What to Wear to Work: Mixed Patterns

Some of us may be nervous to mix patterns but it is time to stop being scared. I am from the Garanimals era, where people seem to like for everything to match from head to toe but the more I see mixed patterns, the more I love them!

My girl, Jacki rocked the mix patterns to work this week and I had to feature her on the blog!

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The 2 patterns are similar, in the fact that they are both floral prints but still very different.

I would also like to welcome Miss Jacki to the natural hair club – She looks simply beautiful with the short cut she is rocking.

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Do you like to mix patterns? Or are you scared?

 

(What Jacki is wearing: Jaket: J. Crew, Skrit: Pint Apple, Shirt: WD NY)

Photo Credit: Yani

 

 

 

 

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Awesome Product Alert (APA) – Kay Vel Creme Press

It is very rare that I find products that I MUST blog about but low and behold I have found the ONE! Kay Vel Creme Press is one of the BEST products that I have ever purchased for my hair since I have been natural – Let me tell you all about it.

Disclaimer: My hair is 4C – I call it 4Z on the natural hair scale – so this product may be too heavy for a looser curl pattern.

Kay Vel Creme Press is for straightening hair using heated tools such as flat irons or curling irons. I recently had my hair dyed purple and when I was in the salon, I noticed a stylist in the salon using a light blue product to put amazing curls into a client’s hair using a flat iron – I mean, those curls were popping! The client also had natural hair – so I paid close attention but did not want to ask what she was using because she was not the person doing my hair. So you know what I did, right – GOOGLED it! Yes, I Googled “light blue product used for straightening natural hair” and BOOM – Kay Vel appeared on my screen – it was like an AHHHH HAAAA moment:

Kay Vel

So, as I read reviews and watched videos on Kay Vel it seemed almost too good to be true! I was thinking that maybe it was one of those products only sold to a licensed stylist. I decided to take a trip to my local beauty supply store and asked if they carried Kay Vel and was happily surpised when the store sales person pointed me in the direction of the Kay Vel nicely sitting on the shelf just waiting for me to come along to purchase it. So I did and for only $14!

Still skeptical about the results that I would personally have with Kay Vel, I took it home and thought about when I try it out. I opted for the next evening as I was excited but I was also ready to be disappointed if it did not work for me.

So now, my first use of Kay Vel was on my hair when it had already been straightened at the salon but needed to be freshened up since I had picked the most humid 2 weeks of the year in the DC area to get my hair straightened – really smart!  Anyway – Can I just tell you that I was amazed at how the Kay Vel made using my flat iron so much easier. I did not have to use them on such a high setting and I only had to do one pass of the flat iron on each section of hair. I was impressed but the real challenge would be the result on my freshly washed ultra natural state of hair – Would the Kay Vel still impress?

YES IT DID! I decided to bite the bullet and wash my hair over the past weekend. I did the normal wash, color treated replenish pack and conditioner and then blow dried my hair on medium heat (I did place a little bit of Kay Vel on my damp hair prior to blow drying)…. here are the blow out pics – And YES, I am a Redskins Fan #HTTR!:

Next comes the flat iron – I use a Babyliss Pro Titanium flat iron that I purchased from Bed Bath & Beyond last year for approximately $140.00 – great flat iron! So this begins the real test – could my hair really get as straight as it was when I left the salon? Yes, Yes, Yes it can and it DID! I only used  very small amount of Kay Vel on each section of hair that I was flat ironing.

I am AMZED at the results!

The Final Results:

Here is what Kay Vel looks like opened:

More of the final look:

I cannot say how much I love this product and how impressed I am that a $14 jar of creme that will last a very long time is the TRUTH when it comes to straightening natural hair! Thank you, Kay Vel for making my straight hair life easier!

What do y’all think of my results? Have you used Kay Vel before? Let me know what you thought of it.

What to wear to work: Black & White & Bright

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Nothing makes me feel better than bright colors. I am also a huge fan of black and white – so why not put the two together!

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What I am wearing:

Black & white polka dotted shirt (Dress Barn) – Thrifted for $2.00

Yellow knee length skirt (Golden Flava) – Thrifted for $3.00

Black strappy sandals (Cloudwalkers) – Thifted for $2.50

The entire outfit cost $7.50. I did have to get the zipper replaced on the skirt which was $10 at my local dry cleaners – so if you ad that on, the entire outfit was a whopping $12.50!!

Shopping on a dime (Thrifting) is one of my favorite things to do!

 

Photo Credits:  Jacki Manson (Photographer)

I am BACK! (I took a short hiatus)

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I took a hiatus from Naturally Curvaceous to take a minute to focus on what I want for myself and what I want for this blog.

I am BACK!

My promise to my subscribers and readers is that I will post at least once a week on my blog. I will still focus on fashion (on a dime), natural hair, being curvaceous, weight loss, and of course my random thoughts.

What I wanted to achieve for myself was:

  • A healthier lifestyle – some of which I will document on this blog
  • An addition to our family – a Yorkie named Nitro that I am sure you all will meet soon
  • A way to incorporate more family time into my schedule (with fun, free events, of course!) I will be sharing those with you as well.

For the blog I want to stay true to my authentic self and hopefully post information that is entertaining and interesting.

Thank you for sticking with me through this time, now let’s get on with it!!

Yani

Pay it Forward with Random Acts of Kindness

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As Thanksgiving approaches it would be easy to list all of the things that I am thankful for. Instead, I want to challenge each one of my followers to Pay it Forward.

The Pay it Forward concept is that you do something nice for 3 people and then each of those people do something nice for 3 people and the cycle just continues with random acts of kindness. Imagine how much better off the world would be if Paying it Forward never ended.

By Paying it forward with random acts of kindness we can create a world where everyone would have something to be thankful for.

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There are many ways to Pay it Forward. The ways I like best are doing something for a stranger that does not know you and will not feel obligated to do something nice for you but in turn will Pay it Forward to someone else. I have done things like paying for the next person behind me at a toll booth, if someone behind me in line at the grocery store has a couple of items, I will pay for their items along with mine. Giving to the homeless. Taking the time to say hello to strangers. Putting coins into expired meters.

You can also Pay it Forward for people you do know. Things like free babysitting, writing thank you notes for coworkers that have helped you with projects or events atwork, giving people compliments, taking the time to listen to someone that needs to vent and many others.

Many people are severely depressed during the holidays.  Small gestures can make a huge difference! Most things that you can pay forward take less than 5 minutes and less than $5. Let’s make someone’s  and Pay it Forward!

Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Random Rant: Metro Rail…. Longest Commute EVER!

Today was the longest time I have EVER sat on the Metro Rail. My short little 20 minute commute turned into 1 hour and 15 mins. Why you ask? There was a cracked train rail on the line that I was on, but about 20 stops away from where I was and it still had an effect on the entire line as trains were just sitting at each station waiting for the problem to be resolved.

I truly understand that things happen – but why must they always happen when I am in a hurry? I wonder how many people have been fired over Metro Madness – not having an understanding supervisor like I do that say “some things are out of your control”. I wonder how many times people have gotten the side eye or reprimanded when they said that there were Metro delays.

Do you live in the DMV area? If so, share your Metro Madness story with me….

Office Style: Neutral & Stripes

My favorite day of the week is Friday! It is the ending of the work week and the beginning of the weekend. Another thing I love about Fridays is that in my office it is casual dress day.

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As the weather is getting colder in the DMV it is time to pull out the layers, jackets and boots. I absolutely HATE cold weather but the one thing that I do like about the colder temps is that I get to wear scarves! I love, love, love scarves. There are so many ways to wear them and accessories any outfit.

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For Friday that just passed, I chose to wear neutral colors and accent with black & white stripes.

Something that you will come to learn about me is that I RARELY pay full price for any article of clothing or shoes. I am big on thrift shopping, closet sales, and clearance racks.

The Look:

  • Drape jacket by Inspire (purchased at a closet sale for $20)
  • Black & white striped shirt by Forever 21 (purchased at a thrift store for $2)
  • Jeggings by Mossimo (purchased at a thrift store for $3)
  • Boots by Target (purchased on Ebay for $20)
  • Necklace (bought at a closet sale for $5)
  • Crossbody bag by Urban Expressions (purchased at a closet sale for $10)
  • Scarf (purchased at a thrift store for $3)

My entire outfit cost under $100!!! Now that is what I am talking about! Looking stylish all while keeping some coins in your pocket!

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What is your favorite outfit to wear on casual Friday?

Photos taken by Jacki Welch (my fabulous colleague!)

Steppin out Style: Curvy & Twisted’

Today I stepped out to The Shopaholic Suite event that was hosted by Kim of  Curvy CEO in Silver Spring, MD. The event was amazing – you do not know what you missed out on, if you were not there! Not only did I get to find some statement pieces for my wardrobe, but I met some really amazing people – More about the event in the next post.

Since I was stepping out to a shopping event, I wanted to be super comfortable so I chose to be Curvy & Twisted:

Full outfit cropped

Outfit details: grey twisted high low shirt by Starstruck Fashion(through Ebay), black tank by Old Navy (sold out), black jeans by Forever 21, shoes by Bandolino (through Macy’s) and clutch by Nine West (sold out), my Yani nameplate necklace created by Monogramhub and bangles bought from Burlington.

Yani necklace Twisted The shoes The purse and bangles The back of shoes

This outfit was definitely comfortable for my day of shopping and hanging out with some of the best bloggers in the biz.

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Hair by me: Faux bun with Marley braiding hair

Photos taken by Neko Wright (that is my son and he is 10 years old- I love that lil dude!)

Natural Hair: To straighten or not to straighten?

Since going natural I have learned that there is a great debate going on – To straighten or not to straighten natural hair.

I had to try it for myself to find out what all the fuss was about.

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The first time I went to a Dominican salon. They used high heat blow drying and a flat iron and my hair was “laid for the gods” BUT it also had a burnt smell that took me a week to get rid of. About 6 months later I tried again, this time going to a salon that was recommended to me by a friend. At the salon, the stylist used a hot comb and a flat iron. Again, my hair was very straight but again had a slight burnt smell. Each time, my hair reverted right back to my “4Z” coily pattern – so no damage was done to my hair.

I vowed I was not going to straighten my hair again just due to the smell alone, but one thing made me try again – my fiance’ loves it when I straighten my hair – so…..this time I decided I would flat iron it myself, and get the best flat iron so that I would not have that nasty burnt smell in my hair. I went out and bought the Babyliss Nano Titanium flat iron that many people on social media sites raved about.

OH THE PROCESS….. yall have NO IDEA! It is the most tedious, time consuming process ever! The first time I tried it, my hair was straight, bouncing and behaving but again that doggone burnt smell again – EWWWW! I tried it again with the flat iron on a lower setting but that did not get my hair straight at all.

At this point, I am throwing in the towel… I will do it again, maybe once a year but I cannot go through this process of small, tiny sections and using heat protectants, and trying to figure out which heat setting to use all for the style to last 2 days – nope, no thank you!

So the answer for me is – NO STRAIGHTENING! I have come to love my “4Z” coily texture and learned many hair styles to rock so that is what I am going to continue to do – but I will straighten it for him once a year.

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What is your process for getting your natural hair straight? What products do you use? Do tell!

Natural Hair: My GO TO Style – TWIST OUT

Ever since going natural, 3 years ago, my favorite hair style has always been the TWIST OUT!For me, it is simple and easy to twist my hair and I like that the twisting out actually gives my “4Z” hair some great texture!

I only use Cantu shea butter leave in conditioning repair cream to do my twists.

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Sometimes I twist my hair while it is damp but the shrinkage is REAL. To me, it is better when I do my twists on dry hair.

Some days I will wear my twists in and take them out after a few days. This allows me to work out at the gym without wrecking my hair!

What is your favorite go to natural hair style?

Cannot forget my twist out selfie:

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