So, Spring is somewhat in the air…n’est pas?  I thought I felt it on a breeze or two yesterday morning while walking to work, my gloves were tucked away in my pocket so my hands were free! What can I say, I give in to hope a lot when it comes to the weather…

I’ve got fingers crossed it’ll last through the weekend though,  because I’m seriously ready to stretch my legs a bit, do some walking in my neighborhood for a change. I’ve been meaning to swing by Karen’s shop in BK for the longest, but fall back every time…again, weather is somewhat of a deterrent for me. But I have determination as my ore and will take a trip, it’ll be a shame to pass up on the sale that’s going on!

Apparently her uber popular leave-in conditioners are on sale @ buy 2 get one free! Now this applies to her milks, hair nectar and the super silky, and you can pick and choose your scents to your liking. The top favorites across the board have been lavender vanilla & chamomile sage, but I’ve got my eye on the sultry sandalwood.  The name alone wooed me!  Also, new to me is her Fabulous Freebie Fridays…? Don’t know what’s in store but I’ll check in to see what’s up. Click here to take a peek.

It sucks that February is such a short month though, I feel as if I’ve been scrambling to catch up on all the good deals left during the home stretch.  But as a gentle reminder Curlmart is offering 15% off your entire purchase, (excluding kits, curly cocktails, and Wen products) until the 28th along with a $7 flat rate charge, just enter coupon code blogger15 at checkout.  I’m still eager to see if they’ll have re-stocked some product hopefuls like the Oyin goodies, but we’ll see.

I finally snagged my Curl Junkie Rehab!! I was afraid I’d been too late for the sale because my Paypal account was acting fuddy, but alas I saved and restocked on my DC.  The Curl Theory Mositurizing conditioner is also on the sale block for $14, something I’m looking forward to trying in the future. 

Another Valentine’s Special is coming to a close over at  Miss Jessie’s camp with her Creme De la Curl Cleansing Creme (originally $20) & Creme De la Creme Conditioner (originally $26) marked down to $16 bucks.  I’ve never tried either product but have in fact purchased several of their other puddings and what nots.  The reviews for both haven’t been bad, the cleansing creme is somewhat thicker in consistency than the conditioner, but apparently both still work effectively.  Again, I haven’t sampled these, nor have I checked out the ingredient list, but if you’re a fan…kudos! Let me know how they work for you.

I was also able to score my  new wonder, the Donna Marie Lock & Twist Pudding this week.  The site is updated and it seems to be back in stock, so I took advantage like a good PJ. I also snagged up another one of her goodies after hearing rave reviews from the curly/kinky community, but I’ll vote and reveal what it is later;-).  If you’re tempted to try her products you can purchase from here, or head over to afrokinks.com where there’s a hidden coupon code on the homepage (if you can’t find it leave a comment down below and I’ll cough up).  I love this site because you can find just about the best of the best that’s out there for naturally/textured curly/kinky hair. There’s also a neat sale rack link with items at clearance prices!

What I’m really excited about is taking a trip over to Karen’s in BK, aside from her hair care collection, her body oils and butters are out of sight! The neighborhood is a fun and alive place to hang out if she’s quickly whipping up a batch of her special goodies, so if you’re in the area look her up and stop by, the sale applies to in-house as well but ends on March 3rd.

HAVE A GOOD ONE;-)

Summer is… 

…to me it’s anticipation.  It’s been a long winter and I long for cute print dresses, peep toe embroidered sandals, smelling like an almond cookie, sailing mile high on T-strap heels,  reeking of my favorite scents and oils no matter who’s next to me, carrying over sized embellished bags filled with summer reads…visiting Karen’s shop in BK for her wonderful creations…

Summer is also my time to divvy up my skin care routine, switching from heavy duty butters & cremes to light lotions.  I need my skin to BREATH in summer so I try to look for lotions that are not just light feeling, but the fragrance has to fit my personality as well.  During winter months I hardly experiment with scents,  usually I’m more preoccupied with finding a good moisturizer to combat winter dryness!  But the leeway summer offers is so enticing that I’m always inspired to try new body sprays, lotions on any given day of the week.

My absolute FAV over the years has been a lotion with the warmest of undertones, goes on light, yet moisturizes incredibly well.  Sage Jewelry’s Garnet Body Creme is hands down my go to scent for the summer because it last, last LASTS all day! You know something is worth the hype when you’re turning heads, and folks are hankering for advice on where to get.  I never worry about applying perfume afterwards, because really…I’d hate to mask the loveliness that is Amber & Vanilla!  On a whim I visited their site the other day and found a sale brewing! Needless to say I stocked up, mainly because rarely do they have a sale, and I’d be certain to kick myself later if I didn’t take advantage.

My other go to scent is another prized gem from Carol’s Daughter.  I can’t get enough of her Almond Cookie treats!! One of my new fav bloggers has been all over this line for some time and has blogged about the truly addicting smell, despite her love/torn relationship with the changing prices.  I’ll be honest, over the years the increase in price has deterred me from purchasing many things from Lisa Price’s line of goodies, but in the end I decided to pick just one item from her collection that I wouldn’t feel guilty when purchasing, and that ended up being the Almond Cookie Lotion and fragrance!  The highlight scent is sweet almond, mixed with marzipan, sandalwood and musk.  YUM!!  It’s sweet, without the over bearing smell of berries, which is why I’m so drawn to it.  I’m not gagging over the smell if I decide to slather it on, which I’ve been guilty of:-).

I know it’s early preaching about Summer, but I can’t be the only one!  What are your all time fav go-to products for summer?

Sometimes incentive….and a good discount is all we need for those good hair days, so here’s a fantastic opportunity to save and explore on stuff over at Curlmart.com.  The folks over at Naturallycurly.com  have heard the PJ cries and delivered a special discount to ~Back to Curly~ readers of 15% off your entire purchase! With the exception of kits, cocktails, and wen products, you can indulge until 2/28/09! Use coupon code blogger15 to redeem this special offer!$7.00 Flat Rate shipping until the end of February as well;-)

Is it spring yet? Three more weeks doesn’t seem too long to wait…does it?  I don’t know, I’ve been missing a lot of things lately.  One being my easy and quick wash and go’s.  Yesterday I had my plate full with things do to but not enough time! Washing my hair came first in the morning, but for some reason the morning just got away from me.  Before I knew it, I was still twisting my hair by 2 in the pm! And the one thing I do hate is rushing when I’m doing my hair…basically if I rush I’m stuck with crummy results for a full 5-7 days…never a good look.  By the time my day was done I was tired and grumbling because Monday was starring me in the face….my weekend was again over.

Not sure what took so long this week.  I opted for a Bentonite treatment which might’ve done me in, but I was planning on it all week and my scalp and hair were quite thankful in the long run! Instead of mixing the clay with water, I followed the directions on the label and mixed with ACV, ironically enough to save on time, and also added a couple TBSP’s of agave nectar.

My previous go at bentonite was a mix of honey and water, but I didn’t have the heart to finish what I had left of my honey stash on my hair, so I used some agave I’d purchased from Trader Joe’s.  Agave is comparable to honey in that it too is a natural additive/emollient and can be used as an alternative sweetener.  Agave is naturally organic, has a lighter viscosity texture than honey, which makes it easier to pour and mix…AND, it has a much longer shelf life than honey so it won’t crystallize and harden like it’s fellow cousin.  There was a thread not too far back on naturallycurly.com on where to find the sweetener, apparently some local markets aren’t readily stocking. It’s still a relatively new product, only first introduced in the early ’90′s, but periodically I’ve been able to spot check a few in my local markets.  If you can’t find it in your local grocer I’d suggest asking the head honcho in charge or ordering online if it’s worth your while:-).

After sitting with the mix for 25, I was ready to rinse with my new co-wash, Giovanni’s Tea Tree Conditioner.  I applied conditioner while in the shower and let it meander for about 2-3 minutes before rinsing to get the full tingle effect. I luv this stuff! After fully rinsing the clay, my scalp had a fresher than before feel that is the absolute best!

But that was it, I didn’t DC this week due to lack of time and the bentonite really did do a good job in softening my hair.  I followed up with KCKT and detangled my hair in small sections.  To style I applied Afroveda’s Shea Amla Whipped Butter Creme.  My package arrived on Saturday, perfect timing to feed the PJ in me.  My goodies were perfectly wrapped and the sample sizes are more than generous amounts!

The butter creme has a light fluffy texture, which is a wonder because the natural base is shea.  Most products I use with shea as a base I’ve learned to apply in small amounts first, then add more only if necessary…my hair adores moisture, but too much always merits a do-over because my hair is over saturated with product and my texture remains hard and sometimes brittle to the touch.

Took the twists out this morning and was pretty happy with the results.  It’s first day hair, so it’s shrunken and my curls are a tad more compact, but I’m feeling a BIG HAIR week coming on, so either tonight or in the a.m., I’m going to tease fluff  and separate the do;-)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Dont’ shoot the messenger:-)

Hi Everyone,

We are giving everyone one last chance to try out our Curl Rehab Deep Treatment for $16 (orig. $20)! Our lightweight detangler, Curl Theory Moisturizing Hair Conditioner, is also on sale for $14 (orig. $16). There is also $6.95/$7.95 Flat rate shipping on orders over $100. Take advantage of these sales now since they won’t last forever! Hopefully this will make it a little easier to take a chance on some products you may have been considering for a while. Please do spread the word to let others know about this special as well. Remember to check out the Sales & Trial set link regularly as we will be sending out less emails to cut down on everyone’s mail!   Check out http://www.curljunkie.com to get started!

As a reminder, we have our referral program to add more temptation…refer us to a friend who places an order and you will receive a coupon code good for 20% off your next order! How it works: Just be sure to have your friend enters your name into the comments field at checkout and we will email your code to you*!

Also, if you send us a picture of your hair with Curl Junkie products (please tell us which ones) in it for use on our website, we will send you a coupon code for 10% off your next order*!

*(These offers are good for one order only, and cannot be combined with other promotions or each other.)
Best,

Marsha
Curl Junkie Hair Products, LLC

 

Patience is a virtue! Mmmmm…I think I need some Curl Rehab …

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND:-)

Here’s an embarrassing PJ truth, lately I’ve been dabbling into a world full of custards, souffle’s and puddings.  I’ve had my hands in jars of Miss Jessie’s Pudding, Curls by Sisters Smith Wet Set pudding….KCCC…Curls Souffle…Donna Marie’s Lock & Twist Pudding…and my recent get…Afroveda’s Curly Custard.

Hopefully I’m not the only one, but whenever I hear a product is whipped or puddingfied…I instantly think MOISTURE!  My head goes into a tizy and I must purchase, must sample to see if it meets my hair criteria.  Can’t be sure how long this crazy tick is going to last…but several weeks ago when I ordered Donna Marie’s Lock & Twist Pudding, I had the hopes on high because of all the fab raves throughout the kinky curly community.

I’m going to take it old school for a minute and say…yo, this stuff is ridiculous! Verbage meaning…this stuff is fantastic, crazy good! Two weeks ago this puppy contributed to one of the best hair weeks I’ve had on the books to date! I used it in conjunction with my ACV rinse and my KCKT leave-in.  My hair had bounce for days, moisture round the clock, and SHINE…a near obsolete because of winter here on the east coast.

I used the pudding to twist my hair and achieved great results.  It was the first time in a long time, after taking the hair out of the twists that I didn’t try and manipulate the final look.  My curls were well defined enough that they stood proudly on their own, bouncing from one place to the next! Basically, I had fun with my hair…couldn’t keep my paws out of my head while at work!

Ingredient List:

Deionized water, aloe vera gel, carbomer, kokum butter, mango butter, sweet almond oil, glycerin, flax seed gel, hibiscus extract, carrot seed extract, burdock root extract, agave nectar extract, silver citrate, potassium sorbate, and natural fragrance

The consistency is not unlike a gel, but not unlike a creme either, so the best description is something that falls in between.  My hair absorbed this stuff up instantly, so I was forced to watch how much or how little I applied.  I didn’t get a silky, slippy feeling when applying, but my hair did seem to air dry faster than usual.  On the other hand, the next morning when unraveling the twists my hair felt silky, manageable and soft to the point where I could run my fingers through without disrupting the waves too much. 

I’ve heard positive reviews with this product across most boards, and found the only drawback to good results is the amount applied. How many times have we heard the saying, ‘a little goes a long way,’…..A LOT! And when I do hear this I take note and apply sparingly…adding more product only if necessary.  Most Donna Marie products are in fact heavily concentrated, so it makes sense to follow the tips of your fingers rather than the palms of your hands to apply. 

The way I look at it, I save money!  How do you know  a product is well worth your time and $$….exhibit A:  they are constantly sold out on-line.  I was thinking of reordering to stock up but they are indeed out of stock until further notice.  I have about half a jar left and refuse to dip into it until I get another on deck.  It’s my PJism, I know…drives me to unpractical methods of living.  But eh…No woman forgets those head turning, fabulous hair days, and I intend to see that day sometime soon;-)