HAIR: Four Ways To Tie Off A Braid

So last week I should you three different ways you could do your hair using only the three strand braid. This week I decided to do another simple post about braids, but this time I am going to give you four different ways to keep your braid in place. These will work on any type of braid, not just the three strand, and  are fairly simple to pull off.

The first option is probably the hardest to do at first, but is really simple once you know what you are doing. It's organic, which means that all you need is your hair. This also means that it is the perfect hairstyle for if you are in class and you want to put your hair up but can't get your hands on an elastic. The first step is kind of tricky to explain. You have to braid just a bit different than what you are used to to achieve the effect. When you are braiding your hair, instead of separating the bottom of the braid (you know how the ends get stuck together), leave it and braid as far as you can go. Once you can't go any further, your fingers will end up making a hole where the next braid should have been. You have to take the ends of the braid and flip it through the hole to create a little knot that will keep the braid in place all day. The braid might be a little shorter than what you are used to, but still looks super cute!

This is probably my favourite way to tie off a braid. It is so simple and looks really unique, especially with small accent braids. All you have to do to recreate this undone look is tease the ends of the braid and spray it with hairspray. It is super duper easy and can be done really quickly.

This one is a cute look but requires a little more time than the others. All you need is a few bobby pins. I suggest you get them in your hair color, I just used black to show what they looked like. You will need to take a piece of your hair, and wrap it around the end of the braid. You could also use an elastic and wrap the hair around that to ensure that the braid stays put. Then just in the hair in the back. You may need to use several pins if your hair won't stay flat. You can conceal the bobby pins better than I did by pinning up instead of down like I did.

Last but not least, I decided to throw in the classic, easy braid-ending technique that everyone knows. It is extremely basic, but effective and pretty much everyone ties off their braid using the ponytail.

So those are my four, well more like three and a picture, ways to keep your braid in place. What is your favourite way to keep your braid in place? Do you have any others?

XOXO,

Taylor

Boho Chic

The free-spirit, earthy type girl who dresses like her personality is the one that is boho chic. The carefree, all natural style of clothing is one of my favourites. Boho style draws its inspiration from the peace-loving hippies from the 60's and because of this it has a quirky, flower-child vibe. Boho is care-free, natural-looking, and comfortable.

While picking boho essentials, I realized that a lot of these essentials are every person essentials, but with a bohemian twist.

1. This Flowy Skirt...there's just something about it that seems so natural and boho. Is it the chiffon. Is it the paisley? I don't think we will ever know.
2. The Military Jacket is a nice, earthy alternative to an edgy leather jacket or a regular old coat.
3. The Maxi Dress is a hippie-like staple that everyone pretty much associates with boho-style already.
4. A Loose Blouse can be worn with anything, but I think it works best when paired with boho outfits.
5. Flared Jeans- have you never seen someone wear jeans from the 70's? A light wash goes well with bohemian patterns.
6. Denim Jacket is another basic that goes well with things like dresses, and can instantly pull the look together.
7. Boots are a boho girl's shoe BFF! Ones in brown give a more natural feel.

A skirt is usually seen as a fancy article of clothing, but this one is pretty casual. To tone down the casual, you could add a nice blouse, tuck it in to the skirt and add a belt. I find that a cream blouse works better than a white blouse with this skirt, but it depends on what skirt you have. To keep the casual vibe, a simple tank top and some fun accessories will do the trick.

A military jacket is a jacket, so it goes with a lot of things that vary from dressed up to dressed down. A fancy outfit you could pair with your jacket would be a simple white dress and flats. You can pump up the wow factor by adding a statement necklace. All bohemian outfits should be at least a little comfortable, but leggings and a big shirt are a lot comfortable. Paired with boots and some clunky accessories make the outfit boho.

There have been maxi dresses in style since the '30s, but to find a dress that has a '60s or '70s vibe, get a vintage pattern, like paisley or floral, but in a modern shape so you don't look costume-y. Some statement accessories and a wow shoe will dress the dress up and a denim jacket, some jewellry and a simple sandal will make it a little more casual.

A white blouse is very basic, and so is the more earthy loose version, but both can be paired with other pieces to create the perfect dressed up or dressed down boho outfits. It can be paired with a maxi skirt and accessories that match the skirt for a fancier feel. Wear it with high-waisted denim shorts and sandals for a more beachy feel- you could even add a floppy hat to the outfit.

Flared jeans were all the rage in the decades that the bohos steal inspiration from, and they are still super cute now. I think I have said this before, but it really depends on how fancy the top is when being paired with jeans. A peasant top is a little more dressed up, and can be paired with some fun and fancy jewelry like a huge vintage ring. A tank top in a floral print keeps it casual, and some bracelets and a clunky necklace amp up the style.

The denim jacket goes with everything, but I love the way it looks with bohemian style outfits and dresses. The dressed up outfit is both: a dress in natural colors and a boho pattern, and boho boots. Layering necklaces is also a bohemian look that is easy to try. For a casual outfit, leggings or dark jeans paired with a boho-patterned top work perfectly. You can pair them with some ankle booties- the fringe is extra boho.

Boho accessories...don't even get me started. Accessories basically make this style from boots to sandals, fringe to buttons, clunky bracelets, necklaces, and rings. There is so much you can do with boho that I didn't have enough room to putt everything I wanted in the picture. I did manage to put in some tan boots (other shoe options could be gladiator sandals or wedges), a bag (fringe is a super cute bohemian detail, a bracelet (bangles, charm, homemade-they all work), a necklace (the more the merrier), and a headband (or a headcrown both are super stylish and boho). Vintage rings, you know those ones with the humongous stone on it, are really cute and can be really cheap.

The Flower-Childs Of Hollywood:

Nicole knows how to go casual or red carpet, all while sticking with her own personal style. Flowy tank tops, paisley dresses, denim jackets, and loose blouses..she's got the boho style down pat and is a really good inspiration. Even her hair is boho!

Another girl who is known for her hippie-like style is Vanessa Hudgens. She made the transformation from girly High School Musical Vanessa to Boho Vanessa, and I absolutely love it. Like Nicole she is all over the style. I mean, check out the three pictures above, and I see at least five different pieces of clothing that I already mentioned above. Vanessa rocks boho hair too!

If this isn't enough style-spiration, check out the style from the '60s and '70s (that's where boho style comes from after all) and the Olsen twins.

Stores:

A big place where you can find bohemian style clothes is your local thrift shop. You can also DIY a lot of things to make them more boho, but if you want to shop at actual stores, you can check out Free People, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie

Hair:

Braids are just so boho. You could do a regular braid, a fishtail, a sailor`s know, a rope braid, a crown braid.....the list goes on and on. Another boho hairstyle are beachy waves that everyone wants. To make them I use a curling wand, but there are many no-heat ways. You could also combine both of these hair ideas- accent braids and waves are super cute. If you are looking for a haircut, long layers and bangs are always boho.

Makeup:

Boho makeup is pretty natural, like girly makeup, but browns and beiges look really nice on the eyes. A nice glow can be achieved with bronzer, and a little bit of lip balm never hurt anybody!

So that`s it for What`s You Style: Boho. Boho is personally my favourite style and I was going to save it for last but I got kind of excited and couldn`t wait that long, so I did it third. That means that we are halfway done and there are three more to come: Glam, Classic, and Indie. If there is a specific one you want me to do next, so you can have it for back-to-school, just let me know! I will be doing a back-to-school series soon, so keep an eye out for that!

I love boho accessories, what are your favourite style of accessories?

XOXO,

Taylor

DIY: Lip Scrub

If I wrote out a complete list of all of the things I love it would take forever, but two things that would be on the list are saving money and soft lips so when I came across this DIY Lip Scrub with only two ingredients I got really excited and had to try it. It was super easy, and worked well so I decided to share it with you!

What You Need:

Olive Oil
Brown or White Sugar
A Spoon
A Bowl
A Container (for if you made too much)

What You Need To Do:
First get all of the things you need together.
Then, take your spoon and put some brown sugar in a bowl. The amount of brown sugar should be the size of the amount of lip scrub you want to make.
After the brown sugar is in the bowl, take an equal amount of olive oil and mix it in with the brown sugar.
Once it is completely mixed, apply it to your lips using your fingers.
Rub it in for about a minute and then wash the scrub off.

I know there are several different ways to make your 0wn lip scrub, but I thought this one looked the easiest. You could also add honey to the mix if you have some, but unfortunately I didn't. 

Let me know how this works for you and is there any other lip scrub recipes you like?
XOXO,
Taylor

HAIR: 3 Braided Styles That Use Only The 3 Strand Braid

With all of the complicated hairstyles that are going around (like this one and this one), I was thinking where are all the simple three-strand braids? So I came up with three different hairstyles that only use the three-strand technique, perfect for anyone that doesn't really know how to do other types of braids. These hairstyles can be used on any type of hair, and I am pretty sure the first two can be used on shorter hair, with a little bit of modification.

This first hairstyle is just a headband made out of your own hair!

1. Start with hair. You can find it on your head. Any type of hair will work.
2. Separate a section of hair between 1 and 2 inches from the rest. I like to take it from behind my ear, because it will sit at the perfect place on my hair. I also like to tie the rest of my hair away, so it doesn't get mixed up in the braid. 
3. Start braiding the section. A helpful tip: Start braiding upwards, to wear you want the braid to be when you make it a headband. This will prevent large bumps from appearing.
4. Continue to braid your hair. You do not need to braid it upwards the whole time because this will make your arms hurt.
5. Tie off the braid.
6. Place the braid where you want it to be in the headband. Then, so nobody sees the bobby pin you are going to secure it with, lift up a section of hair from where the bobby pin will sit. 
7. Pin the braid down with a bobby pin, then put the hair you held up back down. Smooth everything out so it looks AH-MAZING!

And then you're done!

If you thought the first hairstyle was easy, this will be even easier. 

1. Again, start with hair. 
2. Take a section of hair about an inch or two wide, and begin braiding. You do not need to braid it up or do anything fancy, just braid it.
3. Then tie it off.
4. Finally, and this step is optional, you can thicken up the braid, by pulling on the outsides of the braid. This will make it look more full, but you can leave it un-pulled if you want to.

Then you are done, honey-bun.

This hairstyle is kind of like braid-ception.

1. Again, you need hair to do this hairstyle.
2. Separate the hair into three sections. Be sure to use all of your hair.
3. Tie off two of the three sections. I decided to keep the middle section, but it doesn't really matter. If you have layers, it might be harder to use the back piece, since it is a side braid.
4. You are now going to separate the section into smaller, inch-size sections (or whatever size you want) and braid them (like the peekaboo braid).
5. Then tie the braid off and pull on it to make it thicker.
6. Complete steps 4. and 5. until you do not have any hair from the section left.
7. Let down the rest of your hair.
8. Braid all of your hair together, using the braids as one section. Then tie it off.

And that's it!

So those are the simple hairstyles that you can do if you only know how to do a three-strand braid. These are also perfect for days that you need to do a quick easy hairstyle because they all have less than ten steps. 

Three-strand braids are the easiest, but what are the hardest braid for you?

XOXO,

Taylor