HairGazm Friday!!!!

 

 

 

It's Friday! Can I get a whoop whoop! Yes people, it's time to set the weekend off right with HairGazm Friday!!! So sit back and enjoy the ride as Naturally Atlanta kicks it into high gear by giving you hairgazm after hairgazm with our Natural hair inspiration spot light! Ready or not, here it comes!

 

 

 

 

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Yvie is Naturally Fierce!

 

CherryCurl:  What inspires your style?

Yvie: My style is inspired by art. I love different textures, silhouettes, graffiti, color, prints and stand out pieces. Right now I'm kind of going through a style transition. I'm becoming more playful, experimental, and "grown up". I'm really transitioning from being the girl who wears lots of "cute" clothes to the girl who has fierce style. The key for me is to have a style that can incorporate trends, runway, high, low and everyday pieces into a staple look that automatically says "Yvie" when you see it.


CherryCurl: How do you keep your hair looking fierce?

Yvie: My hair... well I LOVE big hair. Maybe because I am a Leo, so my hair is like my mane. I kind of switch up my routines whenever I change my hair, so since I just recently changed my hair color, I'll just break down my current routine and the products I use:
Every weekend I do a hot oil treatment either with coconut oil or olive oil on dry, unwashed hair by sitting under the overhead dryer with a plastic cap for 20-25 minutes. Then I wash and condition with the Kinky Curly Shampoo and detangling leave-in conditioner. I dry my hair with an old t-shirt (towels cause split ends) till it's a little more than damp and then apply a deep conditioner by Cantu and add one of the oils on top and sit under the overhead dryer again for 20-30 minutes. I don't rinse it out because this one can either be left in or rinsed out. Then I just twist my hair up and put on my satin bonnet. If I go out, I'll wrap a turban over my bonnet so my hair is protected all day.

I usually steam my hair in the shower every night by not wearing a shower cap and leaving my hair out. This is how my hair stays moisturized over night. About mid-week, I'll use Giovanni's Leave- in Conditioner if needed. That conditioner really defines my curls so it's my go-to for all my "out" styles. I'll usually lightly spray water on my hair every morning before styling.

I sleep on satin pillow cases and I wear a satin bonnet infused with coconut oil and that's pretty much it.

CherryCurl: Wow, alot of people just don't understand how much time and patience it takes to care for curly hair!

Well, I've told you before that I personally think you are stunning!  Could you please tell all of our followers' here on Naturally Atlanta how/where we can see more of your Fabulous Style.

Yvie: You can find me on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Chictopia, and Lookbook. You can find the links to all my social networks on my blog http://www.makeupyourrunway.com/.

I try to offer different things on each network so people get a different experience from each. I strongly suggest people like my FB page and follow me on IG and Youtube because I have so many things planned for those accounts. Plus, I offer style tips and make-up tutorials (and eventually hair tutorials) on Youtube and IG.

CherryCurl: Thank you so much Yvie for your time and being such a fashion inspiration!

Let's Talk Clear Skin!

At 31 years old, the health and appearance of my skin has become increasingly important to me. Growing up, I've always had acne and blemish prone skin. In my younger years, I primarily relied on silicic acid products to help with my pimple problems, and they did for the most part, but the harsh unnatural chemicals in the products always left the skin on my face looking  dry and lifeless.

But  with age comes wisdom, and thanks be to God and the good old Internet, I've discovered many natural ways to keep my skin blemish free without robing it of it's moisture and radiance. Now I can proudly say that at 31, my skin looks the best it ever has!

One trick I've learned to conquer blemishes and obtain smooth glowing youthful skin is to do an Indian Bridal Mask 2x a week. I first found out about the mask when I came across a YouTube tutorial posted by a beautiful flawless skinned woman  named Farah Dhukai,  but before I got all willy nilly and start slathering stuff all over my face, I wanted to do my research first.

I found out that the mask dates back to ancient times and has since been traditionally used by Indian brides to beautify their skin before their wedding day. Though the origins of the mask are primarily from the Indian culture, many women from all cultural back grounds have backed up the claim that this mask is truly a cure for bad skin.

The ingredients for the mask are: Turmeric, Honey, Milk (full fat),  and Garbanzo bean/chic pea flour.
I researched the benefit of each ingredient  as it relates to the health of our skin, and here's what I found:

Raw Honey - contains anti aging properties that moisturize the skin, prevent wrinkles and fine lines and repair damage caused by the environment. It is also naturally protects the skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

Turmeric -  Helps reduce pigmentation on the face and evens out skin tone, fights against acne, reduces the growth of facial hair, and contains anti-oxidants that can help fight various skin diseases, including skin cancer.

Milk - has lactic acid that acts as an exfoliant and enzymes to smooth the skin. It is also very moisturizing.

Garbanzo bean/Chic pea Flour - increases circulation to the pores and removes toxins, reduces inflammation and evens out the complexion by lightening the skin.

Below, I posted the YouTube tutorial by Farah Dhukai and I also posted pics of my most recent Indian Bridal facial!

 

 

 



The below pictures are of me with no makeup what so ever!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the day you couldn't pay me to take a picture this close up!  I'm telling you people this stuff really works!

Naturally Ashley

 Whether she's rocking her tresses curly or strait, every time I see this chic's hair,  I just go Wow! With hair down to there, I've lovingly nicknamed her My Beautiful Brown Rapunzel! Not only is this naturalista beautiful, but she also has the brains to match, and I can always count on her for great tips on how to keep my own hair healthy! With that being said, it seemed only natural for me to feature this fabulous chica here on Naturally Atlanta so that she can also share some of her haircare wisdom with you! So without further adieu, it brings me great pleasure to introduce to you my friend, Ashley!


 CherryCurl: How long have you been natural?

Ashley: When I was around 13 my stepmom put a relaxer in my fine, wavy hair. Unfortunately, it caused a lot of damage, and my mom no longer knew how to take care of it. I attempted to go natural one or two times, but I finally got it right around October 2008, and I'm still learning.

 

 

CherryCurl: What is your favorite protective style?

 

Ashely: I actually don't like wearing protective styles that much, because I love wearing my hair  out. However, the braidout has help me a lot over the years.

 

 

 

 

 

CherryCurl: I'm sure every ones dying to know how you keep your hair so luscious and long! Could you please give us all an overview of your current haircare routine?

 

Ashley: I'd be happy to..Lol! This is going to be changed really soon but as of now, On the first day of each month, I prepoo, perform a scalp massage and then shampoo my hair. Every week after that, I cowash and deep condition, then I oil my hair and scalp, and finish up with applying my leave-in. Finally, I allow my hair to air-dry. I also try to refresh my curls in the middle of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

CherryCurl: What are some of your favorite products that you like to use on your hair?

 

Ashley: Well, my favorite shampoo is Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat. I frequently use Trader Joe's Nourish Spa as a cowash and Kenra Moisturizing Deep Condition as a deep conditioner. I also love using Olive Oil to prepoo and Coconut Oil, Amla Oil, and Olive Oil Heavy Cream as moisturizers. My Favorite leave-in right now is Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

 

 



 

 



 CherryCurl: Finally, What do you love most about being natural?

Ashley: I can rock MY curls...The hair that grows from my scalp! It's a part of my makeup!

 
Well there you have it people! I can't say enough that maintaining a healthy head of beautiful hair is not easy, but with hard work and persistence we can all have a thick gorgeous mane like Ms. Ashley!

HairGazm Friday!!!!

 

Welcome Back to HairGazm Friday!!!! Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, we keep giving you more..... and more and more! Oh yeah, Each and every Friday we go hard to assure that your Hairgazmic senses are pleased with our Natural hair-inspiration spot teaser.

That's right, We give you just enough to "get you off" to a good start for the weekend, but not too much to keep you coming back for more! So lets get it started up in hur, shall we?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my, that last one did it for me!

AfroPunk! Hells Yeah!

 Alright, so I know I'm always bragging about how great Atlanta is and how much I love it, but even I have to admit that the city of New York temporarily surpassed A Town splendor with it's annual AfroPunk Festival. Yes, all eyes were on The Big Apple this past week as the streets of Brooklyn were over taken by some of America's most creative Afrocentric punk rockers.

To give you some history, the festival was created 9 years ago with the purpose of carving out an arena for multicultural youth to express their love for Rock N Roll music without being boxed in by the stereotypes of society (I love it!).  Since then, AfroPunk has grown to become the 2nd largest music festival in Brooklyn New York, but the fest hasn't always been this popular. According to Matthew Morgan and James Spooner, the founders of AfroPunk,  they used to be singled out as the  "Weird Black People"  when they first began hosting the AfroPunk themed gatherings which featured mostly unknown underground rock bands. 

But much has changed since the festival's humble beginnings, and now its not uncommon for famous artist such as Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae, Gym Class Heroes, The Roots, and Jada Picket Smith's band Wicked Wisdom to frequently make appearances.

It totally sucks that I wasn't able to turn up at AfroPunk this year, but  I can certainly assure you that I was there in spirit, and I am definitely going to make plans to attend next years celebration.  Furthermore, to show just how much I'm diggin the whole AfroPunk movement, today I have decided to officially declare it AfroPunk Day here on Naturally Atlanta! Yes, it's time to bring AfroPunk  to the "A Town!" Seriously though, wouldn't that be awesome!

 

 

Ok, so I don't know if my look is exactly AfroPunk but I definitely felt Like a rockstar..Lol 

 

Here's some more pics from the actual festival...Enjoy!