Luvin Hair Initial Review | Indian Straight

Hey!

So for a long time I've wanted to buy some sort of human hair, Im so clueless when it comes to this stuff so I made sure that I did some good research before I made a purchase. Ever since I started wearing weaves I used Sensationnel Premium Too/Now 'Human Hair' (I say 'Human Hair' because it was pretty awful quality for what human hair is suppose to be) - I mean, no shade, its affordable, and looks good for about.. a week but.. yeah- Theres been a lot of hype surrounding Brazilian and Peruvian ect.. hair so I was really curious.
After doing thorough research I found this company Luvin Hair on Aliexpress and i'd heard some good things about them so I decided to make a purchase. Not really sure why I went for Indian hair, I just thought it would have a thicker texture because I was definitely afraid that the hair, once installed would be flat and not full.

The hair came really quick! Within 6 days so I was very impressed! Each bundle came in a plastic bag I got 3 bundles each 20". When I first saw the bundles they did look very small, but they looked much bigger when unravelled. The hair was quite wavy when I first got it which was weird since I ordered straight hair but I'm guessing that Indian hair is naturally quite wavy sometimes so I didn't mind it too much.

One thing I didn't like was the smell of the hair.. It smelt horrible haha. So I made sure that I washed the hair asap! They recommend Pantene ProV so I decided to get that one as I didn't want to use something else and ruin the hair! I saw a youtube video before I received the hair of someone talking about how they received the hair and it had lice in it and all sorts.
 I.WAS.SCARED.
Best believe I checked the hair thoroughly!!
It had no lice. *phew*
(I still feel itchy talking about it :/)

Washing the hair was just lovely! It was so soft! I deep conditioned it for about 30 mins.. and the smell was still there!
But after spraying some Olive Oil Sheen the smell got a little better and eventually went away.

Pros:
- Very quick delievery
- Affordable Price (£87)
- Lovely soft hair
- Nice full bundles
- Minimal shedding

Cons:
- Smell. It just wasn't nice.

I would definitely recommend Luvin Hair! I'll be installing the hair today so I'll be putting pictures up and giving a final review of the hair in a few weeks time.

Link to the hair I purchased

xx

Foundation Art and Design | LCC

Photo from UAL website


I've been waiting for so long to do this post!
I have finally finished my year doing the Foundation course at LCC (London College of Communication).

I started the course at the beginning of September last year, and I was superrrr excited! One thing that did that did shock me though was that we were made to choose our pathway as soon as, like, at our enrolment. I was kinda bummed about that because I expected that we would be able to experiment with the different pathways so that we could eventually find our interests and pursue them further through the course and possibly university the following year. However, there were so many technical spaces in the university and we were often pushed to experiment with everything we could.

I ended up choosing the Photography pathway seeing as I was familiar with it (however if I had experimented with graphics before hand I probably would have picked it lol). We were given 4 projects between September and February and most had a duration of 3/4 weeks, which I thought was good! I found that I actually preferred this way of doing things than the way we did in sixth form because we were constantly creating and making new things with new concepts! It can sound extremely daunting at first, having only done 4 projects in the whole 2 years of sixth form to doing 5 in the space of one year but as long as your keeping up it becomes quite fun!
I have just finished my Final Major Project which was on Colourism. I think this was my favourite part of the course because we were all able to be so free with our ideas and final pieces. I actually ended up making something that didn't have much photography involved which I suppose was good because it showed my growth and how I've progressed to understand what I enjoy and what I don't.

LCC itself is based in Elephant and Castle (which isn't nice to be honest haha) and to be honest the outside of the building really doesn't give it much justice. Now, its no Central Saint Martins at Kings Cross haha, but its pretty decent inside it has lots of technical areas like Letter Press, Print Making, 3D, Book Making, Photography and Media spaces. My favourite has to be the Book making area because I just found it so fascinating that I could make a book at my university haha. They have amazing print facilities like letter presses that are over 10 years old.
So yeah the University itself is pretty cool!

So, before I bore you, going off on tour guide mode..

Pros:
Great University, Amazing Facilities
Great tutors (in classes as well as technical areas, the people are so friendly and will literally help you with anything you need and they know exactly what they're talking about!)
Friendly Atmosphere - It can be quite hard going to an Art School because I guess everyone is so different from each other and everyone expresses themselves in different ways. Sometimes it can feel quite hard to 'fit in' but I felt that at LCC it doesn't have that 'try hard to stand out' atmosphere, everyone is relaxed and cool (which I felt was the main difference between here and somewhere like CSM)

The foundation course actually allows you to progress through the university without having to go through interviews as you usually would. Through the amazing University Progression Scheme I was able to apply to any course I wanted to despite my portfolio (though places were subject to spaces left on the course, if a lot of people applied to a course it would slightly decrease your chances of getting in). I applied for Live Events and Television at LCC and Graphic Design at CSM and got a place for Graphic Design!
This is something that I often tell people coming out of Sixth Form or College and wanting to apply for CSM straight away,  its extremely hard to get in especially to do a degree course without a foundation. If you apply to any of the UAL colleges for a foundation you can still pursue fashion or photography or graphic design through your work and also get a better chance of getting into somewhere like CSM through the University Progression scheme!


Cons:
I have to say I thought I'd have many more cons but I don't haha! The only thing that I would say was a bit annoying was going in for classes and lectures that were pretty pointless and irrelevant. haha but I suppose school is always like that.
Oh, and a personal kind of one - Travel.
It got wayyy too expensive and I was spending up to £60 a month just on travel!!
It was no bueno..

Anyway before I babble away, I wanted to make a quick mention of our Foundation show that is currently on now (until thursday). The exhibition showcases everyone's final major projects. There are honestly some amazing ones there so its definitely worth a trip down!

Sneak peek of my own work ;)
It was originally suppose to go on the wall in a grid form but one of the tutors make the executive decision to put it on the table. I was slight bummed about it but quickly recovered when I realised it was a bit more hands on and interactive. People could pick it up and feel it which was nice and wouldn't have worked as well if people were just starring at it on the wall. I also found out that it had won a 'Best In Show' award which I was so happy about! I'm glad people understood my concept and people were able to learn something new through my work!

I must say I've had loads of fun being at LCC, its been such a great experience! I'm going to miss walking through the grubby underpass in the mornings! :') haha but in all seriousness, its been wonderful!
No regrets!

ooh also, do comment down below if you are planning to do a foundation course this year or have just done one, I'd love to hear about everyone else's experiences/expectations!

Miss Nay
xx

Purp. | Kevin Murphy Colour Bug Review & Update

Hey!

I know, it's been a long time…

I recently tried out the Kevin Murphy Colour Bug after seeing a tutorial/review from Naptural85. She mentioned in her video that they did a purple colour and I've been wanting to try out a new colour in my hair for some time. I've mentioned how much I admire Justine Skye in my posts before and she has had purple hair for a while and I really like it on her! I think purple is a good colour especially darker skin so I said 'what the heck' and brought one of these off of eBay for £7 (they're also available on Amazon for about £13).

The Kevin Murphy Colour Bug is basically a hair chalk so you rub it on your hair and when your bored with it you can wash it right out! I thought it could be a bit damaging for your hair as you have to rub it on but I got little to no breakage which is good.
I absolutely love this product!
So much that I have actually used it 3 times and have decided to dye my hair this colour in the summer!
Depending on how long and full your hair is, you could get between 1-3 (maybe 4) uses out of one colour bug. As I said I have used it 3 times now and still have a little bit left!

I used this on dry 2 day curls and after I applied it the first time the curls became slightly frizzy, so i applied my fave curl defining cream at the moment 'Moroccan Curling Perfection' by Organix and then reapplied the colour bug once more.
The colour for me lasted for about a week, after a week the colour started to fade (was also probably due to the fact that it got everywhere as well e.g. my pillow haha) but even so it was still visible in the light.

Pros:
- Very Nice colour!
- Easy to use and wash out
- Safe for all hair types.
- Cheap
- Can last for a long time

Cons:
- Its pretty much gets everywhere haha but I suppose this can be solved with some hair spray and gloves/a towel when you apply it.

I would definitely recommend this product if you're interested in trying out something new that isn't permanent!
They also do White, Pink, Orange, Neon Yellow and a shimmer colour.

Amazon Link
Naptural85's video

I've been away from this blog for a long time, and I can't even use the excuse of having work to do so I'm just going to be real and say i've had a little bit of 'Bloggers Block' lol

We've all been kind of struggling to find things to blog about and we all really came to the conclusion of allowing the blog to be about anything and not put it into a 'fashion blog' box. 

When we first started this blog we were all quite interested in fashion and trends ect.. but since then I know personally my interests have shifted (don't get me wrong though, I still love shopping haha) but in terms of blogging about fashion and trends and stuff like that all the time, I'm not really into it. 

I believe that if you have no interest in what your blogging about then your blog will not prosper, and it will lack personality. That's no bueno.

So from now our blog will be more 'Lifestyle' about our life, things we do, things were interested in currently, whether that be hair, fashion, art, music ect.. that way we won't be stuck and we'll always have something to talk about!

Anyway, that's enough for one post!

I will have another post up in the next few days on my Art and Design Foundation course at UAL (LCC) that I hope can help some people in knowing what they can expect if they will be attending this September (or if you're generally interested haha).

Miss Nay

x

Natural Hair Product Review | Carol's Daughter & Miss Jessie's Original

Carol's Daughter Starter kit | Miss Jessie's Original Pillow Soft Curls

Hey!
So I have another hair product review so share!
While I was in New York I brought a few other curl defining products to try out. I have basically been obsessed with Justine Skye haha I'm just in love with her whole style she's fab! I realised we have similar hair textures so I was curious to know what she uses on her hair. I came across a video on her youtube on her daily hair and make up routine and found out that she uses this AMAZING product by Miss Jessie's.

I found Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls at Ricky's on 44 East 8th St or at any Duane Reade (if anyone is wondering).
Did I mention ITS AMAZING?
Honestly as you may have read in my last review post, I've tried quite a few Curl defining products so to be honest I wasn't expecting anything much out of the ordinary. I liked the purpose of the product in terms of its ability to give you really big curls, and it does just as it says; I noticed the difference straight away!

After I brought this product I used it as soon as I got back to my hotel as I couldn't wait to test it out, and just by putting the tiniest bit of this lotion on my hair it immediately curled up! It was actually amazing to see it work so quickly without me doing anything!
After this I actually brought another bottle haha

The smell of this product is heavenly! It has a soft fresh smell and its not too overpowering like many other lotions I've used.
I would seriously recommend this product!

Pros: Produces great BIG curls and fast!
Also has a great fragrance!

Cons: Slighty expensive at $22
Very hard to find in the UK :(

Carol's Daughter

While we were in NYC we took a trip to Newport Mall in NJ and found a Carol's Daughter store. At first I wasn't even going to go in because I was pretty content with the products I already had, but my mum seemed quite impressed with what they had.
I was a bit apprehensive about getting full sized products because I had never really heard of the brand before and I didn't know whether I'd like it that much. Lucky for me they had this Starter Kit for $24 (I think) which included 2 Leave-in Moisturisers, a Co-wash and a Style, Define and Hold Pudding which were all miniature sized.

I truly wished I just got the full sized products because they were great!!
 I know how important it is to keep conditioning your hair while its not in a protective style and I usually do one wash and then deep condition. The great thing about the Co-Wash is it was basically both combined! I found it so much more convenient than doing the two separately. It left my hair feeling so soft without tangles! After letting my hair air dry I blew it out with the hairdryer and put some of the Leave-in moisturiser in. They work so well together and I found my hair to be so much more manageable to blow dry after using the products together!

Pros: Great results, leaving my hair soft and well moisturised!

Cons: Again hard to find in the UK..
I wasn't blown away by its curling ability but still a great product!


I would love to get more of both these products but I can't find them anywhere in the UK or online :(
If anyone knows how I can get more of these products please let me know in the comment section!

Miss Nay
xx

Adidas Spezial Exhibition

Hey!

On Wednesday I went to check out Adidas' Exhibition where a total of 650 pairs of Adidas sneakers were on display. The exhibition contains some of the most vintage and extremely rare sneakers, the oldest pair being from 1969! It was curated by Gary Aspden who works for Adidas, he was actually in the building when I was there which was pretty cool! I've never been to an exhibition like this before but I definitely would be up for going to something like this again!
I've always loved sneakers even as a young child so this was really fascinating to me.  I loved seeing the different concepts and creations that have come from Adidas and seeing how they've developed their designs though the years. I've always admired Adidas especially for their ability to go completely out of the box with their designs, patterns and colours.
There were also some signed sneakers in the collection from celebrities like Run DMC, Snoop Dogg, The Arctic Monkeys, Tracy Mcgrady, Nas, Missy Elliott to name a few.

The exhibition is on until the 27th of July at Hoxton Gallery.
If you do go, they also have a book available for purchase that contains all the sneakers shown in the exhibition and a raffle to have to the chance to win a limited edition pair of Adidas Originals signed by Noel Gallagher! The raffle cost £2 and the book cost £20, all money collected will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

I've also put together a video to show a closer look at the types of sneakers they had on display, take a look below!
You can also see more photos on my website naomijovanna.wix.com/missnayphotography

Miss Nay

xx

ORS 'Curls Unleashed' Curl Defining Creme | Review

Howdy!

I thought I'd do something a little different by doing a review on a product I'd been using lately.
I'm all about helping people out and giving helpful tips because I know I would love people to do the same for me, so if you love curls and you know it, you should really try ORS's new Curls Unleashed Curl Defining Creme!

I've been completely obsessed with Natural hair vlogs for a while now but I've had a pretty rocky natural hair journey starting from when I was born with a head full of hair, to my young days of having long thick beautiful healthy hair, to being a teenager and wanting to experiment with gels and straighteners (where it all went wrong) to now, understanding my hair, it's texture, what it likes and what it hates... as I said, its been a journey haha!
Watching these vlogs have really made me want to start taking care of my hair better so I stopped straightening and decided to let my hair rest. I didn't really realise my the texture of my hair was slightly different until my mid teenage years and I was so obsessed with the things it could do that I overdone it and my hair slowly started to break.
Luckily I also realised the things my hair does naturally and from then on I was in love with curls!

So for a year or so I've been experimenting with curl defining products; I was regularly using Just For Me Curl Smoother Creme because I find the kids products work well with my hair as its sensitive to certain products. It worked well and I had been using it for about 6 months but I felt my hair needed something else. I spotted the Curls Unleashed Curl Defining Creme but it was a little more pricey than my other products at £8.19 so I was a bit hesitant however I tried it and all I can say is wow!
I'm now on my second tub....

This creme at first touch was bouncy and light and thats exactly how it feels in my hair! It doesn't leave flakes, Its not too greasy its actually perfect!
In the first picture is my usual braid out after blowing out my hair slightly and the 3 pictures following are the results.
One of the best things about this creme is that it is especially for hair texture 3 and 4! I would say according to the 'Natural hair type chart' I am a 3C but this product doesn't exclude any afro hair girls which is good because a lot of ladies think they can't achieve the 'curly hair look' without using heat or texturisers.

So if you're interested in testing new products or you want to experiment with curl defining cremes I'd 100% recommend this one! The tub is pretty big and if your use it in small portions it will last a long time!

The Good:
Does what it says on the tin, produces lovely defined curls!
The Bad:
It's slightly overpriced
Verdict:
Great product, recommended!

Some of my favourite natural hair vloggers:
Naptural85 | Longhairdontcare2011 | Fusion Of Cultures | AfricanExport

Miss Nay
xx

Time and Influence Fashion Show

Hey!
So on Friday as you may have read in my last post was the day of my fashion show at the Tate!I was involved with a project by Tate and University Arts London that allowed me to create catwalk jewellery to be showcased in a fashion show at Tate Britain.It was a really fun experience, and I'm definitely going to miss going to Central Saint Martins every Wednesday. Seeing my work in the fashion show was a moment I'll never forget!I tried to take pictures but my camera was bugging out and mostly everything came out blurry :( (probably because I haven't picked up my camera since leaving school haha) So after realising that taking pictures would be a complete fail, I decided to video the whole thing, which proved to be much better. So I've uploaded to video to You Tube, you can have a look HERE
My piece was the head piece on the model with three spikes. I based my headpiece on geometric patterns and I used acrylic plastic and cut out shapes (which took flippin' ages!) I then bent the plastic and added the wooden spikes. I also engraved patterns on the outside which to my surprise actually sparkled as the model walked which was quite interesting! All the pieces were so good! It was nice to see the journey of other peoples work from the beginning when we were all struggling for ideas to the end catwalk result. And so many people showed up! I was so surprised!
It was a really fun experience, I don't regret a thing and would probably do the whole thing again if I could haha
Miss Nay
xx