So I gently tugged it into a shape I liked, and tied a red ribbon around my hair.
I have the world's tiniest bow in there.
Somewhere.
Wow. I have a seriously shiny forehead.
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Christmas Ribbon Puff
After washing my hair, I kind of liked the bigness after I took my drying twists out.
Friday, 10 December 2010
So I henna'd...
But not my hair.
I henna'd my hands!
Here's the pattern whilst drying.
It took an ages to dry. The lovely lady who did it for me told me it would dry in an hour, 2 hours tops.
It took 5 hours to completely dry.
This included about 20 minutes under a hand dryer.
And I SMUDGED it.
This is what it looked like straight after I'd grown desperately bored and washed it off, about 5 hours later.
One of my friend's got hers done too and I'm very jealous at how her design darkens the further it goes down.
I think it was accidental, but it's still gorgeous.
Warning to anyone thinking of trying this: You peel. Not as in an orange. As in your skin. I never understood it when people who tanned or got sunburnt talked about peeling.
I was like, how does your skin peel?
I can now assume it looks somewhat like my hand a week after I got the henna done.
So be warned.
A bicarbonate of soda, brown sugar and olive oil scrub was used, followed by a thin covering of aloe vera gel for a couple of days sorted it out but it was still unpleasant.
But other than that, I've gotten all interested in henna designs now...
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Falcon's Amazing Modified Carrots
When I was in first year of university, I had an amazing flat mate from the states.
She was amazing.
She knew this guy, called Falcon, who had amazing hair, and who made this dish before my very eyes.
It was amazing too.
What can I say?
I'm surrounded by a lot of amazing things and people.
What I love about this dish is the pure simplicity - two to three typical kitchen ingredients, 10 minutes of your time, and bam, you're done! Helps you clear out those two or three or five carrots that always seems to be in the fridge, lurking about, like a Justin Bieber fan backstage, or a bogey in the bat cave.
Or maybe that's just me.
Everyone who has tasted this asks "What did you put in there?"
And then they say "No way!" when I tell them it's literally two ingredients.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil (optional)
2 carrots
1.5 tablespoons of chicken/vegetable bouillon/powdered stock.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, if you're using.
When the pan is hot, add the carrots and allow them to just cook for about 5 minutes, till soft.
Then add the stock and stir well, to make sure it's well distributed.
And...that's it.
No, really, that's it.
No, seriously, they're done! Serve as a side, with..well, anything. It's like James Bond in a suit - you somehow get the feeling it would somehow manage to fit in anywhere.
Unless you're not satisfied. In which case, you can do the hustle:
Enjoy.
Doing the hustle, as well as the carrots.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Monday Mission - And then...just Give
For me, the whole idea of giving is to give something and not expect something back.
I know that sounds pretty dang obvious, but at Christmas time, there's this continual idea of reciprocity that overhangs the whole thing.
That if you don't know what to buy, just spend a bucket load of money to alleviate the guilt.
That if I'm going to spend my precious money on you, you need to do the same for me.
Like, I spent £30 on you and you bought me a £1.99 bath set from Wilkinsons that I can't even USE since I'm allergic to it and GOSH it's like you don't even know me AT AL -
Ahem. Ignore that rant. That is something left over from last year. I'm different now.
Anyhoo. As a student, it's hard for me to give, because to be honest, I don't really have much.
So, the best thing I find I can give, is my time.
I volunteer, and I try and give my time to people who ask or need of it whenever I can.
I think it's easier to buy and gift something than to give your time, because time is priceless.
Giving isn't easy. And I admire people who can do it without even thinking.
One of my favourite examples is here.
Happy Monday,
A Simple Thing
Friday, 3 December 2010
Holey Sock Bun
Maybe you've got one.
At the bottom of your drawer.
You know.
That - that thing.
That sock. You know, with the hole in it.
It needs to throw it away, but then there's that sticky, haunting thought of "Nooooo, it's so comfy! And what can I do with the other one that it matches? It will be there in my sock drawer, all lonely and sniffly."
It's winter. Nobody wants to be lonely and sniffly, because that is not what Christmas is about.
Oh dear. I digress. That's the problem with being so merry.
So, you have the sock. What to do with the sock.
Easy. Snip off the toe bit. Snip it off the other one as well.
And then make a sock bun!
She does it on wet hair, but I don't like manipulating my hair whilst wet, so my hair was only slightly dampened.
Make sure you've washed the socks before putting them anywhere near your hair. Because cheesy smelling hair is never a good thing.
Unless you're Betty Spaghetti, I guess.
Here's mine:
You could see the sock/knee support I improvised with, so I covered it with some red ribbon.
Whoo! I feel Christmassy!
Thursday, 2 December 2010
British Frugalistas - Heads up!
When I stopped relaxing my hair, one of my biggest issues was finding stuff I could put in my hair without fear of some horrific outcome. I was 17, broke and my family thought I'd gone mental to try and live life without relaxers..
In short, money wasn't coming by easy. The websites I lurked on constantly recommended products that I couldn't afford ($60 for a hair cream? What, you putting pure gold in there or something?), or couldn't get a hold of (Target? Trader Joes? Whole Foods? What are these places? In the words of Liz Lemon: "I want to go to there...").
An abusive relationship with Wilkinson's Coconut Conditioner ensued.
The end was...unpleasant. And gunky *shudders*
So, I'm compiling a list of silicone-free products for us Curly/Coily/Fro endowed British lot that are under £5 (at the time of writing).
All of the products are on the high street (but everyone's high street is different...)
I haven't tried many of the products on this list, just the Inecto Coconut Conditioner and Original Source White Pear and Avocado conditioner, both of which are staples. All my information came from this thread on British Curlies. I'm not trying to encourage product junkie-ism!
Here we go!
Prices may almost definitely vary!
An Anon has kindly left this link that leads you to a pretty awesome forum thread listing CG friendly products available in the UK.
Other contributions are gratefully accepted:
Other contributions are gratefully accepted:
Low Poo Shampoos
Naked shampoos (available in Boots) £3.91
Halos n Horns Mango Melon Mayhem Shampoo and Conditioner priced £3.79
Tara Smith Big baby shampoo £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Tara Smith Feed the root shampoo £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Tara Smith C Curls shampoo £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Tara Smith Straight Away shampoo £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Body Shop Rainforest Shampoo Range around £2
Conditioners
Asda Jojoba £0.70 - £0.90
Dr Organics Aloe Vera £4.99 [Holland and Barrett]
Naked Conditioners [Boots] £1.29 - £3.99
Naked Unveiled Hydrating Conditioner (2 water soluble cones) - £3.99
Naked Rescue Conditioner - £3.91
Naked Rescue Repairing Hair Treatment Repairing Sachet - £1.29
Naked Richness Revealed Colour Protection Conditioner (2 water soluble cones) - £3.99
Naked Smooth and Silky Conditioner - £3.99
Naked Mildness Unadorned Sensitive Conditioner - £3.99
Naked Volume Unleashed Weightless Conditioner (2 water soluble cones) - £3.99
Original Source Conditioners £1+
Garneir Fructus Repair & Shine Conditioner - £1-£2
Inecto Pure Coconut Oil Conditioner - £2 [I get mine from BodyCare]
Superdrug Naturals Intensive Conditioner Coconut and Sweet Almond £1.89
Superdrug Naturals Conditioner Coconut and Sweet Almond (300ml) £1
Boots Ingredients Intensive hair mask Honey and Jojoba (350ml) £1.99
Boots Ingredients Intensive hair mask Coconut and Almond (350ml) £1.99
Faith in Nature conditioners for cowash - approx £3.90 - £4.50 [Health Food Stores]
Lustrasilk Shea Butter and Mango - £1.69-£3
Dr Organics Manuka Honey Conditioner approx £4.99 [Holland & Barretts]
Morrisons Fruits Conditioners £1+
Tara Smith Big baby conditioner - £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Tara Smith Feed the conditioner £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Tara Smith C Curls conditioner £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Tara Smith Straight conditioner £4.50 for 250ml, £2.50 for 100ml
Tesco Extracts Coconut Conditioner - £1.50
Body Shop Rainforest Shampoos - £4
Schwarzkopf Supersoft Bio Pomegranate Conditioner £1-£2
Loreal Elvive Full Restore Conditioner - £2.40
Deep Treatments:
L’oreal Elvive Nutri Gloss Intensive Shine Masque - £3.99
Andrew Barton S.O.S Help Me! £3.70 [Asda]
Gels
Boots Essential Gel - £1
Umberto Giannini Curl Friends Scrunching Jelly (200ml) - £4.50
L’Oreal Paris Studio Line Mineral Control Invisi’Gel (150ml) - £3.50
Eco Styler Krystal 473 ml - £2.00
Dr Organics Aloe Vera Gel - £4.99 (Holland and Barrett)
Tara Smith Rock On! Gel about £2 for 100ml but prices vary
Garnier Fructus Endurance gel £2-3 (not the invisible one)
Curl Creams
Boots Essential Pink Curl Creme - £1.29
Naked Curl Cream - £3.99
Serums
Naked Frizz Fighter - £5
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Fantasy Christmas Wishlist: Family Edition
Not for me. No, I don't really fancy anything. But one of the main reasons I love Christmas is because of the chance to shop in an unashamedly excessive manner for some of my favouritest people in the world!
It's December already, it's Christmas time! Well, not yet. But it's 24 days until the real deal! So I've started looking for gifts (I'm late, I know) So in order to procrastinate, I decided to compile a wish list of some of the things I'd get for the people in my life if money, time, resources etc were no object.
The Mama:
Ideas: Decadent, Relaxation, Nurturing
A trip to the Ayana Spa Resort in Bali.
The Diamond Miracle Treatment - involving a bath of 500 roses, a facial made of sea quartz and pure diamond dust, whilst being served champagne and strawberries? Oh my Lord, my mother would be slain by the spirit a thousand times over.
It's alright Mama. It's 'cos you're worth it.
The Pappy
Ideas: Mentally Stimulating, Nostalgic, Funky
Going to see Fela! The Musical
Because I know it would zap the funk of his favourite era into my Daddy, sending phenomonal feelings all the way around his body and have my lovely Pappy dancing like King Sonny himself down the aisles.
I don't think I'll tell him Jay-Z was involved in the production.
The Littlest Sis
Ideas: Cooler than me, more stylish than me, more fashionable than me.
I guess this is kind of cheating, since she gets three -
This shirt?
Under this Dress?
With these shoes?
She would actually be the first person to be arrested for thinking she's too cute. It would be too much. Even as her sister, I would be slain, lying prone on the floor crying "I can't take it! I just can't take it!".
The Rebel Sis:
Ideas: Creativity, Expression, Freedom
A Production Studio, for music and movies and other artsy outlets.
With her own team of lackeys that she could boss around.
She'd probably prefer it to be in New York, so that we weren't constantly interrupting her work.
Tough.
It would be in the basement/cellar of my mother's mansion, so I can get my kicks telling people my sister still lives with my mum.
The Bro:
Ideas: Games, Gadgets, Greatness.
To be honest, if I got him a car or something like that, I would literally own him. So that's not even difficult.
No, wait, I know!
Skateboard lessons from Tony Hawk!
There is a huge possibility that this option may make my mum cry...
Later this week, the Friends Edition!
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