This Columbus Day Weekend, Chicago was the place to be. If you love makeup and beauty the way that I do, it was a weekend to treasure. The Powder Group rolled into town for the Artist Summit — a veritable who’s who of makeup artists, brands, and professionals in the field. And we kicked things off with a bang!

Together with the fabulous Lianne Farbes (AKA The Makeup Girl) and Erin Scandalous, I hosted the Drugstore Divas Blogger Mixer. We had a blast! So much so that we completely forgot to take photos, and I only have two. D’oh!

Here’s me with Lianne and our fabulous sign at the front of the J Bar at the James Hotel!

Like my outfit? Vintage long sleeved sweater dress by Silhouettes that I bought at the incredible Redress NYC, belt by Torrid, octopus necklace from Etsy, Payless boots, and tights by Stone Fox — available online at MyHosieryStore.com. (Review to come on this amazing hosiery company soon!)

And here I am with gorgeous ladies Rashida B (that’s right! Of BeautySchooled and The B Spot and of that eyebrow interview from a while back) and Contessa Gibson. Love her!

We had a great turnout, gave out some GREAT giftbags, and had a blast with Twitter friends, makeup artists, and fans of our blogs – twas AWESOME. Thank you so much to Suave, Sunsilk, Degree, Vaseline, and Carol’s Daughter for contributing to an amazing night!

The next day was the summit itself, and I got there later than I wanted to. (Blame that on the lychee martinis!)
Read the rest of this entry »

Originally posted at BVHairTalk.com.

Can I be real with y’all? I’m kinda sick of Chris Rock’s Good Hair. Raise your hand if you’re with me.

The endless media tour. The premature outrage. The trailer, which showed all of the docucomedy’s best clips. To paraphrase Chris Rock himself, I’m tired, tired, tired of Good Hair.

So I’m gonna conclude writing about it once and for all with this review.

I hate going into a movie when I already know too much about it. And I already knew WAY too much about Good Hair. And to be honest, I didn’t quite understand the controversy and call for boycotting the film. As I said in the Black Voices podcast: it’s important to remember who’s making this movie. It’s Chris Rock, the man who brought us Pootie Tang! The comedian who continually courts controversy. What did we REALLY expect from Chris Rock besides comedy? Social commentary? A historical perspective? Sorry — wrong filmmaker. Wrong film. For more informed views on black hair, see some of the documentaries I mentioned in my previous post, Before Chris Rock’s Good Hair.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is the beginning of something new: The Afrobella Review! I know I’ve got a whole category devoted to product reviews, but I’m expanding my repertoire to include films, music, and books that move me. And the whole thing was inspired by this movie.

Precious. You need to go see it.

I tend to avoid sad movies, which is a shame and something I’m trying to change. There’s so much to be learned from movies that bring you down, and often so little to be gained from movies that are pure escapism. I’d always justify it by saying: I watch the news, and that’s sad enough.

But Precious is the kind of film that needs our support. It’s a film that reveals a slice of American life that we too often close our eyes to. Because we don’t want to see.

All of the rumors about Precious are true. It’s unbearably sad. At times it’s hard to watch. If you’ve read Push by Sapphire — upon which this film is based — you already know that.

What you may not know about the film — Mariah Carey is GREAT in it. Lenny Kravitz is unexpected and WONDERFUL. Paula Patton is awesome. And Mo’Nique? Deserves an Academy Award. Seriously. She. Is. That. Good. Scarier than any horror movie villain. Uncomfortably intense. She is broken and damaged and frightening and so, so real.

I don’t know where Mo’Nique found the inspiration for her character. You can see the passion and fury in her eyes, this came from the depths of her soul. And the film’s star — Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe — I honestly hope she doesn’t get typecast by this role. Because she is so incredibly convincing as Precious, that I can understand why she’s giving interviews explaining — “I’m actually not her.”

Gabby Sidibe isn’t Precious, but for sure there are Precious girls out there. I see them every day, here in Chicago. They’re the girls standing in the background while the news anchor reports about yet another murder in their neighborhood. They’re the girls fidgeting anxiously while sitting on the el, or the bus. They’re the girls who are typically shouldering the burdens of poverty in the shadows, while the boys get put in the uncomfortable spotlight. They are the girls who are raising the next generation.
Read the rest of this entry »