I went to the Cantu Soiree Event hosted by Pelumi from CFYH and Award winning hair stylist Anastasia Chikezie, of Purely Natural Salon. Read about my Purely Natural Salon Experience here
The event had a huge turn out! So it was quite difficult to navigate around, nevertheless there were demos on hair using some of the Cantu products, tips and hints and Pelumi talking about her fav Cantu products.
Products were on sale for 3 for £10! And rightly so as everything was sold out by the end of the night! There was music, food, drinks and a nice and friendly atmosphere. I connected with new bloggers and old friends! Bukky, organiser for Curlvolution was there! Curlvolution 2016 is looking great! I will keep you up to date but hint: a well-known brand recently launched in the UK will be there! Read all about Curlvolution 2015 here
Check out my Facebook page for all the pics from the event (link to the right). I was a bit disappointed with the goody bag though, I thought it would contain more products but I haven’t used their conditioner before so I guess it ok?
Cantu Soiree Event Goody Bag
I love Cantu products, I think they work well and are very affordable. Check here to read all my reviews on all my Cantu products!
My Cantu Collection both products I was sent and purchased
I think its fantastic idea that Cantu hosted this event. I hope other brands can follow suit!
Hey family, happy almost end of the month lol. Can you believe it? Anyway how did you guys spend your Tuesday night? I went along to the Curly hair magazine launch event and I am here to tell you guys all about it!
Curly hair magazine is only the UK’s 1st FREE magazine aimed for naturalistas!! Yassss, thank you natural hair gods lol. I stopped buying magazines a while ago because they all seemed to look the same and have the same hairstyles. As I become natural, I started to look for natural hair styles and advice in these same magazines and they fell short each time, so in the end I just stopped buying them. But now, naturalistas like myself can grab a free copy of this magazine for the latest natural hair trends, advice and product reviews. What’s great about it is that you can also read it online: for the busy always on the go ladies and it was created by women with curly coily hair for women with curly coily hair: this guarantees they GET YOUR HAIR… Anyways back to the event
It was hosted in the Grace bar in Piccadilly Circus from 5pm. When I got there, one of the lovely owners, Sandra greeted me at the door and told me about the order for the day and the things going on: nails, hair braided, wine etc.. I went got get my hair braided immediately lol.
It was familiar faces all round but some new ones too… Pelumi from CFYH (Did you know about her event? check it out>> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-yN ), Rachy from UKafrolista, Joycelyn, co-owner of Afrochenchix. Some new people I met on the day too, Corrine from Kora Naturals, Lola from LoveShea, Rachael from the hairspiration app (I will do a whole post on this soon! great idea btw). Alexander from Brownbeauty blog (Thanks for the foundation recommendations!) I apologise for the lighting in some of the pictures. One of the guys from ruff copy from xfactor was there too.
Alexander from Brownbeautyblog. my hair braided!
post about this app coming soon!can you spot Pelumi in this pic?
Corrine from KoraNaturals, black shirt and white jeans
The event got on the way and we watched a mini video on how and why curly hair mag started. Ladies were expressing their views on why they went natural and if they still bought black hair magazines. We also had the CEO of pakscomestics there and a demo of curl formers (I really need to try those). After speaking to a few ladies and staying there for a while, I had to leave a bit early (early day next day!). It was a good event and I had so much fun meeting and speaking to different people.
Isnt she hair lovely?Goodie bags!Joy from AfrocenchixRuff copy
You can read the first issue online here >>http://www.curlyhairmagazine.com/ . You can pick up a copy in many places in London, check out the distribution list here to see if there is a place close to you> http://www.curlyhairmagazine.com/distribution/ Make sure you like them on Facebook for more pictures from the event! I really want to write for this mag! Praying I will be in the next issue! I got a goody bag at the end. ~I officially have black soap for life lool. Did you see my post on the great benefits of black soap? I know you did but just to be safe check it out here>> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-DJ
Goody Bag!
That’s all folks! I know you guys enjoy event covers, so hopefully I am able to go to more and do these. I hope to keep in contact with everyone I met and work with you in the future.
Don’t go anywhere yet, I have another event cover for you guys!
Hey family, I hope everyone is enjoying this heatwave in the UK! It won’t last for long though and our summer will be over lol. So I am back with another event for your diaries, calendars, iCloud, and Google and whatever way you remind yourself of events lol. If you are in the natural hair gang (And I am assuming you are because you read this blog lol) you know Pelumi from CFYH or you know about the blog. I met her at Curlvolution 2015 (event cover >> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-ti ) and she’s really sweet and friendly. Anyway someone tagged me in a post of her natural hair event and you know I had to do my part to spread the word! So if you haven’t heard already, here are the details:
What?
CFYH intimate brunch discussing topics such as natural hair insecurities, Q&A sessions etc. Guests will receive full size goody bags!!!!
Where?
Hush Brasserie
Holborn
95-97 High Holborn, Camden, London, WC1V 6LF
When
Saturday 8th August 2015 from 11AM
Tickets?
You can purchase tickets on Eventbrite. Ticket sales will end on the 6th of August. £30.00 plus a £2.45 fee.
Let me know if you are going and what you will be wearing through my social media (All the links are underneath the social tab). I always get confused with ‘smart casual,’ honestly who invented that? Lol
Hey guys, so if you follow me on Instagram (Which you should btw- @sarahfynn), you would see a post I posted about 4 weeks ago regarding a topic I was researching for my blog. The question was:
Is hair typing absolutely necessary, or are we placing too much importance on it? Do you also know your hair type and how much has that as affected your choice in products or routines?
Firstly, I want to thank all those who responded. J Greatly appreciated. Secondly, sorry it took a while to actually finalise this post lol. I originally wanted to write this 3 days later but then more people started commenting, I travelled to Germany and the rest is history lool.
Anyway first let’s talk about hair typing, what exactly is it?
In its simplest definition, it is a system created to help determine the various textures (Type 3, 4 etc) of hair among women with curly or wavy hair. So to type your hair, (there is a picture chart below and above) you would use it to compare your hair in its natural state with and pick the one that matches closely with it. The different variations e.g. type 4a, 3c etc depend on how closely your curl match the ones in the curl group e.g. type 4, type 3.From my Instagram response and also other women I have spoken to, it seems most of the ones that know their hair type are the ones on the natural game. As in they have a lot of knowledge about their hair and how it behaves and also how to manage it. These were the women who have been natural for a while now. On the other hand, newly naturals also knew their hair type for obvious reasons that they were transitioning and also every video/post you see talks about how their hair is type 3 or 4 so that may then have driven them to find their own (I could be wrong).
But does this information really matter?
Some people said knowing their hair texture allowed them to find products that better worked for their hair or were geared towards them. Others felt it helped them choose what videos to watch on YouTube and what hair styles their texture could produce.
What I also found though was discrimination where some types of hair were seen as good hair and better than others. Type 3 regardless of variation were mostly seen as good, nicer, beautiful and easier to manage whilst type 4 was dry, brittle and difficult to manage and ‘nappy’.
My thoughts
First I didn’t really type my hair (Type 4c and actually I didn’t know my exact variation until this year at natural hair week 2015, yh that real) until a year ago I think and I have been natural for 5 years! Then I found that I was really frustrated with my hair not been as perfectly defined as I would see other girls (mostly with type 3) with (I didn’t know of hair typing at this point. I thought all naturals were supposed to have perfectly defined curly hair). My twists outs and whatever outs were not defined as well. My hair as with other girls with this hair type can testify to shrinkage, it’s no joke! I was left wanting my ‘curls’ to be defined as type 3 and if they didn’t turn out like that I thought either the product was defective or my technique was wrong. Obviously, as I have grown in my journey I realised I have no ‘curls’ and my hair will never look like that and that IS FINE!
What I DON’T AGREE with is the discrimination? Wasn’t the whole point of been natural to have healthy hair? And isn’t healthy hair ultimately good hair? Be it type 3 or 4 or 4f. Another thing I don’t understand are these variations? Every year I swear a new letter is added lol, sometime ago I heard about type 4f? Really 4f? What I also don’t understand is no head of hair is exactly one type of texture so what happens then?
Anyway, to me hair typing is not absolutely necessary. You can survive without knowing your hair type. After all, before it was created I am pretty sure naturals were doing fine. I also believe too much importance is been placed on the exact variations and obviously companies are banking on this. (I am happy though that I haven’t seen (so far) any products that transform one hair type to another with promises of ‘better manageability e.g. from type 4 to type 3 or 2 BUT if you have PLEASE let me know) knowing my texture has had some impact in my routine in that I know my hair is mostly coily not curly, what hairstyles I can do and to some degree the products I use too.
So I want to leave this post open ended. Do you this it’s important? Has it had an impact in your hair journey? Please let me know your thoughts!
The pictures below are some of the responses I got from Instagram, feel free to added you 2 cents J
I wanted to do a post quickly about the products I have purchased and been using this month. It looks like a lot of products but I only bought a handful, the others I got from the events I have been to – these are mostly the sample size products. Most of the makeup I was given too. I will leave links if I have done a review on it or quickly do a mini review if I have used it.
Let’s get started. First I should confess I am a product junkie, so the amount of products should not come as a shock. Personally I don’t think it’s a lot. (Lol). I am going to try and do this top to bottom (lol) and put prices where I remember them
Ultimate organics extra virgin olive oil body whip- top green tub. I love this product! I was drawn to it because of the texture and consistency of it. It’s not runny as a lotion but it’s not ‘hard’ as a cream product either. It’s more like a yoghurt constituency. The smell is good too and the price is £2.19 (if I can remember oh wait the price tag is still on). My only con is it can be a bit greasy.
Silver top white tub (lol, guys you’re in for some amazing descriptions but as long as you get the picture I’m good)- this was part of a set given to me by fashion fair from the Curlvolution event! (Missed out on the event? Check out my event cover by clicking here >> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-ti) It has a lavender scent is which lovely but a bit strong for me so of course my mother grabs it for herself. It is a moisturising body butter
Oil next to body butter on the right- again part of the gift set from fashion fair. It’s the calming lavender moisturising oil. I really like how it feels on my skin. It leaves it silky soft and moisturised without been too oily. I use this on my legs and arms when they are out (nobody wants ashy legs) and also on my heels when am wearing sandals (most embarrassing thing ever- dry heels! Combat this my using an oil regularly on the area maybe 3 days before hand or every day when you’re applying your body moisturiser- ever notice how easy it is to forget that part? This oil works fine so does coconut oil. Shea butter is great too if you have that. Of course make sure you are using your scrubbing stones to get rid of dead skin)
Body shop vitamin E face spray- pink bottle. I LOVE THIS. Moisture boost and sets makeup! I was looking for a makeup setting spray that I could use for travelling so it had to be smaller than my fix plus from Mac (I love this too). I got this after speaking to the shop assistant who recommended the orange vitamin c spray (£10) which gives a dewy finish which was what I was after. However I did not like the scent of that and went ahead with this instead and I am so happy with my choice. I won’t say the finish is dewy but it does get rid of the powder effect (lol) and gives a subtle glow! Well worth the money. I use this alone too or on top of my vitamin E moisturiser (pictured next to the sachet next to the eco styler gel lmao). Grab from body shop for just £8.
Olive oil ecostyler gel- of course every naturalista needs this! I have tried the clear and argan oil versions so it only made sense to get this one! I have this thing and I’m sure a lot of people do, where I have to try all flavours if the product comes in different flavours (is It sad or weird?) I do this a lot with shower gels and chewing gums. I think the price was £2.69 or £2.99 from diva hair and beauty Croydon
Beautiful textures texture manageability system- I got about 5 boxes of this at the Curlvolution event. It is supposed to help you straighten your hair and keep if straight for a while (even after shampooing) before going back to curly. I have already given 2 away and I think I will give the others as well- I am a heat free journey. I am not sure how it works but I read somewhere the ingredients is not the best. But if this is something you want to try out by all means go for it.
Beautiful textures rapid repaid deep conditioner- I have used this before (years back) and recently fell in love with this line again so stay tuned for this review
Clay sachets- rhassoul clay (review here >> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-us) and bentonite clay bought from SheaButter cottage.
Superdrug vitamin E micellar cleansing water (next to clay sachets) – I LOVE THIS. GO BUY NOW lol. Ok so how I got this this. Wendy Williams (how you doing) spoke highly about the simple’s version (skincare brand) and how effective it was taking off ALL her makeup. I was like whattt? You’re on T.V of course it’s a lot more makeup and it was THAT effective? Hm! *walks into Superdrug picks it up* but I’m like let me try a cheaper version in case it does not work. The simple version is not expensive, about £5 but I would have been pissed to spend that on a product and not work. Luckily the Superdrug brand products were on offer- buy one get one ½ price, so I decided to go with that. I bought it on a day I had makeup on so of course I couldn’t wait to get home and try this. It also claims to take of mascara! Hmm! Did it work? YESSSSS. I swear! One cotton pad is enough to take off your mascara! If you know me you know I like to use two to three different mascaras (lol) to get max length and volume. One pad is enough! I use one pad for each eye then use about 3 more for my face! After that I used a baby wipe to double check if all my makeup is gone and yep! Wipe was as clean as I first removed it. Lol. Next day no panda eyes! In short I am repurchasing lol and can’t wait to try other brands! Oh don’t use it to wipe your lips- it tastes horrid
L’Oréal Miss manga mascara- £8.99. It’s okay. It was really hyped up on YouTube but its ok. I have a better mascara from Superdrug for £3 that works wonders! Yes I need to re purchase and will include it in June’s products.
Video on Miss Manga mascara
You be-natural sachet (on top)
Palmer’s shea formula sachets- I didn’t know they had a natural hair care line. I got the moisture shampoo and conditioner and the curls whipped cream.
Fashion fair lipsticks, eye quad and pink blush (All dark brown packaging) given to me at Curlvolution
Phew, coming to the last few, right quickly now
Curls unleashed sample pack in the left corner- contains set it off curl boosting jelly, curl defining crème and moisturizing conditioner
Maybelline’s big lash mascara- oldie but goodie
And finally ApHogee provitamin spray leave in conditioner- I like this. It smells ok and leaves my hair refreshed.
That’s it folks! The end of all the products I bought and used in May. I know it’s June but I have a great excuse- I went traveling and you’re in for a travel update soon! Yay! Leave any comments on any products you have tried or wanting to try- hashtag #sarahfynn #productjunkie! I guess my favourites would be the micellar cleansing water and the Miss Manga mascara.
Hey family!! I hope all is well with you guys! Grab a snack because this is going to be a looonnggg one! This post will be the official (in my world lol) event cover for CURLVOLUTION 2015! Sit back, relax and enjoy the post!
In its 4th year running, Curlvolution is a natural hair show aimed at the natural hair community to inform, inspire and educate. This year’s show was at the Hilton, Canary Wharf (great location btw) and was jam packed with workshops, vendors, amazing people and volunteers like me (lool). Yes I decided to volunteer for the show because wanted to be part of the show, network and of course for the blog. I am so glad I did because the event was a success! I met some amazing people and had the chance to meet some of my fav bloggers! And of course the product junkie in me was very happy to get some very amazing samples to try out!
So the day started really early for me, volunteer debrief meeting at 9am (FAM it’s not a joke) after which we got some breakfast and proceeded with our duties! I was on vendor assistance so I went on my merry way to offer my assistance. I met the owner of Shea butter cottage (who is Ghanaian btw #teamGhana) spoke some Twi (lol) and carried on meeting other vendors. About an hour later, the place was packed with beautiful displays from lots of vendors. Hunty!, the products available on the day were everything! I mean it was product junkie heaven! Brands like ORS, Beautiful Textures and Big Hair. You also had beauty by Zara which stocks popular US brands e.g. tgin (I am soo bummed I didn’t get anything from the line!), Shea Moisture etc (torture ended). Have a look for yourself
The day began for the guests in the main hall, with the main introduction show hosted by Action Jackson (hilarious btw, mantra of the day: I am beautiful, I am amazing, and I am good to go! Check out his motivational book on Amazon). Then Connie Jackson, brand manager of Fashion Fair was next and spoke about fashion fair makeup, its history and the struggles of black people in the industry. You know what’s shocking is that even in 2015, it’s still difficult to get the correct shade of foundation in my shade bearing in mind I’m not too dark or light. You also had Felicia Leatherwood from Beautiful textures speak and did a live styling demo on stage! What I loved about this was the fact that she used girls with different hair types and UK natural hair stylists (btw I am thinking of tracking down UK natural hair salons and sharing my experiences, let me know if you will find this useful). After this there were vendor announcements talking about their brands etc then it was shopping time! I loved the interaction between vendors and customers and I was lucky enough to catch a few ‘in the moment snaps’
So whilst there was browsing and shopping in the main corridor, the different workshops were taking place. There were a lot on the day and I didn’t get to sit in that many (L, why there isn’t technology to split yourself into 3 parts, I am not sure!). I caught the end of Action Jackson’s Phenomenal You workshop. From my understanding it was a motivational workshop to inspire and education the girls. I also caught some of his advice to the ladies e.g. don’t say negative words to yourself e.g. I’m tired or I’m broke (what type of brokenness? If you don’t define it, your brain will take it as broke in your spirit, finances etc). I sat in the business of blogging workshop presented by Pelumi (from cfyh) and Laila (fusion of cultures). It was very informative and dealt with basics such as branding, building an audience and finding your niche. The ladies looked amazing as usual and were very interactive with the audience. This workshop was sold out guys! A few snippets from the workshop
I also sat in the Jenell Stewart workshop- being natural isn’t easy but you can survive. She gave some practical and simple advice on how to care for and simplify your hair routines. Most of her advice I know now anyway but wish it came earlier because I learnt a lot from trial and error (oh! Those stressful, painful times!) It was a very fun and interactive workshop with questions at the end. Other workshops that took place but didn’t get to sit in were beauty masterclass presented by Kluermoi (I got a few pictures from my other volunteers) , Hair loss clinic and divas kitchen presented by Mane Divas and Felicia Leatherwood presented hair care and styling (bummer! I didn’t go to this- I am trying to be more creative in styling my hair). So around 4pm, everyone headed back to the main hall for the panel discussion with Bianca Miller from BBC Apprentice joined by all the other ladies from before. The topic was 50 shades of brown and mostly dealt with the issues us women of colour face- makeup, hair products etc. it’s really sad to see in 2015 (I wish I could make that capitals) some big brands either don’t want to attract black people (so don’t make products specifically for us but are happy to take our money #getfashionfairintoboots) or don’t carry enough dark shades. Check out Bianca’s nude tights for black women online ( I couldn’t find a direct link but follow her on twitter or google her name for more information) I couldn’t record the talk because I was on mic duty lol but it was a good talk I only wished it lasted a bit longer.
beauty masterclass workshop
After that it was giveaway time and a preview of Curlvolution 2016! I didn’t get to sit in again- volunteer errands! We gave out goody bags at the end and helped with vendor take down lol. It was a good day! I met lots of people and was part of a great event! God bless Bukky (founder) for this amazing event and looking forward to next year! You guys really missed out if you didn’t attend! Make sure you come next year! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel for videos from the workshops and the day. And my Instagram for short videos and pictures. Also follow Curlvolution twitter and Instagram for updates for next year and other events they may be hosting!
YouTube – SarahFynn
Instagram- SarahFynn
Curlvolution twitter and Instagram- Curlvolution
I was exhausted! By the end of the day, R.I.P to my feet lol but I went home with the most amazing goody bag of all time- Thank you fashion fair for the amazing products! Want to know what I got? Check my Instagram!
I made a few purchases which I will be reviewing and bringing you in on, obviously so stay tuned! With today been wash day (yay! Is it a coincidence? Lool) I will be using my new products and letting you know how it went.
Off to detangle my hair! And biotin update coming soon! I got you!
Until next time
Love Sarah
Random pictures because I know you want more
Action Jackson Workshopgoody bags for the business of blogging workshopMUA from Fashion FairLaila and Pelui (cfyh and Fusion of cultures)Beautiful textures modelsall smiles all around
sarah fynn 
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