Health & Beauty Tips: H2O

Drop that bottle of soda and replace it with a refreshing glass of water. Trust me, both your hair and body will thank you.

Hydrate your hair from the inside out! Hydration has a direct impact on the quality of your hair and its growth. Satisfying your body’s daily need of H20 (6-8 8oz glasses per day), you are promoting the cell reproduction that is necessary for your hair to thrive and grow!

Spritz your hair with water daily for instant hydration before applying your favorite moisturizer and sealant. 

Kiki’s Hair Spritz Mix:

1/3 cup of Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Conditioner

3-4 drops of peppermint oil

2-3 drops of Tea Tree oil

4 table spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and 1-½ cups of water

Pour these ingredients into an empty spray bottle and you’ve got a easy hair spritz.

After washing your hair, end your wash with a final cold water rinse. This will add a natural glossy sheen and help to real your hair’s cuticle for a smooth finish.

Quick Tip:

Having trouble with your weight? Try drinking 1-2 glasses of water before  each of your meals. This will help you feel fuller so that you won’t over eat and it will help you reach your daily 8-glass goal!

The ELITE Water Challenge:

 For the Month of April try replacing juice and soda with a tall glass of water.

Three Healthy Snacks From Trader Joe's

• Protein Power Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins feature mild, sweet banana flavor and are studded with chocolate chunks, yet have only two grams of fat in each two ounce mini muffin

• White Cheddar Puffs are an healthy alternative to cheese doodles. These delicious puffs only have 140 calories per serving

• Yogurt covered raisins gives you the benefits of satisfying your sweet tooth without feeling guilty! In fact it has nutritional value such as fiber and calcium

Embrace your Natural Hair!

 Kiki

Months Post Relaxer: 11 

Months 100% Natural: 2 

Big Chop Date: 01/2013

Favorite Natural Hair Product: Home Made Whipped Shea Butter Mix

[ Made with: Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), Coconut Oil, 100% Shea Butter, Glycerin & Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO)]

Crissy

Last Relaxer: Summer of 2010

Months 100% Natural: 12

Big Chop Date: 3/ 2012

Favorite Natural Hair Product: Miss Jessies Curly Pudding

A Few of Our Favorite Things

(From left to right)

Mac Rebel Lipstick-$15

Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Bali Brown 5 - $38

Mac Fluidline Eye Liner Gel in Blacktrack- $16

Kera Care Oil Moisturizer with Jojoba Oil- $7

Be a Bombshell Onyx Eyeliner-$7

Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes- $8

Flora by Gucci in Gorgeous Gardenia- $100

Revlon Color Stay in Blackberry- $8

Loreal Go 360 Clean- $7

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara- $6

Covergirl Outlast Lipstain- $7

The Original Flora by Gucci- $85

Bold Eye, Nude Lip VS Nude Eye, Bold Lip

A recent trend in makeup has been a bold eye accompanied by a nude lip or a bold lip accompanied by a nude eye. Elite Girl Crissy tried out both trends and preferred the bold lip with a neutral eye.

CAUTION!!!

Meet Crissy!

Crissy is one of our best friends who will be helping out with the blog

Name: Crystal

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Nationality: Guyanese

Favorites:

• Hair Product: I am a product junkie, but EVOO

• Makeup Product: MAC Cyber lipstick

• Product: Simple hydrating light moisturizer

• Color: Pink

Fun fact:

I am a very random person and probably the funnest person you’ll ever meet! I love to have fun and hate negative people.

Fun and Easy Nail Design!

• Essie: Plumberry • Essie: Fun in Gondola • Essie: Go Overboard 

1. Start off with a base coat to protect your nails from the damaging effects of polish and to help your colors stick better.
2. Once completely dried, place tape on your nails horizontally, diagonally, or vertically. This acts as a guard for your starter polish.
3. Choose a color and fill in a portion of your nail on each nail.
4. Then remove the tape (if the tape wraps around your finger, carefully cut it with scissors in the back)
5. After that coat has completely dried, repeat step 2 and 3 using another color.
6. Repeat these steps until nails are completely covered. 
7. Finish off with a topcoat and WaLa! A easy and fun manicure.

    

    

    

   

                            

Fresh Pomegranate Juice

Pomegranate is a very potent antioxidant with amazing benefits for your health. I personally find pomegranates to be very difficult to eat because of the many seeds that always get in the way! In order to still receive the nutritious benefits of this wonderful fruit without the hassle of worrying about the seeds, I decided to make a drink, so that it could be easier to intake.

• First, pit a pomegranate of all the seeds and pour them into a blender.

• Second, add a half a cup of coconut water and blend.

• Now take then contents and place it in a strainer lined with a paper towel.

• The straining process will take some patience because it will take some time for the juices to seep through.

Once drained you will be left with one cup of pomegranate goodness. Enjoy!

Product Review: Nail Magic

During this past summer, I was introduced to one of the most amazing nail products that promote strong and healthy nails. Nail Magic Nail Hardener and Conditioner, it treats weak damaged nails, resulting in rapid nail growth. Within only one month of use, my nails went from being brittle and stubby to long, strong and healthy.

Before and After

Here are a few pros and cons about this product (my own personal observation).

PROS: 

This product is effective in producing the results stated on the packaging, which are treatmeant of: • Weak Nails • Thin Nails • Damaged Nails & Splitting Nails. This product is easy to use (just as a normal polish) and can be worn alone without any color (optional). Nail Magic leaves a glossy sheen that creates a vibrant, neat and clean appearance.

CONS:

Once I ran out of the product, causing me to not use for approximately four weeks, my nails began to braeak and chip again. I found that in order to see continuous results with this product, you MUST use this as a base and topcoat at all times. 

As with any product that you are considering to use, you MUST read the ingredients to make sure that you are not allergic to any of its content, especially if you are someone who is allergic to almost everything in the book as I am. lol. 

Overall, Nail Magic is a wonderful product that I would highly recommend to anyone!

 (www.nailmagic.com)

An Adventure by Far ...

Beat The Stress: Finals Week

As college students, we all know that finals week may be the most crucial and stressful time of your college careers. But not to worry! Here are a few tips, along with some advice to help you beat the stress and give you the boost you need to pass the test!

1. Avoid caffeine: Yes, I know a quick cup of coffee may boost your energy, but in actuality it is a stimulant for stress. Try grabbing a more effective energy-boosting snack instead such as almonds, apples and bananas.

2. Dump the Junk: Stay away from unhealthy foods during finals week. Eating healthy not only lowers your stress level, but it also helps you feel better throughout your day.

3. Take a break: For every hour to hour and a half you study, you should try taking a little break.  Sometimes your brain needs a rest too! Remember to manage your time accordingly so that you not only have time to study, but also have time to socialize and take those exams off your mind for a bit!

4. Exercise: With all of the studying, we must not forget to take care of our bodies as well. This may sound contradicting, but exercising actually gives you energy and works off stress! Keep your mind and body leveled with a quick 10-minute run to get you going.

5. Rest: With all that’s going on in your day, you body needs time to catch up and recuperate. End your day off with your final bit of studying and get at least 8-10 hours of rest. I am a victim to the all nighters and I can tell you from experience that it is not in your benefit to do so. So drop the books and get some shuteye! Your body will thank you later!