DIY Black Soap & Tea Tree Face Cleanser

I used to have terrible acne. It wasn’t until well into my 20s that my skin issues were under control. Fortunately my skin and hair have been doing really well for a while now and I attribute that to using mostly natural products.

Black soap has been an amazing product for cleansing my whole body really, however it’s a pain to use on my body in a white shower so I mostly use it for my face and sometimes my hair. I use a lot of hearty oils all over my body and I wear makeup most days. I love black soap because it leaves you squeaky clean, but not so stripped that your skin feels dry.





Tea tree oil is known for its healing antiseptic properties and anti-inflammatory properties that reduce itching and clears rashes over time. I always add some to my shampoo, which has helped my scalp enormously.

Aloe Vera is extremely beneficial for your body inside and out. Externally it can be used to help ease the discomfort of sunburns, minor wounds, cuts, scrapes and rashes, and is very moisturizing.

I have used just plain black soap and that works really well, but I happened to have these ingredients in my house. I use this wash after removing my makeup with banila co. clean it zero (the best makeup remover I’ve ever used) and my skin looks and feels refreshed and clean.








What you’ll need

• Raw Organic Black Soap (solid)
• Tea Tree Oil (Optional)
• Aloe Vera Juice (Optional)
• Castile soap (Optional)
• Water
• Bottle

I filled the bottle with chunks of the black soap (about 1/2 cup). Added about a teaspoon of tea tree oil. Added a few table spoons of Aloe Vera juice, a thin layer of Castile soap, and filled the rest with water. It takes about a day for the black soap to melt and become completely liquid. I recommend using a pump or a container with a thin nozzle for easy use and if you have sensitive skin, leave out the Castile soap and go easy on the tea tree.

Things I Love Thursday | 1/29/15

I have a lot to be happy about these days and I come across a lot of cool art/home/style things when I’m trolling the internet for shiny pretty things and I can’t share them all. Things I love Thursday is for me to share what I’m grateful for/happy about and all awesome stuff that inspires me!

I’ve been watching Sherlock a lot recently (the BBC version) and the men usually have the most beautiful decanters in their office or home. I've always been fascinated with decorative containers so this felt like it was right up my alley. I found these amazing decanters on etsy and I-am-obsessed! I need them. All. Plus I feel like they would look brilliant on my bar shelf. Old fashioned anyone? *raised eyebrow*

These three products have literally been saving my skin this winter. My skin is usually very soft and overall healthy but between DC hard water and this disrespectful ass winter wind, I’ve been having a bit more dry skin than I would like. Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Body Scrub, Botanics Face Scrub, and Caudalíe Vinoperfect Enzymatic Peel Mask.

A photo posted by Mariama (@brownbelle) on Jan 11, 2015 at 4:20pm PST

This paleo bread is so yummy. I don’t eat much bread, but I have been eating a slice of this stuff everyday for two weeks and counting. Its super easy to make and easily customizable. I think that I have mastered the recipe so I will be sharing that soon! 

I recently went to the Gordon Parks: Segregation Story exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta and fell in love with the photography. I knew I wanted to grab a book on my way out and I ended up picking this photo book and I can stop looking at it. There are a lot of books/articles about our story but these images really just speak to me. Link to photo book

I’m dying to change the tile in my bathroom so I’ve been taking note of amazing tile when I’m out. I was getting drinks with friends last Tuesday and this establishment had THE most amazing tile! Black, white and gold…yes please.

If I were a store it would look a lot like this. I need everything from this place. Literally ever-ry-thing. I’m not sure where I would put everything exactly, but I need it. Salt and Sundry

D’angelo. Love. Still. As seen here. I have a few D’angelo inspired DIY projects that I will post soon, I know you’ll love ‘em. Insert wet emoji.

These earrings. http://goo.gl/4N18TN

This bar cart is perfection. http://goo.gl/A4t5hp

What’s making you happy this week?

POLISHED // SPRING/SUMMER NAIL COLORS

Spring has sprung (kinda) and I have to say I missed it!

I have an unnatural addiction to drugstore beauty products. Every time I intend on going in for one of two things, I end up leaving with way more than I set out to buy, similar to the Target trance that guarantees that I will get to the register with at least $100 worth of merchandise in my carriage. This time all the colorful new spring items caught my eye, and for $1.99 I couldn't resist. These colors are definitely going to be my go to set for spring and summer. Mint and coral are right on trend and these brands are super cheap and most are available at your local drug store.

left to right: essie//topless and barefoot (my favorite nude), wet n wild//on a trip, sonia kashuk//blank slate, wet n wild//club havana, Revlon//minted

 I saw this fun tutorial on the beauty depot, and decided to change it up a bit. Minty!

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SCENES // FROM THE WEEKEND

I made my makeup artist debut this weekend, lol. I did makeup for a Heiress Boutique photo shoot this weekend.  I love, love, love makeup, but doing makeup to be photographed is another story. I was nervous, but it turned out well.

The first look was very neutral I used browns and golds from the Naked 2 pallet, lashes and a nude lip to finish it off.

 

Blue smokey c/o Urban Decay and this rad H&M pallet that I got during the holidays with a muted pink lip.

Another neutral using shimmer and a plum lip.

Not too shabby for my first time, it was a fun shoot! These makeup looks were super easy to create maybe I'll do a tutorial? hmmm

I have to say, I am loving the new cosmetics from Wet n' Wild recently, the color on my nails is called "On a Trip".

I wore something comfortable since I knew I would be on my feet doing makeup and possibly shooting for a while.

Is this thing on?

I'm wearing: jacket // ASOS Stripe Faux Fur Coat, shirt // h&m, pants // joe jeans, scarf // vintage, boots // Jeffrey Campbell, sunglasses // Karen Walker

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GLITTER GRADIANT NAILS

Loving glitter right now. I originally was going to do a holiday french with red on the bottom and gold glitter at the top, but loved the glitter so much I just rolled with it. You can use any color glitter you like and a secondary polish that has glitter or shimmer to it

This look is super easy, but can be very messy, put down a piece of scrap paper, so you don't get glitter everywhere

Use bronze polish to make a messy french tip, let dry

Dab the bronze polish lightly over the glitter and blend down, don't use too much polish 

Sprinkle a few stray glitters over the second coat of bronze, let dry

Apply a coat of clear, start by adding a dolap of polish on the tip and pat over the glitter don't brush, let dry

Apply a second coat of clear polish 

Use your favorite fast drying clear coat, this bronze color is from forever 21

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NATURAL NUPTIALS

 

My Friend Kim said "I do" a couple weeks ago. I messaged Kim about two weeks before the wedding excited to hear about her wedding plans, specifically what she was doing with her hair (her hair is natural) and what she was doing with her makeup. I found out she had no plan. 

I figured I would gift her hair and makeup for the wedding. She came over a week before the wedding for a makeup trial and my friend Sammy (check out her blog) styled her hair beautifully on the big day.

Let me rewind a little bit. In college Kim was my resident always bubbly, energetic and loved to annoy me. I used to call her the extra little sister I never wanted. She ended up dating my good friend's brother. I remember when I first saw him on campus; I interrogated the two of them for about 10 minutes and then immediately called his sister to tell her all about it. I know I'm a snitch.

 

Five years later I'm doing her makeup for their wedding.I still can't even believe it.

Finishing touches. Picture Perfect. 

Products

Eyebrow Pencil 

- Mac - Stud

Eye Shadow 

- Silver: Avon, Classic Silver  

- Brown: Covergirl 

- Black: Black Radiance, Forest Sand Quad

Eye Liner 

- Sephora brand water proof liner

Mascara

- Maybelline Volume Express 

Foundation

- Cover Girl - Clean

Blush 

- Estee Lauder: Cream blush, Pink Kiss  

- MAC: iridescent loose powder

Lip Gloss 

- L'OREAL: Colour Juice, raspberry Smash

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BEAUTY ON A BUDGET

I'm a sucker for beauty buys on a budget. Most of the beauty items that I use daily are from the drugstore. Drugstore beauty brands have come a long way, and while I do believe that higher end brands sometimes offer better quality and there are defiantly items that are worth spending the money on, you can still look beautiful on a budget.





1 Rimmel London | Lash Accelerator Mascara $7.49
I feel bad not including my go to mascara for years (Maybelline Volum’ Express Turbo Boost Mascara | $7.49). BUT! I recently started using Rimmel Lash Accelerator and I love this stuff. I have noticed my lashes are longer since using this mascara. Mascara is all about the brush, I tend to stay away from plastic brushes because I usually don't like the results. The Rimmel brush distributes the product nicely and I definitely achieve the volume and length that I want.

2 L’Oreal | Colour Juice $7.99
I’m afraid CVS has stopped carrying this collection (sad face), but I’ve had luck finding them in other stores like ULTA. My go to color is Passion Fruit Squeeze. This is a great neutral color for brown girls and I try to have one of these in every bag.

3 Black Radiance | Desert Clay Eyeshadow Quartet $4.99
This palette is great for beginners, because it consists of neutral colors that will look great on a range of skin tones. I love this palette because gold looks great on all skin tones which makes this very versatile for an array of women and brown can be used to achieve a natural look on darker brown skin or a smokey eye on lighter skin.

4 Maybelline | Line Stylist $6.99
This is an eyeliner but I use it as an eyebrow pencil because its hard to find the right color pencil. When I feel like splurging I buy MAC eyebrow pencil in STUD.

5 Maybelline | Color Sensational $7.49
I currently have three of these: Nearly There (205), Plum Perfect (435) and Red Revival (645) which is my favorite. The color selection is awesome and always make my lips look plump and soft with a hint of shine.

6 Suave Professionals | Almond Shea Butter $3.49
Works surprisingly well on my natural hair and for this price, this is definitely a steal.

7 Organics by Africa’s Best | Hair Mayonnaise $4.99
Love this stuff, it’s super cheap and leaves my hair very soft and moisturized. For a homemade deep conditioner I add organic coconut milk, organic raw honey, and EVOO.

8 Sally Hansen Complete Manicure Nail Color | Commander in Chic $7.49
Love the brush in this collection, great selection of colors and you can’t beat a manicure in a bottle.

9 Denman Brush | $8-$10
This is a natural hair staple, great for de-tangling my coils.


I want to know what your favorite beauty buys are on a budget. If you have any questions email me or leave a comment below.

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TUXEDO NAILS

WAH is a kick ass nail salon out of London. If you haven’t heard of them definitely check out their website. Every week I ogle their unique creations and every now and then I give one a whirl.

My Inspiration




The Tools

• Revlon | Minted
• Sally Hansen | Commander in Chic
• NYC | Black Lace Creme
• Forever 21 | Nail Art Pen and Brush

How To

• Apply two coats of each color on both hands and let dry completely
• Use a thin brush or nail art pen to draw the tuxedo outline
• Fill in the “shirt” (upside down triangle) with the white polish
• Add two black dots starting at the bottom of the triangle, these are the buttons
• Draw two triangles, pointy sides facing, to create the bow tie at the tip of the nail
• Use the black polish to add the handle bar mustache on your index finger (if you aren't feeling the mustache you can add polka dots or stripes)
• Lastly, draw the outline for the POW! bubble and fill it in. (make sure you make it big enough fit the word inside)
• Outline with black polish
• Then, draw your action word

 

The Finished Look

Let your nails dry completely–if polish isn't dry clear coat may smudge your design–and add a clear top coat. Let dry and you're done!

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FALL LIPS // RED MATTE & PLUM

A statement lip is a great way to add a little spice to your look. The key is finding colors that complement your complexion. Luckily there are more options for brown belles these days, as many cosmetic company's are releasing products that are highly pigmented and show up nicely on brown skin. These are two of my favorite looks for the fall.

Nars {velvet matte lip color in dragon girl}

 

Nars Velvet Lip Color allows great saturation without too many layers AND the red color is pure so it doesn’t have an orange hue which I found to be true for all the other lipsticks I tried. While this color looks fab on my skin color I think the pureness of this color would look fierce on just about any skin color.  Here are a few tips and tricks to achieving this look.

1. Exfoliate – If you have a bit of dry skin on your lips use your toothbrush, washcloth, or your facial exfoliating cream to make sure your lips are nice and smooth. Follow up with lip balm.
2. Moisturize – Nothing will ruin this look more then chapped lips! The Tyron Biggims is not cute ladies, so find a moisturizing lip balm to make sure your lips are nice and soft.
3. Even that lip out – Before I apply lipstick I usually dab on a little bit of foundation on my lips to assure the color is even.
4. Less is more – If you are going to play up your lips keep the rest of your face simple.
5. Add shine - If the matte look is not your thing add a clear or red gloss on top for a little glister! Try Black Radiance 3201 Radiant Red gloss.

Here is a great video/tutorial from MAC Cosmetics with excellent tips for the perfect red lip.

Black Radiance {perfect tone lip color in 5033 midnight glow}

I love this look! It’s oh-so-sexy, but in my opinion a bit more savory, and who doesn’t like a lil sass.  I didn’t have to go far or spend much money on this look which is always a plus! Most drugstores should carry this brand for under $5!

1. If you have chocolatey brown skin like me don’t be afraid to go darker. If you have lighter skin you may want to try more mauve/purple colors.
2. Do! Play up eyes and brows more. This lip color can take a bit more makeup without being too over the top, don’t go over board but you can definitely take more risks.
3. For an extra pop try using Radiant Lip Gloss in 3205 Blackberry Ice on top. I sometimes use this on its own, but it also looks great on top on the lipstick.

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