See you next year!

It's the holidays folks, and I am taking a planned and needed hiatus from my blog and probably all social media as a whole for the next 2 weeks. I have some special things planned for the next coming year so I'm taking some time to get my mind right- relax, relate and release.

In the meantime, I will be spending time with my family, eating more than I need to and praising God for the many blessings he has given me this past year. I'm not gonna lie, it has been tough. With the loss of my grandmother, financial burdens and the stress that comes with marriage and children, I have wondered what exactly does it take to get hospitalized for exhaustion, cause I think I'm there. But, with all the ups and downs, there has been the same constants in my life and they have been my family and friends who love me and the God who has never left me.

So while I know that the politically correct thing to say would be "Happy Holidays", I'm going to say with a full fledged heart, Merry Christmas because Jesus is my all and he is definitely the "reason for the season."

I want to leave you with my new favorite Christmas song by CeeLo Green and it's called "Mary Did You Know". I didn't find out until I was researching the lyrics that it is a remake (several times over), but because his version is the first I heard, it is my favorite. And it is the truth.

 The lyrics to this song are so powerful.

"Mary Did You Know"

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

With that said, I wish you many blessings, a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and as always,

Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty,
                                    Rhonda

A Curly Girl Christmas

Now, you know I couldn't forget about my curly girls. It's crunch time and the perfect gift is out there somewhere. So, if you are looking for a gift for that natural girl on your list (yourself included), here are a few ideas to get you started. I had to limit each category to three because I could literally go on forever.

Hair Care:
Ouidad Expert Curl Kit
Sephora- $34



Carol's Daughter Olive Oil Infusion At Home Treatment
carolsdaughter.com- $25
I absolutely love this treatment. I have never been the type to "pre poo", but when I got this (as a gift by the way), I totally became a convert. My hair feels so good and less frizzy after using this.


Deva Curl Trial and Travel Kit
Ulta- $29.95
I haven't tried this yet, but it's definitely on my list. I've heard some good things about Deva Curl.


Hair Tools:
Tangle Teezer
Sally's- $12.99
This is my favorite detangling brush.

Curlformers Styling Kit
Sally's- $69.99
Curlformers are the perfect solution for those who want spiral curls without the heat damage. Learning the hook takes a little work, but once you get the hang of it, you'll have your hair set in no time.

Huetiful Hair Steamer
huetiful.myshopify.com- $109.95
I don't have this yet, but it is a facial steamer and facial steamer in one.


Hair Books:
Thank God I'm Natural by Chris-Tia Donaldson
B&N- $9.99 (ebook)
After reading this book I went from already being natural to wearing my naturally textured hair. It gave me that motivation I needed to accept my hair for what it was.



Better Than Good Hair by Nikki Walton
B&N- $10.98 (pre-order)



Good Hair by Lonnice Bonner
B&N- $9.95


Hair Accessories:
afriquelachic.com

I want these earrings, like yesterday.
There are so many cute finds on this site.

vcreations.biz

Her head wraps are on point. 

ettaflyy.com/shop.html

I have that Lil' Miss Sunkissed shirt for my daughter
and two of the Naturally Flyy shirts for myself.

Natural Hair Subscriptions:
Curlbox- sold out right now, but can be put on waiting list. $20/ Month

Curlkit- $20/ month


Sexy Locks Hair Box from Naturalicious.net
- 30 day natural hair care system $39.99/ a month
Can choose kinky/coily Edition or curly/ wavy edition

Short, sweet and to the point cause it's crunch time now. Holla!

Wishing you Love, peace and Soul Deep Beauty!

All I want for Christmas is...yep, still make-up- Part 3

So I gave you some great make-up gift ideas for the natural beauty and the party girl. Here's a list that any make-up lover will swoon for. This is literally short and sweet (maybe not so simple) list that you can't go wrong with.

Beauty Blender Duo Set- $39.95

Love the beauty blender for my foundation application.

Tarte Picture Perfect Duo- $16

Comes with deluxe sample of Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara 

Anastasia Beverly Hills ULTAmate Brows- $29

Comes with retractable eyebrow pencil in either medium ash or ash blonde,
mascara, tweezers and the Brow Duality highlighting pencil. My favorite brow pencil.
Ulta exclusive product.

Zuca Pro Artist Bag- $350+

Now I know the price tag on this bag is high, but the durability and organization
factor alone is priceless when you are a makeup lover on the go.
This one is definately on my wish list.

This next product is for the true make-up enthusiest:

Make-up Forever Be Your Own Make-up Artist- $950

This product unfourtunately is not in stock at time of post, but you can  get your name on the
notification when it is. Decked out with lighted mirror, detachable legs and
38 MAKE UP FOREVER products.

If you can't find a gift for that make-up lover of of the three lists I gave you, I don't know what to tell you other than "good luck." That's all for now.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty

Foundation in a can?

Yes, there is and it's actually a great find. I have been using this for a while on and off and have finally decided whether I like it or not. It is Maybelline Dream Nude Air Foam Foundation. Here are the stats:



16 Colors (Mine is Cocoa)
SPF 16
$8.44
Lightweight and comparable to air brush foundation

Pros:
- Who doesn't love lightweight foundation, plus the coverage was just enough to cover some pigmentation.
- Easy to use for those of us who don't mind using our hands. I can put on foundation either way. But, I will admit it got a little messy because my faucet knob was brown from turning it on with the hand with foundation all over it.
- The price is phenomenal. A good foundation under $10. You can't beat that.

Cons:
- I would only recommend this product if you have normal skin. It is just like airbrush in the case that if you have dry spots, acne, hair or any texture on your skin, it will show and it will not look good.
- It dries quickly so you have to move fast when applying.

Overall I would say that if you have normal or combination skin that is not too dry, that this would be a good foundation to try.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty

All I want for Christmas is...still make-up- Part 2

If you missed the first list for natural/classic make-up girls, make sure you go peep that out. This next gift list is for the party girls. They are trend setters and don't mind making a make-up statement.

Ka'oir Gift Set- $62.99

Includes lipstick, nail lacquer, glitz, glitz applicator, eyeshadow and lip pop

MAC Pro Lip Palette/ 6 Preferred Pinks and Editorial Orange- $40 each




Magnolia Makeup Blush Kaleidoscope- $50

You get 9 great pigmented blushes in this kit. I love them.

Clinique Whole Lotta Color Set- $34.50


Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Pro's Picks Lip Tar Set- $49


Kat Von D Triple Threat Tattoo Liners- $39

These are my absolute favorite liners. They are  perfect for my signature winged eyeliner.

Sephora Collection Color Daze Blockbuster- $49.50



The Lip Bar Fall Collection- $130

What I love about this site is that you get to "try out" the
fabulous colors using their Lip Shots Link. 

So there you have it- my party girl makeup picks. Up next is a list of makeup and beauty products that can't fail. Until next time.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty

All I want for Christmas is...make-up

It's the first week of December and in a perfect world, all the gifts I need to get are not only purchased, but wrapped beautifully and sitting under my Christmas Tree. Unfortunately for me I do not have a single solitary gift in my possession (unless you count the layaway) and I already know that due to some unforeseen costs with my car, I will be in the mad rush at the mall the weekend before Christmas trying to check everybody off my list.

So if you are anything like me and you still have some gifts to get, let me help you out a little bit. I'm going to give you a few ideas to get the make-up lover, or even the make-up virgin for Christmas. (Most of these items are on my wish list too, so for those who know and love me enough to buy me a gift...hint, hint.)

The following gifts are great for the make-up lover who believes in natural beauty. She is all about healthy skin and classic looks that will never go out of style.

Bobbi Brown Rich Caviar Eye Palette- $47.50



Bobbi Brown Bellini Lip and Eye Palette- $75



Urban Decay Naked Palette and Naked 2 Palette- $50 each

This set includes a travel size Primer Potion 

This set includes a Lip Junkie lip gloss

Sephora Collection Gloss Lab- $25

NYX Nude on Nude Cosmetic Palette- $24.99

This is an Online Only product.

Josie Maran Get Glowing- Argon Beautiful Skin- $64

This is an online exclusive product.

Clarisonic Mia Skin Cleansing System- $119

The only product on the list that I actually own and it was a great  investment.

So there you have it. Check back next time for my make-up picks for the party girls in your life.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty.

The Fashion Files- Dazzling Bustier

So it's a week later and I am still feeling the creative high from the Styles in the City Fashion Show. I absolutely love what I do. I was asked by Eboni Rollins, the CEO of the ERollins Group to be a part of it and I was more than happy to. The first fashion showcase I did with her company was a wonderful experience as well. So I came, I saw, I beat them faces. Then as soon as the show wrapped, I had to hightail my behind home cause mother rises as 5:30 am Monday thru Friday. Unfortunately I didn't snap a single solitary picture (I need to work on that). I did get some video on my phone, but the quality is not the best. I may wind up on FB or a blog somewhere. But, in any case I had fun and enjoyed meeting and getting reacquainted with people in the business. Plus, I have another opportunity this week as I will be doing make-up for Walk Runway Fashion Show next week-end. I'm super excited.

That being said, even though I am a make-up artist, I have a little bit of designer and stylist in me too. I've always had a small interest in it (my cousin and I created my prom dress), but the latest urge in fashion I blame on Project Runway. After the first season I took sewing classes, got a sewing machine and have been secretly making items here and there for a while. But for some reason I wanted to make something and I couldn't figure out what, until I remembered something I saw on Pinterest. (Sorry, I didn't pin it yet, but I will.) It was a bedazzled bra and I thought it was sooo cute. I have a couple of Holiday parties to go to and being a Diva on a Budget I have refrained from making clothing purchases (except that one time), so why not create my own blinged out bustier that I can style with a blazer or sweater for a creative, festive and sexy holiday look. So here's what I did.

The tools:
Longline bra
Black tread
Needle
Seed beads
White marking pencil
Measuring tape

The work:
First, I had to decide how I wanted the design to look. I knew I didn't want to cover the entire bra cup unless I had huge stones and gems to use, but since I had tiny seed beads, a design would be more practical.
Plus, all the beads had to be sewn on by hand. I started the first row doing them one at a time, then realized that I can sew two at a time and still have it look neat like I wanted.

So this is my progress so far. I'll post the end result and how I styled it in a couple weeks, after the holiday party.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty

Shout out to Curly Nikki!

So, for anyone who has ever talked natural hair with me, they know my go-to site has been curlynikki.com. Ever since I've been wearing my natural texture I have checked in with the curlynikki community at least twice a week. (It used to be everyday, but I had to learn that moderation is key.) Her site is filled with info on styles, products and not only loving your hair from root to tip, but loving yourself as well. I was so happy to find out that she has a book coming out next year and because I am a firm believer in women lifting each other up, I'm gonna shout her book out because you can pre-order now.

Congratulations to my hair guru and friend (in my head), Nikki Walton.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty

ps. here's the convo between me and my good friend :)