August Faves :-)

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

Just in time for the end of August, I thought I'd share the products I reached for the most. I paid for all these products with my own money and I am NOT being paid to promote these products. The views expressed herein are my own and are not endorsed/shared by Google/Blogger/anyone else. Just a little legal disclosure...now on to the faves :-)

First up is this Arm&Hammer Naturals Deodorant. I have a hard time with deodorants because most make my armpits crack, bleed, peel, burn and itch. I have extremely sensitive skin and finding a deodorant that's effective and gentle was almost impossible...until I found this stuff! I love it! It smells nice, it has no aluminum or parabens and it keeps me fresh. I also like it because it isn't an antiperspirant. It's a natural function for our bodies to produce sweat, it's how we cool off and release toxins. Antiperspirants are not safe for the body as they inhibit a natural process and clog sebum producing pores resulting in ingrown hairs and cysts. If you're concerned about sweat stains, try disposable sweat shields for your clothes.

Next up is this awesome Jergens Naturals Ultra Hydrating Moisturizing Lotion. I love Love LOVE this stuff! It works wonders for my children's eczema and it keeps my skin silky smooth and hydrated. JNUHL is cruelty free, paraben free, dermatologist tested and purports to be made with 95% natural ingredients. Though the ingredients list includes such gems as Jojoba Oil, Agave Leaf Extract, Shea Butter and Calendula Flower Extract, some of the ingredients are obviously no as natural. All in all, I still love this thick creamy lotion. It has a nice smell and it does what it's supposed to.

My all time fave shampoo is Giovanni's Triple Treat Tea Tree Shampoo. This stuff gets my locs squeaky and tingly clean and smells oh so good. For a little extra kick, I add more peppermint essential oil (another of my all time faves). Giovanni products are cruelty free and for the most part vegan friendly. The shampoos contain no Sodium Sulfate (SLS),  Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) or Phthalates. The Triple Treat Shampoo and many of Giovanni's other hair and body products are certified organic and gentle for most product sensitive consumers. You should always conduct a patch test on an inconspicuous area when trying new products though.

This oily skin combatant that I recently found is DHC's Water base Moisture. I've been using this stuff all August long and I have to say that I am liking it. It looks and feels like water but it moisturizes with the best of them. My skin feels silky smooth, it appears less oily and it feels refreshed and hydrated all day long. DHC WBM is non drying, has no harsh perfumes, contains no oil and is cruelty free. Thus far, I've had no allergic reactions, very few break outs and have had fewer needs to blot. The only ingredients that prevent this from being the perfect moisturizer are Methylparaben and Phenoxyethanol. I'm not sure if I'll repurchase DHC WBM yet, I'd like to try and find something without the two aforementioned ingredients.

My new fave lip balm is Carmex's Moisture Plus. This stuff has all the greatness of the original Carmex without the awful taste and smell. My lips are soft, supple and ready for kisses every time. One of the best things about CMP is the SPF15. Since harmful UVA/UVB rays can zap moisture and prematurely age sensitive skin, a little SPF goes a long way...even for the deeply melanated beautiful black woman :-)

Degree's Sexy Intrigue Body Spray was my most gone to scent this August. I like this little spray because the fragrance is sexy (per the name), light and unassuming (kinda like me, lol). I also like that it can be stored in the fridge and provide a nice cool mist on super hot Chicago days. Other bonuses include the price point and fragrance strength. Most drugstore sell this spray (and the other Degree sprays) for $3.99 and because the fragrance is long lasting (though not obnoxious) you get lots of bang for your buck. Try it, you might like it :-)

My fave August polishes were the above beauties. I'm in love with the entire China Glaze OMG Collection (I bought all of them late last year). They're a fun bunch of holographic goodness and make me want to flash my nails constantly. Application isn't great and to achieve an opaque finish, I needed three coats. Still, I love my OMG Holo's. Sally Hansen's Blue Me Away is just all kinds of AWESOME! I can't articulate how much I love this color, lol. It's the prettiest most vibrant blue I own and it go owns on wonderfully opaque in two coats. Application is smooth and it dries pretty quickly with no bubbles or streaks.

 

Although I could post more faves, I think I'll stop there, lol. This post is long enough and if my readers are anything me, too much text makes me click next blog, lol. That's terrible isn't it? It;s the truth though. At any rate, I also suggest that anyone interested in the components that comprise their cosmetics check out The Cosmetics Database. This awesome site contains info on thousands of ingredients used in commercial cosmetics. It pays to be an informed consumer ladies and gents. And with that, I bid you adieu...

XOXO 

 

 

Tuesday Blues

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)


Since I had a (somehwat reluctant) photographer I thought I'd do an OOTD post. Today was a mostly overcast day here in Chicago, so I opted for shades of blue and gray with accents of brass, red, orange and brown. Today's look was a super duper-comfy-casual-running to the grocery store look. I was going for no frills but I also wanted just a touch of drama...you'll see what I mean, lol. The first few pics were taken indoors due to some drizzling, but after the raindrops stopped, I took it outdoors for a more eye pleasing backdrop.

I had to put my camera on the bookshelf and use the automatic timer, lol.

Though I don't wear this necklace often, I love it because it livens up the neckline of any outfit. It adds a little drama and flair IMO.

Did I post enough pictures, lol? I had fun putting this look together today. Initially, I had no idea what I was going to wear and then I wasn't completely sure I liked the look once I had it on...but it worked out pretty well. Next time I'll play around with more color. Well that's it so Ciao for now bellas.

XOXO

Men's Jos A. Bank shirt from Crossroads Trading Company

Men's Express Jeans (seen here) turned into DIY Boyfriend Bermuda shorts from Crossroads Trading Company

Vintage Coach bag from Ebay

Gray Beanie from Charlotte Russe

Gray Penny Suede Cuff Sandals (mentioned here & here) from Target

Sparrow 2 finger ring (worn here & here) & necklace from F21

Orange stone ring from Charlotte Russe

Bracelet (worn here) from street vendor

*Photos by KJ

And the winner is...

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)



Well the time has come to announce the winner of the first ever "Up for Grabs" give away here at Ooh Eye Like It Blogspot. Are you ready?
Drum roll please.....



The winner is ChicTherapy!!!!


Our dear ChicTherapy was chosen at random using random.org based upon the number of entrants in the give away.

 

Let's all congratulate ChicTherapy on her win :-)

I thank all of you for entering the give away and being so diligent in spreading the word. Be sure to stick around because there will definitely be more fabulous give aways in the future.


As stated in the rules, the winner has until 12 AM, August 13th to submit her mailing address so she can receive her prize. In the event the winner does not comply, a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks again for participating ladies! Ciao for now bellas!


XOXO

Thrifty Thursday :-)

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

Welcome to my first edition of Thrifty Thursday! Due to the many fabulous personal style bloggers I've been reading, I've grown to love haunting thrift stores looking for pieces to add to my closet. The past few Thursdays I've scored some pretty nice things, so I've decided that I'll showcase my thrift store finds (when I have them) on Thursdays.

One of my fave places to shop isn't exactly a thrift store, but they do sell gently used clothing. They also buy gently used clothing. I'm referring to Crossroads Trading Company. I like Crossroads because I can trade things I no longer wear/want  for newer things. I recently picked up these new additions...

Mens Banana Republic jeans for $16 (soon to become DIY boyfriend shorts).

Mens Express jeans for $13.25 (soon to become DIY boyfriend shorts).

The cute $9 clutch from my OFTD post seen here.

And last, but certainly not least, this interesting $9 snake two finger ring. It doesn't look much like a snake, but it's cute on my fingers :-)

Now none of this stuff cost me any money out of my pocket, I paid for all of it with trade. I traded two pairs of shoes, three purses, four shirts and 3 pairs of jeans (mine and my Sun's). I'm not sure how much longer I'll be dealing with Crossroads though because their prices are a bit steep for used clothing (gently used or not). There are a few other spots I'm planning on checking out very soon so stay tuned.

Well that wraps up this first edition of Thrifty Thursday my dears. Until next time, shine brightly and choose happiness. Ciao bellas!

XOXO

Eye spy a shopportunity!: Illinois Tax Holiday

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

Have I got news for those of you who live in Illinois! Starting Friday, August 5th and running through Sunday, August 15th, Illinois will have its first ever Sales Tax Holiday!!! I'm sure many of you are familiar with the concept of tax holidays, as several states have been doing this since 2008. According to Wikipedia, A tax holiday is a temporary reduction or elimination of a tax. Governments usually create tax holidays as incentives for business investment. The taxes that are most commonly reduced by national and local governments are sales taxes.

For those of you living in Chicago, you know that we have the highest sales tax in the nation. According to Wikipedia, the sales tax in Chicago was  voted down to 9.75% (it was a record 10%) as of July 1, 2010. The Chicago sales tax is also one of the most complex. 9.75% is levied on all non-perishable goods purchased, while 2% is levied on qualifying food, drugs, medicines and medical appliances. The Illinois Department of Revenue collects a 3% Chicago Soft Drink Tax and a 1% Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) "Food and Beverage Tax", on prepared food and beverage purchases in the downtown area (These "downtown" boundaries are: Surf Street on the north, Ashland Avenue on the west, Stevenson Expressway (I-55) on the south, & Lake Michigan on the east. Furthermore, O'Hare and Midway airports also fall under the 1% MPEA tax district). In addition, the Chicago Department of Revenue collects additional sales taxes on items such as fountain drinks, bottled water, liquor, and cigarettes.

Crazy right? This is exactly why the Sales Tax Holiday presents the perfect time to get some shopping in. Now before you get too happy, there are some stipulations. The "tax holiday" only applies to certain items and those particular items must have a retail value of less than $100. Although you won't be able to run out and get that new Gucci purse you've been eyeing, you can grab some cute shoes, boots and clothes (under $100 per item of course) and you can get all the back to school supplies your little hearts desire. Another good thing about this tax holiday is that many retailers will be creating incentives (think sales, Sales, SALES) to lure (yes, lure) shoppers into buying items not on the tax holiday list. Make sure that if you're deviating from the approved items list, that you catch a good sale price. Some of the eligible "tax holiday" items include:


Dresses, skirts, scarves, bathing suits, shirts, blouses, hosiery & pantyhose, etc. For a complete list of eligible and non-eligible items, please click here.


I certainly plan on taking advantage of this awesome holiday by buying all my children's back to school stuff and these lovelies...

That my dears, is the awesomeness known as Daskal by Aldo. It's on sale for $69.98 (down from $100). They have lots of other markdowns so scoot on over to your nearest Aldo store or the Aldo website.




For more information on Tax Holidays in other states, click here. Don't say I never did anything for you, lol. Until next time, ciao for now bellas!




XOXO

Up For Grabs!

Do you like hand made one of a kind jewelry? Are you familiar with the creations of Peace Images by Camille? Read on and enter to win a giant Pewter and Sterling Silver Ankh ring!

This signature ring by Peace Images,  is adjustable, so one size will fit any one of you ladies or gents lucky enough to win it. The Ankh is one of the largest I've seen and is quite beautiful. The retail value of this ring (including shipping) is $42, but you could win it for FREE! To enter, see the rules/regulations below:


Entry Rules:
Give away is open to US residents only. Winner must be willing to give their shipping address so I can ship the ring.

1 entry (mandatory)

   1. Follow Ooh Eye Like It with Google connect. Leave a comment and let me know that you're following.

   2. In your comment, also tell me why you want this ring.

   3. Email me at ooheyelikeit@gmail.com with the subject line *Up For Grabs* so I'll have your email address and can notify you if you win. Please, send only one email, anyone who sends multiple emails will be disqualified.

  
 Additional entry (optional)

   1. Post about this giveaway on your blog or site.
   2. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post.

Additional entry  (optional)

   1. Tweet about this giveaway.
   2. Leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet.


The winner will be chosen at 10PM (CST), on Wednesday, August 11th at random using random.org. Winner will be announced at 11AM (CST), on Thursday, August 12th. If the winner chosen does not submit their mailing address by 12AM (CST) on August 13th, a new winner will be chosen.





*This ring was bought with my own money and my blog is not sponsored by nor is it affiliated with Peace Images. Please note, your email address will not be shared/sold under any circumstances. If you so choose, you can opt in for future early notice on give aways and regular blog postings. If you choose to opt in, please be sure to notify me whether you're opting in for early give away notices, regular blog postings or both. You are free to opt out at any time by sending me an email with the subject line *Opt Out Of____*. At that time, you will be opted out of whatever email notifications you have chosen. Your privacy is very important to me and I will safeguard it like it is my very own. Thanks for participating in my first give away.*

It's like a jungle sometimes...

While going through my picture and video folders, I came across some pictures I snapped for a LOTD blog post that I forgot to write/post (fancy that). Just because I can, I'm going to post it now to give you lovely readers a good look at the things I normally wear. This is a very safe look (again) and I'm hoping you readers can give me some ideas on how to trick this dress out...so to speak, lol. Feel free to leave a comment with some tips :-)

Front and back view of dress

Khaki shirt dress & wooden bracelet (worn here) from Alloy
Gladiator sandals from Target (posted about here and worn here)
Brass earrings from Kohl's
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Yellow Kitty on the fingers (heads up: this nail polish will be a part of an upcoming give away)
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Blue Streak on the toes


So what do you think? What can I do to make this dress more exciting the next time I wear it? I'm open to suggestion!

Ciao for now bellas!

XOXO

SugarStrings and Striped Things

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

Saturday was like the best day ever this week hands down! The weather was absolutely perfect here in the Chi, it wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cool...it was juuuust right, lol.

One of the best things about Saturday was the fact that my Sun took time out of his oh so busy schedule to hang out with his dear mum. We attended a chamber music performance at the Evanston Public Library. SugarStrings, a trio of talented lovely first cousins, play the violin, cello and viola. These beautiful young ladies really blew my mind with their performance, I mean really.

I've always been of the opinion that classical music is really pure and because of such, you can have a spiritual experience while listening to it. I most certainly did. I was in tears damn near the entire performance. I captured some of the performance on video and will upload it to my Youtube channel soon.

Now onto my outfit. I played it relatively safe in this outfit because...well, because it's what I'm used to doing, but I'm going to continue working on stepping outside of the safe zone.

I added the brown cable shrug because I knew the library would feel like a meat locker and I'm easily chilled. It being such a beautiful day out, my Sun and I walked around a bit downtown Evanston. We stopped at Fountain Square and to his chagrin, did a little thrifting. He hated that part but I scored some cute stuff. I'll post about that another time though ;-)

Here are a couple of fountain pics though, including a loc shot. My how they're growing, I'm a proud momma!

So how'd I do this time around? Any style tips you readers would like to give are more than welcome :-)

DIY denim Bermuda shorts (jeans originally from Long Elegant Legs)

Brown cable knit sweater shrug from Boscov's 

Tan penny suede cuff sandals (I talked about them here and here) & necklace from Target 

Horizontal striped yellow/white tank & 2 finger sparrow ring (originally worn here) from F21 
Antiqued brass keyhole ring (originally worn here) from Crossroads Trading Company

Wooden earrings from Charlotte Russe

Wooden bracelet from street vendor

Thrifted clutch (Crossroads Trading Company)

Head scarf from my Great-Grandmother (R.I.P.)

Pictures by Kari

Ciao for now bellas!

XOXO