beauty

I can’t do anything right this week.

| cheriarmour

This week is really one of those weeks that I cannot do a single thing right.  I fielded nasty emails, my house looks like an explosion rocked through it, and I could not, for the life of me, get anything done in a timely fashion this week.

Including my brother’s haircut.

My sister is getting married tomorrow.  Actually, let me back up.  Debbie actually got married in York, South Carolina last June, and she’s doing the reception/party thingie tomorrow.  Which is awesome, great!  And of course, when you’re overbooking yourself (sure, a staff meeting the same weekend of my sister’s wedding?!), it all seems great a few months out, but I’m completely freaking out and not sure how I’m going to accomplish everything and still emerge with my sanity this weekend.

Two words.  Xan-ax.  Jk jk!

So, in today’s episode of what did I manage to screw up, I was trying to be helpful because I knew my parents were running around and I offered to figure out somewhere for my brother to get his hair cut.

Now I get it.  We’re black, our hair is a little different to manage, however, I went to this kinda hipstery place that gives you a free beer when you come to get your hair cut, and asked if they cut black hair.

The guy was all “OMG of course we cut black hair!”

“Like, black PEOPLE’S hair.  You can do that, no problem?”

“Yeah, of course!”

Course, at that point, I feel like I’m being a jackass for even asking, because hey, they studied hair right?  How dare I assume that a black man’s uncomplicated haircut may be a challenge? So I made my brother an appointment, dropped him off, and waited for the result.

It was a freakin nightmare.

My brother looked actually worse than he did when he walked in.

Exhibit A:

Derek Haircut

Derek Haircut 2From what Derek says, the poor girl had no clue what she was doing, could not so much as brush his hair without pausing to ask him if she was hurting him, and when he asked for a “fade and a shape-up,” she looked at him like he was speaking cat.  Which I speak well, but he does not.

::sigh:: I get it.  Our hairs are textured differently. And you didn’t study black hair wherever you went to.  HowEVER, can we all just agree, at that point, that we won’t tell Cheri, whose sanity is already hanging by a thread, that we can do a fade with an edge-up, when obviously that’s not true?

So, if I go missing, you know my entire family is responsible because I did this to my brother’s hair a day before my sister’s wedding.  The good news is, it’s fixable, and my dear husband is going to take my brother somewhere in the morning while I teach a class and fix this mess I made.

OMG.

OMG.

Anyhoo, Happy Saturday!  Stay tuned for some pics of my sister’s nuptials!

Beauty Buys! Plus an at-home gel mani!

| cheriarmour

So drug store cosmetics are some of my favorite purchases in the world, but with the wedding coming up, I have been focusing more of my finances on wedding things, and less on extraneous purchases.  But last week, I was out of a few things, and so I treated myself to some things I’ve been meaning to buy for a while.  Let’s look through a few of my purchases, and I’ll let you know how they worked out!

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Okay starting from the far left.

Volum’ Express Falsies Big Eyes Mascara by Maybelline – My honest opinion is I wouldn’t buy this.  I wasn’t really impressed with what it did, and it didn’t really do much for me.  It was really a meh purchase.  Very meh.  I have had better luck with Volum’ Express Colossal…much more worth it for the money.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream – This is definitely a good buy.  I don’t wear a ton on my skin since I’ve been using Proactiv, but this buy is definitely worth it.  A little dab kinda just smooths out what is going on, and is really really good for a day where you have a gnarly breakout.  It also contains some SPF which is really important for us ladies that are not interested in turning leathery.

RevitaLift Miracle Blur anti-aging skin care by L’Oreal Paris – This product, which was introduced to me by Amanda, is a killer purchase.  So it’s a moisturizer, which I can always use more of, it contains SPF, and it sort of just magically fixes your skin.  Prior to starting Proactiv, I kind of had a permanent breakout on my forehead, that left me with some dark marks.  Between the Proactiv, limited makeup, and this product, I feel like this is the last piece in the puzzle to fix what’s been going on with my skin.  Seriously, if you have drier skin, and you’re looking for a moisturizer with some SPF that can be worn on it’s own, this is is.  Thank you Amanda!

Okay, last but not least, the folks at A Beautiful Mess taught me how to do a gel mani at home.  HOLLA AT SAVING $50!

What you’ll need to do your own gel mani and save a bajillion dollars over the course of a year.

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  • Rubbing alcohol 
  • Acetone for removal (kinda more after). 
  • Gelous Gel Nail Coat <-You can get that at Sally’s

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  • Your nail color
  • A top coat – AMB recommends Seche Vite, which I have, but I went with my Orly top coat, and it seemed to work out well.

Kay, here are your steps. Nails are clean and buffed, right?

  1. Swab your nails with alcohol to get any excess oils off.
  2. Do a thin coat of Gelous, let it dry for a minutes.
  3. Do a coat of the color, let it dry for three minutes.
  4. Another coat of Gelous, let it dry for a minute.
  5. ANOTHER coat of color, three minutes dry time.
  6. Your top coat, dry it for one minute.
  7. And FINALLY do one last coat of Gelous, seal the top of your nails, and let it dry for a million years.  Seriously, as long as possible

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At. Home. Gel. Mani.

Saved ya money!

What do you have planned for this weekend?

Fabletics Clothing Review!

| cheriarmour
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via Shape Magazine

So, I wish I could have a subscription to every workout publication that’s out there, but usually, I limit myself to purchasing them when I see someone on the cover whom I love, and Kate Hudson definitely falls into that category for me.  She’s funny, she’s Goldie Hawn’s daughter, and I was particularly intrigued by this cover cause didn’t she just have another baby?

At any rate, Kate Hudson teamed up with Fabletics, which is her new, affordable brand of activewear.  I’m sure that you’ve started to see all the commercials for things like JustFab, FabKids, Stichfix, and Runnerbox, all subscription programs that you can enroll in, and Fabletics is a similar program, and I was super thrilled when they sent me a few pieces from their spring line to try and tell you guys all about.

The way it works:

You go to Fabletics, and you start by taking their Fit Quiz, which determines what sort of activity you’re engaging in.  From there, there are a few options, a VIP membership option, which will allow for more discounts and a full outfit option, and a regular membership option which still allows you to shop, but at a less deep discount.  But basically, after selecting your option, you’ll receive a new set of active wear (from a wide array of bottoms, tops, bras, jackets, and all of that), and If you hate anything, or you want to skip a month you’re totally welcome, but the basic premise is that you’re paying less for active-wear that’s pretty good quality, as opposed to a $90 pair of tights, which you can easily do elsewhere (and I’ve done it!).

The stuff. 

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DSC_0014So the pieces that I have are:

The Kingston Hoodie, which I’ve been wearing nonstop since it came in the mail a few weeks ago.  Seriously, I wore this and the tank top like 3 times to work last week with different bottoms, and wore them to my race last Sunday.

The Extension True Tank, which is kind of like a muscle tee, and seems like it would be really good for hot yoga if you don’t want to run around without a bra on.  I also wore this in my race Saturday, and it moves really really well with you, but I probably would go down in a size personally, and…

The Lima Capri, which is truly one of the most beautiful colors I’ve ever seen.  The tight is really really comfortable and warm, and I’d probably do shorter runs in this one.  This one is a little tricky in the sizing – I felt like I’m in-between the small and medium, and when I was down on the floor stretching, I felt like it was pulling in the crotch a little bit, fit that makes sense.

The verdict:  I’ll start with some improvements so that we can end on the good stuff 🙂  This seems really dumb, but the tags inside of the clothing are really stiff and crunchy, and in a piece of active wear, that’s a big no-no.  I don’t like taking scissors to my tags, because sometimes that makes it worse, so I’ve dealt, but I don’t love that aspect of the clothing.

The good stuff is very good.  The clothing comes in the most stunning colors I’ve ever seen, and the photos don’t do it justice.  The clothing is comfy and extremely easy to wear or pair with regular pieces to make it more “street-ready”  and it translates easily between activity.  I taught a Zumba class in them last week, hopped on the treadmill after and ran for a while, and was able to run a full half-marathon in the tops pictured above with ZERO chafing and that says something.  At the very least, check out Fabletics, give them or month or two, and let me know what you think about your new (and affordable) digs!

[Full disclosure:  Fabletics hooked me up with the beautiful clothing, but these opinions are 1000% my own]

 

Sweaty Bands Review + Giveaway

| cheriarmour

So fun fun fun product giveaway time!

But before that!

The other day I came home to a sweet packages from the folks down at Sweaty Band.  In case anyone is reading this and doesn’t know this about me, nothing makes me more happy than when the UPS man stops at my apartment with presents.  Granted, the Sweaty Bands came through the mail, but you get the general gist.

Presents = Happy Cheri.

1908237_10100282974818173_154770636_n (1)So this, along with a very sweet letter showed up.  Seriously, this company is great to work with 🙂

1376511_10100283203225443_1457915345_nSo almost immediately, I honed in on the band with the mustaches on it, cause that’s adorable, and I popped in on to teach my Zumba class on Tuesday night.

One thing I didn’t know about the Sweaty Band?  I have a lot of hair, so this usually isn’t a problem for me, but I know a lot of girls have issues with headbands sliding off their heads.  The band was sent with specific instructions in the letter – wear the band as close to the hair line as possible and the band shouldn’t slide at all!  Who knew?

So I wore to to teach, and wore it into Whole Foods after, were I got compliments from the girl who checked me out on the headband.  SCORE!

Pros: 

  • So the bands are really really cute, and a great alternative to those rubber bandy things you can get from Target.
  • The inside of the band is coated with this velvety stuff that hooks onto your skin/hair without tearing it.  It’s also pretty absorbent, so you don’t have to worry about sweat dripping into your eyes.
  • They’re easy to clean.  All you have to do is swish them around in the sink and hang them out to dry.
  • They don’t slip!

Cons:

  • Eh. I got nothing.

Giveaway time!!!

I’m giving away a really cute sweaty band to a reader, and it’s super easy.  All you need to do is comment below, tweet me, or post on my Facebook wall (after you follow me of course)!  Tell me what you’re gonna do with the Sweaty Band when I send it to you, and best answer gets the purple band!  The mustaches are mine, sorry!  Keep ’em coming, cause you’ve got until 3/13/14 at 12:00am to shoot me your comments.  Good luck!

Full disclosure: I received a Sweaty Band for review.  All opinions are my own though 🙂 

 

 

 

New Product Review!

| cheriarmour

Full disclosure.  Not only is Vaseline not paying me for this review, but these opinions are also my own.  Do what you will with my advice, but I’m telling you, as a general rule of thumb, I don’t lead people astray so…

Anyhoo, so I’ve been seeing this really interesting commercial for this Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer all over TV.

I thought the commercial was really cool, and why not spray and go when you moisturize, right? Put ya clothes right on – like maybe it will save me a few seconds in the morning or after a shower so I can stop running late to everything.

So last night, I bit it, and dropped the $7.99 (?!) on a bottle off the stuff, and after this morning’s shower, got to spraying instead of my usual pump the Goldbond routine.

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I dried off, and tried to do like the cute girl in the commercial.  Spray a lineeee down my legs, spray a linnnne down my arms, slip riiiight into your clothes so fast, and run out the door with your cute little hat.  

Okay, so, none of that stuff happened, and the $7.99 bottle literally saved me no time, cause you still have to rub it in, and it’s kinda like…not as cool as the commercial whatsoever.

I’m really sorry, Vaseline, usually I totally love your products and have the stuff all over.  And Lord knows I love a good fresh new cosmetic.  But save yourself the trouble, and stick to a regular pump-bottle of lotion for après-shower action.