FroChic

Last weekend I went eyeshopping and guess what i bumped into…a 75% off sale at one of my favourite department stores. *bbm happy dance smiley* .BUT I decided not to buy anything #proudmoment

As I entered the shop I was greeted by this well dressed security guard, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie. And to my surprise my favourite part about his whole outfit was…wait for it… his shoes!! Yes I said his shoes. He had the most gorgeous pair of brogues ever. Well brogues are those  lace-up shoes that guys (boys, men) used to wear back in the day and we thought (well I know I did) were hideous. But this time around there is just something about them because I love, love them now. More especially because they come around in a variety of colours and styles for us girls. I mean u can find them high or flat, bright or dark. And they work with almost every outfit.

Now back on the topic of stealing from the boys. Boys get to have the coolest clothes ever and at times I really wish I could just shop from the men’s side of the shop. But if u have a guy friend; husband; boyfriend, partner; dad or uncle why don’t you raid their closet and you’ll be surprised that you might come out with a few “to die” for items.

And from the older boys you might even score a few vintage items. But if you are like me and u don’t really have a boy to steal from because the boys you know are either too big or too small in size from you, you can always hit the shops because you can actually get “boy” inspired clothes on the girls section at the shops now.

So here are a few “boy inspired” outfits that u might want to look for and rock…The brogues, the boyfriend blazers, tuxedos. shirts or even ties and the old known chinos. And you will be looking absolutely gorge… and hot… and still look like a girl in them as the chilly season approaches.

So go ahead my fellow naturals, steal away!!

XOXO

NIpha

Post by Zama

I am a girl who has always believed that accessories make the outfit and without accessories (correction, without the RIGHT accessories) in your life your outfit can become so blah and mundane. So I thought, why not focus on accessories; the staple of every outfit – what they are, how to wear them and most importantly how to make them work for you, keep you in trend and in style this season.

What are accessories?

When most people think of accessories, what comes to mind is jewelry, which is not wrong but accessories are way more than just jewelry, accessories range from shoes, bags, scarves, hats, pretty much anything that makes a plain Jane outfit stand out and make a mark. But the tricky thing about accessories is knowing how to pair your bag with your shoes; how to layer your jewelry and most importantly (which some people never get) there is a thing called too much accessories. But fear not my dear fashioniStas, I’m here to set you right and looking good.

The Trends

The big trend right now, as we all know is the leopard print, which hasn’t always been favored in the fashion world.  If one would think of leopard print first thing that would come to mind would be trashy, very tacky and of course lady of the night!  But this once tacky print has totally turned a 360, to being classy and very risky. The thing I love about accessories especially when it comes to an over-powering print such as leopard print, it helps you to ease into the trend without over doing it and looking all tacky with leopard print head to toe.

These are great accessories tools to keep you in trend

Another big trend which I believe is finally being acknowledged and embraced is the natural look (took them long enough), and as proud as we are about our natural locks we all know that there are days when for some reason we just can’t get it right, ruining our whole day. So I’ve come to realize that all one really needs is a great accessory piece to keep our locks in check.

And what’s great about this is that it can be worn, winter, summer or spring.

The Pocahontas look: feathers are a big rage this season, from your hair accessories to earrings, I’m loving the look!

This is my get-up and go. This is a great look for winter, for when you’ve got something to hide; as well as for a stylish, yet lazy look.

Keeping true to your natural hair is surely going to keep you noticed and in style all season long.

Stunning jewelry & hair accessory designer, Rachel Stewart was kind enough to share her hair progress with us.

I have been natural for 20 years, but I always shave my head bald every few years…this time around I’m going to see how long it can get.

My fav style:

May 2009

March 2010

My routine:

• I co-wash everyday; I don’t use shampoo
• I put on some Shea Butter and Cantu moisturizer and let it air dry
• I like to keep it simple

I only blow-dry for photo-shoots and when I go out on the town, so about once a month I blow it out…but on a day to day basis, I wash ‘n go…blow drying weekly would be much too damaging and probably wouldn’t have retained as much length if I did.

I also use a growth aid called Megatek. It makes my hair strong and keeps it from breaking so I can actually retain my length.

I also never trim my hair…that’s defeating the purpose of growing it too long. If it’s healthy, there’s no need to trim. It’s a myth that trimming hair makes it grow. Your hair grows from the inside of your head; trimming does not affect that whatsoever. If you had 10 long strong beautiful nails, would you cut them? No…same goes for hair.

I sell jewelery and would say 40% of my sales are international; from places like England, New Zealand, Spain…even South Africa!hello

Of course we had to ask about her superhot make-up and how we love  that red lip.This is what she had to say:-

• red lip??…well I don’t wear red lipgloss or lipstick (your kidding right?), my lips are pinkish/red color, so I normally wear a clear or nude lip gloss…(some girls are just too blessed)
• I only wear concealer where needed and finish off with a mineral bronzer.
• I like eyeliner and smokey eyes.
• I’d say the best makeup tip is to have good skin…take care of your skin, it’s the best “makeup”.
• I use the oil cleansing method (OCM) on my skin. For the past 3 years I have only cleansed my skin with olive and castor oil; no soap or toner. It turns out when I stopped using soap, my skin stopped breaking out; it cured my cystic acne and gave me skin I didn’t have to cover with foundation like I had to for almost 20 years…here’s more info on the method

You can find more on Rachel’s art and jewelery on:

Rachel Stewart Shop
Rachel Stewart Jewelry
Rachel Stewart Art