In Review: Beautiful Textures Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Creme

Hey y'all!

Today I want to share my experience with Beautiful Textures' lovely Curl Creme. This product was recommended to me by a fellow natural and friend, Ashlyn, who will hopefully soon be featured here on the blog.

What Beautiful Textures says about their product:

Dry, brittle, thirsty hair stunts natural growth. To help ensure locks reach their full growth potential, refresh and hydrate your mixed textured hair every day with Moisture Butter.

Moisture Butter helps maximize the styling options of mixed textured hair by helping achieve softer, more defined curls, healthier looking elongated coils, or simply silky-smooth hydrated hair.

Ingredients:
 Water, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil/Olive Oil, Glycine Soja Oil/Soybean Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, PEG 75 Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth 20, Cetyl Alcohol, Argania Spinosa Nut Oil/Argan Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil/Coconut Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit/Shea Butter, Mangifera Indica Seed Butter/Mango Butter, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract/Rosemary Extract, Dimethicone, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract/Aloe Vera, Phenyl Trimethicone, Panax Ginseng Root Extract/Ginseng Extract, Polysorbate 20, Imidazolidinyl Urea, DMDM Hydantoin, CI 15985/Yellow 6, Parfum/Fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, d-Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Lyral, Methyl Ionone Gamma.

My experience with this product:
First of all, let me say that I LOVE this stuff! Before I purchased this item, I looked at the ingredients and although they looked good, I was a bit skeptical about trying it. I decided to go ahead and try it; I thought one use won't kill my hair. I am so happy with this product. I have used it for a wash-and-go, wet twist-outs, dry twist-outs, and general styling purposes. It is very moisturizing but at the same time gives you great shine AND definition. A lot of moisturizing products I've used before didn't give me shine or definition so this product had a real advantage.

Also, I was looking for a product that wouldn't turn white once I added gel on top as a finisher and I'm happy to say that this Moisture Butter fits the description. The texture is light and creamy, not heavy like most butters. The difference with this product is that it's whipped which makes it easier to penetrate the hair follicle quicker, locking in maximum moisture. I purchased this product from Sally Beauty Supply for about $6.95 or so. It's very affordable AND available on the ground, which I love.

I hope you found this review helpful!

Love and Peace,

xoxo Rita

Happy Birthday Title IX!!

So, as you may or may not know, this week America is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Title IX law. The goal of this law was to end sex discrimination in schools that received federal money, which would ultimately allow more opportunities for females. This eventually included athletic opportunities and participation in sports.

I am so excited about the anniversary! Being that I was an athlete in grade school (I played volleyball, basketball, tennis, and even ran track for a little while. I also was apart of the band and drill-team.) this is close to my heart. I may have never had the opportunities to participate in those activities if it wasn't for this law, so I am grateful.

I am all for female empowerment as well. I'm not a feminist but I do believe that women deserve to be respected just as much, if not more than a man. Women are more than what society portrays us to be. Although we are kind, loving, meek, and submissive at times, we are STRONG, VIRTUOUS, DETERMINED, and UNRELENTING. We work hard for what we believe in and are passionate about issues that effect us all. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, friends to those who need us on a daily basis. We give constantly even if there is nothing received in return. We are not perfect, we all have flaws, but we are RESILIENT.

I'm so excited about this! Health and fitness is important to me and even if you aren't an athlete, physical activity is important. But that's another blog post. My point is, women, and men, teach your girls, SHOW them, that they can be whatever they want to be. It doesn't matter if it's a basketball star, an Olympic gymnast, a rocket scientist, a lawyer, a nurse, or a stay-at-home-mom, they CAN do it!

Let us work together to raise this next generation of females and teach them to respect themselves and others, to work hard to reach whatever goals they may have, and to love unconditionally in spite of. We can do it, TOGETHER.

Much love and peace!
xoxo Rita

Song of the Week: Friend in You

Hey friends!

The song that has been on my heart the most this past week is "Friend in You" by Jon Gibson. I absolutely LOVE this song; it's one of my all-time favorites! It makes my heart smile every time I listen to it.

"Friend in You" is found on Jon's album Change of Heart, which was released in 1988. The fact that this song came out before I was even born and is one of my all-time favorites amazes me. I grew up listening to this song on the radio and it stuck with me ever since. Of course as a child, I didn't really listen to the lyrics, but I remember that it filled me with joy every time I heard it. Now that I'm older, the words of the song really touch my heart.

Let me take a moment to say, I really love Jon's voice! He's been compared to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Donny Hathaway and is recognized as one of the pioneers of gospel music. "Friend in You" was one of his number one hits and I see why. This song is about someone who is at their wits end and sees no hope in the future, but then Jon comes along to tell them that Jesus died for them, is a friend that they can always count on, and He lives in spirit right there in their heart.

And the part of the song that speaks to me the most is that exact one:

"My friend, I know what you've gone through, but Jesus died for you. So keep in mind, that although your heart is blue, let it break in two. And you will find a friend that lives in you."

 I love it! You can listen to "Friend in You" here and I pray that you are blessed by it!

Also, one last thing. Let me take this opportunity to extend an open invitation to all: if you do not know Jesus as your Savior and something in this post, or in the song, or just in life in general has touched you to where you do want to know Him and you want Him to live inside of you, send me an e-mail and I will help you in making that possible. You can find my contact information under the "Contact Me" tab at the top of this page.

Much love to all!
xoxo Rita

Happy Father's Day!!

Hi everyone!!

Today is a very special day, it is the day that we set aside everything to give honor to our fathers. I love holidays but I especially love ones that honor and pay homage to those who deserve it.

My father and I :)

I LOVE my dad. He's a very quiet man, solid as a rock, but such a sweetheart inside. I appreciate everything that he does for our family. I've always been a daddy's girl and every time he sits me down to talk to me and share his wisdom with me about life, I cry. He doesn't say anything to make me cry but for some strange reason I always do, even when I vow not to. My father gives me a great example of who and what I want in a husband someday. I pray that I will blessed to have a husband with those same qualities who will be an amazing father himself one day.

My god-children with their father :)

Love and peace,
xoxo Rita

Song of the Week: Draw Me Close To You

Hi all!

This week's song spotlight is on "Draw Me Close To You". There are many versions of this song but I became familiar with it through a brother singing it at my church. This song is very special to me because it is my cry to the Lord. It verbalizes what I feel inside. Ultimately, that is what my heart desires; to be closer and closer in my relationship with Jesus.

This is a very beautiful song. It has a slow tempo and flows kind of like a waterfall. The lyrics are simple, clear, and easy to understand. So no matter how mature or new you are to the world of Christianity, there is something that everyone can take away from this song. I believe it was made popular by Michael W. Smith and since then has been enjoyed by the masses.

This song allows you to have a true heart-to-heart with God and I know I am blessed by it every time I hear it. In case you have never heard this song before, take a listen here and I pray you are encouraged and blessed as you do.

Love and peace,
xoxo Rita

Houston, We Have...Nope, No Problem Here

Hey everyone!

It has been a BUSY but fun week for me. A few days ago, a couple of friends and I took a little road trip to Houston, Texas which is about two hours from where I live. It was for business but we had to have a little fun while there. It's such a beautiful city! Unfortunately, my camera's battery was low and I was able to only snap a few pictures. If you want to see the trip, keep reading! :)

Style Catalog: Flat Twist-Out

Hey y'all!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend; I know I did. For church on yesterday, I styled my hair in a flat twist-out. It was my first time doing one on my short hair. Thankfully it came out well! The night before, Saturday night, I did three flat twists on the left side of my hair; and three flat twists on the right. Because I never do anything to the back of my hair, I wanted to try something different this time. I did four regular twists in the back and pinned them down so they wouldn't stick out or get smashed as I slept. I twisted with Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie and that's it.

(click on photos to enlarge)

The next morning I took down my hair with only coconut oil. I really like how the results turned out. :) Click the jump to see!

Song of the Week: Fence Riders

Hey y'all!

Because I am a singer and I LOVE music, I have decided to incorporate a new segment into my blog. It's called "Song of the Week" and it will feature a song that has been on my heart the most over the past week. The song for this week is most definitely Jimmy Needham's "Fence Riders".

Jimmy Needham is my most FAVORITE artist so you will surely be seeing more of him in the future. "Fence Riders" has a fun sound with a catchy beat. What stands out the most to me, as it usually is with Jimmy, are the lyrics. My favorite lines are apart of the chorus and they say:

"Can I sing about my maker, and have you not roll your eyes? Can I weep about my Savior, and the way He died? I know it don't make sense, to those who ride the fence, but I'm sold out to Christ!"

 LOVE LOVE LOVE this song! You can listen to it here and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Love, Rita

Style Catalog: Roller Set with Magnetic Rollers

Hey y'all!

I wanted to try something new yesterday because with my hairstyle things can get boring QUICK. So I decided to do a mini roller set on pretty wet hair. So, I co-washed with Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curls & Waves Conditioner, wore the back of my hair as a wash-and-go, and rolled the front.

Here is the size of the rollers I used:

For the back section of my hair, I styled by applying Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-in Conditioner, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, and a SMALL amount of IC Fantasia Gel. Once I added a little bit of the gel, my hair turned white so I worked it through really good and didn't add anymore. Eventually the white color disappeared, as you can see in the pictures. I applied the same product on the front, minus the gel, combed my hair with a fine tooth comb section by section and rolled it.

Here are the results:

Let me start off by saying, the ends of my curls were still wet BUT it was time to leave for church so I had to make due. With that being said, I think my hair came out cute! It is definitely something I will be trying again. It won't make it to second day hair because as I was coming out of church last night, it was raining and I had no umbrella or coat. I chose not to re-roll my hair because I plan on fully washing and DC'ing my hair later today. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this style!

xoxo, Rita

Style Catalog: Pompadour Up Front

Hi all!

I tried out a new hairstyle over the past week and I thought it came out cute so I wanted to share it with you who may have short hair.

To achieve this style, I took the middle front section of my hair, gathered it together, and pushed it forward to make a "hump". I then used two bobbypins to hold the hair in place. I smoothed the sides of my hair with a little IC Fantasia (green) gel and tied a simple black scarf around my head to match my outfit. This was the result:

Let me know if you want to see more styles from me. :)

Love,
Rita