Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Blended Beauty Blended Cutie Soft Curls & Swirls and Jelly Cream Review


BIG Thanks and Hugs to Stacey from Blended Beauty for blessing us with the mega opportunity to review two of their products from the Blended Cutie line of which Stacey hand picked and recommended based off of my Diva's soft, fine and loose curls.  For some time i have really been wanting to try Blended Beauty and could never find them local nor did i run across many people who have tried their products, so I'm very excited that we were given this opportunity and without further a due i will be reviewing the Blended Cutie Soft Curls and Swirls Leave In Conditioner Moisturizer and the Blended Cutie Jelly Cream.


Blended Beauty Blended Cutie Soft Curls & Swirls Leave In Conditioner and Moisturizer



Here is what the Swirls and Curls looks like in the container...


Here is a double finger scoop of Swirls and Curls for a more in depth idea of its texture and consistency...

 

Product Description
A light and gentle leave-in Moisturizer and conditioner for waves, curls, swirls and kinks. pH balanced for tender scalps, and tames that main! This daily conditioning cream is enriched with shea butter, aloe and chamomile, and leaves hair soft, smooth and in control.

Click here to find out if this product is recommended for your child's hair type according to Blended Beauty's hair typing system.

Ingredients
Aloe and Chamomile Water, Rice Bran Oil, Shea Butter, Natural Conditioners, Vegetable Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Capryl Isostearate, Perfume, Natural Preservative Optiphin, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Soy Lecithin, Silk Powder.

Directions
Apply to clean, damp, detangled hair in small sections and smooth through completely. Style with fingers, not a comb, to reduce poof.


Our Review

Color: White-ish
Scent: Like Home Made Butter Cream Frosting
Texture/Consistency: Looks thick but it is medium in thickness and very smooth and creamy
Cost: $19.00 per 8oz

So we have steadily been solely reviewing these two Blended Cutie products pretty much by their lonesome so that we could gather accurate and proven results over time of using them consistently. I prefer to review this way so that no outside factors aside from the expected or environmental can intervene.  We have been at it using this product for weeks now which has always been plenty of time for us to thoroughly review products and build our foundated judgment on the quality, usage requirements, results, process from start to finish, likes/dislikes and the such.


This first collage is from left to right, the before application picture of the Curls and Swirls and the aftermath of the first ever application of the Curls and Swirls. You can see immediate shine difference and her curls began to shrink up slightly after application.  Her hair was wet when i applied it.


Here are a few close up shot of her curlee's lavished with a few finger scoops from root to ends of the Curls and Swirls


Notice the nice separation of the defined curlees? I did not have to manipulate her curlees to separate themselves either, the Curls and Swirls did a great job of making her curls POP!


Below is the following morning after our beginning of the Blended Cutie Curls and Swirls usage.  She used a satin bonnet to sleep with over night and at the time the picture was taken i very slightly detangled her hair but did not manipulate it at all.  You can see clear poofage and some of her definition is hidden or flattened.  Which this is always expected an inevitable regardless, i am just so glad that there weren't many knots present and the amazing butter cream scent was still slightly present and her hair was slightly softer than usual.


Her curls were nearly shrunken to her neckline and needed some distilled water to revitalize the Curls and Swirls. Below is a close up of her poofage and you can see some dryness present as well.


Below is another day's fresh application of the Curls and Swirls...


Below are results from another day of using the Curls and Swirls, I'm loving how her curls get more of its natural curlee pattern further up her hair shaft after i apply the Curls and Swirls.


Close up...


On to our Jelly Cream Review and Thoughts...

Blended Beauty Blended Cutie Jelly Cream


Below is an idea of what the Jelly Cream looks like as far as texture and consistency is concerned...



Product Description
 A soft hold moisturizing gel lotion that defines and conditions curls, while nourishing the scalp and hair. Smooth and define each curl with natural conditioners. Absolutely no plastics! Only silky and bouncy curls...naturally! Jelly Cream has twice as much hold as the Down & Out creams.

It can be used along with the other leave-in products for extra control.

This product is reccommended for all hair types!


Directions
 Apply to clean, damp, detangled hair in small sections and smooth through completely. Style with fingers, not a comb, to reduce poof. 

Ingredients
Aloe and Chamomile Water, Shea Butter, Vegetable Glycerin, Rice Bran Oil, Capryl Isostearate, Natural Conditioner, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, Natural Preservative Optiphin, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Silk Powder.


Our Review

Color: White-ish

Scent: Like Home Made Butter Cream Frosting

Texture/Consistency: Like a lotion with a creamy medium consistency

Cost: $19.00 per 8oz


Upon first impression, by reading the bottle i interpreted this Jelly Cream as being a hair gel type product. So i began using it in combination with the Curls and Swirls as the bottle suggested that this be used with other leave in conditioner/moisturizer product for extra hold and manageability.  I fell in love with the fragrance immediately! It really hit home with me as i am a lover of butter cream and this reminded me of some very famous home made butter cream, just nearly edible in nature!!!  Beyond this factor i was really intrigued by the texture as i could see through the bottle that it wasn't gel like nor was it like a hair milk which can be two extremes..  


When i "squirted" some into my hand i noticed it came out with a thickness to it and as it sat in my hand it began to slightly liquify.  I liked the texture of this Jelly Cream and was glad/surprised that it wasn't sticky like the average gel nor was it exactly like a lotion. The Jelly Cream has a texture of its own.  At first i decided to use the JC after i applied the Curls and Swirls since this was more so the hold type of finishing product according to the label.  The first set of pics are right after i applied the Curls and Swirls followed by the Jelly Cream, i used two full pumps to fully cover her hair. 



I like the glide and ease of the Jelly Cream, the texture and weight of it is ideal for my daughters hair density and over all thickness. Its not too thick and its not too thin. It has obvious form when i squirt the JC into my palm it had a structure hold, as what frosting looks like as its squeezed out of the tube.

Below is another combination picture of both of the Curls and Swirls and the Jelly Cream functioning dually. I find that the results keep showing better over time with each use.  I can feel and see the hold element that the Jelly Cream provides and so far I'm really liking the combined results. The Curls and Swirls and the Jelly Cream, seem to be a good duo.


Here is a random curlee...


Here are a few pics of the Jelly Cream by its lonesome after i spritzed her hair with some distilled water. Look at the shrinkage in this picture below, it appeared that her curls really shrunk up but then after i finger combed it in a little more her curls elongated themselves a bit more. Her curls are clearly large and wavy thru the mid top and at the bottom they are "S" shaped and the size of a sharpie marker give or take.  Her roots seem to grow straight out and downwards.  Indicating that she has a variety of patterns in her hair which all require slightly different bits of love. That's why most of the time we have more than 1 signature product.



I was surprised at the results we've been seeing using the Blended Cutie products. I can say that the Curls and Swirls has been added to our collection officially and i like to use it for braid outs, and styles requiring a nice thicker moisturizer with a very generous texture.  The scent is deem able as being "yummy" the Diva and i agree on that one :) She thinks it smells like cake, and i think its more of a  frosting scent without the over bearing sugary usual child's fragrance scent. It is pleasant, non irritating and really children friendly over all which is a huge must in our book. Ive found that our fav way of using the Curls and Swirls are when her hair is wet and i am styling it or by applying it after her hair is dampened. This is always a great time to apply moisturizers because the follicles are very receptive and i feel in Diva R's hair, the JC is very giving and nourishing at its peak during the dampened times, fresh out of the bath, or when distilled water is used as a pre-moisture moisturizer.


We really like this product over all and i have not seen or experienced any less positives as of yet. I have learned that following the directions to a T on the Curls and Swirls is a great idea because you can create major poofage if you stray from the directions on the jar :)

As far as the Jelly Cream is concerned my overall opinion is that this is a good product for us. It has been hard to find a truly amazing medium thickness cream moisturizer for my daughters hair because of how fine it is and how thin her hair is as well. Her hair doesn't tolerate thicker products well at all. BUT the JC is light enough and creamy enough, it is just above a hair milks texture and blends in very well. I have not seen any residuals when i have used this, no gunk build ups and this is a non greasy whipped like mixture of goodies. I have tried this in a few cornrow styles, rope twists, her freely bouncing curls and some various pony tail styles.  I find its hold to be of a nice lighter level, at least that's how its proven so far for us It doesn't hold throughout a full day when her hair is down, it starts to tangle and get poofy in the mid-late evening through dress up and activities.


I must send a HUGE Thank You and *Hug* to Stacey for giving us this opportunity to review these two products and present our results and thoughts on how the Blended Cutie products worked for us. It was our pleasure reviewing and adding these to her hair regime <3

Diva R's Mommy-Kim

Monday, January 23, 2012

Pretty Brown Girl Collection Showcase Event

 
 

We were blessed with the opportunity to travel out to the Pretty Brown Girl's Show Case Event.  This was very anticipated and since we missed the first PBG event i promised myself we wouldn't miss the next.  Diva R was geeked about this for some time and began to count the days down for when we would be able to go.

I had the idea of getting some new shirts made with our blog name on it, for representational and promotional purposes so this is what i did and we got some shirts airbrushed. You can see the Diva's shirt above and mine was exactly the same except the colors were black and grey. I did a hair style for her which i will be detailing in a future post, special for this event and of course the beads coordinated with her shirt and boots.  



The venue that the showcase was held at was My Girly Party, which is a place that caters to Diva's and Princesses of all ages and they specialize in special custom parties.  This was our first time going to this place and didn't know what to expect.

We got there real early as i had no idea how long it would take to get there, so we hung out and surveyed the area.  As the time rolled around my Diva was beyond words with excitement and couldn't wait to go inside and meet new friends and play.  I wanted to be early so we could ensure that we found the place in a timely manner as well as guarantee us one of the 10 door prize packs.

When we walk in we seen nothing but a pure slice of girly heaven, Pretty Brown Girl Style! I snapped some random photos of the venue and PBG set up and they are as follows...


Here were the refreshments and  table set ups all in the beautifully coordinating pink and brown shades :) The Diva notices the cake first and foremost and insisted that she have a piece...


We in fact were the second ones there and my sweet Diva got the prize pack as she desired and to her surprise included was the awesomely girly and poofy PBG skirt and the PBG wristband! This made her day and little did she know the excitement didn't even fully begin yet!

Here are some close ups of the skirt and band that we took after we got home since i could barely get her to stay still for 2 seconds while we were at the show case :)


 The very next thing that Diva R noticed was the Pretty Brown Girl's Doll that was in its separate casing on display for everyone to see. This was a HUGE hit for all the little girls present and they all HAD to have one :) So since this was the premiere of the doll and we already had it planned to purchase it for her i pre-ordered her one which we are expecting in May. I must say that this was a hard gum drop for her to swallow as she really wanted to walk out with it that very day.

 

But i assured her it will be here right after her Birthday and she is fine with that and has begun to count those days down now...  I was so happy that we ordered that day because we got it for $37.00 even out the door and the quality of this doll makes that well worth it!  So throughout the event we spent time socializing, hanging out, meeting new people and I spent time spreading the word about proper natural hair care and styling for children with plugs to my blog and luckily i brought a good amount of business cards because i ran out at this event! It was a honor being recognized by fellow women with interest in natural hair with little Diva's with natural hair. There were men present as well who really took interest in the event as well as did they have questions regarding how i take care of my daughters hair and how we get through hair time.

I met people who were in need of advice, a stylist, information, and beyond. It was great to have met so many wonderful people of which i could relate too and the compliments my Diva got were never ending! This made her feel so special and along the way she met her a new friend that we will call Diva K and they played the whole time we were there :) They spent most of the time working the runway, dancing and playing games. She really enjoyed all of the little girls who were present and they all played so nicely together, it was priceless listening to them compliment each other on their hair and outfits!  

Here are some shots of my Diva working the stage! She wanted to take it home with us too &lt;3

 

Here is Diva R and Diva K doing what they do best!  By the way i met myself a new friend too whom i will call Mommy K, she is Diva K's Mom and a very nice and cool lady! We meshed on so many levels and we had long conversations throughout our visit ranging from being mommy's, hair care, random-ness and we shared tips, product information and she even showed me how to do flat twists like she had did in her daughters hair. Not to mention we don't live that far from each other either so we arranged for some play dates for the girls to keep in touch as well. 


Here are some shots of some of the Diva's present including my sweet Diva on the far left, Diva K and the ORIGINAL Pretty Brown Girls themselves, the daughters of Corey and Sheri Crawley the PBG founders!!!!

 

This event was definitely one to remember and it was such a pleasure meeting Sheri and Corey as well as all the other lovely and friendly people that we met.  Pretty Brown Girl is on the map and it will be exciting to see the organization continue to grow and prosper.  To keep up to speed with future happening from Pretty Brown Girl make sure you "like" their FB fan page <3

My Girly Party is a cool place too! The owner and staff  were just so pleasant and welcoming! I must give a huge shout out to them for asking for me to put some of my cards on their desk! EEK I only wish i would have brought another stack with me at that point :)  My daughter just wanted to wear the princess dresses so bad and just loved everything about being there.  It was worth the drive too and we couldn't have asked for a better overall experience.

I did take videos too but You Tube has been reluctant in letting me upload them :( But when i do i will add them to the post...

Diva R's Mommy-Kim