Mini Haul From All Cosmetics Wholesale

The Haul

After weeks of debating and researching on whether or not to trust and purchase from this company, I decided to give All Cosmetics Wholesale a try. 

I am happy to announce that I am pleased!

ACW sells (but is not limited to) higher end cosmetics for less than retail prices. The website is rudimentary in presentation making them hard to trust (IMO). However, my experience with them has taught me otherwise. To learn more about the company, I recommend visiting their website.

Now, the haul:

I purchased 3 items for prices well below their retail value and they gave me a free gift (Which I love - see below)!

• $24.00 - Bobbi Brown's stick foundation in Almond 7 (Retail $40.00)
• $12.00 - Bobbi Brown's Shimmer wash eyeshadow in "Chocolate" (Retail $20.00)
• $8.99 -  Urban Decay's single eyeshadow in "Ruthless" (Retail $16.00)

To see more pictures, expand this post by clicking on its title.

I'm not doing a review of the actual products I purchased in this post but I will sometime in the near future! Enjoy the pictures and swatches!

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick - Almond 7

Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in "Chocolate"

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in "Ruthless"

Ruthless, Chocolate, and Foundation Swatch

Free Gift - Maybelline's Moisture lip liner in "Wine"

My lips pretty much lined and filled with the lip liner

The lip liner with NYX's "Aphrodite" Lipstick with Nyx's Clear lip gloss

Ruthless and Chocolate - Both are beautifully pigmented

Lip liner to the left

Happy New YEAR!

OK ladies, today is the LAST day of 2010 and I want to bring in the new year with a bang! I will be featuring 2011's #naturalhair New Year styles on my blog tomorrow. I need ALL OF YOU to send me an email of how you wore your natural hair to bring in the new year. SEND ALL PHOTOS to safi.haircare@gmail.com if you want to participate. I can't wait to see the creative, cute, curly styles that you all come up with.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

xoxo,

Alex

Random: Heart Warming Picture

I stumbled across this ADORABLE photo on tumblr today and my heart immediately swelled with warmth, LOL. I HAD to share this very cute photo of a beautiful natural hair baby and her daddy. So sweet. :)

(source)

Annie at Gateway Theatre

Wig Maintenence & Assistant wig constructor - Devon

The Hobbit at Capilano College

Bilbo

Gollum & Bilbo

Gollum

Gandalf

Troll warrior

Troll King

 Thorin & Jay Havens  

Fili

Kili

Make up & Beard creation & designer -Devon Baker
Costume designer- Jay Havens

Chance Devlin

Model (Singer, songwriter)- Chance Devlin
Make up & set design- Devon Baker
Photography- Judy Chee

A Little "Star" Whips Her Hair on Ice!

OMG I just saw this and had to share it with you. This is the cutest thing ever! Star Andrews is a 9 year old amateur skater and she did a fantastic routine to a remix of Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair". You can see she channels the singer's unique fashion sense and funky hawk style ponytails. Aside from being extremely cute, this girl is really good! Give her a few years and she will be amazing. Check it out and tell me what you think.

Captured Curls: Whitney AKA "Naptural85"

Some of you may be familiar with Whitney AKA Naptrual85 from her AWESOME YT videos.

I have been a fan of hers for months now and I finally got her featured as a "Captured Curls" girl!

Whitney has been a natural hair idol of mine for quite sometime now and I am excited that you all can read her story...

Enjoy!

Tell me about YOU

Hi! My name's Whit but I go by Naptural85 on YouTube! I'm a Freelance Graphic Designer, Energy Consultant, Retired Certified Automotive Detailer, Natural Hair Vlogger, and a do-it-yourself, craft enthusiast! Haha, I love working with my hands! 

Tell me your hair care regimen (do you use heat, natural products, ect...)

I like to keep a really simple regimen. I wash my hair about once a month and do twist-outs or quick rinses in-between. I  don't use shampoo or conditioner on my hair, instead I like to use organic hair wash made from clay. I find it's much gentler on my hair and leaves it extremely moisturized. It also helps to de-tangle my 4a tight curls quickly, and makes my hair more manageable and soft. 

As for products I only use three! They are all-natural, homemade products: whipped shea butter for moisture-locking, flax seed gel for hold, definition and moisture, and the only store bought product I use is the Organic Clay Hair Wash. 

I don't use heat on my hair. I don't know if I ever will, but as of right now, I have no desire to blow dry or straighten my hair.

Tell me your texture and what works best on your hair type

My texture is 4a tight pencil curls! They're a lot of fun, but can be a pain to de-tangle. So I find the best method of detangling it to detangle while wet with product in my hair. So I'll always mist with water, smooth on shea butter, and finger comb my hair before I start in with the wide-tooth comb. Also, the organic hair wash has done wonders for me! It used to take me 3.5 hours to wash my hair when I used shampoo and conditioner. Now it takes me 10 minutes! No joke! It's amazing! 

Tell me the reaction you got when first going natural

My husband was the one to actually push me to do it. He was extremely supportive and excited for me! My mom was horrified, lol!! She did not think I was serious. But after my hair grew in and I did my BC (which she cut for me), she started warming up. She's extremely supportive now! I think she was worried that I wouldn't get a job... She was natural growing up and said it was really hard for her. So of course, she just wanted the best for me. I think the difference now is that there is so much more information for the transitioning natural, whereas when my mom was younger, there wasn't so much info... so I think I'm lucky to be in the middle of the "BURST" of the Natural Hair Age, where information is readily available to anyone who wants it!

Did you BC or transition, if so when or for how long?

I transitioned for about 4 months, and then chopped off the remaining relaxed hair. So I did a little bit of both! But after I BC'd that hair went right back into braided extensions lol... I was NOT ready to wear my hair out until a couple months later!

What makes you love your kinks, curls and coils?

I love my hair because it's unique, interesting, and fun. But most importantly, because it's my natural hair! The texture I was born to have! I love it because it is freedom. It's so funny that you don't really understand just how caged you were with your relaxed hair UNTIL you go natural. Seriously. When I was relaxed, I really thought that there was NO other alternative, I was a slave to the chemical and didn't even realize it! But as soon as I was fully natural, even in the transition stage, I felt so FREE and happy, and it's just the coolest feeling in the world to love your hair for what it is...

Where can we find you on the web?

You can find my tutorials, tips, and Do-It-Yourself projects at:

http://youtube.com/naptural85 and http://youtube.com/dearnaptural85

You can also find me on Twitter:

@Nap85 , see you there!!

Anything EXTRA you want us to know?

Thanks so much for the feature!!

Scalp Exfoliation Step- By-Step

With all the conditioners, styling aids and other products we slater on our hair, sometimes the scalp can get really dirty with buildup. Of course, if you wash well every few days or so, you should really be fine. But just like the skin on the face and body benefit from a good exfoliation session, so can your scalp. Check out this routine below. You can exfoliate once a week or less depending on your skin's sensitivity.

Remember not to be too rough! Your scalp is delicate and you don't want to irritate it from too much rubbing or scraping with finger nails. I would personally use this step before I do my wash-conditon-oil regimen each week or week and a half.

Overview:

To exfoliate the skin is to remove old, dead skin cells from the surface of the skin to help maintain and rejuvenate the skin. Most people benefit from an occasional exfoliation of the scalp. Besides removing dead skin cells, it relieves scalp itchiness and product build-up, leaving your scalp refreshed. If you use hair products, like mousse, gel and hairspray, exfoliate your scalp once a week.

Step 1

Mix 1 tbsp. of either brown sugar or quinoa with 3 tbsp. of conditioner and a drop or two of your favorite liquid oil. Brown sugar is an inexpensive natural exfoliant and you may already have some.

Step 2

Massage the exfoliant gently into your scalp using a circular motion for about one minute with the pads of your fingers. Make sure to avoid using your nails which can scratch and damage your scalp.

Step 3

Rinse your hair for 10 to 15 minutes while continuing to massage your scalp with lukewarm water. Too hot and you can irritate and dry your scalp!

Step 4

Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar, diluted with 1 cup of water over your hair into a bowl. Pour the vinegar rinse over your hair about 15 more times, using two bowls and switching them. The vinegar removes any remaining build-up or exfoliant. (You can modify this to suit your needs.)

Modified from HERE.

So there you have it! Who out there already implements scalp exfoliation in their regimen? What are your results?

2010 in a nutshell

Got a new DSLR camera and a ring light, which every other female blogger is using now too. Gave Pumpkin away. Had my biggest advertorial client of a total of 7 posts from Essential. Got married.

Wedding day

Went to London, where I watched Wicked and ate at a 1 Michelin Star restaurant. Removed my tongue stud. Did plastic surgery on my eyes - made no difference so I started wearing eyelid tape.

Newly cut eyes

Gave a presentation to over 300 people in the Canon Symposium. Went to Bintan for Gillian's birthday. Flew to Dallas, Texas in May, and in December again where I blew up fireworks for the first time. When to Kuala Lumpur in May for a press conference, and again in August for a shopping advert.

With my favourite KL girls Cheesie and Audrey

Got on Shin min, Cleo, Style Weddings etc. Nanolove passed away. Started to be a skincare freak. Started on invisalign to get straight teeth.

Wearing my aligners for the first time

Went to Tokyo where I had the best ramen I've ever eaten and shopped in the famed Shibuya 109. Made a video with top female youtube star Michelle Phan, which was the top freaking viewed video on Nov 10, 2010.

Invited to Tbilisi, Georgia, to give a talk about vlogging. Started learning Japanese. Painted a self portrait. Invited to the awesome Pixar studios in San Francisco with 15 vloggers chosen worldwide to watch Toy Story 3 before everyone else; met director Lee Unkrich.

With the director and producer of Toy Story 3

Went on a sponsored trip to Phuket with Mike, where we stayed in a villa like royalty. Flew to Los Angeles to watch Rapunzel, a Tangled Tale and interview Mandy Moore and Zachery Levi.

Why hello there!

That about sums up my year!! Can't believe I got out of the country (if you don't count JB) 10 freaking times! Madness! 2010 has been a great year for me. :) There were probably some bad stuff that happened too but I can't remember most of them coz my memory is super bad wtf. I think it's some subconscious ability to forgot the shitty.

If you are bored you can click the links if you haven't already read them all.

Hopefully life gets even better come 2011!! :D

How was your year?

Routine Tweaks!

For the past few months, I have been trying some new things with my hair routine and thought I'd share. Now, I don't measure my hair but when I last straightened it about a month ago, the back was slightly below my bra strap and the front stretched to about the collar bone. It seems that as my hair gets longer, it gets harder to deal with and I was beginning to dread wash days.

While it was straight, I took the time to cut out some single strand knots. It seemed that for a while, they had become the bane of my existence! I was getting more and more of the little buggers and did not know what to do. On top of that, my scalp was not reacting well to the cold weather. I felt like a hot mess!

So, I decided it was silly to continue doing the same things to my hair and expecting different results. But the last thing I wanted was to devote more time to doing my hair. I abhor sitting under the dryer for long periods of time and the thought of spending my entire Saturday walking around deep conditioning seemed out of the question. (I guess you just get lazy and lose enthusiasm after a decade?) So I decided to try some other tweaks to see if they made a difference.

Here's what I've been trying lately:

1. Wash in two halves. Simple I know. But for some reason I have resisted the wash/condish in sections mantra that seems to be so useful for other naturals. Well, it has made all the difference in the world. When my hair was shorter, washing my whole head with all my hair loose was no big deal. But as my hair gets longer and longer, washing one half at a time really cuts down on the tangling and knotting. This is a must for naturals once hair gets past sholder-length for sure!

2. Detangling in the shower. Well, after I wash each half I apply a slippery conditioner and run a bit of water over the section to make everything even more slippery. I take a wide toothed comb and detangle one half at a time. I used to be obsessed with using my denman or a detangling comb to go over every inch but now as long as I get the big tangles out, the rest I can work through as I twist. My detangling time went from 30 minutes to about 3. And yes, that is without me ripping or breaking a bunch of hairs.

3. Apply oil to my scalp after I apply the conditioner in the shower. Well, once I have detangled and both sections are secured with a ponytail holder, I just take one down, take a bottle of oil (olive, almond, grapeseed, whatever) and apply oil to my scalp. I section off portions of my hair with my fingers to expose the scalp and simply add the oil. Once I have gone through one half of my head, I massage with the pads of my fingers then twist the section up, securing with an elastic. I repeat this on the other side then proceed to finish the showering process. Finally, when I rinse I am left with super conditioned hair as well as a lubricated scalp which eliminates me having to add oil when I get out and style. This step has really helped with my dry scalp issues over time. I read on one site that too much added oil could actually feed the bacteria that cause some scalp problems, resulting in even more flakes. I feared I was excessively oiling my scalp and exacerbating the issue. Now, my scalp is lubricated and flake free without being overly oily.

4. Stretching the hair. Again, when my hair was shorter, this was a step that felt very optional. Now it is required to keep me from losing hair and my sanity. I don't bother anymore with doing small twists while my hair is wet. I do about 12 total, working on one half of my head at a time. Again working in halves has saved my hair and my ends. I lose far less hair and styling is done in about 30 minutes versus the 1-1.5 hrs I spent in the past. I was over detangling and over twisting. Now, once the 12 large twists dry, I can twist in smaller sections if I choose. Also, drying hair in larger sections means less coils to get tangled on each other. Bigger equals looser and that equals retention for me.

5. Shea butter for my ends when wet/damp. I'll admit it. I got lazy with this one step and my ends have screamed at me in protest. They were splitting and knotting like crazy! I kept wondering what the heck was going on and now I know I was not taking the time to seal them after each wash. Now, I make sure I apply a pea sized amount, melted between my fingers, to the end of each big twist as I prepare the stretched style. When my ends dry, they are smooth and less likely to tangle on each other or knot up. I cannot neglect to do this or it's back to splitsville.

So, long story short, these few tweaks have totally changed my hair. Less time spent, less energy wasted, healthier scalp, and better ends and length retention. I feel like I'm back in control of this mane and it no longer controls me....or my weekends!

What if any routine tweaks have you recently made that you can share for the good of the group?

Dry Winter Hair? Fix it with these natural homemade recipes!

The weather outside is frightful...but no reason your hair can't still look and feel delightful! If you're experiencing dryness due to the cold winter air, take a look around your kitchen and try some of these homemade winter hair recipes to get your hair back to moist!

***Avocado and mayonnaise

It may seem a bit strange to apply mayonnaise to your hair all the way to the hair tips, but it is a really good conditioner!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1 small jar of real mayonnaise

Do this:

Mash the avocado and mix with the mayonnaise. Apply to your clean hair and leave it on for 15-20 minutes. You'll get the best effect if you use a shower cap, plastic wrap or warm towel to add some body heat to the process. Rinse off.

Avocado and coconut milk

If you don't like the idea of using mayonnaise, try mixing the avocado with coconut milk.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• Coconut milk

Do this:

Mash the avocado and mix with enough coconut milk to make the conditioner smooth and the right consistency for a hair treatment. Tip: Add the milk slowly so that the conditioner does not become too loose.)Apply it to your hair and leave for some 20 minutes. Rinse off. (Again, it is good to somehow seal the body heat in by using a shower cap or towel for example.)

Avocado and egg yolk

Finally, avocado and egg yolk is also a great conditioner!

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 1 egg yolk

Do this:

Mash the avocado and mix the egg yolk. Apply it to your hair and leave for some 20 minutes. Rinse off.

*** Recipes from HERE

Hafa Adai & Merry Christmas from Guam!

I've been in Guam for about a week now and so far I'm liking it. It's suuuuper hot and humid here, the weather kind of reminds me of Philippine's weather but I would rather be in this humidity than in the cold! I'm a total island girl, I'd trade the dry, cold for humid sunshine any day!

at Chamorro Village with a coconut crab

I've been a lot busier than I thought I would be - I thought I'd have sooo much time to post and do videos since Brian and his family are working, but they've been taking me around the whole past week. The picture of us is at Chamorro Village which, on Wednesdays, a bunch of vendors set up tables and they sell food, random stuff, and there's even a stage where performers are dancing and whatnot. The coconut crab was huuuge! I've never seen a crab so big. They even had this giant lizard thing idk what it was but I wasn't going near it! lol Guam is pretty small, but I like it. When you're driving on the main road you can almost always see the ocean! :) I'll post more pictures later, I just hate waiting for them to upload! lol

after midnight mass on Christmas

We went to midnight mass on Christmas, and the church was packed! We got there more than 30 minutes earlier and we had to stand the whole mass! I really liked it though because when we went to midnight mass in Arizona last year, barely anyone was there! It makes me really sad, because as they say "Jesus is the reason for the season." But I guess there just aren't as many Catholics in AZ as there is in Guam. I was kind of sad for a little because it made me nostalgic and miss my family in Hawaii because we always go to midnight mass and before mass starts they play like every Christmas carol and some of them even have lines in Hawaiian, Tagalog, Vietnamese, everything! lol But it was nice because they sang a few carols in Tagalog and Chamorro so it was kind of cool.

Tiffany's!

Brian TOTALLY spoiled me this Christmas! After mass he really wanted to open a gift so he let me open one and it was a Tiffany's heart toggle bracelet! :) I was cheesin like crazy I couldn't stop looking at it! I know a lot of people say Tiffany's is overrated but I can't help it, I love it! I've been wanting this forever - specifically the toggle, not the clip =P - and I thought it was my only gift so I was super happy. Then the next day when we opened secret santa gifts with our whole family, he handed me ANOTHER box, mind you they were sealed tight! I think he got his sister's BF to wrap my gifts [Brian is helllaa lazy] so he put both the tiffany's in a crapload of tissue paper in a shoe box taped on every opening so I dug like crazy to find it. In the second box was the matching necklace! I just remember seeing the blue boxes and thinking ^______^ Then after everyone opened everything he handed me the biggest box under the tree. I'm thinking 'OMG another one?!' It was a giant box under more tissue paper was a brown Louis Vuitton box! I swear I was going to tear up because Brian has never spoiled me so much before I just felt so loved! :) But in the box was a Neverfull! I can't believe he spent so much on me this Christmas but I'm really thankful. Guess I've been a really good girl! :)

my presents!

Overall it was a great Christmas with Brian's family and our first one on Guam. I LOOOOOOVE my presents I want to wear them ALL the time. I swear I wanted to sleep with my Tiffany's on. lol Hope you guys had a great Christmas! I'll try to post more this week :)