How I Style My Naturally Curly Hair

Having naturally curly hair has been an ongoing struggle my entire life. Words like frizzy and poofy have been known to elicit not so good reactions from me. Over the years, though, I've figured out some things that actually make my hair work for me and have even earned me a few compliments!

I thought it would be useful to other curly girls for me to share the process and products that I've actually had some success in using. A couple of precursors:

-Is my hair perfect? No!
-Am I an expert at styling curly hair? No! This is just what works for me (for now). 
-Will this process work for someone other than me? I don't know!

First off, according to the Curly Hair Types over at Naturally Curly, I have 3B - Curly Spirally hair. If you're a curly girl, go figure your hair type out! There are lots of other great resources on that site as well. 

My Naturally Curly Hair Routine

1. Wash and condition with John Frieda Frizz Ease Dream Curls Shampoo and Conditioner. I love the scent of these and the conditioner really works for detangling my hair. If I'm being good I'll also deep condition with Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque once every week or two.
2. Detangle hair using  The Wet Brush. I've been told only to use a wide-toothed comb on my hair many times but, to be honest, it is painful to detangle my hair using any comb it and usually ends up in me pulling out lots of hair. The Wet Brush gets the knots out without pulling my hair and it is an absolute life saver! Cannot recommend it enough!
3. Comb through hair with the Ouidad Double Detangler Comb. I think using this after the brush gives me thicker individual curls than if I had only brushed and also gives them a more natural look. This is the best comb I've found for detangling but I still have better results when using it after the Wet Brush. After combing, I like to give my hair a deep side part using the Ouidad comb.
4. Mix a quarter sized amount of Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls and a few pumps of  John Frieda Frizz Ease Nourishing Oil Elixir in hand and comb through with fingers. This combination is like my very own secret weapon against frizz! Particularly the Pillow Soft Curls. I think any of the frizz fighting oils/serums would probably work just as well but I like the Frizz Ease line.
5. "Plop" hair in a t-shirt and leave up for as long as possible. Plopping is yet another wonderful thing that I've found thanks to Naturally Curly! Learning to do this (and to use a tshirt instead of a towel) was a total game changer for me. I like to leave my hair up/plopped for at least 10-20 minutes but I will usually just leave it up as long as it takes for me to do my makeup and whatever else. 
6. Last but not least, take hair out of t-shirt and spray thoroughly with Ouidad Botanical Boost Moisture Infusing & Refreshing Spray. Scrunch hair to your preferred shape and style, covering hand(s) with the t-shirt used in step 5 before letting hair air dry. The more you touch your hair with your hands, the more frizz-prone it will be. This is why I scrunch my hair using the t-shirt and it seems to really help.

That's it! It's not at all time consuming and is much quicker and easier than blow drying with a diffuser in my opinion. Just for fun, here's a shameless bathroom selfie to show you what my hair looks like on a decent day  after going through this whole process. Perfect? No. Presentable? Yes! And that's all I ask for!

Like my Minnie Mouse phone case?

-Lindsay

Current Beauty Favorites: Drugstore

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Over the past year or so I've developed an interest in the world of beauty. Ok, when I say interest I actually mean more of an obsession. Just so you know, I am married and really am not trying to impress anyone. I enjoy doing my makeup because it makes me feel good and it's sort of a daily way to pamper myself. That type of pampering is so nice, especially on those same-old-same-old kind of days when I may need a bit of a pick me up before I head out the door to work. 

I'm the type of person that, when I like something, I just throw myself into it and want to learn as much about it as I can. Enter beauty bloggers and YouTubers! I have learned SO much from these ladies; not only about how to apply my makeup but about which products will help me achieve the look I want and are worth my money. I am in no way any sort of beauty expert but I value the opinions of other "normal people" on stuff like this so now I'll share my own "normal people" opinion with you! 

The items below are mostly products that I purchased on recommendation of different "beauty gurus." I use all of them pretty much daily. They've made my favorites because they actually live up to the hype I've heard/read about them AND they are products that I (a beauty newbie) can use with great success. Enjoy!

1. Real Techniques Brushes: When I first learned about Real Techniques makeup brushes I was curious as to how brushes that are so reasonably priced could really be that much better than any other old brushes in the drugstore. I am so glad I decided to try them out because I really noticed a difference in the look of my makeup when I started using them! Now I have many of their different brushes but my three favorites are featured in the picture above. Left: Real Techniques Setting Brush - I use this to set my under-eye concealer and for powder highlighter when I use it. Middle: Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush - as the name states it's great for blending in the crease. Right: Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush - it's name tells you it's for base shadow but I also use to blend everything out. I think it's ok to experiment with brushes and figure out what works well for you. If it looks good to you go with it!

2. Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller: I have lots of allergies that result in what my doctor calls "allergic shiners." This basically just means puffiness under my eyes. I noticed a while back that not only did this make my under-eye/above cheek area look puffy but it also made it look like I have dark circles. All of this to say this eye roller really works for me! It has caffeine in it which helps with the puffiness and it has a sheer tint which neutralizes the dark coloring. I think it's a great product! 

 3. N.Y.C. Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny: First of all, this costs less than three dollars! It's also totally worth the hype about it. It is a matte powder with no shimmer at all which I love for a more natural look. I just don't need gold shimmer all over my face most days. When I really contour my face this bronzer makes a world of difference. I tend to always be shopping for beauty products I don't need but I rarely find myself looking at the bronzers since I am just so satisfied with this one. Yay! 

4. E.L.F. Tone Correcting Powder in Cool: E.L.F. is known to have a lot of dupes (good or bad) for higher end products so I always like experimenting with their stuff. I was so excited to find how much I liked this powder! For me, I think it really evens out the coloring of my face and makes my foundation, concealer, etc look more natural. It also doesn't make everything look cakey which is a problem I have found with several drugstore powders. 

5. Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-In-1 Foundation: This one is the most recent addition to my makeup collection (stash?hoard?). I had heard lots of gurus talking about it and finally just gave in and had to give it a try. I looooove it! I really love the finish. I think it looks very natural and maybe even makes my skin look healthier? Does that make sense? Probably not. It's supposed to do the work of a primer, a concealer, and a foundation all in one. I still use other primer and concealer but I can see how it would still work well without them. 

6. Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Metal Eye Shadow in Barely Branded: A lot of gurus talked about using this as a base for your eyeshadow to make the colors "pop" more and they are totally right. It's also beautiful by itself and easy to apply, even with just your fingers! I like it so much that I bought a few more in some of their other shades and they are all great! 

7. Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner: Last but not least, this liner is an absolute staple to me. Honestly, I haven't heard that much about it from the experts but there is no other eyeliner out there (some high end included) that has worked as well for me just yet. I never even wore eyeliner until a few years ago and this one is just so easy for me to use. I have it in blackest black for a more intense line and in black brown for a less dramatic look.

So, there it is. My first beauty post! If you made it this far, let me know what your favorite drugstore beauty products are!

- Lindsay