A New Twist on a Classic

French Twists were super popular back in the 90's with their smooth and polished look.  Now when you go to Pinterest and search French Twist you will see a much more relaxed and "messy" look. There is a lot of texture in the new version which is great because then it is easy to do and it doesn't have to be perfect.

I started with my hair curled. Because my hair is naturally straight I need the curls to help with body and texture.  I then like to spray dry shampoo and back comb to help lift the hair a bit off my head.  Those two things seem to take the longest, so the video only highlights how I pin it up.

What I love about styles like this, and the chignon that I will show later, is that when it is hot you don't have to worry about your hair falling or your curls looking bad after a  day in the humidity.  These type of styles stay well on most types of hair.

Now if your hair is super thick you will have to work with it a bit more to get it to stay up. I would suggest using the really long bobby pins because they are going to have more holding strength for the weight of your hair. If you have thinner hair, use curls and dry shampoo to work in your favor.

Let's talk swimsuits!

Now this is not an ad at all. I just like you guys and thought I would tell you about this wonderful website called Cupshe.com.

I noticed this website advertising on Pinterest and I was slightly skeptical because they were showing all these cute swimsuits for only $20 some dollars. I thought swim suits are hard enough to find in the stores. Buying one online without trying it on will never work.

I eventually decided to order one that I kept seeing. I figured if I got it and it was super junky and low quality, no big deal.  I would only be out $22.

But was I ever wrong! These swimsuits are great for the price.  They are less than Target brand suits and by far better quality.  I could not believe it.

The fabric is nice and thick. It is not see through at all.  They are all lined well.  The colors have yet to fade at all from swimming.  The sizing is right on also. It fits perfectly to size.

The swimsuits are more trendy. They are not your typical classic suit, but that is why I loved it. I could buy a trendy suit and not pay a lot for it.

The only downfall is that it does take a few days for them to ship it to you. In this Amazon Prime world we live in, I had to be patient waiting for it.

I could not say enough good things about these swimsuits. If you are looking for a fun, trendy, new suit, go check them out.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Here are a few of my favorites!

Angle Braids

How is summer treating everyone?  The weather has been great here in Michigan. It is so nice when we can swim already in June.

We have been having fun with trying different hair styles on Kinsley. She found something similar to the one below on Pinterest and so we did our take on it.

The hardest part of this style is parting the braiding sections.  Once it is all parted you can choose which type of braid you like to do.  We did a Dutch Braid for the video.  It turned out very cute and we were slightly lazy and had her wear this style for 2 days. We just redid her pony tail each day.

Is there something you really want to see? Send me a message!

Slow Motion Braiding

I know that there are some people that need help with their braiding skills, so I thought I would show a French braid, a Dutch braid, and a fishtail braid all in slow motion.  This way you are really able to see how I move my hands and hold the hair in a much slower video.  You could even practice with the video going since it will be slower.  I really hope that helps you figure out that braid you have been wanting to learn!

Updos!

Generally I show you pictures or videos that you can do for yourself.  I will be doing a few nicer updos that you can actually do yourself in later posts, but since wedding season is here, and you might be in some weddings, I thought I would show you some updos from a recent wedding party that I did.  Hopefully it will give you some inspiration for the next time you need an updo.  A few things to keep in mind when thinking about an updo are, how your hair reacts to weather, the thickness of your hair, and how your hair holds curl.  Also, make sure you are clear with your stylist.  I always ask before I start, "What do you hate for your hair?"  That way I can have a more clear vision of what my client is thinking. Stylist do like when you bring a picture, even though we can't always replicate it, it helps point us in the right direction.  Remember to tell your stylist if you don't like something! You are paying for that service. You will not hurt your stylist's feelings and we want you to be happy with what we are doing.

Hopefully this gives you a little inspiration or idea for the next time you are getting your hair done!

Links and Love!

I thought every once in a while I would do a links and love post.  I will round up a few of my favorite things right now, including anything from hair, to kid items, to house, and recipes.  It will basically be a little bit of everything.

I like to switch things up every once in a while for hair items and I have been loving the Kenra 25 hair spray. It has a nice hold and does not leave your hair sticky at all.
Kenra 25 hairspray

We make these all the time in the summer, they are so easy.  They have all clean ingredients and everyone in the family likes them, which is a win in my book. You can get Adelle chicken sausage at Meijer, Wal-Mart, and Whole Food.  They make for an easy summer dinner.  I like to put them on the grill, then roast some veggies and sweet potatoes and dinner is done!  You can't buy these online, but go look for them in the stores. So good!


Our family has been obsessed with this game called Sushi-Go Party. Friends of ours introduced it to us and we love it.  The game doesn't get boring because you can always change your sushi menu.  We bought ours at Barnes and Noble with our 15% off.  If you have some older kids, give this game a try.  It is a lot of fun!
Sushi-go party

My sister-law gifted me this Lorac eyeshadow pallet.  It is a great neutral pallet.  It has a slight bit of shimmer but nothing obnoxious.  It is great for a majority of skin tones. The colors go on so smooth and lasts all day.

Lorac Black Tie Affair eyeshadow

My girl have been loving these active type dresses from Gymboree.  They are comfortable, sporty and my girls love that they are a dress.  They are perfect for summer, because they are not a heavy material.  I have a feeling my girls will be wearing these a lot!
Gymboree active dress

We are in the final 2 days of school, with just a half day of school tomorrow, so it is basically our weekend starting today. Yay!  All the school age moms are rejoicing! Hope every one has a wonderful weekend!

Something I Always Wanted to Try

I did something that I have been reading a lot about and and really wanted to try.  I finally got brave and went and had my eyelashes lifted and tinted.
So what does that mean?  An eyelash lift if basically a perm for your eyelashes.  The pictures do a good job on showing what the process looks like.

Here is my before picture, with nothing on my lashes. You can hardly see them. They are short and blonde.

They start the process by completely cleaning the eyelash area.  From there they lay white pads underneath the eyes.  They didn't bother me at all.  They are just there to prevent anything getting on the skin.

First she did the lift.  You close your eyes and she applies this thin bumped little mold to the base of your lid, right next to your eyelashes.  Then they put a small adhesive on the mold and with a small tool, she pushes all your eyelashes up on to the mold.

 Once all your eyelashes are on the mold, she starts the actual lifting process.  First she applies the a small amount of "perming solution"  No need to worry it is not like perm solution for your hair.  It does not burn at all.  She leaves it on for about 10-12 mins.

 Then wipes it off with a cotton swab. Once cleaned, she put on a setting solution. Again no burning or irritation to my eyes whatsoever. After 10 mins she wiped them off again.  Now my eyelash were lifted at this point.

 But this blonde girl needed them to be darkened up, so we did a tint also. It was so fast and simple.  I closed my eyes, she applied a special type of eye lash color to them, and then I laid for 15 mins in the quiet.  She then washed them off and they were ready to go.

The lift is expected to last about 2 months and the tint is expected to last about 1 month.

My thought?  I love them.  It is so nice to have dark eye lashes that are always curled.  I thought it would be awesome to not have to wear mascara if I didn't want to in summer.

I went to Kenneth Brandt Salon in Mason.  The salon is cute and the area I was in was peaceful and clean.  I had a esthetician named Riley. She was sweet and very informational with what she was doing.  She did an excellent job.  The tint and the lift was $70, which I didn't think was terrible, considering specialty services are usually the most expensive.  Since I like this so much I can see this being something I do again once it wears off. You are also able to get the services separately if you need one more then the other.

Here are my after pictures.

You are able to wear mascara and wash your eyes as normal.  Product does not affect the results of the lift and color.

If you have any questions about my experience let me know, or if you have any questions about the process call the salon. They were very helpful when I first called.

Get Your Bangs Out of Your Face!

Summer is finally in our sights! Yay!

I thought a post about getting your hair pulled back out of your face would be helpful for those days at work, or playing with the kids, or to change it up a little from your normal tucking it behind your ears, which is what I always end up doing.

In the video I show you four super easy and fast ways that I like to get my bangs out of my eyes.  I don't technically have short bangs but in either case, I am still referring the bang area of your hair.

These styles will work on most lengths. If you do have shorter bangs you will want to stay away from the fishtail braid, since those work best with longer hair. These are also great styles for your daughters' hair too. There are some days that Kinsley likes to leave her hair down and this just keeps it out of her eyes.

Two Stranded Twist!

Dutch Braid!

Fishtail Braid!

Have a great weekend!