Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bantu Knots: A Hair How-To Tutorial

Hi, dolls! I'm back with the second installment of my Pink Friday look. I've gotten a lot of compliments on my hair when I do this style and many questions as to how I do it. They're called Bantu Knots and they're pretty simple to do. It works on every hair type and all ethnicities too! (Yes, Amanda. White girls can do it too!) I love Bantu Knots, they're a great no-heat way to get a big head of curls. And we all know I love big hair. I usually do mine after washing my hair for a tighter curl, but it works just as well on dry hair too. All you need are Bobby Pins and maybe a light leave-in conditioner.

Here we go!

Step 1: Grab a portion of your hair, it doesn't have to be neat or parted. I usually grab a section about as wide as 3 fingers. The smaller the section, tighter the curl. I sprayed a little bit of TIGI Bed Head Spoil Me Defrizzer, Smoother & Instant Restyler for a little bit of product, you'll see the particles on my hair in a bit.

Once you've got your section of hair, start twisting it. Just a simple twist a 3/4ths of the way down.

Step 2: Coil the hair around itself at the root of the twist. It may be a little hard to get at first, but you'll get the hang of it. Just continue to wrap the twist around into a little knot.

Step 3: Twist the rest of the section down and wrap it around the knot. It should be tight enough to tuck into the bottom of the knot, but I like to secure it with a Bobby Pin. Just stick it right through the middle of the knot. I usually do 8 to 9 knots all over my head, 4 or 5 if I want more waves than curls.

Now you wait. I usually wash my hair at night, knot it and half way through the next day it should be dry. If you want to speed up the process sit under the hair dryer or use a blow dryer. It is still loads better for your hair than a curling iron.

If you're doing your Knots on dry hair, I still recommend letting them stay over night and spraying them with a little leave-in conditioner to really help the Knot set.

The Next Day

It is time to uncoil your knots! Take out your Bobby Pins and unravel your Knot. It should fall out of the coil into a bouncy spiral curl. Your knots should look like the ones below.



Now you can use a paddle brush to wave these curls out, but I want to keep my big curls intact. I just finger comb them and fluff them up and voila! Sexy big hair!




I slapped some makeup on my face and added a little Paul Mitchell Foaming Pomade on my hair for control and shine and here is my finished look.



Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try this and how it came out for you!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Naked Porn

Not quite what you were expecting after that title, huh? I'm a little late to the game on getting this palette. I decided on Monday that I just had to have it. Little did I know that this palette has been highly sought after for quite some time. It is sold out everywhere. Sephora.com. Ulta.com Even Urban Decay.com. I called my nearby Sephora and was disappointed to hear that they too, didn't have any left. Resigned, I asked if I could be put on the waiting list. She went to the back to get it and came back saying there was ONE left that someone put on hold, but never came to get. I was like what! I locked that baby down over the phone and speed off to go get it. And voila, my very own Naked palette. I was so lucky to be able to get one the day I decided I wanted it. I hate waiting and I'd have been waiting forever!

I haven't used it yet, but it sure is beautiful. It comes with 12 full-sized shadows, a travel size of Primer Potion and a doubled ended eyeliner pencil. Uploading these pics to blogger has taken away some of the color impact, but when I swatch and review them, I'll upload them another way so you can see just how brilliant these shades are. Here's a little porn of the Urban Decay Naked Palette.










Monday, November 8, 2010

The Perfect Nude Lip for Skin of Color

Dark eyes and Nude lips are always an amazing combination for Fall. With November finally upon us, you need to make sure you have your perfect shade of lippy. Danielle over at The Fashion Bomb totally aced this article. I couldn't have said it better myself. I know I have a lot of readers interested in finding their perfect nude shade and she breaks it down to a T!

After you find your perfect shade, stick around! I'll be posting tutorials this week featuring various skintones and getting that perfect smokey eye/nude lip combo down for whatever your skintone!


Greetings, Fashion Bombshells! Danielle here.

A nude lip color is the perfect companion for heavy eye makeup or just a simple all-around “I’m naturally this good looking” understated look. But “nude” is totally dependent on an individual’s skin tone and not everyone can wear a light creme beige as their nude. I’ve put together a quick guide to help you find your nude. Check it out.

Nude lip color tips:
1. Be sure your lips are properly exfoliated (rub a wet toothbrush over your lips) and moisturized (Chapstick will do, but for super-dry lips try Clinique All About Lips or Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Skin Protectant).
2. Add color somewhere on your face to avoid looking washed out. A natural makeup look with tones that mirror your skin tone is pretty, but add a bright blush or eye color to liven things up.

Bobbi Brown (abbreviated below as BB) is a great line to start with when looking for your perfect nude. Many of Bobbi’s looks are based on “natural” pretty makeup so many nudes across the color spectrum are included in the line.

Fair Skin: (think Nicole Kidman) BB Beige, MAC Lipstick in Creme D’ Nude
Medium Skin: (think Sarah Jessica Parker) BB Blush or Uber Beige, MAC Lipstick in Creme D’ Nude
Light Olive Skin: (think Kim Kardashian) BB Uber Beige, MAC Lipstick in Freckletone
Olive Skin: (think Padma Lakshmi) BB Brownie Pink or Brown, MAC Lipstick in Cherish, MAC Lipstick in Taupe

Tan/Golden Skin: (think Jennifer Lopez to Beyonce) BB Brownie or Beige, MAC Lipstick in Freckletone, MAC Lipstick in Fresh Brew, MAC Lisptick in Velvet Teddy, MAC Lipstick in Half N’ Half
Caramel Skin: (think Halle Berry to Queen Latifah) BB Golden Brown or Heather Mauve, MAC Lipstick in Fresh Brew, MAC Lipstick in Siss, MAC Lipstick in Stay in Touch, MAC Lipstick in Touch
Dark Skin: (think Nia Long to Gabrielle Union) BB Cocoa, MAC Lustreglass in Trance Plant, MAC Lipstick in Icon, MAC Lipstick in Shitaki, NARS Lipgloss in Hustler, MAC Lipstick in Coconutty
Deep Skin: (think Kelly Rowland to Alek Wek) BB Hot Cocoa or Chocolate, MAC Lipstick in Coconutty, MAC Lustreglass in Trance Plant

Don’t get caught up in the racial background or ethnicity of the celebs mentioned above. Use their skin tone as a guide. You could be Asian and still look great in the shade for Kim Kardashian or you could be East Indian and work the shade for Kelly Rowland)

Monday, October 19, 2009

Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner: A Review


I just want to say that I have NEVER finished a hair product. Barely finished any of my makeup. But if my memory serves me right, I've never finished any of my beauty products especially all by myself. This stuff is AMAZING.


Product: 5 out of 5!

Packaging: 5 out of 5!

Quality: 5 out of 5!

Price: $ 11.50 @ Sephora

My JKNM Stamp of Approval is for all items that are 5 out of 5 in all categories!



The Claim:

“Infused with lavender, rosemary, and super-conditioning marigolds, this leave-in is ideal for dry hair. The scent is a lovely warm complement to the fresh Rosemary Mint Shampoo with Sea Moss. What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates
- GMO
- Triclosan"

- Sephora


The Good:

I cant say enough about how good this product is. Its amazing. I used it daily and it conditions my hair wonderfully without weighing it down. Its light, but you can definitely feel it working as soon as you put it on. Its great for ALL hair types. And it smells sooo good. Black Vanilla. Its really subtle too and not overpowering at all. With continued use you can feel your hair getting softer and softer. I usually use it in the morning when styling my hair, but admit, sometimes I even used it throughout the day just to give my hair a little pick me up. I have super thick hair and it just sucks up moisture and this definitely was a great moisturizer for me.


The Bad:

I have NOTHING bad to say about it.


Overall:

Its great for ALL hair types, that's one thing I love about this brand. It just caters to keeping hair healthy. There's so many things we don't know much about when it comes to additives, but we're becoming more and more aware of them as this knowledge is put out there. Carol's Daughter products specifically leave out certain harmful ingredients that can strip and dry out your hair, doing more harm than good. I'm definitely going to be reordering soon!

xoxo,

Jaimie