Yes, it's officially fall here in the ATL! I'm sure those of you that reside in the northern states are like, duh it's been fall for a minute now, but down here in Hot Lanta it takes a while for us to cool off! Personally, I'm not a fan of cold weather but it's undeniable that the cooler temps provide the opportunity for every real fashionista to bring out the big guns (beautiful wool coats, fierce leather boots ect.) and showcase what you can really do on this catwalk of life!
Here are some looks that I am absolutely feeling for fall/winter. Hope you enjoy!
I love thrifting! I mean why spend hundreds of dollars at the mall when I can go around the corner to my favorite consignment shop and spend so much less! For instance today I found this Bebe Kim Kardashian Collection Romper for only $8 at Value Village Thrift Store, and If you are familiar with the Bebe brand, you know how pricey their pieces can be.To me, being a fashionista is not about spending alot of money to look good, but it's about mastering the art of working with what you got!
All of these photo's where taken by my wonderfully talented photographer and daughter, Ms. Lenora! Dat's mama's baby!
So those of you who have been following my post know that I recently cut my hair due to heat damage, but it's been great because my curls are On and Poppin, and now my hair looks healthier than ever! The down side to cutting my hair though is that it is much shorter which sometimes makes me feel limited in my styling options. Fortunately, the awesome thing about life is that often times, the things that we see as obstacles turn out to just be stepping stones to elevate us to the next level! Yes, my hair is length challenged (ha, ha) but that just gives me the opportunity to be creative!
One day while I was searching the World Wide Web for some style inspiration, I came across a video by a woman named Alicia James, demonstrating The Tension Method on her bra strap-length ridiculously gorgeous hair. The Tension Method is when you blow dry the hair while simultaneously applying tension to small sections of hair by stretching out each section tight until the hair is dry (I hope that made sense.) This method is great because you can still achieve the elongated look of a blowout without subjecting the hair to the damage and breakage that is normally caused by brushing or combing the hair during the blow dry session. At first, I thought to myself, this would be a great technique to experiment with when my hair gets longer, but then a bell went off in my head, and I realized that I could use the Tension Method now to elongate my TWA (Tiny Winy Afro)!
Here is the video I was talking about, by Alicia James,where she demonstrates The Tension Method.
Below I've posted some pics of my recent Tension Method blow drying session!
1. I Co-washed with Ausie Moist condish then twisted my hair using Beautiful Textures Moisture Butter.
2. Then I blow dried each twist while simultaneously tightly stretching out each section of hair. I spent about 1 min blow drying each twist, making sure that I directed the heat towards the roots/base of my hair.
3. Next I unraveled each twist. At this stage, my roots were still a bit damp and the ends of my hair were still significantly damp, but this is ok because it's all part of the process.
4. I then began performing the tension method on my unraveled twist to stretch the hair out even more. This time I kept the heat on each section till the roots of my hair were completely dry. Again I directed the heat towards the base of my hair so that the ends remained slightly damp. I prefer for the ends of my hair to remain damp so that the curls at the end of my hair aren't disturbed and don't become frizzy.
I took this pic to show the effects of the tension method. The left side (wavier side) is the before, and the right side (stretched side) is the after.
This is my hair all stretched out. Yes, it looks a bit untamed but I'm not finished yet..lol!
5. The last step I performed was gently fluffing my hair with my fingers and..... these are the results!
Nice fluffy cloud-like curls!
Above, is a pic of my hair after a normal wash and go, shrunken with no stretching. Below is the pic of my hair after it has been stretched via the Tension method.
I know it's hard to tell a big difference in the pics since my hair is only so long, but if you pay close attention to the areas around my ears and forehead you can see that my hair is hanging a bit lower...lol!
With my TWA all stretched out a half inch bigger (Lol!), I was feeling myself, so I decided to do a lil photo shoot to show off my amateur modeling skills. Ha, Ha...Hope ya'll enjoy!
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!
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!
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