Today Starts A Personal Natural Hair Challenge...

When it comes to my Natural Hair, I never cared to do a Challenge.

I've always felt that Hair Challenges in the Black/Afro Online Community were more so for those New to their Natural Hair. Going from a Big Chop to a TWA and wanting to see exactly how much they can get in Growth in a Concentrated, short period of time. Keeping the thrill of the New Hair Journey you just embarked upon and gaining insight. As well as easily keeping Track of Growth.

I'm not saying that's ALL that Hair Challenges are for because I know there are many of Long hair Beauties who participate. Just a personal view of Hair Challenges in general is all.

As for someone like myself; I've been Natural on and off my whole life. I say On and Off because a Relaxer has Touched my hair before. Though I was never relaxed frequently or often in that fact. It was a once a Year thing, if even. My hair would eventually after some weeks just curl back up, it would be what would be considered a Tex-Lax today, and a Weak one at that.

When I wasn't cutting my hair, my hair use to be big ^^^^.

If you ever saw the Kids book called "Nappy Hair" that was Me. About a girl who's hair was the Nappiest, Thickest, Unruly, Hair ever in her Family. And actually even to this day I get the "GIRL YOUR HAIR IS THICK!" From strangers. Aside the Classic "Is that all your hair" Line.

But as the weeks have gone by this year, as I aim to set a regiment for myself that I will stick with, A Personal Hair Challenge has become quite more appealing. And I now see why others who aren't fresh from a Chop do it.

I could just join upcoming Challenges that I'm sure are coming soon. Like the Castor Oil Challenge that Kinky Curly Coily Me host every Season. But I'd rather update my personal Blog than a Forum.

I want to see exactly how much Growth I can get between Now and End of Winter.

My Challenge Rules:

• Add Essential Oils to all Products being used, the Essential oil doesn't matter or how many.

• Implement Jamaican Black Castor Oil into as many Products/Mixers as Possible e.g; Shampoo, Conditioner, Hair Butter, Scalp Oil, Hot Oil Treatments, etc.

• Deep Condition & Hot Oil Treatment Once A Week.

• Work on Eating better, Consume less junk, drink more Teas and Water.

• Implement Exercise By Week 3.

• Keep hair in as many protective styles as possible since Winter is approaching (Gotta love N. Midwest). At least 5 Days a week.

• Protein Treatment Every 2 Weeks.

• Biotin, Green Tea, MSM & Multivitamin Pill everyday.

I just Blow Dried my hair yesterday because I was in dire need of a Trim/Cut.

My Hair is at the Start of my Arm pit, below Collarbone after the Trim.

Now find a good Protein Treatment.

Product Review: As I Am - Coconut Cowash

Hello!

I haven't forgotten about this place or my visitors. Please trust that. I've actually been busy with trying to Aim at more Hair Related Topics and I can't really review Hair Products if my own hair is not in Tip-Top shape. Especially if I am reviewing for my fellow Curly/Coily haired Beauties!

A month ago or so I actually Dyed my hair Burgundy.

As you see only my hair that had the Blonde in it is where you can really see it. And sorry for the crazy hair, this was a 4 day Two-Strand twist that was flat (kept hair tied up) that I Untwisted. This is from yesterday, so the Color has washed some, but it's still very Vibrant. I'm debating if I want to keep it. It's a Temporary Dye, I used Manic Panic which is a GREAT SEMI-PERMANENT DYE if you are a Natural and you want to play with color but afraid of Damage. It's like conditioner with color in it. It will not Damage your hair. I mixed Purple Haze with Vampire Red to achieve my Burgundy.

Enough of that. Onto my Review!

I purchased this Cowash Conditioner actually some months ago, I had reviewed AS I AM Twisting Defining Cream before so I'm not new to the Line. I actually got the Defining Cream when it came out and if you read my Review, I was upset that it caused major Flakes in my hair.
Since I had that negative experience with this Brand after first time use I was a bit Hesitant on this one but I figured a Conditioner couldn't hurt that much, right?

It's noted as a Cleansing Conditioner with Tangerine and Saw Palmetto in it. That's really what got me, the Tangerine and Saw Palmetto.

I was surprised to see that this Item didn't mention "For better results use with This product and This product." It was nice to see that the product alone is suppose to give the cleansing feeling.

How does it look and feel?

I actually added Jamaican Black Castor Oil to it, along with Peppermint & Tea Tree Oil for my Scalp/Dermatitis.
It has an Off White/Pink color and it feels like a Cream Conditioner in your hands (before I added what I did) but not a Cream Oily feeling.

But as far as how it feels on your head...

I have 4B/4C Hair. It said you could Detangle with this on but would I? No.

I did not have a Smooth/Cream/Silky feeling on my hair as I put this on. I even put a Shower Cap on for a few minutes and it wasn't any better. It felt actually like I had kind of a Protein Treatment in my conditioner. I washed it out and tried it again to see if it was just the First Try and the Second Washing was the same feeling.

Does it Cleanse as Advertise?

Yes, actually. I scrubbed my scalp after applying it on my head and what Dirt was on it did get lifted. If you have Dermatitis as I do, it will lift the Flakes as well so if you had a bad area be ready to be Combing/Brushing your hair to get it out, lol. Which is a good thing! And my hair had moisture in it after washing and it felt nice.

I blow dried my hair after the Cowash and my Hair didn't feel dry as it usually tends to do. Even with heat protection.

As for a Rating I give this Product a 3.5 out of 5. It was a nice Product to try and it did give my hair a nice clean feeling for a CoWash but was it anything Spectacular? No. For me, it was one of those "I'm Glad to try it but I won't be buying it again" once it's gone.

Nothing more special than a Bottle of Suave Professional with added Essential Oils I feel for far much Less in Price.

Did it affect my Curl?

Yes. At first I didn't notice it when I initially towel dried my hair. Then after I detangled with my Leave-In I noticed how my hair didn't have any strand curl definition. I put my hair in Two Strand twists and none of my ends would curl up. A Day or so later I put my hair in a Bantu Knot for 2 days and took it down and again my curls were not there. It was just a bushy mess. Even though I enjoy crazy messy hair, there were no true curls so I wasn't feeling that.

I tried again with the CoWash and same thing with twisting hair for Bantu Knot and no curling at the ends. Hair doesn't hold curl.

Disappointing. I will use up what else I have. Try to make it work and then move onto the next one.

Circle Lens Review: Fiffy 4 Tone Violet (Vassen)

Hello!

I would of had an Update for you all last week but sadly I was sick due to the forever changing of the weather here in the Midwest, US. So I was mainly in the bed all week when I wasn't at work. Thankfully I am well now but I see that while I was down; Apparently so was my Blog :-/.

My Pictures for everything were gone. Due to a Picasa mishap. So I am slowly right now trying to Fix previous Posts, Starting with the newer ones first. Hopefully this won't happen again!

Reviewing Vassen's Fiffy 4 Tone series in Violet.

Purchased along the same Bundle from Apple of Your Eyes.

Unlike the LuxuryBabe 61 series they did not come in the Blister Pack but in a Vial.

Diameter: 14.5m

Water Content: 55%

Manufacturer: Vassen Co.

I'm sure Base Curve is the Standard 8.6.

There isn't suppose to be a different between the LuxuryBabe branding and the Vassen for the Fiffy 4 Tone lenses but the Brown LB's I reviewed before these were horrid on my eyes compared to these. Just from that alone I feel that Vassen/Candylicious has the upper hand over LuxuryBabe right now.

Comfort: 9.0/10.0!

I did not take a Comparison for the Enlarging effect but the effect is Minimal. These give a slight enlarging effect but nothing drastic. If you are looking for a lens with Enlargement as a main factor then these are not for you.

Enlargement: 10/10 They were perfect for me.

Now for Appearance:

The Lenses are a Light Purple, Dark Purple, Pink and a Honey Brown in the middle. It's actually more of a Pastel lens as far as eye catching Violet. It's a nice lens if you want to add a little something to your eye that isn't noticeable as far as Size and color from a far. Close up you can tell but if someone were to talk to you a few feet away, they might be able to tell you have Contacts on but probably not the color.

Appearance: 6.0/10

I was looking for more of a Opaque as far as colors go with Violet but I still enjoy the lenses, they are my favorite so far.

Overall: 7.5/10

Circle Lens Review: LuxuryBabe Luxury 61

Hey guys.
I was going to wait until the weekend for this review but due to Lenses I pushed it for today since I won't be able to deal with these lenses come the Weekend...

These are the LuxuryBabe Luxury 61 in Brown. Purchased from Apple Of Your Eyes.

Diameter: 16.0mm (Enlarging Effect, they are 14.5mm)

Water Content: 45%

Base Curve: 8.6

Manufacturer: Belmore INC, Korea

Even the Thickness is mentioned at 0.04mm.

Prescription: PLANO to -5.50.

These are suppose to be the "Bigger" version of Candylicious (Vassen) Fiffy 4 Tone Series which is labeled as 14.5mm. The water content on those are 55%.

They did not come in your typical Vial, they came in a Blister Pack:

Having never heard of the company and brand I decided to give them a try. Who's to say I wouldn't like them if I didn't give them a try, ya know?
Looking forward to putting these on and wearing them all week I was anxious to get these open and going. I Soaked them in Clear Care over night and when it was time to put them on, well, I was disappointed.

Appearance of the Lens it has a Brown Limbal Ring. Not Heavy but with a natural appearance to it actually. The actual lens is more of a Honey mixed with Brown and slight orange color.
I was looking for a Lens that was Brown but still give a nice POP. Some Brown lenses in which you look for that are lighter tend to come off with an Orange hue to them.

Appearance: 9.0/10.0

For effect I did want a Larger lens this time and I felt these were large but not overwhelming. You can wear these without need of Make-Up. The Enlargement was a nice size

Enlargement: 8.0/10.0

Now for Comfort...

The Comfort was the main reason why I could not wait for the weekend to do this Review. These were very Uncomfortable. Looking outside was almost impossible. I couldn't stop blinking my eyes long enough for more than 5 seconds due to Irritation. As you can see my eyes look a bit Watery and the veins in my eyes are showing more due to the Irritation.
I really wanted to give these a chance. I had already used Clear Care over them over night so then I even soaked them in Aquify for a few minutes to see if that would help and no, sadly these were uncomfortable. I won't say Unbearable but just as close. I wouldn't wear these for more than just a Photo-Op and only if had to. You can feel these. It isn't painful but you can definitely feel the lenses on your lids and the edge of them.

It reminded me of the Geo Hurricane Brown's(<--that review) I had from over 2 years ago.

Comfort: 3.5/10.0

Overall: 4.5/10.0 Though the Appearance and Enlargement were nice, the Comfort is not something in which I would want to purchase or wear these again and sadly make me Hesitant of other LuxuryBabe Contact Series.

Hoping that the Vassen/Candylicious Fiffy 4 Tone Series are actually comfortable compared to these. I am reviewing the Violet lenses from that series next Lens Review.

Puffy 3 Tone Grey Lens Review - Picture Heavy

Hello Everyone! Stuck to my word of updating this weekend and I do indeed have a review for you all, so they's get this started!

Let's the the Basic manufacture & sizing out of the way;

Manufacturer: Dueba

Diameter: 14.5mm

Effect: 16.0mm

Base Curve: 8.6

Prescription: 0.00 to -10.00

Ordered these from Apple of Your Eyes, Standard post. Received in 2 weeks in US.

As you can see they have a Thick Grey Limbal ring. As it gets inward it goes into a Light Grey and the middle is a Yellow Accent color with some Brown.

I will say that these Lenses can come off as Three Different Colors, based off of the Lighting and Distance one is looking at you.

For the Enlargement you can see that there is a noticeable size of Enlarging Effect. Though the effect is not Off putting. You can get away with wearing these without Make-Up.

Enlargement: 8.0/10.0. 

Note: I did not buy these for the Enlargement.

With Both in for Flash, depending on the Angle and view the Grey have more of a Blue hue to them as you can see.

Without Flash it looks more Grey but still with a Blue tint to it with a yellow center.

As noted above they can come off as Three different colors. In this picture with the different room lighting (no flash) The Yellow blends in with the Grey and it comes off as a Light Cloudy Green. At work they showed up more so as Green/Grey than Grey or a Blue/Grey. It all depends on the Lighting! As well as the color of your eyes.

Appearance: 6.0/10.0

At first I did not care for these lenses when I first put these on due to how the Yellow in the middle can be give a Fish Eye effect but soon you forget it's there after you get use to the look of the lenses. I received compliments on the lenses but the color is what people were confused upon.

"Oh, are those Green?" "Are those Blue?" "They don't look Grey." If you want a lens with a Solid color in lighting then these aren't for you.

For Comfort these Lenses were Alright. I love Dueba, I fell in love with them with the G&G/Dueba Natural Green lenses I ordered from them, as well as in Violet but I yes I could tell these were in my eyes.
Was there an Irritation? No. I do work in a Dry environment.

Comfort: 7.0/10.0

I also want to Note: When trying out Lenses make sure that not only do you have your Solutions up to date/Not Expired (or Open pass 90 days). You want to make sure that you are not Allergic to it as well. If you have Itchy Eyes/Irritation as soon as you put on the Contacts after a few minutes, it's usually not the Lens. It's the Solution in which you have them in.

Overall: 7.0/10.0

Next Review: LuxuryBabe Luxury 61 in Brown

Long Overdue Coming Back Post

Long long overdue on returning and also - I Need To Update My Layout, EEK MUCH! -

So I DISAPPEARED, which is horrible because my blog still gets views, I get some E-mails about the Reviews I did and all while this is going on I'm just sitting here like "I Really Need To Get Back To Doing My Reviews." Because honestly, it's fun to me. It kept my mind off of stress and away from other stuff. To be focused on a Task.

Now with that said I do have some Lenses I plan to review Coming along in the next few weeks starting (goal) this Weekend! Now I do work Night shift so if not this weekend it WILL (Guarantee) Be next weekend.

With that said do I even HAVE the lenses?

I indeed to! I ordered from Apple Of Your Eyes! I have 6 Lenses to review for you all! Excitement!

I've been waiting on the Package for 2 weeks so I was so happy to finally get it, was hoping it wasn't delivered to a different address.

Upcoming Lenses that will be Reviewed! I won't say which ones right now but once I do a Review I will let you know what the next one will be at the bottom of it.

I've ordered from AOYE's before and didn't have an issue. I thought 7 pairs and though directly in front of you, you only see 6, there's one off to the side.

Sadly a Vial was broke upon Delivery (probably explains the blurred out return address). It was my Hazel Gothic 14.5 Lenses I was going to review.

I figured my luck of not having a broken vial yet on delivery would run out. Thankfully I am not upset, since I have 6 pairs I CAN wear.

I don't blame anyone aside from Mishandling. There's a Fragile glass sticker on it, and stamped, but I doubt it was taken into consideration. When I received from the Postman I could tell it had been handled many. I do plan on replacing, just a matter of trying to get the same Lenses or different Hazel ones :-).

Updates to come!

-0(^.^)0

Ebay Wig Buying: Alluring Wig s 'Penelope' *Updating*

Hey guys!
So with the Winter approaching and it getting cooler, to protect my hair from the brutality of it all while still having my hair styled like I want I decided to get some wigs.

I am very picky when it comes to things I want and like. I am. It's bad actually, lol. I had an ideal wig in mind that I wanted but was not finding it from the ethnic hair stores I saw in person and online. Then I decided to check out eBay because eBay can have EVERYTHING, though I was more so looking at Halloween Wigs on eBay. I came across THIS WIG by Alluring Wigs named Penelope, she is a Lace Front Wig. $88.00

The description said she was 26 inches long and a 1B in color. Now I do not have 1B hair. You'll see my Eyebrows are lighter than the color of the wig, so it was a little too dark for me at first but I got use to it. I knew 26inches was long and I never had anything that long aside from Synthetic dreads so I wasn't so sure but I really loved the way the wig looked so I decided "Why not?!" So I purchased it and this is how it looked straight out of the package...

 Like all wigs that are Synthetic they usually look very shiny when first open from the Package. Sometimes after wearing it and some brushing the Shine will go away or you can use Baby powder to help dull it out.

She is cropped around the front of the face to give it a more 'Realistic' look so the hair is layered around the front which I like actually. She is a lot of hair, not heavy but a lot of hair. I tried her on with half of my Costume (She is NOT my Costume wig though).

I had to play with Penelope a little bit. First thing I did was cut the Lace front because she is a Lace Front Wig, the lace was long about 2 inches, give or take some CMs. From where the hair starts at the front of the Wig you have about 1.5inches of Lace before its just the netting of the cap and weave.

As I mentioned before it is cropped around the face. So the Arrow shows the piece that is short.

Overall I am satisfied with my buy and have been looking at Penelope's Sister, Priscilla which is a blonde but like most Blonde wigs they are usually 613 and I don't want anything that bright.
Now onto most inquired questions when it comes to wigs...

Does She Shed?
Now to be honest she might but not a lot. Though I cannot be 100% about this because I did not brush her BEFORE I had started to PLUCK the hairs around the front of the lace to shape the hair line. I have brushed her since and I might get 1-3 hairs once in awhile.

Are You Suppose To Brush Her?
She is a Wavy curl wig. So Brushing her will Lax the curls a little but you won't lose the waves. She does get tangled though. When I first wore her I couldn't run my fingers completely through. I recommend a good wig brush and Oil Free wig spray.

Is The Lace Easy To Blend?
For my skin tone, I felt the color was a tone or so darker and I did have to go get cover-up to help blend it. As well as cut the lace down more.

Is She Comfortable?
She's not itchy. If you have a lot of hair/big head you might have an issue with keeping the sides down so they cover your edges. You might want to glue them down or just not wear the wig in a pulled back hair style. I have a lot of hair so I do have this issue. I usually keep the hair that's short in the front down before pulling it back. It helps.

Is She Heat Resistant?
Up to 200 degrees so if you want to straighten or add more curl.