Black May Be The Clouds

DIY: Nail Art

2011-07-22T16:09:00.002-04:00

I am obsessed with nail art. There... I said it. Typing this is quite difficult since I just painted my nails. I told you I had a problem! One of my favorite bloggers, MopTopMaven (http://moptopmaven.blogspot.com/) got me hooked. She does everything under the sun from natural hair, to healthy original recipes, to... yes, you guessed it, nail art! She does a step-by-step picture and explanation to feature her designs.

If I go to your house and you happen to have an extensive nail polish collection, it's in your best interest to hide it! If you do not, you will have the pleasure of watching me experiment (true story, ask my friends). Since MopTopMaven has stopped blogging, I needed a new source of inspiration. Perusing YouTube, I stumbled on a channel called "Cute Polish". This vlogger breaks down the most complicated designs into simple, doable steps and the visuals are perfect. You should definitely check her out. Below are some of the designs I have experimented with. Let me know which is your favorite!

My nails sans polish = boring yet classic with a simple top coat:

I learned how to do a basic french mani in high school from one of my good friends. Another classic look!

I learned this design from MopTopMaven <3 her

Simple yet chic polka dots

Prepping for a slanted polka dot design.

End result.

Tribal prints are a big hit this summer. Almost every store and every line includes some sweet patterns.

I did the green nail art at one of my bestie's house (see, I told you). My nails were looking pretty random for a week while I experimented. The tribal print (inspired by Cute Polish) here was my first attempt, I didn't like it much.

This could be a design if more precise, but this is me prepping for tribal print attempt #2.

Here is the final design. At first I thought it looked like an Easter egg but it grew on me lol

Next to my tribal print skirt from Forever 21

The green started to chip and as I mentioned, it did not belong to me. Here I am switching it up. I never considered wearing white nail polish but I kind of liked it. However, this was just the base coat to make my OPI nail polish (big hair big nails) POP!

POP. Great trick I learned is to do a coat of white nail polish to allow neon colors to pop. When I use "Big hair big nails" alone, it comes out verrryy light and looks thinish (not a word, I know). Without the white, you can see the white tips of my nails. The white polish is so necessary.

And there you have it folks... my obsession. <3

And We're Back

2011-07-10T00:47:00.004-04:00

I have been seriously slacking on documenting my hair progress on this blog. A friend of mine mentioned that he used to read it (as I mentioned before, I didn't think anyone read this) and it made me feel bad about not keeping up with it. Fact: I am not a blogger lol. With this in mind, this will be a series of pictures showing the progress of my hair since the last picture I posted of my big chop. Woot woot! Enjoy :-)

(Same style as above but after a wash)

(Showing the length in the front)

(How I originally did my frohawkkk)

(After banding my hair)

(side view)

(Hair with natural lighting)

(Chilling with Shaq lol)

(Twists)

(Twist out)

(Twist out styled)

(Shrunken hair with braids as headband)

(In the fitting room! My arms only look chiseled because I was in-season lol)

(Rugby time! Short frohawk)

(Some curl poppage on the left side)

(About 4 months after my big chop!)

(Playing around with new hair accessories :-)

(NYE hairstyle in the works. The one time I let someone do my hair... my cousin... she did a great job!)

(Using my x-mas present!!)

(My mini twist out!)

(Length check)

(March 2011 mini twist out-- Spring break!)

(My blowout)

(Mini twists in progress)

(Cheesing about my hair progress)

(Finally able to properly section my hair to wash! Woot!)

(Puff)

(Wash and go-esque)

(I call this one medusa-- Summer 2011)

(Summertime Blowout June 2011)

(Sectioning my hair after a wash June 2011)

(Braided french roll style June 2011)

(Half fro with twists June 2011)

(Stretched...kinda... hair with same twists from above July 2011)

(Length check.. today lol before my wash)

Lots of pics... I know! I did not realize how much my hair has grown until I looked back at old pictures. When you see it every day, it's sort of like "blahhh". On August 20th Ill be celebrating my one year big-choppaversary. Unreal.

The Quiet After the Storm

2010-10-19T01:56:00.000-04:00

So tomorrow I celebrate my two month anniversary of my big chop. Happy two month to my lil' fro! I am not sure if it is because I have been busy with school and life, but the time breezed on by! I am now going on 8 weeks as a natural and I just wanted to give you all insight on how my experience has been thus far.

Naturals Have More Fun!

You riiiight! No just kidding lol. Before I decided to transition and finally cut my relaxed hair off, I did a lot of research. I found myself looking up various articles and watching naturals on YouTube during my study breaks (which sometimes went on for hours). Let's just say that I have some what of an addictive personality. I was obsessed with everything pertaining to natural hair! I joined lots of forums, two of which I still frequent often. I was/still am obsessed with natural beauties! So much so that my sister would point out women with natural hair to me if we were walking down the street and I happened to be looking in a different direction. Soho in the beginning of the summer was my playground of beautiful naturals :-)

Despite all of the hype, I have not noticed much of a change that articles on this topic often try to highlight. I do not see different men approaching me. As a Human Evolutionary Biology concentrator and a science nerd, I would love to see some qualitative and quantitative studies done on this, although it would be insanely difficult. But back to the topic of discussion: no, I am NOT having more fun. Blimey. I am having fun learning more about my natural hair and exploring different styles. I'll tell you this though, right after I big chopped, a guy told me I was beautiful and my face lit up.

It's Skin Deep

When I first ventured into natural hair-dom, my natural hair guru, FoolProofDiva, advised me to begin looking at more pictures of natural beauties. Initially I was thinking, "yes, great way for me to accumulate hairstyle ideas", but there was much more to it than that. Piercing the transparent veneer of looking at images for hairstyles, my perception of beauty slowly shifted and no, it was not over night. We all learn about and experience the euro-centric view of popular culture that permeates our society, but the views surrounding hair did not become real to me until I was making that transformation myself. As I mentioned before, I became more cognizant of women with natural hair. Bombarding myself with images of bombshell naturals normalized it in my mind. This was definitely clutch for me when I decided to finally chop my hair off!

I noticed a shift in myself and my perception of beauty. A lot of women are afraid to go natural because they believe it will not look good on them. I had a lot of friends tell me this when I informed them I was transitioning. UMM hello?!?! Seeing as I rocked relaxed hair for a long time, I definitely understand the sentiments. My point of contention is when our society has made it so that women are afraid to rock what natural grows out of their head. I fantasize about a time when all of my friends will be natural. What a beautiful day that will be.

It is interesting to return to campus and see the same women who have had natural hair. I'll be honest, I used to give side eyes every now and then and that speaks volumes to the effects of ignorance. I simply did not understand. I thought natural 4a/4b hair was difficult to manage and was unable to grapple with why these women didn't go to the creamy crack for immediate relief. I'm glad I now understand. When I pass another sis-tah with a twa, I can't help but smile.

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These are my go to youtubers! Please suggests others to me.
Br0nzeqt and KimmayTube

The Big Chop!

2010-08-24T22:14:00.001-04:00

So initially, I was going to blog about my hair journey and maintaining it while in the motherland for the past two months, but something bigger has happened... That's right, I did the big chop! After 6 months and four days of not getting a touch up and maintaining two textures, I was getting a bit frustrated. Quite frankly, my permed ends were just like dead weight. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved experimenting with my hairstyles during the transition and I can't wait for my natural hair to get some length so I can do those styles again!

So this past Friday when I was having a diva day with my mother, I knew it was time. I'd been searching for salons and even considered booking an appointment at Miss Jessie's in Soho. But I knew that would take too long (super pricey) and I wanted it done immediately! So where do I go? My brother's barber. I've never heard anything as sweet as clippers buzzing near my ear. It was really soothing lol. AND it was only $14! He picked out my hair then went at it with the scissors. It was very dramatic... the hair was slowly falling to the ground. My mother was worried lol. Here are some pictures!

This is the shortest my hair has ever been in my life! The first day I was really self-conscious but now I'm loving it! It's so easy to manage and has me extra excited about Rugby season. There's nothing like getting a touch up then playing in a game outside on a rainy day :-( So far I've only done a twist out and a wash and go. Excited to be 100% natural!

NP: Free by Destiny's Child... "Ain't no feeling like being free!"

Undercover roots

2010-06-03T16:07:00.001-04:00

So here are the pictures I promised! My roots are not showing much minus in the front. Maybe we (my hair and I) can rock this style for a bit longer.

Side view

Waaavy!

2010-06-02T21:47:00.000-04:00

They're coming in, they're coming in! No, no, not the saints, but my natural hair! Below is a picture of me mid-shampoo. My natural hair is finally showing it's colors :-) But with that comes hardships. My roots are showing and these cold wave rods may not suffice for much longer. I will take a picture of my most recent set once I take the rods out. I feel braids coming on for the next two months or maybe more braid outs. I'll be in Tanzania so it should not be too expensive. Awesome, that will be the game plan.

On another note, I came home to find some Jane Carter Solutions products. I must admit, my face lit up! If you haven't heard about Jane Cater products, you must become acquainted at Janecartersoultion.com! I picked up my Jane Carter Solutions Nourish & Shine from Wholefoods but they now sell it at Target.

After that wash, I mixed Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Gueye's Fast Grow Hair Oil (http://store.gueye.com/fastgrowhairoil.aspx), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and Suave tropical coconut conditioner.

Side note: I emptied out the Hollywood Beauty Olive Oil and replaced it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Product Junkie!

2010-05-30T16:24:00.000-04:00

So since starting this journey, I've gone product crazy! I've been slowing down lately simply because I won't be able to tell what is working for my hair if I'm using a million and three products in it. I've also gotten rid of a couple of products that I was using before, so I would argue that the new purchases were very necessary :-) Side note! A huge thanks to Fool Proof Diva (foolproofdiva.com) for all the product and maintenance advice! My hair would be absolutely HAMish if it weren't for her.

So here are the products I'm using right now!

Suave clarifying shampoo (once a month)

Organix Acai Berry Conditioner
Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner
Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner

Honey!** (Mix in to pre-poos and conditioners)
Bananas

ORS Replenishing Pak
ORS Hair Mayonnaise

Neutrogena triple moisture leave-in
Jane Carter Nourish and Shine**

Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil*
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil**
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I believe that's all I use. If not Ill update later. I definitely need to step up my natural oil game and ease off the conditioners! I tend to mix my conditioners but I think I'm going to stick to the Suave tropical coconut ($1.00!!!) because its sooo cheap and if I'm co-washing my hair every 3-4 days, cheap=great. I definitely got the Organix during a buy one get one free deal though and I love the smell of the acai berry mixed with the honey. I also need to purchase a stronger protein treatment.

That's all for now! Heading to the city on this beautiful day :-)

Going Napppp-tural

2010-05-27T19:50:00.008-04:00

I've been on many journeys in my life and I can't wait for the others I will have to take. My current journey... my hair. ::deep breath:: I remember the first time I was introduced to the creamy crack. I trekked all the way to Ocean Ave to hit up this particular Dominican spot... Miguelina's. I was 12. TWELVE!!! Goodness. I swear I was addicted after that. The chemicals seeped deep and took over lol.

As of today, I am 2 months, 3 weeks and 5 days post my last touch up... Yes I'm keeping track lol. Transitioning has been an informative process. I've been learning so much about Black hair care since I've decided to go natural. I definitely did not know that relaxed hair was the driest type of hair! Maybe that was just me. I'm hoping to transition for about a year or so then make that big chop (BC). The fact of the matter is, I've been transitioning for only 3months and I'm already frustrated with my relaxed hair! lol I want to go clip clip, bye bye to it. Secretly, I have been trimming it myself when ever I had these feelings lol.

My favorite products without a doubt are my Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and my Jane Carter Nourish and Shine. I'm becoming some sort of a product junkie and I'm trying to check myself (before my pockets do!) I love love love co-washing (conditioner washing). Its amazing! I do it about every 3-4 days.

Maybe Ill blog more on my healthy hair journey!

Here are some pictures!

My first time using cold wave rods!

My naps are showing! Gel much?!

A shot of the new growth!

Just washed and air dry!

New growth.

Too lazy to curl. No heat challenge is hard sometimes.

Trying to incorporate braids this time to mix it up! lol

Done in time for graduation... need to get those whispies under control.

(I'm clothed by the way lol. I was wearing a tube dress.)

No coincidence

2010-05-13T17:47:00.003-04:00

There's absolutely no coincidence that I remembered this blog. Lots has happened since I last wrote. I did not really follow through with my Jamaica blogging because I started writing in my journal, but it was beyond an amazing experience.

This was a beautiful year for me. Reunited with my friends. Confused by love. Caught up in me. Most importantly, killing the game academically :-)

This summer is going to be another great one. I've found my passion and seek to further explore it with research this summer. Ever watched The Business of Being Born?? Well that along with my Soc Anal 28: Intro to Medical Anthro and EDC 187: The Quality of Health Care in America all shifted my interest in OB/GYN to midwifery. Randomness no?? lol I know. Evil side eye for myself!

But back to my point! I'll be going to Jamaica (again!) in a couple of weeks. Hope to get some of my health policy research on elective cesarean sections done while down there. Ill also be in Tanzania for two months this summer with a program, Support for International Change. Essentially I'll be teaching an HIV/AIDS curriculum in a village in Babati. TWO MONTHS! Goodness. I plan to complete some of my health policy research there as well. I'm not really sure how often Ill be having time to access the internet, but I hope to blog this summer!

OHHHH one more thing! I'm going natural! Hair journey here we come lol. My reason... I guess I'm getting tired of this processed hair on my head. I miss my thick lovely hair and want it back. Like right now! I've been transitioning for 10weeks so far. Probably won't BC (big chop) until a year in. I've been learning tons about black hair care and natural products. Its fun so far.

Right now I'm talking to myself lol. Haven't really told anyone about this since 2008 sooo yea. lol. For this reason, I'm outie and going back to watching LOST. Last season. Tear.

Sunny, beautiful day and done with junior year? Yeaaa buddd-eeee.

JAM-JAMAICA

2008-11-03T00:05:00.002-05:00

So I am finally in Jamaica!!! About time. I got in on the 1st and since have been welcomed with all sorts of amazing food! lol Today was pretty chill. We scrubbed down some instruments that will be used for the surgeries and we sorted out various meds. I am surrounded by different doctors and nurse and I'm in a glass case of amazingness!!! lol. I met a nurse that works at Beth Israel and she's linking me up with some OB/GYN's back home :-) Tomorrow Ill be scrubbing-in in the OR. Can't wait. I need to be up and out by 6:30am so I'm heading to bed.

Day 1!!!

2008-10-23T19:24:00.002-04:00

Today was an amazing day! My first day canvassing ever in life. I was definitely scared at first but I got used to it. I'll put up the stats from today soon. It was interesting walking through franklin county and seeing how divided the neighborhoods were with respect to the presidential candidate they were supporting. Every other house had a different presidential candidate they were supporting. The neighboorhood I went to today was pretty poor and more mixed than I expected.

I also met a Soror! Originally from Buffalo, NY but now living in the DC area. Deltas stay making moves. I love my Sorors! Oo-oop!

Tonight we went to the international drag king extravaganza. So basically it was women dressed as men. Amazing! Well some of the acts were. The event as a whole was very thought provoking with respects to gay rights. Yay to a successful day!

Boston is nasty

2008-10-23T19:14:00.001-04:00

So today I'm on the train going to south station to catch a bus to ny. I'm straight chilleando not a care in the world and some sketchy looking lady gets on the train. I'm thinking... Something is NOT right with this situation. Chick is with a friend and he's holding her up. Packed train mind you! So the girl starts to make weird noises. As soon the door closes, she decides to throw up! Really lady?? Luckily there was a lady in between us so any splashage that was to be done went on her. Then the door opened again and chick got off. Thanks for leaving your vomit behind that proceeded to trickle down as the dirty Boston T took me to my destination.

And I'm OWT.

Everything must come to an end...

2008-10-19T22:52:00.000-04:00

Day 1!!!

2008-10-19T00:10:00.000-04:00

Finally here!

2008-10-17T23:11:00.004-04:00

Finally in Columbus. I slept the entire trip, except for when Saved was on... Clayton and Jarell can testify to that! lol The bus ride took about 13 hours as predicted. We got in around 10pm. I'm staying with two Wellesley women in the home of a couple that was kind enough to host us for the weekend. Clayton failed to tell me that the trip was in conjunction with MassEquality, an organization that focuses on LGBT rights. Nonetheless! an interesting twist lol I have been learning a lot about the organization as well as the gay rights movement in Columbus, Ohio. Can't wait for tomorrow when the action begins. :-)

Ok I'm going to go and try to watch grey's now!!!

All in the Name

2008-10-16T18:27:00.003-04:00

Black may be the clouds... In times of despair we must remain strong, head held high so onlookers will not be able to tell the difference. The other day I told a friend that when life makes sense, that means it's the end. For that reason, I chose to name my blog "black may be the clouds"... Because even when it is obvious that trouble may be ahead or when life seems to be working against you, you still need to pull it together and trudge through.

Canvassing for Obama

2008-10-14T21:46:00.002-04:00

This weekend I will be traveling to Ohio. That's the main reason why I started this blog. Someone important to me told me to "hook it up", so I did lol. I'm sitting here on the Chinatown bus up to Boston... 4 hours. Ehhh traffic has it looking like 5. Dreading the 13hour bus ride that awaits me tomorrow, the only thing I can think of is how my motion sickness will hold up :-( OBAMA 08! My motivation. I've never canvassed before and I'm not the biggest people person. I'm quite shy. Not the first time I'll be stepping outside my comfort zone. We shall see.