Engage!11 Cayman Islands

Hi beauties:

As you all should know by now, I am from the Cayman Islands and I also reside on the largest of the three islands, Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands are one of the Caribbean's hot spots for weddings and have been featured numerous times as a top destination for luxury weddings.

With that being said, Engaging Concepts is presenting its 3rd annual, high-impact luxury wedding businesses summit at the Ritz Carlton in the Cayman Islands, engage!11:: cayman islands which is slated to take place November 14-17, 2011.
 

Presenters such as Randy Fenoli from TLC's Say Yes to the Dress, Jasmine Star- International Wedding Photographer, Wedding Cake Diva Sylvia Weinstock from BRAVO's "Top Chef: Just Desserts" and many more will be in the Cayman Islands for this event.

Intimate by design, and limited in number of attendees and speakers, engage!11 :: cayman islands returns to spectacular Grand Cayman — to one of the most celebrated resorts in all the Caribbean: The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.


A gathering of the ‘best of the best’ in the wedding industry—from speakers to attendees—engage! events seek to offer something not found in other conferences. Careful attention is paid to creating an intimate atmosphere of effortless networking, allowing for an open exchange of ideas, information, inspiration and candid discussions of the issues and opportunities facing everyone in today’s luxury wedding industry. [Source: engage!11:: cayman islands]


I hope to attend this spectacular event and share pictures with you.

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Curly Nikki's NY Meetup!!

Hey dolls:

This past week, I was in NY on official business doing the usual 9-5 and I must say that it was a great business trip.

Whilst in NY, I met up with the lovely Franchesca Ramsey of Chescalocs on Youtube who invited me to an exclusive natural hair event in celebration of Curly Nikki's website launch 3 years ago. This event was to meet CurlyNikki in New York as she teamed up with MIZANI. I graciously accepted the invite without hesitation and was so happy that Franchesca thought to extend the invitation to me. I met amazing women with all types of natural hair textures who were surely rocking their street styles. I also networked with other natural hair enthusiasts (Francheska Medina, Cipriana) makeup artists, photographers (Terrence Jennings , Nicole Melton etc) and just beautiful women all around. It was truly a spectacular event.

CurlyNikki's meetup was held at the luxurious Carlton Hotel in New York with the after party at Pranna Resturant.

As you all know, I love my camera and never leave home without it so here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Franchesca & I :)

Fran (http://www.heyfranhey/), Cipriana & Nikisha (http://www.urbanbushbabes.com/)

Francheska & Franchesca

Us

HeyFranHey!!

Natural beauties!!

I was blown away by this lady's beauty- can we say black barbie?! Jade Eshete

Sonya Spann and Friend

Me & Adina Juliet

Taren Guy & Fran

Check out her blog: http://fashiontonheights.blogspot.com

 Simone Nair & I

Picture by Terrence Jennings

I was too busy posing here and Jade was laughing at me. LOL! (Picture by: Terrence Jennings)

This is my street style! What's yours?

For more fabulous pictures of the event, visit http://www.essence.com/. Also, here's a pic of me

Credit: Thanks to the amazing photographer Terrence Jennings for allowing me to use some of his images.

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HAIR Stuff: Loc Braid Out

I know it's been a little while since I have posted anything here on my blog but I wanted to share a quick hair post with my loc braid out.



HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS LOOK:

Step 1- Wash/ wet hair
Step 2- Braid or plait hair into desired size
Step 3- Allow hair to dry completely (I wore my plaits for 2 days)
Step 4- Undo braids and style as desired

It's super easy so try it and let me know how it works out for you.

Picture taken 1 week after braid out

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Deep Cleaning Locs

Do you wash your locs frequently in an effort to keep them clean and healthy? Well I have some bad news for you. Shampooing your locs frequently will not clean them as much as you would really like.

Because locs are formed by matted hair, it is virtually impossible for a simple weekly shampoo to thoroughly remove all the gunk, build-up from conditioners, grease, moisturizers and all the other "good" stuff we put in our hair, so it is necessary to deep clean.

How do you deep clean locs and what do you use?

Deep cleaning locs is very easy and it can be done by using inexpensive products from your kitchen cupboard such as apple cider vinegar (ACV), baking soda, salt and lime juice. By mixing these products together with warm water and pouring it or submerging your hair in the mixture, you are on your way to cleaner, healthier locs.

What is a good ACV mixture?

So far, I have found that 3/4 cups of ACV, 1/4 cup of baking soda and LOTS of warm water (about 6-8 cups) is a healthy mixture. Feel free to add more water to dilute the ACV because ACV on its own is extremely acidic. I have seen mixtures that include salt and lime juice which are included to neutralize the ACV, however, I personally have not used these ingredients.

What are the benefits of deep cleaning locs with ACV ?

The main benefits of deep cleaning locs with ACV are 1- softer locs, 2- reduction of grease and dandruff build-up, 3- shinier locs and 4- a great alternative cleanser.

BEWARE of what you will see when  you pre-wash or rinse with the ACV mix.

Ewww, the water AFTER using the ACV mix in my locs. Whoever thought my hair was this yucky!?!?!?!?!

One other important point to note is rinsing. Whether you pre-wash with the ACV mix or use it after you wash your locs, rinsing the mix thoroughly is of utmost importance. Ensure that you rinse until the water runs clear. As mentioned earlier, ACV is extremely acidic and although you want to deep clean your locs, you do not want to damage your locs.

For more information including videos on the ACV mix, visit:

Chescalocs at YouTube- ACV and Baking Soda Mix

The Bronze Goddess YouTube- ACV Deep Clean

Disclaimer- This is not a paid post. All information herein is based on personal experience and opinion.

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Featured as a Loc Star!!!

Hi beauties:

Today I was featured on Chescaleigh's (Franchesca Ramsey) Loc Stars on YouTube. Chescaleigh is a graphic designer, vlogger, singer, entertainer and actress who lives in New York. She has a YouTube channelwhere she creates posts about pretty much anything and recently included weekly posts of "Loc Stars". Loc Stars is Chesca's way of sharing other locked beauties' creative hairstyles or their recreations of her hairstyles because she also has dreadlocks.

For a chance to be a "Loc Star", Chesca encourages anyone and everyone to post pictures of their loc creations on her FB Page and then she chooses the styles she likes the best and post them on her YouTube channel.

To view me in this week's Loc Stars, click this link: Loc Stars 9-8-2011

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Mini haul & review- BH Cosmetics

Hi beauties:

Recently I realized that my makeup kit had just about everything in it except some really good lip liners and I guess the reason for that is because I personally do not use them (I'm not a lipstick kinda chic) and I rarely use them on clients. However, I did realize that errrrmmmm, you gotta have um so I did a wee haul of some very inexpensive but quality (in my opinion) lip liners from BH Cosmetics and wanted to share my thoughts about these liners with you. I don't know about you but I have severely reduced purchasing makeup products or makeup unless I absolutely, definitely have to buy them/ need them. There are just way too many products, brands and options which in a way is a good thing but a bad thing if you're addicted to makeup and shopping like me.

My apologies for the amateur photography not serving justice but here are a few pics

L-R: Candy, Raspberry, Nude, Rouge, Earth, Blossom, Retro

Candy, Raspberry, Blossom

Candy:- Soft, baby pink

Raspberry:- Rich, darker pink

Blossom:- Reddish, plummy pink

Earth, Retro, Rouge, Nude

Earth:- Just as the name suggests. a very rich, reddish, brown, earthy color

Retro:- A true, classic red

Rouge:- dark, red-brown

Nude:- nude (perfect for a dark eye look)

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post and all information herein is based on my own opinion. All products were purchased by me.

My 4 P's

PRODUCT

Lips have never looked so sweet! Enjoy the flirty, yummy, light pinks of cotton candy and bubble gum -- all spun together in one fantastically fun lip crayon (source: bhcosmetics.com)

1.1g / 0.038 oz Waterproof lip liner. The colors are rich, super pigmented and have a creamy and smooth texture that dries to a completely matte finish. I also found that these pencils were smudge proof so apply lightly and blend quickly otherwise you'll have a harsh, drawn on, unblended lip line. The staying power of these liners are unbelievable. The liners easily glides on, dries in a few seconds and is only removed by using soap or makeup remover.

PRICE

For a reasonably, quality product, these liners only cost US$2.95 as compared to other brands that are far more expensive.

PURCHASE

These waterproof lip liners are BH products and can be purchased from BH Cosmetics. BH Cosmetics also ships internationally :)

PACKAGE

BH Cosmetic waterproof liners come as a standard slim, black, pencil with a colored base to help you identify the color of the pencil with the cover is on. The liners are about 6 inches long and weighs 0.038 oz which is light as a feather.

PROS
* Easy-glide
* Creamy, smooth texture
* Super affordable
* Everlasting staying power


CONS
* Only 9 colors
* Dries too quickly
* Hard to remove

Would I purchase these products again? Yes I probably would....

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Fancy Peacock

Hey beauties:

Here's another quick post of my fancy peacock makeup look. The "peacock" makeup look has been created and recreated so many times. True peacock colors are blue, yellow and green but you will note from my re-creation that I have incorporated purple and fushia to give my peacock a little umph!

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Random Creative Hairstyles

This is a collection of some random loc hairstyles that I've done. Hope you enjoy and feel free to try!

Bear in mind that these pictures are in no particular date order.

 

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HAIR-SPIRATION: Ledisi Young

Here is a quick post on my 'daytime' version of Ledisi's signature up-do hairstyle. I say daytime for this version because if I were going out at night, I would have brought the front of my hair lower on to my forehead just as she wears it, but I did not want to go all out for the daytime.

It is actually a very easy hairstyle and I would encourage you to try this look if you want a unique, simple yet sophisticated look.

Ledisi Young- super, awesome, talented RnB/Jazz/Gospel singer

My 'daytime' version of her signature look

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Frequently Asked Questions about my hair

Frequently Asked Questions about my hair?



1. Is your hair real?
Yes, my hair is real- all of it.


2. How did you get it red?
I had to bleach it first and then apply the color


3. How long have you had it like that?
I started growing my locks in October 2004 so that would make it about 6yrs and a few months.

4. Will you cut it?
I don't know. If it gets to a point where it is unmanageable, I will cut it.

5. Can you wash it?
Yes, it is hair therefore it can be washed

6. How do you keep it so neat?
I am very particular about my hair and I ensure that it is taken care of.

7. How many locks do you have?
108

8. How long will you let it grow (length-wise)?
I am not sure. It all depends on how I feel at a particular point in my journey

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How I do my brows!!

Hi beauties:

As you all know (or should know), your brows frame your face. If you did not know this, well now you do.

Ungroomed brows in my opinion look horrible. No matter how fierce your makeup is, if your brows are unruly and out of shape, then your makeup does not look completed.

One of the most frequently asked questions that I receive other than 'is your hair real', is "who does your brows"? Well the answer to that is, "I do my brows". So today, I wanted to share a quick step-by-step pictorial of how I do my brows.

Feel free to try it and let me know how it works out. It may look like alot of steps but once you get the hang of it, it does not take long.

STEP 1- Brush/comb your brows upward with a brow brush/ comb or a clean toothbrush

STEP 2- With a brow liner, line the bottom of your brow with a color that is about 2 shades lighter than your hair (on your head) color, following your natural brow shape 

STEP 3- With the same brow liner, line the top of your brow about 1/3 of the way, following your natural brow shape

STEP 4- Using a small angled brush, blend the brow liner to remove the harsh line you drew

STEP 5- Using another small angled brush, define the brow by applying concealer (about 2-3 shades lighter than your complexion) under the brow

STEP 6- Using the same angled brush used to apply the concealer, drag the concealer downward

STEP 7- Blend the concealer

STEP 8- That's it!

The brushes I use

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