Vegas glam.

This post features the glam process before my trip to Las Vegas with one of my best friends, Naty.

If you know me, you know I never go without having my nails done. However, I needed to let my nails breathe for a little after a whole year of constantly getting acrylic, dip powder, and gel all at once. I dissolved the substances on top of my real nails and cut them all off because I just needed a break. As you can see on the top left, my hands look crazy. I have anxiety, so I constantly bite my nails and pick at my skin. One of the reasons why I get my nails done religiously actually is to deter myself from this obsessive body focused repetitive behavior that causes self-harm. So, after living with this for a bit I had to get my nails done. I went for the generic tips with acrylic and a bright yellow gel coat. My go-to nail shape is the coffin, but I opted for the almond for a change and I love it! You know I had to get these done at Thai's since they never fail to impress.

My toes were looking wild before getting them done, like actually real ugly. The weekend prior to getting a pedicure I got really lit and tripped with sandals on, resulting in that crazy looking broken toenail you see in the upper right (ew, I know). I wasn't trying to go to Las Vegas with those toes, so I hit up my favorite nail spot and they hooked a girl up. This was the first time I got acrylic on both of my big toenails and they looked really natural. I chose a bright yellow color because I rocked the white for a while and I wanted something popping for my vacation. I'm always happy with my pedicures because not only do they feel great, they also never disappoint.

Now, it's time for the hair. I originally had an appointment with a hair lady my girl recommended to me, but that ended up falling through due to her being too busy. You know the struggle and the anxiety was real. I had a couple days until my vacation and I needed a protective style bad. I hit up Afrika, the Queen of Harlem, for a place to go. Here I was with my hair nappy, my edges nonexistent, and my dye fading -- desperate for someone to fleek my hair. Afrika recommended me Aicha's African Hair Braiding located at 539 Malcolm X Blvd.

I called Aicha the morning of and she told me to come at 10. I went there at 10am, but you know CPT. She was working on someone's kid and I took advantage and ate breakfast. My hair was still wet anyway since I washed my hair right before going to her beauty salon. I ate a BLT and watched The Twilight Zone as I waited. Can you believe I didn't even have the pictures of what I wanted ready to show her?

When she was finished, I showed her the 3 pics above. I explained I wanted box braids with triangle parts. I also did not want them to be parted small like the pic on the far right, I wanted them to be jumbo like those on the far left. I also was thinking about the length to be somewhat close to the middle picture, maybe even longer. I wanted the hair color to match my dyed hair, instead of my natural.

So, she got to working. She lightly blow dried my hair just so it would be completely dry, not at all to straighten it. I brought a bunch of my own products since I'm very picky what I put on and in my body. We used my Argan Oil Eco Styler and I oiled my scalp with my Pink Castor Oil. The process took roughly 3 hours and I paid $140, including tip. I was so happy with my results and the style lasted a month and a half -- it could have lasted longer, but I really missed my natural hair and wanted to take it out. I definitely recommend Aicha to slay your edges, so give her a visit and let me know how it goes!

The final product was beautiful. The hair color changed depending on the lighting and I felt like a Queen with my hair passed my booty. I added my own accessories at home, but all black girls know I had trouble sleeping that night lmao.

You thought I was finished? Nah. I went to Tammy's, another recommendation from Afrika, to get my eyebrows threaded. I love this place because they are always so fast and my eyebrows always go through a beautiful transformation. I don't wax my eyebrows anymore since it's not only bad for your skin, but I was often left with an allergic reaction that looked like a burn mark. Tammy is the Queen of eyebrows and she only charges $7! Every woman in that salon is great at their job and I trust all of them with my brows. They also have a range of different services including eyelash extensions, so check them out and update me on your experience.

Lastly, I did my eyelash extensions! I usually get a Groupon for this service as it allows me to try different places and not spend that much money. If you read my blog post on my first time getting lash extensions, you'll notice that I'm pretty much a big baby lol. This time I got a full set of of mink lashes (90 pieces) at Fabulash Brows Beauty for just $30! The process took about an hour, which is a long time for me to lay still with my eyes closed without being asleep. That fact is expected though and I loved this time's lashes even better than the first. They lasted the entire week I was in Vegas throughout all the pool parties and sweating in 117 degree weather. I was actually surprised they held that long.

Above you can see my final look! The hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes made me look glam all the time so I didn't even bring make-up on my trip. I felt really beautiful following my self-care and I thank all those involved. These employees aren't only nail techs, hair braiders, and eyebrow threaders -- they're our therapists as well. Making sure we not only look good, but feel good as well.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for my blog post on how my Vegas trip went.