Whoop Whoop!

So...I was gonna upload my ELF haul today, from my computer, (I figured it was important to mention this because I normally upload directly from my iPod), and YouTube showed me this:





1 word: YAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
I hope my videos don't become too long, because the more videos I make, the more I tend to ramble, and because I don't have any editing software (yet!) I hope I don't end up with 30 minute videos about random stuff.

This was extra surprising to me because I thought people had to become partner before they could upload videos longer than fifteen minutes. (it used to be ten, but they bumped it up now)

So.. have a nice day! I sure am!

Youtube Talk. (ramble...again)

Sooo... I want to make consistent videos. Trust me. I do. But it's hard when I don't do anything that is super innovative that works for me. I've noticed that the people I tend to watch (and other people enjoy watching)are more  'jack of all trades', if you will. Or a triple threat: Makeup, Hair, Fashion. And their all extremely good at what they do. I guess my channel will be based more on me learning about my hair and learning how to do makeup. (I hate my second video... 'black and gold look'..just because its not 'me'. I rarely wear makeup with color in it. I'm more of a neutral girl.) I'll soon be introducing a segment called 'Watch me Grow'. These will be random vlogs about my hair and how it's doing and the changes I'm considering making with my hair care. Another segment will be 'Tuesday Tips' (or tips for your Tuesday..a pun for a penny for your thoughts..which do you prefer?) which will be me doing a random tip about hair, nails, makeup, life, fashion, ect! (pretty much w/e I feel like talking about) I hope to do tips that aren't redundant. Something most people haven't heard of or techniques that will help people. (ooooo! I just thought of another one! two minute Tuesday! the video will be around two minutes long and have a tip and a quick explanation of why/how it works!)

I want my channel to be my channel. So I plan on making videos about whatever I want to talk about. But since I started my channel being about beauty, I almost feel constricted into only making hair videos, I'll have to make a random video soon so I won't feel trapped into doing a 'beauty only' channel.

Another thing: makeup tutorials are hard! I didn't think they would be that hard but they are! The problem may partially be my camera, but makeup tutorials aren't my 'thing' so I'm not going to buy a new camera just to make videos that I don't even enjoy watching myself.
All this has to be perfect in order to have a successful makeup tutorial:
Lighting: when I try to do a tutorial, the lighting always sucks, so the makeup looks washed off and not there. You can barely see the colors. Especially since I'm into neutral colors so it blends into my skin tone. On top of that, people aren't even into neutral looks. People seem to want over-the-top colors and boldness that I'm just not into for an everyday look. And then I'll try to take pictures and the flash washes out the colors once again. If I turn off the flash then you can't see it.
Makeup/Skill: I don't want to do makeup tutorials just because, especially since I don't really have the skill set yet to be putting my makeup looks out there yet. If someone wants to watch a makeup tutorial, they obviously want to watch someone who is better than them, not just 'okay'.
Editing: A lot of tutorials have a lot of editing, even people who don't edit their other videos a lot edit their tutorials. (ulovemegz for example) I don't have any editing software that works with my camera. (iPod touch 4th generation)
Angle: The viewers obviously have to be able to see what you're doing when you're doing the makeup. I'm still trying to find places around the house with good lighting and that I can prop my iPod up so everyone can see what I'm doing.

As far as hair tutorials, I never do anything particularly interesting or different when I do my hair. I always wear it in a basic 3-5 styles.

Bottom Line: YouTube has been kind of frustrating so far. :\

1 Month of Youtube!

So far i have been on YouTube for roughly one month. It's been good. I would upload more frequently, but honestly, I'm having a hard time coming up with video ideas. Makeup really isn't my thing (so far), but I do plan on getting better, so my later videos will have more makeup tutorials. I love hair, but I rarely do anything special enough to do a hair tutorial on. So I'll have a lot of hauls and stuff, but besides that, what do I really have to talk about? On a beauty channel, it seems like that's all people want to see is different types of tutorials, hauls, and reviews. I would do a 'what's in my purse' video, but I have to get a new purse first. (I've been lookin for months! I might get one from either Target or PacSun.)

Anywhoo..I do like making videos. I have less than 5 comments on all my videos added together, but I love the interaction I have with my subscribers.(even if I have less than ten) Speaking of which, I get super excited when YouTube sends me an email saying someone new has subscribed to my channel. It makes me feel like I'm doing videos for a reason.

That's all I have to say for now...don't forget to S U B S C R I B E ! ! !

What I Plan on Buying This Summer. :)

There are so many things I've been wanting to get for the longest time now, and since summer is around the corner, it's time to start finally buying and trying these products! Well, not only things I want to buy, but also things I plan on doing as well.

BUY:
Long Feather Earrings: I think they're sooo cute! I've been wanting these since I saw Kandee Johnson wearing them on her channel and blog. Maybe not as long as hers, but I definitely want some long feather earrings!


Solia or Sedu Flat Iron:  The only place I know where to buy these flat irons is on Folica.com. This I've been wanting since around August 2010. Both of them have great reviews on the website, but the Solia is much cheaper and comes in a bundle with a lot of the time. I don't care which one I get, but I know for a fact this summer I'm getting at least one of them.

Flexi Rods: OMGGG! Flexi rods make the cutest hair styles! The down side to them are they are kind of expensive. I mean, five dollars isn't much, but five dollars a pack is kind of much, especially  considering I might have to get about six packs and I would want to have different sizes. These I would defiantly have to buy a few packs at a time to grow my flexi rod 'collection'.


BH Cosmetics Palette 1st Edition: I've been wanting this since summer 2009. When I first started watching YouTube videos, I saw a lot of people using this palette and RAVING about it. $30 for 120 colors isn't a bad price, and I figured when I take my senior pics this summer, it'll be great to have to make a great natural look, but it'll also be great for bolder looks when I want to wear those.
Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo: Shilinda1on YouTube has been raving about this shampoo for so long I really want to try it. I like the KeraCare shampoo,but I really want to try it. Also, it's natural and cheaper. It is important for me to continue to and stick to the products for my hair regimen, but I want to try other products! ..and I will.

ELF Lipstick/Collection: I want to grow my cheap/drugstore makeup collection before I move to more expensive makeup. I want ELF stuff because it's really cheap, and what I've collected so far is decent quality. Specifically I want to try the lipsticks. I've never tried lipstick before, but  I think wearing a lipstick with a cute glossy lip gloss on top will be cute and age appropriate. Right now I've got my eye on 'seductive' from the ELF essentials line. It's a cute pink color that's not too bright for an everyday look. But I will also get other stuff offline that my local Target doesn't offer.

Dresses/ Rompers (especially floral!)/Wedges/Sandals and shorts: I'm collecting dressers, rompers, and wedges this summer. My wardrobe is full of pants and other winter clothes, but since it's going to be hot, I am getting a whole bunch of cute summer clothes! (Watch my last haul of clothes and other stuff!)

GET:

License: I NEED MY LICENSE!!!!! I'm seventeen. With out a license. I'm gettin it this summer!!!

Fit: I'm focusing on getting fit this summer. I can't wait to work out this summer and get healthier. I don't feel like I need to 'lose weight', more like 'tone up'.

YOUTUBEEE!..for good!

When I first started my blog, I also had a YouTube channel. I deleted my videos because I was nervous in front of the camera and the video quality sucked. Now that I have an iPod touch 4th generation, I can use that to film my videos and it looks a lot better. I already uploaded 2 videos and I felt a lot more comfortable in front of the camera this time compared to last time. This time I'll keep uploading videos-my goal is two or three a week- and I hope you like what you see!

Click here to visit my YouTube channel!

...please?

AGHHHHH! Ingredients...

Frustration. Pure frustration. Why? I thought I found the best shampoo/conditioner for me. Sigh, I suppose I was wrong. Herbal Essences contains a few if-y ingredients. It has a few silicone's in it and I'm scared its going to ruin my hair! I know silicone's are bad, but I love the way this shampoo makes my hair feel. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it's just crap in a bottle. I'm not sure. Both the shampoo and conditioner contains high amounts dimethicone. (A silicone derivative. Adds luster and sheen.) I also looked up a couple of other ingredients and a lot of them were linked to causing CANCER! (but then again, isn't pretty much everything a link to cancer?) I used to think that as long as mineral oil and petroleum weren't in the product then it was good, now I'm scared to buy anything. I hope what ever ingredients they did put in there are to help my hair become healthy and are not temporary fixes that only make my hair look good for now.

I found a deep conditioner I want to try called 'Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner.' Not many people on the hair forums use them, but Sunshyne (the creator of Hairlista.com) used it and she liked it, also after reading a lot of reviews, a lot of other people love it and swear by it. I'll get it tomorrow while I'm shopping and it should cost around $10-$14. (almost five times the amount the HE costs me, but that's okay because hopefully it'll be a quality product and worth it.)

NOTES:

-I know I said I was interested in the MoroccanOil for a DC, but I read the ingredients and they said NOTHING about Moroccan oil. I know just because the brand is called Moroccan oil doesn't mean they have to put Moroccan oil in it, but it's HIGHLY assumed.  

-I might start doing what Megan from 'ulovemegz' on YouTube does- instead of having a rinse-out conditioner and a separate DC, she just leaves the rinse-out on her hair for a long time and considers that her DC.
-Silicone: Some will say that silicones bond to the hair and do not allow moisture into the hair shaft. Supposedly once the silicone is on the hair it acts as a barrier between your hair and prevents moisture from penetrating your hair shaft.

Still lookin for a Deep Conditioner.

I'm still on the hunt for a good DC.  

I thought I found it when I found Africa's Best Rinse-Out and leave in Deep Conditioner. Wrong! I mean..as a DC, it's okay. After using it my hair feels kind of soft, but not as soft as it can be. However, as a nightly moisturizer, its AMAZING! One of the best I've used so far. So much better than Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship (I quit using that once I found out it was protein), and almost as good as Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream. Since it can be used as a leave-in, I decided to also use it as a moisturizer and it has been great! The only downside is that it smells like beer, so to fix that problem I added some rosemary oil to it.

I've been wanting to try some kind of Shea Moisture's conditioner, since Shilinda1 on Youtube has been raving about it for months, but my Target store is out of it and has been out for a while now. The Clinique has been working for me so well and it got me thinking; since department store facial products work so well for me, wouldn't a department store or salon brand conditioner work well? Lately I've been looking at MoroccanOil conditioners. Everybody seems to love them and considering that its 'salon quality', its reasonably priced. I don't know..we'll see. :)

Hair Journal: Pantene Curly Hair Series- Dry to Moisturized Review.

A few weeks ago my mom signed up to recieve a freebie of pantene shampoo and conditioner in the mail. So we recieved a small sample sized and I used it to wash my hair once i took my braids out. It made my hair SUPER soft. But.. I did notice that I used the conditioner more than I used the shampoo. (I had my eyes closed and didn't realize I was using conditioner instead of a shampoo--so I conditioned my hair about 4 times and washed w/ shampoo twice)

-It did make my hair soft, but it didn't detangle at all.
-The smell was decent- it didn't stink, but it wasn't scented.
-I don't think theres any mineral oil in it.

On another note, I've decided to try coconut oil instead of jojoba oil. I think it'll help my hair just as well but its less expensive and you get more product. So I'll wait until I run out of jojoba oil until I get the coconut oil. (unless it goes on sale :) ) Another reason I want to try coconut oil is because it helps with dry hair. specifically dandruff. when I took out my braids I noticed A LOT  of dandruff. I don't see it any more now (weird) but it could've went away since I started moisturizing and sealing.

Also, I've tried moisturizing and sealing for the first time this week. I've noticed that my hair is a lot shiny-er even after doing it for only 1 night it was a lot shiny-er. It also feels soft but that could just be the shampoo and conditioner. When I run my fingers through my hair, my hands feel oily. not greasy and nasty though. I guess this is normal for M&S'd hair? And I don't understand people who can M&S their hair twice a day, If i did that then it would be sooo greasy-Mc-nasty. But i guess that's for people with thicker/longer hair.

I also learned this week that it is important to have a hair goal. I want to go as far as i can and still maintain it- hopefully bra strap length by Dec '11. (maybe that's wishful thinking, but I think I can do it)

And lastly, I learned that i don't have to get my hair trimmed every time i get a relaxer at the hair salon, just to 'listen' to my hair and wait until I need a trim or to get dusted.

GOOD YOUTUBE VIDEOS FOR HEALTHY HAIR:

(don't underestimate youtube now, they got some really good people on here with really healthy hair that are helping me with my hair journey and they can help you too!)

-Tips for achieving long healthy hair during your hair journey- by tiondrab

-healthy hair tips- by omgitsvictoriaxd

-almost any video by ulovemegz

-Hairlicious Inc: My hair care journey- by HairliciousInc