Hi there! Welcome to Curlswithstyle.com! I'm here to provide inspiration to people who have a desire to live a meaningful life by showing you a glimpse of my everyday life. Enjoy!
I recently learned that Amazon collaborates with bloggers and influencers from around the world to create a clothing collection that represents them and their current trend. Its pretty intense because you have 30 hours to shop the collection and once it sells out, its gone.
Recently I had the pleasure of picking a piece from the @SignedBlake collection that was completely out of my comfort zone and decided to style it out of my normal style. Blake is the first black influencer I noticed to have a collection, and not only do I follow her, she is quite the badass. Most of the collections within The Drop are not plus size friendly, so it is definitely enlightening to see she thought of us.
Wanna know what’s funny? I didn’t originally order this piece. I wanted the floral ruffle maxi dress, so im not sure how my order was mixed up. At the time I couldn’t return it because the piece I wanted sold out in my size. After a couple weeks I decided to take it out for a spin and go grunge chic. Yeah, that’s what I’m calling it. I decided to pair it with some combat boots that’s high on trend this season and I belted the dress to give it more shape. Also rolling up the sleeves helps frame the look as well.
I’m so glad I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something different! Stay tuned for my next Amazon The Drop review!
Lord have mercy where has the time gone? We have a whole one year old! It was just a few days ago, we were bringing her home in this small carseat that we didn’t know how to fix the car straps for, trying to figure out how to maneuver her in our home. Or, it seems like yesterday that I was taking her to my dad while I get acclimated back to the work place. They say time flies when you’re having fun, and I believe it. Although our first year as parents was very hard and stressful, we are so overjoyed with our “healthy, happy, and beautiful” little rugrat.
One of the things I am most proud of as a mother is that I did not compare myself to other parents and I only took advice I had with a grain of salt. Its like God equipped me with a different set of wisdom to use that I never had. My husband and I learned a long time ago, that children are different and we talked a lot of about our own childhood where we made a plan to fully rely on each other. I’m telling you, it is SO IMPORTANT to have a partner in child raising. I commend single parents and I really don’t know how they do it, but I know some of them would love help.
Harper is a funny kid. She is always smiling and laughing. As soon as she wakes up, she is smiling and talking. She loves to clap and she just started dancing. She loves to “praise the Lord” (we love Jesus over here folks) and will lift her hands every time she hears “Yes, Lord!” She marches to her own beat on her very own drums and she loves to give hugs.
We had plenty plans for her for the year of 2020, lots of travel, outdoor activities, swimming lessons, but COVID delayed all of that, and we’re just now getting her out but with much precautions. We will be able to tell her about this in a few years, that she spent most of her first year of life, in a pandemic. We will also tell her that we are sad that she didn’t get to meet our beloved Bishop/Pastor who witnessed mommy and daddy’s engagement, counseled us, and then married us. We also prayed that he would be the one to christen her, but the Lord thought it was time for him to come home. Harper is full of discernment, but is very friendly.
Don’t worry, the mask isn’t tight.
We are now in the stages of fully reading to her and indulging in the academic world just to get her more exposed to numbers, letters, literature and possibly different languages. We are so nervous, but excited. Although her birthday is October 7, feel free to wish her a happy birthday. We’ve been celebrating all month!
After Harper was born, I decided to get a jump start on taking better care of my hair before the postpartum shedding would make their debut. Although I know nothing can stop postpartum shedding, I can do what I can on my end to make my hair more manageable and to possibly retain as much health and length as possible. After all, I didn’t know how PPS would take my hair out or if my hair would come out at all.
I stumbled on some products from the Creme of Nature Argan Oil from Morocco line, the Plex Breakage Defense. One thing that caught my attention was that this line helps reduce damage and breakage , reinforces weak bonds and helps fill in fragile strands. With me being anemic as well, I thought this would be a great way to be proactive. My pregnancy treated my hair so well and I wanted to keep that up with healthy eating and proper hair maintenance. I started using this product back in March and have been using it ever since. I also bought this entire set, 3 times.
The line contains 3 products: Step 1: The Bond Mender Pre-Treatment, Step 2: The Restoring Shampoo and Step 3: The Restoring Conditioner. I use the bond mender right after the detangling process either on dry or wet hair, depending on the state of my hair. After about 20 minutes, I rinse, and proceed with shampoo and conditioner. One thing about the shampoo is that it is very clarifying despite the organ and castor oil, almost stripping my hair. However, the conditioner adds plenty moisture back in my strands. One thing that I noticed with this product is how I experience less shedding and more length retention in my hair.
Results
Top: March 2020; Bottom: August 2020
When I was pregnant last year, I noticed a little breakage and limped strands so I decided to cut my hair to the healthiest point to give myself a fresh start since I was not too far away from the 2nd trimester.
Any other Tips, You Say?
Remember, postpartum shedding is inevitable and you can’t control it. Some have it worse than others. I’ve been blessed to see minor breakages on my edges and a little thinning. Not only that, my body waited almost a year to see the shedding. Here are a few things I did:
Leave my hair alone. //We’ve been in a pandemic all year and I’ve been working from home, so one of my favorite things to do was after I washed my hair, I blew it out lightly flat ironed it
Protein Treatments// Most people only do these twice a year, but I say, do it when needed. For me, when my hair is too soft and shedding too much even after a trim, it is time. My favorite product is the Aphogee Treatment. Their entire line is superb. Stay tune for a demonstration.
Protective Styling// I always talk about protective styling and my favorite are braids. When done correctly, it can help with the growth of your hair. Now that my edges are broken off a little, I focus more on jumbo box braids.
Take vitamins/supplements and drink plenty of water// Taking vitamins or supplements are really hard for me because I forget, but I’ve seen great results when I do, especially when I add plenty of water.
So far, with these tips I’ve been using, my hair has been flourishing nicely. My plan is to continue these tips and we will come back with an update.
When I discovered Eloquii years ago, I was bittersweet. I was so excited to find a plus size brand that sold trendy, chic items but bitter because I could not afford it at the time. Now that I am blessed to be able to, about 85% of my wardrobe is of this brand. They also have the best sales! Not too long ago, Eloquii partnered with Walmart on an Elements collection focusing on everyday fashion at modest prices. What I love about this line is even though the prices are significantly lower than other pieces on the site, the quality is still there. When I saw the release, I rushed to Walmart.com, where I saw it first and picked up a few things.
This peplum jacket can be worn many ways, but I opted to wear it as a jacket in a casual manner! I went a size up in case I decide to wear it as a shirt and what I love about this outfit is that no only is it comfortable and warm, it is easy to chase my one year old!
Even though the next two tops are long sleeved, they are so comfy. Florals have always been my thing since I was a young teenager. You can get the floral top here.
Who doesn’t love animal print? Even though I’m wearing this leopard top in a casual manner, it is still versatile and can be worn dressy, not to mention animal prints are neutral
Check out their entire collection at Eloquii.com or you can even visit Walmart’s site here.
Even though quarantine didn’t give us much of a summer, I’m still trying to hold on a little bit longer and this fun, colorful dress from the Eva Mendes line at New York and Company is helping me pretty great! This is probably my favorite dress of the season and I am definitely going to hold on to it to really take it for a spin in 2021.
Click on the dress here, and use the code NYCOFANS for $15 off of your purchase of $30 or more!
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