Cherie is My Go-To Guide for Black Hair Care

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the question, “Will my hair grow back thicker?” When discussing shaving ones face, or even just body hair in general, so I decided to make this post. Just a little preamble here.. I myself have facial hair. No, I do not have PCOS, I’m just a hairy lady 🤷🏻‍♀️ and I’ve learned how to accept it over the years because trust me when I tell you it was a self-esteem battle! I’ve tried every single hair removal product and method out there, and I always go back to what’s tried and true; shaving. But more importantly, I’ve done lots of research and spoken to my dermatologist about this myth as well, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a pile of 💩 With a little help from Dr. Kristeen Cherney who wrote, Shaving Does Not Affect the Thickness or Rate of Hair Growth for Healthline, I’d like to break down some myths. MYTH #1: hair will grow differently when shaved and even be more coarse So this is actually half true and here’s why. As Dr. Cherney puts it, “Unshaven hair has a finer, blunter tip,” so when your hair grows back from shaving, you’ll end up seeing the coarser base as opposed to the “softer, thinner part that will eventually grow back,” if, of course, you let it! MYTH #2: hair grows back darker The new hair may be more thick, but it’s not because of shaving. Remember, this hair hasn’t yet been exposed to the elements or soaps or even chemicals that we use on the daily, which if you didn’t know, actually lightens the hair. MYTH #3 (the best for last): hair will grow back thicker when shaved, especially on the face Let’s break down how our hair grows so you can get a better understanding of why this statement is false. According to Dr. Cherney, “It takes about 1 month for body hair to reach its full length. This is why body hair is more shorter than the hair on our heads.” If you look at the image above, you can get a better understanding of the hair follicle, which is where our hair starts. One photo shows a blade ready to glide over top of the dead hair on the surface of the skin and the second photo shows what it looks like after. As you can see, all shaving did was, and for a lack of a better word, trim the hair! It didn’t actually get rid of the entire hair from the hair follicle. So to conclude with the words of Dr. Cherney, “Since shaving doesn’t remove hair under the skin like other hair removal methods do, it’s impossible for you to affect its colour, thickness or rate of growth.” There ya have it. So it’s safe to say, go ahead and shave! Don’t let a silly myth stop you. Just make sure you do it properly so that you don’t damage that beautiful skin 😌

💜This is a recent Tatcha haul I scooped from Sephora with my VIB discount & saved up points, but I definitely placed an order today on tatcha.com to take advantage of their 20% off sale. Such a good time to purchase from Tatcha! I grabbed a couple old 5 star favorites like the Gold Spun lip balm & their Japanese blotting papers, as well as some other things I’ve been wanting to check out. Tatcha is actually an American brand, made in Japan🇯🇵, that adheres to Japan’s official safety & purity standards, one of the highest in the world, much stricter than the US (for more on that, check out my last post, or the 2015 documentary on Netflix called Stink) They were recently acquired by Unilever, so I hope they don’t ever change their standards! Tatcha sources all of their botanical extracts, ingredients & actives from plants grown in the most renowned provenances of Japan. 🍵🍚🌊Their formulas revolve around key ingredients Green Tea, Rice & Seaweed, the trinity of superfoods, rich in both nutrients & Japanese history, based on a Japanese document from 1813 which captured the beauty rituals of the time. ➕Their 2x fermented ‘Hadasei-3 complex’ yields over 85 actives like Enzymes, Minerals, Lactic & Amino Acids. It’s been a couple years since I’ve purchased Tatcha products, I’ve always loved their face creams, but we all know Tatcha is pricey!!! I think I was just always into moving on & trying something new, but oh how I missed them! I haven’t had as much luck with Tatcha cleansers in the past, I do adore their rice polish exfoliators 🍚 but personally was never a fan of the ‘One Step Camellia cleansing oil’ scent. I don’t think I’ve ever tried ‘The Deep Cleanse’ but I’m actually most excited to try their new cream cleanser: ‘The Rice Wash’🍚💦 I was also excited to finally try ‘The Silk Peony melting eye cream’ too, so this set was a no brainer! TATCHA - Pure & Glowing Trio set: $72 The ‘Pure & Glowing Trio’ set includes: a full size 1.7 oz Dewy Skin cream ($68) a 1.7 oz Rice Wash cleanser (full size is $35/4 oz) & 0.17 oz Silk Peony eye cream (full size $60/.5 oz) 🍬For now I’m just gonna share texture swatches & ingredients, but stay tuned... I’ll be rating everything in full review of every product coming soon! 💧TATCHA - Balanced Skin Duo The other products pictured are minis from a ‘Sephora Beauty Insider’ 300-point option that included: one mini ‘The Deep Cleanse’ 0.85 oz & one mini ‘The Water Cream’ 0.34 oz TATCHA - The Deep Cleanse Exfoliating Cleanser Full size: $38/5 oz TATCHA - The Water Cream Full size $68/1.7 oz 💜In the meantime, check out that sale! And tell me your favorite Tatcha product(s) in the comments... or tell me about the ones that didn’t work for you!

I am OBSESSED with falsies! This is going to sound extra, but I honestly feel like a different woman when I put them on. They complete a makeup look and can make it go from 0-100. They are an essential part of opening your eyes and enhancing the best features of your eyes. You can go for natural ones, dramatic, attention grabbing and whatever mood you’re feeling! In fact, I love them so much that I actually used to invest in lash extensions. I have been using falsies since I was in high school so I have experienced good falsies and bad ones too. I have almond shaped eyes and I understand that it could be overwhelming to find the right falsies for your eye shape...this is one of the reasons why I LOVE House of Lashes. They have an eye shape guide and recommend which lash styles are best for you. My top three favorite lashes from this brand are: Au Naturale, Bouidoir Lite and Demure Lite. 1) Au Naturale I go for these often. They are wearable for any occasion. This gives a “your lash but better guide”. I also use this when I create a dramatic look, but don’t want to over power it with lashes. 2) Boudoir Lite This has a dense center. They are dramatic, but soft enough. I go for these when I go out 3) Demure Lite These are also soft and more on the natural side with an oomph. This helps open my eyes and emphasize any eye look. House of lashes are a bit on the mid range price. However, ELF and Ardell are also my fav falsies that are on the affordable side. My favorite “your lashes, but better” falsies is the Ardell Wispies. These look sooo natural! I use it as an alternative to my Au Naturale. Another falsies that I always grab for especially if I want the attention stealing is the ELF Social Butterfly. These are faux mink lashes and did I mention they are $3?! Ardell and ELF are very affordable, but HOL falsies are much easier to apply so if you’re a beginner, I would suggest you invest in HOL. It’s worth it! Lashes can be reused 15+ times depending on how you care for them. Here are my quick step by step for falsies: 1) Measure the lashes to your eyes and cut to your desired length. Most falsies are large so always measure it to your eye first. 2) For easier application, grab one of those lash glues with wand. Apply extra glue on the corners of the lashes because these tend to come off easily 3) Wait 30 seconds for the glue to become tacky then grab your tweezers to apply falsies closest to your lash line. 4) Hold it until it is fully glued to your natural lashes 5) This step is optional, but apply mascara to diffuse your falsies to your natural lashes. This will give you a natural result 6) Apply eyeliner or use a dark eyeshadow to hide the lash band. 7) Voila! Then enjoy! It took me a while to get this down. I’ve been applying eyelashes for more than 10 years and even to this day, I’m still not the best at it. Just keep practicing! What is your favorite falsies? Xoxo, Francesca 💋 #CheriePartner

WOOOT! FIRST CHERIE VIDEO EYE TUTORIAL! Uploads have been coming in a little later in the day because videos take a WEEEEEE longer to make. 😊 This video has a lot of information packed into one minute! Be sure to pause, rewatch and pay close attention! I didn’t expose my camera correctly so the skin tones might look off but I promise that it won’t compromise the final results of what the shadow will look like in person! It will still look like the photo I previously posted of this look! The more pigment you place on your eye, the more it’ll show. This video shows the basic steps of what I did to create this look 😄 Feel free to ask me any extra questions if you get confused!! Used: ANASTASIA Beverly Hills - Norvina Eyeshadow Palette VISEART - Grande Pro 3 HUDA BEAUTY - Matte & Metal Melted Double Ended Liquid Eyeshadows in shade faux fur Too Faced - Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eyeshadow Primer

Look at this awesome close up of the AMOREPACIFIC - Color Control Cushion Compact Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 50 😍 I have this thing called Trypophobia (fear of small holes) but for some reason this close up just fascinates me. You can really see the luminescence of the foundation within the sponge! For those of you who aren’t familiar with CC formulas/cushion foundation, they are typically a smoother, more liquid-like formula than your average foundation that is made to even out skintone. Most true CC formulations focus more on skincare elements and a wee bit less on color/color ranges, especially those from Korean brands. Western brands definite amp up the diversity of their skintone range, as well as overall pigmentation in their formulas. This means you’ll find more full-coverage CC cream/foundation from “western” brands like IT Cosmetic’s it Cosmetics - it Cosmetics CC+ Cream SPF 50+ . (Not my favorite for dry skin. I felt like the Sahara Desert all over again when I used their formula 🙄) Therefore, it might be difficult to find a shade that fits you if you have a deeper skintone. Side note: I consider IT cosmetics to be a western brand because upon a bit of research, the company was bought by L’Oréal and the products are mostly manufactured in China. I love this foundation for super dry skin because of how moisturizing it is. It’s awesome for creating that second-skin finish with a natural, dewy glow. If you have light-medium with slight neutral-gold undertones and struggle with a bit of texture, this foundation line could work well for you! Every time I try something new or I’m stuck in a rut, I always go back to this foundation. I love the ease of use and blendability. The size is great for travel and I find that it doesn’t bother my dry, sensitive, acne-prone skin. You can get a medium to slightly buildable full coverage without “erasing” the dimension/shadows in your face. Even though it has SPF it doesn’t wash my face out completely and doesn’t create a white cast. If there is any, it’s only slightly noticeable. You would have to look reeeaaally close to see it. Layering on powder/cream products are a breeze. I found the best way to use this product is with a slightly damp beauty blender. Start by placing a little bit onto the skin and then proceed to layer more as needed. There is something to be mindful of when you are using this product. If you live in a more humid/moist climate, I would add a little powder after your face primer and then proceed to add this foundation to help keep this in place throughout the day. You could also carry a powder puff with you throughout the day for touch-ups. Because the foundation has high moisture and provides a dewy finish, it can impact the longevity if you live in an moist/humid area 😊 Yay to a healthy glow! ❤️😄