Yikes!

With all the craziness of the past week or so, I forgot to close this giveaway. Thanks to the few of you who entered, your responses were all so heartwarming!

Without further ado, the winners are:

liberationtheory

Henr aO.

circa1978

Congrats!! I’ll be in touch with you to get your $25 Eden Fantasy’s gift certificate on its way. Hope you get yourselves something fun!!

And if you didn’t win this one, keep reading — I’ve always got another giveaway up my sleeve!

I’ve hemmed and hawed about having big news and the best being yet to come…this is one of the things I’ve been talking about.

I’m a contributor to Vogue Italia’s new site, Vogue Black!

*cue fireworks and the chorus of Hate Me Now*

And I’m not the only one! Andrea of Fly is also contributing to Vogue Black, and Gabi of Young, Fat, and Fabulous is contributing to Vogue Curvy, the new destination for full figured fashionistas.

For me this all began last November with an exciting e mail. And I kinda feel like I’ve been holding my breath the whole time. I didn’t tell my friends, or most of my family. And if you know me, you know HOW HARD THAT WAS. OMG.

Now finally, I can exhale and share the happy news.

When I was originally approached, it felt like someone told me I’d won the lottery or something. And today, to see it’s actually come to fruition…it’s amazing and overwhelming.

Vogue Black launched just yesterday and clearly the site’s got some kinks to be worked out. I have nothing to do with the photos or layout chosen for the posts — I’m sharing and creating original content and it’s as much of a surprise to me to see what photos accompany my words, as it may be to anyone else. Author bios haven’t been posted yet. The posts right now are very photo-heavy and content-light (as my friend Claire of the Fashion Bomb correctly pointed out). But it’s up, and I may be biased but I think it’s awesome. And of course, already the blogosphere is full of opinions about it.
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I have had ups and downs with my skin. But recently, it’s been all ups. Totally delightful ups.

For example, I strolled into my apartment building the other day, and a normally unobservant security guard looks at me and says, “you’ve got such beautiful skin.” That was a total first. And I have one product to thank.

Jolie MD.

This two step kit has cleared most of my discoloration and hyperpigmentation, brightened my skin tone, and generally improved the texture of my skin. Not overnight, mind you. I used this product consistently for two months or so — enough to completely finish both bottles of product. So please know this about to be a thorough review.

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Here’s a new weekly feature that I hope you enjoy! I love reading manicure blogs like my friends of All Lacquered Up, Clumps of Mascara, 52 Flavors, KarlaSugar, Seouldiva and Vampy Varnish. Unlike those bloggers, I’m not an expert at-home manicurist, or a regular manicure-recipient. In fact, my nails are often um…shall we say, textured? I struggle to maintain a mani, and my polish is usually chipped. But I’m trying to step my nail game up a bit, and I’m gonna share my weekly nail colors with you!

This super glittery chartreuse nail polish is Sweet P by Hard Candy.

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This year has been so rich with blessings already, and every day I have something new to be thankful for.

For example… on Saturday my husband and I strolled on over to the nearest bookstore. He needed to get computer books. And I needed to buy a few of the magazines I’m featured in this month!

That’s right, bellas. I’m in at least three magazines that I know of right now at your local newsstand.

Last December, I was flown out to San Francisco for a top secret photo shoot. Finally, the secret can be revealed! I’m in this month’s Fast Company — in a feature called The World’s Most Innovative Companies 2010. My advertising network, Glam Media is #37 on the list! Click here to read more. I’m on page 91, in a big beautiful photo alongside the bloggers of Hostess With the Mostess, Coquette (and her baby!), Stiletto Jungle, and Kristopher Dukes. The photographer — the amazing Mike McGregor, made the photo shoot so fun and engaging. SO excited about this, and thanks to Glam Media for absolutely everything. I love being part of the Glam fam!

My SECOND bit of big news is a new and exciting direction for me. You can find me on page 103 of this month’s Essence Magazine (the one with the Obamas on the cover). I’m featured in a Creme of Nature ad, along with some truly outstanding bloggers. Renee of CutieBootyCakes, Sunshyne of HairliciousInc.com, Leila of BGLHonline.com, Nadege of relaxedhairhealth.blogspot.com and I each have a photo and a quote about our favorite Creme of Nature hair product — I’m talking about the lemongrass rosemary leave in conditioner I had a giveaway of for my birthday in 2007. And if someone had told me back then — three years from now you’re going to be a product endorser in a magazine ad, I would have laughed out loud and told them to stop trippin’. But now, it’s here, it’s happening, and IT’S ABOUT TIME.
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In my angstiest, angriest teenage days, I was a big Nirvana fan. Huge. Posters on my wall, staying up at night to watch the videos on Alternative Nation. I mostly kept the obsession to myself — not everyone at my school was into rock music. My alternateen existence was mainly shared with a few classmates, and the guys who ran the booth where I bought my music at the mall. Every week I spent my allowance at a so-obviously-illegal kiosk, where all of the latest albums were copied on cassette.

Yes, I was BIG into cassettes. I’ve still got quite a collection.

Anyway, at this particular kiosk I got everything I wanted. All of the music I saw on cable TV and in my Sassy magazines, the music they totally weren’t playing on the radio in Trinidad. I bought albums by Green Day and Bjork and Soundgarden. And I got every Nirvana album from Bleach to Unplugged, all on cassette. I practically burned a hole in those tapes, rewinding songs just to hear Kurt Cobain’s yowl, so filled with pain and emotion.

I remember his death very clearly, even though I was somewhere hot and bright, so far away from bleak Seattle. I was at my friend Carys’ house. My brother called, because he’d seen it on the news and he knew about the posters on my wall and my tape collection. I cried for Kurt, and I wanted so much to be in a place where fellow Nirvana fans were sharing their grief.

That was in 1994. Today, February 20, would have been Kurt Cobain’s 43rd birthday. To give tribute to him, I present my top 5 favorite Nirvana songs.

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