Everyone I know who has been, has fallen in love with the culture, the ambiance, the food, the romance of Paris. Someday, I dream of visiting and strolling hand in hand along Parisian streets with my husband. It isn’t my time – not just yet.

BUT – thanks to my friends at Black Atlas – it could be YOUR time!

This won’t be just any trip. It involves:

* Five nights’ accommodations at an historic hotel
* A private city tour
* A private walking tour of Paris including the literary Latin Quarter, artistic St.Germain-des-Pres, Champs-Elysees and vibrant Montmartre
* Dinner for two and a jazz concert

And this tour will be organized by Walking the Spirit Tours.

So how do you enter?? How do you win??

All you have to do is sign up on BlackAtlas.com. Submit a travel article about somewhere you’ve been and loved – it could even be your hometown! If the community votes your entry as the best, you could win a trip for two to the City of Lights.

Click here for all the details. And good luck to you!!

Related posts:

1. Road Trip Beauty Must-Haves
2. The Perfect Road Trip Album (For the Roots Reggae Lover)

But last weekend was truly awesome. Last Monday was my birthday weekend. And my friends at Dove Visibly Smooth helped me celebrate! To help promote their amazing hair-growth-reducing deodorant, some of your favorite beauty bloggers have been invited to host Dove Visibly Smooth Girls’ Night Out events — click here to read about The Beauty Bunny, Clumps of Mascara, and This That Beauty’s Girls’ Night Out events in their cities.

I wanted to do something a bit different, since it was my birthday weekend. So instead of doing dinner or a lounge, I decided to invite some of my best blogger friends for a Girls’ Afternoon Out instead – at Allyu Spa, one of my aforementioned favorite spas in Chicago!

And here we are! From left to right:

Nikia of ChiTown Fashionista.
Aramide of The Sassy Peach.
Rae Lewis Thornton of RaeLewisThornton.com, a Diva Living with AIDS.
Brittany of Black is Breezie.
Karyn of The Fab Giver and The Red Pump Project.
Luvvie of Awesomely Luvvie, Luvv Divine, The Red Pump Project and prolly like 6 other random blogs LOL
me!
Jessica of Beauty Woo Me
and Courtney of Coco Cooks.

Allyu Spa arranged a beautiful room for us to hang out in, and we went in groups of three to get our manicures done.

Courtney is a food blogger extraordinare, and she advised me on what kind of spread to get with the ladies — fresh, delicious red grapes, strawberries, quince jam, pita chips to go with baba ganoush, and two different kinds of hummus. And to wash it all down, some large bottles of sparkling wine were in order!

So, the manicures. Many of us went with the “Blackberry bling” trend and had an accent nail on the fourth finger and thumb. I decided to go with two similar colors, but I really thought there’d be more of a contrast.

I used MAC’s latest matte – Studded – on my thumb and fourth finger. Click here to check out Karlasugar’s detailed post. It’s a matte pearl, very finely flecked gunmetal silver. I am gonna have to try this polish again on its own. My manicurist and I didn’t quite get that this was meant to be merely matte, and the addition of top coat made Studded shiny silver, but also brought out the black flecks in the polish.

On my other nails I used Orly’s latest Foil FX polish in Shine. These polishes are high shine foil finishes, and I have gotten SO many compliments on my nails since I got this mani! “Is that Minx?” someone asked me. No, it’s Orly FX, $7.50 a bottle! Haaaaayyyyy! Here’s an awful cellphone pic of the nails side by side for comparison.

Sorry about the awful photo – my camera’s been having battery issues!

Although I kept within the metallic family, I kept a close eye on the polishes my homegirls were getting! Allyu Spa uses Zoya polishes, and most everyone wound up using a purple polish! (Zoya has some GORGEOUS ones!)

Much love to Allyu Spa, my Chicago blogger friends, and Dove Visibly Smooth for the most fabulous pre-birthday manicure party ever!

Related posts:

1. My Monday Manicure — Hard Candy Sweet P
2. What’s a Piticure?
3. Nails of the Season

“She would always have a huge flacon of 4711, and she would dab it behind her ears and on her neck. Being a six-year-old, sitting there and watching her was so different and fascinating. Everything she had was beautiful. That’s how I remember her,” she told me.

Today my sister sent me a text.

“Can you send Dominique some lilac hand soaps? She loves the name and the smell. She is a mini you!”

Wow, how that took me back!

My niece Dominique is four years old (here’s a picture of her and little sister Isabella!) and right now Dominque loves the word, the color, and the scent of lilacs. Her earliest beauty memories are of me and my mom and her mom, I’m positive. We’re the most makeup obsessed of the family. She loves the rituals of beauty, and wants the products from such an early age.

All of this got me reminiscing about my first beauty memories. My mom always had a dresser cluttered with things I wanted to touch. But the clearest memory of my first beauty product came from going to a fashion and beauty event with my mother. The event was a product showcase and fashion extravaganza, hosted by a family friend, who owned a fancy perfume and makeup shop in the mall that my mother was always shopping in. At this event we had to answer a trivia question to win a prize. And according to my mother, this was the question.

What is the color of Elizabeth Arden’s famous door?

I answered “red”. And won!

I was seven years old!

I remember having to go on stage in front of everyone, and pick up my prize — a big bottle of Fendi bath gel. They don’t even make this product anymore — it came in a bottle that looked kinda like this.

After that, I established myself as a beauty rookie not to be underestimated! And oddly enough, the next Christmas our family friend asked my parents if I could be so kind as to help out at his store during the busy season. And my parents said YES. That’s how I wound up working in the mall, selling perfume and lipsticks and fancy bath and body sets to women at the tender age of eight.

Reminiscing about all of this is so strange, but explains so much about me today – I’ve been on this product obsessed, beauty loving path for a long, long time!

What are your first beauty memories?

Related posts:

1. Memory Lane
2. You’re Reading the Best Beauty Blog!
3. Finally – My Latest Beauty Secrets

Today is National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. One year ago, Karyn and Luvvie founded The Red Pump Project — an enthusiastic non profit organization which has tirelessly worked to raise awareness both online, and with a series of awesome events around the country. Today marks the celebration of the 500 in 50: Rock the Red Pump campaign — where fellow bloggers are encouraged to be part of the movement and show solidarity by featuring a Red Pump badge on their blog. And to write about what National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day means to them.

When I look at the statistics of women and girls with HIV/AIDS, it terrifies me. And when I look at the women and girls who seem to live their lives completely ignorant to the ongoing threat of HIV/AIDS, it astounds me.

Every 35 minutes, a woman tests positive for HIV in the United States.

Black women make up 66% of all new diagnoses of HIV in women.

These are statistics that should resonate with anyone who’s reading this. So how can you support the cause, and do your part to raise awareness?

If you’re a blogger, you too can participate in the 500 in 50: Rock the Red Pump campaign – it’s not too late!

You can become a Red Pump Ambassador and help to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in your own community.

You can seek out local HIV/AIDS charities in your neighborhood and offer to volunteer time, money, or supplies.

Or at the very least you can wear your favorite pair of red shoes today, to show your solidarity with the movement.

I am so proud to be a part of this cause, and the Red Pump Project is becoming bigger than ever, y’all. Just this morning Luvvie and Karyn appeared on NBC here in Chicago!

And I sincerely hope to see many of you come out wearing your flyest pair of red shoes on Thursday March 25, for the Rock the Red Bold Fashion Awareness event. Click here to buy tickets. There will be cocktails, fierce fashion, and some of your favorite bloggers in attendance. Please come out for this amazing cause!

So. Are you rocking red pumps today? Tell me if you are!

Related posts:

1. 500 in 50 – Red Pump Project, Let’s GO!
2. Rock The Red!
3. Rockin’ the Red Pump

Every year I like to celebrate by hosting a giveaway. This year I’m a day late, but I’m truly psyched about this one. Bellas – allow me to introduce you to Fairwinds, a unique jewelry collection by Rachel Roy. The collection is a collaboration between Rachel and Fairwinds Trading. Every item has been hand-crafted in Africa by a female-owned business.

This clutch was made in Tanzania, using local fabrics.

These gorgeous earrings were made in Rwanda, featuring beads made in a paper layering process.

This bracelet is made from shredded woven paper, using traditional Rwandan techniques.

Right now, Rachel Roy’s Fairwinds collaboration is available at rachelroy.com and select Macy’s stores and macys.com, and the collection compliments Macy’s Rwanda Path to Peace collection of amazing baskets — which is also made by Fairwinds Trading!

I reached out to Rachel to learn more about the collaboration.

Afrobella – What inspired you to collaborate with Fairwinds? Was this a kind of collaboration you’d dreamed of for a while?

Rachel Roy: One of my goals has always been to help women achieve better lives through financial freedom and independence – that, to me, is about creating job opportunities. Partnering with Fairwinds was a natural choice and to be able to provide and sustain jobs in Africa is essential – the work that Fairwinds does is inspiring and it was a natural partnership.

Afrobella: So far there are three beautiful items from this collaboration – what’s next in store?

Rachel Roy: We will continue to offer seasonal items integrated into all product categories: Sportswear, Jewelry, Shoes and Handbags. Materials used will include handcrafted beads made from varnished paper and woven materials from recycled fabrics and cloth indigenous to different regions in Africa.

Afrobella: What are your hopes for the women of Fairwinds, and for this fashionable collaboration?

Rachel Roy: My hope is that this collaboration and my work with the organization will not only support these women and their families but raise awareness for women in Africa as well as the larger issues – nutrition, education and health care.

I’m delighted and honored to offer an exclusive giveaway of Rachel Roy’s complete Fairwinds collection — clutch, earrings, and bracelet!

All you have to do is leave a comment and let me know — which is your favorite Fairwinds item, and how do you plan to rock it? — comments will be open until March 12!

Good luck!

Oh and click here to join my Facebook fan page. And are you on Twitter? Click here to follow me!

Related posts:

1. Afrobella’s Rachel Roy Giveaway!
2. Belated Birthday Candles
3. Rachel Roy Giveaway Winner!

When it comes to songs that offer than aural healing I’ve been desperately needing, it has nothing to do with genre or a particular artist. It’s entirely a lyrical thing. And sometimes it’s just the chorus that lifts me up.

This post is about to get random! Are you ready?

5. Deliver Me From My Enemies by Vivian “Yabby You” Jackson.

I wrote a longer post about this song for the Game Well and Truly Over blog’s 2010 Music Project. And it’s true, I really do need to listen to this song at least once a week. The horns, the rhythm, the harmonies all intoxicate me. But the lyrics say it ALL.

Deliver me, oh my God, from my enemies.
Oh I? plea unto thee, to guide me.
Cause me to hear thy love and kindness in the morning.
For in thee do I trust, cause me to walk in thy way
For I lift up my soul right up to thee,
Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God,
Thy spirit…it is good. Lead me in uprightness.

Yabby You passed away this year, after a brain aneurysm. His musical legacy will never be forgotten by fans of roots reggae music.

4. One Day I’ll Fly Away by Randy Crawford.

I said it before and I’ll say it again – Randy Crawford’s voice does things to me. There’s such a distinctive quality to it. One Day I’ll Fly Away is so beautiful to me. Despite the fact that the song is about leaving a relationship behind, it’s just the chorus and her soaring voice in the song’s bridge… Listening to this song at the end of a hard day gives me everything I need.

3. Shake it Off by Mariah Carey.

Ooooh, Mariah. Although I can’t get with her near-constant half nakedness, she can craft a song that delivers the goods and then some. Shake it Off is a sassy modern day, brand-name dropping dismissal to a lover, but the chorus totally lifts my spirits. When I’m struggling to get my mood back up where it should be, this track does it everytime.

2. Ain’t No Stopping Us Now by McFadden and Whitehead.

The quintessential 70’s disco upliftment track! The beat is mellow but still makes me wanna dance, and the lyrics are so perfect in every way. This song is so perfect for the times when the negative energy of others threatens to infect you. Brush them off. Hold your head high. And let this song take you onward and upward. If you’ve ever been held down before, I KNOW you refuse to be held down anymore!

1. Bless Me by Garnett Silk and Sizzla.

Few reggae vocalists did it better than Garnett. This song is exactly what I was talking about in my post about lyrical therapy. In the Caribbean, sometimes there’s no divide between religious music, and the music that gets the party started. I love the balance of Garnett Silk’s original track, countered with Sizzla’s mournful chanting. And that refrain pops into my head whenever I feel weak and stressed. Bless me, bless me so that they can’t curse me. Garnett Silk left this world far too soon. RIP.

Those are the songs that helped me get over this week! What songs help you get through, when times get rough?

Related posts:

1. Throwback Thursday — A Decade Since Miseducation
2. Throwback Thursday — Althea and Donna
3. Throwback Thursday — One in a Million

If you’ve been reading my blog for the past few months, you already know I have much love for Luvvie and Karyn, founders of The Red Pump Project.

This month is a big month for them — not only does March mark the awareness-raising non-profit’s first anniversary, but March 10th is also annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

So March 25th, please join us at the Bottom Lounge (1375 W. Lake St. Chicago). The event will begin with a happy hour at 6:00pm, and the Rock the Red fashion show beginning promptly at 7:00pm. There’ll be special guests of honor and some of your favorite bloggers will be in attendance.

My friends at The Red Pump Project are still seeking sponsors for this event, so if you’re interested, e mail sponsorships@theredpumpproject.com.

If you’re in Chicago, please come and celebrate a fabulous and fashionable evening with us! Click here for all the details — early bird tickets are just $20!

Related posts:

1. Are You Rocking Red Pumps Today?
2. 500 in 50 – Red Pump Project, Let’s GO!
3. Chicago! Come for Cocktails and Conversation!

For Black History Month I was invited to speak at the University of Notre Dame by an amazing student group called Shades of Ebony. These girls were so inspired, so brilliant, so genuine…being around them made me yearn for academic life and that kind of environment of constant mental stimulation. Erdina Francillon, the current president of Shades, is the opposite of me in college. She is motivated, ambitious, organized, and amazing. I can’t wait to see what she does after she graduates!

Shades of Ebony planned a special event for Black History Month, titled BeaUtiful. The idea was to discuss and celebrate black beauty. The event was thrown by and for the members of Shades, and the intention was to also reach out to young girls from the community of South Bend, Indiana — girls from local high schools and even a few middle school girls came out despite the intense cold and deep snow, to participate in the event. My friends at Carol’s Daughter and Dr. Miracles very generously donated gift items for the girls who participated.

BeaUtiful was intended as a multifaceted event. Outreach to the girls of the community, a chance to speak and consider some of their own self-esteem and self-worth issues, and a chance to inspire (and in turn, be inspired by) each other.

I was brought there as a special guest speaker, along with amazing artist Dawn Okoro. Dawn’s art is incredible just on the computer screen. In real life? Oh WOW. I just want to decorate my whole living space with her work. Click here to buy prints!

We were both asked to deliver speeches about what inspired us to do what we do, and what beauty means to us. I shared my background, my ideas about the beauty icons who have inspired me, and my suggestions for living a life that’s filled with beauty.

It was an incredible experience for a few reasons. First, I was just honored to be invited to such a prestigious institute of learning. And second, this was a big first for me. Please be gentle. This is the first public speaking I’ve ever done.

As you can hear from the response, they liked me. They really liked me! The feeling of that applause at the end…I can’t quite put it into words. It was a very, very proud moment. Could this be the beginning of a new chapter, where I do more public speaking appearances? I hope so. I feel so much less fearful than I did in the past.

Unfortunately my camera died during Dawn’s speech. So I uploaded the part that I managed to capture here.

Before our speeches, we were assigned into groups — I sat with two members of Shades of Ebony, and there were four high school girls and a middle school girl at our table. Some of these girls are experiencing things I can hardly relate to — seeing abuse in their families, getting into physical fights with boys at school, running the risk of getting suspended because of their own behavior. One particular girl who sat with me, was like a tightly closed fist at the beginning. She barely offered monosyllabic responses. She seemed so angry and tense. But after our talk, after the speeches, we broke into groups again – this time in a more intimate setting. And I do believe we had a breakthrough. This same girl wanted to share her experiences, and we were able to give her advice on how to deal with the conflicts at school that were jeopardizing her education. I know we were able to help that evening. I just hope the lessons are still resonating, and that she is now going to school with her head held high.

That’s how I celebrated Black History Month, and I can’t thank Notre Dame and ALL of the members of Shades of Ebony enough. It was an honor to meet all of you, and spend time with you on your beautiful campus.

Dawn Okoro – you are amazing, and it was such a pleasure to share the experience with you, and to get to know you as well!

Thank you to Carol’s Daughter and Dr. Miracle. The girls were so excited and ecstatic for their gift bags!

Thank you Notre Dame, for inviting me and hosting me so graciously.

I hope that this is just the beginning. It’s a year away, but already I’m thinking about fresh ways to celebrate Black History Month next year!

Related posts:

1. I LOVE Black History Month! — The Benefits of Buttercreme
2. Why I Love Black History Month
3. Home Depot Black History Month Giveaway!

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!

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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.

The Cut wrote a particularly cutting post on the topic, questioning the separation of curvy and black beauty from the mainstream. That’s a lot of the criticism I’ve been reading — why does Vogue Italia feel the need to separate into different channels?

My answer is, because throughout the history of fashion, black and curvy has been overlooked. We deserve our own spotlight. Of course, ideally black beauty and full figured beauty would be part of the mainstream – BUT IT’S NOT. Someone please share a link from The Cut about plus size fashion bloggers or black beauty bloggers. Please. I’d love to read it. Because I’ve been reading them for a minute and I’ve never seen one. And who’s to say that material from Vogue Black or Vogue Curvy won’t make it into Vogue Italia? For me as a reader, I think it’s refreshing to find a channel that exclusively caters to what I’m looking for — beauty and fashion inspiration that relates to my reality.

Clutch Magazine just did a great post about this titled Are Black Fashion Bloggers Being Ignored? and I can honestly say that the answer is yes. I think black beauty and fashion bloggers have been just as marginalized and overlooked as black designers and models have been. And we are here, we care about beauty and clothes and hair, and we’re a purchasing market that’s being underserved and unappreciated. It’s amazing to me that Vogue Italia has made this move, when American Vogue and British Vogue don’t seem nearly as engaged. It kinda blows my mind that all of this has come from a country that I’ve never been to, so far away. Note to self – plan trip to Italy ASAP!

All I can say about today is, we’re living in interesting times. Already people are blowing up my inbox and my Twitter page with questions, already some are throwing shade (I see y’all!), and already an interview with me has been posted on The Glamazons blog about today’s news! It’s some kinda wonderful. And I am making sure to be thankful for ALL of these blessings. As Mama Bella told me this morning, “Ask God to guide you in what you say and do, in every minute, every hour of every day.”

I am, mom. And I will continue to do my best to make you and Dad proud!

I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Vogue Black. I sincerely applaud Vogue Italia for making this forward-thinking decision, and I hope it isn’t a symbolic, brief act. I believe that this is just the beginning, and I really hope that it leads to beautiful, big opportunities for all of my sisters in the beauty, fashion, and lifestyle blogosphere. I’m BEYOND excited and honored to be one of the first to be featured. Now let’s see — who’s got next??

Related posts:

1. Bellas! My Second Vogue Black Post is Up
2. Vogue Italia Comment Love!
3. Afrobella Meets En Vogue!