Curly Girl Cheat-Sheet

This morning, while researching Curly Girl Method approved products, I decided to make life more simple for clueless curlies everywhere and created a cheat-sheet of product ingredients that need to be avoided. (I also uploaded a printable version here.) This information has been written and rewritten dozens of times by now, but I'm not about to remember any of it while it is in that format. So, I broke it down the way I would if I was studying or tutoring Human Anatomy. Graphic organizers are your friend. (And I am a huge nerd.)

Second Day Hair / Curl Keeper Review

Generally, I, as a curly girl, feel like I was screwed over in the hair care department. But, for as long as I've been battling my hair, there is one phenomenon I have always appreciated: second day hair. Maybe it doesn't happen the same for all of us, but for me, it is almost always the best hair day.

Bridesmaid - second day hair, March 2010. Photo by Erik Mysliwy.

That's 5-minute-good.

Yesterday's Hair Routine:
Estimated time - 25 minutes
(same routine as this day)

• SheaMoisture's Moisture Retention Shampoo
• SheaMoisture's Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner
• Plopped with Turbie Twist
• Flax seed gel
• Diffused dry

Today's Second Day Hair Routine:
Estimated time - 5 minutes

• Used spray bottle to dampen hair with water
• Scrunched curls
• Applied Curl Keeper all over hair
• Scrunched curls
• Diffused dry

Back in March, when I purchased Curl Keeper, I bought a huge, 33.8oz bottle on Amazon because it was the best deal. I still have 3/4 of the bottle left. So, if you want to try this product - get the smaller bottle. There is no point in spending $40 if you are just going to try something, I was just being impulsive and ridiculous. To be completely honest, I don't know if I like this product enough to spend $40 on it again, or even $15 on the 8oz bottle. But, at this rate, it going to be a long time before I even have to think about it.

The product does not provide much hold when used on its own, but it does add definition to curls. So, if you have very curly hair - 3c/4a - you may love it. But, I have a 2c/3a curl pattern and very fine hair, which requires more hold. So the result, when used alone, looked great for a couple hours, then my curls started to fall flat. I do, however, I think it works really well with other products, especially for second day hair, which is what I tend to use it for.

When I tried Curl Keeper on its own, I was still using products that contained silicons and sulfates. I am hoping that by removing that crap from my hair routine, it will improve the overall health of my hair, which may alter the way it responds to this product. So, to be fair, I will try to revisit this review in a few months.

Side note: It has been pointed out that the ingredients in Curl Keeper are nearly identical to water-based personal lubricant. I have not tried this, but others have. Here's a review.

Fluff Update: Day Off

I have nothing interesting to talk about today, but it was a nice day off from work. So, here it is...

Dying brows burns your eyes.

At 5:30am I dropped by CVS and grabbed some dye for my hair, settling on "Very Rich Auburn." (I know - CVS? Box dye? - don't judge me.) For the first time in at least ten years, I dyed my hair by myself. As I was working the dye through my hair, for some reason, I decided to dye my eyebrows. So, I smudged what was left on my gloves carefully across my brows and hoped for the best. While my hair was cooking, I updated White Trash Wino with last night's tasting notes and washed a load of laundry. Not only did my hair turn out fine, my bathroom was not destroyed in the process, and my eyebrows do not look ridiculous. So it was a win-win-win situation. Note: The hair dye sat in my hair for 25 minutes. I was worried that my eyebrows would end up too dark, or too red - so they only sat for 15, which is actually 5 minutes longer than I had originally decided, but I lost track of time.

Turbie Twist = Worth it.

Still silicone & sulfate free.

Somehow, I managed wash my hair out and blow-dry it before hitting the gym with Crystal at 8:00am. Funny story: I got all the way to gym before I realized I was still wearing flip-flops. (This is what happens when I try to be too productive in the morning.) So, I grabbed Crystal and drove back to my house for some shoes, which cut our workout a bit shorter than we anticipated. But, hell, 40 minutes of strength training, after only exercising our livers for the last month or so, is still pretty damn good. As usual, Crystal picked the workout and kicked our asses. Supersets of everything. That woman is a masochist when she wants to be. Every part of my anatomy is going to hate me in the morning.

Damn, look at them brows.

When I got home from the total-body-punishment, I made more flax seed gel. Seriously, I love that shit. It is probably the best thing I have ever done to my hair. Although, SheaMoisture's products seem to be working out really well so far. Since my hair wasn't a shit-show any more, so I figured I could at least try to look nice and wore make-up for the first time in months. I should probably keep working on that...There are 12 year old girls out there that have more make-up skills than I do.

I swung by work to pick up my paycheck, then headed to the bank before meeting my cousin and her two kids at noon for lunch and a movie. The book was better. Yes, I read the books...all of them. Laugh if you want to, but that teen-fiction shit is entertaining.

As it turns out, going out for lunch is the equivalent of eating an entire day's worth of calories. I picked the wrong week to start tracking food again.

Throw-back: Photography 2011

I spent this morning digging through my external hard drive and decided to revisit some photography from 2011. I had only started messing around with photography in late 2010, so it was still very new to me at the time (and, for the most part, it still is).

 

 

 

Also, in my boredom last night and this morning, I made this:

© Paula Frenette 2013 All rights reserved. 

None of these images may be reproduced, 

distributed, or transmitted in any form 

or by any means without prior 

written permission  from 

the photographer/artist.

I've Got Issues: Girl-Hoarding

Most of my life, I've been one major psychological break down away from being a hoarder. I hate throwing things away because I'm always convinced that there is a significant use for whatever item is shoved in the back of a closet, even if I actually have no use for it. To make matters worse, somehow, I am always that person that gets useless shit pawned off on them. (Exhibit A: the Ab Circle that has been sitting on my deck for at least a year.)  Luckily, my best friend has the opposite problem and is always willing to dive into a pile of bullshit I've been stocking up on and help me drag it to the nearest dumpster or donation bin.

A few months ago, Crystal and my sister volunteered to help douche my walk-in closet. Not only could you no longer walk into my walk-in, I had packed so much crap into it, you could barely open the door. In the few hours it took to rid my life of 10 years worth of nonsense junk (some of which was still in boxes from when I moved 4 years earlier), we found a few gems, that at some point, I thought were worth to hold on to. On that list: 2 umbrella hats and an octopus vibrator still in its original packaging. Seriously? Who keeps this shit? Since then, I've put more effort into storing my useless shit where it belongs: the garbage. But there is still some things I can't let go of...

I've heard it referred to as "goo-hoarding," but for me, it goes beyond "goos." It's more like girl-hoarding. For someone who isn't considered girly by many, I've managed to acquire quite the collection of girly shit - hair products I didn't like, make-up I never wear, purses I don't use, hair accessories that end up stashed in every drawer, and at least a dozen pairs of shoes that are still brand-new because I wore them once or twice. (Now that I'm writing about this, I'm starting to get that nagging feeling of guilt that makes me want to purge my closets.) But, today's feature, fragrances: I counted 20, but that's not including a  hefty stash of perfume oil samples (it's probably be closer to 50). Honestly, there is no reason for me to keep buying perfumes and body sprays, but I do it anyway because they just smell so damn good.

Try them, or hey, take a few off my hands.

• Bath & Body Works
• Malibu Heat
• Paris Amour
• Sweet Peony Dream
• Rain Kissed Leaves

• Victoria's Secret
• PINK Warm & Cozy
• Vanilla Lace
• Endless Love
• Sweet Day Dream
• Amber Romance

• Aroma Sanctum
• Vanilla X
• Tart
• October Moon

• Ulta
• Sheer Apple Blossom

• Philosophy
• Unconditional Love

• Escada
• Taj Sunset

• Estee Lauder
• Beyond Paradise

• Athena's
• Pure Instinct

• Scentsy
• Solid Perfume - Quiver

• Enchanted Path
• Enchanted Coco-Mango Oil

Attempted Tasting Notes

The W&CN crew has attempted to take tasting notes. Since everyone is on board, this is going to become a regular part of Wednesday nights. Last night's wines were also added to the cheap wine list.

Check It Off The To-do List of Lists

I started a list of wines, that have been tasted and caused drunken awesomeness at Wine & Cigar Night, for less than $20 per bottle. I will spend as much time as I can updating it until it is complete list. Then from there, I will update each time a new wine is introduced. For now, White Trash Wino is just a short list, but eventually I'd like to include tasting notes and other bits of W&CN shenanigans. Edit: I turned it into its own blog.


Enjoy.