From My Vanity

Let’s dive right into today’s hairstyle.

This is something I kind of created on my own, so there’s no real name for it. I just like the look and enjoyed doing my own little touches to it. 🙂

Step 1: Curl Your Hair!

Just like we always do, begin your hairstyle by curling your hair. If you would like a step-by-step tutorial, click here — it’s my first hairstyling post where I give a step-by-step tutorial of how I curl hair. 🙂 Make sure you always use a heat protector (I recommend the Not Your Mother’s Beat the Heat Thermal Styling Spray) on your hair before beginning to curl — don’t want to damage your hair!

Step 2: Take a Section at the front and Braid it

Take a 1 inch section near the front of your head (I do on the right side, but if you prefer it on your left, feel free to do so). If you have bangs, or like having hair frame your face, leave them out.

Begin french braiding your hair, only incorporating hair within that 1 inch section, and work your way down toward your ear. Keep your braid loose — it gives the hairstyle a very elegant look. If you have trouble with flyaways, use a paste to smooth them down.

Once you reach right above your ear, finish off with a regular braid and secure it with a small elastic band.

Step 3: Give Yourself a Bump at Your Crown

If you like to have a bit of volume in your crown, tease the hair right at your crown just a little bit. Or if you like a lot of volume, go to town with the teasing. 🙂 Basically tease it however much you like. 🙂

Step 4: Twist Hair at the Crown and Pin

Lightly smooth over the tease so you get a very smooth finish. Then gather the hair at the back of your head, right below the crown of your head, and twist it once or twice. Just to help your bump stay up and give your hairstyle visual appeal. 🙂 Once you like how the hairstyle looks, pin in place. I used two pins, crisscrossing them so that they were secure. Feel free to use as many as you like, but if possible keep that hidden. Then it looks like your hair is magically staying in place by itself 😉

Step 5: Pin the Braid Back Against the Twist

If you left your bangs out, twist them lightly around the braid you made on the right side. Play around with it until you like how it looks.

Once you like how it looks, pin the braid against the twist you made in the back of your head.

Step 6: Pin the Hair on the Left Side Back

Now take the hair on your left side, near your hairline, and twist it back loosely before pinning it against the twist right below the crown of your head. Make sure the hairstyle is secure and add any pins to areas that feel loose or insecure.

Step 7: Accessorize!

I always like to add something to a hairstyle, so of course I added a Lilla Rose clip that has beautiful dangles that totally completes this elegant curly updo.

All done!

That’s it! All there is to this hairstyle — it’s really quick and easy, but looks rather complex. I was thrilled to see how well this turned out, and plan to do it to myself something in the very near future. 😀

Don’t Forget! The giveaway NuMe is sponsoring on From My Vanity is still going on! There’s still time to get in your entries for a chance to win a Curl Jam Set. 

 Click this link to find out how to enter!

Question for My Readers: How much time do you usually get to do your hair when you’re going to a special event? 15 minutes? An hour? 🙂

It’s Friday again and time for another Hairstyling with NuMe post! 🙂 For those who follow me on Instagram, you know I had an all-day hair styling session with my family and was able to take pictures of the rest of the hairstyles for this series. 🙂 I can’t wait to share them with you, as I was really pleased with how they all turned out. Stay tuned in the coming weeks. 🙂

Oh, before we dive into today’s tutorial (pictured above! ;-), I just wanted to let you know about an amazing deal that NuMe has going on right now. Right now, you can purchase one of their Classic Curling Wands for only $79, and get a second wand for FREE!

These wands normally sell for $169, but if you use this link, put two wands in your shopping cart and enter the coupon code “BOGOCLASS” at checkout, the total will come to only $79! That’s a savings of over $250!

This is a really awesome deal to take advantage of, especially if you’ve been wanting to try a NuMe curling wand out — that’s like getting each wand for $45, which is a crazy-amazing deal! I don’t know how long this coupon code will be valid, so if you’ve been thinking of getting one…don’t delay! 🙂 Okay, let’s get into the tutorial. 🙂

Step 1: Curl Your Hair

Curl your hair with a curling wand (I used the middle barrel in NuMe’s Titan3 curling set). If you want a detailed tutorial on how to do this, check out my first tutorial in this series where I show you step-by-step. 🙂

Step 2: Take a 1 inch Section

Grab a section of hair near the front hairline. It doesn’t have to be exact or perfectly 1 square inch — this hairstyle is supposed to be really loose, natural, and effortless-looking.

Step 3: Braid the Section

Braid that section of hair, angling the strand backwards toward the back of the hair (so there are no weird ‘bubbles’ later when you pull the braids back). Keep the braid loose — you don’t want them to be tight, tiny, and rigid. Secure the ends with a small tie or bobby pin (this is only a temporary hold).

Step 4: Take Another 1 inch Section

Now take another section of hair — about the same size as the braid you just did. I took a section below and a little behind my first braid. Keep in mind the end results you are looking for when you are doing this hairstyle — it will help make sure everything looks right when you pull it all backwards.

Step 5: Braid that Section

Now braid that section back, just like with the braid before (step 3). If you like variety in your braids, then feel free to take a smaller or larger section so that the braids vary in size for the end results. Secure the ends of the braid with a tie or bobby pin.

Step 6: Do One More Braid

Same as we’ve been doing, do one more braid on the left side. You should have three strands now, and you’re done with this side. If you want more braids, please feel free to do more! It’s really whatever your preference is. 🙂

Step 6: Repeat the Previous Steps on Right Side

Now just repeat the step’s we’ve done on the left side, on the right side. I did four braids, since my sister has a side part, and more hair is on her right side. As I said already, you can do more or less — whatever you like. 🙂

Step 7: Weave Braids Together

Now that you have all the strands braided, weave them together. There’s no particular way to do this — just however you’d like. Use a clip to keep all the strands together and do the same on the other side.

Step 8: Join All the Braids Together

Now take the two sections of braids and join them together at the back of the head, directly in the center. Use a small elastic tie the same color as your hair to secure them all.

Step 9: Decorate!

Embellish the style with anything you’d like. I used a Lilla Rose mini clip to go over the black hair tie. It really helps beautify the hairstyle even more — like jewelry. 🙂

And you’re done! That’s all there is to this hairstyle — very easy to do and would look great on curly or straight hair. It’s a quick hairstyle, too, especially if you just use your natural wave pattern. The braiding took less than ten minutes for me, and then I just draped it all toward the back and secured it.

Don’t Forget! The giveaway NuMe is sponsoring on From My Vanity is still going on! There’s still time to get in your entries for a chance to win a Curl Jam Set.

Question for My Readers: Which is your preference when it comes to hair — straight, wavy, or curly? I’d love to know. 🙂