Black Fashion Icons: Then & Now

Greetings everyone,

We're into the second month of 2016 and for many of us who are of African descent, it becomes an important time of reflection, honouring and rebuilding as we focus on those who came before us. We try in some way to learn more about our ancestors and their contributions not only to our community but to the world at large.

This month I've decided to look at black women who have made significant impact in the Beauty & Fashion industry. Many black women have managed to breakdown stereotypes and pushed the boundaries to make significant contributions to the evolution of style and beauty. These icons have paved the way and revolutionized the way in which we look at black beauty. This is but a humble list as I can no way cover all the wonderful and beautiful black women who have made great contributions to the beauty and fashion industry. This will be a post series beginning with the honouring of the women of the past and ending with a focus on the women of today who continue to make strides in black beauty and fashion.

So let's begin with a woman like no other who changed the fashion and beauty world completely !!!

Josephine Baker

  This American-born French dancer, singer, and actress is praised as one of the most influential style icons of her time and is revered today. She is noted as the first black fashion trendsetter. Decked out in diamonds and pearls and sporting a skirt of bananas, a topless Josephine Baker made her Folies Bergere debut to the shock and admiration of Paris. So phenomenal was her performance at the Folies Bergere in 1925, she ignited the trend of sun tanning among whites. She was even called “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.” by Ernest Hemingway. The "Black Pearl" or "Bronze Venus" as she was so affectionately called, forged the path for the glamorous ‘flapper girl’ style of the Jazz Age.

She was born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1906 to washerwoman Carrie McDonald and vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson. Josephine grew up cleaning houses and babysitting for wealthy white families who reminded her "be sure not to kiss the baby." She got a job waitressing at The Old Chauffeur's Club when she was 13 years old.  She was married and divorced four times, a brief marriage to Willie Wells, a marriage to American Willie Baker in 1921 (whose last name she chose to keep), Frenchman Jean Lion in 1937 (from whom she attained French citizenship) and French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon in 1947 (who helped to raise her 12 adopted children).

Josephine toured the United States with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers in 1919, performing various comical skits. When the troupes split, she tried to advance as a chorus girl for The Dixie Steppers in Sissle and Blake's production Shuffle Along. She was rejected because she was "too skinny and too dark." Undeterred, she learned the chorus line's routines while working as a dresser. Thus, Josephine was the obvious replacement when a dancer left. Onstage she rolled her eyes and purposely acted clumsy. The audience loved her comedic touch, and Josephine was a box office draw for the rest of the show's run.

However, her true success as a performer and style icon came when she moved to Paris, where her stardom and influence flourished and afforded her great success.

Want to learn more about this phenomenal woman? Check out: http://josephinebaker.com/ and http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html

Product Review: BB Color Show Lipsticks

Miss your New Year’s midnight kiss? Make up for it this Valentine’s Day with a little help from Cupid. There are plenty of lip balms, glosses, and tints out there to make sure you’re prepped to pucker up for that special someone. What’s even better is that they come in a variety of rich shades that are good enough to eat – or at least lick. But don’t just count on a creamy color or subtle flavor to do the trick: make sure you’re lips are exfoliated, moisturized, and primed before you lean in for that kiss. After all, Cupid can’t do all the work.

Last week I went to my local wholesale just browsing to see if anything caught my eye. And low and behold, I saw these beauties peeking out at me. The Pieridae BB Color Show moisture is not a widely known brand but I thought why not give it a try. The title suggests a moisture-rich lipstick that's perfect if you're worrying about the pesky drying effect some lipsticks have. Since this isn't a well-known brand I thought I would give it a review, for anyone who wants to try something new.

Packaging: It's contained in a plastic encasing with beautiful gold writing pressed against a gold and white background as seen in pictures. It gives the look and appearance of being expensive while not being a huge dent in your budget.

Product: It applies effortlessly and evenly. Enriched with vitamin E it feels soft and smooth on the lips and doesn't have that drying effect you find in some lipsticks. Moisture is a big issue for me when it comes to lipsticks because let's face it, who wants chapped lips? 

 Colour: The colour payoff is pretty good. The colour on the skin is quite similar to the one that you see pop out of the tube whenever you uncap the tube. The only drawback is it takes around 2-3 smears of the lips for the colour to be extremely bright and vibrant. But once it's on, the colour is beautiful.

Colour: The colour payoff is pretty good. The colour on the skin is quite similar to the one that you see pop out of the tube whenever you uncap the tube. The only drawback is it takes around 2-3 smears of the lips for the colour to be extremely bright and vibrant. But once it's on, the colour is beautiful.

Duration: It lasts about 2-3 hours before you need to reapply. Also be warned, it easily comes off whenever you drink and eat so the reapply time may be drastically reduced.

Cost:$200J (~$2 US) So it is relatively cheap and is a great product that doesn't break the bank

Overall: I would give this product a 7/10.

Celebrating Black History- Mae C. Jemison

February marks the celebration of Black History Month. A month of acknowledging the greatnesss of those inspirational black men and women who have left and indelectable influence on the world today.

Today we discuss and celebrate Mae C. Jamison. It you're interested in a full bio: click here

Being a young 20 something on a budget, I love finding great opportunities to look good for less. Yes I admit it, I love the cheap and cheerful variety. So when I saw these beautiful lipsticks I just jumped at the opportunity to purchase them. And seeing they were at an affordable price, who could resist only buying 1?

The LA colors hydrating lipsticks enriched with vitamin E are described as a line of hydrating color lipsticks that nourish and moisturize lips while giving them the vibrant color. Enriched with vitamin E, it goes on with ease and leaves lips feeling soft and supple. 

I purchased the colours Vampy, Sweetie, Bordeaux and Razzle Dazzle. I admit I didn't know what to expect with these colours. It was my first time buying and I did absolutely no research prior to buying. But I am happy to report that they are just as the product has been described. 

Packaging: The packaging is simple and has a clear cap that you can see the colour of the lipstick in the tube. I really love this little detail as I often find with some other brands the colour on the container is not exactly whats in the tube.

Product: Usually I find lipsticks very drying and cause my lips to be chapped. And I always have to put on lip balm or chapstick before my lipstick application.But with these little lovelies I was able put them on just like that. They provide all the moisture you need. It applies smoothly and evenly. The lipstick spreads on thick, has great pigmentation and is very creamy therefore you can apply without pulling and dragging. And most importantly, the colour pay off is great. I do find that you have to reapply during the day, approximately every 2-3 hours.  Still, it's perfect for everyday use and perfect for special occasions.

The lipsticks also have a sweet, vanilla-like scent which is unmistakable upon removing the cap. This makes it very pleasing not only to the lips but also the nose.  

Razzle Dazzle: A deep pink that adds a glorious pop of colour

Sweetie: A light pinkish-nude colour

Bordeaux: A deep burgundy colour with mild copper and plum undertones 

Vampy: A blood reddish-burgundy colour 

Best of all they have more than 40 shades to choose from, so that everyone can find that perfect shade to fall in love with. Although based on your location and stock availability the shades may differ. And L.A. Colors is a cruelty-free brand which is a huge bonus and reason to support this brand.

Cost: Retails at $2. 49 US on drugstore.com. However I found these lovelies in my local Woolworth for $200 J and I've also seen them in Clocktower Plaza for the same. 

Grade: 9/10. Overall, I had a great experience with this product and would definitely recommend this to a friend. 

The Best Lessons I Learned About Failing

As it gets closer to the end of the year, it becomes a time for reflection and examination. Looking back on the year that has passed and think about our goals, our plans, our successes, our failures and all the life changes that have occurred in 2015. For many of us, 2015 opened new doors and we are proud to say we accomplished most if not, all of our goals. But for the vast majority of resolution-makers, it became another year of failures, lost dreams, ruined plans and grave disappointments. Personally, 2015 was one of the most challenging and arduous years of my life. I failed many times over, was successful at a few and had many trials and tests of my persistence. However, in the end, there is one great gift that 2015 has given me and that was a great lesson in failure. And of all the lessons I've learned on failure, these are but the 3 I found to be the greatest help in my ability to push through and finish the year on a successful note. 

1) Failure isn't permanent.

As a child growing up, one of my absolute greatest fears was that of failure. If I got anything less than 90% on a test I thought my world was coming to an end. It became so crippling that if there was even the hint or possibility of failure, I would quit before I even began. Now this is a problem that is not exclusive to me. As children, we are often taught to fear failure and avoid mistakes. Our society preaches perfection from our looks to our careers and as a result, many of us are so afraid of failing in life, failing at our jobs, failing our families that we refuse to even try and accomplish that major goal that's been weighted on our shoulders for years. We would rather play it safe, not take chances, not explore, not even stick our necks out to try. But what society never tells us is that you don't often get it on the first try and that it often takes repeated efforts to get to success. Failure isn't permanent. It's a setback and NOT a full stop. It is a chance for growth and a lesson in what doesn't work, so we can finally find the one thing that does. Failure is a means to an end, not the end itself.

2) Failure is a Lesson, Learn it.

There is a big misconception that all those wildly successful amongst us must have been born with an innate ability to succeed, or just exposed to the right people and the right opportunities that have made them successful. The idea that they have never failed in their lives and if you fail you are just not worthy of success. But this just isn't true. There is nothing wrong with failing. All the great innovations and all the great accomplishments involve failure. Most persons identify failure as the opposite of success, but it truly isn't. Failing is rather the path to success and merely a process in the journey. The true opposite of success is not trying.  How can you expect to get ahead by sitting on your behind? How can you expect to succeed if you don't even try? As arguably the greatest basketball player of all time Michael Jordan says, "I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." Remember, every failure is a lesson and an opportunity to return better, stronger, smarter and more prepared than ever before.

3) Failure is growth. 

You can read a thousand motivational articles, listen to a hundred key note addresses and read as many books on success that you can find but nothing will improve you, or bring you closer to success than failure. Embrace your failures and grow from them. Use them as the propeller to keep moving forward towards all your goals. All successes are built on failure so focus on improving what has succeeded in the past and build on it. And if you aren't failing then you aren't trying hard enough, you aren't taking risks and you aren't growing. With each failure you grow, you become bigger, you learn new and important things and you get one step closer to reaching your goals. Failing sucks. But it happens to all of us. And how you react to the events in your life will be the biggest determinant of who you are.  

I leave you with this quote from Winston Churchill, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

Dreams, memories and hopes

Do you remember when you were young?
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
Great wall of China length of dreams and hopes

Have you forgotten those times you smiled?
Those times excitement lit up you eyes
As you thought about the great adventures you would have once you’re older

‘I can’t wait to grow up’you said
‘When I’m older, I’ll do this and that and that’ you squealed
‘I will be married by this age’ you proudly proclaimed

What about when you were filled with hope?
That the best is yet to come
And with age comes endless possibilities

I remember it all
And I hope you do too
This is the inner drive to keep you going
The motion needed to keep pressing forward

Find your momentum
Keep your hopes alive
Take it one day at a time
And never forget that your younger self had big plans for you
Don’t let them down
It is not too late

Prince Charming or Charming Frog?

This is just my little spin on fairy tales, fables, romantic comedies and reality. Who do we want a prince charming or a charming frog? 

The prince charming saving the damselle in distress phenomenon has been going on for ages. We get in our heads that us females need to be saved and rescued in order to be happy and find the love of our life. And it’s hard to change an ideal that has been engraved in us since childhood.

As young girls we were always told stories about princesses being rescued by a wonderful prince charming who sweeps them off their feet and in the end they live happily ever after. They find the love of their lives and that’s where the story ends. My personal favourite has always been Cinderella; mainly because of our name similarities and also I’m a sucker for a rags to riches story. The thought of being in love and living happily ever after overrode my thoughts so much I even made up my own little song “someday soon my prince will come but until then I’m going to have some fun. I gotta kiss some frogs before I find the one.” Ha! Maybe even from then I realized that some were just frogs and not princes. But I digress.
Continuing on the original path. You would think that all this fairy tale propaganda and propagation would end in out childhood, but oh no that’s crazy talk, it definitely can’t stop there. We need romantic comedies and romance novels and movies for the older dolls. These invade our reality and we become so disillusioned about our romantic realities that we spend our waking moments planning and dreaming about our perfect match. Awww how sweet. We write lists and state all the desired qualities we think suitable for a mate. All in hopes of finding the illustrious prince charming who enters and enhances our lives.

But how do we tell the difference between prince charming and a charming frog in this misguided world? How do we find our person? And what happens to all the broken souls when who we thought was a prince, turns out to really be a frog? Instead of saving, he hurts. Instead of charming, he’s just an actor; the devil in disguise and a snake with blue eyes to quote Carrie Underwood’s Cowboy Cassanova lyrics. Well that just sucks, doesn’t it?

Are we wrong for filling our young people with these fables? For trying to give hope to the hopeless? Or should we still enjoy the glorious tales that magnified the innocence of our childhood but take it with a grain of salt? I think my little rhyme said it best. Have some fun, kiss some frogs and one day he may just show up. But not to save my dears, don’t think it’s to save or complete. His presence will be merely to complement to the already amazing person that you truly are. We may be a princess but never a damsel. Think about it. 

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