HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Taren916 Natural Hair Meetup/ Meet and Greet (Hollywood/ West Hollywood, CA 10/24/2010)

Taren916's Natural Hair Meetup held in Hollywood/ West Hollywood, CA at Bossa Nova resturant on 10/24/2010. This was my 2nd "meet and greet" of the weekend, and I had a blast! Special thanks to Taren916 for this "spur of the moment" meetup and it was a pleasure meeting all of you! Until next time!
*****Also, EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS to MyHairFetish for the "good" pictures!! *****

THANKS MyHairFetish for the pictures!!

RANDOM: Every gal there was 5'8 and above! I <3 that! Tall gals stand UP!!!!!

GLAM Rocker RED LIPS!!

Me, wearing some new lip cosmetics for the first time. Since I immediately thought of Kat Von D, I call this my "GLAM Rocker Red Lips" how-to!

~Products used:
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in "Cruella"
MAC 266 Small Angle Brush
MAC 194 Concealer Brush
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) Lip Tar in "Stalker"
~MISC info:
Ring- Forever 21
Earrings- Yours truly :)
Nail polish- ORLY Red Carpet
T-Shirt- Ye Olde Tattoo Shop, you can purchase it here:
http://studiocitytattoo.softsmartinc.com/Core/Merchandise.aspx

CurlyChronicles Natural Hair Meetup (Long Beach, CA 10/23/2010)

CurlyChronicles Natural Hair Meet Up held in Long Beach, CA on 10/23/2010. This was my "first" meetup as well. Special thanks to CurlyChronicles. It was a pleasure meeting all of you!

Protein Treatment AFTER flat iron/ straightening curly hair (Using ION Repair Solutions RECONSTRUCTOR Protein TREATMENT)

Read ION reviews/ purchase online:
http://www.sallybeauty.com/damaged-hair-treatment/ION25,default,pd.html

PS-(NOW on sale 20oz for $7.50.) Sally's also RE-VAMPED the product, so it now looks like this:

Long Beach/ Los Angeles/ West Hollywood Natural Hair Diva's Meet Up!

I know its short notice, but those of you in Southern CA, there will be TWO Naturally Curly Hair Diva's Meet Up this weekend hosted by CurlyChronicles and Taren916. I'm gonna try REALLY HARD to make both of them!  Hopefully I will see you there!

CURLYCHRONICLES                                             
Saturday, Oct 23rd
6:30 - 8:30 pm
The Infinite
517 Pine Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90802



TAREN 916
Sunday~ 10/24
Boa Lounge 9200 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood
Time: 2-4pm
PLEASE EMAIL Taren.Areyaa@gmail.com TO CONFIRM

My Birthday Bash!!

Isn't this cake SUPER CUTE and F.A.B!!

Can you please review DevaCurl products? -Nina

Ive tried "Angell' by the Devacurl line, but I didn't care for it. If I can get ahold of samples, I WILL!! :)

Ask me anything

kimmietube and taren916 fight, youre thoughts?

First off, I didn't even know what the heck was going on until I got this "question" last night. I then watched both Taren916 and AfricanExports videos. I dont have a whole lot to say, I feel negative draws more negative, so just speaking about it gives the negativity more power. I left 2 identical messages on African Export and Taren916 page....

"You said it very well, Youtube isn't a race, competition, or contest and there is room for everyone. Even speaking on this topic, IMO, draws MORE attention to the negative. As "naturals" we need to stay strong and stick together. "

I love all three women, and hopefully it will work itself out. Thats all.....

Ask me anything

I LOVE your blog!!! Are you on facebook?

Thank you!! And, yes, I am on facebook.

Ask me anything

Joyeux anniversaire!!! Happy Happy Birthday! God bless you, you are so beautiful inside and out! Bisous!

Merci beacoup! I am so touched! Thank you again, triple kisses!

Ask me anything

Birthday Wishes!

Sadly, my birthday is now over! Thank you all for the beautiful birthday wishes, I am truly touched! I hope to upload a video/ slide show of my birthday party later in the week! Thank you all for the love!

(Straight Hair) Length Check

Super short picture slide show (before I styled my hair for the night)...
PS- It decided to RAIN that night, GO FIGURE :(

Straight Hair

Needless to say, no more pampering! I finally flat ironed my hair Friday 10/15/2010, after 6 months of wearing it curly. I'm scared to go any higher than 400 degrees, so my hair doesn't stay straight for very long. To make a long story short, here's the products/tools I used:

(YES, I use two different flat irons)

-Spray hair when wet with Jane Carter Leave-In conditioner
-A DAB of Sally's Argan Oil
-About a nickel size of CHI Silk Infusion for each 4 sections
Lastly spray each section with a heat protectant/ iron guard. (I used Redken Iron Silk)
Flat ironed each section FIRST with my MAXIGLIDE, then again with my HAI flat iron.
Here's a sneak peak before I wrapped it for the drive to SD......

Hope you had a great birthday celebration! -Canela

Thank you DOLL! I had a FAB party yesterday, but my real birthday is 4 hours!!!

Ask me anything

May god bless you on your birthday. Peace and Love :D

Thank you! Much love and blessings to you too!

Ask me anything

Happy Birthday!

Thank you! :)

Ask me anything

Happy Nearly Birthday!

Thank you, in about 4 hours!

Ask me anything

Hi Mademoiselle! I really love your channel :) do you speak french? (I'm french and I'm just curious ;p)

Malheureusement non, je ne parle pas du français. Toutefois, mes grandioses parents étaient français et a parlé français à travers ma vie (en haut jusqu'à ce que mon "memere" a passé loin en 2006). J'utilise un service de traduction pour écrire ce message mais j'espère être aisé m'un jour !

Ask me anything

MY BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Even though my official B-day isn't until Monday 10/18, I am celebrating it tonight at Club Belo in San Diego, CA. I'll be in the Champagne room, so those of you in San Diego, come say hello!

I LOVE MY HAIR!

Birthday "Pamper Week" Countdown (Day #4)

Cliff-Note version!
-Lightly coated my ends with coconut oil.
-Applied hair color, (see Birthday "Pamper Week" Countdown Day #3)
-(Obviously got the the shower) Rinsed after about 45 minutes.
-Applied Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle (along with that little packet of conditioner that comes with the dye). Put on a shower cap
-Soaked in the tub and "pumice stoned" my knees, elbows and feet.
-Since I'm sunburned, I decided to apply BORGHESE "Fango Active Mud for Face and Body", which in a nutshell is a 17.6 oz jar of high-end "mud", which claims to have "Special absorbing action to unclog pores, eliminates dead skin cells and detoxifies impurities". Overall, its F.A.B, I always forget how much I love that stuff until I use it!!
-Rinsed and detangled hair (which isn't saying much; my hair feels like butter!), and follow up with a cold water rinse
-Tonight I decided to use my "Rx for Brown Skin Absolute Radiance Intensive Exfoliating Serum" for my face, Shea Butter and my VS "Breathless" lotion for feet and elbows, and good ol' aloe vera on my self-induced sunburn :(　

(Day 4 products)

MY HAIR FEELS TO FREAKIN SOFT!! I don't know if its the Aussie Moist, the "gentle" hair dye, or a combination of using coconut oil/ dye/ and a deep treatment, but my hair hasn't felt this good in a LONG time! This Aussie Moist just might deserve a You Tube video!

Here's my hair wet, right out of the shower:

Here's my hair about 80% dry, with NO PRODUCT

My curls are a lot looser, obviously due to the hair dye/ color, so as I am type this, I have applied Ion Repair Solutions Hair Reconstructor, which is a protein treatment, that I'm going to sleep in (with a Walgreen's plastic bag) overnight. I'm super tired and I'm going to clarify, condition, blow dry and FLAT IRON tomorrow, so I'm calling it a night (or morning ~wink~)
Thanks for reading!

RANDOM CRAP HAUL

(I'm writing this as I wait to rinse out my hair dye!)    
      I was supposed to go to Ulta today to get some heat protectant for when I flat iron my hair tomorrow (also I had an Ulta $5 off coupon), but on the way there, there is this random beauty supply store that I've heard has hair products galore and F.A.B makeup as well, so I decided to stop there first.......
This is how I felt when I walked in......

I totally stole this pic from another blogger, BTW ( but don't we ALL feel like this sometimes??)

　
     The store is called Nigel's Beauty Supply, and it is now my new heaven. Not only did they have HAIR products that I've been eying for some time, but they have makeup, as in "makeup artistry" cosmetics as well. They had the full line of MakeUp Forever, but the best find of the day was OCC LIP TARS, by Obsessive Compulsive cosmetics. Word is you cant buy these anywhere, you can purchase them through a makeup/trade show or you have to order on-line. (http://www.occmakeup.com/lips.html)
Ive heard great things about these "super duper pigmented" lip paints, and I wanted a red one, so I ended up getting "Stalker". I may do a "look" and "opinion" about this soon, so STAY TUNED!
I also got the Redken 07 Iron Silk Straightening Spray, which as $16, but cheaper than my previous one, so i didn't feel so bad.....
     Lastly I headed over to Walgreen's, and picked up the Kiss Nails french tip and black tips (thanks to Shortysgs03), cotton balls, Clean n Clear facial wipes, Instead menstrual cups (google it!") and Aussie Moist Minute Miracle (on sale for $3!!!). I was a little pissed because Walgreen's had the NEXXUS heat protectant for $12 (see yesterdays blog).

(CRAP HAUL! Oh yeah, and a MAC pigment sample in "TAN")

After that I went home, and DID NOTHING for hours........
PS- I never made it to Ulta

Birthday "Pamper Week" Countdown (Day #3)

DISCLAIMER: This post is nothing but me rambling. (Whats else is new?!?)

      I will be flat ironing my hair on Friday, so my errands today was to hit up Sally's Beauty Supply, Marshall's, and some random beauty supply specifically for Redken 07 Iron Silk Straightening Spray or Nexxus Heat Protexx Heat Protection Styling Spray. However trip was unsuccessful. Believe it or not, the Ross/ Marshall's by me always some sort of "high end" heat protectant, but of course the day I need it was the day they didn't have it. (I will go to Ulta tomorrow, but I'll call first!) HOWEVER, today I decided I'm going to color my hair. Before you get excited, nothing major, just to give my hair color more "OOMPH". My natural hair is color is weird. I'm not quite a "1B" which is as off black, but I'm darker than a "2" which is a dark brown, so I ended up buying a box of Revlon Color-Silk Beautiful Color in Brown/Black, which is obviously lighter than off black, but darker than dark brown. DUH. :) It was on sale, and more importantly is doesn't have ammonia, so it seems a little safer than most hair dyes. So, nothing MAJOR, just a little "OOMPH" for my straight hair. ROUTINE WILL BE: dying my hair tomorrow. Protein treatment later that night. Then let my hair dry overnight in about 4 braids with some Chi Silk Infusion.

     OK, so back to my B-Day Pampering preparation for Day #3. Again, nothing major. Morning shower I exfoliated the H.E.L.L out of my skin, then I went to tan (later in the day of course). I like to be "golden" when I go out clubbing and things, so after my tan I'm slightly "peachy, aka-sunburned", but that's normal for me. ( DON'T FREAK OUT, I only tan twice a year: B-Day and right before 4Th of July. I know its bad and it causes skin cancer, I'm aware of that. OKAAAAYYY!)
     I used DOVE on a "puff" for my night shower. Took off nail polish. I put Aloe Vera ALL OVER body, tea tree oil on my face "spots" and my nightly Shea butter and lotion concoction on hands, feet, elbows and knees. BTW, my hair is still in a protective style y'all! That's a big deal for me, so ~pat on the back~! Rubbed some EVOO on my ends, put on my satin bonnet, and night night!
Y'all are probably bored to tears, so thanks for reading!
:)

Birthday "Pamper Week" Countdown (Day #2)

My plan was to go "tanning" today, but I got lazy. I didn't really pamper myself at all today. Took out my lazy two ponytail twist out and went out to eat with a friend. Got back from dinner, ( BTW I ate a super-duper typical FAT American meal of Tri-Tip and cheddar on toasted sourdough Au Jus, french fries *with ranch dressing* and a crappy, not-worth-the-calories slice of banana cream pie) around 2am-ish and took a regular shower when I got home. The only thing I did special was rub lemon juice on my spots/ freckles. I then took the picture below:
:)

Here's my freckles and makeup-less face AFTER the lemon juice

Maybe I'll do a "before and after" to see if lemon juice bleaches my freckles........ LASTLY, I ran some EVOO on my ends, then re-twisted my pony tails. BTW, my two ponytail twist-out didn't look so bad! Any who, thanks for reading and night-night!

Prideful Arrogance vs Confident Humility

I found this interesting:

Humility and Confidence need not be mutually exclusive. In fact they desperately need each other. Confidence without humility breeds meanness, self-righteousness, and arrogance. But the wisdom born from humility is lost to the world without the confidence to share it.

http://walkerw.blogspot.com/2005/07/confidence-and-humility.html
http://www.burnyourgraveclothes.com/2009/09/prideful-arrogance-vs-confident.html

Birthday "Pamper Week" Countdown

In lieu of my birthday on 10/18 ( exactly one week from today), I am going to pamper myself for the upcoming weekend. I'm am celebrating my birthday by "clubbing" with the gals in San Diego on Saturday night, then dinner with the family on my actual birthday on Monday. So obviously, SATURDAY is *thee* night, and since this is a big birthday for me (the BIG 21! ~sarcasm~) I may see some people I haven't seen for a while, so the PREPARATION FOR B-DAY starts today!
Day 1:
-De-tangle then co-wash hair (Trader Joe's Nourish Spa). Rinse
-Wash SCALP ONLY with Carols Daughter Tui Herbal Shampoo. Rinse
-Apply conditioner (Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner), then pinned hair up
-EXFOLIATE with a mixture of Trader Joe's Tea Tree Shower Gel and brown sugar scrub,
using my loofah gloves purchased at The Body Shop

(My gloves look like this)

-Using a Pumice stone, I scrubbed my feet, knees, elbows and armpits ( yes, I said armpits)
-Brush and floss teeth (I brush my teeth in the shower, its a weird habit)
-Wash face with a regular ol' wash cloth using Neutrogena oil free cleanser
-Rinse body and face
-Rinse and comb hair with a cold water rinse
Once out of the shower:
HAIR
-Blot hair with a tee shirt
-Apply a thin layer of Tea Tree Oil to my face
-Part hair in two sections, and apply Zipporah Beauty Green Tea hair and body butter to my hair
-Then apply (to get rid of) a generous amount of Shea Moisture Shea Butter masque
-Spray Jane Carter Leave-In Conditioner
-Smooth hair into two low ponytails, then style into two big twists while drying
LASTLY
-Use half of a lemon (squeeze the lemon juice out) and rubbed the lemon on my elbows, knees (for about 5 minutes each), then wiped off with wash cloth
Apply apply Zipporah Beauty Green Tea hair and body butter and regular unscented lotion to elbows, knees, feet and legs.

(ALL PRODUCTS used, even the lemon!)

(OOPS! All Products used PLUS the Tea Tree oil)

I'm in a big-ol comfy tee, drinking chocolate milk, and I'm in for the night!
Thank for reading!

Columbus Day Celebration ?

When was your last perm?

Unbeknownst to me at the time, my last relaxer was September 1998. MY TRANSITION WAS NOT PLANNED, I just never got another "perm". However, I flat ironed THE HELL out of my hair (flat ironed with a metal "Hot Tools" flat iron, with my hair coated with Pink Lotion, BTW!!!) up until January 2008. So my real "healthy natural" hair journey actually started around eary 2008. Check out my "Transition Journey" video on YouTube!

Ask me anything

Kinky Curly KNOT TODAY & Yes To Cucumbers Product Review

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

*MY* review, thoughts and opinion on the Yes To Cucumbers Color Care Daily Makeover Conditioner and Kinky Curly KNOT TODAY Natural Leave-In / Detangler.



****All products were purchased by me****
MISC:
Eye- Makeup was from MAC "Heat Element" Mineralize eyeshadow
Lips- Too-Faced Mood Swing
Top- H&M
Earring- ???
Nails- ORLY "Rage" with OPI by Sephora "Only Gold For Me" as top coat

Hey, How are ya?

I'm just fine-n-dandy? And yourself!!
:)

Ask me anything

For Colored Girls

I'm WAY LATE on this, but I just came across the trailer for the movie "FOR COLORED GIRLS" based on the award winning play and novel "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf" by author Ntozake Shange. I've been hearing about this book for a few years now, but it slipped my mind until I came across this trailer via YouTube. I'm the type of person who needs to read the book FIRST, before I see any movie/ documentary/ play/ stage production/ motion picture because I like to create the atmosphere and overall feel and mood of the story myself. I like to use my imagination and create the physical characteristics for each character, and I like to create my own take and my own view on how the story unfolds, so when I finally see the finished "production", it's a familiar story, but with a completely different viewpoint. This upcoming movie was "written for the screen, produced and directed" by Tyler Perry (as if he's let you forget it!), and I just ordered the book via Amazon.com, so once the book arrives in my mailbox, I may be "M.I.A." until it's finished!
*****PS- I hope I see more natural haired beauties in this film, but just by looking at this trailer, so far its straight weaves and wigs :(  *****

Shea Moisture Product Review (Purchased at Target)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

*MY* review and opinions on Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter DEEP TREATMENT MASQUE and Organic Coconut & Hibiscus CONDITIONING Curl & Style Milk (purchased at Target).



****All products were purchased by me****
MISC:
Eye- Makeup was from MAC "Heat Element" Mineralize eyeshadow duo
Lips- Too-Faced Mood Swing
Top- Sweater H&M
Hair Scarf- Santee Alley / Fashion District / Downtown Los Angeles ($2)
Earrings- ???
Nails- ORLY "Rage" with OPI by Sephora "Only Gold For Me" as top coat

SICK :(

I'm SICK, and this sucks...........
I wanted to do at least one or two YouTube videos a week, but I am failing miserably! I may have to go to urgent care or something, cause I've felt "not myself" for a while. I don't go to the doctors unless I'm DYING, so if I don't get better in a few days.......
Thanks for reading, love y'all!!
-MlleCafeAuLait

Why some "Naturals" wear wigs!

This made my day!! Why some "Naturals" wear wigs!