Femme Fashion

[aishah]

Originally Posted by thedivahrrrself

Careful of shoedazzle! The shoes are adorable, but cheap and made of synthetic material. In my experience, they don't fit right and are very uncomfortable. Same with JustFabulous.

For $40, you can go to TJMaxx, Marshalls, DSW, or Ross and get a pair of real leather, proper fitting, last-season Steve Maddens or Nine West or BCBG or Guess shoes, among other nicer brands.

Your feet will only last you so long in heels, as many old ladies in the doctor's office waiting rooms keep reminding me, so treat them right and get them good shoes (but at a good price)!

thanks! i had no idea. i appreciate the info.

unfortunately i can't buy cute shoes in stores...i wear an 11w and my feet are deformed. i'm lucky if i can find tennis shoes in an 11 (it does happen), but cute shoes are impossible. i have been eyeing zappo's a lot lately (i got my snow boots there) so i might try order heels there when i have the money.

edited add...re: hair dryness...

i LOVE coconut oil. i put some in after i get out of the shower and before i brush my hair out, and let it dry naturally (you could also blow dry). you only need a little. it also works well as a body moisturizer and lube. you can do a more intensive treatment by wetting your hair, putting it in, leaving it in for an hour or so, then washing your hair. henna is a great hair treatment, too - i use it to dye my hair and it's very good for hair. but sometimes it can cause extra dryness.

[thedivahrrrself]

Originally Posted by aishah

thanks! i had no idea. i appreciate the info.

unfortunately i can't buy cute shoes in stores...i wear an 11w and my feet are deformed. i'm lucky if i can find tennis shoes in an 11 (it does happen), but cute shoes are impossible. i have been eyeing zappo's a lot lately (i got my snow boots there) so i might try order heels there when i have the money.

Zappos is great. It's hard when you have wide feet. You definitely don't want to use ShoeDazzle then, their shoes are skinny as hell!

Steve Madden typically has a rounded toe and more room in that area, and the leather that Nine West uses is AMAZING at conforming to your feet (no one else will be able to borrow your Nine West shoes, they will literally have your toes molded into them). So if you're just a little wide, those may be good to try. Of course LB and Torrid both sell wide shoes. I haven't tried any of them, but they are priced very reasonably.

Happy shoe shopping!

[justkim]

Originally Posted by aishah

thanks! i had no idea. i appreciate the info.

unfortunately i can't buy cute shoes in stores...i wear an 11w and my feet are deformed. i'm lucky if i can find tennis shoes in an 11 (it does happen), but cute shoes are impossible. i have been eyeing zappo's a lot lately (i got my snow boots there) so i might try order heels there when i have the money.

edited add...re: hair dryness...

i LOVE coconut oil. i put some in after i get out of the shower and before i brush my hair out, and let it dry naturally (you could also blow dry). you only need a little. it also works well as a body moisturizer and lube. you can do a more intensive treatment by wetting your hair, putting it in, leaving it in for an hour or so, then washing your hair. henna is a great hair treatment, too - i use it to dye my hair and it's very good for hair. but sometimes it can cause extra dryness.

It has been my experience that henna is NOT safe for your hair as it contains metal. I have seen woman lose all of their hair from using henna. As far as using coconut oil to recondition your hair, don't shampoo it out. You are defeating the purpose, also don't put it directly on the scalp. If you feel you have applied too much use a good absorbent paper towel and gently blot your hair.
Hot tools rock and are well worth the price. The really nice thing, which has been mentioned, is that you can adjust the temp. Which I would totally recommend keeping on a medium setting. Always remember to apply a heat protectant to your hair, this helps to protect the hair from a percent of damage that can happen when using curling irons, flat irons, ect. As a licensed Cosmetologist we use hot tools in the salon and the best part is if they should have a problem you can return them, just be sure to keep your receipt.

Happy styling!

[aishah]

Originally Posted by justkim

It has been my experience that henna is NOT safe for your hair as it contains metal. I have seen woman lose all of their hair from using henna. As far as using coconut oil to recondition your hair, don't shampoo it out. You are defeating the purpose, also don't put it directly on the scalp. If you feel you have applied too much use a good absorbent paper towel and gently blot your hair.

thanks! do you know if this was body art quality henna they were using? i've used baq henna (it comes in a plain powder that you have to mix and prepare yourself, as it's just the powdered plant) on my hair and body for several years, and i know women who have used it their whole lives with no problems. in some cultures people have been using it for thousands of years with no problems. i know that the kind that comes pre-mixed in a box tends to have really dangerous chemicals in it, though, and i warn people away from that.

[ruby_woo]

Does anyone here know anything about hairspray? The guy I'm dating is super sensitive to smelly, chemical filled hairsprays, and it would be nice if my hair could look cute while not making him allergic to my head. Any suggestions for non-smelly, naturalish hairsprays? Even the "Unscented" Dove hairspray I tried at the drugstore smelled awful.

[aishah]

Originally Posted by ruby_woo

Does anyone here know anything about hairspray? The guy I'm dating is super sensitive to smelly, chemical filled hairsprays, and it would be nice if my hair could look cute while not making him allergic to my head. Any suggestions for non-smelly, naturalish hairsprays? Even the "Unscented" Dove hairspray I tried at the drugstore smelled awful.

http://eastbaymeditation.org/accessi...scentfree.html has a list of good products. i've also been able to find some great unscented products that are actually unscented at health food/natural food stores (versus mainstream drugstores, where a lot of "unscented" stuff still smells). hope this helps!

edited to add: also, a friend recommends magick botanicals and/or alba botanicals' unscented hair spray. if you're looking for other kinds of hair care products (like pomade or oil) i have a few other recs

[ruby_woo]

Originally Posted by aishah

http://eastbaymeditation.org/accessi...scentfree.html has a list of good products. i've also been able to find some great unscented products that are actually unscented at health food/natural food stores (versus mainstream drugstores, where a lot of "unscented" stuff still smells). hope this helps!

edited to add: also, a friend recommends magick botanicals and/or alba botanicals' unscented hair spray. if you're looking for other kinds of hair care products (like pomade or oil) i have a few other recs

This is awesome, thank you! I'll mark down some of those names and try to head over to one of the health food/natural food stores this weekend.

[thedivahrrrself]

Originally Posted by ruby_woo

Does anyone here know anything about hairspray? The guy I'm dating is super sensitive to smelly, chemical filled hairsprays, and it would be nice if my hair could look cute while not making him allergic to my head. Any suggestions for non-smelly, naturalish hairsprays? Even the "Unscented" Dove hairspray I tried at the drugstore smelled awful.

It costs more, but Aveda is all-natural, no chemicals, and it smells delicious! IMO, it doesn't hold as well, but it's worth it not to make your guy sneeze!

[aishah]

most aveda products make me sick because they have fragrance and neurotoxic chemicals, but i've never tried their hairspray.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ is a great database for researching beauty products also they have a list of non-toxic beauty products.

[ruby_woo]

Originally Posted by thedivahrrrself

It costs more, but Aveda is all-natural, no chemicals, and it smells delicious! IMO, it doesn't hold as well, but it's worth it not to make your guy sneeze!

Ooh, that's true. We stayed at a hotel recently that had complimentary Aveda bath products like the rosemary mint shampoo and conditioner, and he kept calling the front desk to get more to take home lol. Aveda hairspray might be an option as well.

[thedivahrrrself]

Oooo, I just found the "Retro Chic" section of Torrid. I don't remember it being there before. Check out this adorable wiggle dress they offer!



I'm thinking they'd go well with these cute Manolos



Here's the website for Torrid Retro:

http://www.torrid.com/torrid/RetroChic.jsp