Review: Maybelline Eyestudio Mad for Mauve Quad

Yay! My first cosmetics review. My blog posts thus far have been primarily about hair, and so I decided I wanted to switch it up a bit. Because not only do I love hair, but I love love love make up too.

Now, I'm a girl on a budget, so Maybelline is right up my alley. For me though Maybelline can be a pretty hit or miss affair. Some eyeshadows I've purchased by them were chalky horrors with no pigmentation and others were velvety, smooth, and pigmented. Yeah, I know, it's wierd and inconsistent. I digress. Thus when choosing to buy Maybelline eyeshadow I'm a very conflicted lady. Luckily the Mad for Mauve quad from the eye studio series was anything but a disappointment.

Price: As I mentioned before, Maybelline cosmetics are very affordable. I picked up this palette for about $6 at Target when shopping for a rug to go in my room. I had heard about this new Maybelline collection and figured a quad was the more economical choice over their baked eyeshadow duos.

Packaging: The packaging isn't really anything special. The top of the case is clear so you can easily view the colors in the quad. The bottom is black. One of the shadows is almost twice the size of all the others, which would be great if it was one of my favorable colors from the palette. In general though, the eyeshadows are quite small as is the quad itself. I wish the uad was bigger to be honest, but that's just me.Here's a picture of the packaging:


Product Quality: I really love the texture and the colors of these eyshadows. They glide on smoothly and are pigmented. They are easy to blend. They're basically everything you'd want in an eyeshadow, but I do have one gripe. This may just be my brushes, but I did have some issues with fallout, it wasn't severe so I wouldn't say don't purchase the quad, just saying a fair warning. Overall I really do love these shadows though. I want to try the other quads now.
Picture of the colors:


Summing it up.
Pros
+Smooth & Blendable
+Affordable
+Pigmented

Cons
+"Ehh" packaging.
+Some fall out

The Points
Price: 5/5
Packaging: 4/5
Product Quality 15/15

Final Grade: 96

I've been down and out for awhile.

It's been awhile since an update, and I'm usually good with blogging regularly, so I do apologize. Sometimes life just hits you harder then you were ready for it, and this week was just one of those times. There was a lot of drama, pain, and I lost a friend that I'll never forget. But shit happens, so I'm just going to have to lick my wounds, right? Right. Anyway, I got my relaxer as planned on monday. I wrote a blog post, so I'll post it now.

So, relaxer day was yesterday, and if I wasn’t sure I that I wanted to self relax, I am definitely sure I want to now. I went to my usual place, with my usual lady, and she is a bit rough, but this time it was just to a whole different freaking level. (Excuse my French, I have more choice words to use, but I’ll try to control them.) She was extremely rough on my hair, combed the relaxer through (Ugh.), and when I started to feel burning she wanted to keep the relaxer in for 3 more minutes because my hair was so tangled.

Now, first of all, my hair was anything but tangled. I spent the last 3 days making sure it was as detangled as possible so that she wouldn’t have much issue and that I would lose much hair. Second of all, it’s a relaxer not a detangled, what the French toast? Now, it honestly gets worse when for the first time ever she just threw some relaxer on my previously relaxed hair. (Luckily it wasn’t on there for long and I COATED my hair with oil and conditioner before going there.) I was practically fuming. ‘

When I get my hair rinsed out finally and what not, after sitting with a deep conditioner in, I go back to the wash lady and she roughly detangles my hair. She was literally ripping the comb through my hair. I was just so taken back by this, because I’ve been going to the same place for a year and this hasn’t ever happened! It’s ridiculous. I mean, my hair felt nice and looked beautiful when they were finished, but this isn’t a sexy hair care journey, it’s a healthy hair care journey!

Now, I’m gonna try to stop fuming and be positive. First of all, I’m like a millimeter from being APL. My hair grew A LOT while in the braids, so I KNOW this will be my go to low maintenance style for the summertime. My hair definitely bounced back from my setback in November, and for that I’m so grateful. But now, I need to take my haircare almost completely into my own hands, and I am going to learn to self relax. My only concern is that I’d rather use a lye relaxer. I know they process faster so my plan is to probably do it in sections. I heard adding an oil to the relaxer can make it process slower, so that’ll also be a part of my plan. I also want to master roller sets and flexi rods.

I want to learn so much this year, and now that I know my hair will definitely be able to make it if I don’t have any setbacks, I’m gonna push for bra strap length hair. I know I can do this. I’m gonna try to incorporate a good amount of protein because my hair thrives when I use protein a lot, plus it’ll need the protein after my disaster of a relaxer.

I'll try to update more often now, I've just been having a bad time lately.

Much love,
Marissa

Happy Valentines Day!

I just woke up and I just wanted to wish everyone a happy valentines day. I made my boyfriend a red velvet cake and am going to cook him linguini chicken broccoli alfredo for dinner. What are you guys gonna do?

Anyway, I'm getting my relaxer tomorrow. My scalp is so itchy, I swear this happens every time. I'm about to get a relaxer and boom my head feels like I dipped it in a bowl of mosquitoes! Madness. But anywho, I'll update you guys one my relaxer tomorrow and I just hope everyone has a nice valentines day.


Peace
Marissa

PS. sorry for the short blogs lately xD

I love my brother

Lol, this is gonna just be a short blog. Anywho, I was talking to my brother this morning and he had recently saw the Good Hair documentary (haven't seen it myself.). We were talking about hair and it was just so exciting to me that he'd actually listen and care about what I was saying. He seemed like he really learned a lot form Good Hair and was willing to learn more. I don't know, it just made me happy that he was interested that something I myself am interested in especially because hair care is just one of those girl things, y'know?

He also told me that if his wife tried to relax his kid's hair while they were still a child he'd DIVORCE HER! Lmfao. That made me laugh a lot, and I totally respect him for that. I don't really like it when young children get relaxers because they don't get a chance to learn to love their natural hair. Hell, I got a relaxer as a young child so I still struggle with the concept of natural beauty myself.

Anyway, that was just a day brightener. I've also taken out my braids last night. It took me 9 freaking hours of agony, excuse my french. I put some V05 passion fruit moisture milks, Mane 'n Tail, and olive oil on my hair to soften it to make detangling easier, put on a cap, tied up my satin scarf, then was off to bed. Detangling went well, I only had one nasty tangle and I have BUTTLOADS (Yes, I went there.) of new growth. Lol, it's crazy. My stylist is gonna be mad at me for not relaxing in so long, but I don't really care. I want to start self-relaxing after this relaxer. I'm gonna look up a lot of info on it, and possibly write an article on self-relaxing myself once I actually go through the process.

I've got a couple of make up blogs on the way, a haul and several reviews. So stay tuned, guys. Anywho, that's it for today so far.

Much love,
Marissa.

Some Updates and an Answer

So, for all/any of you who actually regularly check up on this blog,you might of noticed today it looked absolutely nuts. Lmfao. I was in the middle of changing/making a new layout for the blog. Do you like it? I wanted more color, even though I loved the purple and gray combo. Plus now you can see lil' cartoon me sittin' on a tub of Lustrasilk Shea Butter Deep Conditioner. Lol.

Hopefully you guys like this layout, I'm gonna be keeping it for awhile. But I digress. Today after school I went to attend a meeting at our NOW club at my high school and to make t-shirts for a Day of Silence to raise awareness for domestic violence against women. We made stencils then used them to spray paint old t-shirts. Now you might be wondering what my stencil said. It said:

A woman is battered every 15 seconds

Are you shocked? I'm not. Domestic violence is a HUGE problem in the US, and to be more particular, in my high school. I know of tons of guys who've hit their girlfriends, female friends, "wifeys", etc. It's sickening. Good men in my area are a dwindling race to say the least, lol. But I have my boyfriend, so it's whatever.

Anyway, the point of me mentioning the day of silence is to help raise awareness in everyone. Things like domestic violence can't always be seen by the naked eye, so look closely, choose your partners wisely, and if you ever are in an abusive relationship: Get help. Immediately. The longer you stay in the relationship the worse off you are.

But on a totally different note, a couple of ladies requested that I talk about a proper braids regimen. Now personally, when in braids, I believe less is more when it comes to keeping up with your haircare and having them.
I actually have braids right now.


See? That's actually a picture of me and my friend in December, but I still have the braids in and am actually taking them out this weekend. The way I take care of my braids is that I still moisturize and seal, though not daily. I do it bidaily, and about twice a week I oil my scalp with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. On saturday or sunday I wash my scalp (ONLY) with Creme of Nature shampoo, and then condition with my love Aussie Moist. So basically that breaks down to:
Moisturize and Seal: Daily-Bidaily
Oil Scalp: 1-3 Weekly
Wash/Condition:Weekly

I've also heard that to get rid of a chemical that drys out the hair found on synthetic braiding hair, soaking it in Apple Cider Vinegar and rinsing before braiding your hair up can really be helpful.

Hope that helps the ladies who asked! Anywho, that's all for today. Tomorrow's a snow day for me, so maybe I'll work on another blog.

Hope that helped,
Marissa

PS. Please send me more questions via my hairlista account or my email (which is listed in my about me.)

Black hair Care Basics: Hair Texture and the Protein-Moisture Balance

Well, it’s been a minute. School and stuff, you know the deal. But now I’m back with more info for hair care beginners who are looking up their knowledge game when it comes to hair. Today’s subject will be the 4 different basic textures of hair care and the protein moisture balance. Now, if you’re not blind, I’m sure you’ve noticed by now hair comes in different textures, colors, lengths, etc. All of this and your genes plays a huge role in how you should take care of your hair. There are four basic hair textures: type one: straight hair, type two: wavy/slightly curled hair, type three: tightly curled hair, and type 4: kinky/coily hair. All hair has different needs, but knowing your hair type can help you assess those needs better and to help guide you to get good products to use on your hair.

The Four Textures


Type One – Straight Hair
Type one hair is straight hair. It is sleek, lack any curl pattern, and is very hard to damage. Sebum (and oil the body produces to naturally protect the hair and skin) can be transported down the hair shaft very easily on this type of hair, which helps protect the hair, but can also make it easy for people with this hair type to get greasy hair. People with type one hair tend to have to wash their hair more often than people of other types, and their hair reflects shine easier because of it’s straight and sleek texture.

Type Two – Wavy Hair
Type two is caught between having curly hair, and having straight hair. It can be from fine to thick, and is also harder to damage than curly types of hair. Sebum can travel down the shaft of type two hair, but not as easily as it can on type one. Type two hair has subcategories 2a, 2b, and 2c depending on the curl pattern. A being the loosest waves, and c being the tightest.

Type Three – Tightly Curled Hair

Type three hair is definitely curly hair. It’s not as shiny as type one or two because light doesn’t reflect off it with ease. When wet, the hair curls up tightly which can produce shrinkage, which basically means the actual length of the hair isn’t seen once it’s dry because the hair is curled so much. It’s a lot more fragile than type two or type one, so beware. It has subcategories 3a, 3b, and 3c.

Type 4 – Kinky/Coily Hair

Type 4 hair has the most tightly curled/coiled hair texture. It is very fragile and should be treated with a lot of care and tenderness. It has fewer cuticle layers than the other types of hair, and sebum has trouble getting down the hair shaft, therefore it needs a lot of moisture to thrive. If you have type 4 hair you should definitely baby it. There’s a stigma in society that says type 4 hair is ugly and doesn’t grow, but contrary to that it grows at the same rate as other hair and is beautiful. Type four hair is commonly misunderstood and abused and that’s why it’s said it doesn’t grow

More info on hair textures:
Hair Type Guide

Now that you know about the different hair textures, you’re probably wondering what is a Protein-Moisture balance and why do I care? Well, you care because the protein moisture balance is vital to how your hair needs to be taken care of to thrive. The name of it is very self-explanatory, to be honest. The protein-moisture balance of hair is the delicate balance between protein and moisture within a person’s hair. Hair needs both protein and moisture to grow, and depending on how your hair is processed and what texture it is you’ll need to use to use products with differing amounts of protein and moisture. Generally, the 1-2 need less moisture because of how the sebum is distributed while 3-4 needs a lot of moisture. Hair is made up of protein, so protein should really be only used when some force damages hair or on chemically processed to upkeep healthy hair.

To achieve the correct protein-moisture balance for your hair you’re going to have to experiment. Do not go crazy with either protein or moisture at first. Only use what keeps your hair moisturized and strong. Find water based moisturizers for adding moisture in your hair and for adding protein look for conditioners and moisturizers with the ingredients keratin, wheat germ, silk, pearl extract, cholesterol, amino acid, and soy protein etc. (Thanks to Martha on Hairlista for telling me this!) If you use too much moisture your hair willy get mushy, limp, and break. If you use too much protein your hair will get hard, straw-like, and then break. It truly is a delicate balance, so with the knowledge of your hair texture and how your hair is processed in mind, go out there and find products that will work right for you.

Hope this helps,
Marissa.

Self-Confidence.

This is coming straight off the top of my head, so I'm not sure if it's going to make sense. I'll probably babble a lot, but hopefully you'll get the point.

I'm very happy with myself. I think I'm pretty and I think I'm cute. I know there are some things that some people wouldn’t find attractive in me, but I also know those same things would be attractive to other people. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, every feature, every detail, every hair color, eye color, body type, and skin color is a toss up when it comes to what will be found attractive by certain people. I’m okay with that. I understand that, but I have to admit it took me awhile to get to this point.

Now, if you haven’t read my about me, I’m only fifteen. That’s young, that’s really young to come to the point where I have settled. I’d view my self image as reasonably healthy. Extraordinarily healthy for my age. Women my age just don’t like how they look. It’s a generally factual statement about my generation. So many things bring us down as women for so long and as time changes the idea of perfect gets more extreme. The hyperbole of the human body the media markets to us is placed on a pedestal, one that no other woman can be on. The weapons of choice? Cosmetics, lighting equipment, photoshop, etc.

Now don’t get me wrong, because photoshop is my one true love. I want to be a graphics artist, and I’ll whip you up a website layout in photoshop in no time. I can edit pictures, change a woman who’s fat to thin, erase every imperfection you can imagine, I can weave a web of lies right before your eyes. With photoshop, the media is god, and they sculpt their coveted angels out of pictures of women who are just like us. They change their appearance. In a fatal swoop they change a talented model to a demigoddess. Whether you realize it or not, you can’t look away. The media creates these images that seem so harmless, but these images are the same pictures that are the phantoms that haunt our minds. The demons prodding us at the back of heads whispering the words, “You’ll never be good enough.”, “You’ll never be skinny enough”, “You’ll never be curvy enough.”, “You’ll never be enough.”, “Never.”

These images are the things that make off-hand comments that aren’t meant to mean anything turn into confidence crushing blows. Want to know what I used to hate about myself? That I was too skinny. That’s right, it seems hard to believe that in a country whose media is obsessed about the thinness of a woman, a girl could think she was too skinny. That a girl could feel a lack of self worth because she wasn’t “womanly enough”. According to many magazines who recognized “real women with curves” it was women who were sticks like me who had “the body of 12 year old boy and gave the wrong idea to women”. May I say… Lol wut? What is the right idea to give to women? No matter what a magazine says about one body type, other body types lose. There’s no such thing as a “real woman”. We’re all real women. We all struggle with the same general problems when it comes to body image. We’re either too much of this or too little of that, we don’t have this, and we have too much of that. But in the end all of those struggles and all of those fears…simply aren’t true.

You are who you are. Changing that for anyone but yourself is a shame. Losing that weight and getting those breast implants are only a band aid to the real problem if you haven’t learned to truly love yourself first. Because even if you don’t love yourself, there’s always going to be that one person who sees you for how wonderful you actually are. Look at yourself through their eyes one day, and see how your weight is fine, your breasts aren’t too small, your hips aren’t too wide, and just give yourself a chance.

Women are beautiful.
You are beautiful.
I am beautiful.

I wish everyone could see this the way I did, but I’m sure that would only happen in a perfect world.

This has kind of been a rant, so I think I’m just gonna stop short here.

Thanks for reading,
Marissa.