Furry Furs with La Fiorentina!

Hey guys, so recently I have landed an internship with a fashion company called La Fiorentina. Its European fashion with American style. They specialize in outerwear like luxury/faux furs, fashion scarfs and accessories. While working here I am able to try on the clothes and give you an idea of behind the scenes of a fashion showroom. In the first picture I am wearing a mink fur poncho in dark brown. I chose this stye because it is very comfortable and warm. Here in New York City it is very cold outside and this is a great way to bundle up. As you can see I am a curvy girl and I was able to fit this sample. Their sizes run true to size with great quality. I also added matching ear muffs to keep my ears warm.  These are 100% all over mink ear muffs that are super fabulous and chic! The second piece I am wearing is a fur vest. The fur is 100% lynx. I seriously loved this vest. It was very comfortable, warm and chic everything a girl needs. The unique part of this vest was the hood. I really liked the hood because it keeps you warm but it still keeps looking stylish. I enjoyed playing dress up with La Fiorentina's luxury furs. If you are interested in these items or others, check out their website at www.Lafiorentina.com. They have luxury to affordable items on their website. I will be playing dress up again to show you different items they have. What do you think of the pieces I have chosen? What items would you like me to wear that is located on their website? Leave a comment below. Until next time!

XOXO LIVA!

Winter Time and Natural Hair!

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope you had a safe and healthy new year!! I'm coming to you today with a new blog post about this weather and our hair! If you live in America and is on the east coast then you know it is FREEZING cold outside! It is about 6 degrees where I live and it is not getting any warmer. A lot of people on my social media networks have been asking me what do I do with my hair in the winter time. In the winter our hair is very dry. Now I know some of you are thinking, "wait Olivia didn't you write a post about our natural hair always being dry?" Yes, that is very true but in the winter months our hair is extra dry and coarse due to the cold and dry air. As naturals in these winter months we need to take extra care of our hair because it is more prone to break off. The way I prevent that from happening is doing protein treatments. My favorite and only protein treatment I use is the Aphogee Two-Step Protein Treatment. I only use this treatment every six to eight weeks, you never want to over do it with protein because to much protein can make your hair feel like grass. Ever heard of "too much of a good thing isn't always good?" that is the exact case when it comes down to protein treatments. Also I deep condition once a week instead of twice a month. When I say deep condition I really mean deep condition as in leave it in over night. I need my hair to retain as much moisture as possible because as soon as I step outside that cold air is going to attack it. Another way I retain moisture is putting my silk scarf on under my hat. That fabric in the hats draw moisture out of your hair so putting your scarf on under it helps protect your hair. I have been doing this system for years and it continues to work for me! What do you do to your hair in these winter months?? Please leave a comment below and if you aren't already join this site on Google+ and subscribe via Bloglovin!

XOXO LIVA<3

DIY: Spa Day!

Hello ladies!! Yesterday was my day off and I decided to do something a little different. I decided to have a spa day! Now I'm not talking about going to the spa and paying all that money, I'm talking a spa day right at home. Yes ladies the Chiclikeu DIY: Spa Day is in full effect. Let me take you through the process...

First I started off with a nice shower. I washed with the Japanese Cherry Blossom body wash from Bath and Body works. I love this body wash it smells just like the perfume and it has your body filling very soft. Then I used the Milk n Honey body scrub. It is always great to use a body scrub once in a while to take off dead and old skin. This body scrub is EVERYTHING I use it once a month and every time I use it makes my skin feel even softer. 

The next thing I did is shave my legs and under arms. I know that it is winter but I still like to shave probably not as often as I do in the summer but ladies we still need to keep it nice and trim! I have been using this EOS shaving cream and honey let me tell you this has been the best one I have used thus far. I have been using this shaving cream the last 4 months and it keeps my skin moisturized while shaving and I don't get razor bumps. That is always a plus in book!

Next it was time for hair. I washed and conditioned with the Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingler. I have been using this set of shampoo and conditioner for the last 2 years and I don't plan on changing now.

I decided to follow up with a deep condition using the Argan Oil of Morocco Intense Moisturizing Treatment. This was my first time using it and I have heard some great reviews on it. I thought it was a pretty good product. (if you want a full review just let me know in the comments below) I left it in for 2 hours and washed it right out. 

While I was deep conditioning I washed my face with the BIORE Balancing Cleanser. This makes my skin feel really clean and removed dirt located in my pore's. Then I used the Queen Helene Avocado and GrapeFruit Masque. I have been using this forever and I love it plus my skin loves it. If you are looking for a good masque I'm telling you this is a great one. 

After washing out the Argan Oil of Morocco, I added some Olive Oil and Cantu Shea butter Leave-In conditioner into my hair and but it into 4 braids. The next day on stretched dry hair I added the Cantu Shea butter Coconut Curling cream into my hair and added perm rods. 

I left this in and sat underneath the dryer to make sure it was fully dry. I sat under the dryer for about a Hour and a half.

Here is out the curls came out and I really love them!! I have gotten so many compliments on my hair! It feels so good to finally get away from Twist out and braid outs. Im going to definitely do this again. 

Well I hope you loved my DIY: Spa Day!! If you have your own spa day please take a picture and follow me on Instagram! I would love to see your spa day! @FlygurlO92 #chiclikeu

Until Next time XOXO Liva<3

Big Hair... Really Don't Care!!

In my previous post I told you I would show you how I achieved my big hair while I was in Atlantic city. The night before I did a medium size twist out and rolled my ends. I let them set over night and took them out the following morning. When I took the twist out I was still at my house and haven't left for Atlantic City yet. I did not separate my curls until it was time to go out. I wanted the curls from the rollers to drop a little before I separated them. I put olive oil on my hands and began to separate. Now I usually achieve my big hair from my hair pick but, I forgot it at home. In the hotel they did have a blow dryer so I decided to use that. For me to achieved volume I stretched my hair at the roots and place the blow dryer direct on that spot. Placing the blow dryer right at the roots gives the hair lift and volume. Once I was done stretching my hair I took the blow dryer and started shaking my head all around to give that care free look. At the end I got big hair with wavy definition. How do you achieve your big hair?? Leave your comments below!!

 XOXO Liva <3

Protective Styles... Yay! or Nay?

What is protective styling??  Protective styling is styling the hair in such a way that prevents damage from everyday elements. As you can see I have box braids in my hair. I wanted to have a protective style because its been a long time since I have had one. I have started noticing my hair more dry than usual and I was going to myrtle beach so I figured, box braids would be the best and easy way for my hair. I'm trying to retain the length of my hair and make it grow even longer. The best way to length retention is having protective styling so your hair can have a rest. A rest from minipulating the hair with braid outs and twist outs. Box braids is one type of protective styling, other examples are weaves, wigs, mini twists and etc. I get a lot of questions on how I retain the length of my hair and I always say, first I trim my ends and second protective styling. So for me I would say YAY!! to protective styling. But, there are some protective styles that DO NOT protect our hair. For example weaves with glue can hurt our hair. If not put in/ taken out correctly it can rip you hair out. Also micro box braids is not a good protective style. It can rip out your hair when you take the braids out. So there are pros and cons when it comes to protective styling. At the end of the day it all comes down to what protective style is right for your hair!!  I would love to know what protective styling you use?? Is protective styling a YAY or NAY to you??? How often do you have a protective style in your hair?? Do you feel protective styles are good or bad for our hair?

OR

Please leave a comment below!! I would love to hear your thoughts! Until next time XOXO LIVA!

Wash and Go gone RIGHT... but then WRONG!

Hey there Naturalistas! I know its been a while but I am back in hyper drive now to give you guys what you are looking for! I wanted to talk about Wash and Go's. I usually don't do them but lately I have been having the urge to give them a try. Now usually when I do a wash and go I use ECO Styler Gel because I need something strong to hold my curls and make sure they are intact. After a couple of days with the wash and go it gets super dry and my curls are hard and crunchy. I don't like it at all because when my next wash day comes around detangling is SUPER difficult!!! So I went to target and I saw this product by Cantu Shea Butter called Coconut Curling Cream. It wasn't a gel but it claimed to keep my curls intact with out that crunchy feeling. I decided to get it so I went home and tried it out. I washed my hair, moisturized it and then decided to run the Coconut Curling Cream throughout my hair. After I diffused it dry my curls where literally POPPING!! I loved it so much I couldnt keep my hands out of my hair. I put my hair in a pineapple and went to bed. The next morning I went after getting dressed I took my hair down and my curls look great! The ONLY problem was that the product was so flakey!! It looked like caked up dandruff in my hair ALL around my hair!! I was so disappointed, I wore that style for 3 days and the washed it right out! Maybe I put to much product in my hair I don't know but, please help me!! Do you know of any products I can use for my wash and go's?? What products do you use? Please leave a comment below to help me out!! Until next time!

XOXO Liva!

Dry hair?? Not this again!!!

Hello Ladies!! I know its been awhile but I'm back with another Natural hair Topic!! So I would like to talk about dry hair. what else can I say about dry natural hair besides it is VERY DRY. You see with the type of hair African American women have it is naturally dry. Usually women with natural hair think that we have to moisturize our hair every day to get that perfect bouncy non dry hair. Well ladies let me tell you something... WE DONT! Embrace how your hair is naturally. Moisturizing you hair is great an that is something you should do but it will continue to be dry because that is just how it is naturally. Personally I think it is beautiful because dry hair you can mold. You can spritz some water in there and start molding it your hair like playdough. No matter what we do after the end of the week that four day old twist it will still be dry. How do you feel about your dry hair? What do you do to moisturize your dry hair for a long period of time? Please let me know! Subscribe to my blog via Google+ or Bloglovin!!! Until next time ladies!! XOXO Liva!

Also Check out my E-store in the shop section!! DEALS DEALS DEALS!!!!
                                                             

Who are we getting pretty for?? (Natural Hair vs. Weave)

      So I'm here with another Natural hair topic. As most of you know my birthday was last month and as a birthday present to my self, I decided to put a weave in. Now before I placed the weave in I was telling people what I was going to do with my hair. All my girlfriends were excited for me and said how nice I was going to look with it. I got nothing but positive feed back when I actually got the weave from women. So many compliment from women. If you notice in my last two sentences I'm putting emphasis on "WOMEN". The men on the other hand ( all of my male friends) were very unhappy and upset when I told them I was getting a weave. When I actually got it all of my male friends told me it looks okay, but when I have my natural hair all of them say how beautiful my hair looks and how I have such natural beauty. What I'm basically trying to get at is men see women differently than how we see our selves. Most men that I have met love natural beauty and not all of them like fake things. We as women add fake hair, nails, make-up, etc to enhance ourselves for the opposite sex. Now I know that I didn't need the weave I just wanted a different look. I wear weave mostly once or twice a year. When I did little statistics in my head I realized that women are making themselves pretty because that's what we think men like but, in reality most men like us natural. I would love to know what your thoughts are on this topic! How do you feel about men loving naturals or men loving women with weave?? If your a man what do you prefer? Leave a comment and follow me for more topics like this! Until next time.

Praying makes your hair grow?? Say What?!?!?

So Ladies the other day I was on youtube and I saw a video with a women saying that she prayed for a big afro and she got it! She kept reading the scripture from 1 Corinthians  11:15 which says "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." Now yes I am a Christian and take religion very seriously. I thought this was a great topic to talk about because its amazing how even back in biblical days women was always seen with long hair. Now in 2014 long hair is still considered a "glory" to her but not for her "covering" but for her enhancement of beauty. Not all women feel this way but all the celebrities and everyday women either have long wigs or weaves, or trying everything possible to make her hair grow. It is embedded in us that long hair is beauty. From my point of view its not always about the length of the hair but it is about the health of your hair. You can have long hair all day if you wanted to but if your hair is not healthy then it is not beautiful. Seeing this youtube video opened up my mind and made me think is this the number one thing we have to do to make our hair grow? Now I know that God takes longer to do things but when you ask it shall be recived with hardwork. Lets just get back to the basics pray, eat healthy and lets take it from there! I would like to know what do you think about this?? Do you think this really works?? Do you even want long natural hair?? COMMENT AND FOLLOW ME!! Until next time ladies!! Natural hair 

To Hair Type or Not to Hair Type???

                Hey Naturalistas!! Today's topic of discussion is something that has been talked about for a long time in the natural hair community and that is HAIR TYPING. Now some of you may not know what hair typing is. Hair typing is a chart that hair stylist came up with to categorize the different types of curly hair. For the last couple of years there have been a lot of controversy on the hair typing system.  I personally feel like the hair typing system isn't a bad idea. Now yes there are some people who have the hair who necessarily don't see their "curl pattern" on the chart, but its not for that. This chart is here to help you see what category you may fall under to identify with the women (or men in some cases) who have the same hair type as you. When you find other people with the same hair type as you, you can relate to them with the same issues they are having with their hair, hair care techniques and products that works great with their type of hair. Saying "Oh I have type 4b hair!" is better than saying "Oh I have Nappy hair!" Sometimes in this community we focus on a lot of negatives instead of positives when it deals with natural hair. At the end of the day your hair is your hair that God has blessed you with. Whether is 1a hair or 4c hair all hair is beautiful and its time to embrace it and use the guidelines that was provided to help us embrace one another. Please leave a comment and let me know what are some of your opinions on the hair typing system. Do you like it or not?? and if not why not?

What does CHIC mean to you??

         Hello Fashionistas!! Lets have our first discussion!!  The word Chic what does that mean to you? To me it means the latest fashion and decor today. Now does that only mean clothes and shoes?? No! personally anything can be chic. Anything from kitchen goods to bedroom attire. Yes ladies even your mans du-rag can be chic! In todays society we took the word chic and expanded it into our fashion world. My website name Chic like U is a way of defining chic style according to you guys.  Accepted by the majority and not runned by designers So you tell me what does Chic mean to you?  Is the word Chic the new go to word in fashion??? Let me know guys!!!

Welcome

   Welcome to my Blog! My Name is Olivia Stewart and I am a Fashion and Natural Hair blogger. Here at ChiclikeU you will see different type of styles in fashion that I consider Chic. My sense of style is nothing different than yours. I want you to know that I am just like you. So look at me as friend and not a Guru because I'm no different than you. We will be discussing the different topics on plus size women and Natural hair women. We will have weekly posts and weekly discussions. Come on in and lets be Chic.