Obsessed: Burberry Prorsum

After joining the company in 2001 as creative director, designer Christopher Bailey, at 38 years of age, is now the chief creative director and is in charge of all the brands collections, overall image and just about anything you can imagine.  

Burberry London and all of the other classic lines are cool, but Burberry Prorsum is my absolute favorite!  It must be the muted color palette, military inspired silhouettes, and the effortless androgyny that have me hooked.  Every time I see an ad, I'm in awe.

Although I won't be purchasing any Burberry Prorsum anytime soon, I can definitely say that I am truly inspired by Mr. Bailey's collections; especially Fall 2009 to now.   
GO CHRISTOPHER!!

R.I.P.

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I have no idea what this recent fascination with neon pink lips and ridiculous eyelashes is about.  It's like the 60s impregnated the 70s and gave birth to the ugliest makeup trend ever!!  I mean, these girls are walking around looking like Snuffleupagus.

As a makeup artist I see nothing wrong with pink lips and long lashes, but there are so many shades,lengths, and styles to choose from.  Unless you are in an editorial photo shoot or fashion show, there is no excuse for wearing "day glo" lips everyday.  I do agree that pink lips are very pretty but please choose a complexion complimentary shade.  And if the shade is indeed 10 shades lighter than your complexion (sigh), please line and blend with a comparable lip liner a few shades darker.

Janice- The Muppet

Ok, let's talk about lashes, Snuffy!!  Please, please, please choose a natural pair of lashes to wear everyday.  Again, save the dramatics for special events, photo shoots, and fashion shows.  Also, it is pointless to wear thick ridiculous lashes and no other makeup.  It just draws all the attention to your eyes, Snuffy, duh!   If you don't know what you are doing and have the time/money to get them professionally done, please do so!  Individual lashes can have a more natural look, but be careful as they can pull natural lashes.  

So, with that said, let's have a moment of silence for all the Snuffy's and Janice's at work, on the block, at church, in the mall, and at the drive thru. May their bad decisions rest in peace!

Movies: The Social Network

I'm a little late, but yesterday I saw The Social Network.  It was such a great film; and it truly left me inspired.  Jesse Eisenberg was remarkable, so much so that I want to be Mark Zuckerberg's facebook friend.  I think I'm going to request him, lol.

Check Me Out!!

Check out my feature on Nappy Style!!!

Obsessed: Pretty Boy....

Most people who know me, know that I am a bit of a tomboy. My girlfriends double check dress codes to make sure I can get in where ever we go because I'm usually the "sneakerhead" sneaking past the horribly dressed dude at door.  I don't know what it is about me, I just feel more comfortable in flats than heels and I love looking relaxed.  I've always had a thing for androgyny and the older I get, the more I experiment. I find myself constantly wandering over to the men's or boy's sections whenever I shop.  I have no trouble with men either; they usually love it at first and then ask: "Do you ever dress up?"  Yes, I dress up whenever I go somewhere worth the time it takes to get ready.  Most of them don't get to see that side of me, if you know what I mean!  It all came to me the other day when I caught a glimpse of Romeo Must Die.

Not only did I grow up in a time when was cool for girls to wear extremely baggy clothes, but coming of age, Aaliyah was my "go-to" celebrity.  I loved everything about this chick and she made it cool for girls like me to be who they really were.  Now, that I'm in the 25 and over club, I feel the need to embrace my tomboy style even more.  It gives me a sense of youth and keeps her alive in my mind.  Don't get me wrong, I own heels (as did she); but even my 6 inch Louboutins can't make me loose my "contemporary Aaliyah" look. The next time someone asks me about my style or what they perceive to be lack there of, I'll just say, "Blame it on Aaliyah!".

Curl Envy: Christina "Brave" Williams

Meet Brave, 1/4 of the R&B group Richgirl and fellow Baltimore native.  When I first saw this chicks hair, I literally gasped!  Her curls and color are so beautiful.  I love light-colored kinky and curly hair; especially when the health of the hair is maintained!!

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Music: Whip your hair!!

I'm loving the Jackson Pollock reference!! Go Willow!!

Symphoni Design Studio

This Saturday I was invited to the grand opening of Symphoni Design Studio, a full service Fashion Design Shop and Working Studio.  At Symphoni, you can find an eclectic mix of apparel and accessories by local independent designers and a list of design workshops like: Fashion Illustration, Sewing, and Fashion Apparel Design.  The owners of Symphoni Design Studio Dionna Waller and Marsharelle Tolbert wish to "enhance, improve, empower, and elevate" the lives of women and young ladies through the avenues of Fashion, Art, and Design.

It was such a great event!  So many came out to support the duo on their new endeavor.  I love that they are providing a creative outlet to uplift and inspire women of all ages, shapes, and sizes!  GO GIRLS!!

Owners Marsharelle Tolbert and Diona Waller rockin' original tees by Oni Nicole

Movies: R.E.D.

On Friday, I went to go see R.E.D. starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and Mary-Louise Parker.  This movie was the perfect balance of dry humor and all the right action (sorry, no spoilers).  Although it had a great script and story line, I must say the actors certainly made the movie a must see!

EARGASM: Kendrick Lamar "Alien Girl"

Obsessed: Ticked Off

Jeffrey Campbell is by far, one of my favorite shoe designers.  Every other day I stalk solestruck to see if they've added any newcomers to his collection.  When I love a pair of shoes, I usually have them in more than one color.  That's what happened last year when J.C. released the "Tick".  I'm usually an "all black everything" type of girl, but I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone lately so my first "Tick" purchase was the natural burlap.  I had no idea what I was going to wear these with, but I still bought them.  Then, I discovered the tribal version, but they were too safe and similar to everything else in my wardrobe.  A couple of days later I saw the cheetah fur version and I was sold!!

Cheetah Fur "Tick" by Jeffrey Campbell; 8920 tee

Curl Envy: Claudette Ortiz

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When I lived in Philly, I worked in South Jersey for about a year.  I had the pleasure of seeing Mrs. Claudette Ortiz (of City High) up close and personal about 3 or 4 times (while I helped her shop).  I've always thought she was pretty, but seeing her in person with her natural curls just put her on another level.  There is no way I would ever straighten my hair (all the time) if it curled like this.  Don't get me wrong, when I get my kinky curls back, I will love every inch; but this chicks hair is just beautiful.

HAIR: Straightened

I have not straightened my hair in almost a year, but I have trimmed it a few times and chopped off about 4 inches total.  Now, I really won't start doing length checks again until I cut all of my damaged ends.  However, the "hair junkie" in me couldn't resist, so I pulled down the longest layer and was relieved to see that it was grazing my bra strap.  Which means those 4 inches trimmed would've put me around MBL (mid-back length).  Here are some shots of my spirals. To achieve this look, I blow-dried on low heat and curled with a flat iron at 380 degrees.  At night, I set my hair with gray flexi rods to maintain the shape.  

Obsessed: Haute Heels

When I was in NYC this weekend, of course the girls and I went to Topshop. Now, if you read the previous post, you know I left my wallet home, so there was no big spending for me...sigh.  But, my girl Naeemah snagged some fab heels.  Check out the shoes.... RIDICULOUS!!

Fun Times: NYC

This weekend I went to NYC for my best friend's bachelorette party.  What dummy left her wallet home with her ID, credit cards, and money?  ME!!!  Despite me being on the verge of tears very time I thought of it, I still managed to have a wonderful time.  Between shopping in SOHO, dining in Hell's Kitchen, and our 2 hour long journey to Brooklyn for the best red velvet cake in the world, there is nothing like spending time with great friends who have your back!!!  I love these girls and I can't wait until the wedding!!

By the way, I hated my hair this weekend.  I can't wait until these heat-damaged straight ends are gone; I felt like "Sideshow Bob" from The Simpsons.

Movies: The Town

I was going to wait for the DVD release of The Town and get it through Netflix.  However, I kept hearing amazing reviews, so I decided to check it out.  The movie was good; certainly not what I expected.  I thought it'd be high-action, but it was more of a romantic drama with a couple of clever action scenes.  I really liked that it was sort of realistic; there were no ridiculous stunts (other than a driving scene).  Overall, it was a true test of love, loyalty, and revenge.  

FRUGALISTA: Foundation

Foundation is one of the last make up products I need to replenish right away, not only because of the lack of discount, but because I could never really find the perfect one, for the right price.  At work, I used to go in bare faced and apply my makeup there; just because I refused to buy it when I had free access.  Some of my favorites (that I didn't own) were Makeup Forever's HD and Nars' Sheer Glow.  These were 2 products that I loved and even with my discount would never purchase because of price.  Yup, I'm cheap!

My first drugstore foundation adventure was during a trip to Miami in 2008.  A friend of mine commented on how my complexion looked orange (MAC Studio Fix Fluid).  Embarrassed, I went to the closest Rite Aid and went to find Beyonce's L'oréal "true match" liquid foundation.  I found the perfect color and I wore it for a couple of months, but it had a weird lightweight-powdery texture that didn't really absorb into my skin.  It transferred to everything I touched.  If I committed a crime, I'd be guilty before trial because my brown fingerprints were everywhere.  So, I went back to my "Oompa Loompa" MAC and then later to my favorites at work.

On a quest to find my replacement, I went to LHCF and read marvelous reviews on Revlon's Colorstay and then went on Youtube to watch video tutorials and more reviews.  I was sold!  On my next venture to Target, I stayed in the cosmetic aisle for about 30 minutes looking at the different options, colors etc.  They were sold out of most colors, but I bought "Caramel".  I knew it would be too dark for my skin, but I wanted to feel the texture and I could always add it to my kit.  About 2 weeks later, I went to CVS and they had the full collection in stock.  I decided to get "Toast" in normal to oily and this (so far) is the best color for me.  This foundation itself is the best I have used.  The texture is creamy and it has a satin-matte finish.  Sometimes I don't even set it with powder and I still remain shine free; this is a FIRST!  What a relief!  Pictured below are some foundations that I have used in the past and my new favorite.  I still have that MAC Studio Fix Fluid from 2 + years ago; I should probably throw it away.