Copies of your passport & VISA

This goes for traveling anywhere especially internationally. I always keep my documents on me, I have physical copies in my purses and luggage AND pictures on my phone. There’s nothing worst then being in another country with no identification. How you gettin’ back son? Also be sure to register your trip with the US Embassy just in case.

The post What To Pack For A Trip To Ghana + What I forgot appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

Here’s a glimpse of our great love story. Thank you to everyone that submitted their questions on our IG page. We tried to answer as many questions as we could. If you have any that weren’t answered, leave them in the comment box below and we’ll do another video (maybe). Enjoy!

The post Couples Q&A: (Almost) Everything you ever wanted to know about us appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

In my last post, I talked about my hair journey and my decision to cut and relax my natural. It was something that I toyed with for half of 2016 and all of 2017. Now I’m one month into #TeamShortHairDontCare and #TeamRelaxed and I have absolutely no regrets. My hair is so much easier to manage. It’s hard to believe I was spending so much energy on my hair. On top of that wasted energy, my hair was starting to break off because I was fighting the unwinnable battle of keeping it naturally straight. I’m happy to report that my new short relaxed pixie cut requires way less of my time (I’m still late to things though), less heat (I did have to buy new styling tools) and less product (I found a few I now swear by). Since a lot of you guys reached out on Instagram asking how I care for my short relaxed hair here’s my new hair care regime!

As you can imagine washing my hair takes half the time. The first time I washed my hair I ODd on shampoo as if I had hair. Talk about a waste of product. But even though I am saving time on washing my hair I basically exchanged that time spent for the time under the hooded dryer time (which every girl hates).

After I wash my hair I mold it with a setting lotion or mousse (my favorite is Nairobi Wrapp-It Shine Foaming Lotion). Then I sit under the hooded dryer for about 45 minutes. I found a really affordable hooded dryer on Amazon.  Then I bump my hair a bit with my flat iron and I’m done. This whole process might take an hour.

Daily maintenance

Before I go to bed, I tie a scarf around my head and put a bonnet on for added protection (they both usually magically appear on the floor around 3 am when my head has had enough). About four days after my wash day, I spray Dove Refresh+Care Dry Shampoo on my hair to get rid of the natural oils that my hair produces.

Aside from absorbing the oils that build up in my hair, Dove Refresh+Care Dry Shampoo adds the volume back to my hair without me having to re-curl my hair. One of my main goals is to stop putting so much heat on my hair. It also gives my hair a new refreshing smell. In January I started working out (again, hush) and it has really helped stretch out my wash days when I workout. The best part of this product is that it’s super easy to use.

Always remember to shake your Dove Refresh+Care Dry Shampoo before and during use. You’re going to want to section off your hair and spray about 8-12 inches away from your roots. Then massage through your roots so that the product will absorb oil. Then you can brush or comb the product out. I didn’t have any residue so after I massage I just go, LOL.

This past month of hair maintenance has me questioning the last decade of my life. Why have I been struggling to keep my hair clean when I have products like Dove Refresh+Care Dry Shampoo? #DovePartner #RefreshObsessed

My mind is blown!

Anyways! If you liked this post you can thank me by leaving a comment and sharing this post on social media.

The post My New Hair Care Regime Since I’ve Cut & Relaxed My Hair appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

Let’s back up to 2012!

Back in 2012, I decided to go natural (like everyone else). In full transparency, it was just a thing I thought I was supposed to do. Looking back I’m not even sure if I had any real reasons for joining the natural hair movement. I never cared to see my real curls and once I did I absolutely hated them. Before I went natural I was only relaxing my hair about every 5 or 6 months. Which was basically at the start of each season.

The first few months of being natural were absolute torture. I used all the milks, creams, mousses and oils that I could find just for my curls to never really curl all the way. Keep in mind this was before the big blogs and the unlimited articles on what to do with your curls. It was right at the start of the natural hair movement.

After creating my own useless curl refreshing spray concoctions and lots of wasted hair products, I finally realized that I didn’t have “wash and go” hair. I didn’t have the kind of curl that is wildly celebrated in the natural hair community. And honey that is another topic I will tackle later.

My stylist at the time suggested that I rod set my hair to get that desired look. Genius! I finally got the curls I desired. But that meant I was rolling up my hair every night. Keep in mind this is before the fancy big bonnets and other amazing creations that kept your curls plump and juicy throughout the night. But what I remember most was that despite all that work I had done to my hair I felt very not sexy! I’ve never embraced my natural grey curls. I’m not sure if I ever will. Does not liking something mean that I’m not embracing it? Can’t I just not like it and move one?

Anyways,! I’m also pretty sure I don’t care if you have an opinion about whether my hair is natural or relaxed.

Then I got an opportunity that basically catapulted my blogging and writing career. Stacy London (TLC’s What Not To Wear) was looking for “real” models for her book The Truth About Style. I applied via email and boom… I was selected (read that story here, here, and here!)! My makeover look was a mohawk (see picture above). But like the real kind of Mohawk. In the beginning, it was fly, revolutionary, edgy and really give me a signature look. Granted it was cute and all but I eventually got tired of it.

So I started to grow my hair out but left one side still shaved. That became what many of you know as my signature style. I like to think that I may have even influenced a few girls to “partially” shave their heads. Years later, I noticed that I didn’t have the same love for the shaved side that I did when I first cut it. It was almost as if I was ashamed of it. I almost never showed that side of my hair to the point where many forgot it was still a thing. I finally said let me just grow that side out too.

We’re back in 2017 now.

That was hard AF to do. The first side was too easy. I just swooped the long side of my hair over the wild and unruly grow out and kept it moving. A year later my hair caught up and that’s when I cut my hair into a bob.

I tried to do the same for the second side of the style but the odds weren’t in my favor. When I tried swooping the hair over it looked like I was hiding a huge bald spot. I tried pinning it and failed. I tried putting gel on. I put Jam on it. Nothing! So now I am miserable. I hate my hair.

But because I was planning my wedding and I was told by everyone to not make any drastic changes unless I plan to lose weight. Getting skinny was the only change that was encouraged and acceptable (I’ll write about that foolish shit later). So I listened to everyone and sucked it up.

I chatted with my stylist (Gabrielle Corney) and our best solution for operation “UnHate My Hair” was to cut it so that it was near the same length throughout my hair. So I spent all summer saving hair inspo from The Cut Life. I said that after my wedding I would let that side grow out to where it was long enough to curl or pinch and then I would have Gabi cut it.

October comes and I am impatient AF!

My hair grows pretty fast so in about 4 weeks time I had enough to pinch. But then something happened that irked my entire soul. As my hair started to grow out my untouched natural pinches of hair got really curly and wiry. Eight years later and my hair on the side is mainly grey. UGH!

So now I am back to fresh natural hair… halfway through. And to be honest, it’s just not the life I wanted to live. I literally had a head full of pressed hair and a patch of 3C (ish) curls.

I gave myself two more months of new growth and said to Gabi, “Let’s do this girl” (Y’all remember that Martin episode).

Details on my new cut.

I saved tons of photos on Instagram for inspo. As I mentioned before they’re all mainly from The Cut Life. I had pics of short short, short long, short pixie… you name it I had it saved. I did a poll on my IG Stories and with your help, we ended up using this style as a guide.

A lot of you have asked if I relaxed my hair. The answer is YES and here’s why.

I relaxed my hair!

Whenever someone would discourage me I’d say, “I don’t have to struggle if I don’t want to”. The bottom line is, my natural hair journey has been a complete struggle. And maybe it’s not the 4C struggle we’re used to talking about or seeing but it was still my version of struggle. I ain’t got to go through it no more! That life is not for me. I won’t say that I will never be natural again. Who knows! I won’t say that I will never want my curls back. Who knows! But what I know for sure (right now) is that without a full head of hair I have no plans to wear my naturally curly grey hair.

With all that said and thoroughly thought through, I had some decisions to make. Do I fight the world to keep my hair straight? While my hair was sorta heat trained, one long gust of hot air literally blows my straight haired dreams away (pun intended). I thought about the effort it would take to keep this short side straight and that further solidified my decision.

At the end of the day, I feel like a new girl–which was my main goal heading into 2018. My list of goals are LIT and I didn’t want to go into 2018 worrying about my hair and what it was doing. I adore this cut and now (peep this)… I might not let it grow out.

Did you guys do anything drastic to end your 2017? What are you 2018 goals?

If you liked this post you can thank me by leaving a comment and sharing this post on social media.

The post Why I Cut My Hair & Got A Relaxer appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

Our wedding day was a collaborative effort of love and support from our friends and family. Our friends made our signature cocktails in our living room. Our friends made our centerpieces for the wedding so that I wouldn’t have to pay 3,000 for flowers. My family gifted us in a way we will never forget (literally because we have new furniture to prove it).

Here’s a sneak of our special day in less than 60 seconds. Full video coming in October! Love you guys.

The post [VIDEO] Our Wedding Day, a sneak peek! appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

I don’t really know what slow-baked actually means but I know when we talk about blush and highlighters it’s what makes them great. Whenever you see me out please know that this velvety soft domed face powder from MAC is most likely responsible for my radiant finish.

The post 7 Of The Best Highlighters For Brown Skin (& Yes You Are Gonna Need All 7) appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

Even as I type this I am sneaking away during our annual family Christmas vacation so that I can blog (my boyfriend is waiting not so patiently in the living room so that we can play spades). Because in my eyes, there are no days off. But in order for my life not to end with weekly visits to a therapist’s couch, it’s important for me to figure this out. While this post is for anyone struggling to create work/life balance, it’s also to remind me of the things I know I need to do in order to be productive.

1. Critique yourself

If your 40-hour week has transformed into something like a 60-hour week with no breaks, you owe it to yourself to recognize that first…this is a problem and second…it’s time to fix it. Get to the bottom of where the majority of your time is being spent during your work day to allow for increased time management and productivity.

2. Create a schedule

I swear by my calendar. If it’s not in the calendar it’s not getting done. Also, if you find yourself wasting the majority of your time managing your inbox or in meetings, it may be time for some restructuring. This is where my PRIV by BlackBerry saves my life. Besides not having to frequently charge my phone (it’s got like, 20 plus hours of life in this baby) it’s also equipped with the Blackberry Hub, a unified inbox for consolidating all of my messages into a single app. Praise him! So in addition to putting events on the calendar, I schedule time for me to dig deep into my inbox and conquer it with the end goal being “ZERO unread messages.”

3. Avoid interruptions

Listen! I am so guilty of this. I take a call, I stop for lunch, I scroll through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and then Facebook one last time and before I know it it’s midnight and I’ve only checked off two, maybe three, items on my list. Become intentionally militant about creating a distraction-free workspace. Here’s what I do: close out all unnecessary tabs on my browser, activate that “do not disturb” on my PRIV by BlackBerry phone (a favorite feature of mine), and put my headphones on to zone out. But don’t be like me and forget you turn this feature off and then think something is wrong with your phone. SMH!

4. Perspective

I’ve learned that I cannot sweat the small stuff. We all have a habit of turning our to-do list into World War III and it’s us against them. But when we really think about it, it’s just not that serious on any given day. Simply focus on meeting the deadlines and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t meet a few of them. Life happens!

HOWEVER! When you do make those deadlines and you’ve mastered your to-do list, it’s totally ok to treat yourself! Go shopping for a new pair of shoes or eat some cake (extra frosting) for breakfast. Or if you’re like me and you’re on a “no shopping ban” browse through the Priv by Blackberry’s Android ecosystem with access to over 1 million apps. It’s the next best thing to shopping!

6. Know when you’re done

Stop spending your evenings in the office reworking things until they’re perfect. Establish a clear definition of the end result –when you’ve reached it, check out for the day and phone a friend. Or text one. Another great feature on my PRIV by BlackBerry is the super responsive touchscreen. Plus, gone are my typos thanks to the slide up keyboard feature and quite amazing spell check. Anyone been longing to just be able to push a button or two on their phones? No, just me? You lie! *smiles*

So, I ask you…

How do you find balance in your life? Whether you are a blogger, a mommy, an entertainer…I wanna know what keeps you sane. Chime in via the comments section below!

ALSO…

If you liked this post you can thank me by sharing this post on social media.

The post Work, Life, Balance…Repeat! Tips To Create The Perfect Work Life Balance appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

BEAUTY VIDEOS

In some cases, medication, food, and health conditions can also turn your grey hair yellow from inside the hair shaft. Did you know that eating an abundance of carrots or other foods that are high in carotene, an orange compound, can make skin and hair yellowish? The water that you use to wash your hair could have a high iron content and could be causing your grey hair to be yellow. And if you’re a smoker or a swimmer, you are doomed!

Because NO ONE wants to be #TeamYellow, here’s a few tips to remove that yellow tinge from your grey hair.

4 Home Remedies To Remove Yellow from Grey Hair

• Vinegar: Make a rinse from a small amount of vinegar and water (1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon of water) to remove yellow from your hair. Make sure you rinse thoroughly to remove all of the vinegar. After the vinegar rinse, you may condition your hair as usual with a conditioner that does not yellow your hair.
• Infusion of Betony: Make a “tea” (infusion) of purple Betony flowers with hot water. Let the flowers steep in the water until the desired color is obtained. The more concentrated the infusion, the stronger the purple color.
• Infusion of Hollyhocks: Make a “tea” (infusion) of purple Hollyhock flowers with hot water. Let the flowers steep in the water until the desired color is obtained. The more concentrated the infusion, the stronger the purple color.
• Hydrogen Peroxide mix: I got this recipe from L’Oreal hairstylist, Johnny Lavoy years ago and I’ve been hooked. I swear it works.

Products you can purchase

There are a handful of hair-coloring products that are designed to remove yellow from gray hair. Shop a few of the most common ones below.

Once you determine why your grey hair has a yellow tinge, you can decide on how to treat it. But be careful and don’t overdo it. You don’t want to turn your hair blue or purple! But with a little bit of experimentation, you can find the right product and the right amount to apply to take out the yellow without inheriting a new, unwanted hue!

If you liked this post you can thank me by leaving a comment or sharing this post on social media.

The post Why Does Grey Hair Turn Yellow + 4 Home Remedies To Remove That Yellow Tinge From Your Hair appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

Our major challenge as Black and Latina women is finding a brand that has yellow, olive or caramel tones. But beyond picking the right hue for your face there are a few other factors that you need to consider before purchasing a foundation.

Research the brands.

From consumer comments to beauty blogger reviews, someone has already done the work for you. Google the brand and the product name and chances you will find all the answers to your questions and a few answers you weren’t even thinking of. If you’re lucky you’ll even find a YouTube video.

Choose 2-3 shades that are close to your skin tone.

Test the makeup above your jawline on clean dry skin. Evaluate if the color matches in the mirror. The color should blend with your natural skin tone. Make sure you do not see a big line of demarcation, which is indicative of a poor match. If you do not think you have a good match, continue testing shades until you find a suitable color.

Take your besties with you.

We all love those sales girls but they are sales girls. They have a goal to meet and commission to make. Their opinion could be biased. So treat your best girlfriend to an afternoon snack or a late dinner and spend the day shopping for new foundation.

Ask for a sample.

Don’t feel pressured to buy something that day. Ask the beauty consultant write down the color you decided you liked the best. Don’t be afraid to ask for a sample. Wear the foundation home, and see how you like it outside in natural light.

Follow those four steps and I guarantee you’ll have flawless looking skin. Just remember: your shade will change with the seasons, so come summer and winter you’ll be back at it again.

In case you need a head start, here are a few of my favorite brands that make darker shades.

Happy shopping!

The post The Best Foundations For Women Of Color appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.

Grab your date’s attention with one of these five gorgeous natural hairstyles. Regardless of your hair’s length or texture, there is an option for everyone.

1. High bun

A high bun is a classic and chic style that is fit for any occasion. Buns work great because once they are secured, you can’t really mess them up regardless of the weather or the activities you have planned for your date. So no worries about your style failing mid-date. Even if your hair is short, you can use faux hair like in this tutorial from My Natural Sisters.

2. Wand curls

Soft and sleek wand curls are becoming a popular style for naturalistas. Lots of movement, volume, and body are what make wand curl styles a great go-to style for date night. Be sure to use a heat protectant and/or anti-frizz product to avoid heat damage and maintain the curls all night long. Get your ‘sexay’ on with this tutorial from Chary Jay.

3. Side-swept updo

Something about your hair cascading over that one eye is so romantic. This is also a great way to rescue a week-old natural hairstyle and give it new life just in time for date night. This is another style that can be done with most lengths and any texture. All you need are some hair pins to hold it in place. For a more sleek look, use an edge control product to lay those edges down and keep them in place. Check out this video from Tiffany Nichols Design – she will get your whole date night look together.

4. Finger Coil Out

Sometimes, naturals with shorter hair have a hard time finding a variety of styling options. Others may feel that their short hair is not eye-catching or appealing. So I had to include a date night style just for my naturals with short hair. GirlwithKinks shows how to get this fabulous finger coil out style. It is perfect for newly naturals as well as those who just like the care-free option that shorter hair provides.

5. Flat Twist-Out

Setting your hair in flat twist not only stretch the hair for more length, but also create soft, romantic waves. For even more length and shorter setting time, you can blow dry your hair first and set on dry hair. For more definition, style on damp hair and ensure your hair is dry before unraveling. You can twist all the way to the ends of your hair, or add some curl to your ends with hanging Bantu knots or perm rods. Be sure to fluff your roots with your fingers or a pick to add volume. Here’s a style tutorial from my channel NaturallyGlamTV – this one is always a hit with my husband.

Whether you hair is short or long, curly or kinky, there is an absolutely gorgeous natural hairstyle for your special night. Just remember that regardless of the way you style your hair, rock it with confidence. Confidence is your sexiest accessory and sure to capture your date’s heart!

The post 5 Absolutely Gorgeous Natural Hairstyles For Date Night appeared first on Gorgeous In Grey - A lifestyle blog by Ty Alexander.