Earth Mail

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

Hey everyone. O man have I missed sharing with you guys. It’s been such an insane time away. I have laughed myself breathless and cried myself to sleep all in this beautiful month of October. My beautiful mom was born in October so October is a true blessing but I have to share something that’s weighing heavy on my heart right now.

The Panda Made Me Do It

Sander van Doorn, Martin Garrix, DVBBS - Gold Skies (ft. Aleesia)

Yesterday's spontaneous shopping spree left me armed with two of my favs this winter -The teddy beanie and a dark lipstick.

Lush Lashes

Quelqu'un m'a dit _ Carla Bruni

So in the lovely month of May I got me some flirting devices.

The do over

Not so long ago I received this beautiful gift from my aunt. I just LOVE the quality and colours so much. So, as you would imagine, I couldn’t wait to try these babies out. Problem was, the rest of me i.e. my hair, was seriously in bad shape, possibly on its “worst behaviour” as my brother would say. So I decided to treat myself to a mini make-over – it was long overdue if you ask me.

My make-over saw me taking one giant leap, one tiny step and a little walk to an old friend. 

The Giant Leap

I CHANGED MY CREME RELAXER!! I was so worried about doing this. Now during my insane research to ensure that I didn’t lose all my hair in the process I realised that most people actually chop and change creme relaxer all the time. I’d been loyal to Ladine for as long as I could remember –  with Ladine all my growth was straightened and my hair was left feeling and looking nourished. But for some strange reason, more and more hair salons stopped buying Ladine and those who still had it in stock were just going wild with increasing the price of this dear product.

In “Keepin’ it Fresh” I mentioned that I tried out the Dark and Lovely Amla Legend night wrap cream and was absolutely pleased with the results - so I decided that I’d give this brand another chance (having had some experience with Dark and Lovely Amla Legend put my mind at ease – well as much ease as I could manage in the midst of major distress).

This lovely box comes with a step-by-step application guide and a pair of plastic gloves. Then, as if that’s not enough, all the items in the box are labelled numerically. 

I have to mention that the one thing that appeared repeatedly in the advice columns was that it’s not so much about changing relaxers but all a matter of taking the best care of your hair after changing from one hair relaxer to another. This means regular treatment, wash and moisturising within the same product range. 

It’s been a week now and my hair’s still attached to my head and looking and feeling strong. And while Dark and Lovely did a really good job ensuring that my relaxing process went smoothly, I decided to add a little something extra. I invited my friend over for moral support because this was the first time I relaxed my own hair and just to save me from the horrors of my imagination. 

The tiny step

This was of course the easiest part and just this once – thee most exciting. I usually use my Catrice Absolute Nude eye-shadow palette because the colours go really well with my skin tone but this time I explored with the lovely mustard #34 and went quite heavy with the black #48 in my crease (I usually use the darkest brown in my palette instead of black). You’ll notice that I also applied some of the mustard shadow close to my dear ducts just to make my eyes “pop”.

If you’d fancy a more extensive eye make-up and eyebrow “tutorial” including the winged liner and lashes, be sure to let me know. 

The walk to an old friend

Now we all know that all roads lead to the Red Lip. So I finished this look off with some bold red lips. I used my Labello lip balm (also included in my ‘Keepin’ it Fresh’ post) as a base and went on to apply a generous amount of Yardley’s Stayfast Supershine Lipgross.

And voilà...

I hope you enjoyed my mini make-over and maybe it will even inspire you to have a mini make-over of your own. Coz when you look good you can’t help but just feel good.

Xx

Keepin' it Fresh

This past weekend I found myself in a rather sticky situation after participating in the Colour Me Crazy festival. And while I was melting away in the heat, trying to improve my 5km time, I thought it would be a grand idea to share some of the cosmetic products I just can’t do without in Summer... all in the spirit of avoiding being a haaaaat mess.

Dove

My relationship with Dove began several years ago during a camping weekend where I accidentally left my lovely bottle of Clearasil at home. I simply loved how my skin wasn’t left feeling as dry as it did before. Since then I have moved to not just using the bar of soap on my face but now my entire body gets to enjoy the moisturising beauty of Dove as well as the body lotion. For those who enjoy a fresh smell; there’s just nothing fresher than the Dove “go fresh” cool cucumber & green tea anti-perspirant deodorant. 

Nivea

When a friend of mine suggested that I use Nivea Creme on my face I just thought they were trying to turn me into an oil-painting but used at thee most moderate of proportions – this cream keeps my face moisturised in Winter and gives me a healthy glow in Summer.

Sunblock

If you’d ever seen my pictures from athletics days back in primary you’d understand why I wasn’t always the biggest fan of sunblock – I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s suffered from a sad case of Shades of Grey. Sunblock just always made me appear a greyish colour – then it would just melt, making me look greyish and oily (no-one wants to look either of the two). I was introduced to this ROC sun block during my visit to France and I have been using it since. It blends in so nicely with my skin. I was advised to apply it every 2 hours so I do so when I spend several hours in the sun otherwise I do so less frequently. The Sun Dance sunblock on the right doesn’t do the same wonders as the ROC one so I just use that one on my legs, neck and arms whenever I feel the need.

Make-up

Keeping it fresh in Summer means that I use very little make-up during sunny skies. I prefer to let my skin breathe but just for a bit of oil-control after making use of the sunblock I use a tad bit of Dream Matte Mousse. And if I’m having lunch with the girls or going out I just use some gel liner and mascara. You’ll notice that the label on my Dream Matte Mousse is gone ^^ That’s how long I’ve had this stuff – a little really goes a long way with this product. I use the the Caramel (Dark 2) but I’ll add a link below just to share all the other shades ;)

Dream Matte Mousse

Hair

The sun can do plenty of damage to one’s hair. As you all know, I recently took out my extensions so I’ve just been washing and conditioning my natural hair these days and while I usually used Hair Mayonnaise to re-nourish my hair – this time I decided to try something new. I haven’t relaxed my hair yet but this night wrap crème has really done a great job keeping my hair feeling soft.

Now this list could go on forever coz the market offers so many products and tricks for staying fresh under the sun but I’ll end this off with the product I use the most on a daily basis.

Lips

And while I personally prefer to keep things neutral nowadays, I know that Summer is a wonderful time to explore with all sorts of bright colours on one’s lips. I feel that applying a lip balm with some sun protection before your lipstick is good practice. I absolutely enjoy the smell and taste of this Labello Vitamin Shake (not that I sit chewing on my lip balm) :P and it also gives a bit of a nude lipstick look.

This is me keeping things super fresh with zero make-up and some lovely fresh goodies for breakfast. 

I hope you’ll have a lovely week!

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness"

Ntabiseng Moahlodi 

Going back to the roots

And so the time has come - to bid my dear short weave farewell (tear tear). I've had such a lovely run with this hair - easy maintenance and all this confusion over,"Is it your real hair or hair extensions?" Having said that - I do think that next time I will go for something longer and possibly even a colour I haven't experimented with before. As for now - I am seeeeriously enjoying my natural hair and will be showing it a whole lot of love during this month of Feb. 

Have a lovely day ladies and fellas

Xx