Irie Diva Style

Natural Hair Transitioning Diary: I can see my true texture shining through!

IrieDiva — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:26:11 +0000

But I see your true colours
Shining through
I see your true colours
That’s why I love you
So don’t be afraid to let them show
Your true colours
True colours are beautiful,
Like a rainbow

I’ve been down and out all week long with one of the worst bugs I’ve ever picked up. It had me with headaches, swollen tonsils, feeling hot, feeling cold, earaches…I thought I was gonna die. Finally…finally it seems to be leaving me so I got up this morning to tend to my hair that I have allowed to roam free while I was down. It was matted and tangled like some real steel wool but armed with my new bottle of Herbal Essences Hello Hydration that all the blogs rave about I went to work. I sprayed some of my essential oil mix while conditioning because trust me, it needed all the help it could get and when I was done….I was in love!

My curls are looking REAL good! I can’t wait to be able to wash and go! I was seriously feeling the big chop itch right then and there. Was sooooo tempted to run get the scissors and shed away years of damage and strife.

With the flash on. Man that conditioner really worked wonders on my hair. The right product really does make all the difference. I’m about 5 and a half months into my transition and while I had initially said 6 months, now I really want to make it to June. I’ll be sporting a curly fro for the summer.

I may be in Jamaica sometime soon. I can’t promise that when I go visit my hairdresser I won’t tell her to take it all off! The intention is to go get a spiral set, which has been by far my favourite transitioning style…but ya never know. Maybe I should invest in some Curlformers and a bonnet dryer asap before I make any big chops myself! I really want a stylist to cut it when I’m ready because I want it to have a nice shape plus I don’t wanna cut my curls neither do I wanna be left with any stringy ends that I didn’t see. Through trials and frustrations, I can see the end in sight and I’m so excited! I put it up in my usual 5 cornrows and I might do a youtube of the take down…we’ll see….

Munchkin turns two

IrieDiva — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:33:00 +0000

OMG Munchkin is TWO today! Yes, only TWO!

IrieDiva — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:58:06 +0000

Every time I tell someone munchkin’s birthday was coming up, everyone assumed she was going to be three. She was always a little tall for her age, but pair that with the chattiness, the energy and the general feisty behaviour and this child will wear you out!

I just read her birth story again that I posted last year on her first birthday. My I can’t believe how time flies and how much changes in the course of just one year. Take a look at this video, it was recorded a couple weeks before her first birthday, when she was on the verge of fully walking:

*tears* I tell all my friends who have babies or are pregnant to take as much pics and videos as they can because with munchkin running circles around me right now, I truly find it hard to remember what she was like as a teeny little goo-goo gaa-gaa baby.

She has really changed my life for the BEST. As we enter into the terrible twos, which I believe has already started, her favourite words are NO and MINE. I take her to the beach or the park to play with other kids but she takes their toys away, declares “mine!!!” and brings them over to me to show off her newest conquest. Sigh. How do they deal with this at the daycare? I don’t even know where to begin to teach her about sharing.

I absolutely love you munchkin! You make mommy a better woman and daddy a better man. You light up our lives with your squeals of joy and I am looking forward to another fun-filled, challenging year. Next up…potty training! No more diapers….yay!!! Here she is on a chill day, get to know her

Munchkin at the family’s favourite place in the world…the beach! Took a few attempts but now she cannot get enough! And that’s where we’re heading right now as you read this post! Cake, picnic, presents, sun, sand, sea…happy birthday munchkin!!!

P.S. Don’t you just love her little twist out fro? LOL

Essential Oils, Shea Butter and Leave-In Conditioners

IrieDiva — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:26:26 +0000

What essential oils are you using for your hair? As a relaxed chica, the only oil I experimented with was olive oil and I used it after conditioning, when my hair was still wet, to get a nice sheen when it dried out. Oil to a relaxed chic is just heaviness. But as a transitioning chica I have been reading up on different oils and the benefits to natural hair. Here are a few good round ups. After doing my own research, these are the oils I went with:

Virgin Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Castor Oil and Peppermint Oil. I mixed them all together in my spray bottle with some water. I know I know, just shake it up right before using

The peppermint oil was a last minute addition. I was trying to get my spray to smell better. I think it made it smell horribly. For my next batch I will seek out some lavender or lemongrass oil to add to my mix and leave off the peppermint. I’ve also discovered that something in this mix, maybe one, maybe all, causes my skin to break out. Less is more, using too much will do that. Also, I have to now change my pillow case much more often than before to try and keep my face from becoming irritated. Or you could always wear a scarf but…yeah….I’ve just bought some extra satin pillow cases. I use this mix religiously in my munchkin’s hair whenever I wash, which is weekly, and her hair really couldn’t be healthier.

Something else I attribute to our healthy hair?

I have the Honey Butter on the left which has been fantastic in munchkin’s plaits and cornrows and even in my relaxed hair. I try to concentrate it on my ends when I’m doing my flat twists to seal in moisture. Good stuff. It’s Jamaican made too! Check out the Beautiful Earth blog, her prices are great and she’s got some excellent products, virgin coconut oil and Jamaican black castor oil anyone?

This is the leave-in that I have been using in both mine and munchkin’s hair:

I am not impressed. Munchkin’s hair is not very porous so it always just kinda sits on top. I don’t have much to compare it to but very soon will. There’s gotta be better. It was part of my “lemme try out what’s available to me before I go ordering stuff on amazon” experiment. There are a million different products in our local hair aisles, something’s gotta work. They can’t all be duds. So I’ll try a few more available ones to see what I can come up with. The resemblance of this line to the Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil line was probably what made me buy it.

I’ve used this product before with great results, but was looking for more than a moisturizing lotion, wanted something that said it was a leave-in conditioner. No idea what the difference is at this point as I’m still in the learning curve here, we’ll see what I can come up with. By the way, I’ve been using VO5 as a cheapie conditioner to co-wash and it absolutely sucks! It has no slip, I can barely comb through! Maybe there’s a different VO5 that y’all are using as I keep seeing it being referred to as a good cheapie to use when doing your regular conditioning along with Suave and Herbal Essence. I’ve resolved to just washing it out and then using my oils and leave in to detangle when I’m done. On to the next one! Although Suave is my brand, I’m going right back to that! Throw me your tips and reviews! What works for you?

Natural Hair Transitioning diary: Frustrations

IrieDiva — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:31:31 +0000

Fresh Cornrow-out

Day 1 hair.

I did this exact style but instead of flat twists, it was corn-rowed. Kept it in for 2 days and I was feeling good about it too. It was nicely moisturized and I just knew the pull down would have been epic. And it was. I loved it. Looks great, doesn’t it? Take a look at my very first braid out and you can see the difference, this one is much more defined and moisturized. I finally know what I’m doing when it comes to styling my mostly relaxed hair. It’s shorter here, if you’ve been keeping up you know that I cut about 3 inches off the other day. Just snipped the ends of my twists, nothing fancy or technical. The ends were dry and split and really had to go. I think its cute but I really miss my long hair, even though I have the big chop itch, its motivated me to transition a little longer, I’m not looking fwd to TWAs as much as I thought I would be. For my corn rows I co-washed with VO5, sprayed with my usual mixture of essential oils and used a bit of shea butter on each cornrow to seal.

Day 2 hair.

Not bad. It kinda looks like Rihanna’s favourite beachy look don’t you think? Not so much? OK.

I ran some leave-in conditioner through it to try and maintain the softness throughout my day but it dried right out on me and got brittle and frizzy as the sun bore down. It was in a pineapple the night before, maybe I should have re-twisted it…I’m trying to find different methods here so I’ll do that next time. Or maybe I can re-twist it on night two in an attempt to get 3rd day hair cause child…

Day 3 hair? Forget about it. This is my problem with my transition. A style looks so beautiful on the first day, maybe you can coax a second day but getting those two textures to cooperate for a third? Fuhgeddaboudit! Maybe I need a better leave-in as I’m not too impressed with the one I have now. But really, who wants to style there hair every single day? NOT ME! Will my hair forever be in a bun when its natural? Will I have to wash every morning to get an amazing curl going? Ugh! Some people do indeed wash their hair every other day but I really don’t think that’s necessary. It is my intention to wash weekly and I would love to only have to rock a bun or french twist for maybe the last two days of said week. Sigh…I’ll keep experimenting with different methods and products.

This weekend I’m planning a protein treatment and a better leave in. Maybe one of those kinky curly oyin knot today ms jessie’s mixed chicks jane carter everybody keeps raving about. If I can find any one of those here on the island. You know, the hair aisle is filled with products yet I haven’t seen not one of those names I mentioned. Maybe I should try some of those readily available to me first, something’s gotta work, they can’t all be duds. I’ll start my own reviews of island products, Jamaican Mango and Lime anyone? I resolve to re-twist every single night next week after my treatment to see how long I can keep it going. Here’s to sticktoitiveness!

Body Inspiration – Laura Wells

IrieDiva — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:50:14 +0000

I’ve been searching for the longest while for a plus-sized woman that I could put on my vision board as inspiration for what I want to look like someday. I have no interest in being a size 2, I love curves! I love being soft and slightly pudgy, I just want to be able to wear dresses without looking 5 months pregnant, that’s all. Last year I was a size 16, now I’m about a 12 and my goal was always to be an 8.

Sure, Rihanna’s body looks absolutely banging in this swimsuit and it would be easy to put this pic up on my vision board as inspiration

But I’m a realist and the regimen that she has to keep such a body is not one I want to adopt daily. I don’t know what it would take to get my body into that kind of shape and I am not interested in finding out. We’re not similar in shape anyway, I got tig ol bitties and she has none, I was trying to find someone somewhat similar to me. Plus look at them bony arms? This photo below turns me on :$

Sexiness comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes and this is the one I want for myself. I love it. Laura Wells reportedly has statistics of 36E bust, 32 inch waist, 42 inch hips but what I couldn’t find was her height and weight. I’ve always thought that I would be pretty straight when I lost weight because I’m not a very hippy gal and I have noassatall. My hips currently sit at 41 inches and my bust is a 36 DD in most brands and DDD in the rest which I believe is the same thing as an E? They report Laura as a size 10/12 which should mean I’m close to her shape…I just have a very problematic mid section I need to work on. C-sections will do that to ya…

Muffin top and thick thighs on the runway? Lovely! If you don’t think that’s sexy…that’s on you son!

Most images – credit

The 2012 to-do list

IrieDiva — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:53:47 +0000

Last year when I made this post, it was really just…I dunno…it wasn’t anything serious. I did it all in jest…blogs around me were all doing their resolution posts and I thought I’d join in on the fun. I re-read the post now and…it’s kind of nice to put things in perspective. One year later, what did you achieve? What didn’t you? What did you learn? What did you overcome?

Well, little did I know that the little joke I cracked in the ending of that post would be what would change my life in 2011. For better…for worst? I can’t honestly say. And I realize that for me, 2011 was the year I kinda just went with it. I made very little decisions, stuck to very little life goals, I just went with whatever came my way and hoped for the best. That path has led me down a slippery slope with a few surprises and upsets along the way but for the most part I am here trying to make the best of where it has spat me out. This year I’ll take a different approach. This year, I will write my list, this year I’ll consult it often to ensure I’m on track, and this year, I’ll know where I’m going and not be surprised. This year I’ll put in some work. Stop being lazy Mo!

Are you on Pinterest? You should follow me there and I’ll follow you too! I started somewhat of a vision board on there…these aren’t goals for this year. These are life goals. Right now the board looks something like this:

Dreams of getting healthier, opening a plus size fashion boutique and maybe even having my own line, travelling to places I read about or see on TV, growing old with true love and walking my daughter down the aisle. All on my vision board…

So, what do I want to achieve this year? I’ll share a few with you. I’ll just be general here but I have numbers and dates, you know, specific, measurable, achievable goals, written where they need to be.

This year, I resolve to:

- make it to 2013

- grow my blog

- continue to make strides as a social media marketer

- invest in my craft

- look like Laura Wells as much as I can (lose 20lbs…or so)

- become savvy at being a naturalista

- potty train munchkin

- work on that certain side hustle idea

- break free from debt

- move on.

Last year I had 10 things on my list and I completed 5 of them including losing 20lbs. Not bad! This time I’m really trying to lose 20 by summer. Trying my darnedest! What goals are you holding steadfast to this year?

Trellis Bay Fireball Full Moon Party

IrieDiva — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:21:08 +0000

The full moon is apparently a big deal here in the BVI. Why? I didn’t question it, any reason you give me to party, I nod my head and shake my groove thing. So every month, twice in a blue moon, there’s a party happening to celebrate the full moon at various locations. This month I decided to check out the party at Trellis Bay. Their’s is a fireball party as there’s a pretty awesome artist who does pretty awesome art at his studio and gallery in Trellis Bay and his signature piece is a copper fireball with stories cut out in the ball. Every full moon, these copper structures are lit up and become the centerpiece of the party. The artist’s name is Aragorn and I think he deserves his own post as his stories and his work is pretty awesome so for now I’ll just focus on the party. There was promise of an awesome buffet and local entertainment so we headed out expecting a fun-filled evening.

My attempt at capturing the full moon:

When we got there around 8:30pm, the buffet was wrapping up already so we skipped dinner and headed for the bar. I was pretty bummed about missing out though, I’ve had the Famous Amazing Sandwich at the Trellis Bay Kitchen and it was amazing indeed. Salmon, bell peppers, secret sauce, awesome stuff. The ambiance was just what I was hoping for, live band, people mingling, the beach only a few steps away, drinks flowing. There’s no party I favour more than a beach party and though I was sure this would be different than the ones I’m accustomed to back home in Jamaica, I was looking forward to the experience. There was a fireball already on land with a tame fire going:

And people were all about dancing on the dance floor, sitting and chatting with friends, laying out in hammocks, milling around taking pics and kids climbed about in the trees.

Moko jumbies. The people on stilts in costumes. That’s what they’re called here in the BVI and other Caribbean countries. While we have them in Jamaica as well at our festivals and other cultural events, I’ve never heard that name before. The band is behind them playing up a storm, which of course included a few Bob Marley covers and some well known soca/calypso songs and the dance floor was packed. With a bushwacker (my new favourite drink here, a coconut milky, amaretto-ey, yummy cocktail) in hand, we milled around and took in the sights and sounds.

Soon it was time to light up the fireballs! These were about 5 feet or so out in the water so it was supposed to appear as fire floating on the water. Very cool. You won’t truly get the effect in these pics It was awesome!

I’ll include some daytime pics so you can see what the atmosphere was working with:

The three copper structures that were lit

One of the bars and the seating area for the buffet

Out in the bay. There were of course lots more boats out that night

I’ve got lots more to share but this post is already pretty image heavy so I’ll break it up into bits. It was a fun filled evening, definitely worth a return.

I hear there’s a pretty wild full moon party at Bomba’s Shack. The kind I’ll have to find a sitter for munchkin and prepare to see some body parts! Sounds like back in my Negril weekend days! Bring on the tequila!

Life’s precious moments…

IrieDiva — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:58:08 +0000

What do you do when your almost 2 year old munchkin wakes from a nap at 6:45pm? You take her out dancing of course! My new friend here in the BVI suggested we come on by a beach bar where they “serve excellent barbecue” and where her boyfriend plays in a band. After being in the house all day, I suggested this to hubby and he obliged so we headed on out after dinner. The barbecue did indeed smell excellent and we have to go back one day when we’re famished but my apple and bacon topped baked chicken was still hitting its dougie in our tummies so we passed on the BBQ and ordered up some drinks.

Here in the BVI I’m still wondering where people like myself would hang out. I’m guessing in such a smaller island, places like my usual hangout spots in Kingston, Jamaica will be hard to come by because Kingston isn’t a tourist destination. Maybe If I lived in Mobay or Negril I would have the same problem. That is, the problem of always going from one extreme to the next. I’ve been to one bar in town here where it was uhm…lets say…totally local? Too local? And now I’ve been to this beach bar where 90% of the patrons all came in on a boat or a plane a couple days before. 60% of them were of retirement age but that’s not a complaint as that only made them more fun. It was such a treat watching old white people dance and prance on the dance floor to rock and reggae covers by a band who looked like they had children my age as well.

The best part of the night however was when munchkin decided to get in on the action. Let me tell you something, me and my husband, we sure have our differences, but these are the moments that make my heart swell. When the band did “I don’t want to wait in vain for your love” by the great Bob who munchkin was named after and they took to the dancefloor, my heart was swimming in joy. She was the highlight of the evening and folks kept coming up to me to say just how lovely she was.

I took over when pops needed a break as there was no stopping this child. She was getting down! When the night wrapped, the guitarist, who we heard used to be a Wailer himself at some point, said she was his inspiration. An amazing night.

On a hair tip…I cut about 3 inches off my hair…, I just put in in about 6 twists and snipped off the ends…quite choppy and lacking any real shape or style but my transition is getting there

Yes our tree is still up! At least we took off the ornaments? How was your weekend?

My go-to transitioning hairstyle and the big chop itch

IrieDiva — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:50:49 +0000

So it’s been a few months now since I’ve been transitioning…my last relaxer was some time in August. I’ve only got maybe two inches of hair on my head and I’ve already become frustrated with styling my different textures and wanting to big chop. My plan is to wait till near summer, when hopefully I’ll have enough hair on my head to style a bit without always having to wear an afro and I’m trying to hold steadfast to that but it’s not always easy. I’ll tell you more in a bit but first, my favourite transitioning hairstyle.

Five flat twists. After doing it 3 or 4 times now I have it down pat enough where I’m comfortable wearing it out the house if I need to go before my hair dries. The lines are neat enough and so are the twists. This is what I hate about transitioning hair though, the inability to wash and go. My hair takes a day and a half to dry, no two ways about it and I don’t have a dryer here with me. So that means when I wash, I can’t pull it out til the next evening or so. That sucks. On New Years Eve I washed and did my flat twists in the morning not sure how I was gonna pull off my NYE plans. Time came to head out in the night and it looked cute enough…

But fell totally flat and frizzy on me by the time service was half way though. We went to church. So for the whole week after, my hair has pretty much been in a bun because dry twists don’t work on relaxed hair, not for me anyhow, and I didn’t feel like washing again so soon. I can’t wait to become queen wash and go. Or at least have a dryer so when I feel to be cute I don’t have to wait two days for my hair to dry.

But yes, I find that flat twists are my favourite style for transitioning to get the look I like best and I feel this may stay with me even when I am fully natural. It’s just easy to do plus cuter on the eyes for night time company. Who wants to be in bed with a crazy looking twisted bantu knot girl. Speaking of which…Yesterday I found myself ambitious enough to wash my hair in the morning and leave the house with twists. I felt really silly as I always said I would never be the girl in “protective styles” outside of a dryer as I like to wear my hair out. I know they say these styles help to retain moisture and length and all that jazz but I plan to colour and wear my hair out a lot so me and my hair will have to find a good compromise. But back to my crazy twists. Half way through the day when they started to dry a bit and get fluffy, I started to kinda feel the style…it wasn’t as flat looking anymore as wet relaxed hair looks.

Five twists in my head, the two side ones are tied together in the back. I felt like a school girl. Its extremely weird for me to be out on the road in anything except hair out or hair in a ponytail or bun but bun-outs take waaaay too long to dry on their own and then it starts to smell funky :S I pulled them out and got this:

With a headband here…not bad, but I still prefer my flat twists as more of my hair gets caught in the twists thus more hair gets curled. Anyway I am off to research cutting techniques on youtube as the ends really need a chopping before these splits run up to my roots and I’m feeling very DIY. Any tips for me?