How I Style My Hair|Beachy Waves Hair Tutorial

Hey ya’ll! Today I’m going to show you how I style my hair into loose, beachy waves. I’ve been styling me hair like this for a while now and absolutely love it. I have been getting a lot of questions lately on how I do my hair, and what products I use, so I figured I would share that with you today.

I have medium length hair with long layers cut into it. My hair is fine, but very dense, meaning that my hair is thin and I have a lot of it. I don’t have naturally curly hair, but it’s not super straight either. My hair dries straight in the front, and then I have a natural wave in the back.

The tool I use to curl my hair is the Nume Curling Wand. I received the Titan 3 set for Christmas, and have been using the 22mm barrel which is the medium sized attachment.  I also keep handy a paddle brush, a wide toothed comb, a teasing comb, shine spray, hairspray, and a hair clip to section off my hair.

Before I start I like to spray the Granier Brilliant Shine Spray all over my hair for added shine. I then brush my hair out with a paddle brush so that the product is evenly distributed. Since my hair is so dense, I end up curling my hair in five different sections. The first two sections are the bottom half of my hair. I start by taking about one inch pieces, and curl them away from my face. I’m not super precise when I’m curling the bottom two sections. These bottom sections aren’t easily seen after the finished product, so I just want to get them curled that way the hair blends with the top three sections.

The third section is when I start alternating my curls. I begin by taking the front pieces, and start curling towards my face. Then grabbing the second piece, I curl it away from my face. I repeat these two steps for the rest of this section. The reason I alternate the curls is because I want the waves to be distinct and different, resulting in a more textured look. If you curl your hair in the same direction all the way around, they are all going to meld together, resulting in one giant wave. By alternating the curls, you will have distinct separated waves that create more volume and texture to the finished look.

The fourth section is where I decide whether I am going to do a side part or a middle part. For today’s look I decided to go with a side part. I start by creating a deep side part, and create one last section on the parted side of my hair. I repeat the same steps that I did with the third section. I start by curling towards my face again on the parted side, because that piece of hair lays before the first piece in the previous section. As a result, every curl in this section will lay on top of it’s opposite curl from the third section. The right side (my right) is actually going to be the top section of hair because of the side part, so instead of curling the first piece toward my face, I am going to be curling that piece away from my face. I like to curl the hair closest to my face, on the top layer, to curl away from my face.

Now to the fifth and final section, which is all going to lay on my left side. I curl the first piece closest to my face, away from my face. Like I did in the previous sections, I add in alternating curls until all the final pieces are finished and curled.

Once the entire head is curled, I like to let them sit for about 20 minutes before I brush them out. The wait time allows your curls to cool, and lock in their shape. If you brush our your curls while the are still warm, they will lose their shape. During this time, I usually do my makeup to help pass the time.
When the curls have cooled and set, I like to start shaking the curls out with my fingers. I start with the bottom, putting my hands at the base of my head and gently shaking the hair from the root, and gently pulling my fingers through the hair. I repeat this step with the middle of my head, taking my hands through the sides, gently pulling my fingers through the entire middle section. Once I have gently ruffled my curls, I take a wide toothed comb, and gently start brushing through my hair.

When I’ve finished brushing out my hair, I like to go back in and add in a few small curls to any place that needs it, or if I accidentally missed a piece. Once I’ve done that I like to spray a light weight hair spray to really lock in the work I’ve just done. My favorite hairspray to use in the Garner Sleek & Shine Hair Spray. It’s a light weight hair spray that holds my style in place, without leaving my hair heavy and crunchy.

And that is how I style my hair! I hope you enjoyed it, and got a few tips on how to achieve texture beachy waves. Be sure to watch my video to see the tutorial in action. And as always, if you have any requests for me, or questions, just leave them in the comments down below!

xoxo,
Casey

GRWM: Makeup, Hair, & OOTD

Hey ya'll!!

For today's post I just wanted to do a quick GRWM with a little more pizazz than usual! Instead of going into full blown tutorial mode on my makeup, I wanted to throw in how I did my hair and what I'm wearing. Kevin's out of town for work, and the kids and I didn't do much today. For the most part we hung around the house and I went to the gym and picked up some diapers. Tonight we are going to dinner to celebrate my sister's birthday, so I figured I would document how I got ready. Here we go!

I've been using the same makeup products recently. I've really been loving my Makeup Geek palette, but I decided to give it a break and bust out my tried and true Naked Palette. This is one of my favorite palettes of all time and I have hit pan on a couple of the shades. I think it's a really great neutral palette as long as you're ok with shimmer shadows. My foundation routine has been the same for about a month now, using my NARS Sheer Glow Foundation and the NYX HD Concealers. I never venture out and try new brow products, I'm pretty happy with my BrowZing and Anastasia Brow Gel. I've been really loving the bronzer/contour routine I've been doing lately. I've been contouring with the Hoola bronzer, and bronzing with the Becca. NARS blush in LoveJoy has been getting tons of love too. It was one of my favorites for July. Becca's highlighter in Opal is my holy grail highlighter, I'm so in love with it.

I decided to curl my hair today and opted for a larger barrel than usual. Ever since I cut my hair, I had been using a 3/4 inch barrel to curl my hair. It's starting to grow out so I decided to use a 1 inch barrel today. I love the way it turned out! The 1 inch created a soft, touchable, bouncy wave. And do we see how much volume it added? I think I just found my new favorite hair style. I love wearing my hair straight, but every now and then I get really bored with it. This is a very nice change of pace. I washed and blow dried my hair like normal. I then sectioned my hair in three sections and curled away from my face. When I got to the crown, I parted my hair in the direction I want it to go before I started curling. It didn't take long to do this look at all. It was super quick and easy. To finish it off and get some extra volume, I teased my hair on each side of my part just a tad.

I love wearing rompers in the summertime. They are easy, comfortable, and keep me cool in the warm weather. This one I purchased from Forever 21 at the beginning of summer. I love the Aztec print and the added flap that gives it a dressy look. The only thing that bugs me about this romper is that it has a snap closure in the front and it is constantly popping open. It can be quite annoying because let's face it, no one wants to see my sticky boobs I have on underneath. 

I hope ya'll enjoyed today's GRWM. I really want to get a new curling wand, because all I have is a measly little old school curling iron. Let me know what your favorite curling wand is in the comments below. Ta-ta for now!

xoxo,

Casey

OOTD & How To Be A Fashionable, Yet Fabulous Momma

Hey ya'll!

Today I'm showing you my "Outfit Of The Day" for my daughter Lexi's 5th Grade Class Picnic. I'm also going to talk about how to make time for yourself and still be a Fashionable, yet Fabulous Momma.

Mom's, there is a way to dress appropriately for a school function without being too casual, or too dolled up. Getting dressed, doing your hair, and putting on some makeup may seem like a challenge due to our busy schedules, but it is possible and it just flat out helps make you feel good about yourself.

Everything I am wearing today is linked below:
Kimono: PacSun
Tank Top: Target
Jeans: Abercrombie
Flats: Lucky Brand


So many mom's make excuses on why they can't put themselves together because they just can't seem to find the time. I get it, because I'm a mom myself. I know what it's like to be busy and to feel like you're suffocating thanks to your to-do list that just seems to keep growing by the minute. I am so blessed thanks to my husband Kevin, who is able to solely provide for our family, so that I can be a stay at home mom. Between having a school-aged child, an infant, a rowdy dog, and a house to take care of, finding time for myself can seem dang near impossible. But it isn't! We can all find time, we just have to make time. Whether that means getting up a little earlier, or going to bed a little later, we can all find a little "me" time during the day to pamper ourselves, and to help us look and feel good without taking time away from our kiddos.

If I need to get myself ready, I put Kason, my son, in his chair with a toy or in his bouncer. I turn the TV on Disney Jr. and he is fully entertained! I am able to get dressed, fix my hair, and put some make-up on while he hangs out and watches his shows. Now before anyone freaks out, yes I check on him, and no I don't leave him stranded by himself. My bedroom is right next to my living room so I can hear and see him the whole time. Some mom's are against letting their babies watch TV, and that is 100% okay. We all have different ways of raising our kids, and we all have to do what we think is best for ourselves, and for our families. There's no right, or wrong way. Everyone is entitled to raise their kids however they see fit. Unless it is physically, mentally, or emotionally harming the child, I don't think any of us are in any place to tell someone else what is best for them, or what's best for their kids.

For me, getting dressed for the day, fixing my hair, and putting my face on really helps to get me going, and makes me feel good about myself. No I don't fix my hair or put makeup on every day. Half of the time I'm in gym clothes with my hair in a pony or a knot. But I do try to put some effort into my appearance regularly.

One thing that I absolutely cannot live without, and saves me so much time, is dry shampoo. Every mom needs it! It is a life saver when it comes to getting ready in a pinch. My favorite is Batiste and you can get it at Ulta for $7.99. My hair gets very oily and I used to wash it every day. Once I discovered this little baby, Holy Guacamole! To prove how much I love this, and how amazing it works, I am on 3rd day hair. Yes I said it, 3RD DAY HAIR! Trust me Momma's, go pick this up. You can thank me later.

I hope you all enjoyed this post. Let me know in the comments below what you like to do for "me" time, and how you pamper yourself on the daily (like having a big fat glass of wine after the kids go to bed). Don't forget to follow me on Instagram & Twitter for daily pics, tips, and extra little tid-bits!


xoxo,
Casey


*UPDATE*
Here's a picture of my daughter Lexi, my son Kason, and I from her class picnic! :)
My sunnies are Gold Ray-Ban Aviator Flash Lenses in Blue