Archive for December, 2006
The Best of 2006
Greetings from sunny Trinidad and Tobago! The temperature here is 30 degrees Celsius. I guess that’s in the 80′s, in Fahrenheit speak. Our vacation is flitting by in a blur of family, friends, cocktails, and fabulous food. I’m collecting quite a bit of material to write about when I return, but I have hardly had [...]
FUBU Beauty
A few weeks ago, I was honored to be noted and quoted by none other than Kristen from Beauty Addict. After my rave reviews about Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner,she yearned to try it. Apparently, the last time she wrote about Carol’s Daughter, some i’gnant reader decided to tell her that Carol’s Daughter products [...]
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Even though 98% of my holiday shopping is done and I leave for home in two days, I wasn’t feeling particularly Christmassy. Until today. My iAudio (a gift my husband got me last year. I highly recommend it for any of you who are looking for a digital audio device) was on shuffle, and it [...]
Presents for All-Natural Bellas
Don’t get it twisted, ladies – we already went through the Definition of Natural before. When I refer to a “truly natural bella,” I’m talking about a woman who has taken natural beauty to the nth degree. Afrobellas and rastabellas who proudly sport their own locks, bellas of all colors who are card-carrying PETA members [...]
Gifts for Escapist Bellas
The second installment of the Afrobella Holiday Shopping Guide is all about bellas who daydream. The kind who seem to float by on a cloud, and doodle in the margins during boring board meetings. When you’re so bogged down by day-to-day stress that you can’t see straight, sometimes it’s the only way to survive the [...]
Afrobella of the Week: Erykah Badu
Let me take y’all back a few years, back to 1997. Remember the first time you saw Erykah Badu’s video for “On and On“? I do. She strutted on the screen in that green headwrap and commanded us to listen. Erykah was – is- such a breath of fresh air in the game. She seemed [...]
That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!
There are a few magazines that I would just love to freelance for, and Essence is definitely one of them. I caught sight of the latest cover over at Concrete Loop, and it made me so happy and proud of my fellow bellas. I like when any magazine celebrates female beauty at all stages of [...]
Hip Hop (and Reggae) Heroine, Tanya Stephens
How can I call Tanya Stephens a hip-hop heroine, you ask? I bet Lil Kim can answer that question! Over the summer, Tanya had to get all kinds of litigious on the nip/tucked rapstress because Kim blatantly ripped off one of Tanya’s hottest dancehall anthems, “Mi and Mi God.” (Honestly, if Damian Marley wanted to [...]
Almost-Professional Perfumier
My love affair with Chanel No. 5 has been going on for almost twenty years now. I remember getting a talc when I was little, and every Christmas for the past five years or more, there’s been a familiar bottle of eau de toilette under the tree. Last year my husband got me J.Lo Live, [...]
Respecting Our Elders
Everyone’s psyched about Dreamgirls. The film is garnering incredible Oscar buzz, I just saw the three biggest stars of the film – Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, and Beyonce – on the cover of Vanity Fair. (Think fast, when was the last time you saw a black face on the cover of any mainstream fashion magazine? [...]
Moisturize Your Situation!
The weather’s taken a turn for the frightful, and the cold weather is wreaking havoc on your skin and hair. Naturally curlicious tresses start taking on that Brillo Pad look when parched. Not pretty. Over the past two weeks I’ve gotten many an anguished e mail, pleading for tips on maintaining moisture. I got your [...]
Did You Miss Me?
I meant to post stuff while I was on vacation, really I did… but the hospitality of our friends and family in San Diego lured me away from the computer completely. Good thing, too – I didn’t quite realize how addicted I am! Our flight left San Diego at 8 p.m. last night, and we [...]
The Burden of Being, The Weight of Words
A word as old as the slave trade has been in the news recently. Notorious N-bomb dropper Paul Mooney has sworn to never say it again, but Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, DL Hughley et al have remained oddly mute on the subject. On Sunday, Damon Wayans got fined $20 per n-word and was [...]
Santa Baby
Tis the season to go shopping, and the malls are overflowing with people and bargains. If you’re shopping these days, make sure you’re making a list (and obviously, checking it twice). Get gifts for the fam and friends who mean the most to you, and don’t forget to get yourself something you’ve been wanting all [...]
You Have Taught Me
When I wrote The Definition of Natural last week, I knew it would be a controversial post. 46 of you and counting offered your perspective, and I learned quite a bit from the discussion. After a while, there were so many comments I didn’t know who to respond to first. So here’s what you guys [...]
