BLACK N WHITE AND 2018 HAIR ROUTINE

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2018 has been all about the wash n go. I don’t think I’ve mastered this style but I can do a decent wash n go in under 2 hours. Lately, I’ve been wearing this hair style because I just simply don’t have the time to do much else with my hair. With the right products, I’ve been out the door in less than 2 hours, which in my case, is amazing! Hair routine deets are all listed below.

1. Wash with a mild shampoo, lately I’ve been using Mane Choice’s Easy on the Curls Shampoo

2. Detangle in 4 sections under running water in the shower after shampoo rinse out

3. Add deep conditioner, I use Mielle Organics Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner. It has great slip. I usually deep condition every other week. On my off weeks I just co-wash, wash n go.

4. If it’s deep condition week I usually sit under a hooded dryer for 20-30 minutes with a plastic cap.

5. Rinse deep condition out.

6. Apply leave in conditioner (Raw Shea Butter Leave-in by Shea Moisture) apply Aloe Vera Juice, then apply oil, lately, I’ve been using avocado oil or almond oil.

7. Split hair is 6 sections and apply styling gel to each section. I’ve been using the Mielle Organics Pomegranate and Honey Curling Custard, but now that it is more humid, my hair requires a bit more hold so I’m switching back to Kinky Curly Curling Custard again until next winter. As for my application method, I do a mixture of shingling, praying hands method and raking method. The front of my hair is very tempermental so shingling works best. In the back I can usually get away with applying the gel and raking.

8. I’ve been using the hair diffuser lately, I love it but my hair in the front does not, so I now only diffuse the back and let the front air dry. If I have all the time in the world (which I never do) I let all my hair air dry. Sometimes I get it like 60% dry by sitting under the hooded dryer then let the rest air dry, just depends on my mood that day.

And that’s really all folks.

Because I get so annoyed with my hair in the summer, I’ll either cut it short or keep it in twist. Life’s to short to be dealing with hair on your neck in the hot sticky summer.

By the way, I saw you scoping out my black and white blazer. This is one of my most loved finds from @feliciafaye_vintage. I’m truly in love with this one, like for real. One of the things I love most about vintage finds is that size is never really an issue because back in the day everyone wore everything oversized.  I highly recommend checking out her stash on Instagram though. She has some pretty nice goodies in stock.

Photo Credit: Vida, Intern for CraigsPick Photography

Hope you have a good week!

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie

SMOOTH SAILING

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The best part about cruising is that you never know who you’re going to meet. If you know me then you know I talk to just about any and everybody, but who would have thought I’d get approached by strangers first, it’s usually the other way around.  We spent two days at sea, which I can honestly say in the past has been way more than I can handle, but I guess when you keep yourself busy on the ship it’s not so bad. By the way, it’s very hard to be bored on a cruise ship, just saying.  My mission for a day at sea, to make sure this awesome vintage Tommy Hilfiger dress sold by one of my fav vintage Instagram shops, @brassbuttonsvelvetropes was featured on my blog. Only a few shots in and we were interrupted by a group of 20-somethings who had their fair share of drinks and were exiting the ship party. Well, one thing led to another and they became apart of the CCC family; my brief explanation for why they are on my blog, LOL. 

It all started with the question, “why are you taking pictures?” We spent a good hour just chatting about life, careers, whether to have kids or not, our pets, places we wanted to travel next, what we thought about Honduras and then one of the girls insisted I get some shots with Charlie. First official photoshoot we had that didn’t involve a tripod, LOL. And get this, the girl is a professional photographer in San Diego and travels all over the world to take pics. Crazy, I remember all of this but can’t remember their names, LOL. Yes, I said it, confession, I can’t remember none of their names, but it was good conversation and an even better photoshoot; one of the most fun photoshoots to date I’d say. We learned a lot about them. Apparently, their all best friends, all went to college together, got married and moved to different places all over the country, but decided to link up for a cruise after not seeing each other for over 8 years. Needless to say, our story is way less interesting; were just a boring couple with two cats who scrounged up a few pennies from some photography gigs and decided to escape the hustle and bustle of Raleigh living, LOL, way less interesting but the truth, nonetheless. The sun went down and we all went our separate ways, never saw them again for the remainder of the cruise. I love random meet ups like this, it’s a big world and I plan to see it all. 

Links to my outfit and accessories above.

Next stop, Belize and Costa Maya Mexico. Stay tuned.

Sincerely, 

Deidra Marie

LAZY GIRL MAKEUP HACKS

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Hi Everyone!

It’s been awhile. I’ve missed you guys so much. Between school, work, booking way too many photography gigs and prepping for our vacay (stay tuned)  it’s been a crazy, busy December, but I’m back and ready for action. Kicking it into full gear with a few lazy girl makeup hacks I’ve learned over the years. I’ll be honest, I love makeup but don’t want to buy a lot of it. I also can’t stand taking it off at the end of the night. So I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way that make makeup a not so bad process, keep money in my pocket and get makeup off my face quicker so I can have time to do what I really love, sleep, eat, and shop, LOL. Let’s get it started.

NO BLUSH, NO PROBLEM
I love blush, it’s one of my fave to wear. In fact, my sis and I went through this blush crazy period back in college. Looking back at every college pic our cheeks were excessively rosy. Hence the nickname I was given from my church family “babydoll”, I’ll save that story for another day though. In any case, we kind of took this blush business overboard. Confession, I still go overboard sometimes, which means I run out of blush frequently. When I run out, and I’m to lazy to go to Target and get more, I use a dab of redish or dark pinkish colored lipstick. I get the rosy cheek results and save money.

TAKE IT OFF WITH OIL
Some make-up is for all day wear, meaning it might be a beast to take off. I use a thick emollient oil to take heavy eye make-up off, and when I lay my lipstick on thick, which is like 99.99% of the time. If your wondering, I use pure vitamin E oil or coconut oil. It’s great for skin and hair.

KEEP IT SIMPLE
I don’t usually wear a full face, only on special occasions. That being said, I have only three face brushes. A full face brush, eyeshadow brush and eyebrow brush. For me, it’s pretty much all I need. Anything beyond that and it’ won’t fit in my tiny makeup bag. The key to brushes (in my opinion) is buy quality brushes that make sense for your lifestyle. You get what you pay for, so splurge on the brushes you need and try to buy a brush that can do it all or most so you won’t have to lug around multiple brushes. If you travel a lot, like me, less is best. Speaking of brushes, if your on the hunt for some makeup brushes, I suggest checking out this amazing review guide. I think you might find it helpful.

FROM SHADOWS TO BRONZER
While the it’s not the same as bronzer, it gets the job done when you don’t have any bronzer on hand. Take a nice neutral but shimmery shadow you have on deck and apply as bronzer. I’m chocolate skin so most of the time I’m using a bronzy, coppery, goldish colored shadow as a bronzer replacement.

NO LIPPY, NO PROBLEM 
I’m the queen of mixing lip colors and pencils. Sometimes I buy really bright bold colors for my lips. To tone it down I mixed with other darker colors in that family and use a lip pencil or another lipstick color to do so. You’ll have to do some testing as I always come out with different colors every time.

LETS GET GLOSSY
When I want to look like the ultimate diva I add full shine to my lips, but instead of buying a glossy lipstick, I add a dab of vitamin E oil, coconut oil or Vaseline to my lips and smooth over my lips after lipstick is applied. This is a great way to get that glossy look without having to buy a glossy lipstick.

NO TO EYEBROW PENCILS
I NEVER buy brow pencils, especially if I already have a brown or black liner in my makeup bag. Natural colored liners will do the trick, and using this will be one less thing you have to carry in your makeup bag. Less is best in my case.

Hope my makeup tips are helpful. Stay tuned for the first post on our vacation adventures. So excited to share all the deets.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Sincerely,

Deidra Marie