N2N Goes Peruvian

I had the opportunity to review a totally different type of hair. Magnique Hair  offers human hair extensions right here in Barbados. Since I had tried tons of other hair and kept all of it in black or dark brown, I decided to jazz up this one with a little colour.I also installed and coloured this hair myself.

So off to the local beauty supply and I purchased, peroxide, developer and and Texures and Tones Golden Brown in case the hair colour wasn't quite what I wanted. Sometimes if the hair has been colored treated and not virgin, you can get a weird green toned blonde.

I didn't have this problem though. I had Peruvian Natural Wave in a 22 inch length, in the highest grade available. Peruvian hair has a more coarse texture  so blending with our straightened locs is even easier that with other silkier textures.
The Peruvians come from sturdy stock so this hair holds up to curling and maintains a wave pattern even through heavy brushing.

I decided to go with the popular ombre effect dark at my roots and lighter at the tips. I am am not much for crazy colour so no purple roots and pink tips here. I just wanted subtle brown colour to come in beachy waves down my hair.

If you ever tried to bleach  remy from a package a store you will realize it is not remy . It might be Remington, remus, remo but remy it is not. Already we use the term Remy too often to refer to any kind of hair,  it really refers to hair harvested from one person's head and bundled and treated for your purposes . Alot of the hair that comes from a package on the shelf in the local hair store may come off of a head alright but  which ones???

I coloured  this hair and unlike my previous attempts, that left me on the floor clutching a ball of knots which resembled frayed crocus bag, this hair was lovely.I was able to bleach it and the colour was gorgeous and very bright too bright for work I am afraid, so I was able to add the colour golden brown to achieve this look.

The hair held up well but didn't get fair treat mention as it was on my head while I was on the HcG diet. So just to be extra careful I didn't use any product on it . So it was bleached and colored and razored and received no moisturizers for weeks. When I was desperate I sprayed a brush with oil sheen, gave it a good brush and was done.

Had a party to attend and was able to use minimal product on the hair

Used a paddle brush to and oil to tame the hair for this shoot.

All in all this hair lived up to expectations. I was able style, colour, razor  with moderate shedding . The wefts are flexible enough that the fold over method was easy to achieve.  There was some tangling at my nape but having seen how I treated this hair I am surprised it didn't unstitch itselfef from my head.  I have always said if I have to treat the hair on my head better than a small child and I have to touch it and groom it and kiss it and talk to it just for it to look good,  that means it is not the high quality hair extension I should have on my head.  Marie from Magnific also checked in with me, during the process ensuring I had enough info about care and handling of the hair, which was great.

You can follow the link to her page.

http://m.facebook.com/home.php?soft=side-area&__user=508705734#!/MagnificHair?__user=508705734

So onto more hair. I am looking to change my hair style this holiday. From big and curly to Bigger and Curlier !!! So if anyone has any suggestions or any great hair they've tried feel free to message me .

N2N is Cheating

After months of low carb dieting for my birthday, I had a minor set back. As many of you know all it takes is a high wind to blow and for some odd reason, you can't find your gym clothes, you wake up too late or have to go home to cook and before you know it months have passed and you haven't gotten to the gym.
I decided to get serious and get back on track but I am CHEATING. I decided to take to fast road to fit. I am doing HCG!

I know, "Who?' It is the HCG diet craze that is silently sweeping the nation. It shocked me to realise that some of my own clients were looking fab and getting skinny on HCG while I was eating oats and hay and fighting the treadmill. When I started looking into the diet I realised that few people had any info so I decided to document my journey here in between makeup of course.

HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) is a hormone found in the body and can Accelerate fat loss in certain areas if combined with a very low calorie diet (VLCD). And VLCD is no joke. I mean looooow. HCG was discovered way back in the day,1954, by Dr.Simeons and if you are thinking about giving it a try you can down load his book Pounds and Inches free online before you take the dive. I am aware that there are a few Doctor's offices offering prescription HCG. I chose to use the Caribbean Weight Loss Clinic with Dr. Donna Matthew.

I went in for my free consultation and got the down low on the diet.
Basically

• You inject yourself each day at the same time. Yes, I said inject. No, I am not crazy. No, it didn't hurt. I'm from St.Thomas, I have felt worse stings during the 4-6p.m mosquito happy hour at my house.
• Start the injection and gorge for two days. That part was super easy eat as much as you can of higher fat higher calorie foods. Uhhhh sounds like a normal day to me .
• On day 3 start the 500 Calorie / Day diet- UH OK
• 20 mins of light exercise a day and you must avoid strenuous exercise while taking HCG -No problemo

So what are you allowed to eat for 500 calories? Not much but thankfully you aren't hungry.
The diet is very strict. So nibbling off the crispy bits of a fish cake and saying calories only count if you are sitting at a table won't work.
NOTE: At this time, you discontinue all oil products. This means little or no makeup and if you use makeup, you must use oil free. No oil lotions on the body either. Switch to oil free makeup or lotion. You can use mineral oil or Curel Continuous Comfort as well. No massage as well. Somebody hold me I nearly fainted .. NO MAKE UP !!!! LOL!
Here is the food list:
Breakfast: Nothing is laid out for breakfast but you can have one of your 2 allowed fruits of the day if you wish. All the coffee and tea you like. Start drinking your water. It’s recommended to get down 66-100 oz or so of fluid a day.
Lunch: Meat: 3.5 oz of veal, very lean beef, chicken breast, white fish, lobster, crab or shrimp. One type of vegetable only to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.
One breadstick (grissini) or one Melba toast
1 fruit: apple, a handful of strawberries or 1/2 grapefruit. Dinner: Same as above

Well it's  pretty straight forward eat this, not that, lose weight. At the end of week one I have lost 8lbs . I am on a 45 day programme and I tell myself I can do anything for 45 days. There is no weeping or wailing and I feel fine. But I am not tempting fate. No more Paula Deen or Bobby Flay watching for a while.The 45 day programme should get me to lose at least 20lbs-34lbs and I am giving it my best shot.

If you are thinking of giving it a try, message me. I need a buddy to lose with. I will be giving you updates on how this round of HCG is going. So cross your fingers for me.

N2N Goes Russian !

Thanks to Facebook and Twitter there are few things about me that people don't know. What many people don't know though is what my real hair looks like. Since hairdressers don't like to sign my confidentiality agreement and because I just hate waiting, I have been doing my own hair for years. Probably another reason why you can't see my real hair. I don't miss styling my own hair. When it rains, curls go limp, it takes tons of care and product and after months of vitamin E capsules it only gets so long. And let me be truthful, I change direction like the wind one minute I want it long the next short, colour, no colour, streaks, no streaks so it's best I experiment with someone else's hair.

I was on the job at a wedding recently and caught a glimpse of one of the attendant's hair!!  I had to find out where she got it . Since the recent "Remy" craze I have been doing my research but not everyone with a bag of hair can sell me on this "Remy" thing. But this girl's hair looked great. I went online and followed the seller Platinum Hair, a local company  on Twitter and Facebook and entered their giveway . I mean just because I wanted to buy didn't mean I wouldn't take it free!  Weeks later I open my inbox and I have won their weekly draw!!!!!!
Platinum Hair

Now don't get carried away wondering about my amazing luck . The draw I won gave me two options. I could purchase a hair type of my choice at a substantially discounted $200 a pack  or I could put my name back into the final draw to see if I could win the hair out right. I opted to buy. Who knows if I would I have won the final draw. Okay stop staring at the screen wondering if you read correctly, Yes I said $200 a bundle. But the hair I was lucky enough to get was RUSSIAN. I choose to believe straight off the head of a Russian princess. On their Facebook page the lengths I won 22" and 24" can retail for $600. So I saved $1200 . Yup because I had to buy three packs.  I know you are saying no Renee you CHOSE to buy three packs. But to look my absolute best I need fullness. I know some ordinary person could get by with two bundles but I am far from ordinary !

Here are the shots of the hair I received.

 The tote I received

I received this weft sealer and prior to the installation I sealed the weft to prevent shedding.



The bundles had a freshly washed Dove conditioner smell. Which made me feel better as very often when suppliers buy human hair in bulk it comes fresh from the heads of others with a little more in it than tangles, if you get what I mean. Truly raw or virgin hair should be washed prior . Also as much as I love the smell of fresh hair in the morning that packaged smell is a dead giveaway of the same chemical processes and colouring you don't want in Virgin hair.

I know some of you are reading and wondering about all the terms virgin, remy, remi, unprocessed, wefts. Trust me I will cover them all in another blog . It is all too much to put in one post. Sufficed to say another quick tip is to burn your hair with a lighter and watch and smell. 100% human hair is pure  protein fiber that burns with a small flickering flame and will not continue to burn unless you hold the flame continuously to the strand. It burns briefly with an orange flame and then chars leaving a dark ash that turns to powder when crushed. The odor is of burning flesh or burning feathers. I burnt a few strands and it was just as I had researched ! 100% hair !

Anyone paying full price for this hair will probably treat it kindly. I believe however if I have to treat my hair better than a small child it shouldn't be on my head. I cut the weft (those of you that are hair people just got goosebumps, I know.) I sprayed it, steamed it, curled it, flat-ironed it, spritzed it, moussed it, went into the pool and didn't rinse the chlorine out, dove into the ocean and went to bed with wet hair. I tried it all . NOT A FLINCH.  I got up after lying on wet hair and ran my finger through it. I actually went a whole weekend without combing my hair. Which is typical on those weekends when I don't have weddings.

Have a look

Got wet in the rain and still tangle free

Wet Chlorine filled hair

I didn't even pin it up!

Rocking my virgin Russian from Platinum with Maren who got her virgin indian from her momma!

Pros

Tangle Free

Natural brown colour

Easily blends with your processed hair texture

Strong wefts that minimise shedding

Wonderful smell on arrival

Maintains a natural wave pattern which looks good even when it is not curled (or combed :-)

Cons

You get no work done! Any job that requires two hands will suffer as your hands are constantly playing with your hair.

Needs to be set well to maintain curls in a humid environment..

 I love this hair. I really love this hair. I have installed another type of hair that  I bought online. However since I have changed my hair from the Russian Wavy, I have been greeted with weird looks from coworkers when  I forget I am no longer a Russian princess and turn up at work  and my new  hair which is tangled and needs combing. It was a fabulous few weeks and the only reason I removed the hair was to try some others. It will be making an appearance on my head again soon. So feel fry to walk up to me and ask if you can touch it.

More hair blog posts coming soon!

30 and Fishing!

My gal pal "Maah-ren" has known me  since we were 12. We met again at Community College where we both studied Biology and continued studying together at the University of the West Indies.  We loved Biology but were not so big on long hours in the library so we always had a "system". Maren branched off into fisheries. On the other hand you couldn't get me into a fishing boat if you tried. Then Maren became a certified diver ..HA!!! You know who didn't join her. The only thing I dive into is a sale bin. However having completed her Masters in Environmental Resource Management Maren moved to St. Vincent and is a Fisheries Biologist based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and holds the post of Research Graduate in Research and Resource Assessment.

Being my best friend you would think she too would be a diva-fied hottie with false lashes, nails, weave, and heels. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the sight of my lash collection causes Maren to shake her head in awe.  I finally got to do her makeup in between travels. Who knew fish could get you from Tobago, to Iceland, to Puerto Rico and back. I hooked up with her in between conventions and meetings to sit for my 30 and.. series. Maren chose 30 and Fishing !!!! You can decide what she is fishing for when you see her shots. But looking as great as she does here,she certainly won't have to fish for compliments.

Maren named this look the Parrot fish. ( I know, right ? WHAT?") The parrot fish lives on the reef and the colours we ended up using, selected by Maren, reminded her of this gorgeous reef fish.

The Look
Foundation- Black Opal Beautiful Bronze and Truly Topaz
Blush- Nars Taj Mahal
Shadow- Inglot shadow- Peach and Orange shades
               Sugar pill- Poison Plum
               Milani Liquif'eye-Teal
               Mac Summer Stack 2 Summer 2011
Liner- Milani
Lashes-Unknown super huge lash
Lips- Mac Morange lip gloss

Maren Before

We shot this at Pebbles and Himal did a great job. Maren is radiant . Of course to get the shot we had to cross over some shaky boards and broken beams. Being the sane one of the bunch I let Maren's sister touch up her makeup while I supervised from a safe distance.

Himal getting the shot on shaky ground

I don't know about you but this sure looks threatening and dangerous to me.

I was thrilled to be able to shoot with my buddy and had a blast finally getting to glamify Maren.

The Summer Soiree

It's official, my name is Renée and I am addicted to planning parties. Not just parties but fabulous, epic events perfectly coordinated to suit my exquisite tastes but empty pockets.After my birthday soiree the genie was let out of the bottle. I am a planning machine. So I of course I started looking for any excuse to plan something. My plan backfired my sister decided to move to Scotland giving me not only something to plan but something to cry about. Thanks to much inspiration online and many trips to Woolworth and the "$2 and $3 Stores" I was able to plan a Summery Flowery going away party for my sister , Alexis.

Photo by SHAE LASHLEY

Here are a few of my Favourite parts of the set up .

I filled cups with sand and used an umbrella and card to make a little lounge chair tablecloth weight.

I embellished my regular drink umbrellas with tissue  

I used a foam ring to create an exotic wreath 

My steal of the party, lanterns from the $2 store.

This vase from WoolWorth was on sale for $1.95. I imported flowers from Michael's

The candy bar set up with streamer curtains

Cake cones. I baked cake right into the cone and these can be toped with ice-cream!! 

Iced cake cone from GRACIE'S BAKERY !

 Candy!!  Even the "pool noodles" "life-preservers"and "kick-boards" had an umbrella

I LOOOOVED THESE. BBQ grill cake pops from SINNFULLY SWEET CREATIONS were my absolute fav. She never disappoints!

Look at the detail

I printed these cool designs and made cones, filled them with candy popcorn. The guy at Trimart Haggat Hall had all the colours I needed.

I loved cutting wedges of melon and making them stand in the bucket with the skewers.

Cherry Pie pops . Oooey, gooey pie filling on a convenient stick!! This is great

Oh Island in the Sun.. my pal sherry created this fruit plate.... but the 30 year old kids ate candy not fruit!

Gorgeous colours and wonderful food. We made it all !! But Alexis decided we had to have vege kebabs. I would have just had the pig tails, veges not so much.

Looking cool is a breze with this fab find on Oriental Trading

I used my skill from the Joel Brooks Photoshop Class to create a cool banner for my Sun Bar

The Sun Bar was a big hit. Hats, bags, visors, ice cold face towels, beach towels, sunglasses, chapstick, lotion, insect repellant, fans, totebags all available for everyone to take with the more use at the party! Finally Adult loot bags!

Ooh I forgot , Slippers too!

We set up a special area for our Mixologist for the evening KEVIN CLARKE

Luau umbrellas and flamingo stirrers another deal from Wool Worth

I got this cool battery operated fan visor in the $2 store !! I made the Summer BBQ fans with Cardstock.

We hollowed out a melon and Alana made a special punch

How cute are these labels for the towels

Loved this shot from SHAE LASHLEY  one of he photographers for the evening.

I had these skewers from my Kadooment day breakfast Buffet for my makeup clients and use the remainder to make an interesting pineapple centre-piece.

Jello shots in brightly coloured cups from $2 store.$2 for 10 !!!

More $2 store finds

Beachgate was amazing and we had the place all to ourselves.A fabulous location and great managers. They were helpful and friendly and I WILL be back.

I used random fruit and flowers from the garden to make this vodka keeper. It keeps the alcohol cold and looks cool too!

I knew I didn't need a bartender I wanted a Mixologist who could create exciting drinks for my gal pals. Kevin did not disappoint. Sex on the Beach, Strawberry tini, Passionate Screw the possibilities were endless. We had it all and had a ball!

WE WANT DRINKS!

Party was so good Kevin stuck around for the fun.

The  party was great but i think I have more fun planning, plotting cutting and pasting than at the party. I get high and then I need a new project.  My name is Renee and I am a plan-aholic. Can't wait for the next one.

PHOTOS BY CHAKA WELCH, SHAE LASHLEY and random cell phones.