Marie Claire SA: Get Your Dose Of Life And Style Inspiration From Cipriana Quann and TK Quann

Via: Marie Claire South Africa
By: Amahle Madlala
Photographer: Diego Villarreal
Stylist: Lisa Jarvis
 
 
Identical twins, TK Quann (aka TK Wonder) and Cipriana Quann, have captured the attention of the fashion industry with their unique look.
 
The Quann sisters and Baltimore natives (New York based) are more than the average fashion blogger, they fill a gap with their fresh approach to natural hair which led them to work with fashion heavyweights like Vogue, W, Nylon and Sunglass Hut. We caught up with the stylish sisters to talk hair, style and what they plan to do with their growing success.
 
How much does your hair affect your personal style?
 
TK: If anything, my personal style affects the way I wear my hair but my hair does not affect my personal style. My personal style is all over the place. I wear what makes me feel good and I believe that is the true essence of fashion.
 
Cipriana: I always said the bigger my hair became, the more my style evolved. The more I became one with my natural hair, my style reflected that confidence. Really, it is hard to box in my style since I love a plethora of genres. I could look like Diane Keaton one day or Lisa Bonet the next. I love mixing and playing with menswear, structural pieces, pattern mixing but hands down, I have a very strong soft spot for the seventies era.
 
You must get a lot of attention for your hair. Do you ever feel the questions and stares are invasive?
 
TK: We’re accustomed to it. When we were kids people were always commenting on our hair so now it seems mundane. As children, we had more than a few pedestrians who would try to touch our hair. Our parents told us to say, ‘Don’t touch our hair!’ I don’t mind fielding questions. I realize some people are curious, but I become aggravated when people think it is okay to invade your space and touch your hair. Hair is an extension of your body, and you would never walk up to a random person and touch their body parts.
 

 
Cipriana, what was yours and your partner at Urban Bush Babes, Nikisha Brunson’s inspiration for starting the blog. What do you hope to achieve with the site?
 
Cipriana: We wanted to create a lifestyle website focusing on fashion, hair, beauty, health, food, interior design, arts and culture with the aim to support, encourage and highlight the multi-faceted lives of women of colour which we felt was missing in mainstream media. Celebrating difference as the norm and coloring outside the lines while breaking down the ‘ideal’ standard of beauty.
 

 
Visit Marie Claire South Africa for the complete interview as TK and I discuss what success means, advice to natural hair beginners, our go to products and much more here.

from Urban Bush Babes http://ift.tt/1MHI7O6

5 Hairstyles I can't wait to Rock this Fall

Before bed last night, I contemplated whether I would take the ultimate risk.  The next morning I was attending a meeting were Val and I would craft our 90 day plan for the remainder of 2015.  There I stood in front of my dresser with a small stack of flexi rods in front of me.  After months of battling 100% humidity, I longed desperately to wear my hair in large fluffy spiral curls.  But any attempts in the recent past failed miserably.

Fall is here.  And the only redeeming quality of this time of year, is the opportunity to wear braid outs, waves, curls without fear of frizz robbing us of our hard work.  This morning, as I released the my hair from the flexi-rods, I prayed silently that the curls would endure the 3 block walk from the car to my meeting place.  The mid-day sun above made me almost wish that I had chosen a much safer hair style.  I'd hate to regret my decision.  I walked briskly and comfortably in my black wedges while touching my hair to check on the status of the curls.  It wasn't long before I broke a mild sweat.  Wearing all black wasn't such a good idea.  Before I knew it, I arrived at the intended destination and immediately darted to the restroom to attend to my fragile curls.

Much to my surprise, they remained perfectly in tact.  I was very pleased.  More importantly, I took this as a sign that it was ok to experiment with other curly dos again.  When I got home, I visited Pinterest for inspiration and compiled a few looks to get me and ready for fall.

I love the idea of wearing large, relaxed waves.  If this were summer, a style like this one might last a full 5 seconds before any evidence of the wave evaporated. But, with lower humidity on the horizon, this style might be very doable.  To recreate this look, I' start with straightened hair then create a couple large bantu knots, take them down, then call it a day.  

There's nothing like the feeling of playing with voluminous curls after a roller set take down.  Unfortunately, that feeling doesn't last too long.  Typically, my hair immediately drinks up the moisture in the air, causing my curls to poof up beyond recognition.  But, very soon, I'll have the chance to sport wash day jumbo curls again.  Can't wait.  

For the past few months, my braid outs, twist outs, etc, have performed far beyond their potential.  Frizz destroyed the defined waves and, worse yet, the crazy humidity raised my cuticle layer, causing random tangles.  Finally, I had to make the executive decision to rule out wearing 'em until further notice.  Fall, for me, means that my braids outs will make it through the day.  Hoping to lift the ban on braid outs very, very soon.  

I'm happy to announce that my flexi rod set has lasted an entire day.  That's without the help of any styling products.  This gives me so much hope for the months ahead.  

I rarely ever wear my hair straight anymore.  Truth be told, I have a hard time getting it really straight. In the past, my lightly straightened hair would quickly transform to a poofy mess. But, I think fall will allow me the chance to wear voluminous straight hair all day long (one can only hope).

from Relaxed Hair Health http://ift.tt/1YPs5IG

Pretty Christmas Tree Hairstyle That’s Easier to Do Than it Looks!

By stylisheve.com
This time of year is full of holiday parties and get-togethers to go to, and we’re always looking for easy and beautiful looks to try! This is a video that got over 10k views in a week, so it is obviously going to be a popular look this Christmastime! We always love the tutorials fromPrincess Hair Styles and this one is no exception! With just a few little hair ties, you end up with an elegant, Renaissance-look hairstyle with your little hair ties in the pattern of a Christmas tree! You can use coloured hair ties to create the Christmas tree pattern, and you can even put little clips and decorations in your hair to look like Christmas ornaments!

This is a multi-purpose style that can go subtle and elegant or festive, fun, and over-the-top! It’s a really simple process. You start with a small amount of hair tied back right on top of your head for the beginning of the Christmas tree hair net. You pull two small amounts of hair from either side of your head, split the existing ponytail into two, and tie both in hair ties. So for the second row you have two hair ties. For the third row, you split the two existing pony tails in half, tie the middle half together with a hair tie, and pull two more small pieces of hair from either side of your hair to join with the remaining hair from both ponytails. So for the third row you have three hair ties. Continue the process until you have as many hair ties as you want in your hair, and voila! You have a beautiful lacy holiday hair style!

4 Gorgeous Protective Styles for Natural Hair this Fall

Fall is officially here and, for many naturals, it is time to return to protective styling.  Today we are giving four beautiful looks to inspire you this season.  Who says protective styling has to be boring?

1. Simple Back Tuck (4C hair)

This first style is really simple to create in little to no time at all.  It works on most lengths of hair, so my naturals with shorter lengths, this may work for you.  No heat is needed either, so you don’t have to worry about damaging your hair this season.

Description: hair is tucked into headband in the back
Products used: hair butter
Tools needed: rattail comb (for parting), wide-tooth comb, hair tie, bra strap

2. Triple Twisted Updo

For this look, start with hair that has been previously blow dried or, to avoid heat, use banding, rollers, African threading, or braids.  The protective style is super chic and simple, and guess what?  No gel is needed!  Rock your edges proud, ladies!

Description: hair is twisted into three ponytails and pinned
Products used: hair spray
Tools needed: wide-tooth comb, hair ties, clips, bobby pins, boar bristle brush

3. Flat Twist Updo

If you are wearing an old flat twist that you don’t quite know how to style anymore, try  this beautiful textured updo.  Just loosen some of your twists and get creative with pinning and tucking.

Description: twists are rolled and tucked upward into a pompadour

Tools needed: bobby pins

4. Textured Playground

This “textured playground” is a mix of a twist out, braid out, and twists. A makeup tutorial is included as well, but if you’re just here for the hair, watch the beginning and then fast forward to 4 minutes and 50 seconds into the video.

Description: hair is braided and twisted to create various textures
Products used: leave-in, oil, styler (all Entwine)
Tools needed: rattail comb (for parting), bobby pins

What protective styles are you rocking this fall?

from beauty hair http://ift.tt/1KOZ85j

The Anti-Aging Under Eye Treatment of the Future.

Sunday, after church, I decided to stop by a local Vietnamese beauty shop. They offer spa facial treatments and, more importantly, they have a wide range of Asian skin care products for sale.  I drove there specifically to load up on a variety of authentic sheet masks, straight from Korea.  I was in luck.  The owner just so happen to have an abundance of beauty masks that range from ginseng, sea kelp, green tea and so forth.

After amassing a handful of essence masks, I inquired about patches made specifically for the eye area.  She walked away and headed towards the counter where the Shiseido products were prominently displayed.  I was then handed a fancy box of Shiseido eye patches that required an investment of over $60.00.  After very little deliberation, I decided to pass on the patches and proceed with the low cost facial sheet masks instead.

In the back of my mind, I wondered why the eye patches were so expensive.  So I did my research.  And guess what I found?  Shiseido was actually given an award for a technology they developed which will revolutionize the effectiveness of anti-aging eye products....forever!!!!

Check this out:

"Shiseido successfully developed an eye patch showing effective improvement of wrinkles, which was used self-dissolving microneedle technology. Microneedle technology is a newly advanced system for drug delivery and has been recently gained increased attention to its painless manner and safety in the medical field. We applied this microneedle technology to cosmetics as larger eye patch*3 with appropriate size and shape, in which 1200 needles were aligned on the surface (Image). Needles consist of hyaluronic acid which is essential to maintaining skin moisture and elasticity and known to decrease with aging..Successive administration of this patch preparation to the eye corner resulted in significant improvements of wrinkles, with increases of water content in the stratum corneum and viscoelasticity, which is an index of resilience.

Basically, they developed an under eye patch with over a thousand tiny needles that penetrate the skin, delivering hydration and nourishment directly to the sensitive under eye area.  These needles aren't your typical variety made of metal.  These cosmetic needles are composed of hyaluronic acid and actually dissolve inside the skin which is why the results are so phenomenal.

Those of you familiar with micro needling should be very excited about this.  Micro needling has the power to plump the skin, remove stubborn acne scars and even regrow hair!  Causing micro-trauma to the skin can have some really wonderful effects.  The best tool for the job is a derma roller.  Unfortunately, most derma rollers aren't suitable to go very close to the eye area.  That's what makes Shiseido's technology so amazing!

As of now, this technology isn't readily available in the U.S. yet. Some of the articles I've read claim that we'll soon have access to these eye patches of the future.  But, until then, Shiseido offers us their retinol eye mask.  Retinol is the non-prescription version of retin-A.  For the past couple of weeks, I've gotten back on my retin-A regimen and my skin is transforming.  But my under eye is feeling a little neglected.  More than anything, I want to get my greedy hands on those needled eye patches, but until the day arrives, I may test out the retinol eye masks to see what they can do.  This, to me, is the next best thing.  Here's why.  Needles promote collagen formation and higher product absorption through the micro-trauma.  Retinol, also promotes collagen formation and greater product absorption by increasing cell turnover.  So it's like two different ways to experience similar results.

I'm not sure I'm ready to make the $63.00 investment until I know how this product works for me. Good thing Sephora has a sample size of 6 eye patches for under $20.00.  That's very doable.

from Relaxed Hair Health http://ift.tt/1FFxtHS

How Long is Too Long to Keep your Natural Hair Products?

by Janelle Sands

Allocate time to take inventory of the products in your bathroom cabinet. I bet you have a heap of products; some that you love and most of which you sort of use. It is probably safe to presume that most of the products in your cabinet have been there for a long time.

How long is too long to keep your products in your growing arsenal? Rumor has it that products can expire over time. Rather than assuming this to be true, it is best to contact the experts to verify the facts in order to continue your product junkie habits safely and effectively. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the go to source for setting guidelines to protect public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, the nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and other products. According to the FDA, cosmetic ingredients are not required to put forth an expiration date. Here’s why:

“There are no regulations or requirements under current United States law that requires cosmetic manufacturers to print expiration dates on the labels of cosmetic products. Manufacturers have the responsibility to determine shelf life for products, as part of their responsibility to substantiate product safety. FDA believes that failure to do so may cause a product to be adulterated or misbranded.”

Shelf lives typically vary between 12-24 months for hair related products within the United States. The European Union's Cosmetic Directive, however only requires expiration dating for products whose "minimum durability" is less than 30 months. Beyond the shelf life determination, it is unknown whether or not the cosmetics may be safe or effective for use. According to Cosmetic Test Labs, the judgment is “based on shelf life studies that consist of measurements like color, odor, pH, microbial contaminant levels, phase-stability, viscosity, texture, etc.” After the expiring shelf life, these factors may be compromised. In which case you will see change in smell, texture, and other unintended reactions. A close eye should be kept on the shorter shelf lives of “all natural” products that contain plant-derived substances conducive to microbial growth. An even closer eye should be given to products with alternative preservatives or products with no preservative at all.

It is in the company’s best interest to choose an honest shelf life to protect the consumer and itself. However, it is important to note that these dates are essentially set as a “rule of thumb” to follow. Products that are stored in unsuitable conditions could speed up the shelf life of the product (e.g. exposure to high heat like a product being left in the car for hours on a hot day). Similarly, products stored in ideal conditions may extend its shelf life.

No matter what shelf life is given on the bottle, after 12-24 months of any product, use your best judgment by observing any change in color, odor, and consistency. Be on the lookout for phase-separation, like oil and water in shampoos and conditioners. Finally, regardless of the product you are considering or your hair type, follow the traditional warning that goes like this: when in doubt, throw it out!

How long do you keep your products?

from beauty hair http://ift.tt/1VoBqCG

People StyleWatch Magazine October Issue Featuring Cipriana & TK Quann

Photos: Regine David
 
Excited to reveal my twin sister TK Quann and I are featured in the October issue of People Magazine’s ‘StyleWatch‘. We discuss fashion, “twinning”, one of our favorite sustainable lines ‘Studio One Eighty Nine‘, our Mother’s positive influence and more.
 
 
*click photos to enlarge

 

Available now, pick up your issue at your local news vendor or digital copy here

from Urban Bush Babes http://ift.tt/1OE41F6

Motivation Monday | Where are you spending most of your time?

Happy Monday!  Today, I have a treat for you.  Over the past several months, I've had the pleasure of connecting with a reader.  I've exchanged tons of emails and after having several wonderful phone conversations, I invited her to share a guest post with us.  She just completed a rigorous life coaching certificate and is bursting with knowledge. I hope you enjoy her words of wisdom.

My name is Nelida Barbosa and I am a 31 years old life coach! After spending almost 10 years working as a financial consultant in corporate banking, I came to realize that I didn't want to live that life anymore. I knew there was a different way of living my life where I could be authentic and creative (no more auto pilot for me). I didn't want to take on this journey by myself. So my goal now is to help people become a true conscious leaders in their own lives. I believe it's possible to change your life and make it worthy waking up every day. 

Where are you spending your time?

Today I want to reflect on where you are spending most of your time. 

As human beings we have the benefit of having two worlds available for us:

WORLD #1 - the first world that I am referring to, is the world of thoughts and ideas.

WORLD #2- the second one is the world of action, where we can translate the ideas from the 1st world in to reality.

Now let's see what happens to most people who have an intention they want to achieve.  The intention often starts as an idea.  The idea transforms to a vision of what we want to build and the life we want to live. This corresponds to the first world: It's very comfortable and full of excitement. In the world of ideas there is no risk.  So we keep adding new ideas to our vision, and new content everyday... This world is so perfect and secure.

Nothing wrong with this. We just need to realize that is just the first step. The problem starts when you keep repeating the first step over and over again. What happens is that you start attracting more books, more teachers, more courses, and so on... all in order to make you ready to take action. But guess what? The feeling of being ready never comes. And the action never takes place.

So, the trick is to remember that we are also physical beings, we should be operating in "World #2" where action lives.   In this physical world where things are actually manifesting.

Keep a close attention to your day, and ask yourself these questions: 

- Where am I spending most of my time? 

- What actions could I be taking right now? 

- What is preventing me from taking action?

- How can I overcome the obstacles that I face?

Is perfectly fine if the answers don't come right away. Just keep them in the background of your mind, and let your subconscious mind come up with the solution.

The physical world is a world of movement.  Everything is moving. Even the table in your kitchen is made up of fast moving particles.  So If we want to thrive in this world we should take action. Don't stand still. Nothing happens there.

Remember that if you remain in World #1 (the world of ideas), you may lose the momentum, causing your energy to decrease because you see no change in your reality. Everything remains the same and frustration will start to set in.  Let me give you a personal example.  After attending coaching school to become a certified life coach, I was extremely excited to begin helping others achieve their dreams.  But, at the same time, I was fearful about how to deliver high value and guarantee my clients results.  I thought that I needed to be more prepared so I sought out teachers, courses and more programs. What I didn't notice was that I was avoiding taking the necessary action of offering my services to people.   I was very comfortable learning and confused it with progress and action.  The minute I realized what I was doing, I re-structured my day so I could monitor how much time I spending in World #1 vs. World #2.  

Nadege's notes:

I'm really grateful to Nelida for her reminder of how we are spending our time.  It's too easy to simply think about taking action, making plans and contemplating next actions. Days, weeks, months go by and nothing new exists from all of that time spent in our head.  It's like investing money in a company that produces no revenue.  It's a waste of time and money.  Let's not kid ourselves with the lofty plans we're creating.  Lofty plans are really great and absolutely useless at the same time.  Unless they cause you to quickly move into the world of action, ideas hold no value.  Confusing ideas and plans for action is a huge mistake. But we can easily avoid that as look as we schedule time for action.  

Honestly, you don't have to spend a lot of time in action, you just have to do it regularly. That's all. Regular small actions are greater than lofty plans.  For those of you who are on a 90 day challenge,  I invite you to set aside 1 hour a day to take action.  Just an hour.  But watch it compound into something phenomenal.  

If you'd like to connect with Nelida to find out more about her journey or to speak to her about living a life you love, check her out at Awakentothrive.com.

from Relaxed Hair Health http://ift.tt/1Wtn5re

Sunglass Hut x London Fashion Week x Quann Sisters

Photos: Diego Villarreal
 
Follow the behind the scenes antics with my twin sister, TK Quann and I along with Sunglass Hut during the SS16 London Fashion Week, that took place September 18-22nd.
 
Founded in 1971 Sunglass Hut is the one stop shop brand for all of your eyewear shade needs, carrying 40 of the top designer sunglasses from Miu Miu, Raybans, Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Cannel, Fendi, Dior to Persol. With such a beautifully extensive and eclectic collection you can see why Sunglass Hut is now the official sponsor for London Fashion Week for the next 3 years, with Georgia May Jagger as the retailer’s Brand Ambassador.
 
Captured by Photographer Diego Villarreal, our excursion included visiting Sunglass Hut‘s London Flagship store, dinner at Bistrotheque, a ‘Punk it Up’ Tea Party with Brand Ambassador Georgia May Jagger (and special performance by Brix Smith as well as Drew Barrymore stopping by), while covering shows from Sibling, Holly Fulton to Gareth Pugh.
 
Scroll below for the first part of this 3 part series as we attend London Fashion Week with Sunglass Hut. First stop Sunglass Hut’s London Flagship store…
 
 
*Click Images to enlarge

from Urban Bush Babes http://ift.tt/1LI9BVm