Review: African Pride Olive Miracle Moisturizer Lotion

Whenever I used to think of the brand African Pride, I always had a flashback to to troubled times when I used to wear extensions 24-7. African Pride braid spray was the isht back then, but the smell was...umm..jheri curlish. lol. After years of wearing extensions, I got tired of being braided up and started to explore my natural hair. Needless to say, this was the end of my African Pride affair.

Flash forward to 7 years later during my second time going natural. After flirting with the African Pride Olive Miracle Moisturizer Lotion for about 6 months, I decided to give it a go to style for a braidout. The first thing I noticed was the texture and the smell. It is a creamy oil-based moisturizer, but water is the first ingredient, so it made my hair very smooth when I was applying it. I styled my hair in 5 flat twists and OMG my twists were so shiny and soft! Here are the ingredients:

Water (Aqua,Eau) Glycine Soja (Soybean)Oil,Propolene Glycol,Olea Europaea (Olive)Fruit oil,Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Cocos Nucifera (Coconut)Oil,Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed oil,Persia Gratissima (Avocado)Oil,Panax Ginseng Root Extract,Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary)Leaf Extract,Equisetum Hiemale ( Horsetail )Extract,Melaleuca Alternifolia ( Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Hydrogenated vegetable oil,Steareth-2 Steareth-20,Polyquaternium-37, Propolyne Glycol,Dicprylate/Dicaprate,PPG-1,Trideceth-6,Phenyl Trimethicone,Laneth-15,Lanolin oil,Dimethicone, DMDM Hydantoin,TBHQ,Methylparaben,Propylparaben,CI 19140 (FD&C Yellow #5) Parfum (Fragrance)


Here is my twist-out puff after using moisturizer:



Because shea butter is one of the first few ingredients, it helps to be light-handed with this product. A little bit goes a long way! Also, lightly misting the hair with water definitely helps before using the lotion because it is oil-based and you want to trap the moisture in.

P.S. It is good to be back (again). :-p

Review: Nicel Night Renew

Hey! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent half of it working, the other half vegging out watching re-runs of In Living Color and Project Runway with friends. When I did peel myself off of the couch, I realized that I was long overdue for a Big Lots run and decided to hit the aisles for a couple of instant gratification purchases. One purchase really made an impression as it turned out to be way better than I expected: Nicel Night Renew. I got this steal for a whopping $1.50 at Big Lots! Damn, I love a good deal.

I applied this in a thin layer to my face and neck. At first, I was put off by the slightly greasy feel, but this thick, rich cream was made to be used sparingly. A little bit goes a LOOOONG way and by morning I couldn't believe what I saw in the mirror! My skin had visibly improved overnight! It appeared smoother, more even-toned, and softer. It even had the nerve to perform better than the few popular expensive night creams that I have tried. I won't bring up names.o_0

Anyway, if you have a Big Lots near you, go pick this night cream up TODAY! Nicel also makes a day cream and an eye cream with great ingredients. Truthfully, I had been eyeing this cream for a year until I decided to try it. The price kinda put me off, but I am soooo glad I tried this.

Happy Monday!!

xxxx

Bitty Boss

"They call it stormy Monday..."

Welll, it's not stormy, but it feels like there is a storm in my brain. Not the good kind, either. You know how you have those days where you feel like you "cain't get right?" Work is kicking my butt as I work at a call center and Mondays can be downright TERRIBLE. Everyone calls in with their complaints that they have been holding and perfecting all weekend and MAN are their issues complicated.

Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest. Ow. My head is starting to hurt, but lunch is just a few minutes away and I am looking forward to my meatball sub. Now, on to prettier things:

My nails today!



Colors are courtesy of Wet and Wild. Looking back, I should of added one more coat. I must apologize to Santee, my beloved dollar store polish. I needed to look elsewhere for polishes last weekend as the dollar store down the street had just been robbed and was closed for a day. Who would rob a dollar store?!

Oh yeah! And I found a blog that I adore and is right up my alley. This little gem is called The Retro Natural (http://theretronatural.blogspot.com/). She features retro styling tutorials as well as her view on vintage cars, clothes. MOST importantly the tutorials are for retro-inspired styles on natural hair. I love flaunting various vintage styles from the 30's through the 50's with a natural twist and I believe I have officially hit pay dirt with her blog. I may even attempt a few if I am not dead tired after work this week. Check it out!

Have a great week!

Bitty Boss

Review: Softee hair growth stimulating oil

I LOOOOVE it when I find a cheap-ass product that works wonders.

Lemme just say I am super-excited about this oil! It is waaay cheap, has great ingredients and is effective in making my hair soft. The BIG deal: It is available at your local drugstore! I picked up this bottle from Walgreens a few weeks ago and it has not done me wrong yet. I use it to seal in moisture when styling right after a good deep condition. It is light, smells good, has a lot of great ingredients in it and it is supposed to assist in hair growth without the irritation that can come with other stimulating hair growth products. Sorry for the lack of decent pics, but I am at work and today is a horribly busy day!

Here are the ingredients:
Soybean Oil , Meadowfoam Seed Oil , Shea Butter Extract , Capsicum Extract , Black Pepper Extract , Coffee Extract , Rosemary Extract , Safflower Oil , Wheat Germ Oil , Retinyl Palmitate , Tocopheryl Acetate , Cholecalciferol , Hops Extract , Balm Mint Extract , Chamomile Extract , Yarrow Extract , Nettle Extract , Horsetail Extract , Neutral Henna Extract , Fragrance , Red 17 , Yellow 11

Sounds yummy right?!

Here's the instructions on the bottle:

Apply to hair and scalp (damp or dry) and massage gently. Great for daily moisturization and shine or use in your weekly beauty regimen. Deep or hot oil treatment: Apply a generous amount to your hair, comb through for even distribution, cover with a plastic cap and heat under the dryer. Rinse or lightly shampoo if necessary..

And now for the best part...It's only $3.49 at Walgreens! You can hunt it down for a cheaper price at your local beauty supply, but it just doesn't get any better than that people. I am waiting for it to appear at my local dollar store, but I digress.

Pssst!I have even used this on my feet and skin with the same results! You can find out about more of their oils and products at www.softeeproducts.com.

*The only thing that I would advise is this: This oil has a lot of stimulative properties to it, so if you have high blood pressure be cautious or advise with your doctor.

Check it out today and enjoy your weekend!

Bitty Boss

Fried rice and everything nice

Hey, I'm back! *waves*

Earlier this week, I made this amazingly delicious fried rice for my hubby and he ate it like a caveman. I think that he might have even had trouble breathing because he was eating it so fast. I took that as a good sign that I had done something right and I gave myself a good pat on the back for a job well done. I can't lie. The "pat on the back" was actually a snickers bar, but I digress. Onto the recipe! I got this yummy concoction from allrecipes.com:

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup small shrimp - peeled and deveined
1/2 cup diced ham
1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots - peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green peas
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions
Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking, heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in sesame oil and stir in onion. Fry until golden, then add garlic. When garlic is lightly browned, mix in shrimp, ham, and chicken. Fry until shrimp is pink.

Lower heat to medium and stir in celery, carrot, green pepper, and peas. Fry until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in beaten egg and cook just until egg is scrambled and firm.

When rice is done, mix thoroughly with vegetables and stir in soy sauce. Adjust seasoning to your preference and serve immediately.

I really used this recipe as the base for my house fried rice. I used what I had in my refrigerator (spinach, ground beef from leftover tacos, shrimp, onion, carrots, garlic). I know that the taco meat may throw off some, but it really turned out to be HELLA good with all of the other ingredients. The celery, ham, and peas were not invited this time. I also reduced the amount of soy sauce to 1/5 cup. Next time I will make a veggie fried rice with chopped asparagus for a really nice crunch.

In other news, I went thrifting today and found a big bag of goodies for under $25 bucks. Here are some of the goods:

Wallet - $0.90
Vintage serving tray - $0.69
Swirly bowl - $0.49
Skinny faux aligator belt -$0.99
Oscar de la Renta silk scarf - $0.99
Brand new 80's sunglasses - $7
Cork wedges - $2

All items were purchased at Thrift Town in El Sobrante, CA.

I spent more on the sunglasses than I did anything else! I also found a pair of capris, a bustier , a plaid skirt from the 60's , a cute-comfy knit shirt, all of which are in the wash as we speak. There is a God!

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Remember to have at least three gut-busting laughs this weekend. Laughter (and sex...and chocolate) is medicine!

Creamy Thursday

Lemme just start by saying that my husband's fam is THA BOMB as they must've read my mind. Yesterday, to my pleasant surprise, a greeting card came in the mail along with...wait for it...a $100 gift card for Wal-Mart! That's right. A hundred bucks!
Now that may not be all that much to some folks, but for my broke ass it saved the week! I jumped in my hood-mobile and jetted as fast as I could to the nearest 'Mart' for a mini spree. Among the many, many rows of merchandise I found this little gem:



Let's just say I went a little crazy today and started to get inspired. o_O

First Inspiration? Hair of course! I whipped up a hair mask with some yummy ingredients:
*1/2 box of Kara Coconut Cream
*1 container of banana baby food
*2 tbsp of honey
*1 tsp of grapeseed oil
*2 tbsp of Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Conditioner (to thicken)
*1/2 tsp of hibiscus powder
*1/2 tsp of brahmi powder

This concoction is sitting on my head as we speak. My scalp feels soothed and tingly. I can't wait to see how my hair looks!

Second Inspiration? My morning coffee! Since I wanted to damn near eat the mixture I put on my head, I thought, why not put some of this yumminess into my coffee? This mixture is soooo good if you love a little coconut flavor with your coffee. The taste is very mild and adds a dairy-free richness that is divine. I encourage you to try this with your next cup of coffee for a little
extra treat to your morning.

Third Inspiration? Fashion! I really, really want to flaunt at least one of these coconut-inspired numbers this summer. Let the clothes speak for themselves:






















This is too cute. I adore this flowy, creamy dress from Lulu's. It looks like it would be so soft and romantic. Available at www.lulus.com.























I love this 1960's cream-colored wiggle dress by FemaleHysteria at Etsy. It is a knit dress so I know my curves will be nicely accentuated. Sexy!
This can be found at http://www.etsy.com/listing/63270816/1960s-beaded-cream-knit-wiggle-dress.



These brown and cream espadrilles by Prada are reaaaalllly cute. They look comfy too, which is always a plus when you are tryna maintain your sexy.

Ahhh there's the sunshine! As I write this I am drinking my coconut coffee with coconut mask running down the side of my face. The sun finally came out, I'm happy as hell, and I know it's gonna be a good day.

Happy Thursday!xx

Review: Shea Moisture Goodness!

This product is simply d-e-v-i-n-e.

Sniff, Sniff:
The texture is dreamy creamy and the smell is that of fresh cupcakes.*drool* Who doesn't love cupcakes? Although a little thick (imagine a heavy hand cream), the product melted right into my hair. Another plus that I did not expect was that it provided light detangling! ALL of the ingredients are natural and it contains organic coconut oil, silk protein, and neem oil. These ingredients all work together to strengthen and soften hair.

What I Did:
After conditioner washing and a deep treatment, dried my hair overnight in 6 braids. This morning, I took down the braids and applied a pea-sized amount of Shea Moisture Organic Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk to each section and put ten braids in my hair for a braid out.

The Results:
The angels were singing! My hair was buttery, bouncy, and shiny. Take that!
Mind you, this product offers very little hold, so it is best used for soft styles, as a heavy moisturizer, or as a styler for ponytails and buns. A little bit of this product goes a long way. I have fine hair, and I will probably use a little less next time. Oh yeah, and my hair is smelling so fragrant, my hubs can't stop touching and smelling it.

The Deets:
Ladies with thick, coarse, curly, wavy, or dense hair will benefit the most from using this as it provides moisture, frizz-reduction, and mild control. You can purchase this style milk at Target or your local Walgreens. Try it today!

Happy Wednesday!

Review: Hollywood Beauty Hydrating Hair Mask enriched with Argan Oil

After a grueling 2 hours at the DMV I decided to reward myself with a hair goodie from Target. I just got home from a weekend in Ukiah and it was freezing! The cold air tore up my hair and I believed that it was time for a miracle. The mask was $10.99 for 7.5 ounces.

Here is the claim on the jar:

"Hollywood Beauty's Hydrating hair mask enriched with Argan oil from Morocco is ideal for hair that is dehydrated, severely damaged and/or chemically treated. This restorative mask improves hair's health by deeply penetrating the cuticle for intense repair and conditioning."

The Results:

Shiny, soft, and hella smooth.lol.

This one is a keeper! It is very thick and creamy and does the job in a pinch. Usually I DC for an hour, but I was rushed for time and only left it on for ten minutes. I was scared to rinse because I thought that the mask wouldn't do anything in ten minutes, but to my suprise, my hair felt like I had left the mask on for 45 min! Cherry on top: It only has no petroleum or mineral oil!

Verdict: Buy it as fast as you can before everyone else does! This is kind of a "under the radar" product, as it just came out a few months ago. I will be returning to Target to buy up the rest of these jars when I get paid.

Happy Monday!

Get a chic new wardrobe for practically nada

The Gorgeous Pearl Bailey


Do you need a cute, new, unique wardrobe without breakin' the bank?

Lord knows I do. That's why were going to do this together!

Vintage and thrift shopping is the holy grail of an answer to all of your problems. I love finding one-of-a-kind peices that no one else has for next to nothing. You can also find some buried treasures every once in a while. I'm talking designer peices y'all. Even if you find something that doesn't fit perfectly, you can take it to the tailor to make it fit perfectly. And we all know that the better your clothes fit, the more flattering they are to your body.

Some of my favorite thift, vintage, and second-hand shops :

$=What a steal
$$=Cool beans
$$$=Still cheaper than full price

Goodwill - www.goodwill.com ($)
Buffalo Exchange - www.buffaloexchange.com ($$)
Wasteland - www.wastelandclothing.com ($$)
Thrift Town..MY FAV - www.thrifttown.com ($)
Salvation Army Thrift Store - www.sanfrancisco.satruck.org ($)
Painted Bird - www.paintedbird.org ($$$)

A few of my finds this year:


Leopard scarf, $0.50 from Thrift Town


Enigma Shoe, $4 from Goodwill in San Franciso


Brand spanking new Forever 21 Shoes. Leopard print,cone heel. $8 from Thrift Town.

As you see, I love leopard. Rawwwr.



Vintage/Thrift event happening TODAY:

The Find hosts the Vintage Gift and Antique Fair
Where: Broadway and Water St, Jack London Square Pavillion, Oakland, CA
When: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
How Much: $5

Enjoy your weekend!

Cyber Monday Gems

Today is probably going to be the least productive workday in America due to the phenomenon known as Cyber Monday. Extreme deals and coupons are the ONLY way to go if you are on a budget like moi. Take the following coupns and run! Use them, abuse them, and most importantly, save money!

Online Coupon Havens:

*Coupon Cabin - www.couponcabin.com
*Target - www.target.com
*Retail Me Not - www.retailmenot.com
*Savings.com - www.savings.com
*Dealio - www.dealio.com




Some of the sites I will be taking a peek at today:

Tarjay.com (lol..Target)
Sephora.com
Mybabyjo.com
Curlmart.com
www.lucky13apparel.com



Happy Shopping! Wait..why wouldn't you be shopping happy? It's shopping.

*I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies above. Just wanting to share the goodness with you.