CGC: Karen's Body Beautiful Butter Love

Karen's Body Beautiful Butter Love (photo via NaturallyCurly.com)

Product Description:  Made only from rich, thick butters and luxurious oils, Karen's Hair Butter conditions, softens and adds sheen to fragile, stressed hair. Great for natural, relaxed or pressed hair. Use twice a week on hair and scalp or more as needed. (Works best on dry hair.)  Adds moisture and shine.

Ingredients: Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter, Jojoba Butter, Aloe Butter, Essential and/or Fragrance Oils, Grapefruit Seed Oil & Vitamin E

silicone free, sulfate free, paraben free, protein free, glycerin free 

MyTake:  This butter was soft and rich and gave my daughter's 4a/b hair great sheen without being greasy. However, while the Lavender Vanilla scent is nice, it is also very powerful and my scent sensitive hubby found it to be a bit... cloying. I like it though; I just recommend not using this in conjunction with other products that have any discernible scent as I could see that being a tad overwhelming to the senses. But as far as how the product itself performed, I was very pleased. I will be using it for myself when doing up do's and to smooth down my edges and for both of my daughters (to seal the ends of 2 strand twists after detangling and to smooth edges).

PS- Product was provided for review by NaturallyCurly.com. I was not paid for this review and all opinions stated are 100% honest and my own :)

A Day in the Life: Piedmont Park (Again)

We headed back down to Piedmont Park with the lil bits. We didn't quite make it for the Farmer's Market (sigh), but it was a gorgeous day nonetheless and we enjoyed a delicious picnic of fried chicken, cole slaw, and potato salad (it was my cheat day, and I only had a spoonful each of salad and slaw, and I NEVER eat the skin on my chicken and ALWAYS only have one breast piece). We didn't walk around the park as planned, but we enjoyed watching the girls run around (and around and around) with each other...

CGC: Entwine The Manipulator Creme Jelle Styler

Entwine The Manipulator Creme Jelle Styler (photo via naturallycurly.com)

Product Description:  Designed with real-world technology, perfected with natural Honey, Safflower Seed Oil & Vegetable Protein for limitless, re-definable styling for natural and transitioning. Adds definition, provides frizz control.

Ingredients:  Water, Isopropyl Myristate, Oleth-20, Polyacrylate-14, Candilla Wax, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Stearic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Behenyltrimonium Chloride, Ceteareth 25, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol (Hair Strengthening Complex), Ethyl Hexylmethoxycinnamate, Fragrance, PEG-90M, Aminomethylpropanol, Propylene Glycol (and) Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate Phenoxyethanol

silicone free, sulfate free, paraben free, glycerin free 

My Take: I really like the packaging on this product. That alone had me intrigued. It has a very light, pleasant scent, but a very unusual, almost chunky texture. I used just a little bit to smooth down the edges of my 3rd day hair and while it worked fairly well at that (my edges didn't look as dry and it definitely tamed my mane in front, which is what I was looking for). However, I am skeptical to use this all over, as it felt a bit waxy and sticky and was actually kind of difficult to remove from my hands. Let's just say I'm not looking forward to the task of having to wash it from my hair. After I test to see how easily (or not) it washes out of my hair, I think that it will be perfect to use on London's 4a/b daughter, to seal the ends of 2 strand twists and to smooth her edges as well as Peyton's (who has transitioning 4b/c hair). 

PS- Product was sent for review by NaturallyCurly.com. I was not paid for this review and all opinions stated are 100% honest and my own :)

Beauty Blogazon Weekly Roundup

• Pink Sparklz- New Trend: Matching your lips to your nails! VS Glossy Lip Tint - Boudoir Pink Swatch
• Miss Merli In NYC- Featuring Brooklyn Designer Sam Branman and his mesh creations
• Tolmu Rull Tells All- What to pack into your beauty bag for travelling? See, what frequent flyer Tolmu Rull packs!
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom- Blurple is the perfect shade for summer, and Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom picks Cult Nails Tied Up as the best.
• I Like My Polish Black Just Like My Metal- Penguins, nail polish, and bright pink! Oh my! Find out what all these three things have in common and how good they all look together.
• Cosmetics Aficionado- See the Soho Beauty brushes popping up but not sure if you should buy? Check out my review of their Professional Crease Brush.
• Holographic Hussy- Dollish Polish stunning Expecto Patronum in all its glory...
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog- Laura from My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog share her Tart Deco Dots on Manic(ure) Monday!
• Emily Hudspeth, Bringing the Beauty to You!- Trying out a new monthly beauty sample service. Emily shares her first month of Sample Society by the Beauty Bar.
• Ishah x Beauty- How to DIY Ombre Hair at Home? Ishah x Beauty has you covered.
• Beauty By Miss L- Miss L did a simple, but eye-catching mani with dots.
• Sincerely Stephanie- Loving the colour blocking trend, but looking for a new take on it? Sincerely Stephanie shows you how to get the look dottified.
• myCosmeticBag- Love black nail polish and gradient manicures? Sink your teeth into Anisha's 'Berry Vampiric' nail look.
• Phyrra- Phyrra is a Superstar with the new Fyrinnae collection!
• Beauty Apocalypse- Want a sophisticated eye? Beauty Apocalypse gives a review of Stila's "Ladies Who Lunch" collection.
• Mani Curiously- Loving the NARS Thakoon Collection? Be sure to check out E's matte take on this stunning cyan blue polish!
• DeyiMizu- Read about the fabulous all-in-one African Shea Butter!
• Shades Of Beauty, Inc.- REVIEW: China Glaze Neons...Shimmer Highlights
• Beauty Product Review- Read all about the Jouer samples that I just can't stop raving about
• Midnight Manicures- Dazzle Dry, Vegan and Big 5-Free. Performs like a Gel, removes like a Polish.
• Thepassengerelement- 100th beauty blog post ft Tarina Tarantino's Victorian Punk eyeshadow
• Cosmetically Challenged- Which Glitter Hue is right for you? Cosmetically Challenged puts 5 brands head to head in the battle of the Purple and Blue Glitter Nail Polishes.
• Nails Beautiqued- Summertime fun with Jessica Cosmetics "Gelato Maio" nailpolish collection lots of mouthwatering pastels
• The Lacquerologist- Contrasting colors and finishes come together in this beautiful polka dot manicure from the Abstract Nail Art Challenge!

CGC: Alikay Naturals Bentonite Me Baby %100 Pure Bentonite Clay

Alikay Naturals Bentonite Me Baby 100% Pure Bentonite Clay 

Product Description: Bentonite Clay is a natural clarifier, used to purify your skin, hair and entire body. Its healing properties are activated once clay is wet. Bentonite safely pulls the impurities out. Use as a hair mask for defined curls and clean hair. Product adds definition.


Ingredients: Pure Bentonite Clay

silicone free, sulfate free, paraben free

My Take: I'm not going to lie, I had this for a while before I got the courage to use it. It's in powder form and you have to mix it (the instructions suggest using olive oil and water, but I've seen it mixed with aloe vera as well), so I was a bit worried about concocting it correctly. But then I was motivated by a YouTube video to go ahead and give it a shot, and I'm very happy I did! It will probably take another use or two for me to get the whole mixing process right (it was a bit too thick and chunky and a little difficult to thoroughly apply all over my hair) but the results were so good, I'm definitely going to continue to use this on a regular basis. It left my scalp feeling fresh and clean and my hair was so soft afterwards! I opted to use some (light) oil after rinsing it out and the overall results were excellent!

PS- This product was sent for review by naturallycurly.com. I was not paid for this review and all opinions stated are 100% honest and my own :)

I Know What I'm Drinking This Weekend! Nuvo Sparkling Liqueur

Yay! We made it through another week, and for me that is always cause for celebration! I don't know about you, but the hubby and I usually kick our weekend off with a cocktail. In fact, he usually comes home every Friday with a little something something for us to sip on. But this week I surprised him (and boy, did he like it)! 

Nuvo Lemon Sorbet (photo via sparklingnuvo.com)