My mother’s first beauty memory was one of observation. She remembers watching my grandfather’s sister, Auntie Ruby, as she sat at her dresser getting ready.

“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?

This has been one of those weeks where I wish I could just go back to Monday and start over. I’ve been pretty much flat in bed, drinking Nyquil by night and Dayquil by day. Yup, I’m sick and on top of that the deadlines and e mails don’t ever stop when you work for yourself. So through this week I’ve been soothing my troubled spirit with the kind of music that helps me feel better.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the midst of achievement and success, sometimes you’ll also encounter jealousy, anger, and competitive energy from unlikely sources. That’s what I’m dealing with now, bellas. That kind of negativity can be disquieting to the spirit.

On days when it gets to me, I tend to do as my mom suggests and shroud myself in prayer, or to reread the Desiderata — the poem that basically outlines the way I try to live my life. Or — as I told fellow blogger Game Well and Truly Over for his 2010 Music Project — I listen to a song that makes me feel protected.

Yesterday I found solace in the poetry of Maya Angelou. And this is probably a poem we’ve all read before, but it helped me out in a time of trouble this week. So I hope it does the same for you.
Read the rest of this entry »

Friends in Chicago, the weather may be chilly and the streets may still be slushy — but I hope you’re still going out and about despite it all. Because on February 21, I’d love to meet you at a truly delicious event! My friend Courtney of the awesome food blog CocoCooks is part of a worldwide event called Stir It 28: Food Bloggers Align for Haiti Relief – a blogger based fundraising effort to bring money to Haiti. From February 1st through the 28th, food bloggers are coming together to raise funds for Share Our Strength and Yele. The event is a result of the efforts of Courtney and her fellow food bloggers Bren Herrera, chef and author of Flanboyant Eats, and Chrystal Baker of The Duo Dishes.

Click here for event details.

Food fundraising events will be taking place on Sunday, February 21st in participating cities – that includes Atlanta, Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York City, and sweet home Chicago. Come by on Sunday February 21, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Three Peas Art Lounge. Tickets cost $30 in advance, $35 at the door, and Share Our Strength and Yele. Visit Coco Cooks to buy a ticket to your local event!

I hope you enjoyed Valentine’s Day!

We enjoyed a beautiful and romantic day here in Chicago. We spent the morning in Chinatown, attending the Chinese New Year parade. Yesterday was the first day of the Year of the Tiger, and Chinatown was densely packed with onlookers. You can see some photos from the day here on my Twitpic page.

After lunch in Chinatown and a relaxed and romantic afternoon, my husband and I had an absolutely amazing prix fixe Valentine’s Day dinner at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine. Over ahi tuna and guava martinis, we reminisced about Valentine’s Days past. We mused about how much our lives have changed, and what has remained constant for us.

Valentine’s Day is about love, and it’s also about celebrating the things that keep love alive. It’s about those tingly feelings in your stomach, the person who makes you feel them, and keeping that tingle going strong, year in and year out.

I promised back in December that I’d do a blog post about some those things for Valentine’s Day. So here I am, making good on that.

If you prefer your blog reading to be strictly rated G and preferably about hair, click here to read my latest post on BVHairTalk.com.

But if you’re looking to spice up your life with an Eden’s Fantasy gift card and you’re an adult, feel free to click the more tag to wander with me into PG-13 territory.
Read the rest of this entry »