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April 22, 2013 

AWESOME EVENT ALERT: Curls, Coils & Cocktails w/ ’83 To Infinity & Soulafrodisiac!

Curls FINAL

It’s funny how life works.

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to organize an event – an ’83 To Infinity meetup where I could meet some of my readers in person, enjoy some yummy food and drinks, and discuss life, our passions, and our various journeys. First, I put it off because I thought I didn’t have a big enough readership (I remember meeting Afrobella a couple of months after starting ’83 To Infinity, and she was the first one to encourage me to do an event regardless of how many people may be reading). Then, I thought I’d do one for my blog’s 1st anniversary, but that didn’t pan out. Then, I thought “OK. You’ve been putting this off. Just get down to it.” I started plotting venues, special guests, what my event would be about, and I actually started getting excited. However, not too long after I got excited, I got scared. My idea for a June event in Toronto started to slide closer to July…then maybe August…and y’all know what that means. I started to chicken out, and almost succeeded.

In an interesting turn of events, I was asked to help organize an event in Toronto for International Natural Hair Meetup Day because the original organizer had to tend to family issues. Of course I said yes – I knew she was looking forward to the event, as were a number of people in our particular Meetup.com group. Once I agreed to take it on, I realized something.

Sh*t. I’m actually doing an event.

It was too late to turn back, so I took the leap and decided that this was how the Universe was going to make me face my fears and get down to it. With that, I present to you: Curls, Coils & Cocktails!

Together with my sistren Ann Marie Collymore of the dope blog Soulafrodisiac, we’ve created an awesome event for our Toronto readers, friends, and fellow hair and beauty lovers. Curls, Coils & Cocktails is going down on May 18th at the lovely Saviari Tea & Cocktail Lounge from 4-9pm – and this won’t be just any ole meetup!

  • We’ve got product swapping (so bring that lightly used product that just doesn’t work for you – it might for someone else)!
  • We’ve got mini-hair consultations (thanks to the ladies of Curl Bar Beauty Salon)!
  • We’ve got a panel discussion featuring some of Toronto’s best voices on hair and beauty (like Trudie Mulalu from Curl Bar and Thea Mitchell of Cocoa Bloom Cosmetics)!
  • We’ve got awesome gifts and door prizes (thanks to Shea Radiance, Cloré Beauty, Harlem Restaurant, Ola Finesse, and more)!
  • We’ve got an awesome mix and mingling atmosphere (so be ready to make some friends)!
  • We’ve got delicious tea-infused food and a signature cocktail (all due to Saviari’s unique menu)!

And we want YOU!

If you’re in town on May 18th, we’d love for you to join us. One of the major complaints I often hear from blog readers and friends in Toronto is that we never seem to have the frequency or quality of natural hair and beauty based events like we see in the US. Lately, I think the climate here is changing, and we’re starting to see a few more meetups and events offered. Now that I’ve actually jumped in with both feet and got this idea off the ground, I’m ready to put my stank on it and bring a unique vibe to Toronto’s natural hair and beauty lovin’ communities. So if you wear natural hair, are contemplating it, or are just in the pursuit of healthy hair overall – Curls, Coils & Cocktails is for you. I’m sure that while we discuss how to look good on the outside, the positive vibes and connections made at CC&C will help us to radiate the beauty we have inside as well.

I’m hella excited!

Click here for the Eventbrite ticket page and grab yours today! Tickets are only $10 in advance, $15 at the door. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to hit me up, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at my very first ’83 To Infinity event!

Psssst…thanks to everyone who entered my The Mystic Effect ticket giveaway! The lucky winner is… *drumroll* GINA AYANNA! Gina – please shoot me an email at bee[at]83toinfinity[dot]com to get your ticket to the show!

April 10, 2012 

Natural Skin Care: The Cane Sugar Scrub

This weekend, I spent some time with my girlfriends doing something I haven’t done in a LONG time – window shop. In between a delicious lunch at Diner’s Corner (one of my favourite Jamaican restaurants) and a screening of Better Mus’ Come at the University of Toronto (yes, my 2nd time watching), we strolled down Bloor Street, popping into Holt Renfrew and Sephora to see what was new.

This post isn’t about makeup, but inspired by it. At the one of the makeup counters in Holt Renfrew, I fell in love with two of the bronzers/blushes, and realized I had to have them. I don’t wear foundation or a ton of other makeup, but was looking for something to give me a bit of an extra glow and twinkle. The product mix I sampled accomplished that perfectly, however, when I took a look in the 20x magnifying glass to see the rep’s handiwork, I cringed. Blemishes and enlarged pores were right there in high-definition, and I realized that before I could beautify with any makeup, I would have to get my skin right.

For about the last year or so, I’ve been cleansing my skin with the Oil Cleansing Method, which I wrote about here. Right now, I use a mixture of 50% castor oil, 25% grapeseed oil, and 25% jojoba oil – slather it on my face and massage it in, then wipe off with a warm washcloth. I follow up by moisturizing with a few drops of avocado oil, and boom – I’m good to go. I love the OCM, and have had amazing results with it – my skin is smoother, my tone is even, and I’ve only had a few hormone-related pimples in the past year. My excess oil production is no more, which proves that yes, people with oily skin can use the OCM with success.

What I realized over the weekend was that I’ve been forgetting a key step in my skin care regimen: a good exfoliator. On a late night run to the drug store, I thought of grabbing something off the shelf – but then a lightbulb went off and I realized I had everything I needed at home to create a nice natural scrub!

When I first started the OCM, I used a natural exfoliator in conjunction. I think somewhere along the way, I ran out of sugar or honey, and the practice dropped off. I looked back at some pics from when I was doing the scrub, and the motivation to begin again was in full force. Allow me to introduce you to the Cane Sugar Scrub:

  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup of Cane Sugar
  • 1 tsp of Raw Honey
  • 3 tbsp of Jojoba Oil
  • 3 tbsp of Grapeseed Oil

Ingredient benefits:

Cane Sugar - chock full of glycolic acid, which helps slough away dead skin cells and protects skin from toxins

Raw Honey – increases skin’s ability to absorb and retain moisture, and improves collagen production in the skin

Jojoba Oil – a non-comodegenic (= does not block pores) wax ester, not actually an “oil” – it is theorized that it mimics the skin’s natural sebum, so it tricks the skin into thinking it’s creating enough oil, and reduces excess oil production

Grapeseed Oil – rich in antioxidants, slightly astringent (works to tone the skin), and helps to even skin tone

In the past, I found that I was using too much cane sugar at first, which led me to more irritation than anything. Don’t hesitate to use a bit less sugar and see how your skin responds, or grind your cane sugar up a bit to make it finer.

I used this scrub 3 times a week on my face, knees, and elbows – and any time I was stepping out with exposed skin (especially chest/shoulders/back), I’d rub a bit there to help add to my glow. Summer weather calls for all things strapless and backless and tastefully exposed to allow for maximum sunkissing. So, next time I decide to step out in a dress like this:

Photo courtesy of iShotYa Photography

…I’ll be sure to scrub!

Do you exfoliate? Have you tried any natural scrub mixtures? Let me know what has worked for you! Also, for optimal skin care, DO NOT FORGET YOUR H2O! Sigh. Water is so boring, yet so vital…let me go get my glass now!

March 28, 2012 

Artsy Fartsy: Natural Hair Overload

When I started this blog, the impetus was to have a medium of discussion on natural hair, especially for my Canadian ladies. My second thought was that I would get bored of talking solely about hair all day, every day (I have a tragically short attention span), and therefore the entire vision of ’83 To Infinity was fleshed out. However, I spent pretty much this entire past weekend talking about/being about natural hair, and I had way too much fun!

First up was my radio interview with Emily, a Masters of Journalism student at Ryerson University here in Toronto. Emily had reached out to an online group that I am a member of, seeking to speak with Black women for her Radio Documentary class project. The topic? Discussing our hair history, hair choices, and how those choices have affected or been influenced by current beauty standards. Inspired by a friend of hers who admitted to wanting to wear her hair naturally, but having no idea how to go about it, Emily wanted to both help her friend and educate herself on a world she didn’t even know about. Unfortunately, after a vetting process that I personally didn’t understand or agree with, it was determined that the group would not be taking part in Emily’s project. I decided to reach out to her on my own, and we scheduled a taping date for Saturday afternoon.

My homegirl Mariah joined us, and I think we ended up giving Emily WAY more material than she needed! Emily engaged us with very insightful questions – she was intrigued to learn that my HomieLoverFriend was not a fan of my natural look when I debuted it, and she drew a lot of truth out of Mariah when she discussed the message of self-love that she was sending to her young daughter. We were lucky in that Emily didn’t fire question after question at us – she would put a topic out there, or frame a loose question, and then we’d go to town on it! She’ll have the difficult task now of mincing all of her material down into a 10 minute project, but I got the feeling that she learned a LOT more than she expected to, and we all had a great time sharing our personal stories. Sounds cliché to say, but if this helps even one person (Emily’s friend who’s thinking of going natural – I’m lookin’ at you!), then it was time well spent.

Once Emily and Mariah headed home, I focused on my hair in another arena – getting prepped for a photo shoot! I had been invited to the iHeartmyhair photo shoot with Sean Anthony Photography, and had to finally do something about this tired-ass bun I’d been dragging around all week. I shampooed, conditioned, and twisted my hair into approx. 15 twists (using Earthtones Naturals products), then decided to step it up a notch by curling the twists around some flexi-rods. Sat under my hooded dryer for about 30 minutes, then hit the sack in order to be ready for the early morning call time.

Sunday morning, bright and early, I headed out to Dundas West and got ready for some photo-shoot fun. My twist/curl-out came out fabulously (sorry – was too rushed to take a pic), so I was looking forward to what would be next. Añya, the super-sweet and super-focused lady of iHeartmyhair hooked my hair up into a fly side-swept look. Rita of Salon Beauty Mark did the damn thing with the makeup, then I was sent off to Sean to put the vision together.

It was my first time working with Sean, and he was AMAZING. He wanted me to be the “crazy one” – so he had me growling and scowling and silent screaming like nobody’s business! Every once in a while, he’d look at the camera shots and let out a “Wooooooo!!” At first, I thought he was just gassing me up and trying to boost my confidence, but when he showed me a few of the raw shots, I was like, “Damn! Who’s that girl?” I was giving some fierce Grace Jones, y’all. Didn’t think I had it in me, but the camera said otherwise.

The best part of the shoot was connecting with new and not-so-new faces (big up Kim, Marsha, and Shereen!), and talking about all things hair and beyond. It was awesome seeing so much beautiful hair in one spot – and in great contrast to my previous guest post about natural hair and fashion, I was so happy to be in a zone that not only was embracing natural hair, but – ahem – actually knew how to style it. Lol. Accessory queens Toni Daley and Ashley Alexis McFarlane came through with some awesome pieces, and so far, the shots I’ve seen have been GORGEOUS! Here’s a sneak peek courtesy of Sean Anthony Photography:

 Aren’t these pictures EVERYTHING? Añya and her team caught some other great shots from the day as well:

Me and the man with the master plan - the size of my mouth shows you how geeked I was!

I was in some DEEP convo here...LOL!

The lovely Añya and I...after I tried to make myself a bit more "normal looking" for the drive home!

All in all, I had a great weekend full of natural hair love. Emily ended up catching up with a few models at the shoot as well – that girl is a hustla! I’m hoping to get a copy of her project and share it with y’all, so keep an eye out for that! I guess there are ways to talk one subject to death in a way that’s enlightening and entertaining – this weekend taught me that!

Today is the perfect day for this post – still reminiscing about the weekend past, but looking forward to the weekend to come! What do you guys think of the photo shoot shots? Major thanks to Emily, Añya, Sean, Rita, and all the lovely ladies at the shoot! 

December 6, 2011 

Hey, MAC! Bring Back Afrobella’s ‘All My Purple Life’!

I’ve signed petitions for some pretty heavy issues in my life. Troy Davis, environmental issues, community programs, and the like. Today, I was glad to sign a petition that was for a bit of a lighter cause, but one that I’m more than happy to support!

Patrice Yursik (aka Afrobella) was one of the bloggers recently chosen to create an exclusive make-up product for MAC. With her love for beauty and all thing Prince, she created the most luscious, regal, delectable lipglass I’ve ever seen. Allow me to introduce ‘All My Purple Life’:

Afrobella rockin' it

Folake (StylePantry.com) rockin' it

Yummy411 rockin' it

Now, ‘All My Purple Life’ sold out before ya girl could even get her hands on a tube! To look at the colour itself, I was a bit wary…but I actually tried it out at MAC and would have grabbed it if I hadn’t forgotten my wallet at home :( Seeing it on so many different skin tones, worn layered or alone is enough to convince me that I need a tube to satisfy my lip love. The bad news? MAC has apparently discontinued the lipglass! However, Afrobella’s supporters  are not hearing it! One of my fave Twitter chicks, @purplepeace79 created a petition to convince MAC to bring back the beloved lipglass. If you like pretty things, want to support a woman like Afrobella who continues to inspire, and/or just want to make this lil blogger happy (and possibly lucky enough to get a tube), then you know what to do:

Head here for the petition to bring back ‘All My Purple Life’!

Thank you kindly! I’ll be keeping my eye on MAC to see if this works out for me and all other make-up lovers!

October 10, 2011 

Stylin’ & Profilin’: Wedding Guest Edition

Last night, I went to the last wedding in my 6 month wedding season of 2011. We were invited to 8 weddings this year, and were able to attend 6 of them…plus we had our own, so you can say 2011 was definitely the Year of the Wedding! Each wedding was gorgeous in its own right, and I loved seeing how creative people got with making their special day stand out.

However, as a guest invited to so many weddings, the problem becomes: What do I wear??? I can’t even say this is a women’s issue either, because most of the men I know are very fashionable too, and aren’t trying to get tagged in someone’s Facebook pic wearing the same thing they wore to a wedding last month…

Yesterday’s wedding was probably one of my favourite overall looks, if I do say so myself :) Even though my hair kind of fell apart by the end of the night, I still managed to make it work:

Details on the dress: this is a convertible dress by a Toronto-based design company called Henkaa – I chose these dresses for my bridesmaids, and made sure I grabbed one for myself! These dresses truly work for ANY BODY: they come in a ton of colours; short and long versions; plus-sized options; and you can tie them in a million different ways. I’ll need to pick up a couple more, because I could rotate the Henkaa dress in my wardrobe an infinite amount of ways!

As for the hair, I wanted to try a regimen I’ve seen on a number of other natural hair sites. On Friday night, I washed and deep conditioned my hair (using the products I mention here), then twisted it into about 8 thick twists. The idea was to allow the hair to dry in a stretched state, then set the actual style the next day.

On Saturday morning, I undid the twists, then re-twisted into about 20 twists and pincurled them, laying them flat to my head with bobby pins. I decided to try this versus doing bantu knots, because I wanted to be able to tie my hair down flat for the day, which is impossible with my bantu knot styles. I couldn’t for the LIFE of me find my silk scarves, so I tied my hair down with a satin scarf, then did a cute headwrap with a larger cotton wrap. This is very important for me, because cotton sucks the moisture right out of your hair. I’ve learned from my mistakes of tying down my hair with cotton scarves, then waking up the next day to parched hair – never again! I always ensure that before anything cotton touches my head, there is something silk or satin as a buffer in-between.

Off I went for my day and night….then woke up Sunday morning, ready to unravel and create my wedding style:

My pincurled twists turned out into a cool, serpentine wave, but wasn’t set well enough to leave down. So I grabbed my trusty bucket of bobby pins, and got to pinning, and ended up with this cute, curly, side-pinned bouffant style:

I learned that while I liked this regimen and style, I definitely need to trim some dead ends that looked a bit straggly. I also need to play around with the placement of the pincurls so that it doesn’t look too separated and scalpy when I take them down. Other than that, I ended up happy that my hair dresser was busy and couldn’t take me on Saturday! I got this style for $free.99!

October 6, 2011 

Who Doesn’t Love A Deal? 10% Off @ Honey Fig!

Photo via blackenterprise.com

Remember that post I wrote here about supporting Toronto-based and Black-owned businesses? Here’s your chance to do so while saving some of your hard-earned scrilla (do people still say that?):

Honey Fig is celebrating their anniversary for the month of October! For the entire month, you can receive 10% off any online order, or in-store service/purchase! Click here for more details!

Promo code: October10

Every little bit counts, right? Happy shopping!

September 27, 2011 

Skin Care The Natural Way

Photo: jasonchristopher.com

Over the weekend, my homegirl came over to visit. I had been home all day, was in sweats with my bantu knots tied down with a satin scarf, and I didn’t give an eff. If it was anyone else, I would have apologized for my appearance (didn’t have to – she’s one of my besties), but she still paid me a compliment by asking: “What are you using on your face? Your skin looks amazing!”

I’ve made two major changes in my skin care routine over the past few weeks, and I guess things are paying off. Change #1: Drinking a lot more water. Change #2: Using an oil cleansing method.

Now, the first change is pretty straightforward. Water is vital to our bodies, and you can never have too much (actually, that’s a lie. See water intoxication). Anyways, our bodies are made up of approximately 60% H2O, so it is definitely necessary for cell functioning, nourishing the skin and hair, and flushing out our internal systems. Unfortunately, even knowing all of that, water is boring. That’s what has always made it hard for me to drink consistently. However, over the past little while, I’ve seen the difference in my skin, and that motivates me to continue. I can’t say I drink x amount of litres a day, but I try to reach for a water bottle instead of a Coke/juice anytime I’m thirsty. Crystal Light or even a slice of lemon can help to excite your water a bit, but do what you can to get it into your system on a regular basis. You’ll definitely see and feel the results.

As for the second change, this is a little bit more interesting. Oil cleansing is a method that I had heard about, but always avoided due to the fact that I have oily skin myself. I thought, oil + oil = gross, but the more I read, the more I realized I was wrong. Oil actually dissolves oil, so I learned that this method would likely balance out my oily skin instead of overwhelm it. I thought back to all of the harsh products I previously used to strip oil from my face, and remembered how it always seemed like my pores went into overdrive in protest. I figured I might as well give the OCM a try.

As I read on various sites like this and this, all skin types can use the OCM. You’ll just need to tailor your mixture to your skin type. At the heart of the OCM is castor oil. Castor oil has incredible cleansing and softening properties, but can be a bit thick for some. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to dilute CO with another oil, like jojoba, grapeseed, extra virgin olive oil or sunflower.

My (oily skin) mixture: 60% castor oil + 20% grapeseed oil + 20% jojoba oil      

Dry skin? Try 40% castor oil + 40% olive oil + 20% avocado oil

Sensitive skin? Try 50% castor oil + 25% apricot kernel oil + 25% rosehip oil

The great thing about this method is that if you buy pure oils, you’re using natural elements to cleanse your skin, versus harsh chemicals with ingredients no one can pronounce.

How do I do the OCM? It’s pretty simple:

1. After mixing my oils (in a bottle or cup), I’ll take a quarter or loonie sized amount, and massage into my face.

2. I’ll take a washcloth, run it under hot water, and wring it out.

3. I place the washcloth over my face like a mini steam treatment (opens pores to allow oils to cleanse deeply), then gently rub the oil off.

I always wash the cloth out with soap to remove oil buildup, then I moisturize my face with a bit of grapeseed oil when I’m finished.

Simple, natural, and healthy for my skin. With my water + OCM practice, I’m seeing the results! I find that this method is much cheaper for me, because the oils last a LONG time. In Toronto, I buy my oils at Healthy Planet (castor, jojoba), Danforth Market (rosehip, apricot), or just the local grocery store (olive, grapeseed). If you’re looking for a new skin care regimen, up your water intake and  research the OCM – it just might work for you too!

Have you tried the OCM? If so, what is your favourite mixture? If you don’t use the OCM, what is your tried and true cleansing method? And please, someone tell me what you do to make water more appetizing…I’m stuck in a water rut!