Product Review - Lillibands and LilliWear

The lovely ladies over at Lillibands have sent Steph and I some GREAT stuff to try out and review for you all!  Their signature Lillibands are headbands that are made from bold beautiful fabrics with an elastic that holds them in place all day long!  The LilliWear line are unique dresses and skirts that you won't find on stores or see on any other girls around town!

These headbands are SO pretty and they would make GREAT stocking stuffers!  Here are the girls and I modeling the ones we received!

Here is Miss V wearing a Girls size Lilliband

Little E is wearing a Baby size.  

I am wearing a Teen/Women's size.

Miss B is also in a Teen/Women's size

We have all enjoyed trying out the Lillibands!  The "baby" size is marketed for children under 2, but Little E has a tiny head and although she is 4, it fits her really well.  The fabric part of the Lilliband increases slightly in width the larger the size you purchase.

Miss V and Miss B both have kind of big heads and I have a kind of small head, but the headbands we used all seemed to fit us well.  The girls reported NO slippage throughout the day while wearing them to school!  

I have never been a huge headband person.  The old plastic kind gives me a headache and usually cloth ones just slip around too much.  When I wore the Lilliband I experienced no headache or discomfort.  I also have to say there was considerably less slippage than I normally experience with headbands but I still kind of felt like it was moving backward over time.  When I would check the mirror everything still looked great, but it just felt like it was wrong!  My husband really thought I looked cute in it though, so that is a plus!  

Lucky Little E also got to try out the "Messy Girl Dress."  I know I wouldn't want her getting messy in it, though, it is WAY to cute for that!  Although with the bright colors and busy patterns of the dresses, I am sure they would hide stains very well!  Actually, I'll tell you why it's called the Messy Girl Dress.....because since it's fully REVERSIBLE, when your girl gets a bit messy (as we know they can during a day of play) they can flip the dress inside out and VOILA! Clean again! The material you see on the front pocket is what the other side of the dress looks like.  That is like having two dresses in one! What a great idea!

There was a misunderstanding about Little E's age so they sent her a dress meant for a two year old.  Fortunately Little E is still quite Little!  The GREAT thing about this dress is that once your girl has grown a bit, it can easily become a tunic top worn with jeans and leggings as you can see E doing here! I was really impressed with the sturdy quality of this dress.  It is super durable.  

Check out the rest of the LilliWear too.  I love, love, LOVE the pocket skirts with matching tops. TOO CUTE!  

Steph here! G was sent an aqua-colored (fave color!) Lilliband, as luck would have it, with OWLS on it.....her classroom theme this year happens to be owls...so she L.O.V.E.D. getting this Lilliband!

By the way, the reason this looks raised at the back and rolled/miscreased at the front is because on her first day wearing it at school the colors matched her outfit and apparently she wanted to gather her loose tunic top into a "tail" behind her and so of course thought her new headband would work fabulously for that purpose. So I just need to roll it back to the normal crease a tad and steam it for a few seconds....just haven't done it yet :)

G usually removes headbands, like the ballerina ones, by the time I pick her up from daycare it has been stuffed into her backpack. Not so with the Lillibands. They are so comfortable to her that she usually forgets to remove it at night (she's asleep in hers right now, actually). She is really wanting me to curl her hair into spirals with the Soft Spikes and wear it like that with the Lilliband, but we haven't found time yet to do that style.

I was sent a black and white teen/adult size Lilliband. I was told that they are typically worn at the front of the head, as you can see in the photos of the ladies on their website. My hair is straight and fine but I have a lot of it. I will tell you that this headband stayed in place more so than any fabric headband I have tried. I would say that during a normal day it may have slipped backwards from where I initially put it maybe a half an inch or so. That is AMAZING for a fabric headband on straight hair! And I like the fact that the elastic that goes under the hair at the back of your head is thin and so doesn't feel like a bunched up annoyance back there.

These would be fabulous Christmas gifts, as would any of the LilliWear (here is the link to the Pocket Skirts with matching Tees). The prices of Lillibands and LilliWear reflect their fine handmade quality. These are moms creating quality clothing and accessories, inspired by their very own little girls!

Thanks so much ladies, for sending these to us! Please go check out the Lillibands website and let us know how you like their products!

Shades of Us Hair Accessories - Review

It's been a long time coming, but I told you all we had another giveaway in the making.  Here it comes!  These adorable hair accessories come from Shades of Us.  Laura makes them all by hand and she has quite a variety of styles.  She sent all 4 of our girls 2 hair things each.  Katie's girls were SO THRILLED to get this package of beautiful hair stuff that they immediately put them in their hair!

They have continued to enjoy adding them to different styles to spice things up.  Here are a few pics:

Little E's favorite color is yellow and we have used these hair things A LOT!  I like that they are a solid color because they are a bit more versatile, I can pair them with so many outfits!

Miss V is ALL about the pink, so this pink and red fabric flower is perfect for her!  I love how unique this one is!

I know the pic of B is a bit overexposed, so I included a pic of this one in E's hair too.  B loves orange and turquoise, so this is the perfect choice for her! Aren't the different fabrics cool?

 These flowers are great for older girls.  I think the colors are bold and gorgeous!  I am a bit afraid to send my girls to school in these though because they can be so rough on their stuff!  I am sure they or their classmates will destroy them.  So I am reserving these ones for special occasions.

Here is another precious flower that I think is well suited for younger girls.  I love how it is made of soft, touchable fabric.  

You can check out Shades of Us on Facebook or at their website.  They have many many more styles than what we have shown you here!  There is something to suit every little girls fancy!  And priced from $3.00 to $12.00 (for headbands) these handmade and unique creations are a great buy!

Please come back tomorrow for your chance to win one of these fabulous hair accessories!

Tate Product Update and More...

Excuse me for a moment as this post begins with a disclaimer, or maybe I should say, with a "let's be honest here!"

I am about to send some love to one of our sponsors, Truly Pure and Natural.  Yes, we exchange add space for FREE product so, Yes, it is in my best interest to say good things about the stuff they sell on their site.  We all know how expensive it is to use natural products for our families, so I benefit tremendously from this arrangement.  BUT, I want you all to know that I am way to honest of a person to destroy the integrity of this blog by saying things that I don't really mean.  We started this blog to help other parents, and we wouldn't be helping anyone if we lied.  Also, the fact that I WANT to continue to receive FREE products from Truly Pure and Natural so that I can continue to USE them, should attest to the fact that I really do believe in what I am saying.  Now that I have that out of the way....

I thought you would all appreciate an update on the Tate's products that we reviewed last summer.  We have had these products in our home for almost a year, so I can now tell you how we have continued to use them past the trial phase.  (to read the original review go here)

It turns out that I really didn't want to part with the Taliah Waajid conditioner and  bodifying mist that I have been using on B and V for several years.  Our routine was working, and if it ain't broke - don't fix it!
So those two aren't washing their hair with the Tate's but Young Man C, Little E and Camera Guy are all using the Tate's shampoo and conditioner.  (I have troublesome hair so I don't even want to discuss me!)

We also all use the Tate's shampoo as a body wash.  This is my favorite thing.  It works for every member of our family and I LOVE knowing that we are using a chemical free product on our bodies.  Also it has made traveling SO simple!  Since the shampoo doubles as body wash and the conditioner can also double as a lotion!  We don't normally lotion with the Tate's conditioner, but we do when traveling.  So many fewer bottles to pack!!!

With my last order I wanted to try something new from Tate's so I ordered the Acne Solution.  Young Man C has started to have the occasional pimple and I wanted something gentle for him to clean his face with.  Most days he washes his face with the Tate's shampoo, but now a few times a week he also uses the Acne Solution. It seems to be working well, but I have to admit the pimples haven't been as much of a problem in the winter as they were last summer when he was sweaty and dirty all the time, so I will get a better idea as things continue to heat up again.

BUT, the EXCITING part about the Acne Solution is that it can also be used for dandruff.  Camera Guy has been using Selsun Blue for years and he was thrilled to try something new that wasn't BLUE and reeking of CHEMICALS!  It has worked GREAT!  He loves it!

I LOVE lip balm, so I decided to try out the Honeybee Gardens Lip Balm that TPN is selling.  I got the 4 pack and passed them out to the family.  They all smelled AWESOME, but they don't really have a super strong flavor.  I consider this a good thing because it keeps little ones from wanting to just lick it all off after they apply it!  Remember that I am being totally honest here....I LOVE this lip balm.  I have MANY different kinds and this is currently my total fav!  It kept my dry winter lips feeling fabulous all day!

Finally, for fun, and because I have an addiction to water bottles and all things purple, I ordered one of these!  When I first saw that glass baby bottles were coming back in style because of BPA fears I thought they were so cool - especially when they had those cool silicone protector things on them.  So when I saw they were making grown up water bottles just like them I was thrilled!

Does anyone else feel like they drink more water during the course of the day if they carry a water bottle around with them?  I do!

Well that is all the love I have for our friends at Truly Pure and Natural for today!  Please go check out their store!  They have even more great, chemical free things than what I have shared with you like makeup, toothpaste, coffee, snacks and more!

If you try out anything new from TPN and you love it, PLEASE share with us so we can try it out too!

Katie

Product Review - Nudred

This review has been a long time in the making!  I received our Nudred in the mail RIGHT after I had given Young Man C a fresh short hair cut!  So I had to stick it in the closet and just wait, wait, wait for his hair to grow!  When his hair was about 1/2 inch long we gave it a try.  It kind of worked but his hair just wasn't long enough to really get a twist out of it yet....

When we finally made this video his hair was about 1 inch long.  According to the Nudred website this is a perfect length for twisting, but I still feel like it might have worked better when his hair was even longer than this.  It suggest that hair be between 1/8 - 2 inches long.  This is the look we got when his hair was 1 inch....

Now as for how Young Man C feels about this style.  Well, I blame it on the age, but he doesn't care for it.  His dad and I both thought it looked FANTASTIC and his whole soccer team complemented him on it, but since it was MY idea, that makes it the OPPOSITE of what he wants to do with his hair.  So the instant I finally got him to tape the video review he had me cut his hair all off again!  URGH!  I think with a little more practice I would have had this Nudred thing really figured out!

MISTAKE:  I don't know if it makes a real difference or not, but one mistake I realized I made in using the Nudred when I watched their video on their website was that they apply the Nu-potion directly to the Nudred sponge, but I applied it to his hair.

Here are a few other details about the product:

Website:  www.nudred.com
Question and Answer page on their site: Nudred Questions

Price: $29.99 for 1 Nudred and 1 4oz bottle of Nu-Potion

Time to make twists:  10-20 minutes

Ease of use:  Simple!

Opinion of product:  I think this product is really cool.  I have made twists in C's hair in the past and it takes painstaking hours!  This only takes a few minutes.  HUGE timesaver!

Locs:  According to their website you can also use Nudred to start and maintain locs in the beginning stages.  I can't speak to how well this would work since we have not tried it, but it sounds like a cool idea.  I would LOVE to try it on C, but again, he is NOT interested!

To see the Nudred in action here is our video review:



If you would like to try the Nudred for yourself, make sure you come back tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Katie

Soft Spike Curlers - Product Review

***Sorry everyone there was a miscommunication between Katie and Steph! This is the post that was supposed to go with the Soft Spike video!***



I am so excited today to review my favorite loc curling products - Soft Spikes! Here is some info for you straight from the Soft Spike website:

www.softspikecurlers.com

About Soft Spike Curlers

Soft Spike Hair Curlers are the Original self-locking hair curlers. Soft Spikes are designed to handle all types of hair, including heavier locs. Made from a closed cell foam material, Soft Spike Curlers don't absorb moisture or hair products, are easy to clean and will not dry out your hair.

Note: Pink, purple, lime, and teal made from softer foam and may not be suitable for heavier types of hair.

Soft Spike Curlers are specially designed with a self-locking loop that will not slip out after your have set in your curls. What's more, they are soft and smooth, making them easy to sleep in without damaging your hair or causing discomfort.

Now that you know what Soft Spikes are, I will tell you everything I have learned from using them on B's Beautiful Braidlocs! Watch this video for all of the details about Soft Spikes and for a demonstration on how to put them in. If you prefer reading, I have restated all of the key info under the video:

Size: Soft Spikes come in 3 sizes, Small, Large and Long. For B's length of hair the SMALL spikes are plenty big enough! I think even if your locs were twice the length of B's the short ones would work, but I guess it depends on how many you put on each loc. I didn't know which to buy so I got small and long. The long are WAY longer than necessary - maybe I should cut them?

Quantity: One set of Soft Spikes actually comes with two packages. Their are 30 spikes per package so a set is 60 spikes. The first time I did B's locs I used 72 spikes, but I was putting more locs per spike on that time. The next time I used the spikes I used close to 100 spikes. I would recommending getting TWO sets, which would be 120 spikes and you will have plenty! Unless you have a lot more locs than B. She has 188.

Locs per Spike: The first time I used the spikes I was putting 2 to 4 locs on each spike. I decided that I preferred to only use 2 locs per spike because the hair dried better with less per spike and the curls were tighter. The more locs you put on each spike, the looser the curls will be. So now I do 2 locs per spike for her whole head.

End Papers: The first time I used the spikes I put end papers on half her head and no end papers on the other half. Turns out that with locs, the end papers are just an unnecessary hassle! They actually made taking the locs off the spikes HARDER instead of easier! And it made it take longer to put them on, so totally not worth it. If you are using the spikes with locs than I don't recommend purchasing the end papers.

Curling Spray Gel: I also do not find this necessary for those with locs. I am super picky about what touches B's locs since I don't want anything causing buildup or getting trapped in them! I have found that B's curls only last a day or two, so maybe the gel would help them last longer, but I am thinking of finding a product that is meant for locked hair to try instead.

Wet or Dry Hair: I first tried them with very wet hair straight from the shower. We put the spikes in before bed and she wore them all night and some of them were still a bit damp when we took them out in the morning. So the next time we started with dry hair that I lightly dampend with our usual Taliah Waajid spray that is watered down. This worked much better.

Sleeping in them: Not To Bad! B is not one to complain a lot about sleeping with stuff in her hair. But these things look like they are going to be really uncomfortable to sleep in so I was expecting B to put up a fuss! NOPE! The first few times B used them she didn't have a problem, this last time she got a bit uncomfortable but I think it was because she had them in too long! Of course there is no way I was going to fit a sleep cap over those crazy spikes so she has to sleep without one. But I figure that one night without a cap isn't the end of the world.

Time to Put In: It took me less than an hour to put them in B's whole head of locs!

Time to Take Out: It only took me 15 minutes to take them out! This worked really well on Easter morning when we didn't have a lot of time, but she was still able to go to church looking FABULOUS!

B hunting for eggs on Easter morning! We used a lot of long Spikes, shorter ones don't look as crazy!

Remove spikes, add a white bow - Ready for Easter!

Cost: One set of (60) Small Soft Spikes is only $19! I think that is really reasonable! The Large cost $20 and the Long are $21. You can buy them with End Papers and Curling Gel for more money or you can buy the End Papers and Curling Gel separately. The spikes are also sold in large quantities for less!

Overall Impression: I give Soft Spike Curlers TWO THUMBS up for a great product! They are fun and easy to use and create adorable curls! I have yet to try them on any of the other hair types in our house, but when I do, I will be sure to update you!

Right after removing the Soft Spikes

After shaking out the curls and adding a double cornrow headband.

Gorgeous!

*I was not paid to do this review. I already owned this product and decided to share it with you. Soft Spikes IS donating some products for a giveaway. Better check back here tomorrow!*

Katie

Tate's Natural Miracle Hair and Body Products - Product Review

This is Keep Me Curly's first official haircare product review! We hope to be doing these often and, when we can, accompany them with a giveaway! Today we are reviewing a product called Tate's Natural Miracle Hair and Body Products. The wonderful company that has provided the samples for Katie and Steph to review is called Truly Pure and Natural.

You will have to bear with us as we decide exactly how we are going to do some of these things on our blog. Please leave us feedback in the comments if you like or dislike our format. Our plan for product reviews is to do both a video review and a written review, so here goes!




Products:
Tate's Natural Miracle Shampoo
Tate's Natural Miracle Conditioner
Tate's Natural Miracle Hair Gel
(They sell more products like these, but we only reviewed these 3)

Website:
Truly Pure and Natural

Ingredients:
Shampoo: Mountain Spring Water, coconuts, hazelnuts, pine needles, chamomile, nutmeg, lemons, thyme, passion flower, apples, cinnamon, eucalyptus, sea salt, geranium, raspberries, almonds

Conditioner: Mountain spring water, apples, strawberries, rose, lemons, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, boysenberries, oranges, cloves, ginger, pineapple, blackberries, celery, cherry bark, oak bark, orchid, marigold, hazel nut, pine needles, coconut, chamomile, jasmine, calendula, parsley, thyme, papaya, eucalyptus, passion flower, cinnamon, geranium, nutmeg.


Gel: Mountain spring water, pine needles, pine bark, oak bark, honey, lavender, calendula, basil, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, rose hip, allspice berries, citrus peels, juniper, lemongrass, sage, mint, thyme, vinegar, peppermint, apricot, peach.


No dyes, gluten, colors, iodine, glycols, sulfates, parabens, fragrance, or phosphates. No animal testing!


Scent:
The Conditioner and Gel were pretty much odorless, and the shampoo smells lightly like Almond Extract while you are using it but afterwards doesn't leave a lingering scent. I also believe the shampoo comes in an odorless version. These are GREAT for people with scent sensitivities.

Uses:
These products are SO versatile! They can be used on a variety of different skin types and for all kinds of crazy uses that you would never think of! The website has a pdf you can download of the 100 different uses for the conditioner! For now we have just used them for basic hair and skin needs, but even for that they are very versatile. The Shampoo is great for washing hair and body on all of our family members. The Conditioner is great for Co-washes, and as a leave in conditioner on our girls with locs. It is also great as a shaving lotion for women. It makes for silky smooth skin when used as a LOTION on Katie and little E, but needed to be applied very heavily to be moisturizing enough for B and V. Steph came up with a great way to mix the conditioner with distilled water and a bit of virgin olive oil in a spray bottle that has been working wondrously as a hair and body spritz for Miss G. (check the video) The gel is non-sticky and has a light hold. Works good as a gentle, not crunchy, styling aid for Katie, and Steph has been using it too. Steph doesn't do anything to her hair in the morning after washing (except brushing), and running the gel through damp hair has really helped prevent the flyaways! We will have to update you after V's next hairstyle to let you know how the gel works for cornrow styles. I believe we have only tapped the surface of the many cool uses for these products!

Cost:
$5.99 for the 4oz bottle (this is the size you see in the video)
$19.99 for a 16 oz bottle, but less when bought in combination packages

This is slightly on the expensive side, but not so much when considering that they are all VERY natural products. We have found that a little goes a long way for most uses of the products so far. If it also eliminates the need to purchase many other products, this can be cost-effective as well.

Overall Impression:
We were both really excited for the chance to try these new products and to work with Denise, the lovely woman who sells them at the Truly Pure and Natural store. We are very impressed with the ingredients and feel so good about knowing exactly what we are putting on our families' hair and skin. I don't think we have ever come across a shampoo and conditioner that contain all these wonderful ingredients before. If you choose to use the shampoo and conditioner for all of your hair and skin care needs for your whole family you could eliminate MANY of the bottles cluttering up your shower and cupboard!

For more details about our experiences with Tate's please view these videos.





*We were not paid to do this review. We were sent samples to try with our families and give an honest review.

Come back tomorrow for the chance to win some Tate's for yourself! We can't wait to hear what you think of these products too!