What’s the Fascination with Fascinators?



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Kate Middleton has definitely brought plenty of attention to fascinators through her trendsetting wardrobe and royal wedding.  For those of you who have been living under a rock and haven’t a clue as to what a fascinator is, a fascinator is a headpiece that is commonly made with sinamay, feathers, flowers, veiling, grosgrain, Swarovski crystals and/or beads, to name a few.  The materials used to make fascinators are endless.  The hair accessory is typically affixed to the head with either a comb, clip or headband and are a trendy and very modern replacement for a hat. 

Since going natural, I have decided that fascinators were my headpiece of choice.  Most importantly, due to the bulkiness and thickness of my hair, which usually makes for a tug-of-war for me with most hats.  For someone with my dilemma (thick hair), fascinators are the perfect choice with their ease of use and one size fit all design. 

Most likely, many of us will not be attending any royal weddings anytime soon; at least not of Will and Kate proportions, so where can we common folk wear such fancy hat pieces?  My recommendations are to have fun with this trend, that I think will be around for a long time to come, and don them to church (at least a fascinator is more visual eye candy than those big bothersome church hats we all hate to sit behind), to brunches, weddings (but, try not to upstage the bride by bringing all the attention to the contraption on your head), the Kentucky Derby, Prom and many other events where headpieces would have proper place.  Some fascinators are toned down enough that they can even be worn to work.



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Fascinators can be found all over the place these days and can get rather pricey, but don’t fret, there are economical options out there for you frugalistas!  Here are a few sites that offer these trendy pieces at affordable prices, or, you can  try making your own creation:

Hats by Cressida - Etsy

Fascinators NYC - Fascinators NYC

DIY: Fashion Indie

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Fascinators are fun accent pieces that come in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors and styles and can be as conservative or outlandish as you prefer, so make a fashion statement, represent your personality and fascinate with your fascinator!

Product Review: Shea Moisture Hair Products

I am a huge fan of quite a few video bloggers on You Tube in an effort to try to understand, tame and maintain my natural hair.  I have been natural since December 31, 2009 after transitioning from relaxed to natural for about a year.  MsVaughn, who I follow on You Tube, advertised that Walgreens had a BOGO on their Shea Moisture products, so I thought I would try them all, since I was essentially getting them for half price, plus I am a self-professed hair product junkie.  Yes, I can admit it!

I purchased the Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus line and the Raw Shea Butter line.

I first tried the Coconut & Hibiscus line, which consists of the Brilliant Curl Shampoo, Curl & Style Milk, Hold & Shine Mist and Curl Enhancing Smoothie.  The shampoo was very thick and luxurious feeling and I liked the way it suds’d up, however, it left my hair feeling a bit dry, but not quite straw-like, just not moisturized.  The Curl & Style Milk didn’t give me the slip that I look for in my conditioners and I found it hard to detangle my hair, which usually detangles easily with other conditioners in my rotation.  No matter how much conditioner I used, my hair was still left with tangles that were difficult to tame.  I used the Curl Enhancing Smoothie as a moisturizer under my hair gel and found that my hair seemed to be moisturized and soft. 

The verdict: NOT impressed with the Coconut & Hibiscus line.  In fact, so unimpressed that I didn’t even try the Raw Shea Butter line and returned them all back to Walgreens.  I did keep the Curl Enhancing Smoothie because it does moisturize and I kept the Hold & Shine Mist, to use as a refresher. 

Remember that in this natural hair game, no one head of hair is created equal, so find what works for you.