o' natural

Living in a time where straight hair always seems to be the preferred norm, having curly hair I always felt as though it was a flaw of mine. I used to spend hours on hours straightening my wild, crazy, "has a mind of its own", curly hair into being completely pin straight… only to have it start frizzing or curling on the ends in a matter of minutes. It was an exhausting process but I had convinced myself that I was physically unattractive with curly hair.

curly hair & sushi! 

I read this interview the other day that couldn't have hit closer to home. Rafaela Avidago discussed "Natural Hair Confidence" with Refinery 29 and when I saw it on my Facebook timeline I was like "woah, hold up. Curly hair lady over here - click." I couldn't have agreed more with her - I grew up with people who were always asking me about my hair, touching it, "boinging" it. Boys and girls alike weren't used to girls with curlier hair. The preferred look throughout my middle school and high school days was the pin straight, long hair. I had completely curly as fuck hair with a mind of its own and although I tried to tame it with a straightener, like I said before, it was a hopeless effort. It would usually end up being somewhat curly in a matter of time and it made my hair so dry. I grew out of trying to impress everyone around me and just became comfortable with myself, my natural self. I stopped straightening my hair, stopped dressing to impress others, and just let my own confidence take hold.

Natural confidence is something every woman needs to embody. It makes me feel so much better about myself knowing that I look just as good with my hair just out of the shower than if I spend two hours styling it. If a significant other doesn't dig my curly hair then they can eff off. If they ain't digging your o'natural beauty too then fuck 'em.

Here's What I'm Listening To:

Over Your Shoulder - Chromeo

Lipstick & Travels

Happy Friday to all & hope that everyone is planning on having a lovely weekend! Luckily for me, I'll be getting out of Philadelphia for awhile and traveling to Austin, TX. Yes, I am aware that I just missed SXSW and that obviously makes me a grumpy cat… but lets just try to ignore that.

Recently, I received a lovely package that made me feel a little better about missing SXSW and the best part? It had lipstick in it! I wear lipstick often, when I am actually caring about what I look like, and we all know how much I love the word free. Rimmel recently released their new lipstick line of moisture renew lipstick and it is very true to it's name. Moisturizing was the first word to come to mind when I applied it. I've tried a bunch of different lipsticks on from many different brands but this goes on so smooth and soft that you can tell it begins moisturizing right away. The color, "As You Want Victoria" is not usually a color I would wear. I usually only wear deep, darker colors like reds and wines. This color is more like a red-pink… leaning more on the pink side. The color is very fun so it is perfect if I ever feel bold, loud, and fun. Unfortunately, I have yet to wear it for a full night out or anything so I am unsure about how long it stays on. I am definitely interested to see the other colors in the line because of how moisturizing the lipstick really does feel when I apply it.

If you're ever looking to add something new and fun to your beauty routine this lipstick line is perfect - the added bonus being that it is very moisturizing!

Here's what I'm listening to:

Don't Wait - Mapei ft. Chance the Rapper

&

Au Revoir - Chancellor Warhol

I received this product complimentary for testing purposes from influenster, but all opinions are my own.