Maya's Memos

This is the Aunt Jackie's Curls and Coils Curl La La Defining Custard.  I had read lots of amazing reviews of this product online and it was one of the more affordable curl creams available in my local hair shop at just £5.99. I bought this because I wanted to find a cream that would help define my curls with adding frizz or leaving residue. I

I always look for reviews online of products I am intending to buy, so here is another one out there for people like me.  I thought I would keep this review simple by just doing a list of the Pros and Cons! 


Pros 
First of all, this is the BEST smelling product I have used probably ever. It smells so fruity and the smell lasts all day!

It is affordable and is widely available on the high street

The packaging is cute and the tub can definitely be re-used

It is very moisturising and has a nice texture. I would say it is better as a moisturiser than a curl definer as it isn't sticky and it prevented my hair from drying out after being in the cold and wind!
My ends did stay curled!

Cons 
I think the texture is too 'liquid-y' (if that makes sense) to keep my hair from frizzing, it isn't heavy enough for my 4C hair 
It did define the curls but as my hair is so thick, once I had un-sectioned all of my hair it was just a big damp mess, therefore I think it would only work for me in a half up half down hairsyle.
Overall....
It's not something I would rely on if I was going on a big night out or for a special occasion. I think it would let me down! 
I would rate this a 4.5 out of 10 

I prefer....
Eco Styler Argon Oil Styling Gel. This is the best for me to define curls and for around £3.50 you can get a huge tub! The only issue I have with this is that you do get quite a lot of build up, but if you wet your hair under the shower it will bounce back to life and you can add more! 
Remember....
Not everything that works on other people will work on you and things that work on you won't work on other people... 

• Curls will come back! It's all about patience. As you can imagine I had quite a bit of heat damage on the ends (luckily not as much as I thought) so that initially put me off wearing it as an afro, but I just bit the bullet and you will see that straight ends will start to revert. 

• It takes a while to learn what works on your hair and what doesn't. Not everything that you see  hair bloggers use will work on you so prepare for a few rough looking days when things go wrong! 

• It takes WAAAY more time getting ready in the morning now. I thought it would be the other way round! 

• You don't need to have a lot of money to achieve different styles. My go to's are Ecostyler Gel and Water! 

January is possibly the best month to read (and watch on YouTube) all the bloggers favourites, as it follows Christmas and everyone has time to test out things they are loving. 
This is a quick post to show the things that I have been obsessed with in January. 
First of all my 2016 Cath Kidston calendar is sooooo pretty and helps me to stay organised now that final year is getting stressful. With birthdays and deadlines looming now until May is quite honestly going to be the most stressful time of my education so far, but keeping organised and writing everything down is one way to stay sane. This was a birthday present and my birthday is in September so I have been waiting a long time to use this! 
Eco Styler Gel has been a lifesaver this month whilst I have been cutting back on styling my hair with heat. It is SO windy right now in Birmingham so this helps to keep my hair in place (as much as possible) I have tried both the green Eco Styler and this one that has Argan Oil in. I'd recommend this as it isn't too drying and it holds your hair right in place quickly. It is also quite affordable. 
The Scrub from Soap and Glory is actually the Scrub of My Life like it says on the bottle! It smells amazing and makes me feel like I have just had a massage. LOVE. 
My favourite scents this month have been Cashmere from Next and Lady Million by Paco Rabbane, both were gifts. I am into really strong warm scents and these both are. That is the best way to describe them. Also, don't underestimate perfume from Next, the scent lasts so long and I always get complimented on it! 
The Ice Twins was a completely different type of book to what I would ever usually read but it was definitely one that made me sit back and think. I will be uploading a review at some point! What are your January favourites? 

My hair was very dry after a day out in the cold and wind as you can see in the first picture. I had it in a low pony tail with a puff at the back and it felt really tangled and wiry by the evening, so I had to do something about it ASAP. I heard that the LOC method was the most popular way to lock in moisture but I didn't have a lot of products to work with and I thought it would be interesting if to see if it would work on a student budget!

Hair Chat... I am not usually one for Hair Masks, only due to laziness because once I am out of the shower I don't want to get all nice and warm and then have to go back in again, especially in Winter!  But I am currently trying to refrain from using heat on my hair, because honestly I was just bored of wearing it straight all the time, and it is natural but really doesnt look it because I press it all the time. I have a bit of heat damage at the front of my hair where I straightened it the most so I have to make sure I put rollers in the ends so that it doesn't look straight where the rest of it curls. That was the main thing stopping me from just washing it and leaving it rather than blowdrying and straightening etc.  So thats the current situation. I will eventually start taking pictures and document different styles etc... But for now I am just finding my feet in managing my fro (and blogging!) because I have A LOT of hair and it is very thick so its pretty time consuming leaving it in a natural style.  I realise that the most important thing to do with hair especially during any transition is to keep it moisturised, and water is the best there is, so all week I have been wetting my hair constantly and by doing that I have realised that I do actually have a curls! I have had mini twists in my hair for a week, this was a protective style because I was getting bored of styling it, but I undid that today (Sunday pamper day) and washed my hair. Following that, this is where the Vatika Deep Conditioning Hair Mask came in! Last week I did the Aphogee two step protein treatment and quite honestly I have never seen my hair that curly, so that inspired me to keep trying new products. I will definitely have to do a review with pictures, but it is quite expensive at around £16.99 (stolen from mums hair draw) so that will have to wait!  Keep reading if you want to see how I got on with this mask. Vatika Naturals Black Seed Deep Conditioning Hair Mask Review...  This mask cost £5.99, just from a local hair shop but you can also get it online here! It is supposed to promote hair growth, moisture and shine. 
On first impressions, it is a really gross colour, its a dark green colour and the texture is just like conditioner but a bit thicker. It smells really strong and soapy, which is more encouraging than the look of the product. 
Pros: 

• Its a decent price for a lot of product, I think all of the tubs are 500g which is a good amount.
• The packaging is quite nice and it just does what it says on the tub. You could also reuse the tub for something else. 
• The best thing I like about this mask is that my hair felt really moisturised and light after using it.
• The smell makes you feel like you are really doing something for your hair, but it doesn't tingle or feel like it has any harmful chemicals in. 
• It completely detangled my hair after washing and made it super wavy.

Cons:

• Personally I would have preferred the mask if it turned hard like clay because I think it would be easier to wash out and you could easily see if you left any product in your hair. 
• The packaging doesn't tell you how much to apply which is annoying, I think this is a bit of marketing because if you use more than you need you are obviously going to run out quicker.

Overall I had a good experience with this mask and I will use it again.

Let me know if you have used this mask before or if you have any suggestions for more products to review! xxx