“When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I say is ‘Thank you for waking me up this morning.’ Then I look in the mirror and say, ‘You are beautiful!’ The third thing I say is, ‘I am going to have a fantastic day!’â€
This is why I love Andre J, better known to Crunk & Disorderly readers as Gaymonn. I absolutely admire his unflappable joie de vivre. And I love the photos on NY Photo Forum.
Beauty blog superstar Tia Williams recently released her latest book, Sixteen Candles! Tia is truly an inspiration to me (and so many other beauty bloggers out there) — not only is she blazing trails with fun, clever young adult literature, but she co-wrote one of my bona fide go-to beauty bibles, Iman’s The Beauty of Color. If you’ve got a young adult in your life, click here to pick up some summer reading material for them.
And speaking of fabulous beauty bloggers… congratulations to the wonderful All About The Pretty, for winning Total Beauty’s Best Beauty Reporting Award! I love her blog.
Racialicious is one of my favorite blogs out there, and they’ve been doing amazing stuff of late. Now they’ve been collaborating with one of my favorite fashion blogs, Make Fetch Happen. Both blogs are really excellently written, thoughtful, and smart. I learn so much from Latoya, Carmen, and Brigitte.
Click here to read their take on Liya Kebede’s latest “exotic” Vogue fashion shoot, and click here to see a complete slide show of images.
Some of the political posts were getting to be too much for me, bellas — you already know where I’m coming from and where I hope this country’s going. I’ve been sitting back and learning a lot recently — people can be quick to insult you and dismiss your ideas when you’re not saying what they want you to say. Then all of a sudden, it’s “you’re a beauty blogger, stick to what you know.” I don’t ever plan to stick to one range of topics, but I’ve been biting my tongue of late, observing the news closely and just waiting for history to unfold. But Ryan Barrett has been speaking her mind, and I like what she’s saying. Also, LOOK at that crowd. That speaks volumes, if you ask me.
Are you looking for style inspiration? I love this chick’s understated swag — short fro, big sunglasses, sassy layered scarf. Effortlessly chic and nonchalant about it. She was spotted by Styleaholic Najwa Moses for AOL’s Black Voices blogs. I love the idea of just photographing all of the inspiring afrobellas you see on a day out. I’m gonna try to do just that this weekend. It’s our anniversary, and it’s Memorial Day weekend in Miami. So of course, being a Caribbean bella and a big reggae fanatic, we’re going to Best of the Best!
For dancehall reggae fans, the lineup is sick — Supercat, Barrington Levy, Sizzla, Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Machel Montano, Mavado, and Tarrus Riley — who I really am starting to like, BTW. His lyrics are uplifting. I love Lion Paw, and today I dedicate his video for She’s Royal to each and every natural beauty reading this right now. Because you’re a queen.
Isn’t that sweet?
My fingers are crossed that the concert stays positive and uplifting throughout. I’ll give a full report next week. For now I just want to say thank YOU, bellas!
The comments on the Creme of Nature giveaway glitch post were so absolutely amazing. I’ve learned so much about what you’re using, what you want to use, what you like about my site, and what you want to see more of. And I learned about some amazing-sounding new products and companies — Sizta2Sizta, Wen , Giovanni’s Direct and She Scent It. I’ll be checking all of those out for sure. And some of you predicted posts and reviews I’m working on, so keep reading… I’ve got some GREAT upcoming giveaway ideas now!
Without further ado, here are the Creme of Nature giveaway winners!
1 – Shones
2 – Cynthia
3 – Dora
4 – classy and natural
5 – Melanese
6 – Marsha
7 – SoFrolushes
8 – tycajam
9 – Diva (in Demand)
10 – Aisha Kelson
11 – Nemesis
12 -Chocopina
13 – Amber M.
14 – joyous
15 -Legz02
16 – Mara
17 – cheeky
18 – KamikaK
19 – Mezzo_Soprano
20 – Shan Shan
21 – VirtuousBlue
22 – auragirl
23 – Styleis20/20
24 – Nicole
25 – PhDiva
Congratulations to you all, and please look out for my e mail — if you see this first, e mail me at bella@afrobella.com with your real name and mailing address.
I sincerely wish I could give a special hair care package to each and every one of you, but for now all I can do is pick 25 readers. (I am working on an additional Creme of Nature giveaway in the future, and my new goal is at least one giveaway a month, so hang in there if you didn’t win this time around).
It’s Memorial Day weekend, a time to bond with friends and family, a day to celebrate the legacies of those who have fought and died for this country. Stereohyped did a beautiful little photographic tribute to the most oft-overlooked soldiers, the ones who normally aren’t depicted in war movies.
Happy long weekend, bellas!
** edited on Monday — whoops! I chose the name Cynthia twice… so I chose another random winner. ShanShan, come on down…
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