Multiply Your Style and Save Big for Back to School at Old Navy!

It was a style over load at Old Navy! I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit anxious over the prospect of having to do back to school shopping for TWO GIRLS, but with the great prices at Old Navy, there was nothing to be worried about! Now through August 14th, Old Navy is having a spectacular Back to School Sale-with items starting at $5! There are incredible savings on hoodies, tees, dresses (my personal favorites), and even uniforms. And did I mention that jeans start at $10?!?!


Since I controlled the reigns on this shopping excursion, I opted for the sweetest little sundress for Lo. I was also able to get her a 2 pairs of patterned skinny jeans and a couple of cute graphic tees-all for under $60! What I love about Old Navy is that even though I'm getting a great bargain, there is real quality in the clothes, so not only will they last until Lo grows out of them, I'll be able to pass them down to Kenzie when she gets older. Now that's really multiplying the savings!

Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway

In the name of full disclosure, my family does not "do" holidays, BUT, I do enjoy taking advantage of the holiday seasons: the time off from school/work, the emphasis on spending time with your loved ones, and all of the sales!!! So while I won't be celebrating with gift giving on any particular day, I am keeping my eye out for items that my family will enjoy that are specially marked down for the holidays. Case in point: Melissa & Doug's Terrific Twenty. 

CGC (For the Mini Me)! AKA: Curly Q's Curly Q Custard

Product Description: This rich and creamy custard textured cream provides great curl definition, weight and sheen for curly girls. It is loaded with certified organic ingredients (Certified Organic Sunflower Oil and Certified Organic Aloe Leaf Juice) and moisturizing butters (e.g. Shea and Mango) to hair strengthening ingredients such as Panthenol and Lecithin. Curly Q Custard will naturally elongate her curls. Provides moisture, definition, shine, frizz control, and acts as a anti-humectant.

Ingredients: Purified water, certified organic sunflower oil, octyl palmitate, certified organic aloe vera leaf juice, glycerin, glyceryl stearate, potassium stearate, panthenol, stearic acid, sodium carbomer, allantoin, cetearyl alcohol, certified organic sweet almond oil, shea butter, certified organic jojoba oil, soy tocopherols, phenoxyethanol, fragrance.

silicone free, sulfate free, paraben free, organic


My Take: Curly Q's Curly Custard is from Curls' hair care line for kids. It is a medium weight curl cream that adds definition without hold. Because I would be primarily using it on my babies, I love that it is sulfate, silicone, paraben, mineral oil and petrolatum oil free. Purified water is the first ingredient so this is definitely meant to act as a moisturizer, but I found that I needed to seal it, in order to add shine to the hair. The jar says that it will "naturally elongate" the hair, but I didn't notice any obvious change in the amount of shrinkage in Lo's hair.

A look inside  the jar. The product is really rich and creamy, but not at all greasy. 

"Custard" is the perfect way to describe the texture of this thick and rich cream and it has a very light and pleasant scent. I suggest waiting until the hair is merely damp, and not soaking wet, to apply the custard, as it did not seem to soak into the hair when applied immediately after washing. We shampooed and then conditioned the hair and I attempted to use the custard as a detangler/leave in conditoner, but it didn't really work in that capacity. I recommend detangling with a leave in first, then using this after. Lo's 4a/b curls were soft and very well defined, and though I would've liked for them to have more sheen, her hair did look beautiful.

Lo's 2nd day, wash and go hair after using the Curly Q Custard :)

I would say that this is comparable to Shea Moisture's Organic Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie , which we are already huge fans of. I think this is perfect for someone that is looking for something similar, but prefers products with a lighter scent. Ultimately, while I liked the product in Lo's hair, I think it is better suited for Kenzie's finer hair and perhaps even my own 3a/b curls.


Until next time...

PS-The product was supplied to me for the purpose of review by NaturallyCurly.com and the company. I was not paid for this review and all opinions stated are 100% honest and my own :)

Mini Me Outift of the Week

I'm excited to bring this brand new, regular feature to Mama Fashionista! Weekly (or more often sometimes) I will post an outfit of the day featuring one of my gorgeous daughters. I'll also be discussing ways to keep your little ones looking designer chic on a shoestring budget! So without further adieu, here's London...

A Day in the Life (June 2, 2012)...

The view of the city from Piedmont Park (Atlanta, GA)

We spent the day in the park yesterday and it was so nice. We found the best parking spot ever right in front of the park, walked to Trader Joe's (ohmigoodness, Trader Joe's is beyond awesome!), then walked back to park and had a picnic with my parents and one of my brothers and his wife. A wonderful day was had by all and I thought I'd share some of the pictures with you lovelies! (And by that, I mean pictures of the lil bits because they are the only one's always camera ready)...

It's Giveaway Time! MopTop Hair Care

Alright lovelies, it's time for me to share more goodies with you! This time, the wonderful people at MopTop Hair Care have generously agreed to give one of my readers their choice of either the kids' Fuzzy Duck Travel Kit or the adults' MopTop Travel kit!

MopTop Travel Kit for Adults (photo via moptophair.com)

Fuzzy Duck Travel Kit for Kids (photo via moptophair.com)

Essentials: Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap

One of the most important steps to stay healthy is regularly washing your hands. And while any old antibacterial  soap can get the job done, what fun is that!

True story: I used to keep a regular bottle of mass market soap (that shall remain nameless) in all 3 of our bathrooms and on the kitchen sink, These bottles would last forever (including a refill bottle that the hubby had since before we got married), which I thought was a good thing; what a bargain, right!?! Not so much...

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap in Malibu Citrus

Fun Outdoors with eco-armour™ “outdoor” botanical insect repellent body spray & moisturizer

While I enjoy the beauty of nature, I'm not exactly what you'd consider the "outdoorsy" type. Mostly because I hate insects (some might say I have a bit of a phobia, but I digress). Despite my aversion to the great outdoors, as a mommy I want to foster an appreciation for nature and the desire to play out in the fresh air in my children. Unfortunately, I think I may have unintentionally passed on my great disdain for bugs to London (and I can honestly say unintentionally because I go to great lengths to put on a brave face when she is present and we are confronted with a fly, spider, etc.). I tried really hard to not make my fear her fear, but to no avail; she freaks the heck out EVERY time she even thinks she sees an insect out of the corner of her eye. Needless to say, convincing her to play (and stay) outside can be a hard fought battle.

That all kind of changed this weekend when we tried eco-armour™ “outdoor” botanical insect repellent body spray & moisturizer...

eco-armour™ “outdoor” botanical insect repellent body spray & moisturizer

A Day in the Life (A Little Something Different)...

I thought I'd share a little bit of my life with you all. Nothing major; my hubby took the day off yesterday and we took the lil bits (London and Kensington) to the mall (The Mall of Georgia, to be exact) just to walk around and play in the big fountain they have out front. I got some really cute pictures and a video of them playing around so I thought I'd share. I keep trying to get my oldest (Peyton) in some of these shots, but she's at that age where she's uber camera shy, so that's a bit of a work in progress. 

Kenzie is almost the polar opposite of London. Where London was a total ham from very early on, Kenzie blatantly avoids eye contact with the camera. She will literally run away and duck behind something when she sees a camera!

London posing for the hubby (Kenzie running away from me and my camera)

London debating over whether or not to touch the water

We live within walking distance of the Mall of Georgia

London posing again

My hubby and my girls are the BEST parts of my life. I write about things that aid in improving superficial beauty, but my family helps me to remember what REAL beauty is: giving and receiving LOVE...

Until next time...

Ciao, XxO

Q