SheaMoisture Pop-Up Shop at Bryant Park

Loved this place and I took advantage of their B2G1 free deal as much as I could. Too bad they couldn't put up a permanent store in NYC. Their website has been down for about a year now and not all the retail suppliers carry all the products. It's a bit of a pain. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

HAIR: Two New Protective Style Videos Uploaded!

First up, and long overdue, my videos on Beshe Drew lace front wig purchased from Elevate Styles. Had to do that in 3 parts:
Part 1
Part 2
3 weeks later and pics

I blogged about her below, check it out here.

NEW WIG ALERT!!
Second is FreeTress Equal Lynn (lace front) purchased locally at New York Hair & Wig Factory in Brooklyn, NY. She wasn't on my original wishlist, but I saw her online the night before and liked how she looked in person and had to have her. Plus $29.99 was a steal, and he threw in a free wig cap, ha!

Check out the vid on her here.

I referenced Elevate Styles in the links above, but both wigs are available at most online wig retailers.

Harajuku Mini for Target- Children's Style!

What a good time to speak about children's fashion, which I've been meaning to do for ages. Harajuku Mini for Target is a little spin-off of Gwen Stefani's popular fun and funky Harajuku line, but for the little ones. It debuted on Sunday, November 13th and nothing in the line is over $30. I've always loved Stefani's style and when she had her first son Kingston, I was LOVING the way she dressed him. Not the traditional cutesy way, but more of like a little hip dude. Then Zuma came along and the same thing. Both of her boys are total style icons when it comes to kids. The line is available in stores only and for those of you who happened to go on Target.com during the Missoni for Target madness, you're probably still scarred for life and grateful for this. The day after Missoni launched I was innocently trying to get on the Target site to look at something un-related and couldn't even get on. WHAT? Missoni totally flattened the website. Out of commission. So, the fact that this new Harajuku Mini line is only available in stores is great for that reason...for those of us who happen to live near a Target, or two or three (like me). Buuut not so great for those who don't since they are basically left deprived of super cool kids fashion. I've never seen an item of Missoni clothing in person, just the signs and the racks filled with Target's Xhiliration clothing that were probably thrown there in desperation after the racks were left bare. Since Harajuku Mini is a kids line and not everyone has kids is most likely the reason why the same thing didn't happen to them.

Sunday I happened to walk by the display in the girls section and fell in love with all the girls clothing, then proceeded to complain that nothing cool is ever for boys, blah, blah blah...the usual rant of a hip mother with a son ;) If I see one more football or animal on boys clothing, I will scream. I guess someone kind of heard, so they started with the skulls, which I HATE on children. That's just me though, I find it weird. Since my son was born, I've been constantly trying to re-invent the wheel when it comes to dressing him. He has to look hip! He has a pair or two of skinny jeans every season since he's been able to walk. But it is definitely not an easy task, and I kind of enjoy that because it forces me to be more creative. Girls stuff is everywhere in abundance, in one store you can get a whole new wardrobe, twice. I have to put pieces together from different stores, always mix and matching. It definitely keeps me busy. Anyway, so last night I was looking up the clothing line on my phone while in bed and realized there are toddler boys items!! I mean, why didn't I think there would be? She has two sons for Pete's sake! So this morning on my way to work, I was a Mom on a mission! I had nightmares last night of tees with soccer balls on them chasing me! So I jumped off the train and went to Target and asked where the boys clothing for the line was...turns out it was in a totally different area from the first display I saw. There were two items I was specifically interested in, and guess what? There was only one of each of them in my son's size! Talk about luck and a sign from above! Shhh, don't judge me. I was in and out of Target in about 10 minutes. Never happens when hubby is with me to actually witness :/

Here is the landing page for the line on the Target website. I absolutely adore the logo, it's a little hamburger! Another fav of mine! :P

The Huffington Post is where I took a look at the lookbook since the Target site didn't seem to have the whole line displayed, click here to see it. 50 looks!

This is what I got my son, the top and the canvas slip-on sneaks.

The top was $20, and I'm still a little bothered by that. I've actually never spent that much on a top for him ever. I think the fact that it was a designer and not only that, Gwen, made me bite the bullet. I'm thinking about $15 would have been better for a long sleeved tee for a toddler, especially since the sneakers were only $17. I didn't see those cute pants. I'll have to check again. I didn't have time this morning and naturally, there were more girls clothes in the line on the racks than boys and they were all mixed together causing me stress. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Which could mean that most mothers snatched them up in complete exuberance, or that there were barely any items for boys to begin with. One thing is for sure though, I got the last 5T in the tee and the last size 11 in the shoes! I hope they fit!!

Here are some other cute looks from the lookbook on Huffington Post.com:


Yes, I would put my son in plaid pants. I didn't see them, hubby will be glad about that.



IN LOVE! Very rasta with the lion and red, gold & green colors!

Adorable. A funky sleeper!

How cute is this? Zebra print?! Come on!

Check out the ruffles on the hips! Too cute!

They also have some accessories like bags and headbands for girls. One plaid hat for boys from what I can see based on the lookbook. Run to Target and check it out!!

Blinged Out Sneaks!

I blinged out my friend's daughter's sneakers with swarovski crystals, sequins, feathers and ribbons for her 2nd bday party. I also put rhinestone appliques on her top. M squared for her name and age. Full blog post to come and video. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Fall Fashion for Less- Wedge Boots with Fold-Over Fur Cuffs **UPDATE**

Updates in red

So I went to Target last night to buy toothpaste for my son and somehow I found myself trying on and buying these:

Mossimo Supply Co. Kamea Wedge Boots

Errr, I went slightly off-track, but $28! I mean, why not? (Don't answer that). Plus, no one told Target to put them on the end-cap for me to notice on the way to the toothpaste aisle! Mind you, I prefer genuine leather and suede in any footwear that I purchase, especially if it is a timeless piece. Trends go by fast, by next year if they're out of style, I wouldn't have invested too much in them. BUT, they have to look good and not like I'm wearing flammable plastic. :/

The boots have that worn leather look and the fur is all the way inside as well. They are very cozy. The fur is in the flap only, but because they were so soft when I first put my foot in, I thought it was all the way through. That's a good thing! You can pull it up or wear it folded over like shown above. I normally wear a 7 1/2, but because of the fur, I bought the 8. Oh, by the way, it was the last size 8 so I had to buy them. I am a little worried that because they aren't genuine leather they won't hold up in wet weather, if at all. The heel is also what is called thermoplastic rubber and not rubber rubber (you know what I mean) and that's another thing I'm a bit skeptical about because it just sounds cheap, doesn't it? We shall see. I chose black because I have enough tan/brown/taupe boots. I haven't actually worn them, so I can't comment on the comfort. But fur + wedge should = comfortable, don't you think? Definitely not a walking shoe. They are a creeper because the fur makes you think comfort, and they are at first, but wedge or not, your foot is still on an incline and slowly but surely, the balls of my feet started hurting me. It probably didn't help that I wore them to run an errand on my lunch break. I have since taken them off at my desk. The rubber is great and provides good shock support though. They are also a nice looking pair of boots.

By the way, do NOT sleep on Target, they are truly the one-stop shop, their fashion is great, especially the designer brands that pop-up every few months. The trick is to wait and get them on clearance on the Target website ;) I always find stuff for myself, hubby and son, even better on sale.

Back to the boots, here are her more expensive siblings:

Aldo Peale, $90, material upper.

I actually prefer the taupe in these

Diba "Flower Girl" at Shoebuy, $120. Suede (I am guessing genuine since the word "faux" didn't preface it).

Rocket Dog's "Bonfire" at Zappos, $95. Faux suede and shearling.
"Francille" by Kelsi Dagger on Piperlime, $120. This is a different look but the same concept.

Now, 2 out of the 4 other boots I posted above are genuine materials and cost 3 times as much as the one I bought. You have to use your noggin when it comes to trends and fashion, it makes so sense spending that much for "faux" anything in my opinion. If genuine is what you want though, you're better off spending the extra $20 for the Diba or Kelsi Dagger pair than saving $20 and getting faux. Or you can buy the Mossimo ones and save that extra $90 altogether and spend it on some more Fall/Winter fashion. It's totally up to you =)

Okay, so I'm a nerd and found the definition of "thermoplastic rubber" on synoprene.com:

"Properties
Light in weight
Colorability
Good tear strength
Excellent abrasion resistant
Excellent dimension stability
Low temperature flexible
Excellent weather resistant
Performs like vulcanized rubber
Reusable and recyclable
Non-migratory
Excellent electrical properties
 
Applications
Superior in quality, the thermoplastic rubber offered by us is used in various industrial applications such as:

Footwear
In footwear industry, thermoplastic rubber is used in the the production of shoes soles, loaters sole, safety shoes sole & industrial shoes sole, sports shoes sole, ski-boot soles, kiddy shoes sole and related decorative accessories, unisole. modifier asphalt, modification modifier for SMC (sheet moulding compound) and other thermoset & thermoplastic composites."

Doesn't sound so bad after all.

Happy shopping!

Beshe Drew Lace Front Wig Review and My Hair Today- Quasi-Pompadour

Yes, my eyebrows are jacked up. I'm growing them out :)

Been rocking my Beshe Drew synthetic lace front since last week. Love her! A lot of natural hair ladies have been rocking her for the last two years, so I'm a bit late, but hey. I got her from Elevate Styles when they had a free shipping promo a couple weeks ago. She was $35. I ordered her a Friday afternoon and got her Monday, so they have fast shipping...LOOOOVE ITTTT!  I got her in a #2 because they didn't have 1b at the time (and yes, I needed her right then!) I was a little worried about that since I've only ever did 1, 1b or a 1b mix with red in my weaves or wigs in the past. I didn't want it to look too "dusty" if you know what I mean. But the color is great! She has two combs to the front near the temple, one in the back and an adjustable strap. She definitely has about three curl patterns in her like other ladies have been saying. More of a wave to the front, afro to the back, and a loose spiral curl at the nape of the neck. Some ladies like that, some don't. I like it because she looks more natural to me that way. My real hair has at least two different curl patterns. Drew is cut in a great style, long on the sides, then angled going up to the back. This is my first lace front and the lace is a bit scratchy, but I have nothing to compare it to.

My Method
I followed Dezi1016's YouTube tutorial on how to cut the lace off without the wig head. I have one, but using the pins and all that made it seem more intense and scary to me. Her method, you just use a paper towel, fold it and put it along the hairline so you can see exactly where you're cutting. Holding it that way also just made it easier for me to cut. I didn't do a straight cut, I sort of zig zagged a bit (BridezillaMartina, mentioned below, recommended that). I rocked Drew just like that for a couple days and I was definitely self-conscious wearing her because I felt it screamed "LACE FRONT!", and was even considering pulling out some of my real hair along the front and sides like I was doing for the 1/2 wigs. But I figured that was defeating the purpose of a lace front. I was getting frantic! So I stopped being lazy and followed BridezillaMartina's YouTube tutorials (which I marked as favs well before buying the wig) on how to make the hairline realistic. Here's Part 1 and Part 2, take a look, she's fab.  I have a full protective style this way. THUMBS UP! Her tutorials involve tweezing the hairline and cutting/shearing in baby hairs. This wig claims to have a natural hairline, whatever that means, but it still needed some tweaking. I used a product recommended by muffinismylovers years ago to smooth down your edges and baby hairs and it works wonders for me. I use it to lay down my own edges, then the baby hair on the wig. It's called, ummm, I forgot, but when I remember I'll put that up. Before I did BridezillaMartina's method, the front of the wig would recede a bit and show my natural hair, which irked me, so I considered buying Wig It's Gripper, which isn't a glue, but just as sticky, so I was a little skeptical about that and figured I'd only use it as a last resort. Thank goodness I didn't have to get to that. I stopped wearing the combs to the front because I felt that pulled the wig forward, which is not cool, so I started putting two bobby pins at the sides instead for security. I bought a beige wig cap at first, that was too light, then I bought a dark brown which was better. Weird since I figured the beige would work more since the skin when we part is always lighter than our face. The dark brown is darker than me. Oh well, doesn't matter because yesterday I stopped wearing a wig cap underneath altogether. I know that protects the wig and your hair, but they were giving me headaches because they're so tight! I mean I have a small head, what do ladies with bigger heads do?? Today I forgot to put the bobby pins on the sides so I had a mild panic attack about that when I realized...then another one when I realized I didn't have my backup bobby pins in my handbag. But it's going good so far. If you see me in the street today with my wig hanging off my head, let me know please ;)

Btw, our pc died at home, so I haven't been able to upload the vids I did on her last week :( Hopefully we get it fixed soon! In the meantime, here are some more pics of today's style:

Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on AT&T

My hair this week

My Beshe Drew lace front! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

I bought 2 more wigs from my list!

Okay, I'm going to stop with the curly for now and start with maybe longer wavy ones. I think 4 is enough for now. Actually no, I tried on Nia Girl and my cousin almost fainted when I put it on she liked it so much, so I'm thinking about her.

**Update, I bought the infamous Beshe Drew wig since writing this post**

Okay, so Amerie is short, tight curls, 1b/33, La Efrah is fro'ish and 1b, and:


FreeTress Monroe Girl Full Cap (refer to my first wig post)
Bought her in 1b at my local beauty supply store about two weeks ago, Sam's, for $21.99. She comes with two combs, one in the front, one in the back and an adjustable strap.
She doesn't have a cap and seems kind of sparse, but that could be because she's on the white styrofoam wig head and it shows up more. She definitely cannot blend with my natural hair because it's a thinner hair fiber and looser curl, so I'll be rocking her as a full-cap. I bought some wig control spray last Tuesday to give her a little more control. I may trim the bangs, we'll see.


Vanessa La Apple Express Weave (aka 1/2 wig)
I had read when I was compiling my list that this was a fav of natural hair ladies, so I've been on the look-out since she wasn't available at the place where I got both Amerie and La Efrah. When doing a search on her I saw that my girl LolaKinkz did a YT review on her about a year ago and it looked great. I found her while checking out hair places on Flatbush with my cousin two Saturdays ago. I didn't plan on buying a wig, but she was right there and they only had one 1b...I took it as a sign. Got her at Wig Club for $24. No other place I checked on Flatbush, about 3 others, carried Vanessa brand wigs, they all had FreeTress like it was going out of style though, geez. Wig Club will be my new place to buy Vanessa wigs if my original place doesn't have a unit I want.

I did a YT video on La Apple, check it out here

Upcoming...

I've been battling a cold the last week, but stay tuned for a YouTube wig review on the wig I'm wearing below. I also plan to do a video on my daily makeup routine. I just ordered my first LACE FRONT WIG! The coveted naturally curly styled Beshe Drew wig. I ordered her from www.elevatestyles.com on Friday and she shipped already! Expect a vid on that too. I have yet to do a review on two eye-shadow palettes I bought back in September. An Urban Decay and a Sephora one. I am also taking up the challenge of decorating my friend's daughter's little Converse with ribbons and all things cute! Stay tuned!

Introducing...Vanessa La Apple Express Weave

In color 1b. Getting my inner Rick James on Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

My nails this week

Blue: Color Club in, errr, the sticker came off on the bottom, but I've used it before! (2 coats on one side) Purple: Color Club in Pucci-licious (2 coats on the other side) Black crackle: Avon Mosaic Top Coat  Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

My frotastic son!

Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Hotness!

Steve Madden Hastt, $169.

Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on AT&T

My hair Wed. Oct. 5 2011

Loving this hair!! It's BIIIG and exactly how I want my own hair to be. This hair is super light (as in not heavy) and it was a windy day at times here in NYC yesterday and I often felt like my hair was becoming a hot mess, but every time I checked in the mirror with one eye open, it was all good. Blending of my hair in this style is a little harder since the wig hair is going forward on top of it. For some reason I feel it's easier to blend backwards than forwards. Certain parts of the wig are super shiny and defined and others are less shiny and more 'fro, that's the part that blends the best with my hair. Also, I pulled out my own hair too much and it lost the twist-out form. I may try wetting my own hair tomorrow and putting some gel to see how that works, my hair always looks more shiny in wash-n-go form. The only thing I fear with that and trying to blend is the shrinkage. We'll see.


I did a quick YouTube video on yesterday's style, take a look here

Style #1 with my Vanessa La Efrah Wig

Not the first time wearing this headband, but it looks different with longer hair

Of course I had to start off with a headband for my first style, no thought process involved in it! The hair is actually pushing the headband forward and every so often I have to fix it. Which wouldn't be so bad if not for that floral piece to the front. FRO POWER!

I did a YouTube video (click) on today's style. Still getting the hang of that whole process and trying to work the editing website. Also, watching myself on-screen...I really need to get more sleep, my eyes look so tired! How do journalists do it?? :P

I went to a beauty supply store here in Manhattan on my lunch break to check out their wigs, they have tons and I never paid attention before. They're on 32nd Street near Penn Station. I'm having fun scoping out my next look. I saw a few that I liked:

Bobbi Boss Tucci

Ranges from about $28-$35

Modu True Match, TM-143

Don't laugh, I think in a 1B, if it's pulled out, tousled and maybe trimmed a bit, it can look great!
About $25

Sensationnel HZ-7009 

I think it will look good pulled out a bit.
Photo courtesy of www.hairwigharlem.com where it's $19

Looking at them online is not the same, I know. You had to be there.

New Wig Alert!!

Wig # 2! I bought the Vanessa La Efrah Express Weave (1/2 wig) at my local beauty supply store (bss) on Saturday and I'm loving her! She's BIGGG, soft and fluffy! ;)

Check out my YouTube vid here

My nails this week

Base color: Avon nailwear pro nail enamel in urban grey.
Black line: Avon Mosaic top coat, aka "crackle effect".
Silver sparkle nailart polish.

Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on AT&T

My nails this week

Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on AT&T

My hair today- Wig Protective Style

Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on AT&T

Wiggin' it for Fall and Winter - Protective Styling

I have decided to rock wigs as my protective Fall/Winter style. Protective is basically a way of styling ones hair so that it's protected from the elements, such as the sun, coldness, wind...your hands, lol. Which can be harmful to your hair if you don't moisturize and take care of it properly. Such styles are braids, twists, cornrows, weaves, extensions, wigs, etc. It is very easy for curly, natural hair to get dried out contrary to what some people may think.

Why a Wig?

Since all summer I more or less styled my hair in the wash-n-go fashion, I get chills thinking of doing that when it's cold out. I also want to minimize the amount of time I spend playing in my hair because when I leave it alone, it grows. So this also rules out the other style I've been doing, twist-outs, because every night to keep it fresh, I re-twist it. As some of you know or can imagine, this can be time-consuming since you're in your hair at night, then again in the morning. In the past I've always used weaves to grow out my natural hair and single extensions in a deep wave style when going on vacation to Trinidad. I'm not sure if I'm going to venture down the weave route this time and the thought of sitting down to get my hair done in those tiny braids, I can't! I like the idea of wearing a wig and still being able to wash and deep treat my own hair at least once a week or even wearing my own hair when I feel like it. 

Picking My New Hair

Sooooo, now that I decided on wigs, picking one was the next step that proved to be difficult. Wow, the choices! First of all, the last time I wore a wig was about 6-7 years ago and let me tell you, there was no such thing as lace-front! Of course I've heard of them over the years and actually witnessed some hair atrocities as a result of them, but I never really paid attention when I had locs. So with lace-fronts in the mix, there really are a lot of wigs to choose from now. When I first cut my hair, I looked up a lot of them and made a list of short straight, asymetrical styles as well as some loose wave styles. This was funny to look at over this past weekend when I revisited my list because my preference has apparently changed since April. I am now looking for curly wigs, something more similar to my natural hair, an afro-curl or something with more of a tighter curl. I bought a short (nape of neck), straight human hair one with reddish highlights back then only to realize when I got home that it was just the shorter version of one I already had! I never wore either of them because I guess I was having too much fun over the summer re-discovering my natural hair. But it's Fall now and I want a change so over the weekend I did quick research online and watched some YouTube reviews, which are always helpful. I'm someone who when I decide I want to do something, I want to do it yesterday and I was ready to wear a wig for Monday! I didn't have time to order anything online, so I checked out two beauty supply stores not too far from home. While there, I confirmed that I'm not ready for lace-fronts, they're scary! I will venture down that road though, I just want to be sure that when I do it, I do it properly and don't end up looking like my hairline starts at eyebrows! Now, on my quest for my perfect wig, I had some preferences, I don't mind synthetic as long as it looks real and I find curly synthetic tends to look more realistic than straight synthetic anyway. There are actually more afro-curly styles in synthetic than human hair from what I've noticed. I also didn't want to spend an arm and a leg. This was my first wig in years, I didn't want to invest in a lace-front indian remy human hair $230 wig right away, so synthetic it was! Full-cap or 1/2 didn't matter, but I'm not too keen on the comb and I hate the drawstring. I was ready.

My Wig List


Brand: Freetress (you can look at them here, http://www.snghair.com/Index.aspx. All photos courtesy of their website)

Equal Tracy


Love this one, $24.99


Monroe

Love this one, $19.99

Kira Girl

Coconut Girl

More of a looser curl. This was from my original list in April

Kara Girl

Check out a YT video by NaturaLLyPreTtTy here

Brand: Vanessa, 5th Avenue

From their Express Weave Collection (1/2 cap wigs)
La Efrah <-- click the links

LOVE! $21.99

La Apple

Not available at my local bss, have to get her online

La Subin

Longer version of La Efrah

La Davin

La Jay

LOVE, but it's too big for me right now.

From their Top Lace Collection (lace-front)
Top Yaba

Top Jona

Top Decy

From original list, not really feeling it now.

From the Synthetic Wig Collection (regular full cap)
Miko

Check out a YT video by BeautyCutright here

Brand: Sensationnel

HZ 7038

Photo courtesy of www.hairwigharlem.com

Brand: Beshe (Lace Wig)

Drew (reviewed by Taren916 on YouTube)

Photo courtesy of www.elevatestyles.com

Brand: It's A Wig

Swirls & Curls, Afro-Curl (human hair!)
Check out a Youtube review by colouredbeautiful here

Photo courtesy of www.hairwigharlem.com

Recent Additions to My List

I discovered these when getting the pics for this post.
Freetress Equal Lace Front Invisible Part, Sharon

Vanessa Coco

Sensationnel HZ 7048

Photo courtesy of www.hairwigharlem.com

My Decision

I ended up choosing one that wasn't even on my original list!  But it looked good on display at a local beauty supply store in Downtown Brooklyn.

<<drumroll>>

...Introducing Vanessa Amerie from their Synthetic Wig Collection!

Errr...*womp womp* huh? Well what's funny is looking at this pic, I would have never chosen it either. As a matter of fact, I didn't even notice it on their website! But that goes to show that it always pays to try it on or just to move from in front your computer and go into a store. With a lot of curly weaves and wigs, with my own experience, the older it gets, the better it looks. And the demo in the store has been around, so it was well-used and looked fab! I chose it in the color combo 1B/33 since my bangs are that color and if I decided to pull any pieces out in the front it would match. I tried on 3 wigs, Amerie ($29.99), Vanessa La Efrah ($21.99) and the Equal Tracy ($24.99). The other two were great, just a bit too much for me right now, in length and fullness. One of them will be a future purchase though (they're very similar, I don't need both). The length of my natural hair is about the length of Amerie, just a different curl pattern and style. Baby steps ;)

My Process

I can't cornrow my own hair, so I just flat-twisted it going back, leaving a piece out in the front just in case I wanted to pull out my own hair. Since I decided not to, I did two flat-twists going to the side. This also gives a bump for the wig cap to hug and something to attach a hair pin or two to if you decide to use them. I used a closed, net wig cap. I usually choose these because it makes me feel like my scalp is breathing as opposed to the stocking cap looking one. That's just my own personal preference. This wig doesn't have a comb in the front, but it's adjustable in the back, so yesterday I put two pins in the front secured to the cap and the front twist for extra security. This morning I forgot, no biggie.

Here are pics of my Amerie:

You can see the 33 highlights in it here

Front

Side

Put it on, didn't do a thing

Spritzed some water and SheaMoisture Hold & Shine Spray and tousled. Notice it's more full around the crown.

You can also see it's a little more frizzy, less "perfect"

A Couple Tips:

- If you end up watching reviews on YouTube to help you decide on a wig, don't anticipate it to look the same on you as it does on the person doing the review. Factors such as head size, face shape and your general build and height can change the look of a wig. For example, certain wigs may reach past my shoulder blades and be shoulder-length on someone else, or look too poufy on me, but just right on someone else. This was proven to me when the lady helping me out at the store tried on the same wigs as me and they looked totally different on her.

As I mentioned above, curly wigs need a little manipulation to make it look more natural. Turn your head upside down and tousle it from the roots, whatever it takes, a bit of frizz is welcomed! Taking it out of the packaging and putting it on for the first time can be a little discouraging because it's flattened and looks shapeless, so have patience. If you're comfortable, use scissors to tweak it to frame your face or bring it to a hair salon for them to do it for you if you're afraid.

Buy a wig stand of some sort to keep the wig you're currently using in the state that you styled it in last, as opposed to putting it back in the packaging and flattening it. I chose a plastic one that wasn't even around back in the day. It's in the pics above where I was showing the wig right out the packaging. I've used the styrofoam head one, but those take up a bit more space so I'll give this a shot. We'll see, it can be a bit wobbly. It was $2.99.

I played with Amerie a bit yesterday morning, this is how it looked:

Sorry the flash is making the coloring on my face look weird

Everyone at work loves it and so does hubby and my 4yr old son. SCORE! ;) Actually, when I took it off last night, my son said, "Mommy, what happened to your hair?! I don't like this one!" (I just had my flat-twists exposed). He was so confused :(

Today, I did absolutely nothing with it but put it on and run out the door:

It still looks very fresh of course and it's going to be interesting watching it change as it gets older. Picture your Barbie doll when you were little, her hair starts off shiny and "perfect"...then it starts getting harder in texture, less shine and more coarse looking/feeling. That is what I want! Then I'll get rid of it when turns into a matted mess, which a lot of synthetic hair ends up doing (so expect it). I also plan on experimenting with pinning up the sides and pulling out pieces of my own hair, maybe wearing a head/hairband. I may also get another style wig (or 5!) so that I can alternate between them to extend their lives.

I'll keep putting up posts on my experiences with this wig, more tips and whenever I get a new wig.

I did two amateur YouTube videos on my Amerie, click here and here to see.