Nidasii Beauty Concierge: Day 1

 

Hey Beauties! Today was the first day of our, now, annual Holiday Beauty Concierge service. Time really does fly because I can't believe this is the third year of the Beauty Concierge. If your an Exclusive Beauty Member you already know this year our concierge services are now available in Brooklyn! The last two years our services were only available in Manhattan, however,  last year many of our Brooklyn Beauties sent us DM's and emails requesting Beauty Concierge services in Brooklyn so we of course had to expand our services.....and you know what? Today most of our concierge deliveries were in Brooklyn! Talk about showing up and showing out!! Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

Beauties We Need Your Help!

Day 1 of our Holiday Beauty Concierge went  soooo well I had the idea to either chronicle each day from now until 12/23/13, the last day of our concierge service, in a vlog or blog....what do you think?

Thank You & Happy Holidays

Hey Beauties! I have to start today's post off by thanking all you for showing us support this weekend. You all supported us in a TREMENDOUS way this weekend by placing orders over the course of our Black Friday, Small Business Saturday & Cyber Monday sales. It's because of your support we experienced our busiest weekend EVER!! So I send all you my biggest THANK YOU!

As if that wasn't enough excitement, I'm even more excited to announce that our Beauty Concierge is back for the holidays for our Manhattan  and Brooklyn, New York Beauties. Beginning December 9, 2013 when our Beauties place an order through our Beauty Concierge we will personally hand deliver your Nidasii goodies to you....no need to wait for the Post Man to pop with your package in a few days because we are going to hand deliver your products to you the same day! We can't wait to meet up with you again this year.

You can learn more about our Beauty Concierge service and how to reserve your spot here.

The list opens Monday December 9, 2013 so be sure to reserve your spot.

Nidasii Beauty: Apple Cider Vinegar DIY For Curlista's

Beauties for the past few two months I've been suffering from really dry hair and it took a while for me to finally figure out why. I immediately blamed it on the recent change in temperature. Here in NYC the weather became cold and dry rather quickly this year....at least it did to me.  I couldn't figure out why this was happening. Then it dawned on me. I spent the entire summer in wash in go styles. As most of you may know I'm a Curlista and I have a kinky curly hair texture. During summer months I always gravitate towards wash and go styles. I just wet it in the shower apply moisturizer and either let it air dry or I let it semi dry then let take all my curls and brush them up into a messy yet chic top bun. Like most women I don't have a lot of time to fuss over my hair so I always go with simple routines that don't require much time and attention. Unfortunately I neglected to ensure my hairs PH.

When I finally figured it out I realized that my hairs PH balance was totally out of whack and I needed to restore the balance. So I went back to my tried and true DIY solution of apple cider vinegar and water. This is a common DIY remedy that many of you may be familiar with. It's most often used or noted as a natural hair clarifying cleanser that does not strip hair of moisture, however, many curlistas use it to cleanse and restore PH balance to their hair. Unfortunately, many of us curlistas suffer from dry and frizzy hair because our  curly hair pattern often prevents our hair's natural oils from traveling down the entire length of our hair to the ends. As a result this can create dry brittle hair.

If some of you are wondering why PH balance is so important for Curlistas here's why. Beware this is were I get Geeky as I give a step by step break down of PH. For starters the acronym PH stands for Potential of Hydrogen and it measures how acidic or alkali a substance is. PH has a range of 0 to 14. Any substance that falls into the range of 0 to 6.9 is acidic and anything that falls in the range of 7.1 to 14 is alkali. If a substance has a PH of 7 that means it's neutral.

Now here's why knowing proper PH is essential for curlistas. If you had to take a guess which environment would you think is ideal for curly hair...acidic or alkali? If you chose alkali your wrong! Curly hair needs an acidic environment. Did you know that sebum, the oil produced by our scalp and skin, is acidic? Sebum like our Nidasii products is a multipurpose substance. Not only does it lubricate our hair shafts with oil, that same oil due to its acidic nature prevents bacteria and fungus from finding a warm and cozy home in our hair.

The ideal PH range for most curlistas is 4.5 to 5.5. That's also the range for sebum. When a curlistas hair is at it's proper PH balance it seals the hairs cuticle allowing it to retain its moisture. When hair is alkali its dry, dull and maybe even brittle because the cuticle is open. So, although we apply moisturizers to our hair if its in an alkali state it won't retain much moisture. The appearance of hair that is PH balanced looks very different from hair that's not. The best way I can describe the appearance of  curly hair that's PH balanced is that it appears to be smoother with better defined curls. Where as curly hair in an alkali state appears to be frizzy with less defined curls when dried.

So needless to say after I washed my hair with the apple cider vinegar and water solution my hair immediately felt much softer and smoother. It was like it breathed a sigh of relief after taking a long sip of water. If your hair seems to be dry and dull try cleansing with apple cider vinegar and water. I like to use a 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of water.

Have you ever tried cleansing your hair with an apple cider vinegar and water solution? How was your experience?

Yummers: Guiltles Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Hey Beauties you know I'm a serious foodie, I absolutely love and adore all things food, but I try to keep it healthy.... at least I try to most of the time. I came across this recipe for oatmeal cookies that requires no sugar, flour or butter and I loved it!! So you know I had to share it with you. These cookies are really great as a sort of breakfast cereal for mornings when your in a rush. But truthfully I literally eat them all day long. This recipe makes a dozen cookies, however, I literally ate half of the cookies in the pic above as soon as they cooled down enough to eat without burning my mouth. Here are the four ingredients needed to get started.

2 Ripe Bananas
1 Cup Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Raisins (or to your liking)
Cinnamon (to your liking)

In a mixing bowl mash bananas then add oatmeal, raisins and cinnamon. Mix until it forms a soft doughy consistency. Next spoon individual cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Since ovens vary I would check on them after 10 minutes and determine how much longer they will need.

If you decide to give this recipe a try let us know what you think!

Are You Drinking Your Fruits & Veggies?

Beauties all summer long I have been drinking my fruits and veggies! Now if your wondering just how one can drink their fruits and veggies it's simple...blend them of course. This summer I really focused on beautifying myself from the inside out by eating raw foods 80% of the time. That became a super easy task once the mid July heat wave set in. In the mornings I drank my green juice concoctions which always contains kale and an assortment of fruits and vegetables that I have on hand.... OOPS! How could I almost forget that I also use coconut water in all of my green juices. It wouldn't be complete with out it!

Now that were moving into fall I'm going to continue to make my green juice and try to include some seasonal fruits and veggies like apples, cranberries and maybe even a bit of roasted sweet potatoe (I let will let you know how that goes...not sure how that will turn out just yet). Until I started juicing on a daily basis I never realized how deprived my body was of essential vitamins and minerals.

Beauties will you continue to juice with us? If you do let us know what blends of fruits and veggies you use!

It's That Time of Year Again

Beauties it's that time of year again. Labor Day has come and gone and now everyone is in back to school and work mode. Although, the summer weather has not totally left us yet...thank goodness our mindset surely does change.  Every year after Labor Day things in the city become less leisurely and  returns to its usual non stop pace. That surely has been the case for us here at Nidasii. It's now three days after Labor day and can I tell you our schedules are jam packed with events and product launch meetings. Although I  hate to see summer go, I'm always happy to kick off the new season with our New York Fashion Week sponsorships. This is the time of year when the beauty and fashion worlds collide and we love it!

Not to mention we have several products launching this season starting with our Sweet Elixir Hair Oil and new website! Stay tuned for details.

Are You Ready For A Beauty Cocktail?

Beauties do you like cocktails? If you do we're sure your going to love this one. We love cocktails especially when they're Beauty Cocktails. In addition to taking care of skin on the outside we believe its especially important to take care of it from the inside. This beauty cocktail of coconut water, lemon juice & seltzer water will hydrate all the way down to the cellular level. Here are a few properties that make lemon & coconut water are ideal for skin and body.

Benefits of Coconut Water

1. Anti Aging - Contains anti-thrombotic and anti-carcinogenic properties that significantly reduces the aging of skin
2.  Digestion - Contains enzymes such as folic acid, diastase, phosphate, catalase and RNA polymerases that aid in digestion and metabolism
3.  Dehydration - Due to its electrolyte balance and plasma content coconut water closely resembles human blood making it ideal for treating dehydration
4.  Strong Bones - Contains high levels of calcium 
5.  Muscle Cramps - Due to its high levels of potassium it significantly reduces muscle cramps
6. Increases Metabolic Rate - Consuming coconut water regularly increases the metabolic rate which causes insulin to burn faster in the body thus increasing its metabolic rate. Increased metabolic rate means the body burns sugar faster causing a person to have increased energy and fat loss

Benefits of Lemon

1. Oily Skin - Applying lemon juice to a cotton pad and gently wiping the face at bed time then washing in the morning has been known to reduce appearance of oily skin
2. Treatment of Acne - The anti-fungal & anti-microbial properties make it ideal for treating acne
3. Strengthen Nails - The combination of olive oil & lemon juice has been known to strengthen nails when massaged into the nail
4. Lighten Hair Color - When lemon juice is combined with hair conditioner and used as a leave in conditioner it has been proven to naturally lighten hair when you sit out in the sun for at least an hour

Nidasii Beauty Cocktail

1.  1/2lemon
2.  Coconut Water
3.  Seltzer Water

Pour 4oz of coconut water & 4oz seltzer water to cup. Squeeze in the juice of half of a lemon and stir. Feel free to add ice if you prefer to drink chilled.


Beauties if you give the Nidasii Beauty Cocktail a try please let us know how it worked for you!