4. Spruce Yourself up a bit.

Hey Y’all, 

I hope everyone had a good week, this week. Mine was a journey man.  

First, I want to thank you all so much for following me on my self-care journey. I truly appreciate every single read, comment, and share. Special gratitude goes to those that have motivated me with your kind words and helpful feedback. Writing these blogs are hard, but I’m getting better at it. 

This week is week 4 of our 10 Ways to Self-Care with K. Cole series.

 4. Spruce yourself up a bit.

For this blog, I will be sharing about 4 Black Female Owned Businesses that I utilized this week for my self-care. I am excited to share these businesses with y’all because of their quality of service. With each business that I visited, I FELT LIKE I GOT MY MONEY’S WORTH. So often we spend our money with businesses and later feel robbed or jipped. These ladies made me feel appreciated as a client and they all LISTENED to how I wanted my services done. Which is what’s most important. 

So, I had to get everything done this week to go out of town for my man’s birthday and my sister’s baby shower. I usually don’t get all of these services done during the same week, but for the sake of traveling, it was a must. 

Here’s all the deets my waxes, nails, toes, and hair. I wanted to focus on these key things because they are things that I do normally as a part of my regular upkeep. It has always been my moto that you have to look good to feel good. For me, there is something so comforting about looking my best. I’m not saying that I always look my absolute best, but when I do give myself some extra effort, it makes me feel better. I do not have a regular schedule for how often I get their services done, but more go off of the appearance to tell me that it is needed. 

So first went to ArielEsthetic for an Eyebrow and Brazilian wax. I was first introduced to this business back in 2019 at the Boss Queens, Brunch in Blanc Day Party. My cousin won a free Brazilian wax and had positive feedback about the experience. So, once I had issues with my wax place, it was an easy decision to switch to Ariel. 

I don’t remember why I needed a new wax location, but that’s not important lol.

I started going to ArielEsthetic back in June, while preparing for a trip to Cabo. The salon is in Richfield, MN, inside Salon Concepts(suite). The space is cute, simple, very clean, and welcoming. Ariel is cool and personable. She’s very nice, polite, and holds good conversation without prying. During the brow wax she was respectful to the preexisting brow shape. I was so thankful that she was able to wax my brows without reshaping them, without permission. Ain’t nothing like going in looking normal, and coming out looking surprised lol.. But seriously, this was very important for me. During the Brazilian wax, BABY SHE WAXED!! There was no hair left behind!!! I have received several half ass waxes in my time, but this was not one of them. Her waxes are CLEAN!! And her snatches are swift. She pays close attention to detail and tweezes any stray hairs, as well as, extracts any ingrown hairs. I wish I could show you a picture, but since I can’t, you’ll have to take my word that I am as soft as a baby’s ass today lol. I paid $60 for my Brazilian Wax and $25 for my brows. Both prices were a good price for me. She also sales a product that treats ingrown hairs. My appointments run on time, even with the attention to detail that she shows. Overall, I love this location and will continue to go there for my wax services.

My next stop was De’amour Nails. When I first seen the pictures of De’amour Nails go up, I was excited for them to open. 1, the owner is FEMALE and BLACK. 2, I’ve known her since high school, so it’s exciting to see someone you know WIN. Just by the pictures you can tell she took her time to have her salon look exactly how she wanted. Just based on looks alone, I wanted to try the salon out. I booked an appointment through the link on their Facebook page for a Luxury Pedicure and a Toe Acrylic Set. I was late to my appointment but, THEY WERE ON TIME (mind your business). I was immediately warmly greeted by the owner sitting at the desk. I was checked into my appointment right away and did not have to wait at all. The salon is just as nice as it appears in the pictures. The space is well lit, well decorated, and the employees appeared to be uniform by color. Everyone had on red and black, just as the colors of the salon. I’m not sure if this is mandatory or coincidence, but either way, it was nice to see. My nail tech was Taniesha. She was nice and polite with her greeting, and offered me a beverage to enjoy during my service. Prior to starting my pedicure, I had a brief consultation with Taniesha. She asked me how I wanted my acrylic toes shaped and other questions pertaining to that portion of that service. This stood out to me, which I appreciated. Often times folks just jump in without asking you what you like. I was able to pick from 4 luxury pedicure options. I chose Cucumber. So here the part that I like a lot. All of the pedicure products (soak, scrub, masque, and massage lotion) came in one box just for me. All of the products were individually packaged. I liked this part so much because so many nail places have questionable sanitation practices. 

My pedicure was nice and relaxing. She took her time to get the shape of my toes just how I wanted them. She also checked to make sure it was all good before moving on which was a plus. The cucumber scent was calming. The products felt really good on my skin and there was enough product in the packages to complete the full job. I would assume that these products are of a great quality based on the feel alone. None of the products felt watery as many other do. I meant to ask her the brand but I forgot. Another plus about this location is the “beauty shop” atmosphere. At one point, everyone in the salon was engaging in the same conversation. We laughed together, shared stores, and vibed. Yes, it’s important to relax but sometimes you need just a little black girl love that doesn’t come in the form of a friend or family member. Overall it was a great experience and I enjoyed my time at De’amour Nails. I will go back.

Also, during conversation, I was given some feedback on K. Cole Swimwear. The ladies of the salon voiced that they love the swimwear that I carry however, they need some more flattering options for women with children and fuller figures, but not plus size. They explained their post baby body types to me and also types of swimsuits that fit them best. I loved this feedback. It’s hard trying to be inclusive to all body types when the curvy girls don’t provide feedback. 

Now, for my hair, I had to go back to Whitney’s Hair Lab. Whitney first did my hair back in December for New Years and I loved her work. I decided then to make her my go to for my weaves, since I don’t really get my natural hair styled anymore. I just find it healthier for MY HAIR to be in its natural state or in a protective style. 

I booked my appointment through the link on the salon’s Instagram page. I booked a Quick-weave w/minimal leave out for $115. 

Prior to starting on my hair, she had a consultation with me to confirm my service and discuss styling. I chose a Left side part, messy bob with straight ends for my style. While we were talking, I noticed that she immediately grabbed her laptop, sat down and started looking for a reference picture. I was so pleased with this part. YAASSSSS GIVE ME WHAT I WANT SIS. We decided for it to be slightly asymmetrical but nothing dramatic. She braided down my hair and was very nice about lightening her tension. I’m tender-headed so all braids hurt my head. But she was great at adjusting the tension, without my braids feeling loose at all.  She applied 2 caps over my braids to protect my hair from the glue, and sewed them down. She also provided me with directions for proper removal. She was particular about my track placement and DID NOT glue anything to my edges. This made me happy as she was doing it because I had already told her about a box braid worth of edges that I am missing LOL. So, for her to consider that while applying was great.  She absolutely slayed this cut and the styling. It is exactly what I asked her for. 

Of course, I loved my experience at Whitney’s Hair Lab and I will continue to go to her for the rare occasions that I’m not wearing a wig or my natural curly hair. 

My final stop, was to my favorite nail tech Courtney at VIP Hair & Nails. First, let me tell you about the salon. The salon is located in Downtown Minneapolis. They’re black female owned and have mostly black stylist. Courtney is currently the only nail tech. The number one thing that stands out to me about VIP, as a whole is the customer service that they provide and the high level of professionalism. All of the staff members are always so friendly and welcoming from the receptionist, to the owner, to the stylist. The whole place is just classy and well run. They have a nice, ever-changing décor, that features some beautiful art work. 

Now anyone who’s close to me, can tell you that I’m serious about my nails lol. I always have them done and on the rare occasion that they are not done, there is most likely a recovering finger involved. I have been going to Courtney for over 10 years now. Needless to say, I love her and I love her work. Courtney is cool, nice and polite. She’s personable but still professional. This is why we get along so well and have such a long-standing business relationship. 

 I usually get a coffin or stiletto shape, to make my fingers look long. Idk why but I like long fingers lol. I also like for my nails to be narrow. Her application is very clean and my appointments start on time. She has the best pink acrylic, that I mostly get with just base and top coat. And she doesn’t charge extra for it, like some other nail salons do. Additionally, she has QUALITY acrylic. No lights are needed for the acrylic to “set”. I love the way she shapes my nails and the attention to detail that goes into the shape. It’s definitely the shape for me……

I went in for a fill this week. My appointment was pretty standard as far as the process of filling my nails. I already had on coffin shaped nails with pink acrylic. We decided to go with just stones, opposed to a color on my nails due to the color on my toes being dark. She had no issue with matching the color on my toes with the color of some Swarovski Crystals. She applied a gel base and top coat to my nails first, then set the crystals. And she was sure to not get carried away with too many stones. My girl knows I’m cheap lbs. In the picture, the color under the stones is the color of the pink acrylic. I’m sure that I don’t have to tell y’all that I’m going to keep going to Courtney for my nails. Only way I’ll ever stop going is if I get kicked off of her books LOL. 

**For the purpose of this blog I went to 2 different nail salons, but Courtney usually does my pedicures. 

I hope y’all enjoyed this week’s blog as much as I enjoyed the process. You’ll have to forgive my pictures. I forgot to have the ladies take pictures as soon as my services were done, So, this is my best lol. 

Below you can find booking and location information for all of these locations. 

Questions: Do you feel the same way about your appearance?

Does looking a certain way make you feel better about yourself?

 I’ll talk to y’all next week. Thanks for reading

Ariel, ArielEsthetic

6521 Lyndale Ave S Suite 14 Richfiled, MN

www.arielesthetic.com

Taniesha, De'amour Nails

3270 Brrokdale Dr. N Minneapolis, MN

763-710-4479

For scheduling: deamournails.booksy

Whitney, Whitney's Hair Lab

For scheduling and all other information: www.whitneyshairlab.com

Courtney, VIP Hair & Nails

1154 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN

612-337-0014

 Have Recommendations for companies that I should add to this series?

Comment below places and things that I should try, that will pair well with the Self Care list. Click here to see the self care list: 10 Ways to Self Care with K. Cole

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Contact us by email info@kcolextensions.com

**No Skin care lines please. Respectfully. I have found what works for me.** 

(If you have been personally contacted about your Business being featured in this blog, please do not email me. I have already purchased your product/service for the discussed feature.)

Disclaimer: IF YOU REQUEST TO BE FEATURED, ALL ITEMS AND OR SERVICES MUST BE GIVEN FOR FREE. I have already purchased products/services/classes for these blogs. HOWEVER, the more the merrier. These blogs will be used as a platform to give good reviews on good products/services from Black Owned Businesses and Small Businesses. All blogs will be shared across social media to spread the love of the good experiences.  

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Disclaimer: While this is what works for me, I cannot guarantee that any of this will work personally for any individual. Please use caution when trying any new recommendations. K. Cole Xtensions, K. Cole Swimwear and Jamecia Smith have NO affiliation with any of the companies or individuals mentioned in this blog. This blog is not in collaboration with any of the mentioned businesses, but a review of PAID services rendered.