Oh sunny days...

For the majority of my childhood I wore my natural hair. Up until around fourth or fifth grade my mother did my hair, usually in three to four "dookey" braids with the colorful hair barrettes and bubbles (lol). She would wash my hair about twice a month with an intense and very painful blow drying session - I was very tender headed and I lost a ton of hair every time. By Junior High School, I got my hair done at salons, and by friends who could corn braid (my mom never learned how) usually with extensions. More and more of my friends were relaxed and I  started to want the long, straight, easy to style hair too!  I also wanted an escape from having to deal with the pain that I thought was inevitable with natural hair. I thought relaxers were the answer- my mom was completely against the idea, mostly because of her own experiences (she has very fine, curly hair that relaxers eat through very easily). She didn't want me to lose my thick head of hair, and I should have listened! Eventually my persistence won, and I got my first relaxer at the age of thirteen for my eight grade prom. I don't remember much of the process, but I do recall having to cut off a significant amount of my hair. Regardless, I was happy because I had the hair that I wanted.

 first perm throwback- eight grade prom

I continued relaxing throughout High School, usually every two months. For the most part I allowed one person to do my hair. The one time that my stylist had someone else relax my hair they didn't wash it out properly and I had a lot of fall out. I always used Motions relaxer, except for a short period when I experimented with Mizani , and I always had major issues with sensitive scalp and burning. I also stuck to wash and sets. The only heat that I used on my hair was the hood dryer because I loved the volume that I got from my wash and sets. My hair grew but I got trims very frequently. I didn't mind because I liked  the fullness and volume that came with a fresh cut.

 high school

When I went away for college I was forced to become more independent with my hair, mainly because I didn't trust anyone else to do it. I started out with kinky twists to make my life easier but that ended with a horror story. I learned how to do my own wash and sets and only got relaxers when I went home for vacations. I also found a new relaxer that was weaker and never burned- Soft and Beautiful. During my junior year I began to get very frustrated with my hair- it wasn't growing! I turned to the internet and started researching solutions online. I found the Youtube healthy hair community and started to try new things like co-washing, humectants and Ayurvedic powders.

 Source

Hey All!!

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a bit of a shopaholic. One of my all time favorite places to spend my hard earned cash is CVS! This might be a bit unusual, but I love CVS! There's always a ton of good finds and great deals, and its also much easier to justify a drug store purchase in my mind than one from a clothing or shoe store. It doesn't help that there's a mega CVS two blocks away from my job :/

Well, this past Friday while I was picking up my lunch (Lean Cuisine pizzas- sooo good! They taste just like the real thing!!) I spotted a display for a product that I've been wanting  for the past few months- Crackle Nail polish! I've been wanting to try this stuff since OPI launched it a few months back, but I just haven't been able to find time to make it all the way to the beauty supply store (in Providence not having a car significantly lengthens the time required for errands). Anyway, not only did CVS premier this product, but its also by my favorite nail polish brand- Sally Hansen. Her products are long lasting and amazing- I own more than 75% of her Hard as Nails line. I purchased the Sally Hansen Crackle polish in Ink Splatter and Antiqued Gold.

I also got a bottle of 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer in Digital and Glitzy Glamour Lip Gloss in All About Me, both from Milani for their BOGO 1/2 off sale.  I previously purchased the polish in the line's 3D gold shade- all of the colors on this line have a really pretty shimmer and they hold up pretty well compared to my amazing Sally Hansen polishes. The glamour gloss shade is a pretty matte reddish-brown/ mahogany color. It's a great shade, but the color really doesn't hold up well on its own.

 

After I got off of work I raced home to try out the Crackle polish- its AMAZING. I used the Antiqued Gold over the Milani Digital. This combination created a soft, subtle crackle look, but I love it. I'm excited to try more bold combinations.  I took pictures on my cell the camera couldn't really pick up the effects of the lighter colors.

**Update** I loved thes stuff so much that I went back to get another bottle in Fractured Foil. This is a shimmery silver that I'll be able to pair with almost any color in my collection- can't wait to try it out.