The Cartoon: Bino & Fino African Educational DVD

Kids for some ungodly reason means early mornings and even more distressing is the run of the mill kids TV, So this morning I was delighted to have a rest from the hyper loudly dressed kids telly presenters by watching Bino & Fino an African educational cartoon made in Nigeria.

Brother and sister team Bino & Fino have great adventures with the help of their friends, I was sent the DVD which has several colourful episodes in which the bespectacled Bino and afro puff rocking Fino learn about Nigerian Independence Day, enjoy fruit salad and try their hand a making a snail soup! Freya is only now starting to have a little bit of an attention span for cartoons and she managed to watch one full episode before getting distracted. But the mix of bright drawing mixed with real photography would keep older children entertained for the full DVD I'm sure (and adults)

The DVD is available to buy now and a full series is in production for the end of 2013, the show has already been broadcast  in the UK on Sky and in South Africa.  Not to worry if the show doesn't air where you are, like I said you can buy the DVD or check out Bino & Fino's great YouTube channel (I now know how to count to ten in Yoruba!)

The Review: Mahogany Naturals ACV Shampoo Bar

I was sent some products from Mahogany Naturals to review, after reviewing the brand last year I was excited to see what new goodies Tope (founder) had to offer, So far I'm head over heels for the Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo Bar (£6.95).

Naturalistas have been using ACV for some time as this benefits of  being a highly acidic liquid that helps smooth the hair cuticles, gently improve shine, manageability and can enhance curl definition.  

B E N E F I T S 

Removes build up from your hair.make it soft shiny,define your curls and are PH balanced.

Smoothes the hair cuticles making your hair smoother and more manageable

Great for those with porosity issues and very frizzy hair.

Rich thick lather, soothes and nourishes the hair and scalp.

Does not smell like apple cider vinegar, has a delicate tropical scent.

Last longer than regular shampoo so can be more cost effective

I N G R E D I E N T S 

Organic apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil,organic castor oil,raw honey,Tropical essential oil, emulsifier

The ACV Shampoo Bar foamed up well without much fuss, so for those who like to work up a lather when shampooing this may be for you.  The smell is great but what was really nice is the clean feel of my hair with out leaving it stripped. I follows this up with my usually styling method of leave in conditioner (TRESseme Naturals) and Coconut Oil mixed with a little Eco Styler Gel. I definitely noticed a difference in my hair regarding my curlies, this is one of my best wash n go's

50 Shades Of Beige: An Open Letter To Cosmetics Brands

Wearing a CC cream that is apparently self adjusting

It's been one of those morning, I have ranted and raved over this subject for quite some time Makeup shades for women of colour. Lets start at the very beginning......Yesterday I found this the image below on tumblr the image sparked my usual kiss teet but the comments below really caught my eye (all credit for '50 shades of Beige' go to thescienceofchic lol) I re posted the picture today on my Instagram and was not shocked by the comments coming in from people in Italy, Australia, Spain, Germany........all saying the same thing were the hell is my shade ? So here is my open letter to those 'forgetful' cosmetics brands.

Dear Leading High Street (drug store) Cosmetics Brands

Do you only cater for people with light skin ?  I only ask because  when I visit my local store I am  under represented, that is if I am represented at all. I can pick from shades of porcelain, vanilla, beige, tan, medium tan, real medium tan......and caramel. So much choice and variation if you are the right side tan. Though I may not be the majority I am a consumer and I exist (in living colour!) if your brand is not for me might I suggest a 'whites only' sign at every counter, archaic I know but its what your counters appear to be saying across the world. 

I have the right to choice like any other, and should not be pigeon-holed, I should not have to rely on ordering my make up online or spending considerably more than my fairer counterparts who can pick up a foundation, BB or CC cream (or any must have 'essential')l for under £10 from any store I desire.

I've posted numerous times on this issue, I have had many industry insiders giving me many reasons why I am ignored by your brand, I understand sales, profits, and supply and demand but what I don't understand is why as a consumer I don't exist to you ?  or if I do exist It is only in one or two instances. Why does my brown money not appeal to you ? A full spectrum of colours should be a basic requirement when creating a line of cosmetics, a spectrum that caters for a cross section of society. I'm not saying you must match every single shade known to man, but one brown shade in a collection of 12-15 just isn't good enough I'm afraid. Nor is using a brown face to sell your cosmetics because they are currently popular yet the alleged shade that the model/celebrity wears is not available.

So I'm not going to shrug and just head to the lip glosses, eyes shadows and lipsticks that are more universal. If my brown money is not good enough for you to cater for, than you can keep your lipstick and your nail polish if you don't cater for ALL you don't cater to ME.

Kindest regards

Belle 

Guess that doesn't leave me with much choice, I'm either going to be out of pocket or barefaced. Drug store brands are not the only culprits, high end brands also leave a lot to be desired as well as natural eco brands. We can argue the statistics of there being no demand for darker shades with them often being discontinued, but if we are not made aware of these shades how are we suppose to purchase them. The term 'perfect match' is added to pretty much all foundation these days and it very rarely is unless you are willing to pay £20+ for a 'leading' brand or play ashy face roulette with the internet

Maybe my little stand, doesn't stand for very much at all, but it IS time to be the change we want to see in the beauty industry, if they don't cater for us lets cater for ourselves. brands like Anita Grant (who has recently launched a mineral foundation line Hello Beautiful) have already started doing this. You will eventually find your shade through research, trail and error (or just mixing and matching) but personally I really don't think we should have too.

Ghost faced killah style!

The Clay: Moroccan Rhassoul Clay

I finally found the time  to use my Rhassoul clay (300g at £8.70) from the Sheabutter Cottage, 

Rhassoul is a mineral-rich clay from Morocco. It's different from other cleansing clays, as it is very gentle and beneficial  for dry hair and sensitive skin and scalp. this clay is found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

I used the clay on my hair and face and found the results great! I used the methods suggested by Akua Wood, (I have added extracts from her 'how to' below) I used the Rhassoul clay  for my hair and as a face pack, as suggested I did not use a conditioner after using the clay on my hair which felt odd but I actually didn't miss the conditioner. I aired dried my hair until it was almost  dry then I used a blow dryer as I wanted a stretched out big hair look. (I used coconut oil to seal when my hair was damp but no leave in conditioner) My hair feels very soft and my scalp feels so fresh!

Mostly I'm loving the effects the clay has had on my skin after just one application my face feels divine  when removing the clay I could feel the moisture from the clay on my skin which felt great! I'll definitely be adding the clay into skincare regimen from now on!

B E N E F I T S 

Completely non-irritating to skin and scalp

Cleans skin and hair without removing all of its protective sebum

Removes surface oil and oil from inside and around comedones (blackheads and whiteheads)

Leaves hair soft and shiny and enhances its volume

Gradually reduces the need for frequent hair washing

Removes dandruff and eases problems of excessively oily hair

HAIR

To make rhassoul mud for your hair, you will need:

50g of rhassoul, more if your hair is very long, less if you have short hair. Put the rhassoul into a

bowl and add 50mg of tepid water, which should be enough to cover the pieces. Don’t attempt to

stir the mixture at this stage, simply leave it to stand for a full 5 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

You will then find it easy to stir the mixture into a smooth paste, adding a little more tepid water if

necessary.

Apply the rhassoul mud to dry or damp hair. Work it through your hair and massage well into your

scalp.

For dry hair, leave on for 5-10 minutes.

For normal hair, leave on for up to 5-15 minutes.

For oily hair, it can be left on for 10-20 minutes.

Rinse thoroughly, then towel dry. Ideally, allow your hair to finish drying naturally

FACE

To make a face or body pack, including a foot pack for smoothing dry skin, follow the same

method as described above. Always think in terms of an equal figure of grammes and millilitres – for

example, 10g of rhassoul mixed with 10g of water; 100g of rhassoul mixed with 100g of water, and

so on. You will probably need extra water which can be mixed in after the rhassoul has swelled.

Face packs are normally left on the skin for 5-15 minutes, before rinsing thoroughly with warm water.

You might follow this treatment with a spritz of rosewater to tone and refresh. Body packs can be

left on for 20-40 minutes and then rinsed off under a warm shower or in the bath.

 FACIAL CLEANSER AND EXFOLIANT

Rhassoul is a great exfoliant and skin softener. The same rhassoul paste that you mix for your hair

can be used as a daily cleanser and skin polisher. For this purpose you may wish to mix a slightly

thinner paste the consistency of a cleansing lotion. Massage it gently into damp skin using circular

movements and then rinse. The paste will remove most make-up (except perhaps stubborn

waterproof mascara) and will leave your skin feeling velvety.

My hair after Rhassoul clay application wet and dry lightly blow dried and below my hair picked and styled as desired.

Price of the clay starts at £2.00 for 50g you can find out more about the clay and purchase it HERE

The Events

I'm going to be a busy girl this Bank Holiday! 

E V E N T S 

 Curlvolutions Curlfriends Day Out 25th May

Afro Hair & Beauty Live 26th-27th May

and Brit Beauty hosted by Afro Bella 27th May

The Mask: REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask

Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask(£30) is the award winning radiance mask from REN Skincare, said to give instant brightness and radiance to skin! so I just had to give it a go!

REN is known for it's clean skin 3 P's method Performance, Purity, Pleasure. REN is 100% naturally derived and high performance without being harsh on skin. 

The first thing that hit me about the mask is the amazing smell! the mask is a balmy consistency  that you need to apply generously over skin and neck leaving for 10 minutes and wipe off with the handy cloth that comes with the mask

B E N E F I T S

Removes dead skin cells to renew the complexion

Skin looks brighter, healthier, more radiant

Helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

Combats congestion, blackheads and blemishes

  

REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask is packed with  Papain from PAPAYA which exfoliates the outer layer of the skin, encouraging cell turnover and smooths fine lines

Rich with BERGAMOT  which is great for reducing acne and reducing excess oils

Also BLACK CURRANT oil provides skin with environmental protection, helps skin maintain resiliency and soothes & PINEAPPLE which is high in vitamin C a great antioxidant 

Left before REN/middle after REN/right with tinted moisturiser 

I usually like to use a skincare product a few times before I review but due to the instance result this mask claims to give I have used once and have pictured my results above. I can definitely see a difference in my skin it looks slightly more glowy but the real difference is in the feel of my skin after using the mask, I have moisture for days! which is rare as I find masks can often draw the moisture out of my skin. I wasn't in love with the the tingly feeling the mask gave my skin after a few minutes and this mask is not recommended for those with sensitive skin. Overall I really like the REN mask, I've been a fan of the body care for a while and now it looks like I'll be delving into the skincare line.  

TIP check out the sample kits and gift sets starting from £6.50 here

I N G R E D I E N T S

Polysorbate 60, Glycerin, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Leaf Extract, Lecithin, Lactic Acid, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Passiflora Quadrangularis Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract, Alcohol Denat., Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Maltodextrin, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Parfum (Fragrance), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Flower Oil, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Oil, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Tocopherol. 

Thinking Outside The Beauty Box

Another day another beauty subscription box, the box market is becoming ridiculously over saturated, with practically a box for everything and every taste. I'm not quite sold on the box craze, I've had some rather sketchy experience with Glossy Box allegedly one of the leading boxes, whom have the worst customer service I have ever come across and companies that boxes never actually materialise. That being said I've also had some good boxes from the likes of Birchbox.

The idea of beauty subscription boxes work well in theory, a selection of usually (4-6) product samples arrive monthly at your door for around £10-12, great for bloggers and beauty junkies. but the problem I have found with many of the boxes is consistency ....I have heard of so many instances of receiving a box with full sized products and the next box is basically six sachets of body conditioner and shampoo. 

add to that, wait lists and dodgy shipping it smacks of an industry in it's infancy which is expanding far to quickly. With all these new boxes popping up it's hard to separate the good from the down right crappy!

So for a box to have peeked my interest, It really has to be bringing something a little different to the table, which is why I subscribed to new box BeautEco, which uses sustainable methods when it comes to packaging (it's 100% recyclable)  and shipping, BeautEco also has a range of naturally derived samples. But best of all BeautEco gives you the opportunity to pick the contents of your box so no more random samples that will be left unused. 

The box I received had 5 products 2 full sized and 3 fair sized samples from a variety of brands (I'll review the products separately) the box cost £10 + PP and arrived swiftly though I had a few issues with logging in to the BeautEco website the team where excellent at sorting it out for me, Also they were only excepting Paypal (but as I write this post they are now excepting card payments) I'll need to have a few more boxes before I'm completely singing BeautEco boxes praises but this is one of the better boxes I've subscribed to thus far I just hope they keep up with the quality of samples and brands on offer. Like I said I'm not 100% sold on the subscription box craze but I'm open to having my mind changed........ 

Baby Belle for Nippaz With Attitude

Fab new design now available over at Nippaz With Attitude! Baby Belle is modelling the new 'Anarchy In The Nursery' design for all your little rock dudes and chicks! 

Remember you can still get 20% off with discount code 'BELLE' on everything on the Nippaz website.

The Met Gala: Getting Ready With Solange

Vogue gets ready with Solange for the Met Gala, I LOVED her dress by Kenzo and matching Edie Parker box clutch and she rocked her best hair piece thus far just fabulous (I couldn't of loved it more if it was real hair)

The Ambassador: Shingai Shoniwa for Mizani

Last Thursday Shingai Shoniwa of the Noisettes held an intimate breakfast her first official event as 

M I Z A N I Ambassador (just the singer, Mizani, Press & Blogger... intimate!) unfortunately I was unable to attend what was said to have been a lovely get together (however I did have the opportunity of interviewing the lovely lady here) the breakfast gave a little insight into singers hairspirations and favourite Mizani products....

Shingai on her hair idols?

"I love old school movie stars like Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Josephine Baker with her finger waves. Also, Grace Jones continues to experiment with some amazing different looks."

Shingai on her favourite Mizani products?

"I love the Coconut Souffle  it smells amazing, gives my hair a lovely fluffiness and moisturises. I'm also a fan of Supreme Oil, as I love the natural properties of argan oil and it's a product I can use to make my hair manageable when I'm left to my own devices! True Texture breathes life into curls."

Thursday also saw the release of the official promo pictures of Shingai styled by award winning hair stylist Charlotte Mensah. Beautiful!

Image source

The Milk: Bamboo Milk

It's funny, the term wash n go implies that it is a speedy process, It should be re named, wash, condition  seal, smooth with gel n go! I love the look of defined curls especially on this cut but I'll be damned if I become a slave to curl definition so today I skipped the Eco Styler in favour of a simple co wash (TRESemme Naturals, leave in (Bamboo Milk) & seal (coconut oil) 

I used Bamboo Milk from the Sheabutter Cottage it's a light leave in that can also be used as a daily hair refresher, I was sceptical as hair milks are often to light for my hair but this was just the right consistency (I found it relatively thick for a hair milk) 

Unscented and natural it's great for kiddies as well as adults

B E N E F I T S

B A M B O O Rich source of silica to strengthen the hair and promote shine.

A B Y S S I N IA N  O I L For natural lustre without a greasy feel. The unique composition of this oil helps to detangle the hair and lock in moisture.

B R O C C O I  Cold pressed,  this green emollient oil as an alternative to silicones impart shine and gloss.

I N G R E D I E N T S

 rosa damascena, aqua, bambusa arundinaceae extract, brassica oleracea italica, crambe abyssinica oil, behentrimonium methosulfate (and) cetearyl alcohol, panthenol, tocopherol (pure vit. e), potassium sorbate

I need my barber! like now!