This holiday season I’m unveiling a new little series, dedicated to gift items that truly impress me as worth giving in terms of quality, general awesomeness, and also who they’re made by or who they benefit. Gifts Worth Giving will feature unique items made by entrepreneurs you should know about, and some items will benefit…
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The Thing About Hair Trimming
This has been a big week for me with the hair posts, but before the week is through, I want to address one more thing! It’s not about wearing your hair natural, curly, or straight. It’s about a hair issue we ALL have regardless of ethnic background or hair texture. It’s about trimming. And the…
My First (Almost) Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion always sounded to me like an intense, scary procedure that women sought out when their skin started showing signs of age. I may not have wrinkles (yet) but I am 33 and I’m dedicated to looking like a stunner when I’m in my Tina Turner years. If I could go back 10 years, I’d…
Afrobella’s Big Reveal! Healthy Ways to Straighten Natural Hair
In the past ten years, I can remember having my hair blown straight exactly once. It was in Trinidad at my mom’s hairstylist. He said he needed to blow my hair straight to apply highlights. When my hair was straight, my mom took her one and only camera phone photo – she was THAT…
Coconut Water Smoothies. The New Breakfast of Champions
Coconut water’s explosion in popularity has been amazing to watch. Having grown up with coconut water as a part of my everyday life, it’s been kinda cool to see the beverage be so excitedly embraced by the American mainstream. The American adoption of coconut water means a lot of changes for coconut water purists. From…
The Black Friday/Cyber Monday Breakdown
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you had a beautiful, relaxing day filled with family, fun, and turkey! Now part deux of Thanksgiving weekend begins. The part with the shopping and the shoving and the STRESS. Online shopping photo via Shutterstock Let’s make one thing clear – my Black Friday street shopping days are in…
Delicious Fall Flavored Recipes, Fresh From Target’s Test Kitchen
Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK and I can’t believe it! 2012, you have snuck right by me. It’s the holiday season, ALREADY! This past weekend my in laws came to town and we celebrated with turkey and all the traditional trimmings. Nothing makes your home smell better than roasting a turkey, or the smell of freshly…
Fall Makeup Trends and Building a Name in the Makeup Game – Interview with Bisi Essien, My Go-To Chicago Makeup Artist
From the moment she did my makeup and helped to coordinate my MAC lipglass photoshoot, Bisi Essien – AKA @BisiCrystalEyez of Crystal Eyez Makeup Artistry has become my go-to Chicago makeup artist. She’s incredibly talented, incredibly hard working, and incredibly professional. Bisi is the woman I turn to when I’m involved in an event in…
Happy. Proud. Hopeful. Thank You, President Obama
“I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.” – President Barack Obama, from his acceptance speech in the early morning of November…
The Great Coconut Comparison – Naked Vs. The Real Thing
There are many beverages I know nothing about. Don’t ask me to discuss the finer points of coffee or the subtle flavors of wine. I do know a thing or two about tea. And I know a whole lot about coconut water, based entirely on my life experience of being a Trini. I…