Browsing Category

Beauty

Beauty Video

Irresistible Me Rotating Curling Iron Review + Bohemian French Braid Tutorial

I’m definitely a no-fuss, no-muss kinda gal when it comes to my hair. So I’m always on the lookout for styles and products that can have me out the door and looking great in the shortest amount of time possible. Well, I think I’ve hit the jackpot with this simple, yet elegant up ‘do. Tune in to my french braid tutorial video to see how I achieve this look, plus check out my full review of the Ruby Auto-Rotating Hair Curler, courtesy of the generous folks over at Irresistible Me.
irresistible-me-ruby-roatating-curling-iron-3

I love wearing my curls of all shapes and sizes, from loose tendrils to tight corkscrews… and EVERYTHING in between. Over the years, I’ve tried all sorts of gadgets on my mane – like steam hot rollers, flexi-rods, flatirons, curlformers, and more – but never a rotating curling iron. I was intrigued when I first saw it online, and thought to myself “Why not?”. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it. But once I did, it was smooth sailing from then on out.

I love how it easy it was to create these loose, romantic tendrils framing my face – the perfect finishing touch to my bohemian style. And I can’t wait to try it out again for a head full of curls!

irresistible-me-ruby-roatating-curling-iron-1 irresistible-me-ruby-roatating-curling-iron-4 irresistible-me-ruby-roatating-curling-iron-5

This style only takes me a few moments in the morning to recreate. And you can bet I’ll be rocking it throughout this spring and summer.

And what do you guys think about the Ruby Auto-Rotating Hair Curler? Would you try it for yourself? Let me know in the comments. Plus, I’d love to hear about your favorite beauty gadget!

Beauty

At-Home Hair Styling Experience with TresseNoire

Create the perfectcurls

I have a confession to make…

I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to my hair. In fact, in the 5+ years that I’ve been natural, I’ve gone to a hair salon ONCE! I kid you not. Back in my relaxer days, you could find me in a stylist’s chair at least once every two weeks. While I enjoyed the pampering, it was a bit of a pain having to trek out to the salon and back on the weekends… not to mention a major time suck. So over the past few years, I’ve  just taken matters into my own hands (literally!) when it comes to my hair. But that all changed recently when the lovely folks at TresseNoire reached out to ask if I’d like to test out their in-home salon experience. If you’re not yet familiar with TresseNoire, think of it as Uber for in-home natural hair care. The company has a team of professional (fully-vetted) hairstylists who do their work within the comfort of your home.

With spring right around the corner, I figured it was time for a fresh start and went for it. The first thing I did was set myself up with an account on the TresseNoire site and peruse the various styling options that were available, including blowouts, crochet braids, and many more. After settling on a cute flexi-rod set (which I’ve never attempted before on my own), I scheduled a convenient time for a stylist to come to my home. I was instructed to wash and dry my hair before my appointment, so I did a deep condition the night before and let it air dry in two french braids while I slept. My hair stylist, Jasmine, arrived right on time the next morning and immediately got to work on my mane…

tressnoirer-8

She was very gentle with my hair and offered suggestions on keeping it moisturized and in tip-top condition in between salon visits (including regular trims, which I fully admit to neglecting, and making more time for deep conditioning). The control freak in me couldn’t help but check out all of the products she used in my hair, but I was very pleased to see her using Carol’s Daughter products which I often use and enjoy on my own.

She deftly set my hair with flexi rods in no time at all and then had me sit under a soft bonnet dryer for about 30 minutes. During this entire process, I was able to catch up on one of my favorite tv shows and get some work done on my laptop all in the comfort of my living room. And all the time I kept thinking, “a gal could certainly get used to this…”

After she removed the rods and fingerstyled my tresses a bit, I was greeted by…

tressenoire-4

… a head full of soft, springy curls!

I was so pleased with how my hair turned out… and even more so when my curls were just as poppin’ over a week later! If you’re a fellow naturalista in the NYC or Philly area, then I highly recommend giving TresseNoire a try. This experience was a complete game-changer for my busy, on-the-go lifestyle, so I will definitely be giving this service another go.

What style do you think I should try next?

1 Comments
Beauty Product Reviews

Build Your Own Birchbox

Ok, so apparently I’ve been hiding under a rock since last year (seriously, I should get out more), but it recently came to my attention that Birchbox has a physical store down in SoHo. Holy smokes, how did I miss that?! In any case, it gets better… I also found out that you can build your own Birchbox filled with full-size products for the holidays. How cool is that?!

So I dragged invited my blogging buddy (and fitness inspo!) Wasidah Francois from Fitness.Fashion.Fabulous to come along and pick out customized gift boxes for one another. Trust me when I say that we were like two little kids in a candy store! There were tons of things to choose from, and I have to say she did a great job picking items for me. Below is a sneak peek at what I got…

build your own birchbox

buid your own birchbox
If you’re ever in the city (or in DC… ‘cuz they’ve got a store there, too!), I highly recommend swinging by filling up a goodie box. They’ve got all of their products arranged by type (a slew of red lipsticks here, a row of face primers there) as opposed to brands, which makes it easier for your to discover new labels to try. And if you’re not in the neighborhood, no need to fret… you can always go online and shop their curated gift boxes and check out the massive number of reviews on all of their products.

3 Comments