. So follow him if you like and tell him I sent you.

PS (Don't you just luv the clip art that goes with the music? That's me. LOL. I figured you didn't want to look at a black screen and I've become addicted to making my own clip art.)