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!

I know what works best for me, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to turn to some true divas who know makeup from makeup. Beauties who use makeup to transform their look completely from day to night. I reached out to my amigas in gorgeousness — three of Miami’s most fabulous drag queens.

My last post on drag queen makeup was forever and a day ago, so I’m long overdue for a fresh update.

Who better to ask than three of my favorite divas who live, love and entertain in the 305? As a special bonus, I’m gonna throw in my two cents with a special makeup recommendation for each of these faboosh ladies.

Let’s kick things off with the stunning, the electric, the diva Miss Elaine Lancaster. Her glamorous photo is by Howard Austin Feld. You can find her on Facebook, and while you’re at it, join her fan club Friends of Elaine Lancaster. Tell her Afrobella sent ya!

Take it away, Elaine!

1 – What inspires your look? There are so many kinds of drag, what led you to express yourself this way?

I guess my look was inspired, at first, by the ladies of Dynasty. Now I get inspiration from everywhere.

2 – How would you describe your aesthetic?

I want to dress for myself & how I feel that day/evening. Plus i TRY to be appropriate for the event/location.

3 — What are your go-to tools of the trade? What makeup brands work the best for your needs?

I love MAC Cosmetics, but really am learning to love MAKE-UP FOREVER… amazing colors.

4 — What’s your advice for young queens on the come-up — in the physical sense and in the sense of entering this new and exciting world?

It’s the hardest job you’ll ever love if you do it right.

5 — What do you want the world to know about the Diva, Miss Elaine Lancaster?

“I can’t cover up my feelings In the name of love, or play it safe… For a while that was easy… And if living for myself is what I’m guilty of Go on and sentence me I’ll still be free…….IT’S MY TURN…….” Diana Ross

Oh Elaine. Quoting one of my all time beauty icons. LOVES it!

My makeup recommendation for Elaine — Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Eyes Collector. 25 gorgeously pigmented waterproof eyeliner pencils, the better to highlight those gorgeous peepers.

Next up, I had to holla at ADORA. Why? Because her makeup is among the most outlandish and outstanding in the biz.

Look at THAT. I don’t know many other people who can pull that off, and Adora does it so effortlessly every day. I HAD to find out what inspired this look. It was a bit tricky because English is not Adora’s first language. But I think we figured it out! (PS: Adora’s photo is by Alexis Trigouria).

1 – What inspires your look? There are so many kinds of drag, what led you to express yourself this way?

My look was inspire by cartoons, 1950 ’s and 60’s vedettes (which I believe are dancing girls?) and I thought that this kind of drag was the most fun and creative.

2 – How would you describe your aesthetic?

Adora’s aesthetics is a mix of camp and glamour.

3 – What are your go-to tools of the trade? What makeup brands work the best for your needs?

For Adora’s “natural looks” she uses MAC full coverage, with a mix of colors from Coty powder. White pigment as eye shadow from MAC, water proof eye liner from MAC, the eye lashes she just let them grow, contour from MAC , lipstick and lip gloss from whoever and all this depends on the event, time of the day or just the mood.

4 — What’s your advice for young queens on the come-up — in the physical sense and in the sense of entering this new and exciting world?

For the new girls I have advice — BE YOURSELF the looks are second, the talent has to be always first, one can have a fabulous figure and looks… no talent? No thank you! So there you have it girls before you go out there, make sure that you can entertain!

Adora’s web site is AdoraMiami.com.

What’s my product recommendation for Adora? Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. The brand is all about mixing and matching, expressing yourself, and creating your own vision. The multi purpose cosmetics are made for mixing and everyone I know who has tried their lip tar absolutely RAVES about it. And their colors come in a range Adora would adore.

Last but so certainly not least is my friend Shelley Novak — photo by Desi. We clicked with each other years ago, when I interviewed her for Miami New Times.

Since then she’s retired like Cher, and returned for a glorious revival on the SoBe circuit.
Shelley is like no other queen on scene. Gloriously hairy, carefree, hilarious, honest, and extremely knowlegable about many things pop cultural and cinematic, Shelly rocks. Point blank, period.

Take it away, Shelley!

1 – What inspires your look? There are so many kinds of drag, what led you to express yourself this way?

I’m a dash of Donna Mills of Knots Landing mixed with a healthy dose of Divine with a sprinkle of David Lynch.

2 – How would you describe your aesthetic?

Barney Rubble in a dress.

3- What are your go-to tools of the trade? What makeup brands work the best for your needs?

Max Factor pan stick, which is very hard to find now that Max Factor went under thanks to his rapist grandson’s expensive trial.

4 — What’s your advice for young queens on the come-up — in the physical sense and in the sense of entering this new and exciting world?

Take every job you can, get paid in cash and always try to get paid ahead of the event if you can!

5 — What do you want the world to know about the inimitable Shelly Novak?

That I’m on chapter three of my memoirs (finally).

I can’t wait to read them. I wish I was around to help co-write them! Shelley’s got a wealth of material, and she’s fun to interview. TRUST.

You can find Shelley exclusively on Facebook by joining I’ll Shave Tomorrow: The Shelley Novak fan club. Ha!

In terms of makeup, Shelley’s gonna have to upgrade from Max Factor, because boo hoo — the brand responsible for coining the term makeup and countless innovations in the world of beauty is not going to be for sale in the USA for much longer. Now’s the time to expand the makeup horizons.

For super duper unbeatable coverage, I recommend Shelley check out Prescriptives AnyWearMulti-Purpose Makeup Stick with SPF 15. Speaking from experience, this brand gives amazing coverage, comes in just about any shade you can dream of, and will last for ages and protect your skin from the scorching Miami sun.

I’m hoping to interview another fabulous queen about makeup soon, so stay tuned. If you have questions or loving comments for Miami’s most fab, feel free to leave them below.

Thanks Elaine, Adora, and Shelley — keep shining and know that Afrobella loves ya!

Related posts:

1. Viva Glam! Drag Queen Makeup
2. Makeup Tips from Damone Roberts!
3. Get The Look – BET Awards Makeup

In the world of eyebrow shaping, there are the laypeople (the ones who wax you at any standard day spa or mall outlet), and there are the superstars — Anastasia, Damone Roberts, and Miss Rashida B., among them. Rashida flits between Miami and Chicago, beautifying the brows of the truly fabulous in both cities. When she isn’t plucking, shaping, holding down her popular Chicago salon, The B Spot and getting namedropped in the likes of Vogue magazine and Daily Candy — Rashida’s keeping it real on Twitter as @beautyschooled. AND she’s got an awesome blog of the same name — where she drops knowledge and interviews professionals in the world of makeup and the beautifying industry.

My interview with Rashida was unconventional in the sense that we were cracking each other up and bonding like old friends (even though we hadn’t met yet!) So without further ado, here are some of Rashida’s best tips and quips.

I had to ask her about the infamous eyebrow weave video — despite the repeated promise of “celebrity status,” Rashida is not feelin’ it.

“I don’t recommend it. It doesn’t look good in person. Maybe you can use it for photography, to achieve a certain look for a photo shoot…” she suggested. Oh, Rashida you are being too kind.

What about the latest no eyebrows trend, as identified by the New York Times?

“I’m gonna say no to that as well, unless you’re a runway model. If you absolutely have to achieve that look, there’s this stuff called spirit gum which you can use to smooth them down.”

One of the things I loved about interviewing Rashida is, she is no nonsense. She broke down her feelings about waxing and threading, without hesitation. And she got this formerly wax-happy bella to think twice.

“Tweezing is my preference, but I’ll give you the facts. The saddest thing I’ve been hearing lately is about clients going to get their eyebrows waxed and walking away with scabs. That’s when you go to a place that isn’t professional. There should be a consultation form when you go into a professional waxing salon. They don’t do that. What if you’re dealing with a diabetic? Diabetics, you don’t wanna lift the skin off them for fear of infection. Are you on Retin A? Are you on Accutane? These are questions that need to be asked before you get waxed. And don’t get me started on the double dipping and the stick… if you think about it, they’re using the same wax for your eyebrows, your upper lip, and your bikini area. And they’re just double dipping the stick into the same wax.”

Um, EW. I never even thought about that before.

I had to mention a popular chain of wax salons that ahem — I had a ghastly experience with back in Miami. Now they’re offering “celebrity brows,” where you can go in and ask for let’s say, the Megan Fox brow. It sounded ridiculous to me. And Rashida agreed.

“That’s… insane. You don’t have Megan Fox’s face, or her eyebrow shape. You can’t go into an eyebrow shaping like that. Don’t think thin, don’t think thick. Beware of eyebrow trends. It should be all about your face, your brows, and what’s gonna look right on you. It happens all the time, where ladies will say to me “I want eyebrows like my friend.” Well, unless your friend’s gonna give you her face, that’s probably not gonna work.”

So what are the perfect brows, according to Rashida B?

“It’s all about your facial features, your brow shape, and your lifestyle.”

Lifestyle?

“Yes — if you want high sculpted brows, that might not work for an everyday 9 to 5 job. And if you’re a low maintainance person but you want high maintainance brows, you’re gonna have mad stubble for days.”

What about eyebrow stencils?

“They should pile them all up and burn them. I can spot ‘em a mile away. Oh, you’re Anastasia high arch #3, hi!”

What about threading?

“Threading is great if you have alot of thick hair. For your facial hair, sideburns, upper lip… great. But for your eyebrows, you probably don’t have alot of thick hair there. And they lie you down and tell you to pull your forehead. So when you let go, what happens? It looks great up there, but then your face relaxes. I don’t agree with any eyebrow method where they have you recline. That makes your face look completely symmetrical. It’s not a true reflection of what you’re going to look like later on when you’re out and about on the street.”

So if someone perhaps couldn’t afford Rashida’s services, and wanted to do their brows themselves?

“Find a picture in a magazine, of someone who has the same facial features and eyebrow shape as yours. Don’t try to be Megan Fox or Jennifer Connelly or whoever has the hottest brows. Find someone who looks like you. Then take a white eyeliner pencil, or a light colored concealer stick, and use it to create that shape on your face to make sure it’ll look right on your face. Then pluck the hairs that are covered by the white pencil/concealer. Don’t go overboard, don’t get obsessed with getting the one hair in one area… try to look at the big picture.”

I followed Rashida’s advice to the letter and tah-dah! My brows look GREAT. Another tip of advice from personal experience, sit in good light so you can really see the hairs you’ve covered with white pencil, and use a good pair of tweezers. For beauty needs like this, I am LOVING the Tweezerman Lighted Slant Tweezer.

My interview with Rashida couldn’t end without a question I also put to eyebrow king Damone Roberts — is there a particular famous person who’s eyebrows she’d like to work on? Hmmmm?

“Until Michelle Obama showed up, I didn’t have one!” she responded.

Ding ding ding! I knew that’d be the answer. Lord knows I heart the First Lady but it’s undeniable that her eyebrows could use some fresh talent and a little growing in. Rashida more than agreed.

“I’m gonna need someone to work on that, OK? Have you read my brow blog?”

I hadn’t, yet. But in case you were also concerned, click here to read Rashida’s take on Michelle O’s brows, which fully explains why they are the way they are.

As she explains at the end of her post, “Brows should be shaped in a manner that is best suited for the client, in a shape that flatters and compliments their individual facial features, never mind what the eyebrow stylist’s preferences are.”

I agree completely, and here’s hoping Michelle opens up her circle and finds additional people to help keep her as flawless as possible. Like um, Rashida perhaps? Hey, she’s right here in Chicago!

In summary, Rashida B is made of awesome. After this interview I had the good fortune of meeting her at the Blogalicious kickoff party here in Chicago, and it was SO much fun. Can’t wait to visit her salon and get the Rashida B brow treatment for real! You know I’ll review the whole shebang!

Related posts:

1. Ask Afrobella Part Deux — On Brows
2. Makeup Tips from Damone Roberts!
3. Bronzed Goddess

So many things about this 1968 performance clip are striking. Her powerful performance, yes. Her energy, yes. But especially – the regal strength of her beauty. I love a big, wide headband and Nina wore hers like a queen. Set off with a little makeup – smokey eye and a berry lip — paired with a beautiful ivory strapless fishnet number that’s so vintage chic, there’s no wonder that what’s old is new again. I know many bellas who’d wear that outfit right now if they could!

Enjoy, bellas – Nina forever!

Related posts:

1. Makeup Inspiration — Chrisette Michele
2. Makeup Inspiration — Missy Does Her Best Best
3. Where Do You Find Beauty Inspiration?

Where ARE you?

Holla at a blogger!

It seems that whenever a cast member of Gossip Girls sneezes, I get a press release. If Paris Hilton strolls through a boutique, I get a press release. If Speidi or Lauren Conrad, or some other former cast member of the Hills goes shopping at freakin’ Target, I get a press release. But when it comes to readily getting info about celebrities of color… *crickets*

I wish my inbox had filled up with press releases gushing about the makeup artistry and fashion choices of celebs like Taraji, Monica, or Estelle. That was NOT the case and I would sincerely like to see that change. If celeb makeup artist Ashunta Sheriff hadn’t reached out to me to detail the looks of her clients Alicia Keys and Tatyana Ali, I would have been stuck where I always am — guessing what products these fabulous women used in an effort to share the info with you, my fellow beauty loving bellas.

Here’s hoping some celeb PRs see this and get a dose of act-right when it comes to promoting their clients of color.

Off soapbox. On to the award-attending beauties!

Bellasugar did a fab job of highlighting the trends of the evening, so I’ll just shout out my faves along with some product recommendations I can vouch for. Photos are from Oh No They Didn’t.

First up, Janet. I can’t express enough admiration for her strength under such incredibly painful, difficult circumstances. She maintained her composure with grace and she looked like an angel. Cascading curls and beautiful bronze makeup gave her a restrained beauty. To recreate such a gorgeous bronze eye, I recommend Bobbi Brown. I said it already and I’ll say it again – those shimmer bricks are the business! For a more subdued glow, it’s possible Janet’s artist used the new nude collection — which includes an eye palette and a shimmer brick that includes gorgeous pearl pigments. My beauty blogging homegirl KarlaSugar swatched the whole shebang, so check her out for color details.

Let’s talk about Tocarra! The former Top Model contestant turned BET hostess with the mostess made a bold fashion choice with a black jumpsuit, but she inspired me! I might have to cop one myself! Tocarra worked the look to the fullest with a classic
smokey eye, and the look can be a bit tricky to pull off yourself but there are some DIY kits that put everything you need in one chic package. I heart the Benefit Cosmetics Smokin’ Eyes kit. Bellas on a budget should check out the Sonia Kashuk How To Create a Smokey Eye kit at Target for $20 – comes with eyeshadows, blush, lipstick, and an applicator brush. More to come from me on this line, but rest assured – it’s good stuff for less bucks.

Monica was fierce as always — can someone explain to me WHY she’s so underrated? Monica is gorgeous beyond belief and homegirl can SING. I’ve been a fan forever, and she looked fabulous at the BET Awards! Copped this photo over at Concrete Loop. Silver shadow FTW! And her lips even have a tinge of silvery-iridescent goodness. The
DuWop Mini Venom Trio has that flash and sparkle, and Urban Decay’s Julio Pocket Rocket gloss can also give you that look – sheer white with iridescent sparkle will get you noticed at the club, guaranteed.

Uhuras by two, Zoe Saldana and Nichelle Nichols showed that beauty can truly defy age. I hate to repeat the adage, but black don’t crack and Nichelle Nichols is proof — her skin looks glowing and gorgeous!

Her blush stood out to me the most, and I’m wondering if that subtle peachy-bronze shimmer is made by my beloved Prescriptives. Their blushes are shimmery gorgeousness made for every complexion. If I had to guess at a color, Brown Sugar shimmer would fit the bill.

And finally, Zoe Saldana rocked the white dress and red lip par excellence! And thanks to the good people at Black Radiance, I can confirm that Zoe’s red lip will cost you $1.99. I hear that Zoe rocked Black Radiance Perfect Tone Lip Color. Not sure which shade. Uptown Red? Reggae Red? Cherry Pie? Who cares! It’s $1.99 so you can cop a few to add to your makeup collection!

Whew. What a makeup roundup! Hope that helps some of you bellas recreate the looks of the stars, and I SINCERELY hope to hear from more celebrity makeup artists, who help our favorite famous people of color shine on the red carpet!

Related posts:

1. Get The Look – BET Awards Makeup
2. Last Minute Gifts, By Bellas For Bellas
3. Oscar’s Bellas

I missed the BET Awards but I didn’t MISS the BET Awards, if you know what I’m sayin’.

Judging from the various indignant responses on Twitter, it seems I didn’t miss much. But thanks to some of my favorite sites — Oh No They Didn’t and Crunk & Disorderly, I saw all I needed to see. Red carpet fabulousity! And if you’re like me, you might be wondering — exactly how did these stars get so amazingly dolled up?

Today’s your lucky day. Celebrity makeup artist Ashunta Sheriff wanted to share her special makeup tips and tricks exclusively with Afrobella readers, and here’s the scoop on her lush looks for humanitarian award winner Alicia Keys, and one of my favorite child stars who’s gorgeous and all grown up, Tatyana Ali!

Take it away, Ashunta!

Alicia Keys
Inspiration: Moroccan inspired due to her recent trip there in May for the Mawaline Festival. Alicia’s short bejeweled shift dress in its soft aqua truly brought out her golden complexion. I wanted to give her a touch of sun kissed glow and egyptian/moroccan eyes with coral lips remniscent of the colors of a Moroccan Paradise.

Body: my secret weapon body glow mix is a combination of Dior Bronze Sun Powder Spray, Smashbox Bodylights body Lotion shimmer and Girlactik Beauty Gold Shimmer powder. The combination gave Alicia an amazing bronzed sun kissed glow to make her legs and declertage look flawlessly stunning.

Client: Tatyana Ali
Inspiration: Bollywood Princess, bringing out more of Tatyana’s Indian heritage I used metallic earth tones to shape and frame her eyes. Radiant bronzed skin works for her toffee complexion and an iridescent nude topped the look off.

Body: Palmers Organic Olive Oil Body Cream and Smashbox Bodylights Lotion body shimmer to make her legs look flawless.

Did she say Mary Kay? Palmers? Olay? Cover Girl’s Queen Collection? Black Opal? Ashunta is my kinda bella! There’s something so wonderful about knowing celebs are using the same products a bella on a budget might swear by, am I right?

I promise to fill in the complete list of products with links where you can check out these items ASAP! Right now it’s 1:30 a.m. and this blogging bella needs her bed.

Click here to visit Ashunta’s website to see even more of her amazing work, and click here to follow her on Twitter! Look out later today for even more BET Awards looks from the red carpet and the ceremony itself — Janet, Beyonce, Nichelle Nichols and more!

Related posts:

1. Makeup Inspiration — Missy Does Her Best Best
2. Makeup Inspiration — Chrisette Michele
3. Bellas at the BET Awards!

Did you see the photos from Monday night’s star-studded Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Black Voices and Concrete Loop did a great features of the red carpet glitz and glamour if you’re looking for makeup inspiration. You probably already know, Kanye’s lady Amber Rose was resplendent in red, and Rihanna looked sleek and stunning in a tuxedo, working the smokey eye and nude lip for all it’s worth.

I got a whole lot of makeup inspiration from the photos I saw, and you already know I love a good product-by-product breakdown of what the pretty people are using! My amigas at The Lancome Blog broke down the products used on some of my favorite model muses who were present at the event. These aren’t products priced for my bellas on a budget, but at least you’ll get an idea of which colors look hottest on the most stunning women of color in the modeling game. Then it’s just a matter of finding affordable alternatives!

First up: Alek Wek!

Celebrity makeup artist Oslyn Holder went bold — deep burgundy reds for the eternally stunning supermodel. She lined the upper lash line with Lancome Le Stylo Eyeliner in Noir and blended Color Design Eyeshadow in Statuesque (black) and Backstage Pass (deep burgundy red) on the eyelid. To make Alek’s eyes pop, she applied several coats of Lancome Hypnose Mascara in Deep Black.
Oslyn added color to Alek’s cheeks using Color Design Cream Blush in Chic Cassis — a deep, bricky color. She used Color Fever Gloss in Intense — a bold merlot color — to finish the look.

Lancôme makeup artist Tarek Abbas created Lancôme spokesmodel Arlenis Sosa’s soft, polished look.

Tarek lined Le Crayon Kohl in Black Ebony on the upper lash line and followed with Le Stylo Waterproof in Noir, smudging it on the lower lashes. Tarek added Color Design Eyeshadow in Kitten Heel (shimmery baby pink) to the eyelid. Lancome Oscillating mascara in Black created a faux-lash effect. For a high-shine pout, he lined the lips with Le Lipstique in Amandelle and topped it with La Laque Fever in Neutral Current, a pretty, sparkling, translucent brown.

Afrobella primarily focuses on darker hues of beautiful, but I’ve gotten so many wonderful e mails from Asian readers who are looking for their beauty fix as well. I know y’all are right there with me on the lack of representation in the beauty industry! I found out the secrets to the radiant look that
Lancôme makeup artist Andrew Sotomayor created for stunning Chinese supermodel Du Juan. Read on for more!

He used Lancome Artliner Precision Point EyeLiner in Brown on the upper lash line and added a few coats of Lancôme Virtuôse Black Carat Mascara. Andrew stepped outside of the Lancome family and added just a touch of color to the eyes with Shu Uemura Eyeshadow in ME Brown 860 and ME Pink 100. He lined the lips with Lancôme Le Lipstique in Natural Mauve and topped it with La Laque Fever gloss in Pink Dimension, and dusted Du Juan with Lancome Star Bronzer.

Pretty! And now I’ve got a list a mile-long of Lancome products I’m dying to try. Starting with that oscillating mascara!

Who wore your favorite look at the MET, bellas? Tell me and I’ll try to get their makeup breakdown for you!

Related posts:

1. Black Lipgloss. Who’d Have Thought?
2. Get The Look – BET Awards Makeup
3. Makeup Inspiration — Chrisette Michele

We met and clicked right away at the Macy’s Women of Color event, and it’s rare that I meet someone who I can instantly say, someday I’m gonna be like “I met her when.” I say this because I know Patrece is a star on the rise. Someday I want to click on Bravo or the Style Network and watch her dispensing makeup tips on her own show – she’s THAT sweet, warm, funny, and has presence and personality for days. And her attitude was both refreshing and inspirational. “A humble person is a successful person,” she believes, and let me tell you – from interviewing so many people, that is rare to hear, and even rarer to experience. I can’t say enough nice things about her.

Patrece is the makeup artist of choice for Laila Ali, Colin Cowie, and Debbie Turner Bell. And you can see her hard work every morning bright and early — Patrece is holding down the fort on the CBS Early Show, doing makeup for Maggie Rodriguez, Harry Smith, Russ Mitchell and Dave Price along with all of the celebrities and dignitaries who come through the green room before their interviews. And it all began when she moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana to NYC, and worked at the MAC makeup counter.

“I am living my dream,” she declared during her presentation, and I know she inspired many of the aspiring artists and cosmetics employees at Macy’s that day. I managed to put together a little video of highlights from her demonstration. Click below to watch, but be forewarned – I’m the worst videographer ever. What are you in for here? Terrible, terrible camera angles, misguided attempts at zooming in, continuous shaking, not-so-great audio, occasional applause with the camera-in-hand, and cackling laughter from myself and the loud, loud lady right next to me. Oh, and amazing makeup tips!

Mark my words, one day Afrobella will have a video person down to produce some slick content. One day it won’t be up to me and my complete inability to film.

On this day, she admitted she wasn’t feeling well and her mom (who is her rock and her guiding light), had to stay behind to care for a sick relative. And very sadly, that relative has since passed. Please join me in sending positive thoughts and prayers to Patrece and the Williams family.

Despite the personal burdens in her own life, Patrece pulled it together and taught me and the audience so much about makeup, and about grace under pressure. I’m happy to share some of her top makeup tips!

— Patrece uses many different makeup brands, but MAC ranks high as her favorite. “I love MAC’s foundations. I think they’ve done the research and taken the time to really cater for women of color. I worked for them for 5 years, so I can attest they take it seriously.” Patrece loves Studio Fix liquid foundation, which dries to a powder. This probably explains why I look so frickin shiny in my photo next to her! Note to self, tone down the shine before posing for photos with famous people with flawless makeup.

– In Patrece’s professional opinion, the best way to put on foundation is to start in the T-zone area. Use a dime size amount, stipple on under your eyes, and on your nose and forehead. Then feather it down and out to make sure the coverage is even and looks natural. Patrece focuses foundation on the center circle of the face. “Foundation should just enhance your skin and give it a glow.”

– Patrece (and most makeup artists in general!) loves and recommends lipliner. But she doesn’t use the pointy part. “Lay the pencil flat and point the tip to the bow of your lip. Use the flat edge to give a smudging effect on your lips, rather than a sharp line. That way you can use lipstick or gloss to blend the color and it lasts all day,” she says. Patrece LOVES a plum colored lipliner on women of color. And she specifically recommended a brand and color of lipgloss – I’ll blog about that soon, promise! She used a lighter color of gloss at the center of the lip to highlight or contour her model’s lips. Note to self, try that at home!

– Patrece loves and highly recommends using powder eyeshadow as eyeliner. “If you have oily skin, liquid or cream eyeliner or eyeshadow is going to crease. With powder eyeshadow, you save money and get two uses out of one product.” She uses and recommends MAC makeup brush #266 for applying eyeliner, or for filling in eyebrows. She used an indigo purple shadow and started applying it right in the lash line. “Eyeshadow looks matte, whereas pencil can look shiny. And you don’t always have to use black or brown shadow as your liner. Sometimes I like to use gold eyeshadow and smudge over it with brown to bring that iridescence out. I also love a plum or indigo shadow,” says Patrece. She used the very tip of the #266 brush to just place the color, not to brush it on the lashline. And she used shadow both on the lid and under the eye!

– DON’T pump air into your mascara! Open it to where you can see just the stem of the wand, then turn it and pull it out. That way the product remains creamy and good to use while it adheres to the brush. Patrece prefers to put on mascara on the bottom lashes first, very lightly. She starts on the outer corner by the ear and moves to the center, using the wand to pull the lashes down as she applies mascara. “What we’re trying to do is create an illusion of thicker, fuller lashes. Push the mascara from the base of the lash, pull all the way down, then push them up,” she says.

– Patrece doesn’t always use an eyelash curler – bellas with long lashes don’t necessarily need one, she says. But she loves strip lashes, and reuses them four or five times a piece, just by removing the glue and reapplying them.

For now I just have to say thank you again to Patrece for the opportunity, and to my amigas at Macy’s. Of course you know normally I link to the people I interview, but Patrece doesn’t even have a website! She hasn’t needed to have one yet – her success has come from word of mouth recommendations. I plan to (and hope to) keep in touch with her, so if you’re in need of makeup advice or have a specific question, I’ll ask her for ya!

More to come from Patrece soon – I’m interviewing her on her drugstore product recommendations next!

Related posts:

1. Makeup Tips from Damone Roberts!
2. Get The Look – BET Awards Makeup
3. Meeting Billy B

Damone Roberts is known as the Eyebrow King. He believes that every face deserves the perfect frame, and makeup starts with a good brow. He’s got a salon on New York’s Fifth Avenue, and another in Beverly Hills. His artwork has graced the faces of celebrities like Madonna, Beyoncé, Mandy Moore, Vanessa Williams, and Brandy. He believes in the power of attraction and he is putting it out there to the universe — he wants to work with Michelle O.

“I would LOVE to get my hands on those brows! Because she’s a beautiful woman, but her arch is too extreme. I want to make it a little softer, a little prettier,” he explained, as we met during the Macy’s Women of Color event — here he is in the green room with the lovely Patrece Williams. Look out for her makeup tips next week!

Naturally, I took the opportunity to ask Damone all about his specific makeup tips for beautiful black women who want to enhance their natural beauty. Some of his tips were downright surprising! Without further ado, here are some top tips from The Eyebrow King.

1. “Anything who knows anything about eyebrows knows it’s not about trends — thick or thin brows. It’s about finding the best shaped brow for your face. And I say the thicker the better. It really makes a difference. Thin brows can make you look too stern.”

2. “When I shape brows, I start with wax, but then I tweeze. I’m not a personal fan of threading. The thread is kept in their mouth and it’s constantly moved around… it’s not the most sanitary method, in my opinion.”

3. “If you need to fill in your brows, don’t use an eyeliner pencil. They’re too soft, they’re waxy, and they don’t look good. Get a brow pencil, or brow powder with the right brush. It all depends on your personal preference.”

Damone sells his own brand of brow pencils, powders, gel… everything. And for women of color, he recommends his soft black brow pencil. The name of the color? Miss Ross. Love it! He also loves MAC’s brow pencils in Strut and Spiked for brown skinned bellas.

4. “I want to tell women of color about the power of pink! We’re so safe with brown, bronze, and gold makeup. But pink is gorgeous on our skin! We can wear EVERY color on our skin! So get away from the typical deep berries, bronzes, golds…and go for something different instead.”

I took some convincing. But Damone dabbed some of his favorite pink lipglosses — Dior Reflect in Clutch Pink 517, and Rose Satin 657 — on the back of my hand, and I was willing to listen. SO pretty, and so subtle.

Damone’s other pink favorites include MAC blush in Pink Swoon, which is so not the kind of pink I’d normally reach for! And we bonded over items from the Hello Kitty collection. A lovely and anonymous beauty blogger gifted me with several items, and my best best Lauren sent me the tinted lip conditioner, which again was the kind of color I’d normally avoid, but turned out to be really sheer, pretty, and feminine when I applied it with a sparing hand.

Very inspiring! Much respect and thanks to Damone for his time, and for so much information. He’s an awesome person and I hope to meet him again in the future! Stay tuned next week for beauty tips (and video!) of Patrece Williams!

Happy weekend, bellas!

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1. By Popular Demand – Damone Roberts’ Fave Hair Products
2. Makeup Tips from Miami’s Most Fab
3. Patrice meets Patrece!

First of all, Taraji P. Henson absolutely took my breath away in her Roberto Cavalli gown. Her skin tone glowed in that glorious dress, and her necklace! So up my alley. Just Jared revealed a closer shot of her vintage-style diamond necklace. Gorgeous. Couple that with the sleek, asymmetrical hairstyle, and she was a total showstopper.

As BellaSugar points out, her look is very fresh, soft, and pretty, but with a fierce modern look thanks to that smoldering smokey eye. To achieve the look yourself, I just gotta shout out the Benefit Smokin’ Eyes kit once more, and that bronzy deep peach cheek reminds me very much of PUR Minerals pressed mineral blush in Burnished Bronze. Which is a GREAT shade for accenting deep brown skin.

Can we talk about Miss Viola Davis? She was a vision in a gold Reem Acra gown. Or at least I thought so — apparently the idiots on E’s Fashion Police disagreed and called it “too Motown.” Whatever the hell THAT’s supposed to mean. The fabulous Project Rungay gave her kudos on the fit of the gown, and I agree — she looked incredibly luminous and happy.

Bellasugar pointed out her gold eyeshadow and raspberry lip, and gasp — a reader noticed that her foundation is a tad too light and not blended to match her neck. That’s happened to me often with mineral makeup, so I feel her pain. And I gotta say, for a glorious golden eye, I still love love LOVE b.l.a.c minerals. Don’t sleep on their Carnival mineral eye pigment, and for a berry lip that lasts all night, you could do no better than Valana Minerals Berry Bliss. This lipstick glides on and lingers like a lipstain. And yo, the sample sets for $5.99 are a GREAT deal that last for a while.

I didn’t love Alicia Keys’ makeup — LOL, Gigglesugar compared her to Mulan! I blame it on an overeager hand in contouring and eye makeup by her makeup artist. This was the kind of look that probably looked amazing in person but translated into way! too! much! for viewers on TV, IMO.

Her artist explained, “I was inspired by Veronica Lake, Lena Horne and the women in Hollywood in the 40’s and early 50’s so bold lips, luminous skin, strong brows and sultry eyes are all a MUST!!!”

I see. And I respectfully disagree with the choice of eyeshadow for Miss Keys. The pale peach shadow, dramatically lined eye, and bold red lip was retro-inspired overkill IMO. And please note I am not being as snarky as the funsters at Project Rungay, who said — and I quote — “She looks beautiful but she’s so done up she kinda doesn’t even look like herself. Like she’s a drag queen doing an Alicia Keys tribute named Felicia Sleaze or something.”

Meow! Feel free to disagree in the comments!

I must admit, I didn’t love Queen Latifah’s dress — on Twitter I declared that the sharply pointed bodice reminded me of Ursula from The Little Mermaid. But I DO love that Queen La always keeps it real with her makeup. Eye 4 Style reveals that Sam Fine used only Cover Girl makeup, and created her eye look with Golden Sunrise, which is currently on sale at Drugstore.com for $3.47. Give it to em, Queen!

Who wore it best? Who rocked your favorite Oscar look? Did you LOVE Angelina’s earrings as much as I did? Dish!

Related posts:

1. Last Minute Gifts, By Bellas For Bellas
2. Get The Look – BET Awards Makeup
3. Makeup Inspiration — Chrisette Michele