Can I just tell you how much I loved the debate on that Louis Vuitton afro post of last week?

Sometimes I do respond with an automatic side-eye where maybe I should try to be more open in my approach. I tried to tread lightly and just put the question out there to the universe, so I especially appreciate those of you who stated your dissent with diplomacy.

Fashion posts can be fascinatingly polarized. On one side are those like me, who are sometimes baffled by the fashion world’s exclusions and misappropriation of culture. Then on the other side there are the fashion apologists, who defend everything as being art and therefore completely acceptable.

One word kept coming up in the comments, and it’s a word that also came up in the news last week. Here’s a phrase I hope never to repeat:

Last week was a big one for blackface.

First, that most antique and offensive of caricatures got a big ol’ thumbs down from Harry Connick Jr. in Australia.

Now the October issue of French Vogue is continuing the trend, in a photoshoot starring Dutch model Lara Stone, photographed by Steven Klein and styled by editor Carine Roitfeld.
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Being the generally optimistic person that I am, I want to believe that makeup options for women of color are becoming better and better. There are more and more upcoming boutique brands catering to our skin’s unique needs, and even the mainstream brands have expanded their color palettes over the years. Then you get news like this and it knocks the wind out of your optimistic sails.

Estee Lauder is closing their Prescriptives brand. Yes, Prescriptives, the brand that catered to the specific needs of customers of color, will soon shuffle off this mortal coil. My amiga Shannon, who blogs for Pierce Mattie PR, seems to think the brand can be saved.

I want to hold out hope for Prescriptives, but I think the stars have collided against it.

Brands like Bobbi Brown and MAC tend to steal the limelight as the go-to department store brands for women of color, and despite a range of excellent products that in some ways go beyond what those aforementioned brands offered, Prescriptives was never able to capture that elusive youth market that breathes eternal life into even the most classic brands. The price point factor, the unexciting packaging, the importance of the in-store experience for this particular brand, the focus on skincare and foundation versus hot hot new colors every month to dazzle the consumers… I think many factors came into play here.

But still, ain’t that a shame. Prescriptives isn’t the kind of makeup that jumps off the glossy magazine page or the computer screen and screams, “buy me.” It’s all about the in store experience, where the range of possibilities becomes instantly apparent. If ever there was a time to stock up on custom blended makeup, it’s now.

Before Prescriptives has gone completely, I will highlight my top favorites, the items you absolutely gotta get before they pack up those department store shelves for good.
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My friend Jenny has an awesome apartment, and when we come to New York City, we stay with her. It’s cute, compact, comfortable, and smack in the middle of Greenwich Village. I love it. But here’s the rub — Jenny’s apartment is a steep 6th floor walkup. No elevator, not even a rinkydink service lift. And it sucks. Especially if you overpacked and have to drag a heavy suitcase with you.

Visiting Jenny is super fun, but simultaneously a reminder of how amazingly unfit I am. Walking up those 6 floors, suitcase in tow, is a reality check. I get winded and then some. OMG the first time I visited Jenny, I thought I was going to have a cardiac arrest right between the third and fourth floors.

I’ll be staying with Jenny this week, on my road trip to NYC. So by the time you read this, I will have already faced the first (and most daunting) climb. But this time around, I’m not afraid.

Facing Jenny’s stairs feels like a kind of challenge to myself — a barometer to gauge how far along I’ve come. And maybe you’ve got a physical challenge of your own in your everyday life — climbing the stairs to your office, carrying heavy bags of groceries, going swimming with your kids, or keeping up with them at the park — something that reminds you that you’ve got limitations to consider. Something that reminds you that you’ve got a physical challenge to overcome.

I’m here to tell you, if I can do it – so can you. But it’s gonna take consistent effort, determination, discipline, and sweat.

Last week, my 50 Million Pound Challenge post was all about finding ways to make exercise fun, and that’s definitely half the battle. Once you find an activity you enjoy enough to do (for at least an hour a day, don’t forget!), then a new mission begins, and it’s a mission I’ve failed in time and time again.

Sticking with it. Making a commitment to myself. Being consistent in my efforts. It is WAY too easy to find a distraction from my daily mission, and almost-forget what I’m doing.

The important thing is to regularly remind yourself — why are you trying to make healthy eating and regular exercise a part of your life?

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Just like most of everyone (at least everyone on Twitter last night), I watched the Grammys and was astounded at the news about Chris Brown and Rihanna. I believe I first heard it from Necole Bitchie or Concrete Loop, can’t recall which. In no time flat it was confirmed by the likes of People Magazine, TMZ, and E!.

In summary, following some kind of domestic altercation that was initially described as a “traffic accident,” 19 year old R&B star Chris Brown has turned himself in to the LAPD and was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats. He’s been released from jail, having posted $50,000 bail. Sources claim that Barbadian-born R&B singer Rihanna, who’s just 20 years old, suffered visible bruises after the confrontation. And the internet has gone buckwild with speculation. Some of the comments have made my stomach churn.

Take a gander at any of the popular gossip blogs right now, and read those comments if you want to feel your blood pressure rise. I’m not about to link to any of the posts that REALLY got my goat, but I need to get this off my chest. As a proud Trinidadian woman, a West Indian woman, a woman from the islands… I do NOT appreciate the stereotypes that are being thrown around by commenters seeking to condone or explain this act of violence. I’m seeing all kinds of nonsense. And I quote:

“He better watch himself, those island women are crazy.”

“Who didn’t tell chris that island women were nutso?”

“Caribbean women are crazy, she probably cut him.”

“That island b***h probably put some roots on him.”

“Chris Brown laying the SMACKDOWN on Carribean joints. [frank lucas voice]. My ni**a!”

Then there’s the other kinds of offensive comments, the ones that don’t just put the blame on Rihanna because she’s a “crazy island woman.” These other comments blame her simply because she’s a woman.

“She must have provoked him.”

“I believe Rhianna probably started it first and it got Chris mad. Rhianna looks like she is a ish starter.”

And my least favorite of all: “Its so stupid how if a man hits a woman its his fault and we should feel sorry for the woman. You all know how it goes, these hoes get snappy, she probably annoyed him and hit him herself. lol at everyone feeling sorry for Rihanna.”

Hold. UP.

Where do these kinds of twisted interpretations and stereotypes even begin? When did we get to this point, where we instantly blame the victim?

It’s like people don’t know what to say about this sad situation, so they’re just talking out of ignorance and stereotypes and assumptions. It seems people are saying anything to try to explain why R&B music’s it couple wound up missing what should have been one of their most magical evenings together.

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Bellas and fellas, so much has been said about the sad state of black talent in Hollywood, but I started to feel faint prickles of hope again, now that Obama’s president and this year two African American actresses are vying for Oscars. But every time I feel like Hollywood has taken two steps forward in terms of diversity, I then discover that it’s more like two steps back.

Case in point, this article from The Root which just might give you a headache if you’re sensitive to these issues, like I am. Oh, and thanks to my amiga Nichelle of 55 Secret Street, Anovelista, and Revenge of the Curves for sharing this story with me, headache inducing as it was.

Nick Charles tells the background story of New In Town, a ghastly-looking and terribly reviewed
rom-com starring frequent star of ghastly-looking, terribly-reviewed rom-coms, Renee Zellweger. Jezebel shone a light on the reviews, which, if you love to read nasty movie reviews, are like comedy gold.

But The Root reveals, this was meant to be a different sort of chick flick.

“…With this romantic comedy, which opens today and stars Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., the lead was supposed to be a black actress and the writer had someone in mind from the very beginning. “I initially wanted Angela Bassett,” says Kenneth Rance, the screenwriter. “I’m a big fan of her work. And Gabrielle Union was initially cast.”

Wait a minute. Are you KIDDING me?

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Courtesy of The Black Snob, I learned that Ty’s controversial Sasha and Malia dolls are being pulled from the shelves. If you visit Ty’s website, the dolls show up at the bottom of the page with a big red stamp next to them that says “retired.”

About time if you ask me.

As someone with more than a passing interest in dolls and playthings for children of color, I was seriously disheartened by the cynical and exploitative move by Ty Inc. from the get-go.

In case you missed this story, here’s what went down. After releasing the dolls and upsetting the First Lady, Ty tried to deny the dolls were named after the Obama girls in the first place. This despite obvious in-store displays indicating otherwise. In response to the controversy, Ty put the dolls into retirement — no wait, the just went ahead and renamed them. Now instead of “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha,” the Ty Girlz collection will include “Marvelous Mariah” and “Sweet Sydney.”

Cynics could argue that Ty got what they wanted out of this deal (headlines, attention, sales) and collectors are spending beaucoup bucks on these newly pulled-from-the-shelves collectors items. Game, set, Ty.

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