Category: Ask Afrobella
Ask Afrobella: Turn Around, Bright Eyes
Just because I don’t also share a specific beauty concern with you, doesn’t mean that I don’t have your back. You can write in any kind of Ask Afrobella question under the sun! Recently I got a good one. Hey Hey Bella, I’m a light skinded black woman with an ongoing beauty problem. I have [...]
Stylin’ Little Afrobellas
I already expressed my adoration of little Zahara Jolie-Pitt, so when I spotted this adorable photo over at DListed, I had to share. Yay, Zahara! What a little cutie. So expressive and bright, and she just lights up when she smiles. And lil mama is growing up fierce — check out her mom-and-me matching Valentino [...]
Ask Afrobella — The “Professional” Prejudice
Since that Glamour magazine editor’s quote hit the streets last week, yours truly has been swamped with e mails and Ask Afrobella questions. Like this one, yesterday! Robin asks: Bella, I’m waiting on the corporate hair discussion. I’m in a rut with this issue as we speak. I am looking for a new job in [...]
Ask Afrobella: Makeup for Dummies, Part Deux
I know, I know. I’m way behind on my Ask Afrobellas. I’m gonna try to be better. Ready? Here goes. In response to my first Makeup for Dummies post, berrybrowne asks: ‘bella – i wear liner, mascara, cream blush and lip gloss EVERY DAY! but that’s all:-( i feel so sad and boring and i [...]
Natural Attitudes — Taking the Plunge
How old am I in this photo? It looks like it was taken at our old house in Belmont, so I couldn’t have been older than four. And already my little face is drawn and my eyes are troubled at having to wear rollers and get my hair done. Our hair issues start so early. [...]
My Father’s Father’s Day
Much thanks to all of you who shared your feedback about the true meaning of fatherhood. My dad gave all four sermons at All Saints’, the church I was baptized in and grew up going to. He sent me a complete copy of his speech, which I will post as a link as soon as [...]
Elasta QP Contest Winners!
Whew! Sifting through 95 comments is no joke! Lucky for me, the Elasta QP peeps were ready and available with helpful answers to your most troublesome hair dilemmas. So without further ado… the winners arrrrrre… (drumroll, please!) Megan, Keisha, and Bridgette. Hooray! Look out for an e mail from me, and as soon as you [...]
Get Right For the Summer!
Summertime, and and your hair roots are sweaty; Scalp feels itchy, and your split ends are dry. Your curls are knotted and your pockets are empty; But hush, little bellas – don’t you cry A little badly misappropriated music to kick off a new weekly feature, miladies! I’ve lived all my life in climates that [...]
Ask Afrobella: Skin S.O.S!
Heyo! I’m feeling a bit better today. Better enough to answer this recent Ask Afrobella question that I identified with so, so much. Hey Bella! First of all, I want to say GREAT JOB on your blog! I am a new reader, and I enjoy reading about your product reviews and other issues. I am [...]
Ask Afrobella: Own Your Fro!
I get quite a few e mails from new-on-the-scene afrobellas, or transitioning bellas, who are concerned about how to style natural hair. So many of the traditional straight hairstyles go out the window once you go natural, and in certain environments there’s a pressure to conform to silly style rules and regulations. Take for example, [...]
Ask Afrobella: The $100 Sephora Shopping Spree
Look at it. So cold, so clean, so sterile. So jam packed with things you want to get your well-manicured hands on. The latest in mineral concealer technology. The new hot lip gloss. Enough eyeliner and mascara to make Tammy Faye Baker faint. Powders and potions and perfumes, oh my! Sephora is toyland for women [...]
Ask Afrobella: Wedding Belle Do’s
I’ve let the Ask Afrobella questions stack up too high. I apologize. Allow me to get back to Afrobella basics. I post this photo with a disclaimer: it took me a LONG time and a lot of back and forth discussion before I decided to post this photo. I don’t aim to be one of [...]
Ask Afrobella – Help Me Transition!
Bellas, I’d like you to meet Katrina Coffee. She’s one of my favorite co-workers, and she’s a funny, smart, fierce sista who has just decided to go natural. Again. See, Katrina’s had a long and turbulent hair journey, just as so many of us have. She hasn’t had relaxer in over a decade, but the [...]
Ask Afrobella – Advice for the Makeup Newbie
I’ve been letting the Ask Afrobellas stack up to a frightening level, and now it’s reckoning time. This question came from a real life friend o’ mine, WLRN jazz DJ and sagacious sistren Tracy Fields. Lovers of straight-ahead jazz and women with soothing, melodic speaking voices can give her a listen on Weekend Jazz, every [...]
A Recommendation With Reservations
My skin was my biggest beauty dilemma last year. Repeated series of breakouts led me to seek acne medication and left me with some depressing hyperpigmentation. Post-acne skin discoloration is an issue that I think primarily affects women of color, and in 2006 it became my plague. Inevitably after I have a breakout – especially [...]
