Rantings of a Creole Princess

Mother and Daughter

Ages 42 and 60.  Thoughts?

Knees and Elbows Maintenance

One of the things we can't do as we age is ignore our changing bodies.  Our skin gets less taunt as we age and can appear to be darker in areas like our knees and elbows where there is extra skin.

To keep on top of this I do a bit of a scrub a few times a month that I will probably do more often as I age. I cut a lemon in half and then press it into some sea salt on a saucer.  I then scrub my elbows and knees with it adding more salt as needed.  I also hit my ankles.

When I get out of the tub I moisturize while my skin is still damp to the touch and every night I put Aquaphor on all the normally rough feeling spots before bed.

We simply must keep our stride stank.  Can't let these young girls think they got us beat.  LOL!

What do YOU do for your knees and elbows?

Massage Scenario from Real Life

You go get a massage. The masseuse is new. You're relaxing. His cellphone goes off. He doesn't answer. His cellphone rings again. He answers. He golds a quick conversation. You good?

Aquaphor, Elbows, Feet, Etc.

I almost lost my mind on Sunday when I saw this sale at Target.  See, as someone who planks on the regular...this stuff is essential to my elbows.  LOL!  I hit them up every.single.night at bedtime.  And then I hit my knees.  And my feet.  Yup...all that rough stuff stays soft with my nightly Aquaphor ritual.  GO ME!

Are you a fan?

This is Your Body Without Water

I need some advice!

Red hair don't care. No. I care. HELP!

Okay...I stopped using the rinse that the hair guru dude who wanted me to go natural told me to stop using.  Now my hair is back to it's lovely (note sarcasm here) shade of reddish brown with gray straight up acting a FOOL all up and through it.  I haven't been using anything because I don't like the way it makes my hair feel and I do love how soft it is to the touch but I swear whenever I get a good look in the mirror at it myself...I have to admit that I hate the gray.

And the red.  

Oh  how I hate the red.

To combat my not seeing it as much, I've been keeping it tucked up and under in a bun.  

But I know it's there.  UGH!

G-Baby:  Ooooh Monnie!  Look at your hair!  All red and look!  You've got gray!

Me:  DIE GLADYS JUST DIE!  WHAT ABOUT YOUR LIL FUNKY HAIR?  IT'S ALL...I MEAN...LOOK AT...WELL YOU GOT...Hell, I gots nothing.  Your hair is cute shit.  Stop talking to me.

So...I'm thinking of options here and I was hoping  you could help me based on your experience and opinion.

Should I...

A.  Let it go...let it goooooooo!

B.  Get some for real PERMANENT color done by an Aveda salon?

C.  Have a stylist do some type of rinse instead of doing it myself?

D.  *INSERT YOUR SUGGESTION HERE*

What are YOU using for the gray if you have any?

Thank you in advance.  

Easy Updos

Yesterday I was instructed to wear my hair up while wearing the dress I was planning to wear.  

Easier said that done.  

I was going to go for my old fall back French braids along the side pulled back into a bun but had a bit of time on my hands so I asked Mr. Google and Ms. Pinterest for some easy updo ideas.

With some warped sense of believing I can do anything, I found a tutorial which would go from fishtail braid to side bun elegantly.

Um...yeah...no.  You can't do that if your hair is cut into layers and I found that out pretty quickly.

So I moved on and found a pic that I really, really liked:  

So I misted my hair with water, added some moisturizer and a heat protectant to it and then blow dried it straight to get the braid bends out of it.  Using a big barreled curling iron, I put curls in it and then shook it (making sure the front fell down around the part I'd put in, grabbed the back of it, twisted it up loosely and used bobby pins to secure the hell out of it.  The trick seemed to be in making sure the back of the hair was secured tightly without pulling the hair too tauntly and making sure there was some kinda pouf in the crown.

I know that sounded crazy as hell...but that's honestly what I did and I was shocked that it came out nice because I usually end up looking like I'm wearing a bird's nest when I'm actually TRYING to do an updo.  Let me be hanging around doing nothing and pull it up without even using a mirror and it will look hot.  I WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER UNDERSTAND THAT PHENOM!

Oh...and since the weather called for rain and it was already humid, I sprayed the heck out of it with hair spray.  I think I did a good job.

Are you good at updos?  What's your goto updo?

Cellulite

What do you know about cellulite?  

Can You Beat Cellulite?

Question...

Would you sit outside in your backyard or on your deck with your head scarf on or with rollers in your hair?  

Tell the truth and shame the devil!

Look down at your nails.  How many of you have a bit of chipping going on right now but it doesn't look bad far off so you're not taking it off yet?

Miami Vice

I'm wearing Essie's Miami vice on my toesies and it makes me smile.  What are YOU wearing on your toesies?

I get it from my mama!

I hate to be ashy.  HATE.IT.  My skin has a tendency to be on the dry side so as soon as I got out of the shower or bath, I pat myself dry keeping my skin a bit damp and moisturize immediately.  I'm pretty anal about it and buy a new container of lotion when the current one starts feeling a bit light.  I REFUSE to run out.  I keep hand lotion in my purse, in the door of my truck, in the glove compartment, etc.  There is hand lotion near pretty much every sink in our home so I can keep my hands moisturized properly.

Yesterday, Shelly asked me for some lotion for her hands.  She was digging around in another bag of mine and pulled something out that she could have used.

Me:  No...I have the good stuff in my purse.  Hold on.

I know she was looking at me like I was crazy because she was about to use some Aquaphor and well...that stuff is super good too.

But it wasn't as good as the good stuff I keep in my purse just for hands.

I have issues about lotion yall.

I thought about that and where it stems from and I realized...I get it from my mama.  NOTHING was worse to her than ashy knees, elbows, ankles, etc.  She was the type of mommy who would lick her thumb to wipe some ash off your face before I started running screaming from her when I saw that thumb headed my way cuz really...that's kinda gross.  Lady...you just wiped spit on me.  NO.  LOL!

She kept a lil container of Vaseline in her purse and had no problem having a wax on/wax off moment no matter where we were.  You'd close your eyes and she'd paint you shiny right there, ear lobes et al.  We were a NO.ASH family.  My brother will be with me somewhere and look over and say..."I know you have lotion in your bag, huh Monnie?  Answer?  Yup.  Sure do.

Today I find that this body moisturizer is my fave: CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

Do you have anything that you KNOW you get from your mama?  Anything you simply won't compromise on?  Super fluffy towels?  Chocolate hidden in a basket?  Peeling an orange a certain way?  LOL!

Moisturizing Flat Iron?

 

What say you?  

What do you call...

...the makeup she's applying to her face?  Where did you grow up?

DooBop.com

Shop the best multiethnic beauty product selection, for all skin tones and textured hair.  www.DooBop.com 

Skin Issues BE GONE!

I don't normally have skin issues with my face unless something is out of whack big time.  This winter was wreaking havoc and I had a couple of dry patches which freaked me out.  I found my fingers constantly reaching for the patches and rubbing them.  Like...I was unconsciously so curious about the touch and feel of them.  I'd tried some new moisturizers that other friends shared they were using and something in them was far too strong for my skin and it got irritated.

No.

I went in for a consultation for a facial and got far more information than I thought I needed and samples of VERY expensive products which smelled nice.  Since I'm all weirded out about new stuff...I went to check out reviews and whatnot of the fancy, smancy products which would cost me about $260 to purchase.

Then...I found the most fascinating website EVER!  Paula's Choice Beautypedia 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS WEBSITE!  I used the review search tool:  Search Reviews

The super expensive products I was researching got a 'poor' review.  Why?  Because of the cost.  Basically...I could get the same benefits from products FAR.LESS.EXPENSIVE.  One of the brands suggested was CeraVe.  

Shelly:  That's what I use.  My dermatologist told me to use it.

SIP:  *BLINK*  So um...erra...you been holding out on me?

Shelly:  You ain't ask heffa!

SIP:  (Note to self...cut her deep and for true next time.)

So I drove to Target and bought the CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser, the CeraVe AM Moisturizer and the CeraVe PM Moisturizer.

No more dry patches and all is well in my face world again.

Robby doesn't know it yet but he is totally changing to their sunscreen too.  So there.  We will do this graceful aging thing together.  LOL!

Oh...and here's some coupons for it:  CeraVe Coupons

Check out the products you use on Paula's Choice website and tell me what you find.  I'm totally curious.  Oh yeah...and who knew about this site and didn't tell us?  Humph.

Plum Perfect App

Has anyone tried this app out yet?  Plum Perfect

Face Wash and Moisturizer Question

Your face wash and moisturizer...are they from the same brand and line within the same brand?

Perfume Ideas!

What are you wearing these days?  I'm addicted to Jo Malone scents and this one makes me smile, smile, smile!

Olivina Olive Hand & Body Lotion

This winter has been crazy dry.  My hands have been taking a major hit and I didn't like it.  I'm ridiculously anal about washing my hands so yeah...MAJOR DRYNESS.

All of my usual stuff wasn't giving me the results I was looking for so I tried this:

Olivina Hand & Body Lotion, Classic Olive, 9.75 Ounce

And it makes me happy, happy, happy.  I keep it where I sit on the sofa and my hands are never dry feeling again!  GO ME!

To keep my nails right, I still rub coconut oil into my nails before I go to bed.  Keeps them healthy, strong and clear.

What are you using on your hands this winter?  Did you have to change up?  Have you had any issues with dryness this winter?

 

My Almond Hooded Eyes

I couldn't figure out my eye shape even though I did the Smashbox test on YouTube that showed you how to determine your eye shape.

When I saw that they were at Nordie's doing makeup...I decided to see what they categorized my eyes as and...how'd they'd do those wings on me.

Before:

After:

Closeup:

I'm certain I'll never be able to duplicate this...but I liked the effect.  Turns out my eyes are almond hooded.  Joy.  *NOTE.SARCASM*  

Do you know your eye shape?  Have you tried the wings yet?  Are you good at it?  Your day-to-day makeup...what is the main color of your eyeshadow?

 

Lupita. Lupita. Lupita.

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EQUALS

Affirm Regular Relaxer is my CRACK!

So yeah...the new hair guy wanted me to go natural.  Or texturize.  I chose texturize.  I was extremely unhappy with my hair.  I suffered lots of breakage because of the two textures of my hair and I'm just really not the person with the level of patience necessary to be successful.

So...I went back to my old faithful, Affirm.  I ordered a 4lb tub from Amazon with all the stuff that goes along with it and it arrived last night.  This morning?

I BUSTED THE HELL OUTTA THE THICKNESS.

I used a normal lye relaxer instead of a mild no-lye relaxer so I could deal with the new thickness that is my new growth since I stopped eating gluten.  And now?  I'm happy again.  You have no idea.  I like my hair straight.  I like my hair to move.  I don't like the amount of work it takes to get it straight and to move when it's not for real relaxed.

New guy is awesome for anyone who wants to transition into his version of healthy hair.  Old me just wants her hair to look like she wants it to look.  GO.ME.  My hair is now straight again.  I won't do the rinse again because he was totally right about that.  I'm going to grow it out about 3 more inches and keep it this way forever.  

Or until I change my mind again.  LOL!

Any relaxed hair people still out there?  Anybody who tried the transition thing and decided it wasn't for them?  

Most Magical Hot Oil Treatment EVER!!!!!!!!

Inside this jar, is the most magical hot oil hair treatment I've ever used on my hair.  See...it's been so dry this winter and my scalp has decided it's SO.OVER.IT.  So I needed to do something.  Shelly uses olive oil on her hair but that just made a complete mess for me.  I had olive oil everywhere it seemed.  I needed something thicker and castor oil was simply TOO thick.  So...I put half castor oil and half olive oil in an Herb-ox  jar (I HARDLY EVER THROW THESE AWAY!  They come in handy for so many things!) and heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  Then I put on my hair with my hands, massaging it in well.  I cover it with a wet, hot towel and then cover the towel with a plastic cap until the towel is cool to touch.  Then...I wash and condition my hair.  

Yall...

FAB-U-LOUS!  No more itchy scalp!

I don't know if it will work with your hair type but I know it works uber well with mine so, if it's not something you already do...give it a try and let me know how it worked out.

If you do hot oil treatments...what do you use?  How long do you keep the oil on for?  How often do you do the treatments?

Sonia Kashuk Yellow Alluriana Shower Gel

I was in Target recently and stopped at the new Sonia Kashuk body products.  I loved the smell of the Yellow Alluriana Shower Gel so I put it in my basket.  I thought it was $5.99 and it smelled REALLY good and I LOVE grapefruit and verbena.  The container size wasn't that big so $5.99 was okay I guess.

When I checked out...I looked at my receipt and it was $8.99.  I questioned the cashier and I was told that I had to go to customer service.  UGH!  

But for $3...I headed that way.  

When the customer service agent scanned it...it was $8.99.  She then asked me how much I thought it cost and I said $5.99.  She said she'd adjust the price.

Me:  Huh?

Her:  If it's within $10...we can adjust the price to what you thought you were paying.

Me:  But that's not how much it costs.

Her:  It's okay.  

And she returned $3.00 to me.

*BLINK*

Because I THOUGHT it cost $3 less.

*BLINK*

I walked out of there still confucious and every.single.time I use the body wash it makes me happy.  Happy because it really does smell wonderful and kinda sneaky grin-ey happy because I got away with $3.

STILL BLINKING.

Have you ever received a price adjustment to what you THOUGHT something cost at Target?  Isn't it odd?

Without Makeup?

Do you ever leave the house without makeup or do you have to put makeup on every day or you won't feel like yourself?

Genetic Lottery Pool Winner!

So...Christie Brinkley turned 60.  You know her...supermodel chick.  Major genetic lottery pool winner. No surprise that she looks so good right?

Right.

Here's the thing though...I know some folks younger than us who look waaaaaaay older than us.  Does that mean that we won the genetic lottery pool too?  Or...does it simply point out that when you focus on having healthy habits...you don't age as much as some?  Can you "fake" winning the genetic lottery?  Do you have unhealthy habits that you know you need to fix?  What do YOU think you need to do differently?

Don't Wash Face in the Morning?

I've read a couple of times where skin care experts tell women to not wash their face in the morning.  They say to wash it at night but in the morning...just splash water on it and moisturize.  Something about the natural oils in your skin being the best thing for it and you shouldn't wash them off too often.

I can't wrap my brain around not washing my face in the morning.  I wash it both at night and in the morning.  What do YOU think?  

Google search:  don't wash face in the morning

Quince Flowers

Snapped this with my phone.  I'll take a nice pic later.  It's sooooooooo pretty!

A couple of weeks ago there weren't any flowers.

Daily Use Cosmetic Organizers

What do you store your daily use cosmetics in?

SHAPE MATTERS!

What's YOUR shape?

Make Up

Do you own any makeup kits like this?  How long does it last?  Do you really use it all?

40's Hair #MoreMagazine

I was reading this month's More magazine and there was an article about how to have your best hair at 30, 40 and 50.  I quickly skipped to the 40 page and read up on what I'm supposed to look out for and what I can do.

I couldn't find the current article online but this basically what they said:  

Why hair plays a disappearing act after 40

Great.  I have going bald to look forward to.  The more I read about this aging shit...the more I want to opt out.  Seriously.

This shit is for the birds.  LOL!  I canNOT stop laughing at this shit!  Eyes bad and baldness in my future.  One of my surrogate mothers told me that my face looks ashy.  And I was moisturized.  LOL!  WITH BRONZER!  LOLOLOLOL!  Now...in my defense...she wasn't wearing her glasses and she's way older than me but hell.  What the hell is next?  I'm not taking this ish lying down.  

If you know of some secret stuff to fight all of this inevitable ish coming down the pipeline...Imma need yall to speak up hell.  Don't be keeping the secret of the bees to yourself.  That shit is not sisterly.  If you have a fountain of youth out back...ship me a bottle.  Please and thank you.

Have you started noticing some of these things happening?  What are you doing?  Do you FOCUS on aging well?  Are you eating right?  Working out?  Drinking water?

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes Question

I keep a little pack of these in my travel bag.  Normally...when I'm traveling...I put on mascara or something to look mo' betta-er.  They work pretty well removing eye makeup but I always wash my face properly after using them.  I was reading something this morning and it stated that you don't have to wash your face after you use them.

What say you?  When you use one of these...do you still wash your face the normal way?  

Best Hairstylists 2013

We haven't done this in a while even though I see people searching for a good listing of hairstylists in my search results often.

Please give the details of a good hairstylist in your area:

Sylist's Name:

City/State:

Phone Number:

Wash/Style Cost:

Are you relaxed, natural or White?

Aging Idol

Who are YOUR aging beautiful idols?

Miss Dior

Which perfume are you wearing mostly these days?

Ain't that the truth!

New Hairstyle! GO ME!

I've been looking for something different to do with my hair and today I found it something I like!  GO ME!  Whatcha think?

Geisha girl look.  

The texture of this style is simply so amazing.  What do you think?

Everyone knows that if you're gonna go...GO.ALL.THE.WAY!  Yup...totally rad huh?

What do you think?  Which of the three should I rock?  

Jennifer Aniston's Living Proof Contest and Review

Sometime this past Spring, I read about a contest Jennifer Aniston was having about being obsessed with hair.  I was sitting on the deck with my laptop and pressed record and made a quick, quirky video adding different pictures of me wearing my hair differently.  I was bored and it was something fun to play around with.

I sent it in.

About a month ago they contacted me and told me I was a runner up in the contest and I won $100 gift certificate to use their products at Living Proof.

Cool!  Me love free stuff!

GO ME!  GO ME!

I then asked her which product line should I try since I'm Black and my hair ain't like Jen-Jen's.  LOL!  She told me to try the Restore line which is for dry hair.

When I received the product I was at the end of a relaxer stretch and wasn't going to do anything with my hair anyway but honestly...once I added my leave-in conditioner I thought to myself...hmmmm...I bet I could blow dry and flat iron it without a bunch of tangling so I tried it and it worked well.

I was happy with the way my hair turned out but I wasn't ecstatic until I tried the Targeted Repair Creme.  This stuff felt really good on my hair.  I only used a little bit but that little bit went a long, long way.  I learned that first week that I can't use it every day because it's thicker than I'm used to...but using it every other day works wonders.

I read some reviews online which suggest it doesn't work well on natural hair but they were using the No-Frizz line so I'm wondering if they would have had better results had they used the Restore line too.

They sent me a sample of this product and I think I'm going to order it too:  Perfect Hair Day

All-in-all I'm pretty darned pleased with it since I've been over here bouncing and behaving.  LOL!  GO ME!

Have you tried any new hair products lately?  Share please!  You know we're always looking for something hot!

How to buy glasses when you're VAIN.AS.HELL!

Well...it's finally happened.  My eye doctor tells me that I need reading glasses.  *sigh*

This wouldn't be as traumatic if I only read at home but I'll be out and about looking some kinda crazy trying to read something on a menu or something and it's become bothersome to say the least.

I spent the better part of an hour trying to find a pair of frames to no avail.  I got some good ideas...but nothing jumped out at me.

Here are a few that were okay but just OKAY:

I really like the styles of this designer.  Lafont.  And I LOVE that their "name" is only on the inside of the frame and not emblazoned all along the side.  I want them to be stylish, of course, but not all BOING LOOKA ME WITH MY FANCY FRAMES!  I feel like I want my glasses to be simple in that aspect.

They are metal and have those nose things that I hate because they leave a print on my nose and I remember my father ALWAYS had a print on his nose and it brings back all kinds of weird memories when I see prints on sides of my nose like that when I wear sunglasses with those nose things and yes I know I have issues but yall already know I'm not working on them so there.

 

These were far more comfortable to me but I don't like the logo on the side.  They are plastic and don't have those nose things.  They felt like I was rocking a pair of sunglasses and after a few minutes I didn't even feel them on my face which is a good thing right?

So now I'm online looking at too much stuff like shape size of glasses for my face shape, etc. and getting overwhelmed.  Robby is, of course, no help.  He's all...the sooner you get them the sooner you can see again.

Old practical azz.  UGH!

How old were you when YOU had to get glasses if you wear them.  What shape is your face?  What shape are your glasses?  Are yours plastic or metal?  Do you have those nose thingys?  Any tips?  

 

 

New Blond Hair!

I put a rinse in my hair last night and dried it before going to bed.  When I got up this morning I was brushing my teeth as I remembered that I'd dreamed that my hair was blond.  I straight up SNATCHED my headscarf off my head in sheer PANIC and, even as my hair was still a shiny nice new dark brown...it took me a few seconds to calm down.

Just coo-coo.

You ever have a weird dream about hair or beauty issues?

My 40+ Natural Makeup Routine

I've had some questions about what my makeup routine is these days so I decided to do a post. This is what I'm doing these days for a natural look. I think if you double click the picture it will pop out so you can read it better.

When I want to look more "made up" (like at night wearing fancy clothes) I start with a tinted moisturizer. My liquid foundations are no longer being used. I don't know why...I just stopped one day.  The imperfections and wrinkles I have don't really bother me. LOL!

This entire process takes me less than 10 minutes to do. The most important thing, to me, IN MY OPINION...is that I don't wear makeup daily so my skin is in pretty good shape.  I think if I wore makeup regularly I'd have to do more to it. IN MY OPINION.

When you're doing your makeup naturally...are there other things you do? Do you use a primer? I'm considering trying one (I got a freebie in a fancy swag bag that seems to be a good one) to see if it makes a difference. If you use a primer...what one do you use? Is it for all over or just eyes?

Concealer Question

What concealer do you use if you use one?

I bought this one long ago and only just started using it properly for my super big luggage hereditary under eye bags that ain't going nowhere: Secret Concealer - #6 by Laura Mercier - 11205524702

I think.

In case you were wondering...

Bubble Baths

Lots of bubble baths happen at 13700.  My FAVORITE bubble bath stuff for daily use (not super special stuff I use sparingly cuz it's expensive mind ya)?

 

 

 

 

Yup...ye olde faithful Calgon and Dr. Teal's Foaming Bath.  Not together of course.  I tend to use Dr. Teal's at night.  Whew.  Just delightful!  Add some candles and music and VOILA!  Relaxation station!

Do YOU ever take bubble baths?  What do you use?  

Question...

Are you COMFORTABLE with aging?  That's Sharon Stone...age 55.  She's making the rounds about her new movie and she's talking about being comfortable with aging.

My Beautiful AFTER 40 Hair - *INSERT SARCASM HERE*

*WARNING FROM SIP*  I USE THE WORDS GOOD HAIR IN THIS.  DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.  YES...ALL HAIR IS GOOD HAIR, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...BUT DON'T "ACK" LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

Pedicure Sandals

Do you have pedicure sandals or is it just me? I hate those paper sandals from the salon so I take these. When I'm going to do my nails at home...I wear these then too. I HATE thong sandals and only wear them for fresh pedis. Weird huh?

HAPPY THURSDAY!!!!!

Blue Nail Polish?

Essie Bikini so Teeny' 800

Four of my friends had on blue nail polish Saturday and now I soooooooooooooooooo want some!  LOL!  Have you rocked blue yet?  How about green?  I tend to stick to colors which kinda go with my skin color so using primary colors (other than red) is not my norm.  

What say you?  What colors do you normally reach for?  Especially as a professional woman in a professional environment.