The Festival Looks You Need All from Amazon!
This post includes some affiliate links, hope you don't mind!
Festival season is here! Get ready for your feed to be flooded with amazing pics from your favorite bloggers and celebrities. I myself am not going to Coachella this year, and I'm INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED about that! But even though I won't be present, I'm still always so inspired by the festival fashion. Something about all the amazing looks just sets the stage for the style and trends that will carry you through summer.
If you are going to Coachella or any other festivals this season, you are probably going crazy planning your outfits. It's the time to let your style shine, but of course you don't want to splurge too much on clothing you will wear just to dance and sweat it out in the desert. So I'm gonna let you in on a little fashion secret - Amazon! If you haven't browsed Amazon for fashion you are definitely missing out. The site has an amazing assortment of goodies, and a lot of them come with free shipping, free returns, and that 2 day shipping for Prime members.
Check out the gallery below for some of my favorites for festival and summer style! And stay tuned for a post next week all about festival beauty, including the look above!
If you get any of these let me know, I'd love to see how you rock them! And leave your tips for surviving festival season in the comments!
Spring Ready Hair with Stylebox Salon!
So I'm sure you noticed my new look on Instagram and my stories lately, so I'm finally spilling the tea! I'd been wanting to color my hair for sometime, debating the shade, the process, and how it would effect the health of my hair overall. Luckily I had found an amazing salon and a stylist I trusted to get me to the color of my dreams!
Stylebox Salon is a new gem in Brooklyn, with friendly and attentive service, talented stylists that serve all hair types, and a fantastic bar so you can sit drink and be merry, as they say on their site! They use amazing vegan products and even keep the bathroom stocked with organic tampons!
The process started with choosing a color, so I settled on a full head of caramel blonde balayage. I'd been obsessed with the technique forever but only ever seen it on straight or wavy hair, so wasn't sure it would work on kinky textured hair.
The brighter blondes were kind of calling me, but I decided to play it safe since it was my first time coloring. Nicole carefully painted tiny stands of my hair, keeping them separated with foil. Then I hung out with a bellini while it processed!
My hair is super porous so it processed pretty quickly. However it decided on its own that I should be a redhead. My hair turned a shade of red that wasn't anywhere near any of the colors in the book! Luckily Nicole expertly toned the color down so instead of leaving looking like Ronald McDonald, I ended up with this!
And here's a close up of the finished style!
Overall I ove it and my hair feels healthy as ever! I may make a second visit in a few months to try and go lighter, but for now just going to see how my hair feels.
Have you guys tried balayage or are you debating? And check out the full Stylebox Menu for all their service options!
Best in Beauty at the International Beauty Show
Since I'm totally obsessed with beauty, I was so happy to attend the International Beauty Show this weekend. The show is the top trade show for beauty professionals, and even though it's technically for beauty pros only, I had a blast getting an insider look at the hottest new product launches, beauty tools, and wholesale pricing on everything!
Check out my highlights from the show!
Studex At-Home Piercing Kit
Studex is the leading manufacturer of piercing instruments, studs and supplies. Even if you've never heard of them, you've definitely touched one of their products. I partnered with Studex and Brand Backer for complimentary tickets to the show. If you go, check out their assortment of stylish studs, and maybe get a new piercing! I got one and am absolutely in love! If you want to try piercing at home with your bestie, their Piercing Kits are available for purchase here. It comes with everything you need for a new earlobe or cartilage piercing, is allergy-free, and sterilzed! And they've got even more products available at Sally's!
Curls Cashmere & Caviar Collection
Since I'm wearing my natural curls again, I was so excited to see this launch! Coming out this summer, the Cashmere & Caviar Collection is a luxe new line that promises to strengthen, restructure, and add shine. All the products felt insanely rich and luxurious and smelled beautiful. Check out curls.biz for more info on the launch! I also stocked up on their Blissful Lengths Liquid Hair Growth Vitamin, so hoping to see some results as I start using it!
Touch Beauty Tools
I'm a little bit behind when it comes to fancy, high tech skin care gadgets, so I stopped by the Touch Beauty booth to get the scoop. Touch Beauty creates a variety of devices, from eyelash curlers, so ultasonic facial scrubbers. Their Cream Booster deliveres positive or negative electrodes to refresh and detox the skin, as well as maximize the absorption of skin care products. The Contour Sculpting Roller massages the skin and can be used for face and body. While they are mostly trade only, they have a selection of products available on Amazon.
The show is in town until March 6th, so if you can get a pass stop by!
6 Beauty Essentials for the Perfect Valentine's Look
It's the most romantic time of year! Or some would say :)
You may have already seen my round-up of the perfect looks for any Valentine's occassion. But your look isn't final without the right hair and makeup of course! SInce I'm a beauty junkie, obvi, here are some of my favorite products to keep your face beat and hair on fleek no matter what the night brings!
Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipsticks
These matte lipsticks provide ultra-saturated colors, long-lasting wear and are comfortable to wear, not drying like a lot of other matte formulas.
House of Lashes Siren Lashes
These are my all time fave! I love a glamorous fluffy lash and these babies completely fit the bill! Make sure to keep the secured with the House of Lashes or Duo glue and waterproof mascara on your bottom lashes.
CoverFX Custom Enhancer Drops
This is one of my secret weapons! Mix a drop into your foundation for a subtle allover glow, or dab a bit onto your cheekbones to take your highlighter up a notch. You can blend and build how you see fit, and the various colors range from ice princess to a sunkissed glow.
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Keep your beat sealed in no matter what the night may bring! I never leave home without setting my face, and this one is one of my faves. Depending on your skin type, you may want more hydration or oil control, so check out the other formulas as well.
Eden Bodyworks Coconut Shea Oil
Coconut oil and shea butter are 2 of my favorite things, so this combination of the 2 of them is heaven for me. This oil will keep strands moisturized and shiny in a straight or curly style.
TGIN Honey Miracle Hair Mask
This moisture mask packs a punch! My hair feels amazingly soft and silky after use. Give it a try if your hair needs some TLC before a big night out!
Let me know how you plan to spend Valentine's Day, and how your look turns out!
Be Your Own #SkinGoals with Avya Skincare!
This post is sponsored by Avya Skincare, all opinions are my own
Your beauty routine should always start with skincare. Everyone’s skin has unique challenges, and for women like me who have an abundance of melanin, we have to consider several other factors when choosing a skin care product. Avya Skincare is an amazing new luxury skincare line designed specifically to address issues that commonly affect women of color - pigmentation and skin discoloration.
The Day Moisturizer is enriched with snow mushroom, niacinamide, and other rare botanicals, to protect and defend your skin from everyday environmental stressors. That is super important if you live in an urban area like this NYC girl!
The Night Moisturizer features Vitamin A and provides overnight hydration and renews skin without irritation so you can wake up flawless! If you are sensitive to retinoids/Vitamin A based products, or have never used them before, you may notice some dryness or flaking at first. Just try using the product every other day instead of daily until your skin gets used to it, and avoid using exfoliants or anything with acids for a while.
At $105 and $110 respectively they are a pretty penny, but think of it as an investment in healthy skin and aging gracefully. Check out the full line at avyaskincare.com and let me know how you like it!
4 Beauty Secrets Straight Out of Hawaii
I'm fresh off an amazing Hawaiian adventure! In between road tripping, sight seeing and way too many Mai Tais on the beach, I of course had to pick up some beauty secrets from the locals. After a few days on the Big Island, I noticed that the native women all had the most gorgeous, shiny hair and glowing skin even with minimal makeup. Check out some of the tidbits I picked up while there!
Long Hair is King
Waist length tresses are not uncommon in Hawaii. Get growing my nourishing your strands with natural oils, like coconut oil. You can even use coconut milk for a protein packed moisture mask. Slather it on after a day in the sun then rinse it out in the morning for an all natural treatment that will keep your hair growing.
Eat the Pineapple and Put it on Your Face
The pineapples I ate in Hawaii were some of the sweetest and most flavorful I've ever eaten! Pineapples are also rich in enzymes, and some of the local women I talked to whip up homemade masks with pineapple and honey. The homemade treatment exfoliates naturally, brightens complexion and tones the skin. Pineapples are naturally rich in Vitamin C and alpha hydroxy acid, two key ingredients in many skin care products.If you are not into the idea of a homemade fruit facial, look for those ingredients in products, like the Pineapple Papaya Face Scrub from Kiehl's.
Hydrate or Bust
Hawaiians don't underestimate the importance of staying hydrated. Drink loads of water during long, sun-filled days. And make sure to lotion up regularly and keep the sunscreen in heavy rotation to stay hydrated inside and out. I average 80 ounces a day, and am trying to inch my way up to 100!
Kukui OIl is Key
I had never heard of Kukui Oil before my trip, but it's commonly used and sold on the islands. Billed as the next coconut oil, it comes from the Kukui nut tree, the official tree of Hawaii. Slather on your hair and skin for a dose of ultra-moisturizing fatty acids. You can find it in a ton of beauty products, and of course, on Amazon!
