Wash day @ 15 weeks + Camille Rose Naturals Review #27 Initial Thoughts

Hey guys!

All week I have been planning on how I was going to go about washing my hair. Reason being is because 1. I recently won a full size Creme Restore Conditioning Cleanser from Camille Rose Naturals and 2. I  did some swaps lately in my group and lucked up on more Camille Rose Natural products including the 2 Algae Deep Conditioner, Almond Jai Twisting Butter, and a Fresh Curl. I was too excited. So I had to plan to incorporate all of these in my wash routine and this is how it went:

• As directed I detangled before wetting my hair. Once I wet it I took a couple of squirt the size of a half a dollar and applied it to the front. Then did the same to the back. I massaged like directed but also detangled also. THE SLIP IN THIS CONDITIONER IS AMAZING!!! That is all. Rinsed that out in cool water.
• Detangled some more with, which will now be a staple, Curl Junkie Smoothing Conditioner as my rinse out. I didn't really have to do to much because the cleanser did the majority of the work and I have never experienced that before. Rinsed out in warm water to prepare my hair for the deep conditioner.
• Now I received 3 samples of Camille Rose Naturals Algae Renew Deep Conditioner. So I used those to test instead of the full size to see how it would react to my hair. 1st I am glad I had three because one would have not done anything. One pack was enough to cover about 1 and a half of a section of my hair. 2nd my hair sucked this conditioner up. It took extremely will that I didn't see a drop of the conditioner anywhere on my hair. Rinsed that out in Cold water after I took a shower and wrapped my head in a cotton t-shirt. 
• For a leave in I used Camille's Cranberry Hair & Body lotion. Sealed FCA Naturals Invigorating Hair Oil. Then as promised on the container I used Camille's Almond Jai Twisting Butter for my Wash N Go. I took my hair little by little and smooth it through my hair and the results were soft MOISTURIZED curls. It was not heavy at all. Really thoroughly whipped giving you a light hold.

Overall I was very pleased with what I used and can't wait til Black Friday so I can try more from this line. Can you see the shine in the pic below. I am truly pleased with this butter.

Thanks for reading!!!

Weight Loss Series: Going Vegan

Hi guys!

I would really like you to join me on my journey as I try to shed some weight and the first step in changing will be my diet. Thus explaining my title!

I remember the last time I had a McDonalds burger. (Sorry for the TMI) When the saliva in my mouth got it nice and soft to swallow. The felling of the chewed up burger in my mouth tasted disgusting and I instantly wanted to throw up. I know your say well that's just McDonalds burgers stop eating from there. Well I always wanted to cut out meat every since my grandmother did it and she retained healthy radiant skin. Being that I also what untilse a drastic amount of weight. I know this will be healthy to my body in so many ways. 

When did I decide this? Well one night while laying in bed with hubby. I told him I wanted to go vegan. Yes it was a overnight thing. But I am a person that loves animals and do get teary eyed when I see the 'help the animals' commercials. From there I started to do research on how to become vegan and a good diet course that will help me to transition with out relapsing.

I then started my research by typing vegan in on Google and tons of websites popped up. The most important thing that I collect from reading these sites is that, which I will be applying to my diet, to gradually add vegan meals into my diet because I can't tell you how much I am going to miss chicken. So I will start by substituting salads at lunch time. A lot of the articles that I read were very helpful by giving you sample recipes, a example meal plan, grocery lists, and even a vegan starter kit that I have received yet, but when I do I will share what is inside. I also went on Pinterest  finding loads of pins about which foods gives you the most vitamins and minerals that are essential for your body. I know one thing that popped up repeatedly is to know that there is vegetarians, then there are raw vegans, and last there are vegans. A vegetarians mainly eats mostly plant based foods with no animal flesh but may consume some dairy products. Raw vegans eat their you can guess mainly raw meaning no additives or cooking. Lastly some vegans eat foods not made or produce from animals. Another question that must be popping into your head is 'Well if you not in meat where will you be getting your protein?' Pinterest was helpful for providing information on where I can get protein else where besides meat like nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts), leafy greens (romaine lettuce, kale, spinach), and chia seeds. Another question you may have is 'well all vegans do is eat fruits & vegetables there will be no variety?' That is not necessarily true. Whilst browsing Pinterest I found plenty of delicious recipes and different foods to substitute meats.

Being that I want to start taking more vitamins and substituting my meals(breakfast) for a more protein pack or a simple shake I will be needing a place that has all my needs shipped at once. Places like Vitamin shoppe & GNC are a little on the pricey side also high in shipping being that I have a very limited income. I was contacted about a site that has all of your health needs in one place at a really low price and shipping is a flat rate of 4.95$. DEAL!!! MyVitaminMart.com has everything and I mean everything. They even have some all natural hair care products for our relaxed and natural sistas. One thing that stood out the most to me being that I will be starting a new diet is that they have a Dietary Restriction are that is specially for people that need to avoid certain things like dairy, gluten, or need to get products that are strictly for vegan this eliminates a lot of unnecessary searching. Now the downside to this website it that everything does not have a detailed descriptions that I know some people find necessary. Any I was able to get a coupon code for 5% off of your order until 12/15 Deal. Just enter Randomjamaican5 in the coupon area.

I hope that you found this information helpful and will join me on another journey! Thanks for re

Wash Day @ 14 Weeks + FCA NATURALS REVIEW #26 Initial Thoughts!!

Hey loves

When I randomly pop on to Facebook I sometimes caught a giveaway going on and for the past month I have been lucky enough to win a few giveaways. Well this one I believe was a trivia question that I had answered right. I completely forgot about it due to school work and was pleasantly surprise to get this package in the mail. I received the Invigorating Set which included a full sized shampoo, conditioner, and hair growth oil.

My Initial review from looking at the products is that the package is plain. It is more wording on the label and a small logo in the corner. I love to see the company logo on the package so I can know what product I am using, if it was faded in the background underneath the wording it would give it more of a pop or bigger. I would be more familiar with it by seeing the logo. Here's how I used during wash day:

• First pre pooing my hair with out heat for about an hour as I fixed breakfast. Making sure that I applied it liberally to my hair. Rinsed it out in warm water.
• Next as directed I applied the shampoo directly to my scalp and massaged in not expecting a later. Now right off back the first thing that hit my senses was the strong scent of peppermint. My preferred scents a more of a floral or sweet. I'm not even a person that likes to each peppermint on the regular. It didn't have a lather just like the directions stated. But I did feel the peppermint open up my pores and my hair did have clean feel to it. Like most shampoos that I find out in the beginning I have amazing results, but then down the round my hair feels like straw. This shampoo did leave my hair nice and soft so that was a plus. The shampoo's second ingredient is water so that is exactly what the consistency is like. Water. Making it very easy to apply to my scalp in sections or what every way you would like. That is a plus plus!
• Next the directions stated to apply a generous amount of conditioner to hair and work from root to tip. So that is what I did and my usual detangling process. The texture of this conditioner is like a thick frothy milk. Yes the texture of a milkshake. I can tell you that it had loads of slip. My shed hair's came out with ease. But a down side to it was that it also smelled strong of peppermints. Now I know that peppermints help promote hair growth but that is just one smell that is to strong for me. Hubby could smell me before I came out of the bath with was not a good thing from the look on his face. I left this on for about 4 minutes and the rinsed with warm water.
• Next I deep conditioned with a staple. Shea moisture deep treatment masque for over a hour with heat. I love this deep conditioner is all that I can say.
• Once that was rinsed out I wrapped my baby cloth around my hair to soak up the extra water before smoothing Shea moisture Moisture Retention Conditioner. I sealed it with the hair growth oil that came with the set. Again it smelled like peppermint. I love oils and after a few minutes when my hair started to dry I could hardly smell it anymore. Last I styled with As I Am Curl Jelly which went on fine and dandy, but once dried my hair was hard. NO Bueno! FAIL!

Overall I would like to use these products one more time to have a good sense on how I feel about the products.

Wonderfully Invigorating Shampoo

Active Ingredients: Black Soap, Peppermint Oil, Aqua, Sweet Almond, Coconut Oil, Jojoba Oil, Tea Tree, Lavender, Rosemary Essential Oils, Gardenia Flower Extract and Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract Preservative. 

Wonderfully Invigorating Conditioner

Ingredients: Distilled Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Peppermint Oil, Aloe Vera Juice, Neem Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil, Tea Tree, Lavender, Rosemary Essential Oils, Gardenia Flower Extract and Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract Preservative.

Wonderfully Invigorating Hair Oil

Ingredients: Peppermint Oil, Tea Tree, Lavender, Rosemary, Sweet Almond Oil, Neem Oil, Safflower Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil, Essential Oils, Gardenia Flower Extract.

Review #25: Blue Roze Beauty

Blue Roze Beauty was featured in the first subscription box from Honey Bee Inspired Box Inc, that is how I was able to try the product before buying it. It was a full size item which is 8oz. Theses are some of the benefits of having a subscription box where you can get to sample a product line so you won't feel like your going to buy from them blind.

Strawberry Hibiscus Deep Conditioner- 8 oz: 13.99$

Ingredients: Distilled w/ hibiscus & marshmallow root, Aloe Vera juice,  Cupuacu butter, Tucuma butter, Horsetail butter, Bhringraj infused olive oil, Bentonite clay, Btms, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-40 Castor oil, Stearalkonium Chloride honeyquat, fragrance, & preservative.

Promises: strawberry hibiscus deep conditioner will intensely moisturize, repair and define your curls.

Strawberry hibiscus deep conditioner is made with cupuacu butter which is well known for its high fatty acid content which benefits dry, damaged hair while protecting moisture and leaving hair soft and silky.

Bentonite clay naturally nourishes the hair follicle, imparts sheen, and naturally enhances the curl pattern of hair.

My Review: I only was able to get 4 uses out of the 8 oz container which was not a plus for me. The consistency of this deep conditioner reminded me of lotion like in between thick and runny. I prefer my deep conditioners to be on the thick side. You know when you turn the container over it doesn't move. When it is thicker to me I feel that a little goes a long way and it doesn't take much to coat my hair. It did have awesome slip. Separating my curls with out me having to run my hands through it.

The smell of the deep conditioner was like freshly washed strawberry's. Every time I opened the container I could help but take a big sniff.
My first time using was on freshly washed and conditioned hair. As you can see in the pic I applied it to half my head to see how my hair would take it. I was extremely please at how my curls started to define and absorb the conditioner. Each time I did leave it on for over a half an hour with heat because I would see better results doing it this way. After wards my hair always felt soft and even my color seem to pop more.
Shipping is a flat rate of 6.95$ and customer service is very timely. I have had to talk to the owner several times and she seems very nice.

Will I be Re Purchasing? Even though I give it a A I am still on the fence about the amount I receive  the price, and how many uses I get out of it. I did do a wonderful job of conditioning my hair.

To find out more about Blue Roze Beauty Click the links below

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Recent Haul #4

Hey Guys!

I just wanted to share with you my recent haul. I am a product junkie and I can tell you guys straight up I can not go on a "no buy" because I love testing out new products, smelling new products, and see the results of on my hair from the new products. So I don't know when I will go in rehab. LOL. But these are the products I have gotten since last haul which was in May.

(Sorry for the dark Pics. I'll make sure next time to take them during the day)

Plastic Caps for deep conditioning, Great lash on sale, and I needed some
more leave in.

Did some research for this bad boy and got it off of Ebay for a
good price.

The MAC I bought 2 for 25 off of a person I follow on IG, BH cosemtics had
a sale for foundations for 4.50$, The L.A. Girl concealer was 10$ of of ebay, and
so was the Ben Nye Powder.

On of the groups I am in one of the nice ladies came out with her own line
and you know I had to support my small businesses. They are bout stylers.

Body spray for Hubby, Bel Nouvo Avocado & Shea Healthy Hair Milk, Koils By Nature Hydrating Shealoe Creamy Conditioner, Marie Dean, Qhemet Biologics Amla Oil Pomade, Marie Dean Stylers, @ palettes one from urban Decay and the other NYX, 2 more Great Lash

Won this from Curl Collection's Twitter Chat

Won this off of IG from III Sisters Of Nature

Bought this during Hairveda's 15% off sale. Can't wait till Black Friday!

Bough this from my other swap group. The young lady gave me a great deal for the 2!

Won this from FCA Natural's Facebook page!! Haven't used it yet!

Of course my Simple Living Soaps Haul that one of my wonderful friends sent to me!

Another swap. So far i am like the Quench it is very hydrating!

Well that's it for now!

Wash Day Not Really @ 13 Weeks post

Hi Ladies

The not really is because I washed my hair during the week when I took my braids out so today I used a co-wash cleanser instead.

1. Rinsed hair with warm water for about 5 minutes to try to get a good amount of any products I had on my hair and to open up my cuticles. Then used Bel nouvo Creamy Castor Custard as my deep conditioner for 45 minutes with heat. 
2. Cleansed with my staple Ouidad Curl Co-Wash. Lathered it up really good making sure to massage my scalp to rid it of any products.
3. For my conditioner rinse out I used Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Conditioner. I also detangled with this in the shower and left on my hair for the remanded of my shower. 
4. While still dripping wet I smoothed on my strands another staple which is Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner. Sealed that with about a quarter size of Hairveda Vatika Hair Protection Frosting. I have been using this for over a month now and have loved it every time I used it. For a styler I been working on making a styler for a couple of months now and yesterday finally got it the way that I wanted it. So I used that yesterday and today again to refresh my curls. I first spritz my hair with my spritz mixture and then raked the styler through my hair. Gave my hairs a few shakes and all I can say is YESSS! I love it.

Very easy co wash day like always. How was your wash day I would love to know below! HHJ!!

Transitioning Tips

I know that I am not transitioning any more but I wanted to tell you guys some tips I learned while transitioning to natural.

1. It is not wise to type your hair.

Now if you find that it helps you much and it works, keep doing it. But most time when you do and you find that your hair is not looking like others it just leads to disappointment. Believe me I'm not saying it is wrong but you could be chasing a dream down a endless road.

2. Do what's best for you and your hair.

Don't let these veteran naturals tell you what to do with your hair. First of all it is YOUR HAIR! Your the one that has to live with it. Your the one that has to wear it on your head. Your the only one growing it.

3. Being a "product junkie" is not necessarily a bad thing.

Once you go natural how are you to know what works for your hair and what doesn't. You'll have some things your hair loves, some things your hair hates and some things your hair will get use to. An then what? Things happen along your journey like being protein sensitive or being allergic to a certain ingredient. Yes I understand that is why you get samples but if you get samples form every product line of every one of there products, then you will become a sample junkie. An some companies don't even give you enough in their one little same pack so then you end up get more then one. All this just to see if you will like the product.

4. Read the Ingredients. 

The best thing to do for your hair and yourself is to read the products label. My advice would be to try and seek out all natural product makers, but if your unable to do that have to go to the locate store/beauty supply to pick up you everyday needs. Stop for a minute and go over the label. Those words that you have never heard of or are unable to pronounce may be bad for you. Now at the base of your hair stand is the bulb and what supplies the strand to grow is blood. If your opening up your hairs cuticles and letting harmful chemicals seep through then there going right to your blood stream. Which is potentially hazards to you and can lead to cancers or long term illness because these agents are not meant for those kind of use. Water should be the first ingredient or in the first couple of names. Water based products give your hair optimal moisture.

5. Water & Oil is your best friend.

I know they don't mix but in your hair journey they definitely do.

You can have not a product in on your shelf. But as long as you have some rain water and oil your hair will be more then find. Oil is the perfect sealant be you relaxed or natural. Just make sure that they penetrate your hair and not just sit on top of it.

Wash Day @ 12 weeks post

Heyy!

Okay Okay. I know I am an product junkie because I took my braids out at only 2 1/2 weeks. TERRIBLE!! I don't know why but I really missed my hair. I missed looking at my curls and watching YouTube videos of my favorite naturalistas running their fingers through the luscious curls. That was definitely not happening. I got to tell you that taking them out was nice and easy so I will be purchasing the hair again. I was able to take them out within a half an hour. While I was detangling I noticed that my hair was extremely soft and well moisturized.

Now once I took them out here is what I did:

• Shampooed with Joico K-pak Color Therapy Shampoo. Once really well massaging my scalp to clean the dirt that was at the base of my braids.
• Next I used Curl Junkie's Curl Assurance Smoothing conditioner as a rinse out. Even though my hair was already detangled very good. This had good slip, but I will still be trying it again next wash day to see how it works when I haven't detangled before hand.
• Deep conditioned with Marie Dean Seaweed & Rice deep conditioner. I left this on for over 2 hours with out heat. But I was cooking in the kitchen so I know I generated some body heat to warm my hair up.
• Only squeeze out the excess water I then used Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Conditioner, sealed with Hairveda Vatika oil, and the styled with a sample pack of Edens Body Works Coconut Shea All Natural Pudding Soufflé. 

I loved how my curls were defined with this pudding. Once it was dry which took about 2 hours maybe more. I twisted it up for the night. I have A LOT of pillow packs so I will be trying to use them to see how they work on my hair. I'm thinking I maybe reinstalling my braids for the fall because I love how soft and moisturized my hair. The below pic is how my hair turned out after taking out my twist today!

Review #24: Simple Living Soaps

Hi Ladies

I know it is been a while since I did a post but school life is extremely time consuming and with 2 toddlers. That doesn't make the experience any better. Being that I started to convert my staples to more all natural lines I think it would be best to start using other things that are all naturally for a more healthy life style.

So this post will be a review on my last Random Spotlight. I received these soaps as a gift from one of the lovely group of ladies I associate with on Facebook. It was a complete surprise and thought I had ordered something but when I seen that it came from right here in Vegas I know that it had to be from someone else. I truly enjoyed featuring Mrs. Marcy on my blog and I am overly excited to be bring this review to you of her soaps. Being that her soaps are natural I don't know where to begin on the skincare benefits you can gain from switching to handmade soaps vs. store brands. But here are a few:

• Handmade soaps are Chemical free
• Handmade soaps carry moisture retaining properties
• Handmade soaps carry anti-oxidants
• Handcrafted Soap Offers Healing & Curative Properties
• THE SMELL, THE SMELL. THE SMELL........

Natural Body Soap 5 for the price of 4: 20$  Price also varies from 3.50$ to 50$ (depending on what you get)

Promises, Directions, & Key Ingredients
Pink Sugar: This bar is just what the doctor ordered. . Made with YOGART & VINEGAR scented with Pink Sugar mixed with Blue Sugar . This bar will combat odors leaving you fresh and clean. This is all over bar too.

Fruit Loop: This Delicious bar of soap is full of fun. A play on a favorite childhood cereal. This bar has great lather and lots of moisturizing skin loving oils. Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil and Palm Oil.
P.S. I Love You: We can't forget the man in our life this s a very manly fragrance and because they have dry skin this soap has 10 oz Shea Butter per 3 lb loaf that will produce a rich creamy lather while moisturizing his skin. He'll never use your soap again.
 Rocky Road: This soap has Cocoa Butter, Coco Powder, Marshmallow oil and, Marshmallow Root . It smell like a rich brownie making it hard to resist smelling over and over. The Ricky Road Bar leaves your skin smooth and very moisturized.
TWA:  Another addition to my girly bar line of soap. This bar is simply a beautiful white bar of soap no fragrance needed only additive is vinegar.
Neutrogena: Wonderful bar of soap olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and a little castor oil for rich bubbles.. Super fated with Shea Butter.
Nevada Rain: This delightful bar soap is over 5.5 oz and had lots of wonderful skin loving oils. With a swirl of spirulina. Ingredients include 20% Shea Butter and Nevada Rain, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil.
What makes this soap stand out from the crowd is RAIN WATER I collected myself to ensure purity. Rain water is naturally soft water. Water is made hard by the dissolved minerals in it like magnesium, calcium, iron etc. which rain water does not have if harvested correctly.
This soap has the most beautiful soft lather your skin will love you for it..
Cup Cake Lotion: 8 oz lotion. Olive Oil Shea Butter, Soybean Oil, Grape seed Oil, and Castor Oil, Vanilla, Pink Sugar, Patchouli, Lemon, Blue Sugar.

My Review

What I received was 5 soaps, 2 samples of her newest soaps, a sample of her Cup Cake Lotion, and a body oil. The soaps where TWA, Fruit Loop, Rocky Road, Pink Sugar, Neutrogena. My samples where of her tow newest additions called Nevada Rain & P.S. I Love You. I want to get a full size bar of Nevada Rain because not only does it smell heavenly I know that she goes up & beyond putting effort into her products. You see it hardly rains in Nevada. Sometimes it is short bust of a down pour, then next thing you know the sun is out and you miss it. Then there are times when there is a down pour so strong that there is a flood watch and you have to stay indoors.  Now I never used handmade soaps before and was doing some research on who to buy from during Black Friday. Getting this load really broke my handmade soap virginity and I am also happy that it was from Mrs. Marcy.

As you can see to the picture to the right and below that these are some thick pieces of soap. Every one of my soap was a very hefty weight of 5 oz or more. So I know theses soaps will last me long past December maybe longer, but I will still be stocking up. The price in the US is a flat rate of 5.60$ for over a 1 lb and anything less then that is 3.50$ which is not bad at all. You can get all the soap you want no matter the weight and it is one rate. The soaps came pretty green wrapping paper with the name of each soap on the outside. I also received a pretty red lace soap bag to hold my soap. But since these bars are so big all of them could not fit in a bag so I had to put them in a box instead.

 I first started using the fruit loop soap because the smell was out of this world. I mean it was so bad every time I walked passed it I had to pick it up and take a huge sniff of it cause it smells that good. Another thing about natural products is that *EVER BATCH VARIES*. In other worlds one batch may have a slight different color change, or the consistency may not be as thick or as light, or the smell may not be as strong. The reason I say this that my fruit loop soap, although it smells fantastic, didn't lather as strong as my TWA soap. The TWA soap lathered up soo well and I only had a little slice off of my huge bar. This is my first time using these kind of soaps so I didn't know if that was a normal thing or not. So when I asked Mrs. Marcy (who responded back extremely quickly) she told me that the TWA had a longer cured time then the Fruit loop loaf so that explained a lot. Being that the TWA is a all over bar I was glad that I didn't have to worry bout if it was going to harm the lady down stairs, but she was fine. My skin after using both soaps felt really soft. More so when locking in the moisture with the body oil. The next day my skin was not dry and ashy like the next. This rarely happens because once you lay in your bed all that work in buttering up your skin is gone! I loved the presentation of the oil which still had pieces of herbs floating in the bottle. Knowing that it is still being infused as it is sitting on my shelf makes my skin happy(lol). This oil smelled just like the cup cake lotion but a little lighter. Now let me tell you about the lotion. It is like a body butter in a lotion bottle. That bad boy was thickkkk like I like it, but still smooth on like a lotion. If you would like anymore information about this line or to purchase. The links are down below and don't forget to like Simple Living Soaps Facebook page.

Will I be repurchasing: Yes I wasn't disappointed about these soaps in anyway. I believe I have converted over! (LOL)

MY GRADE= A-
(Once I tried the other soaps I will report back on IG on how they were)

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