There are so, so many reasons to love, respect and admire Lupita Nyong’o, but from a beauty perspective she truly makes my heart flutter. Just by being, by wearing her hair the way she wants to and rocking every color in the rainbow, she debunks so many foolish and old school beauty perceptions that still… read all

The degree of my hyperpigmentation depends on so many variants. It depends on my diet or the time of the month. It depends on how good (or bad) I’ve been to my skin, in terms of cleansing and exfoliating. It depends on my stress level and what my face feels like doing. I’ve learned the… read all

Last week, I went to Los Angeles to be the official red carpet correspondent for Target at the 2014 Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon. I can’t begin to tell you how exciting it was, or how much I learned from the experience. You see, I’m a writer and I’m a very stereotypical Pisces. I… read all

If you’ll be in the Washington DC area on August 23rd, I will be at the Omni Hotel as part of the first ever Ubiquitous Hair and Health Show! I’m so excited for this event, we’re truly creating something that will be inclusive, intelligent, and celebratory. You can follow UbiquitousTrade on Facebook, Twitter and  Instagram for updates and contests… read all

In 2012, when I attended my first Essence Black Women in Hollywood event, I felt so nervous, and so out of place. I felt underdressed and unprepared and awkward, while surrounded by Hollywood’s elite. Luvvie and I were in awe of everything. I expressed that feeling of awkwardness and not belonging to awesome actress Yvette… read all

I used to be scared of blush. I loved when makeup artists used it on me, but whenever I tried to use it on myself I would freak myself out. There definitely is such a thing as too much blush, and when you see it, it’s undeniable. Growing up around Aunty (name redacted) laid the… read all

I’m gonna be honest as always, bellas – I used to be a part of many hair shows and parties, and in the course of that I started seeing a lot of redundancy. I’ve been honored to be a part of some of the very best in natural hair events, but I’ve also attended many… read all

Beauty Brand History is a new regular series I’m beginning here on Afrobella! We all have the brands we’ve grown up using, the brands we’ve known our whole lives. Here are memories and the true stories behind the beauty brands we love.    Think back to the earliest days of using a brand of hair… read all

When I was backstage at The Queen Latifah Show last month, I had no idea what to expect. I came to visit my friend Sam Fine, that’s it and that’s all. When I was back there I found out that one of my favorite new celebrities was going to be on the show. Lupita Nyong’o… read all

In 2013 I got ambitious for Black History Month, and decided to kick off a month-long series on black beauty history. I titled it 28 Moments in Black Beauty History, intending there to be a new post every day. Things were going great at the beginning. I wrote informative, research-heavy posts about Josephine Baker and… read all