the photoshop effect

Yes, yes, I know, digital photo manipulation is everywhere.  This isn't new information.  Still, I came across this video on my facebook news feed today, and what stopped me cold was a comment my friend (who posted it) wrote:  "My daughter asked me why no one else has arm hair."



Tim Lynch, the photographer featured in the video at one point says:  "If you trained full-time as a pro-athlete with trainers and ate the way you were supposed to eat, you could probably get close, but who has time? You know, so I do it for you." 

*Le deep, deep sigh.*

This is on the cusp of being funny; the kind of funny that jumps in to save you from feeling the horror of the reality in all of its rawness. I mean, really people? Does this make sense? Is this just the next step in our beauty standard trajectory? 

As a freelance makeup artist, I ask these questions with mixed feelings.  When beauty brand Make Up For Ever released their "first unretouched make up ad" earlier this year, the irony of the ad, which emphasized a lack of deception, only to underscore the advertised products' ability to deceive (after all, isn't that what we're doing with cosmetics/make up?) wasn't lost on me.  

I enjoy wearing make up in my own life, and  experimenting with different looks, so, on the one hand, I feel like a bit of a participant in the madness.  I fool the eye with cosmetic products on clients and on myself.  I "wake-up" my under eye area every day with a touch of the perfect concealer. 

On the other hand I also make sure to remove any makeup from my face at the end of each day.  And my favorite kind of makeup application to practice is one that doesn't take the face I'm working on too far away from its reality.  So I play with makeup, but I never forget it as the game it is.  And my goal on every job, as futile as it may be, is to accomplish a makeup application that warrants no photo retouching.  I get that, by this point, at least according to this video, that makes me one of the last few dreamers in that realm.  But what can I say?  A lady's gotta dream.

What do you think?  Did you know that photo retouching was so widespread?  Do you care?  Any feelings on the subject?  'Cause I'm at a bit of a loss ... 

is this ad racist?

So, this craigslist ad was passed along via e-mail by a fellow makeup artist in New York City to a meet-up group I am a member of:

REAL FEMALE MAKE-UP ARTIST to be ON CAMERA (NYC)

---

Date: 2011-10-30, 12:12PM EDT
Reply to: see below ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

FEMALE MAKE-UP ARTIST, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian or Ethnically Ambiguous female, late 20's / early 30's who is a make-up artist in real life. Talent should be interesting, cool (but not too alternative, punky/grungy), real, engaging and personable with her clients. Almay really want someone who will offer up 'pro tips' -- the best way to apply. . . the best type of brush. . . how to blend color etc -- all in simple language. Good hands necessary.

Almay - Non-union Promo
Auditions: Weds, Nov. 2
Callbacks: Thurs. Nov 3 Afternoon
Shoots: Nov 13 and/or Nov. 14th
Location: NYC
Rate: $500 per day

E-mail Headshot (or even a current photo if a non-actor) with make-up experience and contact ASAP to

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hmm ... Now, (deep breath), yesterday, when I saw the ad, yes, it did cause my eyebrow to twitch.  But just a twitch.  I think it was a natural thing for me to notice how pointedly this ad was directed at every other ethnic combination a female could possible be, except one like me, an African-American woman. But the longer you've been a Black woman in America, the more racism in its myriad forms you've probably experienced, and as such, have learned to move on from.  You can't stop every single time and be shattered.  You learn that just because they don't see your beauty, doesn't mean it isn't there, plain as day.  And an ad that might as well read "All female make-up artists except African-American ones please audition ..." gets to being worth no more than the time it takes an eyebrow to twitch.

But then today, I noticed the e-mail thread had come to life with one artist expressing her belief that the ad is racist and saying that she is offended.  The majority of the reactions after her came from women who acknowledged that the ad might look racist, but maintained that it was just an example of the nature of the business, no different than, say, the need to cast a Black, or Latina model, in order to appeal to an ethnic audience.

It wasn't a huge hullabaloo, a small group of women discussing, but still, it gave me pause.  I wondered if I had grown so jaded I'd gone numb, like one of the complacent many it takes to perpetrate any kind of systemic injustice.  I wondered if I should have felt more than a brow twitch.  And if yes, who else should've been offended? Male make-up artists? Make up artists outside the specified age range?...
What say you?

jorian on ubb & abercrombie natural hair madness

photo: urbanbushbabes

Thoroughly enjoyed meeting Jorian on Urban Bush Babes, one of my daily blog fixes.  Absolutely needed to share.  A feast for the eyes, style oozes off this woman.

photo: urbanbushbabes

What caused my brow to twitch was what she had to say about Abercrombie & Fitch and the way they dealt with her as an employee with natural hair:

"What do you do? Is there a resistance or compatibility with your hair in your field of work?

Well, I recently worked at American Apparel and Abercrombie and Fitch.  American Apparel is very open and was completely fine with my hair and I never had any complaints, just compliments. Abercrombie is a different story.  They have a very strict “look policy” which includes no braids, no dreads, no nail polish, eye make up etc. I was almost sent home during a shift when the district manager came in to check on things.  Instead of coming to me, He went to my floor manager and told her that my hair was not “look policy”.  She pulled me to back and asked me if i had a hair band or a brush so I could comb my hair. My hair was in a twist- out done on dry hair and I pinned up the sides into a fro-hawk.  It had a lot of volume, so it was quite big.  My manager explained to me that she was sorry and she loved my hair, and it was the district manager who wanted me to change it.  When I told her I had no brush and I wasn’t going to change my hair for a 4 hour shift, she told me she would talk to district….and I just continued on with my evening.  As of September 6th, I will have no more Abercrombie worries because I will be going back to school to start my 4 year program for a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Photography.  My goal is to become a fashion/editorial photographer." (UrbanBushBabes)

"Look policy?"  Hmmmm.

Way to keep your mind right Jorian, and your eyes on your goals despite the crazy.  One day enough people will understand, accept and respect that not all hair is supposed to be straight, or lie just so.  Until then, the struggle the natural beauty continues.  Not that I was running to shop at Abercrombie anytime soon anyway.  It's just good to know it's a place I definitely don't want to contribute one red cent to.

photo: urbanbushbabes

Gorgeous!
 See the whole story here.  Thanks UBB!!

dukexxx - the next level in saggy pants (what the...?)

photo: dukexxx on facebook

Guess what they've done. 
In this case, they are DUKEXXX Clothing and they have created a saggy pant that doesn't sag, so that "saggers" can have alternatives in the face of the controversy their sartorial choices are rousing.  Yes.  "With DUKEXXX clothing, the boxers are sewn into the black, denim shorts; they are both attached into one piece of clothing." (PR NEwswire)

photo: dukexxx on facebook

See, between Florida oulawing saggy pants in public schools, other states following that lead, and New York City's Metropolitan Etiquette Authority launching the "Pull Up Your Pants" poster campaign, self expression is apparently under siege in the sagger world.  Saggers aren't happy.  Saggers need solutions.  Saggers have rights.  Even the ACLU is involved, and I understand on some level. 

I don't really mind the occasionally visible underwear waistband, but what I have peen privy to on these city sidewalks could turn pant sagging into an olympic sport.  I've seen people waddle, alter their entire way of walking, in order to attempt to keep their pant waistband, often belted, just below their ass cheeks.  It's actually quite a feat to behold. 

photo: Ellis Peters

And it's the wonder of it all that gets me:  Wow, the right to sag your pants.  The right to walk around looking like your pants are falling off.  The right to assault strangers' eyes with a mandatory visual of the outline of your ass cheeks, since all that separates them from the world is flimsy UNDERwear material. Deep. 

I myself prefer ye 'ole Ass-In-Pant look.  You?

via PR Newswire.

yours truly, on natural hair salons @ the atlanta post

Hello Beauties!

An article I wrote for The Atlanta Post on natural hair salons and the booming business they're becoming nationwide in the African-American community went live today.  Thought I'd share.   Enjoy! (and do feel free to share thoughts and comments).

via The Atlanta Post:

Top Natural Hair Salon Owners Discuss Industry’s Explosive Growth

September 13, 2011 08:13 AM

By Yassira Diggs
One doesn’t have to look far for evidence that wearing natural hair is still unacceptable to many in the mainstream. Only four short years ago, a Glamour magazine editor presented a slide show on proper corporate fashion during which she declared the afro “a real no-no” and dreadlocks “truly dreadful.” Despite such negative feedback, more and more African-Americans are falling in love with their natural hair and seeking salons that cater to this interest. Leaders of natural hair care salons nationwide have shared some of their insights into this growing market with us — and their favorite products — highlighting the exciting expansion of this beauty revolution. As more black women (and men) explore their natural hair options in droves, this new aesthetic will become more common in the workplace. Corporate America might have to adjust to our new standard of beauty, as the growth described by these natural hair care salon owners is certain to continue. 

Read more and see the entire slideshow here.

touchy about hair touching?

The question, posed today by Black Voices (via facebook), How do you respond to uninvited touching of your hair?, instantly gave me a flashback, only a few days old, of a woman I know (who happens to be white) at a party reaching out and touching my updo.  She'd never seen my long dreadlocks done this way, and she was complementing me on the style, saying "I love your haaaaiiiiiiirrr," as her arm unfolded and suddenly her hand was on my haaaaiiiiirrr.  Something in me skipped, like a needle on a record (I don't know her like that), but the song kept playing.  The moment passed as quickly as it came, and when it was over, I was glad.

But then it wasn't really over.  After a bit of mingling with other people, She and I bumped into each other again, and again, the arm was unfolding as another compliment was being uttered.  This time though I reacted.  Physically.  I can't even say I did it on purpose.  I felt my neck straighten and float backwards, leaving my face about an inch away from her outstretched hand.  Sure, a photo of the moment could believably have been captioned  "A game of Charades. the word is 'Pelican' ".  And yes, there was a much more alert and ladylike way for me to handle the situation, says hindsight now (of course).  But it all happened so fast...

Nevertheless, we got through the moment, and, I believe, we both learned from it. People (who aren't close to me) don't often try to touch my hair, so the shock and speed of this moment were probably why simple words like "Please don't do that" escaped me.  In a way, I'm glad my body took over when my mouth went mute.  A situation like this is often steeped in messy subconscious racial dynamics that aren't ready to see the light of day (that is, beyond the gross presumption that it's okay to touch a virtual stranger's hair in the first place, just because it is so other).  I didn't have time to think of it in racial terms.   I feel readier now, should it happen again.  But I'd bet that if it does, it won't be Her doing the reaching.

What about you?  Are you a hair toucher? Do you like your hair touched by strangers?

fashion stands up for liberian orphans

 

via the Alpha Omega Children's Foundation (AOCF) website:

“Fashion Stands Up for Liberian Orphans” is a fund raising fashion show and cultural event aimed at supporting the mission of AOCF, to assist in completing the Misssion of Hope orphanage in Liberia.  The event is designed to bring hope and encouragement to orphans in Liberia, and to help reestablish the lives and the emotional well-being of children infected with HIV/AIDS.

Spread the Love!!
Saturday 07.16.2011
4pm
LUXE at Lucky Strike (624-660 42nd Street and 12 Ave.) 

true blood makeup

photo via ecouterre.com

I know, I know, True Blood fans: As much as you want to, you can't go hang out, one of these summer nights, at Merlotte's. Lafayette will never be your BFF. And Bon Temps, you have to remind yourself from time to time, doesn't really exist.
You can however go to Sephora and check out the new limited edition 3-piece makeup collection, developed by the show's head makeup artist Brigette Myre-Ellis and eco-beauty label tarte.

From Ecouterre:

"Tarte uses only natural mineral pigments and fruit extracts, so its cosmetics contain no parabens, synthetic fragrances, phthalates, or Triclosan. An infusion of mint in the lip and cheek stains offers zest without the bite, while the uber-deluxe eye palette is a must-have for fang-bangers and V-curious alike. Clad in a killer corset-tie packaging, the kit includes eyeliner, mascara, and primer, plus shades with names like “Fairy” (shimmering pink), “Werewolf” (matte chocolate), “Glamour Me” (sparkling plum), “Stake” (matte steel), “Bayou” (shimmering golden tan), and “Waitress” (sparkling pink champagne)."

lianne la havas

Lianne La Havas from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

fans shocked: japanese pop star revealed as computer generated

via Gawker:

"A bunch of fans of Aimi Eguchi, the newest member of the Japanese idol group AKB 48, were shocked to discover that she was actually a computer generated composite of the 'best features' of other members of the group."

Read the rest of the story here.


Wow ... Unreal.

prabal gurung resort 2012 -rye rye (new thing)

Fashion star on the rise Prabal Gurung launches his first resort collection with M.I.A. protegee Rye Rye:


Hawt.

street harassment - walking home

I was grateful to come across this article (and short film) on street harassment while perusing Clutch earlier today.  Grateful because I'm afraid it's one of those topics I have grown somewhat numb around.  Street harassment, especially in the summer, is such a given (especially here in NYC), I barely notice the way I brace myself everyday for it before going outside alone anymore. 

Thinking about street harassment, and what it means sends a chill down my spine.  It isn't about beauty or attraction, as it so often is innocently worded by the harasser to begin with.  It's about power, about control, even if only for a moment.  If you've ever walked past one of these advances without giving it any energy and found yourself walking away from a slew of insults (let's say, "Bitch!" for example, or "Oh you think you all that?!"), or quasi guilt trips ("You can't speak?!"), you know what I'm talking about.  Control, if only for a moment.

I usually just walk past.  It's the most honest, sane (and safe) thing to do in most cases.  Engaging seems like it would be akin to arguing with a drunk.  I walk past, while reminding myself of some simple facts about the moment:  This will be over in a matter of seconds.  This man is at a standstill on this sidewalk, talking sh#t, and I am going somewhere.  Long neck, chin level with the ground, half a smile on my face, I walk past.
What do you do?  Do you ever feel the need to talk back?  Have you ever just snapped?

Check out film maker Nuala Cabral's short film on the subject, Walking Home.

jessie j - who you are

love this...

black girl tanning

photo: getty images

Olu Gittens, an African-American film making beauty with a complexion she describes as "a rich cocoa-brown hue", and "mahogany-colored" , went to a tanning salon in New York City and wrote a brilliant piece about her experience, which appears on Coco and Creme:

" Heading home from my gym in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, I had often passed a luxury tanning salon courting new customers. I would brush off the marketers who seemed to waste my time and theirs by trying to hand me coupon cards for discounts on luxury tans. But I became more and more curious each time. What was it like to go to a tanning salon? Determined to spread the word about their services like church people handing out ministry tracts, they drew me in. On a whim one day, I finally took one. " (cocoandcreme.com)

Continue reading here.

the coil review dot com

thecoilreview.com

really, psychology today?

An article entitled "Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?" by evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa was recently published on Psychology Today's website.  Chock full of pure garbage and utter nonsense, the article stayed on the website just long enough to garner the fiery backlash it was asking for.  Though it has been taken down, its contents are still available on other sites.  Kanazawa uses unsound logic and a poor excuse for a study to explain his findings that Black women are objectively less attractive than women of other races.  Over at the grio, Lori Adelman reacts, writing:

"The resulting piece of journalism -- and I use that word very loosely in this case -- is just as offensive as one might suspect. And the author's arguments turn out to have quite a few holes, not the least of which is that his "scientific analysis" of black women's inferior beauty is based on the opinions of unidentified "interviewers" and their entirely subjective standards of beauty." (the grio)

Now, is there anyone out there who truly believes we live in a post-racial world?  Really?
Personally, I couldn't care less what Kanazawa has to say about Black beauty, but for those who can't easily brush off the foolishness, don't forget that this is nothing new:  For centuries, so-called scientists have been trying to undermine Black identity in America using so-called scientific reasoning.  And our beauties are just part and parcel of our identities.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

is "nappy" an offensive word?

In the wake of Rihanna's recent twitter smack down of a fan who critiqued her hair for looking "so nappy", Jessica C. Andrews, in an article over at Clutch, asks if "nappy" is a word we can reclaim.  She likens the process of redefining hate-marred words that have been used to demean Blacks to walking on a tight rope, where at any given antagonizing moment, pain from years of degradation can be brought to the surface.  Andrews writes:

"It’s clear that in society’s imagination to be nappy is to be unattractive, undesirable and unkempt. It’s a look that is oft rejected by corporate and even popular culture. Rock it and prepare to defend yourself—or be ready to correct it with a flat iron or a relaxer. Yet again, we find our hair tangled in the web of institutionalized racism and sexism in America ...We are one of the few groups of people forced to defend the texture that grows out of our scalps." (Clutch)

I'm a bit torn on this:  See, like Andrews, I love my naturally kinky hair.  I don't feel at all insulted when I hear the term 'nappy hair'.  The word 'nappy' means 'kinky', nothing more.  So, in answer to Andrews' questions about reclaiming 'nappy', I'd say that the only thing that needs reclaiming is perspective and truth:  Beautiful nappy hair exists just like beautiful silky hair does.  I said this out loud in conversation with friends recently and inadvertently sparked a bit of a debate:  One person, citing the Don Imus "nappy headed hoes" fiasco, said that the term 'nappy', when used by a White person to describe a Black person's hair, is akin to the n-word.

I think I understand a little:  It's not like most of the White people in my life have a tendency to have deep hair conversations with me.  The topic tends to stay at bay most of the time, so yes, it might feel a little awkward if a White friend (who doesn't usually) suddenly started touching my hair, and using the word 'nappy' to describe it.  It might feel a bit experimental, a bit naive on their part, because clearly, 'nappy' is a word that has been historically loaded and meant to be derogatory towards Black hair for a long time.  But I don't think it would feel the same as being called a n---*r, at all.  And it would certainly be an easier segway than the n-word into possibly having an educational conversation about Black hair.
What do you think?  Does the term 'nappy' make you twitch?  Give you pause?  Make you want to cuss somebody out?  Do you use it?

imani uzuri- "the gypsy diaries"

From the first note I heard this lady utter, I became a fan. If you like what you hear (and I bet you will) you can be part of bringing her beautiful new album, "The Gypsy Diaries" to fruition. Check her out on Kickstarter:

"mother" defends decision to give 8-year-old daughter botox!

I'm still struggling for words to describe the kind of knot that formed in my stomach when I came across this story: Kerry, a mother from San Francisco, injects her 8-year-old daughter Britney with Botox, she says, to keep up with the kiddie pageant world in which she is involved. In an interview with Lara Spencer on Good Morning America this morning, Kerry and Britney talk about the process candidly (showing photos of the child during the process all bruised up, with ice packs and everything), saying they are definitely not the only ones who do this.

The (so-called) mother talks about it as if it was a joint decision between two adults. But in a very telling moment, when Britney is asked why she gets Botox done, she answers "I don't know".  At this point you  see Kerry flinch at her daughter's answer, and throw her a look. And then you see the child look at her mother, receive the look, and snap back into her script, continuing "Oh yea, I see like, like wrinkles and, um, it just, like... I just like, don't think like, wrinkles are nice for a little girl."  I don't know if I would have believed it had I not seen the clip for myself:



The disturbing twist to this story is that the Botox almost completely eclipses the leg-waxing the child has also dabbled in, thanks to her (so called) mother.  Britney says in the end that she "looks way better, like beautiful, pretty, like all those kinds of nice words."  The little girl smiles throughout the interview, and the knot in my belly tightens with her every word.

the shoes: south of africa

 

South of Africa

from the mouths of beauties: staceyann chin

"... i want to go down in history in a chapter marked "miscellaneous" because the writers could find no other way to categorize me  in this world where classification is key i want to erase the straight lines so i can be me!"

poet and spoken word artist extraordinaire, Staceyann Chin

reversible obis from folie a deux

folie a deux

folie a deux

Want more? Go here.

brow tutorial - how to get the perfect shape for YOUR face

My favorite facebook status update today reads: "Whenever I try to pluck my own eyebrows I end up looking mildly suspicious of everything for a while."  I feel you sis, having been there myself on several occasions.  It's easy to get a little carried away with tweezers (thank heaven for brow pencils).  So here is a video that should help us all make sense of brow madness:

Cheers!

nina simone-four women

no mirror? for a whole month?!

photo: getty images

Writer Autumn Whitefield-Madrano, who blogs at The Beheld, has decided to do away with the mirrors in her life for an entire month.  You heard/read me.  I ... She said one month with no mirrors.  I have to admit, an idea like that has never even whispered in my direction, so I was fascinated when I came across the story on Clutch recently. 

Whitefield-Madrano's inspiration came from the "uncomfortable recognition" she had while reading the following quote, from John Berger's Ways of Seeing:

 "A woman must continually watch herself. She is almost continually accompanied by her own image of herself. Whilst she is walking across a room or whilst she is weeping at the death of her father, she can scarcely avoid envisaging herself walking or weeping. … And so she comes to consider the surveyor and the surveyed within her as the two constituent yet always distinct elements of her identity as a woman. … Thus she turns herself into an object—and most particularly an object of vision: a sight."

In preparation for the experiment, which she started on the 1st of this month, Whitefield-Madrano has covered up her bathroom mirror; her windows will either be open or covered with closed blinds, and any accidental meeting with her reflection throughout her days (shop windows, other peoples' homes, etc...) will be met with a swift turn of her head in the other direction.  The only exception she'll make will be a small mirror she'll use to apply color (makeup) products. She wants her experiment to be about all the time she spends looking into mirrors for no practical reason (don't we all, especially without even realizing it?), and what happens with that time when the mirrors are taken away.  She writes:

"There’s nothing wrong with looking in the mirror. There’s nothing wrong with sometimes looking to your reflection—even when it is impossibly subjective, and backward at that—for a breath of fortitude, centeredness, and assurance. I just want to see what life is like when I’m not using that image as my anchor; I want to see how it affects the way I move through the world, the way I regard myself and others. I want to know what it’s like to sever a primary tie to one of my greatest personal flaws—extraordinary self-consciousness—and I want to discover what will fill the space that the mirror has occupied until now." (The Beheld)

I don't know if I've ever loved an idea so much, while at the same time feeling like I wouldn't even know how to begin to try it.  I mean, just thinking about the covered up bathroom mirror gave me a little anxiety, and I don't consider myself especially vain.  So while, I may not have Whitefield-Madrano's gumption, I am a huge fan of her May mirrorlessness (try saying that 5 times, fast).

What about you?  Could you live without looking into a mirror for a month? a couple of days? 

temporary lip tattoos

photo: violent lips

With Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos, rainbows, cheetah print and polka dot lips are at your fingertips.  Just wet and apply the stick-ons and voila!  Over at stylelist, Lindsay Mannering writes that if she showed up to work with a polka dot mouth, her boss would probably laugh in her face and tell her to go home. Not that she sounds at all like she would be inclined to try the look, even if that weren't the case:  

"I'm not sold. I think the look is cool, but I only see Ke$ha really wearing this, and the "bad girls" who go to prom that pretend to not want to go to prom, but go anyway, and with lip tattoos. Am I right? They'll regret it though, if they want to have a make-out sesh .. " (stylelist)

 Um ... okay ... It's none of that for me.  I guess it's just the makeup artist in me thinking "Hey, these might be fun."  And at $15 per pack of three, makeup artist or not, I don't see a reason not to try some on.  What do you think?  Would you try Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos?  Here's a tutorial to encourage those of you who are inclined to play:

michelle obama dancing to beyonce!

beauty beauty beauty beauty beauty everywhere! ... I ADORE our First Lady.  check it:

beauty music: dead prez - the beauty within

Dead Prez "The Beauty Within" from kinetikcinematix on Vimeo.

The World's Smallest Esthetician

photo: pr newswire

Okay, 21st century beauties, here we go:

FROM PR NEWSWIRE:

The World's Smallest Esthetician

BOULDER, Colo., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Office appointments are so 20th Century. MyChelle Dermaceuticals is revolutionizing skin care with the introduction of a breakthrough technology that provides access to an esthetician anytime, anywhere. 

Anyone with an iPhone 4®, iChat® or Skype can now download a free app from iTunes and schedule an appointment for a 30-minute consultation with one of MyChelle Dermaceuticals' licensed estheticians between 9:00am and 5:00pm MDT Monday through Friday.  The direct, interactive link is an unrivaled source to skin enthusiasts anywhere in the world.

Read the entire article here

beyonce for the 'chirren-let's move flash workout campaign

Okay, okay, it's not just for the kids ... Let's all get in better shape, shall we?

alisha, a short film about body image

Alisha is a short film I recently came across on Clutch.  Written and directed by 17-year old filmmaker Daniel Citron, the award winning film is the story of an overweight  teenage girl struggling with body image issues while also trying to maintain a relationship with her abusive father.  It doesn't go down easy, but it is a necessary and well done piece of work.  Check it out:


Alisha from Daniel Citron on Vimeo.

hairstory: pitstops on the road to the glorious coil

Even though it’s completely opposite to my natural texture, straight hair is where my story begins. In childhood memories around hair, first came the hot comb, and then later, the no-lye relaxer. There were times when I wore my hair in African braids, beautiful intricate styles that lasted for months at a time. Even so, soon after the braids would come out, in would go the relaxer. The idea that hair needed to be straightened was such a given, it was like a fundamental part of the way I was wired. I was born into that world, knew nothing else, and didn’t find my way to questioning any of it until decades later.

When I first started experimenting with changing my hairstyle, my ideas were variations on it in its relaxed state. Like the period in high school when I decided I didn’t want my hair tightly curled with a hot iron and stacked into an impossible looking asymmetrical sculpture (It was the eighties). I stopped curling my hair. I would part it on the side, and let it fall, which I will admit, in retrospect, left it looking more like an interruption on the way to a hairstyle than an actual hairstyle.

Another phase in my hairstory was the summer of the weave, in the middle of college. The only evidence I have of that now is a set of photo negatives, and the vague memory of how quickly the excitement of having that new hairstyle faded. Once I got the weave, and lived with it for a bit, I didn’t get it anymore. The maintenance was too involved for my taste and I had answered my wonder about what it would feel like. It felt exactly like what it was: someone else’s hair sewn in strips to mine. Not for me. Now when I see those negatives, I can’t help but laugh and think, Damn it looks like I was trying to give Chaka Khan a run for her money on the hair tip.

In my 20s I got curious and courageous enough to cut all my hair off. By that point I had done all I was going to with a relaxer, and I started to notice Black girls with amazing natural hairstyles. I wanted to experience the ease of a wash and go style. At the same time, I was becoming more aware of societal beauty norms, how little they coincided with how I felt and thought, and how automatically, often frantically, people subscribed to them. It all seemed a tad on the bizarre side to me because my hair changes felt in a sense like I was trying on selves for fit. And when the fit wasn’t right, I didn’t linger.

Nowadays, I wear my hair in long dreadlocks and I absolutely love it. I love my hair in its natural, coarse, texture. I love the myriad styling options available to me. I love the strength of it, the coil of it, and yes, the feel of it. I know I’m not supposed to, if I want to fit in with my land-of-the-free society. Every day, several times a day, I encounter billboards and all kinds of ads that basically say, as if it’s a given fact, that what my hair does naturally is not what hair is supposed to do, not what I should want it to do. I get the message. I just disagree. Highly.

It wasn’t some mystical, magical, beyond-us force that came down and decided that a European beauty ideal would be the law. Those kinds of ideas came out of human minds, like mine. Like yours. Like the ones it will take to eventually get mainstream media to reflect our society’s beauty in its gloriously diverse actuality. Once I got conscious of this, it became impossible for me to blindly ingest beauty ideals served up by mainstream media, or anyone else.

mixed chicks products: a black hairstory (and education) for everybody

photo: getty images

I have just been on a whirlwind tour of a conversation started by a recent article on Coco and Creme, in which Alexis Garrett Stodghill poses the question, Do Mixed Chicks Hair Care Products Make Light Seem Right?  Mixed Chicks, as in the line of hair products started by entrepreneurs (and mixed chicks themselves) Wendy Levy and Kim Etheredge, to address the needs of bi-racial women's "combination hair".  In the article, Stodghill points out the not-often-brought-up-in-mixed-company-Black reality that the concept of good hair is still alive and well, and chewing away at a lot of Black women's self-esteem (yes, even now, in 2011).  In light of this reality, and citing a recent feature on Black Enterprise, Stodghill calls out the makers of Mixed Chicks products for, she says,

" ... providing themselves with a marketing vehicle through the black community, while targeting their multi-racial audience, at the cost of black women’s self-esteem.
By being featured in Black Enterprise, and shouting out Halle Berry as a supporter, these mixed chicks are clearly drawing on the energy of the black audience for their company’s benefit. At the same time, they want to emphasize the fact that they are not black — flaunting hair black women spend billions every year trying to replicate.  Hair is such a sensitive issue to black women, it is inherently divisive to market a product for mixed women through avenues intended for a predominantly black-identified audience. I find it abrasive and wrong." (Coco & Creme)

My own reaction to Mixed Chicks products has been much less visceral than Stodghill's:  A few months ago, while shopping for hair products, the name seemed to jump out at me from a store shelf.  The entire encounter lasted seconds, literally.  Once I realized that yes, that label said Mixed Chicks, my next thought was 'Obviously not intended for me,' and I moved on.  I did not feel insulted, as Stodghill claims the average African-American woman will be by the brand's name.  That being said, I think she brings up a valid point of discussion when it comes to the marketing of Mixed Chicks products.  I also think Stodghill's article is a  courageous piece of writing in which the author lays bare and calls out her own “good hair” jealously, putting what seems like a tender personal spot out there for people to do with as they see fit.  And the 109 (so far) commenters wasted no time before pouncing on Stodghill, taking an article about the possibly devisive naming of a brand of hair products and spawning necessary (though at times unnecessarily rude) offshoot conversations about so much more. 

I am as inspired by the article itself as I am by the comments and ensuing passionate offshoot conversations I have come accross on  facebook about it, to examine my own reactions to this story.  For example, I may not have felt personally insulted when I first saw the Mixed Chicks label, but the way it jumped out at me may mean more than I have been inclined to think until now.  And I didn't get to growing and loving my own cascade of dreadlocks overnight.  My hairstory has been long, and winding, and it is beginning to feel called for.  These conversations are an opportunity for us to learn from each other. And I mean ALL of us, including sisters and brothers of all races who want to know more about why things are the way they are.  What are your thoughts?  Care to share your hairstory?

saturday special(s): jay smooth and kevin powell

If you live in the United States and care for current events, you probably know the feast the media has had this week with R&B singer Chris Brown's latest batch of bad decisions (to put it mildly):  He freaked out after being asked some Rihanna questions on Good Morning America, and a chair ended up hitting a dressing room window, sending glass shattering onto the sidewalk.  Thankfully nobody was hurt.  The next day Brown apologized (ahem!) on BET's 106th & Park, saying basically that his actions were a reaction to feeling blindsighted by the line of questioning,  because it wasn't in line with previously agreed upon talking points, saying, "I felt like, it was like okay, they told us this, just so they could get us on the show to exploit me."



Obviously, what the young man needs more than anything else is help.  But that's not the story that sells.  It's the Look-See! story that sells most when celebrities unravel, hence the media circus spotlight, the collective How Could He?!, myriad debates about how long he should have to suffer for his past, or whether he's being treated fairly, given what Charlie Sheen has been up to (??!!!) etc, etc ...

By now you might be wondering what a post about Chris Brown's drama (with other peoples' names in the title) is doing on a beauty blog.  Well, while I couldn't escape the story (as a consumer of media), I did run into two reactions that made me feel hopeful, and made me think, Beautiful.  Check them out:

From  Jay Smooth's ILL DOCTRINE:



And writer Kevin Powell's Open Letter To Chris Brown from News One, which concludes:

"All eyes are on you because you’ve brought the world to your doorstep, my friend. The question alas, Chris, is do you want to go forward or not? And if yes to going forward, then you must know it means going to the deepest and darkest parts of your past to heal what ails you, once and for all, for the good of yourself, and for the good of those who are watching you very closely and who may learn something from what you do. Or what you do not do. The choice is yours, Chris Brown. The choice is yours—"

Both men offer in depth, heartfelt reactions to the madness of the situation.  But most importantly, they also offer constructive solutions to Chris Brown's problems, which go so much deeper than the PR of it all, and that is what I find beautiful.
Thoughts?

beauty music: jessie j - price tag

Okay.  I had no idea who Jessie J was until this past Saturday, when she just about set the SNL stage afire. Afire, I said.

from the mouths of beauties: watoto from the nile

"My daddy tells me I'm a queen

But you call women other things

It makes me mad

I can't pretend

Sir, don't call me out my name again"

snippet from the thorough (yet, still fully respectful) reading served a couple of weeks ago in Open Letter to Lil' Wayne by Watoto From the Nile. Mn!

from the mouths of beauties: lovetta conto

" No matter how down the women in the refugee camp were, they always found a way to express themselves with beautiful jewelry and clothes they made from what they had ... Some people may say, 'Why should a girl who comes from a place where people struggle to get food care about fashion or jewelry?'  But I believe that your spirit wants beauty no matter your conditions.  Even something as ugly as a bullet that was fired in a war can be made beautiful if you are willing to work to change it into something else."

Lovetta Conto

lovetta conto: from bullets to beauty

Practically born into the civil war that raged through her home country of Liberia for over a decade, designer Lovetta Conto spent the majority of her childhood living  in Ghana's Buduburam refugee camp, waiting for peace.  It was there that, at age 12, she met Cori Stern,  founder of The Strongheart Fellowship, a program designed to help gifted young people, who have been orphaned or uprooted by war, create businesses to benefit their communities.  Conto was chosen as the first Strongheart Fellow, and Akawelle, the beautiful line of jewelry she designs, made with bullet casings from the Liberian civil war, was born.  Check out the video below:

ebony gets a new look (again?!)

photo: y. diggs

I mean, I may be one of only a handful of folks who noticed, but Ebony magazine got a new look early last year, when they changed the block red and white logo (that used to hang in the upper left corner of the cover) into a bigger silver lettered (sometimes white, or blue) version that suddenly spanned the width of the magazine. 

The cover text font was changed to a finer, sleeker version and the  photography suddenly seemed crisper and more modern.  Now, I thought I had worked through those changes (Hey, that magazine has been around in my life, all my life, like air, so I'm not pretending this is rational, just saying).  Evidently, I was wrong:

photo: y. diggs

 According to recently hired Editor-In-Chief, Amy DuBois Barnett, herself part of the overhaul at the magazine, “This is a top-to-bottom redesign, not a small one ... This is everything from introducing an evolution of our 65-year-old logo to really taking apart every single page in the magazine and putting it back together with an eye to the brand pillars that we now think best reflect our target demographic.” (Clutch)

I get it:  A 65-year old magazine must do what a 65-year old magazine must do in the face of a giant economic crisis coupled with a mass movement towards digital journalism.  My guess is that Ebony's makeover won't make a bit of difference to those of us who have the magazine coursing through our veins.  But I wonder if it will accomplish its goal of widening the magazine's readership.  What do you think?  Got any Ebony plans?

saturday special: man beauty, chris rock

Because we still (and probably always will) appreciate his documentary, Good Hair, Chris Rock is our man beauty this week.  Check out the trailer, and, if you haven't yet, please do see this film.  It is an education.

beauty music: watoto from the nile

My oh my, if ever I needed to feel inspired ...

galliano and the quasi apology

The artist formerly known as creative director of Christian Dior, John Galliano, has released a statement about his recent anti-semitic drunken rants, that includes an apology.  Well, sort of an apology:

"... I completely deny the claims made against me and have fully co-operated with the Police investigation ... However, I fully accept that the accusations made against me have greatly shocked and upset people ... I must take responsibility for the circumstances in which I found myself and for allowing myself to be seen to be behaving in the worst possible light." (Telegraph.co.uk)

You know what would be an absolute breath of fresh air?  If the next called for public apology turned out to be just that: a plain and simple apology, with no extra I'm-Not-That-Bad frills around it.  We could be spared extraneous bow tie/sweater combos in melon-berry-burst-skittle blue, and/or the part where we, the offended, are somehow the ones who got caught up "losing the point"  being made.  We could skip those bits all together, and just focus on the topic at hand.  Maybe then, these apologies would feel more real, and not so much like emergency public relations moves.

But to be fair, substance abuse is real and very rarely produces rational behavior, so Galliano's sort-of apology shouldn't come as a shock. We do love that he has chosen to go to rehab, and wish him the absolute best.

Read Galliano's full statement here .  What do you think?

miss representation: movie takes on media's message to women

The mainstream media --specifically, whatever twisted barrage of messages it sends out to the world about women-- has not been a conscious everyday concern in my life.  I have known for a long time, and from much personal experience (I am after all a black woman living in the United States), that the media is no friend to my womanhood. I feel almost immune to advertisements.  I’m that shopper who knows what she wants, because she has done the research, not the one who needs the salesperson’s opinion in order to make a decision.   At the same time, I don’t have the resources to change the system I live in immediately, so what ends up happening is my daily attempt at finding balance between living with a certain automatic sense of armor about me , always there like an extra thickness to my skin, and trying to be what I would like to see more of in the world (love, positivity, manners, attention spans, real conversations, etc...).  Until recently, this is what worked for me.  

Then I heard the first two soundbites from the trailer to Miss Representation, a documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, that explores the ways in which women are under-represented in positions of power, challenging the limited and often disparaging portrayal of women in the media:     

"The media is the message and the messenger, and increasingly a powerful one."

Pat Mitchell, President & CEO of Paley Center for Media

Former President & CEO of PBS

"In a world of a million channels, people try to do more shocking and shocking things to break through the clutter.  They resort to violent images, or sexually offensive images, or demeaning images."

Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media

Lawyer and Professor of Civil Rights at Stanford University 

Along with the accompanying imagery, these two people’s words snapped me out of my way of thinking.  See, the images (women in various stages of undress in different scenarios, some with legs splayed open and cash being poured on them, etc...) were nothing new, and what was being said was nothing new, but the way the information was broken down and delivered hit home:  So what if thus far, I’ve had the (collateral) luxury, as a woman who chooses not to have children, of not having to think about how the media’s potential role in my offspring’s self esteem, or their sense of perception in general?  I’m still not immune to the results of what is happening.  

Even if I can see through it, many more (and many younger) cannot, and that’s dangerous for us all.  On a personal level:  If things keep going the way they have been, that random pack of ill-behaved, way too loud young girls in barely any clothes, who just know they’re grown,  that we can still cross the street to avoid in a pinch, could very well become the norm.  What happens when there is no other side to cross to?  Do we really need to get there to know that it’s not where we want to be?  Check out the trailer.  What do you think?

from the mouths of beauties: edwidge danticat

"Looking pretty, looking beautiful, in a disaster zone might be one more way of exclaiming to the world that you are doing more than breathing, that you are surviving, that you matter."

Edwidge Danticat
--excerpt from A Place Of Refuge, an essay in Allure's March 2011 issue, about the redemptive power of beauty for some women in Haiti, when poverty and devastation threatens their basic humanity.

10 highlights from allure's beauty timeline

Yes, I did go out and buy the March (20th anniversary) issue of Allure.  And I love the fold out cover to set it all off with a timeline of the past 20 years of beauty.
Remember back in ...

• 1991, when Demi Moore was featured "very pregnant and very nude" on the cover of Vanity Fair, causing many to stir?
• 1992, when Veronica Webb became the first African-American to have a cosmetics contract (with Revlon)?  
• 1999, when Felicity star Keri Russell cut off her long curls and the show dropped 20 spots in the Nielsen ratings? (Really, America?)
• 2000, when David Sedaris popularized the term "tanorexic" with the publication of  his book Me Talk Pretty One Day? 
• 2003, when model Gisele Bundschen turned down a multimillion-dollar offer to become the face of cloning service Clonaid?
• 2005, when Dove's Real Beauty campaign featured women who weren't professional models (and caused sales to jump)?
• 2006, when Kevyn Aucoin's Making Faces (still one of my favorite makeup reference books!!) shared the New York Times best-seller list with Angela's Ashes?
• (also in) 2006, when black nails became such a "hot trend" that Chanel's Black Satin polish, normally $18, could be found on eBay for $50? (?!!?)
• 2007, when a photo of Jennifer Love Hewitt in a swimsuit hit the internet, and some folks felt the need to comment negatively, causing her to respond "To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini--puit it on and stay strong." (yes, hello!)
• 2008, when Helen Mirren was photographed in a bikini, just before her 63rd birthday looking hawt?

Now, those were just the things that jumped out at me, but check it out for yourselves.  Which are your favorite moments of beauty past?

saturday special: man beauty, daddies

If I Were Your Daddy, This Is What You'd Learn is a recently released book touted as the most comprehensive parent-to-parent mentor guide ever put together.  When author Julia Espey, a former aerospace engineer for NASA, became a single mother, she wanted to find out how highly successful men were raising and inspiring their kids.  "This is for all the moms who have to be dads (at any time), dads who want to be better dads and for parents who want to improve their successes with their kids," says Espey. (PR Newswire)

Happy Saturday to all the daddies out there who make it their business to raise their children.  We see you, beauties.

beauty music: k' naan - america

There's no official video for this, but it won't matter.  Close your eyes,  or stare at the photo.  Either way, beautiful ...



Access K'Naan's website here.

locrocker brittany on stylelist

While a lot of ladies go natural for reasons having to do with authenticity and/or identity, Brittany Thomas, who blogs at LocRocker.com, did it because she was broke and tired of spending so much money maintaining her perm in Florida weather.  She cut the relaxer out and ended up in love with her natural hair. Featured on stylelist's natural hair bloggers series recently, she writes:

"There's something about not running from the rain and being able to work out without fear of sweating out a perm that just feels good. Being natural means I don't have to schedule my hairstyles around my life. I can't be the only lady who wouldn't work out before a wedding or an event. My natural hair isn't on a calendar. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. That's just freedom!" (stylelist)

Check out the entire article here to see Thomas' top 5 natural hair care tips, products AND a tutorial on her favorite natural hair style.