Hey all!! I hope you've been doing well. Lately I've been testing out a few new products on my hair. Some were good...others were #EPIC fails. Here are a couple new things that I have tried.

Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Lite- I heard about this product from a couple of my friends who said they loved it. So I decided to try it. I strongly disliked this product. I don't know if it is because of my hair texture that it didn't do what I wanted but it made my hair really greasy. Even after I sat under the dryer for forever, my hair still felt wet. When I took the twists out, my hair felt like there was massive product on it. The hair milk just didn't work for me. But if you use this product regularly, what do you like about it?? What does it do for your hair??

Lottabody- I loved this product. One of my hair dressers uses this when she does roller-sets and she had told me about it years ago. I used this product to retwist my hair a couple weeks ago and it turned out great. I loved the definition of my curls when I took my twists out. I sectioned my hair, sprayed it with water and then sprayed it with lottabody (use half lottabody and half water). This is a product that I will def keep in my arsenal. You can find it at Sally's for 6 bucks for the medium bottle. This is one of my cheap but awesome products. Love, love, love it.

Flexi Rods- I usually use perm rods to roll the front of my hair. I saw on Curly Nikki that she uses flexi rods to do her Twist n Curl. So i tried this. The flexi rods took longer to dry and I eventually reverted back to my perm rods. So i think Im going to stick with those. But I do want to do a Flexi-rod set eventually. Flexi rods run around 9 dollars a pack. Which I think is pretty expensive for rollers, especially if you have a lot of hair. But once I get my money up Im going to try them out.

Deep condition- Usually I condition my hair in the shower. But I wanted to try a deep condition. So I put the conditioner on after my shower and sat under the dryer. I wanted to see if it made a difference in the feel of my hair. My hair is soft but it was soft before. lol, So I may try an actual deep conditioner and see how it works. I think I'm going to test out Paul Mitchell Super Charged conditioner. I'll let you know how it works.

I have been watching a lot of video tutorials lately and here are some styles that I want to try.

Flexi Rod Set
Bantu Knot out
Flat-Twist out.
Dry twist out.


This week Im going to try a dry twist out/re-twist and a roller set with big rollers. Im going to take a couple pics of my hair to show you. Oh and I still need to show you pics from my birthday extravaganza weekend. So stay tuned.

Let me know what new products that you have tried and either liked or disliked. Im curious to hear what new products and styles that you have discovered. Holla!!-azureDizzle

How many of us are on a tight budget?? How many of us also like to keep it fly and fashionable, especially when it comes to your hair?? Well I know I do. Lately I have found a lot of awesome deals on hair products. Remember that when it comes to your hair, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get quality products. The other day I found a Giovanni Direct Tea Tree Treat Shampoo and conditioner set at TJ Maxx for $12.99. Just the shampoo alone at Whole Foods is around $8. It also came with a Moisture Protective spray which is awesome. The tea tree shampoo and conditioner made my scalp tingly and gave my hair a refreshed clean feeling. Another sweet find is the Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel. Its around $5 and it comes in a HUGE jar. You only need to use a little bit for your twists so it will last forever. I use this product in the front of my hair when I do my twist outs. I put the gel on, twist my hair and roll the ends on perm rods. The only draw back I have for this product is that if you use too much, you will have gel flakes when you take it out. I love that it makes my curls really defined, which I need in the front of my hair. I continue to use Paul Mitchell sculpting foam in the back of my hair. If you have different textures of hair on different parts, it's ok to use different products to get the desired look/style you want. What budget friendly products or stores do you like???-azureDizzle

Happy New Year!!! I hope you had a safe and wonderful new year. How many of you have made resolutions for the new year?? And how many of you have already broken them?? Well this year we at Sidebar are committed to making resolutions we can actually keep. No longer are the "lose 20 pounds" resolutions or the "no eating sweets" resolutions. This year we are committed to making resolutions that help us develop as people. So with that the theme for 2011 is "the Roll of the Dice". Meaning we are taking more chances in 2011. We are going to step outside of our comfort zone more and take chances that we would normally not make, whether it be in our relationships or our career choices. Lets keep this theme in mind in our daily lives and see where it takes us in 2011. Don't be scary, take chances and just roll the dice...see where it leads you!!! Good luck!!-azureDizzle

So you know that moment after college when you get your job and finally get your grown person apartment?? Do you remember how great that felt? But then after a while you realize that you don't have any grown person things to put in it?? I have been struggling with this concept because I feel that the apartment you had in college should be totally different from the apartment you have after college. Like the after college apartment is a testimony to your grown person status. But I have come to realize that it is also a mentality. In college, your apartment was filled with just enough to get by. You may have had one pot, one pan, a couple plates and bowls, you know, just enough utensils to get you through. But now this is no longer acceptable. As a grown person you need to have everything you could possibly want or need. Your GROWN. If need be, you should be able to cook up a 5 course meal and have enough pots and pans to cook everything. And sadly, most of us don't. We, myself included, only have enough to get by. So in 2011 I am changing this. I am a grown, semi-independant, law student and I need to get into that mind set. And I am going to begin with my apartment. I'm going to decorate and supply my apartment with all the furnishings and what-nots that grown people need. This may sound weird but I think it will make a huge difference on how I feel. What staples do you have in your apartment that makes it the ultimate "grown folks" apartment??-azureDizzle

Sidebar...is it that time of the year that guys just start acting crazy??? I have no clue what has been getting into guys lately. I've been hearing some crazy stories about guys doing some mad shady stuff and I'm starting to think that it is something in the air. Even my "semi-boo" has been trying to act up lately. I'm making changes in the new year. If you're not all about me than I'll find someone who is. This is my mantra for 2011 when it comes to relationships. No more are the days where I will be all about the guy and I'm only a second or third thought. I'm trying to be first. I'm too much of a good catch to be on the back burner. I'm hoping my friends will jump on this with me. My friends are bomb.com and are too good to be waiting for a guy to come around. Like my sands told me...I will not make you a priority, if to you I am only an option. Let's get it girls...who's with me???-azureDizzle

Its almost Christmas time!!! I hope you have all your Christmas shopping finsihed!! If you're like me...I havn't even started. Sad I know. But don't fret. I will be good and ready by Christmas day. Don't forget during this holiday season what the holidays are truly about. Us girls at Sidebar wish you a wonderful and safe Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year!!!- azureDizzle

Hello folks...hope you're having a good hair day!! Like I promised last trip to the salon, I tested out the "twist out", inspired by the Mop Top Maven (www.themoptopmaven.com). I think it went well over all. Here was my step by step process...


I used mostly Paul Mitchell products. I used Paul Mitchell (PM) Clarifying shampoo to get all the nastiness out of my hair before I used PM Tea Tree Lavender Mint Moisturizing Shampoo. Clarifying your hair once a week is good, so that you can make sure you don't have any built up residue and so that your hair can be better moisturized from the shampoo and conditioner. I made sure I dangled my hair with the conditioner in. It makes it 10 times easier after shampooing to keep your hair dangled.


This is what my hair looks like after shampooing, conditioning and detangling. A little scary. lol


I made a part on the side so that I can have a little swoopage (you can also part your hair down the middle). Some people start from the back and work their way up with the twists. I like to see what I'm doing and it is a little easier for me to start on the side. But whatever works best for you. Part out a section and clip the rest of the hair up. I used PM Volumizing Sculpting Foam to twist my hair. Usually I use the regular sculpting foam by PM, but I wanted to try the volumizer just to see if it will make any difference. The only difference was that the volumizing sculpting foam made my twists hard at the ends which I didn't like. But, when I took the twists out my curls were still soft. So it is up to you whether you care if your twists are a little hard or not. I twisted the hair with a generous amount of the sculpting foam. You actually dont need a lot of foam for each section. I used quite a bit in the picture (ooops).


I usually make my twists pretty small because I keep it twisted for a couple days before I take them out. This time I made them a little bigger. But you can even make them bigger than this. Play with the sizes till you find one that works best for you. Another tip is try your best to make the 2 parts of the twists even so that they stay together better. You don't want to have one skinny part and one fat part and try to twist them together. It doesn't work too well. Sometimes I have to use a sponge roller on the twists (mostly in the front) so that the twists stay together and so that the ends are cured when I take out the twists. It all depends on how your twists curl at the end. When you take out the twists you don't want straight ends. You want everything to be curly.


Here is the finished twisted look. I took the rollers out a little too fast, so as you can see the ends are straight. Next time I'm going to keep the rollers in longer.


To take out the twists I use my fave product ever in life: Bio Silk silk therapy. I use about a dime sized amount and rub it all through the twists. Make sure you get the ends too so that they don't get frizzy. I took out the twists and separated the pieces to create fullness. I fluffed and shaped and was ready to go. (if you have a small small curling iron you can curl the ends if they are straight. That's what I had to do. But if you use rollers and the ends are already curled you shouldn't have to use the curling iron).

Let me know what you think about the process. What products do you like to use to do a twist out? What techniques to do use? Please share!!! I love to learn new things.-azureDizzle

There hasn't been a Sidebar Salon in a long time but I know Brie-Z did one on natural hair a while ago so I'm going to piggy back off of her. Well a lot of my close friends have been "going natural" and I myself have joined the ranks. I haven't had a relaxer in about a year and a half. It wasn't really a conscious effort. I just didn't get one for a while because I really didn't need one...and everything kind of fell into place from there (lucky I know). But now that I am natural I have been paying more and more attention to what others have been doing with their natural hair. Brie-Z has been natural for a long time and I have gotten many tips from her. My sands Jasmine has been natural for a long time too. She was one of the first people who told me about certain products for natural hair like Miss Jessie's. My distant sands A.Yancey (www.fancyayancey.com) has also gone natural and she has given me some awesome hair tips too. My bestest Ruth and my friend Tess have also joined the ranks of the "natural hair army".

Recently, my bestest told me about "the MopTop Maven" and I checked out her blog and channel on YouTube (www.themoptopmaven.com. She has wonderful video that shows her 'hair journey" that shows her journey from relaxed hair to natural hair. I love discovering new things to do with my hair but my only dilemma is TIME. As a law school student I do not have 2 hours to devote to my hair so I try to do as little as possible to my hair, so that I save time and still look bomb.com. I looked at a couple of the tutorials that The MopTop Maven has made and I love the things she is doing with her hair. She has tutorials on "twist outs", "braid outs" and much more. The products she uses seem amazing. I have been doing twists in my hair lately and I like them a lot. One because they are low maintenance. Two because they are funky and cute. Once I twist them, I don't have to do Anything to my hair for a week (except maybe re-twist a couple. The picture above is from the first time I twisted my hair. All I did was wash and condition it in the shower. Then comb it out. Then I sectioned it off and used Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam (LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS STUFF) and twisted each piece. With it wet, the twists stay together better so I make sure I have a spray bottle with water in it. After about a week I usually take out the twists but by then its time for me to wash my hair again. I'm going to keep you all posted on new things that I discover. Im going to do a twist out and try the new tricks that I learned from the Mop Top Maven. Those of you who know me know that I love Paul Mitchell products and I swear by all his stuff. Like seriously, Paul can do no wrong in my book. Im going to branch out a little bit and use some of his products that I have not used before and used the Mop Top Mavens tricks. I am a creature of habit and don't stray far from known territory. But I'm going to try it for the greater good. I will let yall know how it goes. Wish me luck. - azureDizzle

PS: What products do YOU love for your natural hair??? Share, share, share!!!! Please, please, please!!!

So it is about that time...holiday party season. In recent years, I have not been one to frequent any holiday parties. But now that I'm getting older, they are becoming more and more of an occurrence. I've been looking at all the fashion magazines, trying to find the perfect dress for that perfect price that I would wear to the perfect holiday party with that perfect guy and I have seen a couple winners. Now I am a full time law student living on student loans so my funds are definently low....and when I say low i mean LOW. And because of this, I have to lower my standards and chose places to shop that I wouldn't normally shop. And surprisingly I have found some really cute dresses for a really low price. I looked at JCPenny, Kohls and even WalMart. I know what you're thinking, WALMART?? Yes girls, WalMart. They had some really cute boyfriend blazers and dresses that you could style up with some cute shoes and accessories to make the perfect holiday party outfit. And you know that a lot of high end designers have been making collections for these stores, like Charlotte Ronson for JCPenny. Check out these stores and let me know what you find. I will continue to update you on my "holiday-party-outfit-search" and "perfect-new-years-dress-that-will-make-his-bottom-lip-drop search" lol. So stay tuned.-azureDizzle

Sidebar....so tonight is the first game between the Cleveland Cavs and Miami Heat after Lebron James ditched the Caves for the Heat. Now Im from Columbus but I know A LOT of people from Cleveland and I know they felt some type of way (mainly angry and suicidal) that Lebron left earlier this year. There were some TRUE Cavs fans, who were really hurt at the way Lebron left. While others...transferred their love for the Cavs to the Heat. These people are of course greatly shunned by the Cleveland community. Twitter and Facebook have been jumping today, with predictions whether the Cavs or the Heat will win, how Lebron will perform and whether Lebron is a punk for needing extra security. Now, I don't personally think he's a punk...Cleveland people are crazy and I wouldn't put it past them to try to commit a battery or something. All I know is that this will definitely be a major game. In fact, the game is so big, President Obama even commented about it. Now when the president is paying attention, with all the things he has to deal with (like million trillion billion dollar debts), IT IS MAJOR. Im excited to see what happens. Let me know what you think!! -azureDizzle

PS...IF the Cavs lose...DO NOT CALL ANYONE you know from Cleveland. That's how people lose friendships.

Sidebar...these ladies absolutely KILLED this tribute to Anita Baker. They sang all of my fav Anita songs. I was JAMMIN. Anita is a legend and this tribute really shows that. The artists who performed (Chrisette Michelle, Tamia, Faith Evans, Kem, Rachelle Farrell, Lalah Hathaway, Goapele, Dionne Farris) did all of her songs absolute justice. The performances made me want to watch it over and over and over again. If you love good music, I know you will love this tribute. Enjoy it over and over again-azureDizzle

I hope ya'll had a very Happy and Fat Thanksgiving and enjoyed time with your family and friends. As you know today is "Black Friday" and I'm sure a lot of you were out early this morning, hitting the stores, waiting in line and elbowing people for that dirt cheap 40 inch flat screens. Now that we are getting older, our Christmas lists have dramatically changed. No longer are we making that 10 item Christmas list and writing "To: Santa" up top, in hopes that Santa will grant our Christmas wishes. Reality has set in. It actually set in a LONG time ago. Now, we are not really expecting any thing, not even from our parents. We "hope" our parents will be gracious to us and pop up with that awesome gift. But for those of us, who are still making that Christmas list (even if we are going to be the ones that buy it...for ourselves), here is a quick list of what "Grown Folks" are asking for these days.

1) Electronics: Now we know the fellas have always had the electronics on their list. But most of us ladies, my self included, have not always had them at the top of our list. Especially if you are in school or even if you are working and need things to get your mind off of work. Check out the Electronic Readers if you like to read or need an easier way to carry your outlines and junk for class. Check out the Amazon Kindle or Barnes and Noble Nook. I love to read and if you do to, I'm sure you will love these. Even though I feel like there is nothing like a good ol' library book, I guess I need to get hip with the 20th century right?

2) Homegoods: A lot of us have our own apartments and like for them to look nice. You know, like the apartments in the Homegoods magazine. Fully furnished and decorated with expensive art on the walls. Well not all of us are ballers, but Im sure most of us would like nice paintings or center-pieces that will give our apartment (or house) that pop that will brighten up the whole room. Check out Target or HomeGoods/Marshalls for nice paintings and other home goods items that will set your apartment on fire (not literally of course). Plus who doesn't need a tea pot...cause I do.

3) Perfume: Grown Folks like perfume....period. Haha. Well if you are shopping for yourself, your boo, your lady, check out the perfume aisle. Plenty of celebs have released new perfumes lately. Check out Beyonce 'Heat', Diddy's 'Unforgivabe' (for him), Coco Chanel 'Mademoiselle' (my fave). Ask the perfume lady and tell her what you are looking for. I'm sure you will find the perfect gift.

4) Handbags: I mean does this really need an explanation?? Look for colors that POP. Large satchel bags and cross-body's are in. You will be hot for new years with your bomb.com bag.

5) Money!!!! I mean. What can't you use money for?? Best gift ever invented.

Remember this season what the holdiays are actually about. Even if you are not giving gifts this year, a nice Christmas card always brightened up someones holiday. Happy Shopping- azureDizzle

Sidebar...ya'll need to check out this hot fire new blog!!! www.fancyayancey.com Follow Fancy A. Yancey through her daily "random musings" about life, work, relationships and self-reflection. She has creative postings about topics that EVERYONE can relate to. She is smart, funny, reflective, hard-working and of course my sands!!! OOOO-OOOP to Yancey. I love her blog and I KNOW you will too.-azureDizzle

Hellooooo Sidebar! I have missed you all!

Now that the weather is changing and it gets dark at 4PM (EST)...it's about that time for me to make a change too...

I've been stressing over the same guy for most of this year and altough we had some good times together, he has officially been DELETED! For me, if there is no trace of him anywhere in my phone, he can be out of sight, out of mind, and therefore, a part of my past. Granted there are some lingering feelings but there's no switch to turn that off (IF ONLY!). I've beat my brain to death trying to figure out where it went wrong and what happened, only to realize, I don't think I care anymore. So with that said...I must do what every girl does when she closes a chapter in her life...changes whatever she has control of changing! (hair, body, home decor, etc.)

I started with getting a new tattoo. A small star on my wrist that I've been drawing on myself for the past 80 years, claiming I was going to get it one day. That day came and I was a 'G' about it! Unlike my first tattoo, located on my foot, I didn't need anyone to hold my hand, nor did I have to use the restroom in fear of peeing on myself...can we say GROWN UP?! **patting myself on the back**

Next move to make...I plan on coloring my hair for the first time! (Even though YBreyn doesn't believe me) I will NOT punk out, I promise. Nothing too drastic but it will be a different look. I'm getting too bored with my hair, so again, it's time for a CHANGE.

Another move I would like to make, is just that...MOVE! I've been stuck in one place basically my whole life and I think it's time to branch out. The same ol scenes just aren't doing it for me anymore. An adventure is calling my name so I must answer. I've already started applying for jobs outside of the city, and mostly outside the state. Gotta start there. Don't wanna be broke or homeless on this new adventure, that's for sure! I refuse to settle for standing still when a new path can be built. Until now, I've just been too scared to leave what is my safety net. I've watched most of my friends take on new challenges and admire their strength. Now it's my turn. Forget the fear of the unknown and leap head first!

Sidebar: It would be great if my life was like one of those movies where the woman finally makes that scary move and it is all worth it! She gets her new fabulous job, which pays WELL, bringing on a new wardrobe, a chic new haircut, a personal trainer causing her to drop 80 pounds in a week, who in turn introduces her to his best friend, Mr. Right...after months of living the good life, she runs into the guy who was the root of all these changes, where she is shocked to hear him thank her for helping him see who he really is. She asks, "How did I do that?" He replies by saying, "I want to introduce you to Michael, my life partner..."

Welcome back Sidebar readers! -- KscaY

Spotlight today is on the American Music Awards 2010...did anyone watch it?? Well I almost forgot but I caught it just in time. I only have a couple observations from the show:

1) P.Diddy/ Puffy/ Diddy/ Sean P.Diddy Combs or whatever he is calling himself now a days LOVES HIMSELF and that part had to GO!!!

2) I loved seeing the Backstreet Boys...I am a product of the Boy Band Revolution and it was awesome seeing them together again. Now they didn't sound the same...but I was happy that they were singing and dancing again..and not on drugs.

3) New Kids need to give it up...they were one of the first Super Boy bands to come out besides New Edition...and you dont see New Edition coming back for a reunion do you? New Kids...your moment has passed. Time to give it up and let the young cats step in. Plus they sounded awful and just couldnt keep up with the dance moves. but hey, they tried i guess.

4) Nikki Menage is...INTERESTING. That's the only descriptive word I could think of.

5) I love Christina and Pink!!!!

Those are my thoughts...what were yours??- azureDizzle