Removing Marley Twists

Happy Monday! Start your week off with a smile and stay positive. You can make it!

Today I wanted to share my Marley Twist takedown process. What you need: scissors, your braids/twists, and an hour or less!

It’s a super easy process, check it out below:

1) Cut your twists about halfway down making sure to not cut too high in order to avoid cutting your real hair

2) Take out twists by pulling two strands apart which in turn untwists them. They unravel naturally!

3) You then are back to your natural hair!

Stay tuned, I will soon be posting a braid/twist install process with more pictures and maybe even a video. 🙂

Have a great week!

Shrinkage 101

Hey everyone! Welcome to Shrinkage 101 class. Today’s lesson will teach you about what shrinkage is and how to manage it.

1) What is shrinkage?

When your wet hair starts to decrease in length as you hair dries. Your curls/kinks get tighter and usually more defined.

Dry hair

Wet hair

2) Is shrinkage good or bad?

Shrinkage shows how elastic and bouncy your hair is and shows how tough your hair is against breakage. So it’s a good thing!

3) How do i control shrinkage?

There are 2 main ways to control shrinkage: straigthening and stretching. The straightening method is when you use a blowdryer or flat iron to straighten your curls, which adds length to you hair. This usually requires heat to be applied to the hair, which I try to avoid.

That’s why I prefer the stretching method; which is elongating your hair by using a specific hairstyle or hair tool. Hair tools you can use are curlformers, rollersets, and flexirods which are all items that curls your kinky hair.

Hairstyles you can do include the pineapple method, which is similar to a ponytail and the twistout/braidout method in which you twist or braid you hair, when wet, to help elongate your curls. My twistout is shown below.

4) Enjoy your hair!

Do what works best for you and your hair. What works for one 4c chica may not work for you. Also, drink a lot of water to keep your body and hair nourished!

Hope this mini hair lesson was fun and informative. Have a great rest of your week lovelies!

California Crop Top

Can you believe that September is almost over and in a few days it will be the first day of fall!? It’s crazy because in LA it still feels like summertime.

It’s been consistently in the 80’s or high 70’s these days. That’s why the outfit shown below is perfect for a sunny, September day.

I wore a blue crop top with the word California on it, adorbly decorated with flowers and butterflies. I paired my crop top with denim cut-off shorts and yellow Vans to accent the flowers in my top.

My top is $15 from Topshop, my shorts were $20 from Forever 21 and my Vans were a gift!

I recently realized that I don’t smile often in my pictures, so I made the decision to smile during every photosession from now on. I can have more serious photos taken as well, but I want to make sure I get a few smiling shots in the mix since it is outside of my comfort zone.

I love my smile, but for some reason I just don’t feel like I photograph well when I’m smiling, so I want to break down that wall I have on myself and challenge myself to embrace my smile more in pictures.

I posted the pictures featured in this post on IG @coralbuttons, so if you follow me you saw my caption saying: “Smile more, #lifeisgood” and it’s true so smile and make the most out of your day everybody!

Is there something you want to improve on when it comes to your style or your photos? Let me know in the comments below!

Janelle Monae concert at The Greek Theatre!

Happy humpday lovely people!

I realized I never posted my outfit from the Janelle Monae concert I went to a few weeks ago so here it is!

It was amazing seeing Janelle Monae in person because she is a great performer and her new album, Dirty Computer, is so empowering.

It touches on topics such as love, racism, sexuality, America, and so much more. It was my first time going to the Greek Theatre, here in Los Angeles.

It’s an outdoor venue set up where the stage is in the middle of the venue. Below is a sunset above the theatre.

My outfit for the concert was definitely fun and colorful since I know Janelle Monae loves unique and outside-of-the-box looks.

I wore a baby blue, Free People bralette, paired with FashionNova black jeans and yellow Birkenstocks. For my accessories, I wore blue and gold hoop earrings. To complete the look I wore a rainbow cardigan, also from FashionNova, over the bralette.

I also tried out blue-gray lipstick which was a big step outside of my comfort zone, but I think it was a perfect addition to my look.

I was dancing and singing all night and even ending up losing my voice, that’s how you know it was a lot of fun 🙂

Next time your favorite musician is performing at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, definitely try to go. It’s a great concert hall!

Who is your favorite musician/artist right now? What do you think of my outfit? Leave a comment below!

Visiting La Brea Tar Pits!

Hey everybody!

These past few days in LA have been scorching hot, only 90 degrees and above!

When it’s hot and sunny, it’s great weather to explore . Recently, I visited La Brea Tar Pits. The Tar Pits are a fossil excavation site along with a museum.

You learn about California’s history, prehistoric creatures, fossils, and nature. It’s interactive, family freindly, and definitely worth going to if any of the topics I mentioned previously interests you.

Pictured above is a mural showcasing the numerous animals, now extinct unfortunately, that surived and thrived before us.

My boyfriend Shawn and I, also went to a 3D movie that was playing at the museum called “Titans of the Ice Age.” I learned a lot of new fun facts; it was definitely informative and exciting.

We also walked around outside of the museum to visit the various tar pits where excavations are taking place to this day. Excavations occur when scientist and paleontologist go down into the tar pits and dig up the fossils of dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and sometimes even humans.

Path near one of the excavation sites

For this bright, sunny day I wore yellow pants that fit similarly to joggers.

I paired my yellow pants with a black, wrap top and checkered slip-on Vans. It made for a sporty chic look.

The lush flowers and trees around the museum made for a perfect backdrop.

What do you think of this look? And please visit the La Brea Tar Pits if you are in the LA area, you won’t regret it.

Have a great week lovelies!

First time doing my own box braids!

Happy Friday!

Hope that you had a great week and are ready for your weekend! For the past few months I’ve been thinking about braiding my own hair, but never took any steps towards actually doing it.

Earlier this week I decided to turn my words into actions. I brought 6 packs of Kanekalon jumbo braid hair, a hand mirror, and I was ready to go.

It took 6.5 hours, but was so worth it and I know that I will get faster and better with practice. How does it look?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and enjoy your weekend lovelies!

Little Red Dress From Express

Happy Monday, hope your week is off to a great start.

Today’s featured look is a little red dress from Express. This is actually the dress I purchased for my college graduation 2 years ago and it still fits great and is in perfect condition.

I’m obsessed with the side cutout detail on this dress because it adds just the right amount of sexy. I paired this dress with my Topshop mules for a simple, sophisticated look.

I found this wooden structure in a walkway near my job and I had to get a picture in front of it. I like choosing artistic backgrounds for my pictures because i feel like the scenery is just as important as the pose and outfit.

Of course, the wooden structure allowed me to try new poses as well which was fun. What do you think of this look and background?

How important is scenery for you in your photos? Let me know in the comments below and have a great week lovelies!

Green is my color for 2018!

Happy Friday lovelies!

Hope you had a great week and I hope you are still going strong with Motivational March. I’ve recently fallen in love with the color green and noticed that a lot of the clothes I’ve been purchasing have been green!

My friends and coworkers tell me that shades of green such as olive and emerald look great on me, so I am starting to embrace the color. Be prepared to see a lot of green on my blog this year!

For the outfit featured in this post, I paired a green crop top from Forever 21 with a pair of black, ribbed knit flare pants from Topshop.

I love Topshop because their clothes are super trendy and comfortable. These pants have a lot of stretch in them and makes my legs and booty look great. To finish off my green look, I wore lime hightop converses.

I would consider this look sporty chic with a dash of cozy. Do you have a color set for your 2018 wardrobe?

And I didn’t forget today’s goal for day 16 of Motivational March: work towards breaking a bad habit and starting a new good habit!

Tell me what bad habit you are breaking and replacing with a good habit and your color for 2018 in the comments below!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Be Happy!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Today is Day 4 of Motivational March and my goals for today were simply be happy and smile often.

Somtimes we get too caught up in the negative or superficial aspects of our lives and we don’t appreciate the simple things.

I recently purchased this Topshop shirt that has rainbow stripes and the words “Be Happy” on it.

This was a great investment for me because it’s a reminder that everything is going to be ok and that I need to take things one day at a time.

I paired my shirt with simple black leggings and teal Vince Camuto chunky heels.

Let my #ootd be an inspiration to you this week. Be Happy!

Stay tuned for more Motivational March posts and let me know in the comments below if you are down to take the challenge as well.

Cherry Top and Distressed Jeans

Happy Monday! Hope your week is off to a great start.

Today, I wanted to showcase an outfit that I’m really excited about. This look is so special because this is the first time I’ve worn distressed jeans.

Growing up my mom and granny said there wasn’t a point in buying jeans with rips because I can make them holey myself, which is actually a great point when you think about it.

But with distressed jeans trending, along with the frayed/unfinished hem jeans look on the rise I had to invest in at least one cute pair.

It helped that these jeans were a $17 steal online at ASOS. I paired my jeans with a button up shirt from Topshop.

I love love love this top. It’s funny because I don’t even like cherries, but the shirt was too cute to pass up and it was on sale! To complete the look, I wore red mules, also by Topshop.

I will be getting a lot of use out of my new button-up and distressed jeans all spring and summer long. What fashion trend are you currently rocking or staying far away from?

Leave a comment below with your answer to the question and any thoughts on my look. Enjoy the rest of your day!