When it comes to beauty, the first thing to know about me is that I have oily skin. I'm not talking about oily enough that I only need to blot one or two times a day. We're talking, I'm so oily that someone has asked me what kind of highlighter I use. And to keep a long story short, they were very disappointed by my answer because the honest truth is that I don't wear any.

I've struggled with being oily for the entirety of my teenage years and now I've brought those struggles into my young adulthood. Wearing makeup has also always been a struggle because my skin just lifts up any foundations I try.

Now, before you ask if I've used primers and other methods, the answer is yes, I've tried several different methods. From drinking more water to wearing facial moisturizers with oil in them (not something I would really recommend other people with oily skin to try).

But, one method I had never thought of before was adding Hyaluronic Acid to my daily routine.

This idea came from watching one of my favorite beauty YouTubers, Jackie Aina. Not only does she have oily skin, she's also a woman of color making her more relatable.

Time and time again, Jackie had recommended that those with oily skin try adding this product that was supposedly game-changing for her. So, I did just that.

I went to the store and bought my very own bottle of Hyaluronic Acid.

Since seeing Jackie's recommendations I've tried these Hyaluronic Acid containing products:

• Valjean Labs Hydrate Facial Serum
• Pearlessence Radiance Perfecting Serum
• Dirty Works Micellar 3-in-1 Cleansing Water
• Trader Joe's Nourish Hyaluronic Moisture Boost Serum

Some of these I have used individually and others in combination with each other, but overall I've been using the Valjean Labs Hydrate Facial Serum and the Pearlessence Radiance Perfecting Serum as my main source of facial moisture.

My Initial Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Everybody has their favorites. I mean, YouTubers make videos every month purely for their favorites. I don't have a YouTube channel yet..., so we're going to talk about them here. These are just a few of many that I am absolutely living and would recommend to anyone going natural or for those who want to try new products.

Herbal Essences "Hello Hydration" Conditioner

Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls

Miss Jessie's Quick Curls

Cantu Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream

Everyone understands how frizzy hair can really ruin a look with all the flyaways, loss of curly texture and the hair feeling and looking quite dry. In my experience, after spending over 2 hours working on a 3-strand Bantu knot out, frizz ends up ruining all of my hard work. What a waste, huh?

Well, say goodbye to frizz because I've got some solutions for you to try.

Winning the battle against frizz starts with understanding why our hair gets frizzy in the first place. According to MoKnowsHair, "Frizz occurs when the cuticle layer of your hair is raised, allowing moisture to pass through and swell the strands. As a result, your hair appears dry and frizzy instead of smooth and defined. In general, curly hair tends to have more frizz than straight hair because of dehydration in the strands, which leaves it more vulnerable to frizzing."

Makes sense to me...

In order to fight this, there are a few things we can do.

Drink more water

I know the internet is obsessed with drinking water 24/7, which can start to get a little annoying, but they are kinda right about it. When your body is dehydrated, it starts to show through your skin and hair.

Some people on Twitter have shared their experiences with drinking water and how it cleared up their acne or changed their hair. Whether you believe them or not, you got to get those ounces in. I'm not saying drink gallons upon gallons every day, but just up it a little if you can.

Make sure you're using good hair products

If you are a natural girl like me, you have tried a LOT of products. Miss Jessie's, Shea Moisture, Cantu (a personal favorite), and much more. Unfortunately, not all products work for all types of hair. I have type 4 hair and Shea Moisture is an absolute no-go. None of their stuff works for me.

For months I was using Shea Moisture's conditioners and shampoos, but my hair felt so dry and was constantly frizzy. No protective styles would last more than 2 days and that's on a good day. Fortunately, products by Cantu tend to work better. I made the switch and my hair was much happier with me.

Find what works for you. It can get expensive, but there are many ways to try new stuff while balling on a budget.

Use satin everything

Personally, I sleep in a satin bonnet with a satin pillowcase. This may be overkill but it works.

Satin and silk prevent hair loss and damage by keeping your hair from rubbing against harsh objects like regular pillow cases. If you haven't already made the switch, do it! You should be able to find a satin or silk bonnet, night scarf and pillowcases online. Here's the one I have.

*The satin pillowcases can come in a variety of colors, so finding one to match your room should be no problem.

Finish your style with a gel & try a diffuser 

For my naturally curly, kinky or wavy girls, if you aren't already using a gel to set your twist outs or wash-and-gos, you should be doing this! A gel can really help with keeping the curls popping and preventing it from frizzing. You can think of it as a sealant in a way.

As for diffusing, most blow dryers come with a diffuser attachment. They're also pretty inexpensive if you don't already have one. A diffuser will help the hair dry faster while maintaining it's set style. Even though I prefer air drying to diffusing, if the air is pretty humid, I'll diffuse to try to combat the frizz.

At the end of the day, a little bit of frizz is not bad, it's also unavoidable. There is no 100% full-proof way to prevent frizz. But, there are ways to lessen the effects.

So, don't get angry with your hair if it frizzes, just try a different method next time.

Try these tips and let me know if any of them work for you. If you have other advice for frizzy hair, write them in the comments.

Like many students around the world, I'm always in a hurry to get to class. I usually miss my alarm and end up sleeping in too late. Which leads me to rush to get out the house without putting any makeup on. Since I like at least having my eyebrows done and nice lip color, I'm doing a quick 10 minute routine for a natural look.

If you are in more of a rush than I am, you can always cut some products out that you're willing to not wear.

Anyway, let's get into it!

Primer

Eyeshadow and Mascara

Blush

Lips

That's it!

To keep my morning routine as simple as possible, I use 7 products. I like to call it my lucky 7 makeup routine.

Before the Makeup 

Step 1: Eyebrows

Step 2: Foundation

Step 3: Blush

Step 4: Mascara

Step 5: Lips

Setting the Look

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If you shop in the "Multicultural" hair care section, you know how expensive hair care products are. Even if you don't shop in that particular section, hair care in general can get really pricey. Fortunately, there are quite a few things you can do to lessen the blow on your wallet.

Buy on Sale

After spending more than a year hearing people rave about how much they love ColourPop, I decided to go ahead and try some of their products. I've only used their lip products thus far, so I can only attest to that, but let me tell you, I'm in love! I love how pigmented their lip products are, especially the Ultra Satin Lip and Lippie Stix. I will say that the Ultra Matte Lips are great as well, but I find them very drying, but that could be because of my priming methods. Either way, let's talk about my favorite lip colors from Colour Pop!

For preface, I am a huge advocate for skincare. Fortunately, I have pretty good skin, so pimples are not too common for me. With that said, I still take skincare very seriously and practice it daily. So, in today's post, I'm going to show y'all the products I use during the winter season to protect my skin from the California cold. Let's get into it!


The first thing I do is wash my face with a Cleanser. I have oily to combination skin, so it's important for me to wash my face daily. Personally, I prefer Cetaphil products for skincare. Currently, I am using the Daily Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin.
I really focus on working the product into my T-Zone area, seeing as that's the area I'm the oiliest. Also, I use this with warm to hot water to open up my pores, and then cold water once I am done washing my face and body to close the pores again. This cleanser does a great job of making my face feel clean, without the dry and stripped feeling. *They recently rebranded, so the bottle pictured is from before that time. Same product and ingredients.


Once I'm done with cleansing, I move on to Toner. I use the Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Triple-Action Toner (Whew...That's a long title). I use a clean cotton ball with a medium amount of product and rub that everywhere around my face. Again, I focus this on my T-Zone. I also use this on my neck and ears for a good cleaning as well. I have been using this product for years, and I stand by it. I like that it makes my skin feel extra clean and, according to the cotton ball, it picks up any leftover dirt on my face.

The last step is Moisturizing. This is my favorite part of the skin-care routine. For the fall and winter, I am using the Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion. This facial lotion is for all skin types, as well as, for body and face. This is SUPER moisturizing for me, so a little goes a LOOOONNNNGGGG (long) way. I know that a lot of people say that oily skin comes from a lack of moisture and water, but with this product, using too much makes my skin feel gross and over moisturized. So far, though, I am really enjoying it.

That's it, my super simple morning skincare routine for winter. These products are my favorites right now and have been working for me. What skincare products are you currently using, and would recommend for the Winter?
**This is not a sponsored post. I bought all these products with my own money and really like these products.

I'm a pretty simple girl when it comes to makeup. My everyday beauty routine is fairly simple and easy. For several reasons including the fact that I am a college student. (a.k.a.: I have a pretty small budget when it comes to makeup). I'm also usually pressed for time in the mornings especially. Fortunately, I've come across some really great and inexpensive brushes that I really love using and that help make my makeup routine easier.

Most of my brushes are from a 13-piece makeup brush set by BH Cosmetics, E.L.F Cosmetics, or some random, non-labled company.

I really love this brush! For an inexpensive brush, it's super high quality. My favorite part about this brush is that it doesn't shed! I really hate when hairs start coming out of my makeup brushes because they always get stuck on my face. I also really like this brush because it's great for light coverage or reapplying makeup later in the day. It's super soft too, making dusting light makeup very easy and quick. Unfortunately, the brush set I have has been discontinued but you can find a similar one here.

E.L.F Powder Brush

I've had this brush for a few years now. In all honesty, I have had this brush so long that I should probably get a new one. Anyway, I love this brush for when I want more coverage. Unlike the BH Cosmetics Powder Brush, I can really cover up all my blemishes and even out my skin. The only problem that I had with this brush was when I first started using it, the hairs started coming out of the brush. Especially after I cleaned it for the first time. I'm pretty sure that some hairs coming out after a wash is normal, but it's still pretty irritating. You can find this brush here.

E.L.F. Eyeshadow "C" Brush

Like the E.L.F. Powder Brush, I've also had this brush for a long time. Longer than the Powder Brush actually. The main reason I've kept it this long is because it is a great, long lasting brush. Also like the Powder Brush, some hairs did come out after the first couple uses and a lot came out after the first wash. I usually use this brush to apply eyeshadows with shimmer in them. It does a great job of applying color to my eyes and helps me build my eyeshadow. It never applies the eyeshadow too strong. You can find this brush here.

E.L.F. Eyeshadow Contour Brush

This brush is great for blending out eyeshadow in the crease of the eye, as well as, defining the crease. This is a newer edition to my brush collection and so far I haven't had any issues. This is also a new edition to E.L.F. inventory of brushes. I'm really glad they added this brush because I didn't have any other way to blend out my eyeshadows. Since this is a contour brush, it doesn't have too many other uses but it is my go-to brush for blending. You can find this brush here.

BH Cosmetics Spooley Brush

I normally don't have time to do full-on face makeup everyday but I want to look pretty put together. I feel most put together when my eyebrows look "on fleek". I don't do the whole concealer line the above and below the brow because I really don't have time for that and I personally prefer the natural eyebrow look and that's where the spooley brush comes in. Not only does it brush my eyebrows into place, it also helps smooth out the eyebrow makeup. You can find this brush here.