BeautyXchange

I was first introduced to Lori via The Mop Top Maven and since then I've admired her style and wanted to feature her here.  What I love most about Lori is how she owns every look that she opts for.  I got a chance to ask Lori a few questions and she willingingly obliged.  Take a peek at what she had to say.









Bio:



I'm originally from Chicago but relocated to Los Angeles a little over 2 years ago.  I currently hold a few titles from educator to personal shopper to creative director on projects with my boyfriend/second half of hisherschicago

My style is not limited to one particular look. I like to let my style reflect my mood, so some days I like to wear flirty looks in bold colors and others I like to wear dark sunglasses with a understated, chic pieces. I like to just wear what makes me feel good opposed to follow any trends.

My personal style is influenced by things that I have always loved, my Grandma reflects the chic, classy Southern woman that always wore skirts, so I find myself incorporating skirts into my wardrobe.  At the same time, I love women like Bianca Jagger who was fearless and effortless with her wardrobe so I like to mix bold, carefree pieces into my look as well.  I'm more inspired by colors, movement in pieces and the way that pieces fit than anything else.

A great pair of shoes that you can transition from day to night, a statement coat that dresses up any look which I think is most important because your jacket is the first thing that anyone will see, a statement belt to add a little more character and to even cinch the waist of looser fitting pieces, a clutch in a bold color or pattern, and at least one pair of stand out sunglasses.

Beauty to me is comfort and confidence in who you are,  I find people more beautiful when their beauty comes from within.

 Check out Lori for more of her day to day fashion sense at HisHersChicago.blogspot.com

Hola Chicas!  So, last post was kind of melancholy but the beauty of this site is to share thoughts, info, tips, trends, product reviews, new products, or whatever tickles my fancy.  So with that said, I wanted to share the scoop on a contest that Lottabody is having.

In partnership with Lottabody, I want to offer 3 readers a chance to win some FREE Lottabody products.  All you have to do is become a Facebook fan of the BeautyXchange & leave a comment on the wall saying: I want to try some new Lottabody products.  If you are already a fan, Great! - you can still win too, just leave the same comment below this post.  It's that simple.  I will randomly select three winners on Wednesday, August 4th. Good luck!

P.S.  Each winner will also receive a brand new Lottabody tshirt.  Great for your at home hair days or to just chill.

If you take a look at my archives, you'll see that during the month of May & June I was on a hiatus.  Not an intentional one;  it just happened to turn out that way.  During those months I was feeling....down (I guess that's the best word I can use to describe it).  I guess I should backtrack a bit too, at the start or perhaps mid April I realized that my skin was changing.  Like, I mean my pores were huge, I had large bumps along my jawline, excessive dryness, etc.  I mean you name it - I had it on my face.  

I remember looking at myself in the mirror and thinking what the hell is going on??  I honestly thought I was having an allergic reaction to something.  So, literally the next day I was on the phone with my dermatologists office scheduling an appointment for that week.  When I went in for my visit, I explained what I had been experiencing and told him what my thoughts were.  (Looking back - I'm sure he was looking at me like - "you're thoughts" okay who's the specialist here)  Anyway, he didn't think it was an allergic reaction like I had presumed but instead declared that I was suffering from rosacea.  Now, you know what I was thinking?  Rosacea, isn't that something white people suffer from?  How could I possible have rosacea, there is nothing rosy about my skin.  But, I left the office with that diagnosis and a prescription to treat my skin with a doubtful feeling of what I had been told.  

Now I bet you all are wondering okay so what does that have to do with blogging, the archives,etc.  During that time I felt far from pretty and thought how could I talk about beauty when I was not feeling beautiful or looking anything close to it.  How credible would I be?  I mean guys I was at  a low point.  I actually understood then and still do now how those suffering from severe acne feel.  How there's a direct correlation between looking good and feeling good (as cliche as it may sound).  I was letting my skin take control over the things that I enjoyed doing and somehow I wasn't happy with that either.  How did I eventually come around?  Well, that's another post in itself.  





For now, my skin is still a work in progress and so am I.





Have you ever experienced acne?  Has it made you feel insecure?

Hey ladies!(and gents - you never know) :}  I got my hair washed and styled this weekend and it came out really well.  I say that because my hair has been relaxer free since October 2009 and lately I've been struggling to maintain the two textures (natural & relaxed ends).  I did get a lot of the relaxed ends cut off but I have about half and inch to an inch left which I plan to cut off in October.  Then I'll be officially 100% natural.

My hairstylist washed, blow-dried my hair with a round brush, then used the flat-iron to lightly bump the ends, the trim cut was the last step - which I thought was odd but it ended up working out really well. My final result was a cute bob.

Anyway, I wanted to mention 3 new products that were used on my hair which noticeably made a difference.

KeraGreen Keratin & Protein Shampoo
KeraGreen Keratin & Protein Conditioner
KeraGreen Keratin & Protein Maintenance Treatment


They're part of of a keratin system, but I did not get the keratin treatment. My tangled coarse hair felt a lot softer, smoother, and more manageable after being washed, conditioned, and rinsed.  After styling, my hair was straight, no frizz, and shiny.  I was really happy with the results.

Have any of you heard of KeraGreen products or their keratin treatment?  Anyone ever had a keratin treatment done?  Let me know, I'm thinking of doing the keratin treatment sometime next year.