Straight hair for the first time in almost 2 years!

Hey loves,

So, I got my hair straightened for the first time last week for an event I attended. I loved it! It was sleek but still had lots of body for the pin curls the stylist applied after it was straight. 

I went to a Dominican hair salon so the first thing everyone thinks is HEAT or HEAT damage however I did prep my hair for over a week to get this done. 

Step 1: Shea Moisture Deep treatment Masque - www.sheamoisture.com - and extra virgin olive oil for a few hours 5 days before this process.

Step 2: I didn't use gel in my hair, for the week, which can sometimes make my hair hard and brittle especially when it's cold outside.

Step 3: A simple twist out to get me through the week.

Step 4: Shea Moisture Deep treatment Masque, AGAIN, the day of the process.

Once the process got started, there was no turning back! We started with a roller set, to blowing my hair out, to flat ironing with a TRIM. She did use a heat protectant during the blow out process. My hair is pretty thick, majority 4b but I do have some looser curls at my temples that tend to look like transitioning hair and I also have some 4c around my back edges. I am not afraid of heat damage since I rarely apply heat to my hair and if some does occur, it's all apart of the trials and errors of being natural.

My hair has been straight for 9 days now. I have not applied any additional heat over the course of the 9 days. I wrap it up for bed each night and tie with a silk scarf. The back is starting to revert so I may wash it out today or try to hold on a few more days and just rock out with buns and low ponys. I haven't decided yet, we'll see. So, I will consider this my unofficial length check for now. I have no intentions on straightening again for awhile. It was fun while it lasted but I miss my BIG hair, Curls and ALL!

Now that I am pretty comfortable with maintaining HEALTHY natural hair, I will begin my journey to BSL (bra strap length) Let's see how long it takes me to get there! I'm close but not quite there yet!

My goal for BSL is April 2015! Wish me luck!

What are your first quarter 2015 hair goals? What is your plan to achieve that goal? Let's talk about it!

Smooches

Ashente

M.O.M - milk of magnesia is the truth!

Hey lovebugs!

You must be wondering what in the world milk of magnesia has to do with natural hair or makeup, well let me tell you! For all you extremely oily faced girls out there, MoM is the ultimate face primer! We all know I love makeup but we also know I have acne breakouts and thee oiliest face ever. 

I YouTubed face primers for oily skin and of course your popular high end face primers and drug store primers came up such as primetime from bare escentials, Rimmel, Mac and so on. However, I did come across multiple females who use MoM. Now, I know this may sound crazy since it is a form of laxative but giiiiirrrllls, I kid you not, it is the truth! I tried it for the first time for an event I had last week and after dancing, sweating, and just partying for over 5 hours, I was amazed at how much I didn't shine like the sun or have to blot the excess oil every hour. 

Have you ever used MoM as a face primer? What has been your experience with it? Do you have another primer you swear by? Let's talk about it!

Smooches

Ashente

Protective Styling - Senegalese Twists

Hey loves,

During the winter months, natural hair can become very dry and brittle which is the #1 cause of breakage which hinders length retention. Protective styling is a great way to shield the hair from the harsh natural elements that can stagnate the growing process.

My "go to" protective style is Senegalese twists also known as Havana twists or Marley twists. They are not only easy to install and remove but they are also very flattering on most face shapes. These can be done yourself, there are plenty tutorials on YouTube, check out NikkiMae2003. I prefer to have mine professionally done. Since I am in the northeast US, I chose Diva Amina in Newark, NJ. There are many salons in many areas that can install these twists for you. Pricing and Styles may vary.

My size of choice is pretty large. They can be done smaller or larger. I had mine in during the summer months. They were convenient for traveling, not having to do my hair every day, being in and out of the pool, etc. My natural hair was protected from the chlorine water, the salt water, the humidity, etc.

What is your protective hairstyle of choice? Is it one you create yourself? Do you get it done at a salon? What are your thoughts on natural hair and non natural hair stylists?

Let's talk about it!

30 days no make up challenge!

Hi Loves!

I've decided to give my skin a break, so 30 days no makeup challenge it is! It's been two weeks, with the exception of one Saturday event in which, of course, I had to put a face on.

We all know how hard this is for me since I have acne scars but I've gotten support which makes it that much easier. The part that makes me the happiest is that I didn't ask for anyone to join me but one particular beauty offered and that made it even more achievable. She's gorgeous so she doesn't need makeup anyway! Much love to @xxannahbay on IG!

So, would you like to join us? Start any time. We can chat about it here or you can visit 30daysnomakeupchallenge

Smooches 😘

Ashente

Irritated!!!

I spent an hour writing a post for it to only get deleted. I am boiling inside right now so I'm going to walk away, pray, and try again later. Have a good day loves

I'm baaaaaack

I've been gone but I am back my loves! Work has been beyond busy, it's football season for my ace, and just so much happening with life in general! I will give you guys a peak into it all tonight!

Smooches 😘

OOTD - Happy Independence Day 2014

Happy 4th of July love bugs! Thank you to all our armed forces that fight for our freedom daily! We appreciate you!

Sweater: Charlotte Russe (end of season    

sale a few years ago) www.charlotterusse.com

Jeans: Charlotte Russe www.charlotterusse.com

Sandals: Avon www.avon.com

Bag: Coach www.coach.com

No makeup today! Decided to give my skin a break. All I did was use my proactiv+ www.proactiv.com and fill in my eye brows. All my blemishes and scars on display but oh well! #dontjudgeme

Thanks for all the continued love and support on my new blogging journey! I appreciate it all!

Ashente 

OOTD - 7.3.14

Hi loves! Here is another OOTD, hope you like!

Blazer: NY&Co NY&Co.

Blouse: Old Navy Old Navy

Jeans: Wet Seal Wet Seal

Sandals: Avon Avon

Bag: Coach www.coach.com

Makeup details upon request

Thanks for all the love and support, I truly appreciate it!!! 

Ashente

OOTD - 7.2.14

Outfit Of The Day

Hi Love Bugs! I know it's been awhile but so much is happening in my life right now. I am being Blessed abundantly and I am forever grateful! However, enough of that, I wanted to show the outfit I wore to work today. I will try to take pictures daily and give the details of the items shown in the pictures posted.

Dress: NY&Co. www.nyandcompany.com

Sandals: Bakers (purchased years ago)

Bag: Coach www.coach.com

Earrings: Charlotte Russe www.charlotterusse.com (purchased years ago)

Makeup: Avon quads and gloss (details as requested)

Hair: Senegalese twists by Diva Amina

That is the look, I hope you like it. Thanks again for your support!!

Where do I start?

I have been trying to figure out where to start with this blog. I tried to record without a tripod, that was a definite fail! 

I have received a few suggestions, which I greatly appreciate. So, I know I need to purchase a tripod along with a full length mirror for full body "selfies." 

I am going to try again with a washngo and an everyday face. Hope to have this done by this weekend.

If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments below. Again, thank you for your support. I appreciate it! 

Hair! Hair! And More Hair!

I wasn't sure about incorporating my natural hair care and routine into my blog since there are so many #naturalhaircare bloggers already. But, I thought about it and said why not? I still consider myself newly natural even though I am two years and four months in. 

I decided in 2011 that I was going to go natural and wanted to transition without a big chop, initially anyway. Thankfully, I hadn't had a relaxer for about six months once I decided to do it so it was easy to just cut my ends every time I washed my hair. I had my mom cut the remaining texturized/relaxed ends off in February of 2012. It was rather easy for me because I love short hair however Short and natural was new to me. I took so much inspiration from so many women on YouTube I.E. @Naptural85 and many others. 

My hair texture, in my opinion is 4. Mostly, 4b but there is some 4c in the back and 4a in the front. I love it. Thankfully, I've always had healthy hair, even when relaxed. Now that I am completely natural, I love my hair even more. I can't believe I waited so long to accept and embrace my natural hair texture! 

Below is a picture showing one year worth of hair growth from 2013 to 2014.

Huge difference! I had my hair straightened once professionally at a salon which was Mother's Day 2013. My hair was not completely straight since I went to a salon that did not specialize in natural hair care, luckily for me, I did not sustain any heat damage.

I am not a stickler for using all natural products in my hair nor not using heat on my hair. I use what works best for ME and I think that is something everyone should do! My hair loves inexpensive shampoo that includes sulphates and other non natural ingredients! As a matter of fact, my staple shampoo and conditioner's are approx. $1.50 from Walmart! 

Yes, #suavenaturals from #Walmart! I have been using the same shampoo and conditioner since I was relaxed. My hair loves it! The shampoo cleans my hair well and the conditioner adds moisture and has great slip for detangling. What more can this girl ask for???

Please share some of your natural hair care secrets and products!

How often do you wash/cowash your hair?

Do you apply heat at all to your hair?

Let me know, I'd love to discuss with you!

Dark spot corrector and a prayer!

I hope to record my wash and go with a neutral face tomorrow morning. Let's see how this goes. Tonight I followed my normal proactiv (www.proactiv.com) routine but instead followed up with the dark spot corrector. Trying to do all I can to remove these scars. I've done everything including prayer! Hey, prayer works for everything else! Let's see what happens. 😘

Ahhhhhhhhhh those scars are horrible!!!

So, I attempted to record my night time routine for my face... major FAIL! I couldn't get the camera steady or in a place that would show all I was trying demonstrate, I guess I need practice. Since that didn't work, I decided to take a few still photos that show what my face looks like without make-up. This is so embarrassing...
 

There it is. My imperfections for the world to see. Make up does wonders for someone like me. Sad but true. I've never been insecure but I never put myself out there for people to see.

Hopefully, this helps someone like me. Someone who has suffered with acne and acne scars like I have. I hope this gives peace of mind to anyone suffering in silence, anyone who thinks they are alone in their struggle. YOU are NOT alone. There are millions of people suffering with adult Acne.

Introduction

For those of you who don't know me personally, thank you very much for taking time out to visit my blog and taking a little look into my idea of fashion and how I incorporate make-up into my skin care routine.

It took me awhile to begin this blog because I am very embarrassed of my acne and acne scars. I have struggled for years as a teenager and well into adulthood with this problem (I am now 31 years old.) I have tried everything from over the counter products, to a dermatologist to proactiv, none which helped the constant break outs.

Currently, I am using proactiv +; www.proactiv.com. It has done wonders for my skin. I started this regiment on April 1st and continue to use it daily (occasionally missing a day or two). Don't judge me, I am human! :)

Those with sensitive skin or skin prone to break outs know how hard it is to minimize acne and still be able to wear make-up. Over the years, however, make-up has been revolutionized to allow for us sensitive skin ladies to wear make-up that does not clog our pores and cause even more damage to our skin.

When I started wearing make-up, I was told to  ask for non - comedogenic and non - acnegenic products for my skin. Most make-up counters had no idea what I was talking about. Surprised? I wasn't surprised at all. I figured with  skin like mine, no one would know what I was talking about. No one really took into account women like me wanting to wear make-up. They looked at me like I was crazy. Have any of you experienced the same?

The time has finally come!

It's here! Finally, with all your encouragement and confidence, I have finally started my fashion and makeup blog! Tips and trends for the Fashionista in you!