Hair and Make Up: Celebrating My Wedding Anniversary

Husband and I at Ocean Prime in Atlanta

My husband and I have been married for eight years now!!!  Yay!  And with God's presence, it has been an amazing journey for us.  With two children and the both of us being silly at times, there is never a dull moment here at all.  What is the secret?  Keeping God as a focus and every thing will fall into place in all aspects of a marriage/relationship.  Also reinventing yourself in a way where you will surprise and amaze one another by the things you do, changing your look, doing something out of the ordinary and stimulating a different kind of spark.  It is fine if you love each other just the way you both are, but do not be afraid to add a twist to make it things memorable. 



Our wedding anniversary was during the week and we celebrated during the weekend.  He presented me with delicate roses, a silly card and a special gift (not ready to share that just yet.)  I was surprised and confused at first, but it was a promise he kept for several years although I told him that he did not have to.  But, I will share that it was as if I was proposed to all over again...lol!


For dinner, we went to Ocean Prime in the city of Atlanta Saturday evening. Food was great, beautiful and classy atmosphere and the service was very efficient!  It was a perfect way to start off our evening before we go to other "hot spots" in the city.

Let us get into my look for this past Saturday evening.

Before (Day) and After (Evening):
Photos were taken at two different times of the day

Hair

* Co-washed my hair early Saturday morning and let it air dry with the leave-ins: ApHogee Pro Vitamin Leave-In and ApHogee Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer

* Air dry up to 90%

* Grabbed large sections and ran the blow dryer up and down while on low heat. 

* Flat ironed my hair, running it one time down the length of my hair using Fantasia IC Heat Protector Straightening Serum

* I clipped my ends (just a little bit) but was not aiming to even it out.

* Then I wrapped my hair, tied it down with a scarf.


Face

As far as my make-up goes, I barely did anything in my opinion.  Honestly, I do not use foundation, concealers, etc all over my face.  I have not had issues with breaking out or anything, but my skin feels clogged if I do so.  I have skin moles gifted to me through hereditary by my beautiful mom, but I do not go out the way to cover them up. But I definitely love to accentuate my features.

* To moisturize my face, I used Neutrogena Healthy Defense SPF 50 Daily Moisturizer

* Filled in my eyebrows with NYX 903 Dark Brown and shaped around it using MAC Studio Tech NC45 (very lightly) so I can flawlessly blend it with my natural skin tone

* Lightly brushed MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (dark) around my eyes, forehead and chin - that evens my skin good enough

* I used colors from two different BH Cosmetics Color Palettes for my eye lids, colors starting from a shimmery lavender shade, to pewter, to charcoal.  NYX Liquid Eyeliner and Cover Girl Great Lash Mascara

* Lips: MAC Lipstick (Fresh Moroccan), MAC Lip Pencil (Chestnut) and MAC Lip Glass (Restless)

Thanks for reading!

-Sdestra

Happy New Year & Happy Haitian Independence Day!

Photo: Heading out for midnight church service in Tampa, FL

First, I want to thank God for his countless blessings and for accepting my glories and praises.
I want to wish you all a wonderful Happy New Year and that it is a blessed and prosperous one.

 
Today, January 1st, also marks the 209th Anniversary of Haiti's Independence.  Our ancestors fought a war with sweat, blood and tears to free themselves of their status as being just slaves.  In the year 1804, they won the war and finally became free.  Although Haiti was the first black nation to win their independence, the country still has so much to over come.  Then, let's not forget the earthquake that happened on January 12, 2010 that even set the country back even further.  The country still needs our prayers and support...

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To celebrate this anniversary, we consume a soup made with squash called, "Soup Joumou" which also became part of the Haitian tradition and culture.  Some people thought it was simply Haitian tradition to celebrate good health or just to simply celebrate the New Year, the Haitian way.  But this is the main reason as to why we enjoy the soup that so many of us get dressed on January 1st each year to house hop to our fellow Haitians' homes:

Soup Joumou was a meal that was forbidden to slaves by the French masters.  As a tribute to the well deserved freedom, the newly freed Haitian slaves consumed the soup.

I thought this was important to share, because certain "meanings" of events, things or traditions get lost after many years and people take it just for face value.

No matter where you are from, just know and understand your culture(s) and why are their certain traditions that still hold value.  Understand and know where you are from. What are the meanings behind certain traditions within your family and/or culture?  How does it play a role in the things that you do today?

Thank you so much for reading!  And again, may God continue to bless you in so many ways where it is needed and right on time.

God bless!

-Sdestra

(P.S. Sorry that this post was late, I thought I published it...but obviously, it never went through.)