I meant to post this diary all in one go, but in all honesty? I got NYFW’d OUT. The coverage on my blog and every other blog felt overwhelming and life came calling…so I took a break. But now I’m back to recap those last two whirlwind days of my first Fashion Week. Y’all ready? Let’s do this!

CVS Lounge

I knew my last two days of NYFW would wrap up fast, so I didn’t want to push myself. Already in my head, I was making plans for next Fashion Week. I don’t want to be caught not RSVP’d for such chic events ever again! Better to be safe than sorry I missed something amazing.

Sunday began with a fabulicious brunch with my friend Jenny and her boyfriend Shawn at Cowgirl — a Western themed brunch spot that is just BEYOND delicious. I am SO going there every time I’m in NYC! The cheese grits and poached eggs were so delicious I’m salivating even now, weeks after my meal there. If you live in NYC, make a trek to Cowgirl. Trust me!

After that, it was off to experience the CVS Reinventing Beauty Lounge. What’s that? Basically CVS hosted a gorgeous experience for writers, beauty bloggers, and other Fashion Week attendees at Robert Verdi’s amazing LuxeLaboratory. (photo courtesy of the fab Mischo Beauty).

OMG, you guys.
This place is gorge-ous. Lushly decorated, welcoming staff, delicious food (quinoa salad to die for! And let’s not even talk about the tower of cupcakes and other desserts), and delicious beverages courtesy of Blueprint Cleanse. Their juices are incredibly delicious. I could seriously go for one of their pineapple apple mint juices right now! AND I met Robert Verdi, and he was sweet as pie!

In the CVS Lounge, it was all about beauty. A manicurist was on hand, so you know I had to get my nails done. And I can tell you this — you’re going to hear a whole lot about Opulent Cloud, Tracy Reese’s exclusive shade for Sally Hansen HD. All Lacquered Up reviewed it earlier this year, but it’s about to make a big splash. Literally every blogger I met there was getting this gunmetal-grey-but-gold-in-the-light shade painted on their nails.

Sally Hansen HD Opulent Cloud by Tracy Reese

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Raise your hands if you’re a nightly talk show watcher! I am – if it isn’t The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, then it’s Conan or Letterman (and I’ve tried my sincere best with Jimmy Fallon, but… I just can’t. Even though I’m a big fan of The Roots).

But in terms of having my late night comedy jones sated by a person of color, I might have to look back as far as Arsenio to recall a show I actually watched and enjoyed. (Where’s Arsenio at, anyways?) Now my DVR’s about to be busy at night, thanks to Mo’Nique. The ever outspoken Queen of Comedy is stepping up to the late night plate with a fresh new talk show on BET.

Yeah, I’m a little skeptical. But here’s why I’m gonna give Mo’Nique a shot — I’ve witnessed her power in person.

At the F.A.T Chance auditions in Miami in 2006, I met her myself. Mo’Nique has a riveting presence, a compelling aura, and the power to inspire. For real. She made that room resonate, and touched the hearts of the women waiting to compete on her reality show. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, or since. And since then I’ve been watching her star steadily rise.

Mo’Nique has become so much more than a raunchy comedienne. She’s proving her dramatic skills in her film roles (I heard Oscar talk about her role in Precious!) and establishing herself as a media personality with a message beyond whatever their latest project is about.

So I’m gonna watch, and I’m even a little excited about it. Although we have yet to see a consistently successful woman host a late night show, and it’s been decades since Arsenio…my hopes are a little high for this one. Mo’Nique is a go getter. Either way, this is going to be interesting.

Mo’Nique debuts Monday October 5 at 11 p.m.. Will you watch? What are your thoughts, bellas?

From the minute Disney announced the first African American princess movie, The Princess and the Frog, the buzz has been building. And so has the concern.

Disney’s history of racial sensitivity in their cartoons caused eyebrows to be raised early on, and understandably so — having waited this long to produce a film starring an African American princess, the pressure was on Disney to come correct. Every little detail of this particular princess will be analyzed, criticized, and committed to history. The film will open for an advance special engagement in New York and Los Angeles from November 25 to December 13 (click here for those special tickets), and will open nationwide December 11. I’m going to reserve judgment until I’ve seen the film itself. But in the meantime, allow me to unabashedly gush about what Disney’s already done right.

For super special The Princess and The Frog merchandise, Disney’s teamed with one of my favorite brands, Carol’s Daughter for a truly magical beauty collection.

Click here to sign up to be first to know about the Fall 2009 release of the Carol’s Daughter collection, starring Princess Tiana.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Carol’s Daughter creator Lisa Price, to get her feelings about this awesomeness. It was so inspiring to hear how this came about, and how this little company that could has managed to become part of Disney history. And to find out straight from Lisa herself, that her mother’s parents were from Trinidad? This Trini bella felt very proud all around.
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Being the generally optimistic person that I am, I want to believe that makeup options for women of color are becoming better and better. There are more and more upcoming boutique brands catering to our skin’s unique needs, and even the mainstream brands have expanded their color palettes over the years. Then you get news like this and it knocks the wind out of your optimistic sails.

Estee Lauder is closing their Prescriptives brand. Yes, Prescriptives, the brand that catered to the specific needs of customers of color, will soon shuffle off this mortal coil. My amiga Shannon, who blogs for Pierce Mattie PR, seems to think the brand can be saved.

I want to hold out hope for Prescriptives, but I think the stars have collided against it.

Brands like Bobbi Brown and MAC tend to steal the limelight as the go-to department store brands for women of color, and despite a range of excellent products that in some ways go beyond what those aforementioned brands offered, Prescriptives was never able to capture that elusive youth market that breathes eternal life into even the most classic brands. The price point factor, the unexciting packaging, the importance of the in-store experience for this particular brand, the focus on skincare and foundation versus hot hot new colors every month to dazzle the consumers… I think many factors came into play here.

But still, ain’t that a shame. Prescriptives isn’t the kind of makeup that jumps off the glossy magazine page or the computer screen and screams, “buy me.” It’s all about the in store experience, where the range of possibilities becomes instantly apparent. If ever there was a time to stock up on custom blended makeup, it’s now.

Before Prescriptives has gone completely, I will highlight my top favorites, the items you absolutely gotta get before they pack up those department store shelves for good.
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Sometimes I host a giveaway and wonder — how will my bellas respond to this one? Not so much for the fly giveaway I hosted with Cut It Out Apparel — I know my readers are strong, bold, intelligent women with opinions to share — and Cut It Out’s teeshirts are SO very very Afrobella. Statement shirts!

The brilliant designers of Cut It Out helped me choose 3 lucky winners while I was at Fashion Week. And here they are!

The “Destroy Stereotypes” tee goes to Debbie, who says:

I love the “Destroy Stereotypes” shirt because through out my life I have fought to do exactly that. As an immigrant from Jamaica I fought my teachers in grade school who believed that as a foreigner I wasn’t as smart and did not know english, despite my advanced education gained in the islands. As one of a handful of students of color in a predominantly white affluent boarding school I once again bucked the stereotypes others tried to place on me by not being the token ghetto girl and by beating out most of my class for an acceptance to an Ivy League institution. Even though many claimed it was a result of Affirmative Action I knew it was because of my hard work and prayers. Once in college, I realized that once again my fight would have to continue as I found myself the only woman or the only student of color in my upper level science courses. I was unfazed and continued to work my hardest. Upon returning home from school, I repeatedly met old classmates and friends from my youth who were astonished that I had not fallen victim to the stereotype that my town has of churning out teenage mothers. Now as I enter in my doctoral studies, I realize that my fight against stereotypes will never be over. However, I face each new challenge and “box” that society attempts to place around me as my motivation to succeed.

The My Name is Not… tee goes to Mignon, who says:

Love the destroy stereotypes tee. The message is relevant and timely. Especially now. But, I SO need the “my name is not shorty” tee. I’m short (5 foot even). So I’m short and pretty cute so men think calling me “shorty” is cute. Uh, no no Boo Boo! My name is Mignon. K? Thanks! It frustrates me to no end. Maybe with this shirt, I wont have to breathe any words of disgust. I’ll stop the madness before it starts.

Anyways, thanks for hipping us to this company. Love supporting black owned businesses of relevance.

And last but not least, the CIO Peace tee goes to CoilsnKinks who said :

I am really digging CIO Peace. Its a message I would never hesitate to portray. I think that we should be able to walk around and exude an attitude that is amiable and not be so closed or angry. When we start there we can actively seek peace in our lives and in the lives of others. CIO PEACE!

Thank you SO much, Tirinda and Noricia, for offering your awesome tees to Afrobella readers, and for helping me choose winners at the busiest time of my life!

Didn’t win a Cut It Out tee? Click here to buy one for yourself!

Stay tuned, bellas — I’ve got some AWESOME, epic giveaways coming up!

Is it just Caribbean parents who believe in giving their children weekly laxatives? I’ve heard tales from some of my Southern friends about their grandparents doing the same thing, but hardly with the same commonality as island families did.

My mother spared me from the experience she had as a little one, but my grandmother apparently was a tyrant with it. Weekly doses of senna were washed down with a spoonful of castor oil. And this wasn’t the unscented castor oil you see on drugstore shelves today, oh no. This was the real deal Holyfield, the pungent, dark, strong castor oil. Down your throat and through your pipes with a quickness.

My mom has awful memories of castor oil, but she also recalls it being of tremendous help to her during pregnancies, and difficult child deliveries. And most recently, castor oil has been of tremendous help to me — although not by internal ingestion. Castor oil has proven to be an island remede par excellence, and the holy grail my hair so desperately needed!
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