Christmas Lookbook 1

Christmas is almost here and it’s time to get your outfits planned for the festivities. Here are some of my outfit ideas for you if you need some inspiration. Really fun and simple picks to get started on

My challenge was to shop for the whole outfit from one store! It’s actually more difficult than you think because as you browse you find stuff you can pair with other clothes from another store! But I did my best! Let me know what you think of my outfits and where you would wear them to!

 

H&M

Girl’s Night

H&M

Shoulder bag, £14.99

5 pack rings, £3.99

V neck strappy top, £12.99

Imitation leather trousers £14.99

Coat in a wool blend £39.99

Platform boots £29.99

 

 

Newlook

Work Party

newlook outfit

Mela Blue V Neck Lace and Scuba dress, £25

Black faux fur box clutch, £13.49 on sale

Black Leather Ankle Strap Heels £34.99

Cameo Rose Black Belted Maxi Coat £24.99

Black Disc Drop Earrings £5.99

 

 

Zara

Date Night

Zara Outfit

COMBINED CLUTCH BAG £15.99

JEWEL EARRINGS £12.99

LACE-UP LEATHER HIGH HEEL SANDALS £69.99

TUBE SKIRT £25.99

DOUBLE-LAYER LACE CAMISOLE TOP £25.99

 

River island

Birthday/Christmas Dinner out

river

Metallic bronze halter neck crop top £25.00

Metallic bronze wrap top pencil skirt £28.00

Black suede caged strappy heeled sandals £70.00

Black glittery box clutch £30.00

Black tassel dangle earrings £10.00

 

Also check out the Big X post for some more outfit ideas featuring African Print Designs!

Debunking natural hair myths 3: Ignorant hairdresser!

Hey guys, I hope everyone is doing great! If you read my previous debunking natural hair myths, Part 1>> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-Ju Part 2 >>http://wp.me/p1uQOd-JM  you would know it was inspired by things I heard or read. Today’s post however was inspired by a conversation I overheard lol yesterday between a ‘hairdresser’ and another man.

He said

Natural hair is just a trend that will die down soon. You know how people catch on to trends. They will realise its expensive and it’s not suitable for UK weather. Natural hair is not versatile, there’s not much you can do with it

Because I was eavesdropping (lol, well I wasn’t I was in the next room and the door was open lol) I couldn’t just barge in and lecture him. I thought about what I heard all the way home and how it’s a pity to hear this from a hairdresser. He’s probably the type to convince you to relax your hair if you walked into his salon. Anyway today’s post will focus on debunking all the myths he said

  1. Natural hair is a trend- I think this is subjective depending on who you talk to. For instance, if you talk to someone who has seen a lot of perfectly defined twist outs and amazing voluminous hair, they are somehow led to believe that will be their case once they transition. They don’t really know what goes into that process aka pre poo, detangle, wash, deep condition, LOC then twist, dry, fluff then ROCK lol. So they transition only to find it’s not the case and give up, it is to those people that natural hair is a trend. I believe most things started off as a trend but stuck because people found it worked for them and they liked it. I also I believe if you did your research prior to transitioning and you had a personal reason/issue why you transitioned aka you had damaged hair etc, and you believe transitioning to natural hair is the only way to recovery, then  you are more likely to keep your natural hair afterwards. it will not die down for those people that has become their lifestyle
  2. Natural hair is expensive- I must confess I thought the same thing when I first became natural, and of course I thought I needed a separate conditioner to detangle and condition. I also thought I needed 10000 different oils for my hair. But now I believe it’s either more or less expensive than relaxed hair. It will cost whatever you put into it. I can have natural hair and use the bare minimum products or relaxed hair with the most products. But for the sake of this man, let’s look at some prices comparisons of natural and relaxed hair products in the same category.

Shampoos

Relaxed hair- Elasta QP shampoo for relaxed hair £2.49/237ml

Natural hair- Motions nourish and acre active moisture shampoo £2.99/473ml

Conditioner

Relaxed hair- Olive oil formula replenishing conditioner- £2.99/250ml

Natural Hair- Eco natural cocktail conditioner- £2.99/8oz

 

I could go on. It’s what you decide to buy.  A lot of these products are suitable for all hair types too. I think the main reason people think it’s expensive is 1. Some time ago, companies that made natural hair products were very limited hence the high price 2. I believe when you transition or first become natural there is a lot of products that are thrown at you that you want to try out, hence you buy, buy, buy. Trust me when I say about 60% of products you would buy in the first year of been natural will not work for you. As you experiment and play around with different products, you will know your staple products and what works best for your hair.

If he is saying natural hair is more expensive because of all the styling products or oils we buy, once again he is wrong because we just swapped wrapping/setting lotions for curl defining cremes/gels and so forth. But again this really depends on the individual and how much they are willing to spend on their hair products

  1. It’s not suitable for UK weather- 1st of all, no hair is ever suitable for UK weather lol that’s why we got weaves, braids and wigs. Say no more
  2. Natural hair is not versatile, there’s not much you can do with it- well mister take a look at the countless videos on YouTube and decide for yourself

I hope I did a good job debunking these myths, what do you guys think? I would love to hear others opinions on some stuff he said, make sure you comment below: whether you’re relaxed or natural!

Naturals do you think been natural is more expensive than when you were relaxed? People that transitioned but when back to relaxing their hair, what made you go back? Was it a trend for you or did you find it difficult/ not enough time? Do you think I am been defensive because I am natural?

It really gets on my nerves to hear ignorant stuff about natural hair, what people decide to do with their hair is their personal business so why say foolish things about something just because it’s not the norm?. Anyway let me go and drink this tea and apply my oils and sleep lol.

Love

Sarah

SHEA MOISTURE AFRICAN BLACK SOAP

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Hey guys, welcome back. As discussed previously, we are going through all the Shea moisture product collections for natural hair, complete with reviews and where to purchase in the UK! This is to help shea moisture virgins like me Lol (yes there are some of us) who have never used any of their products before. We have already looked at the coconut and hibiscus line which can be found here if you missed it >>http://wp.me/p1uQOd-Bq . Now, let’s get into today’s post!

The African black soap collection aims to calm and clarify dry, itching and flaking scalp. It helps to remove product build up while moisturising and conditioning for healthy looking hair. The main ingredients are as follows

  1. Plantain enzyme- helps to calm itching and irritation
  2. Tea tree oil- removed build up for enhanced shine and volume
  3. Willow bark extract- exfoliates and detoxifies hair and scalp

It’s not a big collection, just 4 products in the range which are

  1. African black soap purification mask
  2. African black soap dandruff and dry scalp elixir
  3. African black soap deep cleansing shampoo
  4. African black soap balancing conditioner

Reviews

 

 

 

 

I must say I am a HUGE fan of African black soap especially for skin.  It’s the ULTIMATE DETOX/CLARIFIER! I have been using it for the last month and a half and I am already seeing results. It’s quite harsh though, it has the potential to dry out the skin so I am interested to see how it works on the hair without stripping all the moisture or oils. Anyway if you have this line let me know how it’s working for you and which product you will recommend.  Here in the UK you can purchase the full collection on British Curlies >> http://shop.britishcurlies.co.uk/categories/SheaMoisture/?sort=featured&page=2 . Shea moisture’s website will give you plenty of information on the line >>http://www.sheamoisture.com/African-Black-Soap_c_119.html

That’s all folks for now, next we will be talking the latest collection, the super fruits complex!

Until then

With love

Sarah

CANTU FOR NATURAL HAIR

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Hey guys! Welcome back

So quickly this post will be a 1st look at some of the products Cantu sent me. Guys look at my Cantu collection its growing lol!

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So I bought most of them with my money expect of the 3 I am about to tell you about. They sent me

Coconut oil shine and hold mist

Curl activator cream

Grow strong strengthening treatment

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So from my understanding, the coconut oil shine and hold mist is like a spray leave in conditioner. On the bottle it says it provides lasting moisture and shine and rehydrates and refreshes curls. The curl activator cream is pretty much straight forward and I plan on using this for a twist out soon. The strengthening treatment is a cream which can be used daily to moisturise and strengthen the hair. It also protects from heat damage. So maybe you could use this as your daily hair cream.

I really like the whole Cantu for natural hair line! They smell SO GOOD. For more information about the whole line and the product list, check out my previous post >> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-yF

I am planning a Cantu wash day soon! I really need to get the deep treatment masque then I will be set lol. Until then, I will be using the coconut oil shine and hold as a leave in spray under my wigs and I will report back to you! I was really confused on this product, because it says ‘hold’ in the name I thought it’s more like a hold spray that you would you set your hair styles. The curl activator cream feels a bit sticky and kinda thick for a lotion. This will probably be very good for wash and go’s for type 4 hair.

That’s all folks, really quick post to let you know about the products. Thank you Cantu for sending me the stuff and I can’t wait to use them! You can get the full range of the Cantu for natural hair line online at BeautybyZara  >> http://www.beautybyzara.com/cantu/

That’s all folks,

Until next time

Love

Sarah