Cocoa butter is something so many of us grow up knowing and loving. To me, the smell of cocoa butter is evocative of warmth, softness and love. And chocolate, obviously. It’s something we’re so familiar with but still know so little about. Let me put you up on cocoa butter game, so you’ll know what… read all

Hello! I’m Afrobella and I’m obsessed with coconut oil. These are my confessions. I use it in my cooking. I use it on my skin. I use it in my hair. I use it to remove my makeup sometimes. And lately, I’ve been literally slathering myself with the stuff from head to toe, thanks to… read all

Lately Chicago has been setting us up for fall. Temperatures are yo-yoing between pleasant but waning warmth and you-know-it’s-coming cold snaps. The leaves are beginning to get that tell-tale yellow look. We know what’s up. We can feel it in the air. It’s time to switch up your wardrobe and your beauty regimen, and your… read all

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions about skin care. I’ve blogged about grown women’s skincare and the need for a regimen in the past, but it’s been a while. I’ve tried a few new things and had some new experiences. It’s time for an update. As we get older, our needs change. Our bodies… read all

  When I grew up in Trinidad, I don’t know how I was able to handle it. I lived in the Caribbean from birth until age 18, and I didn’t wear sunscreen on a daily basis. I don’t even remember really wearing sunglasses to protect my eyes until later in life. I don’t remember ever… read all

Beauty Brand History is a new regular series 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.  When I think back to my earliest awareness of face wash and the fact that… read all

  My friends in Florida make me laugh around this time of year. “OMG, it’s 50 degrees,” one of them lamented on Facebook this week. At one time, I might have said the same kind of thing. But right now in Chicago, it’s 30 degrees and the inevitable slide into winter has begun. It’s cold,… read all

  The first time I heard about BB Creams, it was from my friends familiar with the Asian beauty market. I had heard whispers about these miraculous balms, intended to mask imperfections while improving the quality of your skin. I remember wanting to try them, but word on the street was that BB creams weren’t… read all

Bellas, I’ll be honest. Not all subscription beauty boxes are made equal. You sign up and hope for the best, and sometimes you find yourself disappointed by the tiny samples, the overabundance of drugstore products you could’ve bought yourself, or the look and packaging of the box itself. Sometimes you just want more than a… read all

  We’ve all made the mistake before. You go to the drugstore or the department store and you pick up a daily moisturizer that someone told you about. Maybe you read about it in a magazine, maybe your favorite celebrity is endorsing the product, or maybe the helpful store employee directed you towards her favorite… read all