10/25/11

Carrega's Corner: Nail Chip.. No More?

By: Christina Carrega 


I tried the Shellac UV Gel Manicure about two weeks ago just to see if it lasted as long as it has advertised and I'm glad to report that it does!

With all of the gels, mousses, conditioners and shampoos we use with natural or permed hair we know how quickly a manicure can be ruined days after because we had to wash and style our own hair.

With the CND line of gel manicure polishes, I was able to frequently wash and style my hair as well as clean my house with chemical-based household products without a break or chip of the polish.

This new technique for the busy-everyday woman, reminds me of the acrylic tips I use to get back in high school. The only difference is, it doesn't weaken the nails.

It does, however, lose the color as the nail grows and if your nail chips the polish remains its shape until it is removed. I would not recommend trimming or filing the nail if it does happen to crack because the rest of the polish begins to crack as well and its not a good look.

After 15 days, and not to mention a vacation in between where I was in chlorine and sea water, I just got a refresher manicure and decided to be festive in the fall and get the hot pink color.

You're nails dry in 360 seconds on each hand!

The way the process goes is, the nail technician gives you a classic manicure, afterwards, he or she places the gel base coat on each hand. When one hand is finished it is placed into a UV lighted oven-like machine for approximately 90 seconds. When the light goes out, the first coat of which ever color you chose goes on and your hand goes back into the machine for another 90 seconds.

The technician I went to says that this is how the gel is dried "super fast" unlike a regular manicure when you have to sit under the mini-drier for 15 minutes for it to be completely dry.

The second coat is places on the nails and after another 90 seconds the final placement of the top-gel polish is added. Another 90 seconds later you're done and ready to go about your day.

The Shellac Manicure could run you from $17 to $40.

What do you think, is it worth the money?



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Carrega's Corner: Humidity Got Me!

By: Christina Carrega

On vacation with natural hair, my ultimate fail.

Most people would think this is the easiest type of hair to deal with because it doesn't mind jumping in the water and or doing the "wet and go" look everyday.

But, silly, unfortunate, me I went to a very humid island without any of my anti-humidity conditioners! So even when I set my hair into the double strand twist with the Miss Jessie's Curling Pudding or Baby Butter, the humidity attacked it and made my locks lay flat as a pancake. I even thought my Tresseme hair gel was going to rescue me, but it got too sticky and practically pulled my hair out after a long day.

I was upset until I looked for my hair accessories.

Flower clips, head ties and huge buns helped me get through the vacation.

I learned for future trips to squeeze a good amount of any of the Garnier Anti-Humidity products into a 3 ounce bottle. Or try to get sample packs like I did for the Miss. Jessie's items.

What other styles, techniques or products do you try to bring with you when you're miles away on vacay?



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10/24/11

C is for Cultured Giveaway!


So Ava of C is for Cultured decided to host a giveaway exclusively through Party Over Hair in celebration of her newly launched Etsy store! I have this thing about wearing jewelry, so I haven't been sporting any cool beaded bracelets -- but after seeing Ava's latest creations, my mind just may change. So in this Giveaway, six lucky winners (within the US) can win their choice of one of the jade, red agate, white agate, and blue carnelian agate with a gold plated feather and gold space beads. Once again, the rules are simple:

1. Must be subscribed to the Party Over Hair blog.

2. Follow both @CisforCultured & @PartyOverHair on Twitter.

3. Tweet "I'm a culture(d). individual" to @CisforCultured.

4. Leave name & email address in the comment box, along with your favorite item in the Etsy shop: CisforCultured.etsy.com

Contest will end at 12PM EST on Monday, October 31, 2011. Ava will select a winner at random using random.org. Best of luck! 


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CurlyNikki's NYC Meet Up!


On Thursday, my best friend Shayna and I headed to the Carlton Hotel for CurlyNikki's first NYC Meet Up. Honestly, I was very nervous since this was my first time attending a meet up since I not only started Party Over Hair, but went natural so I didn't really know what to expect. Plus, I was so nervous that I walked out the house without my Canon, so all pictures were taken from my iPhone. 





Nonetheless, by the time we got there & got inside I was completely impressed with the turn out -- us NYC Naturals managed to have the Carlton Hotel packed! We mingled around the crowd, met some new Curlfriends, handed some Party Over Hair cards -- but most importantly, I got to finally meet Curly Nikki! For the few seconds I did get to speak with her, she was sooo nice! So glad that I finally got to meet one of my inspirations.


Shayna & I walked around looking at all the wonderful hair presentations the Mizani stylists doing & I have so say all the styles were absolutely gorgeous. I'm definitely excited to try out their new product line: True Textures. Unfortunately, we didn't stay until 10PM--since I still had a bunch of design work to finish at home--but the time that we were there, we definitely enjoyed ourselves. Plus, we left with a complimentary Mizani goodie bag with samples of their new True Textures products that I cannot wait to try!


So, who was there? Did you enjoy yourselves? Have you tried the Mizani samples yet? 

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Carol's Daughter's New Chocolat Smoothing Collection


Last week, Carol's Daughter introduced their new Chocolat Smoothing Collection at Godiva in New York City. The collection is the company's first line of products dedicated to hair straightening. These products couldn't come at a better time, as the colder months are approaching us & I know this is when a lot of natural consider straightening their hair.

The 3-step collection of sulfate-free products is designed to physically rebuild the hair structure from the inside out. Whether you have natural or relaxed hair, the products are said to work on all types of hair. The Chocolat collection uses the power of the Cacao bean to actually soften, smooth and rebuild hair when blowdrying straight. The Cacao, combined with a special plant protien called Keravis, smooths the cuticle layers from the outside, protects against heat styling damage and rebuilds hair's structure from the inside.

According to Carol's Daughter, the Chocolat Collection builds impossibly smooth hair that lasts.. and lasts. This collection straightens out all your frizzy situations--from overheating to over-treating. Its main ingredient Cacao, the pure form of cocoa, is the sweetest thing your hair will ever experience because its intensity smoothes and rebuilds your hair's structure, naturally, giving it a silky-sleek finish that won't flyaway.

For $54, you can purchase the set that includes: Smoothing Shampoo, 8.5 oz, Smoothing Conditioner, 8.5 oz and Smoothing Blow Dry Cream, 3.9 oz.

Would you consider using the Chocolat Smoothing Collection for straightening your hair this Fall/Winter? 


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10/21/11

Honey B. Natural: A Conversation on Kinks, Coils & Curls


Hello ladies!

I would like to thank you all for hanging in there with me as I haven't been able to blog as much as I wanted to lately. I work as an Art Director for an art school in NYC so as of lately all my time has been going to them. Nonetheless, I'm trying to find the proper balance between my work life & blogging life so please continue to hang in there with me as I have so much wonderful things planned for Party Over Hair in the near future! So once again, thank you to all my supporters & readers!

Now, yesterday upon leaving CurlyNikki's Meet Up I ran into Kris & Emijaa of Honey B. Creations. The ladies shared with me that they are having a wonderful panel discussion this Saturday. So any of my NYC ladies, if you're not busy I'd suggest definitely stopping by. Kris sent me an email to share with you ladies:

Greetings natural beauties!
This is a friendly reminder to join us for, Honey B. Natural: A Conversation on Kinks, Coils & Curls this Saturday, October 22nd from 7:30-10:30pm (registration opens at 7:00pm).

The evening will include a diverse panel of notable women in the natural hair community, a mini-hair show, a product swap, refreshments, gift bags and more!

Visit our website www.honeybcreations.com for more details. Bring your girls! You can purchase tickets at: http://honeybnatural.eventbrite.com.  $15 in advance / $20 at the door.

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10/14/11

Hair Q&A: When Is It Time To Get A Trim?



Q: How do you know when it's time to get a trim? 


A: Some say every 6 to 8 weeks, other say as long as 6 months to a year. Honestly, you'll have to judge it for yourself. I have only had my hair trimmed once thus far in my 6 months of being natural. So I honestly would recommend looking at the state in which your hair is in to determine if it's time for a time. Signs that you may need a trim could include anything from rough ends to split ends to breakage. 


How do you know when it's time for a trim? 


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