Gucci SS 2014 YEAH! or NOT!

Okay, I have been waiting to see what Gucci's SS 2014 Collection would look like, just because the SS 2013 looks were not that impressive to me. It was nice (because its Gucci of course), but I felt they had kind of played it safe. But CHILE the SS 2014 Men's Collection is different. I don't know where  Frida Giannini  got the idea for all these moody floral patterns, as well as the stylized outerwear. But some of the pieces I really like, others no so much.

This look reminds me of Dwayne Wade somewhat with the tight tailoring, and the relaxed ankle on the pant. I'm not in love with the floral prints but on here they dont look so bad. I think it would take a woman such as  Rihanna or Madonna to pull this one off. hmmm..  out of five stars, ill give this one 3/5

I like this jacket, but not the pants. Not a fan of form fitting pants as far as Men's Fashion goes. The jacket is cool though. 2/5 because of the pants

Sexy! I love tailored suits. Suits do to women what lingerie does for men. The jacket on this look is unique with the double right ride pockets, and then the single left pocket. The color is everything, but I mean what color wouldn't this look good in? ;) 5/5 !! 

Eh, not totally excited about this one but I don't hate it. As mentioned before I'm not a fan of this type of pant on men, but the jacket is not so bad. I like the double breasted approach, it just seems over sized, and somewhat boxy. Not to mention its long on the sleeves and short above the waist.  3/5 overall. 

Frida DID THAT!! with this coat. I love it, it would do more for me if it was a color other than putty. But hey, this ones a winner! It's short like the one before but it isn't a formal coat which makes the look not so bad over a pair of jeans, or even cargos. 4/5 would have 5/5 but i can't get with the pants. Lol. 

And this my friends is where she lost NI, i cant take it. Return to Sender, Address invalid, NO NO NO! 

.....hmmm, idk Gucci. I just don't know. 

New Slaves

Every year the city of Detroit hosts a fireworks show and every year a careless random shooting occurs. Yesterday the annual fireworks were held and just as expected.....

a shooting occurred. The random gun fire caused a stampede of people, and individuals were ran and trampled over. In the midst of the commotion and confusion a 3 year old girl was left standing, waiting to get ran over. A FEMALE that I know, ran back to grab this child, injuring herself in the process. My first question was, "where was her mother?" Well folks....she decided she had to "get the fuck out of there" and left her child standing there. Yes, that's what I said, she left her. How as a PARENT do you leave the life you created and birthed, standing in harms way?? I am truly disgusted and hurting. 

 

When as a people do we begin to want more for our children, for ourselves??  When will you wake up and realize that you are INFACT NEW SLAVES!!

This slavery isn't physical, it's mental!! Blacks have been so brain washed and fed so much bullshit that our way of thinking is fucked up. The City of Detroit is a prime example of that fucked up mentally. Hustle, buy a bunch of clothes, get a whip, throw some 6's on it, get fresh, get a bad bitch make a bunch of babies you can't afford, take pictures to stunt and show off your money and fancy clothes. That's what considered living these days?!?!?! When did that become life?? When did your appearance begin to take precedence over the actual life you live?? Today isn't a history lesson, just a mini rant from a fed up African American female. We are forced to watch the continually enslavement through reality tv, we enslave ourselves with our own behavior. They sit back and watch as you fight over meaningless, worthless, things! Kill each other over a dollar that ain't worth the paper it's printed on. Im not saying its wrong to want nice things, or have them. But why is it so important?? For an image?? An image for people that dont give a damn about your life in reality?? An image for people who's opinions YOU profess and claim don't matter in your life??  When will you wake up people!!!! There is bigger War going on than we know and right now we are losing the battle. I refuse to lose the battle.  Why are we no longer the proud people we once were, why do fight our own instead of fighting those that are T.K.O'n our black asses. Every one of us has said at some point "O I couldn't have a been a slave, I would have......" But YOU ARE A SLAVE....now what are you gonna do it about it??  BC

L.O.V.EEEEEE

Morning Folks, 

     So usually I'm not the one to post about Love, Relationships, etc.: Most times Britt and Jill take care of the emotional side of this blog. Lol. #thuglife

But I was talking to my mentor, and the conversation switched to Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness... We were talking about the difference in relationships back in the day, and relationships now.  I was telling her of my own trust issues and how I acquired them.The thing that stood out the most in our conversation was when she said that Every time you get with a person, your going to have to teach yourself to that person, they'll have to learn what you like, what you don't like, what makes you happy, sad, etc.: For example, If you've been with a person for a couple years, throughout these years you've taught yourself to this person. They obviously know you if you've been dealing with each other for this amount of time. So if every time we started a new relationship we kept in mind how much of ourselves we would have to reteach to this new person it would start to seem like a better idea to add these issues to the list of things you don't like, and work through them.  Don't base a relationship on the best days, or the worst days, but the average days. Learn how to argue. Arguments aren't screaming matches in which whoever is the loudest wins. Nope. An argument is just a fancy disagreement.

That made me think. We sometimes get so caught up on how easy it is to move on, or to get someone different. When the whole time the only person who we're affecting is ourselves. Once you learn love and decide to love a person for everything that makes them that person (Flaws and All) the process of actually loving will become more understanding. Love is more than sex. Love is more than a relationship status on facebook. Love is serious. 

Now of course I'm not saying force yourself to stay with a person because of how long y'all been together.. BUT I am saying if somewhere in there you have a little hope that things can and will change, stick with it. Make your relationship work for you. After the thrill of being in a new relationship is over that's usually where it all starts. I think its important to keep a relationship fresh. Surprises, Date Nights, Showing Affection, Conversation, all of that!! Just keep it new! If you keep your relationship new, you might not need a new one.

Summer Time Fine.

Summer!! Summer!!

I just LOVE Summer!! I love every season, why? because I love Fashion! :)

   Summer is completely different from winter, which is why NI has a couple tips, tricks, and how-to's just to keep things in order. 

First Order Of Business: MAKE-UP.

Make Up is an Art, and being able to apply it takes practice. When applying your own make up, do what you feel is just. I will say, if you aren't comfortable with your make up in the house, don't leave the house. Often times people say its not what you wear but how you wear it? Totally agree. It could be something as small as a strip of lashes, if you arent 100% comfortable with that strip when you leave home, its going to effect your whole day. Just think off guard. We live in INSTAGRAM CITY, where people will post with out permission.. you want to be so flawless when you leave home your ready for the off guards. Summer requires less clothing, and with less clothing comes more simplistic makeup. 

Tips:

 1. Eyes: Using shades of grey,brown, dark blue, and dark green helps eyes look bolder, and bigger as oppose to black liner, which makes them appear small. When applying liner emphasize the corners of your eyes, with a slight line drag to make eyes appear bigger!!  Also, a good eye shadow primer is essential, it'll help your shadow stay put in the heat!! FACT: Continued exposure to UV Rays can have a tremendous effect n your vision. So be sure your summer includes a pair of Sunglasses! 

2. Eyebrows: Keep brows shapely, and full to give yourself a more youthful appearance. Use an angle brush with eye shadow to fill them to desired thickness. *Trick - Concealer will help hide new hairs as they grow. 

3. Lips: Keep it LOUD this summer, with Vibrant lip stains, like Purple, Fuchsia, Orange, Pink are the perfect summer lip colors. Try to avoid over shiny lips they tend to expose fine lines, and oily skin. Sometimes a simple lip balm that carries a shimmer gets the job done perfectly!! *Trick - Add just a teeny weeny bit of lip balm to your cupids bow, (the area right above your lip and under your nose) to help create the illusion of larger lips. 

HAIR !! 

Hair is everything in the summer, just because of the amount of heat it has to deal with, your hair can become STRESSED OUT. Heat from the morning, when you have those flat irons on 450 rushing for work, as well as the heat that the day brings.

Here are some summer styles that work, and require not as much heat: 

• Half Up, Half Down: simple. part your hair across the middle, leave the bottom half loose, the upper half in a ponytail, or a bun. 
• Fish Tail Braid: I personally don't know how to do these, but here's a youtube video for those wanting to learn.
• Provocative Ponytail: This particular Pony is sleek on the sides, and more textured in the top and middle. 
• Hairline Braid: A French styled braid that canvases your hairline. The good thing about this style is that it guarantees your hair out of your face for as long as you leave the braid in!  

TIPS !! 

     In the winter we pile on tons of stuff to our skin to "protect it" from the cold, well remember how earlier I said less clothing, less makeup? Yeah, kinda the same with lotions, perfumes, body oils, glitters, and vaselines. Of course I wouldn't tell you to not moisturize, HOWEVER find a lightly scented lotion that actually moisturizes your skin so that you wont need to wear so much that it sweats off. Lotions and Perfumes heavy on smell can irritate your skin in the humid climates. I would recommend a body midst instead of a perfume, just to keep things light. 

--- Until Next Time; NI. 

                            

Natural Hair- Your Questions. Answered!

                                                                          Picture crediit to @bluviolette on Instagram 

Over the past few years more and more women have been ditching the relaxer and returning to their natural roots. With that notion, naturally(no pun intended) comes a lot of questions. Well luckily for you  JC has went through 2 years of trial, error and lots of research. So I'm here to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge :). 

Q: What does it mean to co wash? 

A: Co washing means to wash your hair with "conditioner only" traditional shampoos with sulfates strip the natural oil from your scalp causing your hair to be dry and brittle and eventually break off. If you prefer to have a lather when washing your hair try a sulfate free shampoo Shea Moisture makes great sulfate free shampoos. 

Q: Is there any way to remove the relaxer from my hair besides cutting it out? 

A: Unfortunately there isn't any way to remove the relaxer except those dreaded scissors. The least painful way to do it is to cut it gradually, grow an inch, cut an inch. For me just cutting it all off was the easiest way to do it. It's all a matter of preference.

Q: How do I get my hair to curl? 

A: There are two answers to this question. The first answer is simple. You do not have a curl pattern, for some reason everyone thinks they will have have the same curl pattern or they will have curls. This is not the case. Our hair is all uniquely and beautifully made different, some of us have kinky, some have curly, some have coily, some have wavy, some have straight. I have a combination of kinky, coily, curly, straight and wavy. Most naturals have multiple textures. Here's picture of the different textures so that you can see which texture category you fit in. 

Now the 2nd answer to this question is that, unfortunately you have heat damage. No matter how much heat protectant you use if you start your journey out with heat damage and never cut that damage out and still use heat on a regular basis your hair is not going to go back to its natural curl pattern. The only solution is to big chop or transition just as if you are transitioning out of a relaxer. And on the flip side if you start out wit your natural texture and want to use heat on a regular basis be prepared to sacrifice altering the natural texture and suffering heat damage.

Q: How did you get your hair to grow so fast?

A: I would have to say the key to growing my hair at a healthy rate is keeping it moisturized . That's it. Our hair is very dry and it needs moisture to thrive. Every day or every other day I'm putting some sort of moisture into my hair. I'm sure your next question will be "What moisturizurizer you use girllll?". Well someone asked a very good question on Instagram, so stay tuned.

Q: My hair is very dry. It won't grow because it's so dry! I wear weaves because I can't deal with how dry it is! 

A: I understand your frustration this goes back to the previous question. Your hair is like a plant. It needs to be nurtured, watered and taken care of in order to thrive and grow. You can't just put it away in the dark and think outta sight outta mind. Protective styling is GREAT! Braids, Sew ins, Updos all that is really good for your hair. But the key is to make sure you're taking care your hair under the weave. Your scalp has no time to breath if it's in cornrows all the time you have to pay special attention to moisturize & seal and you still have to wash your hair! Do all of this and your hair will grow.

Q: I need help with my twist outs.

A: There are three steps to the perfect twist out. Rule #1 Don't borrow hair. When you section off to twist keep the two pieces of hair completely separate until the twist is complete if the twist is uneven twirl the end until there is a single uniform curl. Rule #2 Detangle your hair prior to starting the styling process, you want your twists to come out nice and smooth after you detangle  apply your styler of choice. Rule #3 When you take your twists down apply oil to your hands this will reduce frizz. Take your time taking the twists down. Rotate the twist in the opposite direction that you twisted, it will naturally separate, continue to separate and fluff until you get the desired fullness!

Q: What are your absolute must have products for your hair?

A: Ahhhh thee old Holy Grails! Chileee if y'all didn't know I am a certified product and while I'm very ashamed to show my stash, I will however share what I simply CANNOT live without. 

Moisturizers:

Water- Yes this falls under moisturizer for me it's the ultimate moisturizer. 

Lily Of The Desert Aloe Vera Juice- I use the preservative free one. I put it in a spray bottle and keep it in the fridge, I use this to re-moisturize my hair

Alikay Naturals Lemongrass Leave In Conditioner- I use this to refresh my hair at night after re-twisting. Very very moisturizing

Darcy's Botanicals Pumpkin Seed Curl Moisturizing Conditioner- If I want something creamy to retwist my hair with or if I'm pulling my hair up in a puff I use this to wake it back up. It's amazing!

Co-Washes:

Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture- This one doesn't have any silicones and has amazing slip it makes detangling a breeze. Sometimes I rinse the majority of this one out and leave a little in because it's so moisturizing. I don't do I all the time though, the smell is a tad bit annoying for me.

Suave Shea Butter & Almond- It's not silicone free but is very moisturizing and has lots of slip as well. I don't leave this one in.

Trader Joes Nourish Spa- Silicone free, great slip

Cleansing Conditioner:

Curl Junkie Daily Fix- this conditioner actually cleanses and gets rid of build up such as silicones without stripping your hair.

Shampoos: 

Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo- It's sulfate free, it does what it says. That's why I like it. It doesn't strip my hair and it cleanses it well.

Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo- What can I say? It does what it says and its cheap it's HG for me!

Deep Conditioners:

Aubrey Organics GPB- This has a great balance of protein and moisture and I like to use this to deep condition at least twice a month. It doesn't make my hair hard like mos protein conditioners and whenever I feel like my hair is shedding a lot or breaking this remedies it right away!

Shea Moisture Purification Masque- I keep back ups of back ups of this I gets nervous, chills, I turn into Dr. Jekyll and get Tourette's when I'm running low.....yes it's that serious and it's that good lol the slip on this product ain't no joke I can detangle in seconds with this deep conditioner and it has clay in it(hence purification) so it gets rid of build up. It makes my hair über soft and moisturized and I like to leave it in overnight and rinse it out and proceed with my regimen in the morning.

B.A.S.K YAM NECTAR- Simply amazing. Very odd consistency, looks just like honey but once it's applied to soaking wet hair it emulsifies down to a cream. It's sooo moisturizing I use it with heat.

Curl Junkie Curl Rehab- This one is multi purpose I can use it as a deep conditioner and a leave in. See HG...lol

Leave In Conditioners: 

Kinky Curl Knot Today- I've been using this from day one since I first big chopped, it's never faile me! It has lots of slip, very light but moisturizing at the same time. It's simple no frills. It's just good. My only complaint is I wish it was cheaper and came in a larger size at Target. 

B.A.S.K Palm Tapioca Deluxe Hair Cream- This is a thick moisturizer but because water is the first ingredient I can use this as a leave in and I also use it as a twisting cream.

Oils: 

Trader Joes Organic Coconut Oil- Believe it or not the brand actually matters, this is my favorite.

Trader Joes Organic Jojoba Oil- Same here.

Castor Oil- Can't think of the brand because I'm all out but I get it from Whole Foods :)

Stylers: All of the listed products below I use for twists, twist outs, puffs, Bantu knot outs, wash n goes, updo's etc

Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream

Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream

Qhemet Biologics Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee

Qhemet Biologics Honeybush Tea Gel

Qhemet Biologics Aethopika Hydrate & Twist Butter

Urbanbella Hydrating Moisturizing Cream

Ecostyler Gel(Blue)(Hold of 5)

Pomades/Edge Controls:

Hicks Edges- This holds my edges very well it's a favorite of mine but I'm looking for something cheaper that works just as well though. So it's temporarily on the HG list.

Curls Passion Fruit- This is pretty good but it doesn't work that well on freshly washed hair. So it's not an absolute fave but it deserves honorable mention.

Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade- I love Castor oil and that's the 1st ingredient in this product, it smells really good and I like to use this for my edges or to add some extra shine to my hair.

B.A.S.K Java Bean & Honey Hair Balm- This one has really good ingredients and adds amazing shine I use it to seal in moisture after applying my leave in :)

-JC

Dream CHASERS!!!!

Long time no chit chat huh? I know. However, it hasn't been in vain! This blog post is dedicated entirely to those of US who are out here chasing after our dreams. Making them realities.  

I LOVE to see people working on their craft! I can proudly say every one I'm surrounding myself with is making moves! And that's what its all about! Get around people who are going where you're trying to go.

Once you find something that is of so much interest to you; that you want to know everything about it GET INTO IT! Reach out to people who are already doing it, ask questions, do whatever you think you need to as it pertains to your goals. Just try it, I can promise you life won't get 100% easier but it'll start to make sense. Certain things won't be as important, why? because you'll be working. 

Of course there are going to be people who want you to be successful, but just not doing better than them. Which is understandable because you can't expect people to want for you the things you want for self. FORGET THEM!! 

GOALS: SET THEM! MEET THEM! EXCEED THEM!

Short Term Goals: *Try this: Write down three (3) short term goals that you want to accomplish in the next three months. Just write them down, speak them out loud (to give them life), fold it and put it somewhere you can get it in three months. WORK toward achieving these goals. The attitude you have about the things you want can determine whether or not you get it. Now if for some reason your three months pass, and you haven't completed your short term goals. It might be time to reevaluate. Both self, and your environment. What's holding you back? 

--- NI