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!

Woo! The weather in Florida, I do not miss it one little bit. Hot, humid, sweltering… and look at that, it seems to have followed me all the way to Chicago!

When the days are muggy your makeup can get to melting. And nobody wants to walk around looking like a runny ice cream cone with raccoon eyes. What’s a bella to do? My advice is, use the right products to make your makeup last all day — especially if you plan to be out and about at an event where you might be photographed or something. Think wedding or special date. Here are some product suggestions — some I’ve tried, and some I certainly plan to try!

Being matte and perfectly made up all day starts after you wash your face with your moisturizer of choice. For daytime, I love products by Pur Minerals. The Under Control Mattifying Gel is light and does exactly what it promises, and the See No More pore minimizer leaves your skin super silky and primed for makeup.

For evening I like Lierac Mat-Chrono Creme — it’s an anti-aging, mattifying night cream that will last you FOREVER. That’s because only the teeniest dab will absorb into your skin! Just touch your fingertip to it, rub it on your T-zone and voila, oil begone. I dig it.

After you moisturize, then it’s time to get your prime on. MAC has two great options — Prep & Prime lotion, $23 and it really evens out skin tone, makes makeup last, and keeps oil at bay. Then there’s Prep and Prime transparent finishing powder, which you can dust on over your makeup. I love this stuff, and I hardly leave the house in this summer heat without a little dusting of it on my face.

Need an affordable alternative? I heart Valana Minerals Oasis Oil Control Powder. $15, and it really works. I love everything Valana, you already know that!

I’m intrigued by MakeUpForEver’s HD primers, because if they’re anything like my beloved HD Foundation, I won’t be able to leave home without it! The HD Primers promise to correct complexion and make makeup last under even to the closest examination. It’s made to withstand HD technology, so if it works under Hollywood’s hot lights, it should last in the most sweltering heatwaves.

There are other tips I’m sure many of you savvy bellas know — to make your lipstick last, start out with a lip pencil. Or better yet, line your lips, fill them in almost all the way, and slick on lipgloss for shine.

There are SO many great lip pencils on the market, but these days I’m partial to Prescriptives Deluxe Lip Pencil which comes in delightfully dark shades that last forever and look gorgeous on brown skinned bellas. Benefit’s d’finer d’liner clear lip liner is a clear stick that promises to make your regular lipstick stay put. I’ve tried it, but I gotta be honest - I haven’t put it to the ultimate hot weather test yet.

To make eye makeup stick — now THAT’s tricky. I speaking of Benefit, I personally prefer Benefit’s lemon-aid over Urban Decay’s classic primer potion — but bear in mind I haven’t yet tried the new Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin 0.34 oz Sin. I hear it’s gorgeous, even without shadow.

Lemon Aid is “a warm yellow correcting cream” that hides eyelid discoloration and has the added power to make eyeshadow last for ages in the heat. And like the Lierac, all you need is the teeniest dab. This will last for a LONG time, trust!
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One of my beauty blog besties, Julia of All About The Pretty recently featured a blog post that made me squeal with delight. It was a behind the scenes interview with renowned makeup artist Pat McGrath, revealing this season’s hottest trends and drugstore essentials for bellas on a budget. Now any bella who has been reading this site for a while knows how I feel about Pat McGrath - she’s amazing. Ever since she got involved with the Max Factor brand, I’ve been paying special attention.

Recently I was lucky enough to get my hands on some Max Factor favorites, so let me break it down for you!

Word on the street is when the economy sucks, women buy lipstick. So the time is now to invest. AATP gives high points to MAX Factor Vivid Impact Lipcolor, and I resoundingly concur. I’m diggin’ Hipster, but if you’re seeking a more summery shade, check out Ms Behave, for a pretty coral pink pout.

OK bellas, if you are looking for a mascara that is going to leave your lashes defined, thick, and perfect for batting at that cute guy across the bar, look no further than Max Factor 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper. At around $8.50, this is a drugstore find worth scooping up. The applicator brush is plump (and very reminiscent of Cover Girl’s Lash Blast) - all the better to make sure each individual lash is coated with dark makeuppy goodness. And because it’s waterproof, my lashes stayed pretty all day through a good cry and the Miami heat. Yup, I’ve been having those kinda days in the midst of this move. At least my mascara’s up to the job!

I’ve got my eye on more products in the Max Factor line — I LOVE the bright, punchy summer bright shades of eyeshadow in their three-color palettes, and AATP also raved over the eyeliner. I might be due for a trip to the drugstore!

Have you tried any Max Factor products, bellas? Any personal faves?

I’m not sure what rock I’ve been under that allowed me to somehow miss the rare beauty that is Chantal Biya, First Lady of Cameroon. But please believe me, following her recent appearance at the Leadership for Health Summit in Los Angeles, I’m sitting up and taking notice now.

Wow. All I can do is quote Tim Gunn. “That’s a lot of look!”

AfricanLoft phrases it more charitably - “Her fashion sense is very bold.” Yes indeed. I’ll go a step further and say her fashion sense is straight outta Dynasty. Most makeup artists will advise clients to choose a strong lip or a strong eye. Not both. Chantal Biya says to hell with those silly rules — her look can be described as opera diva. You can spot her a mile away.

Bold eyes. Bright lips. Blush like “blaow” on her cheekbones, and eyebrows that are calling out for Damone Roberts’ expert hand. It’s like she’s been shot with Homer Simpson’s makeup gun.

And then there’s the hair. Goodness gracious, then there’s the hair.

Drink it all in with the Telegraph’s 17-image slideshow of the First Lady. Boston Globe style writer Christopher Muther has called her “a saint of style,” and added “you can tell that the Pontiff was thinking “How can I grow my eyebrows like that” through the entire encounter,” during her meeting with the Pope.

Now here at Afrobella I strive for positive vibrations and constructive criticism, so I’ll just say — less is more. There’s no denying that Chantal Biya is a beautiful woman, but I think she manages to hide that by taking her look into a clownlike stratosphere. Just imagine what a makeunder would do — soften those unnatural brows, bring her hair two decades forward, and give her a subtler makeup look. She’d be a show stopper — in a much different way than she is now. But that’s just my opinion.

What do you think, bellas? Any style advice for Chantal Biya, or do you applaud her passion for fashion?

In 1962 Crayola changed the name of their “Flesh” crayon to “Peach”, out of respect for the then-burgeoning civil rights movement. The crayon company’s cultural sensitivity memo apparently never trickled down to some typically female-oriented industries. You can hit up any department store and find an array of foundation garments labelled “nude.” But if your skin color is anything darker than beige, you’re fresh outta luck for finding a pair of control panties that exactly match you. And the same thing goes for makeup. Most specifically, lipstick.

As spring turns to summer every year, the magazines all start sounding the trumpet. Nude makeup is back! Get that hot nude look! And with reason — it makes for a very glam, very feminine, eternally fresh look. When done right, a nude lip doesn’t make you look washed out or corpse-like, au contraire. A smokey eye and a nude lip, so timeless, so gorgeous.

But guess what — nude isn’t a universal shade (according to my experience, at any rate. The Sephora bloggers have been convinced otherwise. I’ll have to do some research and get back to you on that one).

Lipsticks called “nude” frequently look just plain crazy on me. Consider some of the hottest options available online. Yves Saint Laurent Sparkling Touch For Lips in Sparkling Nude would be too pink, Philosophy Big Mouth lip sheer in nude, too peach. L’Oreal Endless Kissable Lipcolor in Shamelessly Nude 870 is too light, and I don’t know whose skintone Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Nude Blush is supposed to match. Even my palest friends might have a hard time with a pink that wan and opaque.

The point is, the typical nude probably isn’t my nude. And most of the time, the products called “nude” are made for a very limited and narrow-minded perspective of what “nude” is. Does that mean that the look doesn’t work for women of color? No siree — it just means you gotta look a little harder for the right nude for you.
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Taking the Afrobella show on the road has been so much fun, but it’s been a challenge!

Between dealing with teeny tiny shower stalls, weird water pressure, learning the difference between hard and soft water, and packing light to bounce easily from apartment to apartment, it’s been a lesson in beauty essentials. So what products have been my must-haves along the way, from lip-blistering cold in New York City to balmy Mobile, Alabama? Here’s some brand new reviews, to fill you in on what I’ve road tested!

In NYC and Washington DC, I got a raw taste of what life in Chicago will do to my beauty regimen. Bellas, moisture is a must. My skin got dry, dry, dry. My hair was bigger and poofier than I was accustomed to it being. And my lips! Oh, my dry, aching lips. I am the kind of lady who carries around a big pouch o’ lip glosses for any beautifying occasion, but when it came to imparting any kind of lasting moisture, I’m sad to say some of the biggies fell short. When Blistex and Nivea couldn’t stand the pressure, I reached for a teeny silver bullet. Snog lip balm, straight outta England, is the business!

The Virgin Cherry flavor is sweet, and Snog is so moisturizing and feels so good, my husband started calling it “lip crack.” As in, “hey, I need some more of your lip crack!” Even though this is an imported product, it’s pretty cheap at $2.49 a tube. And as you probably already know, “snog” is slang for kiss. And I don’t tell but you have my word - this product keeps your lips kissably soft.

I already praised the customer service at the Carol’s Daughter flagship store in Harlem, but I didn’t yet get a chance to gush over my latest purchases. That Hair Balm is the bomb!

When my tresses were stressed with the cold and wind, I discovered that slicking on Hair Balm after doing a conditioner wash really helped to keep my hair touchable, less tangled, protected from the elements, and super shiny. Hair Balm is a blend of soy oil, sweet almond oil, and coconut oil. It’s thick and my hair absorbed it best when I kept it in the shower stall with me, then warmed the balm between my palms before slicking it on from root to tip. Will I love Hair Balm as much in warm weather, when my hair tends to respond best to lighter products? I’ll find out when I get back to Miami, and let you know.

Now about that conditioner wash… with all the wind and cold and rain (especially in DC, yeesh), the ends of my hair got really knotty and snarled. I needed a good, moisturizing condish to make my situation even a little comb-throughable. And wouldn’t you know it, the products I managed to not-remember-to-pack included perfume, mascara, and a good conditioner. So I had to run to a Duane Reade and lo and behold — the Organix Hair Care line was fully in stock!

In Miami I was unfortunately only able to find one or two of this company’s products, but NYC and DC had it goin’ on. The Smoothing Shea Butter was JUST what I needed. It smells great, and made combing through the tangles much, much easier. And SCORE, each bottle comes with a “try me free!” label attached, so you can mail your receipt back and be recompensated for trying something new that actually works well. I’m a fan of this brand and plan to repurchase for sure.

Normally I’m the kind of bella who spritzes herself all over with an eau de toilette, but alas, I forgot em all at home when I left. But I was smart enough to bring my favorite Kiehls essence oil, and it’s lasted through the trip and then some. Now anyone who is familiar with the Kiehls brand knows, it isn’t exactly cheap. What it is, though, is great quality. There’s a reason these products have been around since 1851.

The Kiehls essence oils represent that rich heritage, and each package displays the date of their first known introduction to the market — Mink in 1921, Coriander in 1946, Vanilla in 1968, and Grapefruit in 1976. If you’re a vanilla lover like me, know that this isn’t your plain jane vanilla. This scent will linger on your pulse points for hours on end. If you spring for the $42.50 1 oz bottle that comes packaged sans-rollerball applicator, you get the added bonus of mixing drops of your pure oil with other oils — just a drop combined with some organic coconut oil makes such a sweetly scented treat for your hair! Whenever I mix up that concoction, my husband loves the way my hair smells. But at $42.50, I wouldn’t advise mixing it up every day! Use sparingly and on special occasions.

My road trip ends tomorrow, bellas. If you sent me an Ask Afrobella question, or are just waiting for me to get back to regular beauty blog posts — fret not! I’ll be back in great shape by next week, and I’ve got a stack of questions to answer, products to review, and stuff to share with all of you!