Erykah

This stays on constant rotation...

Solange Is Doin the Damn Thing!

I am in love with what Solange has been doing with herself lately. Her hair is so fly. The makeup is bananas with the bright matte lipsticks. And the clothes - crazy hot. I definetly see her now. She really seems to be coming into her own whereas before, to me she was just Beyonce's younger sister and I never really got a true sense of her as her own person. And to think, its a natural style that has her looking so fabulous. She is definetly one of my style inspirations. And I also see she's been djing lately, which I plan to get into when I find the time. Soon, though, very soon. Can't wait to hear what the new album sounds like! Check out a couple of my favorite pics from her site My Damn Blog

Do You Remember The Time?

(yeah, that's my MJ album, inherited from my grandfather's album collection)

I was coming out of my bedroom phone in hand when I got the shocking text. It was a friend of mine saying how she was devastated and couldn't believe that Michael Jackson was dead. I heard myself loudly saying "WHAAT?!" in horror and disbelief and ran to turn on CNN. I just knew it was a bad joke or a horrible tabloid rumor. I mean, it was Michael Jackson and we have heard stranger about him. But as I watched the TV and saw the headlines going across the bottom of the screen, I sank into the sofa and began to cry, my heart instantly broken. I cried for days and would break into spontaneous tears anytime I heard a Michael Jackson song, saw a video, or a picture.

I remember being in the mall - in Macy's no doubt - a few days later and they were playing Michael Jackson and this little boy who looked to be about seven or eight got soo excited and started dancing and talking excitedly to his parents in a language I couldn't understand (sounded Russian or close to it) but I heard him say Micheal Jackson and my eyes instantly watered. It was beautiful to see that.

You see, I am a child of the 80s and I was in love with Michael Jackson. He was magic, personified, walking around. I used to watch the videos of the girls and boys and grown men and women that passed out at his concerts and had to be carried out. I wanted to be one of them. I WAS one of them... I grew up performing, singing and acting and Michael represented to me, no limits. There were no limits on what you could do, be, have or how much you could love, live or give. And that is what I have chosen to hold on to and continue to believe in. I loved you Michael. I still do. And thank you...

I Love Henna Tattoos!

I recently got a henna tattoo on my hand but now that it's summer, I plan to get them on my hands, feet, maybe shoulder...Sorry about the pic quality, it was taken with my camera phone. What do you guys think?

Alice + Olivia for Payless

Easy on the eyes and the budget..

My Review of the Oil Cleansing Method

Okay, so I originally read about this method years ago in some magazine like Vogue or Elle and the author of the article was amazed at the irony that cleansing your face with oil would help to clear up oily, acne prone skin and how well it worked. It intrigued me also at the time but, I just wasn't ready plus, I was thinking their skin isn't like mine so it probably wouldn't work for me.

So I recently read about it again over on Milan's site AGrlCanMac.com (whose site I love, by the way, and I constantly try out her hair recipes) and I decided hey, why not give it a go. I LOOOve it! I have been doing it exclusively using no other cleansers or moisturizers because I wanted to see its true effects for about two weeks now. I cleanse my face 2-3 times a week, or more if I wear makeup, and my skin has never been more beautiful, with just a natural glow, no shine! I have never really had a problem with acne but my T--Zone was my trouble spot, always oily and shiny. I would use blotting papers, matte powders and potions but they only fixed the problem temporarily, the shine would always come back, full force!

What seems to work best for me is using 30/70 mixture of Castor oil to olive oil. I massage about a quarter-sized amount into my skin and let it sit for a minute or two. Then I soak a cloth in hot, steamy (not boiling) water. You don't want to burn yourself, you just want to open your pores and get the oil off. I sit the cloth on my face until it cools, then repeat about four or five times and GENTLY wipe my face. I then take a dime-sized amount of Sweet Almond Oil and use to moisturize. Next morning, I wipe my face with a warm cloth and I'm good to go. You can also read more about the actual method over at theoilcleansingmethod.com. I've also heard you can use other oils and I think I'm gonna try sweet almond or grape seed. I'll let you know! Anybody else tried this? How did it work for you?

New Commercial from Coil Review

You can watch it here:
http://vimeo.com/11415891

The Coil Review Spring 2010 Web Commercial http://vimeo.com/11415891 About this video: "This video has been made to promote the beauty of natural hair. The Coil Review is Bringing Natural Beauty to the Forefront. This is our new video - The Coil Review Spring 2010 Web Commercial."

I fell in love with these commercials. They are sooo hot and the ladies over at The Coil Review have stepped it up this time. What do you guys think?