Today I'd like to introduce you to a company I discovered on Instagram Subsidy Shades!
Subsidy shades is an online shop that sells stylish shades for both adults and children. Most importantly all of the money raised goes towards helping families become adoptive parents! I truly love to support small business and it makes me especially happy that the funds support a worthy cause. The shades are afforadable as well as they range from $12 to $24.
Adoption is a very costly process. The founders of Subsidy Shades Robert and Melissa Mugar adopted their beautiful daughter Jaqueline in 2013. The process left them largely in debt. Shortly after the birthmother of Jaqueline and her four other children became homeless on the street. Robert and Melissa were able to raise enough money to pay off a home in full for Jaquie's birth mother to live in with her 4 children.
In January of 2014 Subsidy shades was born and it has helped to raise funds for a second adoption for the Mugar family! The business has also helped to raise funds for other adoptive families as well.
Check out Subsidy Shades to learn more about the Mugar family and their inspiring story.
The shades are just adorable. Emily is wearing the Lovestruck shades. (above)
Below she is just playing around with them and I would just like to inform you of how difficult almost 2 year olds are to photograph! lol We struggled taking these pics. This girl is constantly on the go.
When we opened up the shades she exclaimed " OOoooh Peetty! One of her favorite expressions. Which is Oh pretty if you haven't guessed.
These sweet little shades would make a wonderful stocking stuffer!
If you guys need any christmas gifts/stocking stuffers make sure you check out Subsidy Shades and support a great cause while you're at it!
I'll leave you with a little story about myself as a young, unrealistic girl that lived with her parents(and had no concept of money). I was probably around 19 years old or so. I warranted the decision to purchase a pair of $500 fancy Chanel sunglasses. Far too fancy for a girl that did not pay bills and lived under her parents roof. After I made the purchase I actually felt sick. It was just such an unnecessary amount of money to spend on something like sunglasses. I mean you could accidentally sit on them! Long story short I ended up giving them away to my younger sister. I couldn't even look at them I felt so guilty.
I'm pretty sure I will be a Subsidy Shades fan for life after that experience. The shades are reasonable, stylish and you won't have to cry if they break.(You can just order a new pair!)
The Instawave is an automatic curler that creates perfect curls instantly. The Instawave has the ability to create a range of styles from loose waves to bouncy curls with just the touch of a button! The styles are long lasting and very easy to accomplish. I did not apply any product such as hair spray, etc and my curls lasted into the following morning.
I would like to emphasise just how very easy this curler is to use. I am not a pro at styling hair by any means. I have owned the wand style curling iron for years and I may have used it three times total. In terms of ease the instawave can not be beat. It is a foolproof product. I was able to take these photos myself while successfully styling my own hair, with the addition of a 4 year old balancing next to me chatting throughout the entire process! lol Here is the tutorial!
Instwave photo tutorial
Step 1) Hold the instawave vertically and place a section of hair on the curling rod.
I started with freshly washed blow dried hair. I've been told that when curling hair it is best to start with "next day" hair or hair that hasn't been freshly washed. It is supposed to hold the curl better. I opt not to because my hair gets oily easily and basically just requires to be washed daily. On a side note I am pretty jealous of the girls out there that can get away with washing their hair every few days!
Step 2) Use the curling dial by simply pushing the button to curl to the left or right. (You can choose the direction)
This photo shows the curler beginning to wrap the hair around the barrel. This curler is ensured to be tangle free which I can certainly attest to.
Step 3) Hold the barrel in place for 5-10 seconds. Depending on how loose/tight you would like your curls.
I set my iron on high and held for about 15 seconds. It is designed to work quicker than this, but I have very straight hair naturally. In fact my hair tends to just drop curls and return to it's natural state in my experience with typical curling irons.
Step 4) Pull the instawave down vertically releasing the hair.
Voila! A perfect curl.
I would have loved to feature a video demonstrating the Instawave, but my cameraman/husband wasn't available yesterday. I didn't think my little guy Cole was up to the job... lol
A few other things I would like to mention are that the Instawave shuts itself off after 90 minutes.
The Instawave is available for purchase in Target, Ulta and on Amazon.
Here is the KISS website if you would like to learn more KISSInstaWave.com.
I created both of these looks using the instwave.
The 2nd photo hair came out a bit better as I had a moment to myself that day. It was also my first attempt at using the curler!
The first photo I had my little helper Cole ensuring me that my hair looked beautiful throughout the styling process. lol Needless to say I was a little less focused.
I would suggest using a hair spray or mousse beforehand for more staying power. My hair did hold up well without the use of product though.
I always flip my head over and shake out the curls a little as I prefer looser curls.
I prefer to curl the pieces in the front away from my face. It helps to frame your face nicely. The Instwave makes that very easy as the curling dial features a right and left direction to choose from on the button. It is suggested to use both directions when curling to create the most natural looking curls.
I am super excited to use the Instawave to create looks for the Holidays and am going to try a more wavy style look with my next use.
Who knows maybe there will be a Holiday hair video tutorial in the near future!
