December 30, 2015

I’ve Moved | From Island life To Big City Life…

I've been living in Barbados for more than half of my life and now I reside in Canada.  Even though according to my hubby Barbados will always be home and it meant leaving our family and friends, Canada proved to have more opportunities to fit our lifestyle.  Just to give you some background information, I’m Canadian and my husband is Barbadian and we both went to school together but never spoke a word to each other. We dated for 5 years and we are currently 1 year happily married but have known of each other for 7years prior to dating.
Beach Day At Miami Beach

November 30, 2015

Happy Independence Barbados…

Barbados birthday is today and they are celebrating 49 years of independence.  One more year until the big milestone of 50 years. Barbados also known as Bim has been through so much recently but I know a bigger and better economy is on its way.

November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving…

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Everyday we open our eyes is a blessing and we should be so thankful for the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

I’m thankful for my readers & supporters for the last 3years for sticking with me through it all. I appreciate everyone of you & thank you for your continual support. Have a wonderful day with your family and friends.

Are you cooking this Thanksgiving?


November 23, 2015

What's New In My Hair Product Stash…

I love trying new products but I haven’t done that in a long time.  Upon browsing Sally’s, I noticed there was a sale on various products and since I like the Crème of Nature line I picked up items I have never used before.  My old faithful Queen Helene was slightly cheaper so I purchased 2 of them to stock up.

November 18, 2015

Strong Protein Wash Day…

My hair loves protein and since it was missing pretty much from my last stretch, it was only fitting to incorporate it for my wash day. It’s no secret Aphogee has been my staple protein treatment to prepare my hair  before and after relaxer days.
Bunning Week

November 16, 2015

The Importance Of A Successful Relaxer Stretch…

There is no worst feeling than stretching your relaxer for more than 3 months and you end up trimming off any progress made because you failed to take care of your hair properly. It's almost like, what was the sense of your relaxer stretch.  If you grow 2inches and trim 2inches it makes you feel defeated. Raise your hand if you agree with me [raises hand]. Who doesn't like celebrating after making progress on your healthy hair journey. Don't get me wrong, if you need a trim go ahead and get it done, but after having a major cut my ends should still be in shape.

November 12, 2015

Relaxer Day Length Check…

Length checks are one of the most anticipated blog-post a person looks forward too after stretching their relaxer. If you haven’t seen my relaxer results go on and check it out here.  It’s no secret that my last relaxer stretch wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, but I take full responsibility and will share my experience with you soon.
Relaxer Results: Length Check

October 28, 2015

Relaxer Day Results…

I relaxed my hair myself at 16 weeks post relaxer with 2 boxes of  ORS Relaxer in Normal Strength.  My routine hasn't changed from how I prep my hair for relaxer day and how it actually goes as seen here.
Relaxer Day Results: Flat Ironed Hair

October 15, 2015

Wash Day: Relaxer Preparations…

I’m so over this stretch right now. It has been one of my best stretches for growth but also one of my worst for shedding and tangles. I can’t remember when last a comb touched my head because I have been using my fingers very thoroughly.  I’m extremely nervous about how my ends are and know I need to trim alittle but I’m not scared about the trimming, just the thinning. I will confess that my regimen hasn't been consistent during the last 16 weeks and the only person to blame is myself.  I take full responsibility with my relaxer results which will be up next week.
Can you see my new growth (black) compared to my colored relaxed hair

September 21, 2015

OOTD | Casual Saturday Style…

A few weeks ago I mentioned adding some color to my wardrobe and since summer is coming to an end, it was fitting to test them out before the weather gets too chilly.
Printed Legging With Solid Top

September 18, 2015

September| Saturday Fun Day…

I’m such an adventurous person that anything to do with fun jumps out at me. Two weekends ago my husband & I went to the biggest mall in Canada and there was an amusement park, water-park and loads of things to do.  When I laid my eyes on the roller coasters, I knew I had to go on one before the end of the day. Kevin doesn't like roller coasters but its not fun doing those things alone so he tagged along with me.
Saturday Fun Day

September 16, 2015

September | It’s My Birthday…

Can I be bias and say September is the best month of the year? Seriously guys this is the best month lol. All of my September people stand up and represent.
It's My Birthday!

September 11, 2015

Co-washing & Protective Styling…

My new growth is crazy thick and I have loads of it even though I’m only 10weeks post. I haven’t cared for my hair like I used to, so I’m not sure what contributed to all of this growth. I’m planning on stretching for 16 weeks and not sure how I’m going to make it because single strands knots always try to take over my hair life at this point in my stretch.
Air-drying Without Product

August 25, 2015

What Do You Consider Long Hair…

Is this a strange question? I ask because what I perceived as long hair as a teenager is far from what I believe it is now. Let’s just blame it on being on a healthy hair journey j/k. As a teenager growing up and my mom not knowing how best to take care of my hair, it ended up always being dry, brittle and short. It could barely touch my shirt collar for all of my early teenage years.
Neck Length Hair

August 11, 2015

Long Lost Wash Days…

I haven’t been keeping track of how many weeks post relaxer I am. Just realizing my new growth is popping and need to check my blog to see when my last relaxer was. I even started washing my hair every 2 weeks but stopped very quickly because my face wasn't enjoying that torture. I have been getting breakouts which aren't normal for me and I know that’s the culprit. Let’s get this wash-day started:
Heat Free Flexi-Rod Curls

July 17, 2015

I Love My Bright Colored Hair…

didn't realize how bright my hair was until I looked into the mirror a couple days after my relaxer. The sunlight was so bright shining on my hair and I couldn't help but take a couple pictures of it.
My Relaxed Hair 

July 14, 2015

Wash Day Post Relaxer…

Since I’m a DIY girl when it comes to relaxing my hair, I’m leaning towards washing my hair 2 weeks after relaxer to fully enjoy my flat ironed hair. Can you blame me?
Air drying Relaxed Hair

July 09, 2015

OOTN | 6 Month's Dinner Style…

On June 1, 2013 Kevin proposed to me and on June 20, 2015 we celebrated our 6 month anniversary.  People often get comfortable in their relationships and forget the little things which made the relationship work in the beginning. We don’t profess to know everything just what works for us. Even though we enjoy wine & dining, we also enjoy the little things in life. Beach dates, movie dates, sit at home and chill dates, doing stuff for each other, buying each other favorite treats randomly. These are just a few ways that works for us.
Dinner at Zen Restaurant Barbados

July 06, 2015

3rd Year of Healthy Hair Practices…

I try not to look at other people who started their healthy hair journey at the same time as I did to compare to see if their hair is longer or shorter than mine.  All of our heads are different and will thrive differently.  I would be honest to say that in my first year I was obsessed with length but now I just want the healthiest hair with the added bonus of length.  Everyone’s hair grows but it all needs some TLC for it to thrive. I experienced one set back and thinning which caused me to trim 3 inches off both times but my hair felt and looked better. Hair grows so no need to hold on to stringy ends.  I have been on my healthy hair journey for three years and I must say it was the best decision for my hair.
3 year Side Sweep Hair Comparison

June 29, 2015

Relaxer Day Results…

I relaxed my hair myself at 12 weeks post relaxer with ORS Relaxer in Normal strength and I’m getting the same results everytime. My routine hasn't changed from how I prep my hair for relaxer day, as seen here.
Relaxer Day Results - June 2015

June 24, 2015

How I Maintain My Colored Relaxed Hair …

I have always enjoyed dying my hair black pre-healthy hair journey because most stylist say your hair looks healthier in that color than our natural dark brown.  Knowledge is Power and now I know that’s not true. Our hair doesn't need to look black to be deemed healthy.  Initially loved my dark brown hair but since turning the big 30, I decided it was time for change.
Pre-Healthy Hair Journey (My hair was dyed black)

June 18, 2015

The Truth About Dying Relaxed Hair…

Hair dye’s can be found in semi-permanent and permanent. Semi-permanent has been my choice since it isn't that harsh on our hair. It’s mainly referred to as a ‘rinse’. Hair dye’s come in variations of colors, from Jet black to reds, pinks, you name it.  Before dying your hair I suggest doing some research on the brand. For example I usually help my mom dye her hair and we use Bigen hair dye. On one occasion Bigen wasn't available and she bought Clairol in the color black. My mom hair was jet black on application but while rinsing out her hair it turned green. Honestly I cackled in disbelief, let’s just say we never bought that brand again. I’m not saying the brand may not work for since the hair on our heads are all different but it certainly didn't work for my mom’s.
Hair Dye I Have Used In The Past

June 03, 2015

What happened To My Hair Lately…

I haven’t been experimenting with different hair styles lately, since my goal for this relaxer stretch is to keep my ends hidden and protected with the occasional “cheat day” lol. I have been keeping up with my weekly washdays and treatments. 
Flexi-rods on Relaxed Hair

June 01, 2015

8 Best Ways To Avoid Breakouts/ Pimples…

I don’t profess to have the best or perfect skin but I’ll share with you what measures have worked for me to minimize breakouts.  I still get the occasional pimple and majority of the time I know how I got it. 

Keep your hands out of your face
This is one of the major contributions to break outs. Our hands are often on our desk, touching the door, touching the phone, hand rails in public transport, you name it, all of those places are dirty even though the naked eye may not be able to see it.

Drinks lots of water
I never liked drinking water because it was too harsh to swallow but now I probably reach for water as my choice of drink other than anything else. I drink about 50 ounces of water daily except weekends. I do drink on weekends but not that much. I end up using the bathroom 6-8 times a day but there isn't a greater feeling than using the bathroom and the liquid is clear and not colored #winning

May 21, 2015

Hair Color | Kiss Express Color in Crimson…

I have been contemplating if to dye my hair again or just let the last dye I used, run its course and my hair return to its natural boring color of dark brown. I love trying different things and wanted to have a brighter color in my hair. I stumbled on Kiss Express Color  in Crimson which is a semi permanent hair dye and seemed to be brighter than Truly Red which I had before based on their sample.

I applied the dye with gloves from my scalp to the ends. Covered my hair with a plastic cap and sat under my heat cap for 25mins as stated on the instructions.  Rinsed with warm water and applied Aussie Moist conditioner to add some softness as well as to remove the excess dye in my hair.
Kiss Express Color in Crimson on my hair

May 17, 2015

OOTD | Casual Friday Style…

My wardrobe is filled with a lot of black and white, navy blue and grey.  Last summer I was encouraged to buy bright bold colors to spice things up. I bought the clothes but didn't experiment with them.
Color Blocking on a Casual Friday

May 13, 2015

Wash Days I’ve Missed…

I wore my hair straight for two weeks after relaxing it. Honestly I was enjoying my straight hair so much that the thought of not washing my hair for the third week was a possibility. Until I started to see pimples popping up in my face, then I knew my scalp needed to be cleansed to avoid a massive breakout. 
How I've been wearing my hair for wash days i didn't post

May 10, 2015

How to | What is Baggying…

Happy Mother's day to ALL of the wonderful mother's who help shape us into who we are today. Their sacrifices has been endless and the love and support has been overwhelming. I hope i can be as awesome as my mom someday. Cheers to ALL moms.

Are you frustrated and tired of dry ends, look no further of how we can curb this.

What is Baggying?
Baggying is simply to cover your hair with a bag of some sort to help lock in moisture. Baggying can save your ends to help prevent it from breakage due to dryness.
How I Baggy My Ends To Retain Moisture

April 26, 2015

NEW VIDEO | Relaxer Results March 2015…

Here is a visual view of what my hair looks like after my relaxer in March 2015. Let me apologize for this late posting and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Hope you enjoyed the video.

Be Inspired…



April 21, 2015

Travel | My Experience on LIAT Airlines…

I saw Liat Airlines offering a special to various Caribbean destinations and I asked my husband if we should jump on that opportunity to see a Caribbean island for our honeymoon and we did. We have been so blessed to travel to America, Canada and Europe together, so a trip to the Caribbean was due. I will not lie if I didn't say, I was nervous about flying on such a small aircraft, the horror stories of not making it to your destination on time, lost of baggage and you name it. There is an acronym for Liat which is, Leave Island Any Time. I have heard so many bad stories that I was prepared to have an extra day as a buffer just in-case no flights were available for the day we wanted to return. Let’s just say that wasn't a necessity.
 
My flight experience on Liat Airlines

April 19, 2015

OOTD | Easter Sunday Style…

The significance of Easter Sunday shouldn't be taken lightly at all. Christ is risen! I absolutely love this pastel color dress. I don’t wear these soft colors often but this jumped out on me.
My Easter Sunday Outfit

April 15, 2015

My Facial Regimen…

I confess, I never really had a facial regimen. All I used to do, was wash my face with Neutrogena fragrance free facial bar on a daily basis and use a facial scrub when the need arises. When taking off makeup all I used to do was, wash my face with the same Neutrogena facial bar and even though I will still see residue of the makeup, I would just use tissue to wipe off the excess makeup. Yes I know that’s extremely bad and please don’t practice it either. I have been blessed not to suffer from bad breakouts, so I guess I took my skin care for granted. Fast forward to the end of December 2014 when my face started to break out and I started to panic. But at least I knew the cause of the break out. I had been using my makeup brushes for more than 3 times without washing and this broke me out. Please wash your makeup brushes as frequently as you can. I now wash them after using them twice.
The products I use on my face

April 13, 2015

OOTD | Good Friday Style…

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter! I always go to Christ Church Parish Church for worship on Good Friday, which was at 9.30am.
My Good Friday Outfit

April 09, 2015

A Trip To The Salon: My Hair Was Trimmed | Cut…

If you haven’t seen my relaxer prep post, go check it out now here.  I have been holding on to those thin ends for a while now, but I was slowly trimming them off. I finally took the plunge to get my stylist to do a much needed trim by her assessment.
My professional hair trim/cut

April 07, 2015

Relaxer Day Results…

I relaxed my hair myself at 15 1/2 weeks post relaxer with ORS Relaxer in Normal strength and I’m getting better at it every time I do it. My routine hasn't changed from the last time I relaxed my hair seen here.
Relaxer Results: March 2015

March 25, 2015

Relaxer Prep Wash Day…

I’m just about 15weeks post relaxer and I’m ending my stretch this week.  I was planning for 16 weeks but I don’t want the hassle of relaxing my hair over Easter holidays. I just want to relax and spend some time with my family.
Relaxer prep hair products 

March 23, 2015

My Hair Lately…

I have skipped a couple of wash days because I haven’t been doing much to my hair.  My weekly regimen hasn't changed and my style of choice has been flexi-rods and buns. While bunning,  I used the tension method to stretch my new growth with a blow dryer. The tension method is simply stretching your new growth with your hand and blow drying your hair so it dries in that stretched state.  The tension method does a great job in stretching my new growth but the process could be tedious and overwhelming. If you’re strapped for time do not attempt this because, you could get frustrated and impatient which will lead to you mis-managing your hair, which ends up breakage. Flexi-rods is another great method to stretch your new growth.
Flexi-rods as my go to style

March 21, 2015

Am I Texlaxed???…

My first self relaxer in December 2012 left me with severe under-processed hair that I opted to get a relaxer by my hairdresser 6 weeks later on February 2013. In 2014, I mastered the courage to attempt self relaxing again and haven't looked back since. I knew for sure I didn't want bone straight hair but not texlaxed hair either because that almost looks natural.  Then I realized there are various types of texlaxed texture, which are tightly coiled or loosen pattern. I chose the loosen pattern. I don’t comb through my relaxer, but smooth it out with my fingers and I also add natural oils to buy me some more time during processing time.
My hair texture after relaxing it

March 16, 2015

My New Growth @ 12 Weeks Post…

Waving a big hello to you guys. I know I haven’t posted in a little while but I’m working on improving that. I've also been keeping up with all your blogs.

I’ll be honest my stretch wasn't going so well when I was 8 weeks post relaxer. The single strand knots were driving me crazy and I was wondering how I would make it to 16 weeks with this nightmare.

Air drying my hair loosely simply wasn't going to cut it anymore so I decided to try flexi-rods and I must say it made my life a lot easier. My new growth was stretched, the number of single strand knots was reduced, my hair was loose, and so I didn't have to worry about any tension from my hair being pulled in any direction.
New Growth @ 12 Week Post Relaxer

February 26, 2015

Co-Wash Day With Flexi-Rods…

I totally slacked on stretching my new growth last week and I paid for it dearly. The amount of single strands knots were unbelievable. From this moment till touch up day, I will not be 
making that mistake again sigh. Looks like flexirods is going to be my staple for the next couple of  wash days unless I whip out my curlformers.
First day of my Flexi Rods 

February 20, 2015

Tomes Edition Turns Two Yrs...

I published my first post on February 3, 2013 and I can’t believe how fast the 2nd year has flown.  Waving a big hello to all of my new readers, I hope the information i'm providing to you has been beneficial to you some way. To all my loyal readers, I can't express how grateful I am for the support you have given me throughout the years. Big hugs to all of you.

Blogging isn't an easy task because it takes a lot of commitment, research and dedication, sometimes I find myself overwhelmed but you guys keep me focused and I’m glad I started my blog and proud to be called a blogger.

In my second year of blogging i became more personal and introduce some aspects of my life with you. Based on the responses, my readers seem to like that aspect of my blog now. Ultimately I want to be much more flexible by providing you with my healthy hair tips, my fashion sense, my makeup application (I've been slacking on these two) and my personal life. I absolutely love reading life and relationship blogs. I have a weakness for a beautiful love story.

Tomes Edition is 2 years Old 
Cheers to another wonderful year ahead. Thank you for your continual support and I wish everyone a blessed 2015. PS - If there is anything you want me to address, mention it below in the comments.


February 11, 2015

Wash Day Coffee Rinse & Bantu Knot Out…

I’m currently 8 weeks post relaxer and to avoid battling with single strand knots (ssk), I’ve been experimenting with hairstyles to stretch out my new growth. I honestly wanted to skip preppoing and just jump into the shower once but I remembered my shedding is still not under control. Here is how my wash day went:
Take down from Bantu Knot-Out hair style

February 09, 2015

My Hair Styles Recently…

My goal for the last couple of weeks was to stretch my new growth when styling my hair each week. I have been trying various styles that I haven’t done in forever.
Firstly take a look at my flexi-rod set on day 1 and 2.
Flexi-rods on Day 1 & 2

January 29, 2015

Relaxer Results Hair Ramble…

December was an extremely busy month for me so my usual relaxer results routine didn’t go to plan. I usually film, that did not happen. I usually trim, that did not happen till 2 weeks later, of which i barely took off a 1/4 inch.. I usually take loads of pic, that did not happen. What happened you may ask? Time was just against me for the entire month. The only thing that went to plan was that I followed my usually prep on relaxer day as seen here
My hair air-drying after being relaxed

January 26, 2015

Wash Day With Flexi-Rods…

I was really excited for my washday today because I wanted to try out my curlformer dupes. Jen from Justgrowalready curlformers sets are absolutely stunning and I took the plunge to get myself a set. I don’t know where the time went and I comtemplated just airdrying and wearing my hair straight again. I ended up putting in 4 grey flexi-rods to the front and 4 grey flexi-rods to the back. Let’s get this washday started.
My hair air-drying 

January 12, 2015

Happy New Hair…

How’s everyone doing? I know I have been MIA for abit and I’m going to make up for it.  I have been catching up on your blog posts and finally now putting my thoughts on paper.  My scalp has been screaming at me for more than a week now. I haven’t washed my hair in two weeks which it’s not accustomed too.  This wash day I decided to pamper my hair and hope my shedding reduces
My hair with Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment. PS - the white marks on my neck are from the product