My mama bella is a go-getter, and she’s been a career woman her whole life. She’s inspired me to strive, to achieve, and to never stop trying. While my mom worked, her youngest sister Opal was there to see the kids come home from work, to make us the delicious treats we craved, to watch Sesame Street and as I got older, MTV. One of my most vivid pre-teen memories is of watching Headbanger’s Ball with my auntie, and trying to explain to her who Joan Jett was. And now today, my auntie helps to take care of my nieces Dominique and Isabella. It delights me to think that the tradition continues – except today, my nieces are watching The Backyardigans and Dora the Explorer with Auntie instead.

Auntie Opal is in many ways, the heart and soul of our family. When I think of her, I think of companionship, floral housedresses, and her infamous Chelsea Buns. This is the recipe, for the teatime treat that fills our house with the aroma of deliciousness.

Auntie Opal’s Chelsea Buns

Melt the sugar in the milk and brush this glaze over buns as soon as they come out oven. Then sprinkle lightly with castor sugar.

I see Auntie Opal on my too-infrequent trips to Trinidad, and whenever the family is gathered, we talk on the phone. I can’t wait till the next time I go home, to get a warm hug and catch up with her. Hopefully over a cup of tea and a plate of Chelsea buns!

(here I am with my two aunties, Gemma on my left, and Opal on my right!)

I love you, Auntie!! Thank you so much for everything you’ve done to help raise me right. Happy birthday!!!!!!!

Do you have an Auntie Opal in your family? Tell me about her! And if you do, don’t hesitate to let her know how much you love and appreciate her (even if it isn’t her birthday!)

Related posts:

1. Happy Birthday, Kurt. RIP
2. Happy Birthday, Sesame Street!
3. Happy Birthday, Stevie!

Sometimes, randomly I’ll wonder what she’s up to. Is she in good health? Is she still lucid? Is she surrounded by people who love her and care for her? I hope and pray she is.

Lena Horne is a living legend who has retreated completely from the spotlight. She turned 92 on June 30, and her last public appearance was in 1999 at an event in her honor in New York. Her final televised singing appearance was in 1998 on the Rosie O’Donnell show.

I wasn’t of the Stormy Weather generation of Lena Horne fans, not old enough to remember her appearances on The Judy Garland Show, or her TV specials. My connection to Lena is directly connected to my childhood.

Her appearances on Sesame Street and the Muppet Show made a huge impact on me at a tender age, when Trinidad and Tobago Television showed endless repeats of Seventies and early Eighties era episodes. Even then, there was something about Lena that just struck a chord with me. Her gentle spirit. The way she carried herself. Her classy demeanor. She reminded me of the women in my family, who held themselves with a certain elegance and dignity even when in less than dignified company.

Lena didn’t teach me the alphabet (I’m pretty sure my mother, my aunty Opal, and my sister Petal were directly responsible for that), but Lena’s funky version sure helped to reinforce the lesson.

This song used to make me sad when I was a wee one.

There’s something very tender about it. Add that to the fact that Grover has always been my favorite muppet. He’s just so fuzzy and blue!

It’s Not Easy Being Green is one of the best Muppet songs point blank, and Lena’s duet with Kermit is touching and magical to me, even to this day.

Of course, many prefer Ray Charles’ version. Which is also magnificent).

I guess I’m something of a Muppet freak. And even at my age, I’m not ashamed. One of the many things I look forward to, when I have children of my own, is sharing these childhood memories with them. I can’t wait to sit with my own little boy or girl, and watch Lena’s episode of the Muppet Show. I’d embed it if I could, but of course YouTube’s got it on lockdown. It’s worth watching, just to hear Lena perform Sing A Song with Kermit, Fozzie, Rowlf et al. Here’s part one, part two, and part three.

It’s amazing what the mind retains. Watching that now, I can recall almost every punchline of every joke, every line of the song. I remember how much I loved her denim jacket in that first song, “I’ve Got a Name.” (It’s like a denim kung fu jacket with fabulous big sleeves and cool fasteners on the front. If I could find such a jacket today, I’d be a happy, happy gal). But if you ask me what I did on Tuesday afternoon for example, I’d be at a complete loss.

Lena Horne showed enough of her personality on those children’s television shows to make me love her for life. From what I’ve read, she now lives a very quiet and private life on the Upper East Side in New York. And as I mentioned, every so often I just wonder – how’s Auntie Lena doing? Even though we’re totally unrelated and if I ever had the opportunity to meet her, I’d be completely star struck and speechless.

I hope she’s living out her days in comfort and surrounded by love. And I can’t lie, a small part of me hopes she finds out that this homage is on the internet somehow. She’s part of a generation that is slipping away so fast, we hardly get a chance to say goodbye. I just hope she knows while she’s still around, that she made an impact on people’s lives in ways maybe she never thought about.

Thank you, Lena.

USA Today reports that James Gavin has written a new biography titled Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne, that “offers a fascinating study of a complicated woman and the complicated times that shaped her.” Gavin only interviewed Lena herself once in 1994, but pulls together his depiction based on research and conversations with key figures in her life. I plan to give it a read. But honestly, I really should read The Hornes: An American Family, which is written by Lena’s daughter Gail Lumet Buckley, first.

Are you a Lena Horne fan? A Muppet fan? Share your fondest Lena memories with me.

Related posts:

1. Worth a Click
2. A Tribute to Beautifully Aging Bellas
3. Happy Birthday, Sesame Street!

As my homie E-Fresh who just moved to South Korea told me — you know something’s an international phenomenon when people are gathering around computers in South Korea to watch. That’s the same story in Trinidad where I’m from, all over the United States, and around the world. Millions have watched Susan Boyle defy expectations and make television history. As she admitted in her first interview on Scottish TV, it’s left Susan absolutely gobsmacked.

Susan Boyle’s tale would inspire just about anyone, but I know women for whom it means even more. It actually irked me quite a bit to hear the comments the judges unabashedly blurted out to her. “When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said, ‘I want to be like Elaine Paige’, everyone was laughing at you,” said Piers Morgan. Well gee thanks, Mr. Morgan. What a mindlessly rude thing to say, right?

The standard response to Susan Boyle thus far has been tearful surprise that a regular-looking single woman in her 40’s 1. has the voice of an angel, and 2. has proven the world and it’s embarrassing assumptions wrong. As a bella with many strong, opinionated, beautiful relatives who have happily chosen to live their lives much as Susan Boyle has – single, childless, helping to care for their parents as they grow older — I call BS on these saccharine, self-congratulatory responses to Susan’s success.

Cosign with The Guardian and Jezebel — the reaction to Susan Boyle’s talent reveals far more about modern society’s judgmental nature. The haters at the NY Post agreed, but then went on to question the veracity of the polished reality TV show clip itself:

“…it seems cynical, churlish even, to speculate about the machinations behind this phenomenon. But it remains true that this clip, and Boyle’s rendition, would not be so compelling without the contradictions: the beautiful voice possessed by this defiantly unglamorous woman, who can somehow fully inhabit and interpret a love song without ever having been in love.”

I agree. It does seem cynical and churlish.

I’d like to believe that somehow the we’ll all learn a thing or two from Susan Boyle, to not judge books by their covers. But I know better. So instead, I sincerely hope she enjoys real success, and I hope she doesn’t let the fame machine change her too much. Like she told the Times Online in a charming interview:

“Maybe I’ll consider a makeover later on,” she laughs. “For now I’m happy the way I am — short and plump. I would not go in for Botox or anything like that. I’m content with the way I look. What’s wrong with looking like Susan Boyle? What’s the matter with that?”

Absolutely nothing! Susan’s an inspiration to real, regular women everywhere. This 1999 cover of Cry Me a River that Susan did for a long forgotten charity CD proves she’s more than a one-trick pony. I know this won’t be the last we hear of her, not by a long shot. Next stop Oprah!

Are you a fan of Susan Boyle, bellas? How many times have you watched the video?

Related posts:

1. The New York Times on Black Hair
2. Beautifully Aging AfroBella: Shirley Bassey
3. Afrobella Loves the Crazy Turtle Lady!

So in the spirit of celebrating Mama Bella and sharing the tips she has to impart, here’s the beginning of a new series. How long will it last? As long as she wants it to! Mama Bella Says is all about the beauty and health tips that have kept my mom looking gorgeous as she grows older.

So… how old is she? I know it isn’t right to discuss or disclose women’s ages, but I asked my mom if I could share this detail with the world. And she was as forthcoming as I knew she’d be.

“Honey, I’ll be 70 in September. I’ve never lied about my age, and I don’t plan to start now,” she replied.

So bellas — this is what almost-70 can look like if you take good care of yourself. And please note – my mom has never had plastic surgery or any injectable beauty treatments. (Not that she wouldn’t, she just never has). This is what drinking water, taking amazing care of yourself, fancy skin care products, and enjoying life’s little pleasures can do.

My mom has always drilled me about my neck. “Did you scrub the back of your neck?” “Patrice, your neck!” “And did you clean your neck today?” All through high school. Super annoying, as you can probably imagine.

However, the reasons she harped on this particular aspect of my appearance were twofold.

1. In all honesty, the back of my neck is kind of dirty. Always has been. And when I was younger, I didn’t give two hoots about how it looked. Now that I’m older, my hair is shorter, and I don’t wear a collared uniform shirt every day like I did in high school… I’m even more aware that I gotta take care of it.

2. Taking good care of her neck has been one of those invaluable beauty secrets my mother has always taken to heart. And she’s a smart lady for that — few body parts show age more vividly than the neck and the decolletage. The skin there is thin and delicate, and wrinkles easily with the passage of time. It’s one of the areas of the body that are the most difficult to cosmetically enhance. Yes, you can get a neck lift, but wouldn’t you rather not?

Don’t make me feel bad, bellas — I know I’m not the only person of color with the dirty neck phenomenon. I notice it often here in Florida, and back in the day in Trinidad, there was a laundry detergent commercial that referred to the condition of “tropical collar,” meaning a shirt collar lined with dirt from constant neck-contact. So at least I know I’m not alone, but still — what’s a bella to do?

For years, my mom has meticulously cleaned the back of her neck with rubbing alcohol. The harshest cleaning agent possible. I am not a fan.

But apparently her idea isn’t totally crazy — it is one of Gomestic’s 12 excellent uses for rubbing alcohol — right alongside cleaning your shoes, mirrors, and phones with it!

I can’t really stand the smell of the stuff, but Mama Bella swears by old-school astringents like menthylated spirits to clean her skin. Not every day, mind you — just once a week. I’ve tried her method, and discovered what works for her doesn’t necessarily work for me. For my neck dilemma, the one thing that’s really helped is regular exfoliation.

I love a good scrubby scrub, and some of the best neck stuff I’ve tried includes good ol’ St. Ives’ Apricot Scrub and Lush Ocean Salt scrub. LOVE that stuff, and it makes my skin feel super refreshed but not stripped. But these days I’ve been using a super-cheap dollar store version of an exfoliating shower towel. Use a liberal dab of your favorite moisturizing body wash of choice (say, Olay with Spa Exfoliating Ribbons or Softsoap with Shea Butter), and you’ll get great results.

I’ve even started taking Mama Bella’s advice on using a good moisturizer on my neck — I tend to use the really thick creams that really penetrate the skin, like Liz Earle’s Superskin Moisturizer (which kind of smells like castor oil, but moisturizes like crazy), or Olay Definity Night Restorative Sleep Cream, which promises to eventually alleviate discoloration, dullness and brown spots. I’ve been using it for a few months now and I gotta say, I still have some brown spots… but I do think they’re a little lighter. And this Olay blend leaves my skin super soft. Is it worth $25? I’m not 100% sold yet. I’ll keep you posted.

Beautifully aging bellas like my mama might want to reach for a product meant to target the neck’s delicate skin and specific aging issues with a product like Perricone’s firming neck therapy, which comes as part of the Beautyfix member package.

My mom loves Strivectin for her face and hands, so the Strivectin Neck Cream might be the kind of product she’s been looking for.

Thanks to her constant harping on this beauty issue, this bella’s learned her lesson relatively early. I’m taking extra care of my neck now, because I want to stave off those telltale signs of age for as long as I can.

What about you, bellas? Do you have any particular necky concerns? How’s about a question for Mama Bella? Fire away in the comments!

Related posts:

1. An Interview With Mama Bella
2. Happy Anniversary, Mama and Papa Bella
3. Ask Afrobella: Mama Bella on Fake Eyelashes

In her heyday, Eartha Kitt was a force of nature, a unique musical presence, the ultimate sex kitten. And behind the slinky, cartoonish persona and the unique voice, she was a human rights activist who was unafraid of speaking truth to power. The Washington Post has a phenomenal obit that tells of an expensive lunch with Kitt that must have been one of the most magnificent and surreal moments in that reporter’s life.

I wrote a tribute to Eartha in 2006, as part of my Beautifully Aging Bellas series. I said then, “It’s easy to get caught up in the fantastic cartoonishness of Eartha, and forget how ridiculously talented she is.” Eartha Kitt embraced her image. She owned her image. But I hope this clip of her performing the definitive version of Santa, Baby, shines a brighter light on her talent. She was a unique and amazing singer with a delivery that’s hard to match.

Eartha’s version of C’est Si Bon was both a send-up and a celebration of her sex kitten image. I absolutely love it. Check out how effortlessly fly and self-possessed she is.

True story – I’ve been trying to perfect that purr for years. I can’t even roll my r’s. Pathetic. But Eartha made it look so easy.

This clip of her performing I Want To Be Evil is one of my very favorites, for its sheer intensity. Eartha gave raw emotion in every performance. She was of that era of performers who gave good face, as they say — strong actresses like Gloria Swanson, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford. Eartha proves she could stand toe to toe with the best of them in just the performance of this song.

Beautiful, brave, funny, and fierce — Eartha Kitt was an inspiration to me and many an afrobella. To say she’ll be missed is an understatement. And to lose a legend like her on Christmas Day makes for a bittersweet holiday indeed.

Batman? Boomerang? Or one of her memorable songs – share your favorite Eartha Kitt moment with me!

Related posts:

1. A Tribute to Beautifully Aging Bellas – Eartha Kitt
2. That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!
3. A Little Afrobella Inspiration

This photo was taken in my back yard in Trinidad, New Year’s Day 2007. Judging from the amount of champagne still in my glass, it must have just struck midnight.

I’m standing between Aunty Gemma and Aunty Opal, my mom’s sisters who raised me just as much as my mom and sister Petal did. I was a very lucky little bella to have grown up with so many strong female role models.

Aunty Gemma and Aunty Opal are very close to my heart. I’ve learned so much from both of them. Aunty Opal is the youngest sister, and she is an amazing cook, a loving caretaker of children (SO many of my childhood memories are of her playing with me, watching Sesame Street with me, making delicious Chelsea buns or cornbread in the kitchen…). Aunty Gemma is the middle child, and she’s an amazing piano player. She teaches piano lessons now, and she’s a warm, wise, wonderful woman when you get to know her.

Almost exactly a year ago, my Aunty Gemma had a surgical procedure for breast cancer. At the time, she didn’t want to talk about it. But my heart felt so full, and I wanted to talk about the unpredictability of this disease so much,
I wrote this, where I wrote about her cancer without writing about her directly. She didn’t want to put her name and face out there at the time, and I respected her wishes. But now, she’s ready. And I’m so happy and proud she’s allowing me to share her story.

In my original post, I alluded to circumstances that made me angry, health care issues that I knew would not fly in the country where I now reside. I had to ask her about that.

“One thing I’ve learned from all of this… I had the mistaken idea that I couldn’t get breast cancer. A doctor had told me that because I didn’t really have any breasts to speak of, I couldn’t get it. He said cancer forms in fatty tissue, and I didn’t have much of that. So I ignored the itching when it started,” she revealed.

The doctor who told my Aunty Gemma she couldn’t get breast cancer because her breasts weren’t big enough, was the same doctor who helped my mother have me 29 (almost 30) years ago. His name is Dr. Denis Deonarine, and he is currently serving 25 years in prison here in America, for trafficking in pain management drugs.

Every time I think that this man gave my aunt such cavalier, incorrect, idiotic information — an off the cuff diagnosis that was so ignorant and wrong — it makes me incredibly angry.

“I ignored the itching when it first started, because of what the doctor told me. I think it went on for a year, maybe two. It got worse and worse, and I realized I should see a doctor about it.”

At this point, I also want to note that my aunt avoided getting an annual mammogram. She went once, in 1995. And the technology they used in Trinidad at the time wasn’t the best, and whatever the technician did hurt her so much she decided to leave midway through the procedure. She’s realized what a terrible idea that was, and she’s got advice for every woman out there:

“People really need to be aware. It is too serious a thing. Get the recommended checkups. I shouldn’t have ignored all of the advice they gave. I should have been getting mammograms.”

My aunt was lucky — she doesn’t have to have chemotherapy or radiation, because the doctors caught the cancer early and dealt with it aggressively. She’s on a five-year course of medication, and does get some strange side effects.

“I tend to sleep in more now, I’m not sure why. And sometimes I can’t sleep at night, I’ll be awake until 4 in the morning.” Because she’s tired all the time, she has been forced to cut back on regular attendance of her Jehovah’s Witness meetings. My aunt is an extremely religious person, she once attended meetings as frequently as three times a week. Now she makes it once a month, and she regrets that tremendously. But she knows that her family in the religion understand. “And I still have access to Jehovah, because I pray to him all the time. He hears my prayers,” she says.

My Aunty Gemma is living well, taking good care of herself, and doing fine. She is surrounded by love and family, and she’s blessed to have a strong support system. Breast cancer in a country like Trinidad is different than here in America. Every day I get a press release for a different pink Breast Cancer Month item. In some countries, there’s still a reluctance to divulge the disease. Here in America, breast cancer survivors are celebrated as the brave warriors that they are. I want my aunt to know how proud I am of her, and how courageous she is for not only confronting cancer, but overcoming the challenges it has brought to her life. Aunty Gemma’s teaching piano lessons again, and her voice sounds bright when we talk on the phone these days. I can’t wait to see her and hug her when I visit home next year!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I’ve got a great announcement on behalf of some of my beauty blog friends. The Makeup Girl is doing a helluva makeup giveaway, proceeds of which will go to the Susan G. Komen fund. All you gotta do is donate $10 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund and be entered to win a $300 gift basket full of MAC goodies!

A Girl’s Gotta Spa is giving away Marc Jacob’s Daisy perfume, and every day in October, each of the 40 beauty bloggers in Total Beauty are having giveaways and raising money this month for breast cancer research.

Each day a different blogger will host a giveaway with an entry box with a trivia question about breast cancer on them. Enter the correct answer to be put into the pool to enter to win. All prizes have a minimum value of $250. Click here for their Twitter page that gives you a complete list of giveaways.

Has breast cancer touched you or your family in a personal way? Tell me about it, bellas and fellas. And please feel free to say hello to my aunty, she doesn’t get on the internet much but she will be reading this post!

Related posts:

1. Breast Cancer and Hair Issues
2. Happy Anniversary, Mama and Papa Bella
3. She Is Not Alone

40 years is no joke, especially considering my parents’ unusual romance. As my dad himself disclosed in an awesome comment on my Vegas post, he has “also experienced some negative reactions from family, friends and even people who do not know me at all, because I married MY soulmate, who was older than me with two children. I said ”was”, because now she is much younger that me….. at least, that is how she looks to me.”

I must say, Mama Bella does look stunning. And not a lick of plastic surgery or cosmetic injectables on her, for the record. She’s an obsessive water drinker, and that’s one of her beauty secrets I need to work on if I want to look like her when I’m in my Tina Turner years.

My parents were both born and raised in Belmont, a suburb of Port of Spain in Trinidad. My mother was 29 and divorced, raising two kids on her own — my sister Petal and my brother Clint. My father was just 19 years old, the best friend of her baby brother, my uncle Rhoden. My father recounted the relationship for me on the phone today.

“The circumstances that brought us together were not the best. There were so many people who weren’t ready for us, who tried to interfere in our lives. The world wasn’t ready for us, and those difficulties made us stick together. Because of all of that, we bonded, and we became best friends. Not everybody was supportive, from family right down. People just stop talking to you, everybody makes your business, their business. Your mother is an extremely courageous woman to have stuck through it with me. She got it from all sides, from her parents, her sisters, her brother, her friends. She saw gold in me. What I had in me, I didn’t even know yet. But she saw gold.”

My parents eloped, and famously, Mama Bella wore a white leather mini dress to her wedding. Hey, it was the Sixties!

They had three children of their own, my brothers Patrick and Dominic, then me almost ten years later, long after they assumed no more kids were in store.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that it’s been a seamless and idyllic 40 years. My parents have been through just about everything. “We have withstood things that have led many other couples to divorce,” my dad informed me today. Watching my parents marriage – the loving moments and the arguments, the lofty ambitions and the crushing disappointments, struggles over money and the rewards of hard work, and between it all managing to raise five children and realize quite a few of their shared dreams — has been an invaluable education for me. Without all of that, I wouldn’t be the Afrobella you are reading today.

When I asked Mama and Papa Bella their secrets to lasting love, their answers were unsurprisingly similar.

“Prayer first, and compromise. And prayer to help you through the compromise. Unhesitatingly, I will tell you that,” my mother said with a hearty laugh.

My dad replied, “Prayers. And luck. Finding the right person has a lot to do with it, and most times people choose the wrong person. So there’s an element of luck. Marriage can be heaven or hell. But once you find the right person, you live a good life, and you pray, and you share everything the good and the bad, in sickness and in health – you good. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like, without your mother. I can’t even imagine. I don’t think anyone else in the world could have been as compatible with me.”

As their youngest daughter, I gotta say that I agree. Despite so many odds — a ten year age difference, being practically excommunicated by their families (most everyone has come around, I’m happy to report), and some really trying times and marital obstacles, my parents have stuck it through. Forty years! That deserves some kind of reward, and they’ve found that in each other. Mom and Dad, I love you very, very much. Here’s to many, many more wonderful years to come. I learn more and more invaluable lessons in life and love from you every day — thank you so much for allowing me to share the lessons I’ve learned from you, with so many people around the world. Love! What a beautiful thing.

Hey bellas — Feel free to wish Mama and Papa Bella a happy anniversary — most of you who read this blog regularly know that they’re reading and will most likely leave a comment of their own somewhere!

Related posts:

1. Mama Bella Says – Protect Your Neck!
2. Happy Anniversary, Afrobellas!
3. An Interview With Mama Bella

Being the live music baby that I am, I was heartbroken to not be able to make it to this year’s Essence Music Festival. Did you go? If you did, I’m jealous!

From everything I’ve read so far, the event was spectacular and the lineup was SICK — Kanye, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Jill Scott, Ledisi, the reunion of LaBelle, Chrisette Michele, Chris Rock — who I just saw perform live for the first time last Tuesday night. He KILLED it! I’m sure he had the festival in stitches.

You best believe I’ve been getting my at home YouTube party on — I won’t let distance keep me from having a good time! Looks like Mary tore it down, Rhianna’s Umbrella was a big singalong, and OMG Patti LaBelle and Ledesi sang If Only You Knew. I would have been in TEARS if I were there. Oh, that’s just too beautiful for words. And what a moment for Ledisi! I’ve been sleeping on this talented bella for way too long now, and to see her take the stage next to a living legend and hold her own (and then some) is truly remarkable. Thanks and big props to Jawn Murray, AKA Hollywood Jawn for posting so many amazing performances. I could feel the magic coming right on through the computer!

Jawn captured the highlight of the festival, LaBelle’s reunion, as well as Chris Brown singing my favorite song of his, and also his cover of Rock With You that I’m sure the audience was loving. There’s video footage of the fun at Essence’s YouTube page, Black Gives Back has a great recap, and my homies from Concrete Loop posted a gang of photos. (I see you, Angel! I gotta go next year).

Frankie Beverly and Maze closed down the show on Sunday night, and I’m sure they performed my favorite song — Can’t Get Over You. Here it is, to ease you into Tuesday.

Did you make it out to the festival this year, bellas and fellas? Tell me all about it!

Related posts:

1. That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!
2. The Winners of the Brian McKnight & Ledisi Christmas CD Giveaway are….
3. Music Festival Fashionable

I can’t tell you how many versions of that message I got when Stephen Meisel’s smoldering photographs hit the internet. And oh, are they ever amazing. Seeing those photos took me back to my childhood, when flipping through the pages of my sister’s magazines offered an aspirational reflection of women who looked like me (or who I thought I could perhaps someday look like, if only my body frame were half its size).

I remember flipping through magazines and being like, “that’s me!” “No THAT’s me!” with my school friends in those days. Funny to look back on that time of my life — I definitely remember looking at an old magazine with photos of Iman and Beverly Johnson, Veronica Webb, Naomi and Tyra — funny enough, the classmate I most clearly remember doing that with went on to be a real-life beauty queen and place respectably in the Miss Universe pageant. Vogue was a mainstay in the lobby of every hairdressing salon I went to as a child. But somewhere along the way, the fashion bible lost my interest. Completely.

This happened after the decline of the supermodel era, after those glorious George Michael videos I adored so much, long after Naomi appeared on House of Style with her face covered in zit cream — does anyone remember that? It was a change in me as well as a change in the magazine (and I guess in the fashion industry) — I started wanting to read magazines I could legitimately identify with more. I stopped buying Teen and Seventeen and started reading Sassy. I looked forward to filching my sister’s Marie Claire’s (oh, I loved when we’d occasionally luck into a UK Marie Claire, the articles seemed so much more interesting and the models looked so much more real. I’ve always had a penchant for UK and international versions of mainstream mags). And it was around this time that my mother started taking me to fashion shows by Trinidadian designers, like Meiling and Heather Jones. But mostly Meiling’s.

At her fashion shows, there were stunning local models of color — most notably Miss Universe contestants Wendy Fitzwilliam and Michelle Khan, and of course, the apparently ageless Sharon Imbert, of whom I couldn’t find a photo online. I didn’t need a magazine or television show to find beauties for me to aspire to be — they were close up and accessible. I still to this day remember with a fluttering heart, when Trinidadian model and jewelry designer Jeneile McCarthy complimented me on my lipstick at Meiling’s Kapok store. It was Copper Sunset, by Sacha Cosmetics. I was a teenager! And all these years later, I still remember.

Where I’m from, the fashion, much like the overall demographic breakdown of the country itself, reverses the typical racial ratio you see in America and Europe. To see what I mean, click here to see Meiling’s latest collection, M Squared, which will be sold by Trinidadian retail store Micles (it’s kind of like an Isaac Mizrahi for Target kind of thing). Although the designs aren’t as glamorous as Meiling’s usual designs (which steer towards the classic and elegant), they do represent the typical Caribbean fashion show experience. The shows tend to be bright, fun, flowy (as the weather would indicate), and most of the models come in every shade of brown you can imagine. The best part is, not only can you imagine yourself wearing the clothes; you can also imagine yourself on stage. In fact, now that I think about it, it’s entirely probable that immersing myself in Caribbean fashion led to the final straw between me and Vogue magazine — after experiencing glamor I could see, touch, and almost afford, a fashion shoot of a crop of alabaster, cookie cutter models in clothes that cost way too much simply left me unmoved and uninspired.

It took me forever to figure out why it was taking me forever to write about the new issue of Italian Vogue. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to read about it — aside from being covered by every newsoutlet I can think of, every blogger I adore wrote about it and posted lush slide shows, and I’ve been eagerly reading them all. Most notably, Make Fetch Happen has been doing stellar coverage, alongside Jezebel, and Stereohyped, which asked the question that was bothering me all along — is creating an all-black issue of a magazine just a superficial way to address the deeper issues that so obviously plague the industry? Or, as American Vogue asked in their sad attempt at “who, us?” deflection — Is Fashion Racist? Is Italian Vogue throwing a one-time-only bone to placate and hopefully silence the increasingly loud chorus of complaints from people within the industry as well as the women who read and purchase these magazines? Is it in fact, that dreaded T word — tokenism? Or is it symptomatic of larger change that is slowly coming around again? Now that American Apparel’s bringing Eighties Hypercolor back, can we expect a return of all things Eighties, including supermodels that women all shades of beautiful can name, know, and identify with? Now that George Michael is making a return to the spotlight, shall we wait with baited breath for him to once again make a music video that calls upon the current crop of pretty young things, including Jourdan Dunn, Chanel Iman, Arlenis Sosa, and the gorgeous Sessilee Lopez — who has her own blog? I don’t know. And it’s not that I don’t care, I just feel like Iman does — Why are we still talking about this in 2008?

Although — to quote Iman again, my main concern with this issue of Italian Vogue is that this will be a one-off special — “They’ll think, ‘Okay, we did it.’ And then they’re done with it, and we’ll have to wait till next year” — I will definitely purchase it. I’m actively seeking this magazine out so I can buy a copy, and I hope it sells out around the world, to prove to the Anna Wintours and other such myopic tastemakers that yes, black models can sell covers, fashion, and so much more. But American Vogue will continue to sit untouched in any hair salon or spa lobby I happen to be in. There’s no motivation for me to pick up the old mag at the moment, not when I can get my fashion fixes and beauty inspiration from forward thinking fashion blogs, like The Fashion Bomb, Black Style Central, The Budget Fashionista, Style Chile, Black Pearls, and I Like Her Style. I get my Caribbean fashion fixes from hot sites Popstyle Jamaica, Fashion Over Style, and Au Courant in the Caribbean.

And what’s this? Looky here — little ol Caribbean Fashion Week has been getting international play, and admiration in the likes of Paper Mag and The New York Times fashion blog — complete with shout-outs to my classic Trini inspirations Heather Jones — check out her models in that photo from the NY Times — Claudia Pegus and my longtime favorite Meiling, who was honored with the Caribbean Fashion Master award this year.

Caribbean fashion will always be bright and flowy, but some hot new designers are making their names on the Caribbean scene — designers from Barbados, Guyana, and the French-speaking Caribbean got folks talking, and everyone admired the work of Jamaican crochet queen Minka and Trini designers Zadd & Eastman made a big impression — click here to see their collection. I love their candy striped dress! So as far as I’m concerned — to use a Jamaican turn of phrase, fiyah bun Vogue and any designer who claims they can’t find a diverse array of models to walk down their catwalk. My money is better spent elsewhere.

What say you, bellas?

Related posts:

1. Vogue Italia Comment Love!
2. Bellas! My Second Vogue Black Post is Up
3. Say Hello to Vogue Black

Like I mentioned, I have combination skin — an incredibly oily t-zone (seriously, even my eyelids get shiny at the end of the day), with dry, acne-prone cheeks and chin. My oily extremes get really oily, and my dry extremes can be incredibly parched. I’ve been getting super arid, peeling spots on my chin, and for some reason the backs of my ears get dry and flaky. I can’t stand it. So recently, I’ve been wanting to experiment with alternative face washing methods, and after a bella in the shiny skin comment thread (thanks Brownshugaz!) suggested the oil cleansing method, I was ready to take a leap of faith.

From the fascinating website: “Do not be afraid of applying oil to your face. Oil, alone, will not bring you blemishes. Pimples, cysts, zits, blackheads, whiteheads…these are a result of several different factors including hormones, bacteria, dead skin cells and the buildup of these factors. Your skin naturally produces oil because it needs it. It is not a malicious force to be reckoned with; it is there for the benefit of your skin, allowing your largest organ to function properly. It is naturally occurring. Not only does your natural oil help lubricate, it also heals, protects, and moisturizes your skin so that it may function properly. Properly functioning skin is beautiful, clear, and glowing. Learning to work with your skin, not against it, will save you tremendously.”

Well doesn’t that sound convincing! The site recommends Castor oil or EVOO, but says sunflower seed oil is the best for facial massage. The site also recommends creating your own cleansing oil by blending Castor and sunflower seed oil. But my first attempt at oil cleansing was fancy. I went for the Shu Uemura cleansing oil. This is luxurious, heady stuff. As it should be, at $32 for the small bottle!

The whole method feels like luxury, actually — before going to bed, I put a small amount of oil in my hands, warm it by rubbing my palms together, then massage it into my face. This is gentle enough to use around my eyes to remove makeup, and I adore the smell. Like perfume and wealth. After rubbing the oil on my face — kind of like a nurturing facial massage — I rinse it off with lukewarm water. When I’m done, my skin feels soft as butta. Even the morning after, your face still is touchable and smooth and fresh. Loving the Shu Uemura oil, and the oil cleansing method in general! Bellas on a budget, this method isn’t out of your reach — Castor oil and EVOO are easily accessible, and just a drop of your favorite essential oil scent will be all you need for fragrance’s sake. Be careful around your eyes, is my only caveat there.

For bellas who feel sketchy about using kitchen pantry products as cleansers, allow me to introduce you to a new line of products that I think is perfect for bellas with dry skin — the Australian-based product line called Become. If you’ve got concerns about aging or dry skin, they might be what you’re looking for.

Become is all about gentle, effective anti-aging through hydration. Their Creamy Cleanser is exactly what it sounds like — a wonderfully moisturizing cleanser that slicks on like lotion and leaves your face soft and fresh. The Face Smoothing Gel stands among the gentlest exfoliators I’ve ever tried. Teeny beads in a golden liquid polish your face without scratching your skin. My absolute favorite product in the line is the Hydration Serum. Yes, like Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark, I prefer a serum to a cream. Become’s serum is $59, so consider yourself warned… but this stuff is the bomb. My skin drank it up like it needed it. It’s a really light, super refreshing and hydrating elixir that kept my skin radiant and dewy. I just ran out and my face feels thirsty without it!

This is best used under a cream, and for day my current fave is Cetaphil Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15, although I do switch to Ambi Even and Clear moisturizer with SPF 30 although damn, those Drugstore.com reviews are harsh! And there is truth in them as well — it isn’t for sensitive skin, and is kind of strong for use close to your eyes. So I’d say be careful with it, but I’ve had good results with a little dab of Ambi Even & Clear moisturizer (please note, it isn’t the ye olde Ambi skin lightener, this is a moisturizer that claims to even your skin tone while protecting you from sun damage).

My favorite night time moisturizer of the moment has gotta be Kiehl’s Brightening Botanical Moisture Fluid. This is the kind of moisturizer where you notice a difference immediately, in the BEST possible way. Loving it!

I have lots, lots more to write about Kiehl’s in the future — check out my new amiga Erin’s take on our official beauty blogger trip to the flagship store. It was beyond magnificent, and I’ll tell you my two cents when I have time. And my homegirl Lianne the Makeup Girl highly recommends the Ultra Facial Tinted Moisturizer. Lianne has practically flawless skin, so this just gives her the amount of coverage she needs. If you’ve got sprinkles of hyperpigmentation like I do, you may need a bit more coverage.

Hope that helps for the bellas with dry skin out there — and a final word of advice, adopted from Mr. Sean “Puffy” Combs — moisturize your situation and preserve your sexy now! If you’re in your teens or twenties, this is the perfect time to really make moisturizer a part of your skin care routine. Take care of your neck, too — your skin will thank you as you grow older.

What’s your favorite dry skin remedy, bellas?

Related posts:

1. Moisturize Your Situation – Skin Edition
2. Best of 2009 – Skin Edition
3. Ask Afrobella: Skin S.O.S!