Brush Embroidery (Part II)

The finished product.


Available in my Etsy Shop!



Also available as minis.

Natural Hair: Homemade Mix & A Cornrow Twistout Style

A few days ago I decided to combine some of my favorite oils together with some shea butter. In the past I've combined coconut oil with shea butter and used that to seal my ends. This time, I added a few other oils to the mix.

Here's what I did and what you'll need if you want to try:

Ingredients:

Shea Butter (5+ tablespoons)

Vatika Coconut Oil (2 tablespoons)

Grapeseed Oil ( 1 tablespoon)

Castor Oil (2 tablespoons)

Vitamin E Oil (1 tablespoon)

Steps:

1. Heat shea butter so it is slightly, but not totally, melted.

2. Warm the Vatika oil (or any coconut oil) if it is solid. Measure 2 tablespoons and add to the shea butter.

3. Measure 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil and add to the shea butter.

4. Measure 2 tablespoons of castor oil and add to the shea.

5. Add 1 tablespoon of vitamin E oil to the shea.

6. Blend the oils and shea butter together with a hand-held mixer, whipping until everything is evenly combined.

7. Cover and place into the refrigerator for about a half hour or until the mix has cooled and stiffened.

I like this mix because it melts easily into the skin and the hair. It also made my hair super shiny, defined, not weighed down, and it sealed my ends beautifully. The shots below are from a twistout that I just did two days ago on dry, stretched hair. I left the twists in until I unravelled this morning.

For this style I parted my hair horizontally from ear to ear. I twisted the back using water and the shea-oil mix. I tested my braiding skills and cornrowed the front. It is tough to braid your own hair but I think I did ok. I did not braid tightly and I parted in a way that accommodated for my recovering edges. We'll see how long they last before they get frizzy!

The humidity is out of control right now so I will probably have to re-twist at night to maintain definition. To do that, I will simply re-mist with water and twist, adding more of the shea-oil mix only if needed.

And voila, there you have it! What new mixes have you tried lately?

Tracee on Top!

{Photo Source}

I don't know why but I love glossy magazine covers. Especially when beautiful ladies like Tracee Ellis Ross grace the front page. In the September edition of Essence mag, she will be discussing her new BET sitcom, Reed Between the Lines. I like her as an actress and she seems like a really down to earth person. I remember seeing her on one of the last episodes of Oprah and she had such a nice energy. Of course her style is amazing and her hair is simply gorgeous! Will you check out her new show?

{Photo Source}

Reed Between the Lines, starring Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends) and Malcolm-Jamal Warner (The Cosby Show), pictured above. The show follows Alex, an English professor, and Carla, a psychologist, as they navigate life’s ups and downs with wit and humor. (Excerpt from bet.com)

China Glaze Swatches: Sneaker Head, Sexy Lady, & Ruby Pumps

Sexy Lady, Sneaker Head, & Ruby Pumps

I bought these China Glaze polishes a week ago from a store called Natural here at the mall in Guam. I don't really do much shopping whenever I come out here because either I can't find anything OR the prices are really expensive! All the China Glaze polishes were $8 each and they don't charge taxes here! So I grabbed these 3. I really wanted some of the OPI polishes, too, but they were $10 each! o.O I tried to get some good swatches of them but I'm pretty bad at swatches in general so don't mind if my fingers are all in awkward positions and whatnot! I picked the pictures with the truest color which all happened to be the weirdest posed one! LOL

Sexy Lady


Sneaker Head


Ruby Pumps

I can't pick a favorite of the three but I think that Sneaker Head was my least favorite. Don't get me wrong I love the color! It's a mix between hot pink and red, but in the bottle it's more hot pink but on my nails it pulls more red. I really wish the hot pink showed a lot more and it's slightly less opaque than the other two - I can still kind of see my nails underneath. I really like Sexy Lady, but the color isn't really unique. (There are TONS of other hot pink polishes out there!) Ruby Pumps is really pretty, but comes out a little lighter than in the bottle. The glitter kinda sticks to your fingers/nails when you take it off, but since the glitter is pretty fine it's not that bad. Some of it still sticks to your nails afterwards, but after I washed my hands it was almost completely gone except for a few specks. I LOVE China Glaze polishes, so I'm really pleased with what I got.

OMG! I'm A Shoe Wh*re....in Purple!!! :)

Hello Dolls,


I know I'm so late but the FABULOUS Tammy over at A Fendi Bag and A Bad Attitude featured me earlier this week for my obsession with shoes!!! 


These are just a few of my shoes!!!



 Thanks so much Tammy!  If you guys get a chance please check it out!  Soooo... yeah.....I'm a Shoe _(fill-in-the-blank)_! LOL!!! 

Who Knew???

Here are my purple Bebe Heels I was wearing in my next outfit!

I cannot remember where on Earth I got this top from....the necklace was a gift from mi mama!! 

My friend was making me laugh about something....it must've been really funny because your girl is crackin' up! LOL!

That's all for now guys!  I can't wait to get a tripod so I can post til my heart's content!!!  Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!  I have one more full week off before it's back on the grind at work.  This has been a pretty awesome summer!  Anywho, thank you everyone who frequents my blog, is new to my blog, my followers, and all others in between.  I truly appreciate your lovely comments and admiration!  Have a blessed remainder of the week!

~Trice

July Favorites!

I decided that I was going to start a "favorites" segment on my YT channel that consists of my monthly product favorites and most used natural hair products. I think this will help other naturals pick and choose what they would like to try and encourage them to do their own product research. 

So, the first video is above! I hope you enjoy.

xoxo

Alex

Culture & Society: The New Spider-Man habla Español?

{Photo Source}

According to Latina.com, Marvel Comics is gearing up to debut a new character, replacing Peter Parker as Spider-Man. Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino teen, is helmed to take over in the role of the arachnid super hero as part of the Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man series September relaunch.

Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Alex Alonso shared insight on the New York City teen hero in a broader context. “What you have is a Spider-Man for the 21st century who's reflective of our culture and diversity,” he said. “We think that readers will fall in love with Miles Morales the same way they fell in love with Peter Parker.” (excerpt from Latina.com)

I am not a comic fan, never really read them growing up and was only marginally entertained by the Hollywood renditions on the big screen. But this is still an interesting choice, especially considering race relations in the comic world. So what do you all think? Are you excited to see this new character? Do you agree that it reflects diversity in our culture or is it a gimmick?