Calm and Natural

Working on posts...Coming your way soon.

Kinky-Hues

Work Appropriate??

We never do enough fashion posts on this blog so I hurriedly took some pictures of what I wore to work today for you guys. I am not very sure its work appropriate though (eeeek). Excuse the smudges on the mirror.

Jacket( Love this! very Vivienne Westwoodesque) - Miss Selfridge

Dress worn as skirt - Matalan

T-shirt- H&M

Flats- Angelos

I am still trying to figure out how to take better pics so bear with me

Music to my ears

Hey guys,

Hope you are all lovely and enjoying the joys that come with being alive, I have been away but I see Mary has been writing lovely jubbly posts for you. I have decided its been too long since we had a music post and decided to share with you whats on my playlist at the moment,

1. Tensnake- Holding back my love
2. N.E.RD. - Hypnotize U
3. Collie Budz- Blind to you
4. Diana Ross- Love Hangover
5. Cecile-Groupie
6. Jamiroquai- Seven Days in Sunny June ( This was the soundtrack of my short birthday holiday)
7. Rihanna featuring Drake - Whats my name
8. Drake- Shut it Down ( Doesn't Drake make lovely feel good to be a woman songs)
9. Teddy Pendergrass- Close the door
10. Freemasons- Believer

Lovely day, good people

LETS BLOW THIS MOTHER!!! progress pics :)

Hey yaol!

I GOING TO DO A BLOW OUT!!!! Dangit I'm ready! been fully natural for over a year, I think it's time!

Before I go and have that done, here are a few facts about my hair as it stands (reverts, coils.. whatever) followed by a bunch of images I took when I got home from work today:

(a) I have type 4B hair - the coiliest of them all!
(b) I have way too much of it (not a bad thing, except when it comes to detangling)
(c) My hair SHRINKS at the mere mention of moisture
(d) My hair is prone to colour change (ultra black to dirty brown)
(e) I have like three different lengths on my head; front bangs are the shortest, sides are a bit longer, middle and back are the longest (I'm scissor happy, what can I say)

1. This is my hair... you should know I'm kinda iffy about progress pics I suck with those... well anyway here is is, its shrunk (as usual)


2. This is my TWA. After a year and a few odd months.


3. Top length check! BAM!


4. Side length check! BAM!


5. Front length check! (not so BAM!) :(


6. Back length check! BAMMMM!!!!


7. Can we get a close up of that...


8. That's right! I've reached Shoulder Length Hair! HUZZZZAH!


9. This is what me and my hair wore to work today (Borrowed the blouse from Nyash!)


10. AND LASTLY! this is my attempt at a side profile :)



wider shot



OK THAT'S IT... sorry for the image overload.. I'm kinda excited is all!

Thanks for reading... and looking! Questions? Comments?

Peace!

The Marathon, Body Image and Everything In between

Hola chicas!

How have you been? Missed you, I have.

So as promised, I will give you a brief overview of my experience during the marathon.

IT WAS AWESOME...

Yeah, that sums it up. Told you it would be brief. At this point I would like to give a very special shout out to my companions that made it possible, they have been with me through it all and continue to be the soles beneath my feet... My tired random trainers: *Standing Ovation Please!*

Today I would like to cover another facet of natural beauty: good old body image.. I confess, for all my years, I am still very confused.

Body Image and the weight issue

Here's a little known fact about me; I am a runner. I love to run! I've been running for just about three years now. It all started in my second year of college; I would jog for 15 min around the school track field, pant and curse miserably, then trod off defeated into the gym... Over time, my running legs grew stronger and before you knew it I would run nearly everyday for an hour (it was college, I had time!)

I lost a ton of weight. Dude, if I had before pics you would understand, here's a pic of my post running body...

Not too shabby... I think

Another thing you should know about me is that I tend to be an extremist. It's GO HARD or go home in my twisted little world. So I trained harder and lost even more weight. I ate like a chipmunk and found all things fatty and sweet ungodly: (due to the extreme graphic nature of my over-gym days, I will not be providing an image). Ok, Ok it wasn't thaaat bad, I was just overtly toned... and skinny. Training for an average of 3hours a day can do that to you..

Now women are pretty much awesome because they can look perfect in any shape or form. This is how the Good Lord deemed it. Western Society somehow messed everything up and tried to make skinny the new beautiful. Everyday I'm bombarded with images of thin twig like models and celebrities losing insane weight. As much as I like to think I'm above all the BRAIN washing... Clearly, I'm really not :(

How GORGEOUS is she, right?

Chanel Iman.... model and overall beautiful girl. Thanks a lot society :(

Victoria Secret models... I swear they are built in a lab somewhere... oh look ! Tyra and Heidi, must be an old pic

Miss Tyra after the whole weight gain and weigh loss fiasco

I love me some JH... at any shape or form

Let's fast foward a year later. This is me now... I haven't gymed for well over a year and I have lost all muscle definition. I stopped gyming because of the nature of my DEMANDING job in the wonderful world of marketing and advertising and promptly gained a sh*tload of weight. I occassionally run though, and work out with awesome DVDs sporadically whenever I have the time or when my feet get restless.

I gain weight primarily on my hip area... my cubes are gone though... sigh

I have THIGHS!!! oh lordy!

But you know the thing about it is.. I kinda like being curvy and feminine.. Herein lies the confusion.

Now ladies, I am prone to flights of fancy, so forgive me if I sound delirious when I say (at my most gym toned) I believe my celebrity body twin is Miss Jessica Biel.

Yup... I even get the muscular arms....

Baby got BACK!! :)

She has a bit of booty and the kind of body that gains muscle really fast... kinda like me. When I hear all sorts of ill-talk about how not feminine her body is I quickly revert and question my own femininity and proceed to eat loads of candy and also take a hiatus from working out... then I see her again and LOVE how healthy and toned she looks so I start to work out at home FANATICALLY and the cycle repeats itself. I have issues. I am currently at work-out-at-home-FANATICALLY mode.

I'm not sure what's better. A rockin' curvy feminine body or a lean, toned and healthy physique. I've been every shape there is and at my extremes, I have coveted the other.

What's the answer ladies? I LOVE being healthy and in shape, but I hate losing my bum and gaining the Incredible Hulk type arms!!! I hate having love handles and not being able to wear anything (I find when i'm slimmer I could look HOT in a garbage bag). I sometimes gain a happy middle ground, but lose myself along the way. So I think its time I stick to one lifestyle.

At present I am working out like a maniac... I'll post pics as soon as my cubes are back. I might look like a pro-wrestler or a beautiful healthy 20-something year old.. feel free to let me know when the time comes.

Please leave a note and tell me what your thoughts on weigh and body image are... all views and standpoints are welcome as always.

Love as always,

Mary

Healing oils for your skin

Don't they have lovely skin Source

Most people cringe at the thought of using oil on their skin especially on the face. There is a certain misconception that using oil on your face will cause breakouts. This is totally false unless your waterboarding with oil instead of water. I will highlight three oils that are easily available in Nairobi and are very good for the skin, hair and body.

Castor Oil

Castor oil is a wonderful oil and has tonnes of uses. Castor oil has been described to leave the body better than it found it. For the skin, Castor oil is anti-inflammatory as well as non-comedogenic (which means it does not aggravate skin or acne). This healing and cleansing oil stimulates production of collagen and elastin and is a good emollient. Castor oil is very thick and a little goes a long way. It helps makes skin smooth, reduces wrinkles and prevents acne and when used in the OCM method, is a great cleanser.

Castor oil can be found in most major chemists and beauty shops in any town, plus in the major supermarkets i.e Uchumi, Nakumatt and Tuskys.Its also very cheap approximately Ksh 180 for about 150ml

Grapeseed Oil

Grapeseed oil is one of my favourite oils. Its very light and does not feel heavy on the skin. It is an astringent oil i.e. it tightens and tones the skin. The oil has very high levels of anti-oxidants which reduces/diminishes the sun's damaging effects while lessening free radical damage.Grapeseed oil has an SPF of 4. It contains more antioxidant power than Vitamin C and E. Its stabilises collagen, maintains elastin, evens skintone and fades blemishes. Grapeseed oil is also easily available in healthshops, supermarkets (Uchumi) and also chemists. Its also very cheap and goes for about Kshs 180 for 100ml.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is not only healthy for cooking with but serves as a great all body moisturiser. It promotes a smooth and radiant complexion and has been used for skin for centuries. It maintains skins elasticity, high in anti-oxidants and it regulates sebum which is good for acne sufferers. When buying Olive oil, pick up Extra Virgin Olive oil which is the purest and is the least processed. Its relatively expensive, so its better to splurge out on Kshs 800 for a 750ml bottle and use it for your hair and skin while putting some aside for the kitchen. Olive oil is available in all supermarkets and food stores.

I use all this oils in some way or other.

My moisturiser is made up of a mix of Castor Oil, Grapeseed Oil and Neroli Essential Oil. I use this everyday morning and night. My skin is relatively glowing and I get the occasional spot but not too often.I use olive oil in my body scrub which is honey, brown sugar and olive oil (use this 1-2times a week and my skin thanks me for it, (plus is oh so soft)

Oils have no nasty chemicals and by using them you can be sure that you are not introducing any nasty stuff in your skin.