Blog Sister Love

Afrobella really just started out as a whimsical avenue for self expression. I didn’t expect to develop such a vibrant, wonderful readership, and I definitely didn’t expect to discover a kind of sisterhood in blogging. In my earliest days, I found inspiration and support in some blogs, and an online friendship with some others. Now that I’m approaching my two year anniversary (August, baby!), it’s kind of wonderful to see where we’ve all come.

My amiga Nichelle of Anovelista and 55 Secret Street recently celebrated her two year blog anniversary, and after a hiatus, is back to blogging about things lighthearted (WORD on the Prescriptives foundations!) and less so (her post On First Ladies Named Michelle is the kind of blogging I aspire to). Go ‘head, Nichelle! Congrats on the anniversary.

Congratulations are also in order to the brilliantly talented Andrea of Fly — the bella who blogs about design and fashion and always features amazing patterns is celebrating her two year anniversary with a party TODAY, Friday June 20 from 5 to 8 p.m.! If you live in Philly, go be fly with Andrea for me, will ya? She’s selling Fly bags, and has made all kinds of cool party favors. I wish I could go!

One of the first blogs that really inspired Afrobella and supported me from jump, was Concrete Loop. When Angel started the Loop, there were very few black celebrity entertainment blogs on the scene. Now there’s so many others competing for the same scoop on Usher, Chris Brown, Kanye, and Beyonce, but Concrete Loop has remained fresh by adding new ingredients to their already successful formula. I love that Concrete Loop features high school and college graduates, and a diverse and engaging Black History Spotlight alongside the latest dish on Rihanna’s new shoes. That’s edutainment, and they do it well.

The blog that helped me realize, “hey, I can do this too!” has just been honored big time — Time Magazine just named Concrete Loop one of their Best Sites of 08! That is HUGE, and big congratulations to Angel, Brian, and Tianna for doing the damn thing and making a name for themselves. I feel like a proud little sister!

I find continual inspiration at Clutch, an online magazine that features the kind of interviews I aspire to. Thanks to Clutch, I discovered the hilarious Stuff Black People Hate, and their interview with natural hairstyling guru and author Diane DaCosta was a great read for afrobellas seeking hair advice and information. And I am so sorry for only posting this now — Diana’s American Beauty Tour is about to hit Austin TX in one of her final stops, so naturally textured beauties in that region should check her out.

I’ve had some wonderful big sisters in blogging who have linked me and given me shout outs and encouragement along the way, and it’s wonderful to reciprocate in kind. It feels good to be recognized as the “hey, I can do that too!” inspiration for newer bloggers on the scene. I was so honored and psyched when Wes, the creator of Honey Brown Sugar, wanted to feature me in an interview on her site. And she called me her inspiration! Awww, Wes! That makes me so happy and proud. And I love what you’re doing. Click here to read the interview, which features a little spoiler about my next big hair product rave review. (a hint - it starts with a vowel and is very popular with natural haired bellas).

This post features some, but not all of the blog girlfriends I’ve made along the way, and definitely not all of the fabulous new blogs I’ve learned about recently. If you’re a blogger on the scene and you want me to add you to my links or just check you out, tell me about your blog in the comments below. I know how it feels to be just starting out and looking to make friends on the big scary internet. There’s room out here for all of us. Starting a blog is easy, keeping it going is hard work. So big respect to all of you who are out there doing your thing! And if you’re thinking about starting a blog of your own, that’s a whole ‘nother post. I promise to write more about that soon.

What are your favorite, must-read-daily blogs, bellas? Tell me, I’m always looking for new fresh reading material.

Happy Friday!

** edited Saturday, round 6:30 p.m. — Bellas, your comments are so amazing as always, I’m discovering all kinds of amazing blogs. Some of your comments with links are getting stuck in my spam folder. So worry not — I’m looking especially for your comments to fish them out. If you post it twice, I’ll definitely find it and de-spam for ya.

Afrobella Wins a Fabbie!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

In January I proudly announced that I was nominated for a Fabbie Award — the first ever fashion and lifestyle blogger-created and organized awards, created by the internet superstars of Fashiontribes, Bag Snob and Manolo’s Shoeblog.

I am thrilled to announce that thanks to you, beautiful, wonderful bellas and fellas who took the time to register and vote for moi, I won! I won, I won, I won the Best Beauty category. And I was nominated alongside some really first class beauty blogs, so I am especially surprised and honored. Cut to me dancing like Snoopy in my living room.

Without further ado, the winners are as follows —

Accessories - Knickersblog

Beauty - Afrobella (that’s me!)

Best Newbie - stylenotes

Men’s - Dandyism — which I love, BTW

e-Zine/New Frontier Publishing - NYMag.com

Fashion - I Like Her Style (YAY, Sylvia!!!!!!)

Indie/Niche - The Fashion Incubator

Lifestyle - a tie between Apartment Therapy & the YBF

Parents/Pets - Honest Baby

Shoes - Grand Mademoiselle Shoe blog

Shopping - The fabulous FabSugar

Streetstyle - The Sartorialist.

I am so psyched to have won an award alongside these magnificent blogs, and I can’t thank you enough for voting for me. I promise to keep my head to the sky, and to keep on bringing you more of the stuff you love.

Speaking of which… what would you like to see more or less of on this blog? Beauty reviews? Giveaways (goes without saying)? Hair posts? Makeup tips? Politics? Music? Celebrity rambling? Also, what would you guys think about an Afrobella forum, where you could ask questions and keep conversations flowing all the time? I’m open to suggestions, and I’d love to get your input on ways to take Afrobella to the next level.

Thank you again for taking the time to vote for me. I’m gonna try to make a trip to NYC this September… the Fabbies award ceremony is going to be held during Fashion Week!!

You’re Reading the Best Beauty Blog!

…According to you guys and the Glam Network, that is! That’s right, bellas — thanks to your support, yours truly won the title of Best in Beauty in this year’s Glam Network Awards! And a big ol’ photo of me is the front page photo on the slide show! Wow, wow, wow.

Thank you all so much for voting for me. Honored isn’t the word. I am so excited and proud and… hang on a second. I am tempted to get all teary eyed Sally Field “you like me, you really like me,” here, but Mama Bella reminded me that they play off over-long speeches at the Oscars. So I’ll save the fabulous dramatics and keep it short and sweet.

In August 2006, I dreamed up a blog that captured the essence of the kind of magazine I wanted to read, the kind that wasn’t at the store shelves. Something that was primarily about beauty, but didn’t make me feel like I wasn’t just as precious, delicate and gorgeous as the models of the opposite race, size, and hair texture as me. Afrobella started out with the intention of being a pure beauty blog with not much beyond product reviews and musings about natural black beauty, but along the way it evolved into so much more than that. Afrobella is an outlet for everything I care deeply about — beauty, hair, music, fashion, politics, whatever. The variety of topics has led to my exclusion in certain circles, but that’s OK. It’s also led to some wonderful ongoing opportunities, like the honor of participating in the blogger’s round table on NPR’s News and Notes. (I’ll be on again this upcoming Monday, April 28)! It’s been a wonderful ride, and the lesson I’ve learned is to follow my heart, and never limit myself.

It is such a pleasure and a privilege to be able to write about my obsessions and musings, to share my Caribbean culture, to put my thoughts about being a naturally beautiful black woman out there, and to participate in the exchange of ideas with so many of you all over the world. You make my life so rich and wonderful. I have so many big dreams for this blog and for myself as a writer — my mother always said, “Thursday’s child has far to go.” I’m on my way! Thank you all so very, very much for making one of them come true, and thank you to everyone at the Glam Network for your continued support.

My prize for winning is a Flip video camera, so I hope to start making some makeup and hair videos on YouTube soon.

Click here to see the slide show of this year’s Glam Network Award winners, which includes one of my first blog inspirations Beauty Addict, Hollyscoop, Popbytes, the amazing YourCause.com, and In Case You Didn’t Know.

YAY!!! I love you guys!! Thank you so, so much.

The Afrobella Guide to the Florida Keys

Hello, bellas and fellas! I’m back, and this is where I spent most of my last weekend. On the beach in the fabulous Florida Keys!

This year will mark a decade that I’ve lived in Miami, and consequently, I’ve gone on many a jaunt down to the Keys. We typically go camping in Big Pine Key — my husband’s family has been doing it as a tradition for more than a decade now — and it is always a good time. Here’s the thing. I am a lady who loves luxury. I need a bed. I need a private bathroom. I enjoy having four walls around me and a door to lock at night. I am not particularly outdoorsy, but I can be a trouper when it’s required. The benefits of camping in Big Pine versus shelling out bigger bucks for a hotel in Key West, becomes more than apparent when you add up your holiday expenses after the trip has ended.

The cons of camping —

if your tent’s far away, you have to do the 100 yard dash if you need to hit the loo in a hurry during the night. THAT SUCKS.

You tend to wake up super early, because the birds in the tree directly overhead are singing, and bright sunshine is beating down on you.

Bugs. Ick. Ouch. Where’s the Off?

I came home with a mystery rash on my arms, thighs, and elbows. No idea what that’s about.

The pros of camping —

Super affordable, and in a place like Bahia Honda state park, you can get a beachfront site for a ridiculous price. Sleeping in a tent isn’t THAT bad, if you’ve got a decent air mattress even better. And I absolutely adore our new Eureka N!ergy Family Tent. I highly recommend it to any reluctant camper.

I love Key Deer, so the chance to see them so up close is great. You REALLY aren’t supposed to feed them, but little kids always do. As I am sure I would, if I was six years old and a deer the size of a Great Dane came hungrily wandering up to me, batting its huge, adorable eyes. Awww.

There really is something magnificent about being in the great outdoors. The moon is so bright and the constellations so distinct. It’s romantic and beautiful and can be quite charming. But then, bugs. Ick. Ouch. Where’s the Off? And why do I have this frickin’ rash?

Every day is all about soaking up the sun, enjoying the beautiful weather, lying on the beach, and chillaxing to the max. Every night is about a delicious dinner, and there are so many great restaurants, fantastic beach bars, and great stores to check out throughout the Florida Keys. If you’re considering a vacation, allow me to point out my favorite things-to-do along the way.

On my way there, I discovered a fabulous, fabulous plus size swimwear outlet called Lion’s Lair Swimwear. Giant billboards promising special attention to measurements encouraged me to stop in on my way through beautiful Islamorada, and I was beyond impressed. It’s next to Burger King, at Mile Marker 82. Online, their selections are just alright. In store, it’s really impressive — a wide variety of colors and patterns and textures, with prices ranging at around $100 to $200, and there was like a 30% sale happening or something. A very friendly lady named Kim told me you can contact them and let them know if you’re looking for a leopard print tankini with DD cups, for example. They take photos to e mail to you and everything. I stpped by and bought an wide brimmed roll-up beach visor hat by Scala, which leaves my big afro puff poking out the top like I’m some sort of funky pineapple. It was super cute, cost $28, is made of 100% paper but didn’t melt when it got inevitably drenched in seawater.

You can find the nicest beaches at Bahia Honda state park. Peaceful, relatively shallow aqua waters, pale sand, and enough breeze for kite surfing, which is super fun to watch. There’s a little concession place that sells spicy, spicy Jamaican curry chicken patties. Don’t forget your sunscreen, your beach umbrella, and a big widebrimmed hat or sun visor — we don’t want you to get burned. I prefer a high SPF, and my current favorite sunblock is the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock with SPF 30. It really just absorbs effortlessly into your skin, and protects you extremely well. For lips, Shu Uemura’s Depsea Therapy Moisture Recovery lip balm is the way to go.

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Do You Pre-Poo?

For years, I did hot oil and deep conditioning treatments after shampooing and conditioning my hair. That was just the way my hairdressers always did it — wash, condition, THEN slather on oil, stick me under a dryer or bonnet or weird spaceman hot lamp until I’m done, then rinse and repeat. I never questioned it, but it always seemed like a pain to me. You mean I gotta wash it out AGAIN?

I honestly hadn’t even heard of pre-pooing until late last year, when I discovered Healthy Textures, a blog dedicated to the well being and growth of relaxed and natural hair. Although primarily the information and styles are for relaxed textures, the healthy hair tips are great for bellas of all hair types. Not only does the author, Macherie, have an excellent post on the topic — The Benefits of Pre-pooing, but she’s also got a video tutorial! She advises that it’s a great way to use up hot oils, protein conditioners, and old conditioners you haven’t used yet. I came late to the pre-poo party, but now that I’m here, I’m staying! And telling everyone I know about how great pre-shampoo treatments can be.

When I first heard the term pre-poo, I giggled like a five year old for a second, but the concept grabbed me right away. Doing a pre-shampoo treatment saves me so much time. I slather on some hot oil or deep conditioner, cover my curls with a plastic cap, then put on my little hair steaming bonnet. Or I do a pre-poo just as Macherie did in the video, with a wet towel and a plastic cap, and leave it on for as long as an hour while I kick back and watch Best Week Ever or The Soup or Clean House or… you get the picture. It’s marvelous “me” time. Sometimes I double up the beautification and give myself a pedi, or wear a clay mask on my face while I pre-poo, too. Every couple of weeks I make that my Sunday beauty ritual.

I’ve never done an overnight pre-poo, Macherie advises against it… but quite a few bellas on Nappturality, Long Hair Care Forums, and such all seem to have tried that and I haven’t read any complaints on their forums.

So what do I use to pre-poo? My curls love an oil treatment, and lately I’ve been using Lippia Tea Hair Oil from Zosimos Botanicals, a cosmetics, skin care, and hair care company so green that they formulate their products in a wind-powered workshop. $11 for a sizable bottle that’s lasted me through quite a few pre-poos. In West African countries, Lippia tea is traditionally served as a relaxation tonic at the end of the work day. And according to the peeps at Aveda, it’s also popular in Brazilian folk medicine, and has been used “for centuries for its soothing properties to remedy irritation and discomfort.” Zosimos Botanicals blends it with olive oil and perilla seed oil. This stuff smells more like something you’d cook with, but it makes my curls divinely soft when used as a pre-poo.

Of course, you can use any oil you’d like, including the VO5 stuff, Queen Helene, any of the brands you get at Sally’s, or you can turn to your kitchen for regular olive oil, sweet almond oil, or jojoba. Many bellas create their own pre-poo mix, including other known-to-be-nourishing ingredients like honey, rosemary essential oil, castor oil, neem oil, or Indian amla oil — psst, you can get a interesting mix of oils from From Nature With Love.

What has pre-pooing done for me? It’s helped to make my hair softer to the touch and more manageable for comb-throughs. I’ve been noticing less shedding, and my ends aren’t as brittle and prone to knotting up. That’s IF, and only if I keep up my beauty regimen regularly.

So, bellas — do you pre-poo? And if you do, what do you use?

** I found the beautiful afro photo at Nature’s Parlour, a UK natural hair website.

Honored to be Nominated!

I am so excited! Afrobella has been nominated for a Glam Network Award, in the Best Beauty category. I gotta admit, this means a lot to me — Afrobella isn’t a typical “beauty” blog by any means, and in some ways, broadening the scope of my content has led to automatic exclusion from various networks and cliques. To be recognized for the essence of Afrobella — the product reviews, random musings, and overlooked beauty issues — by the network that has embraced and supported me, is truly special.

From time to time I get new bloggers asking me, “what’s your opinion of Glam?” I’ll tell you right now — so far it’s been completely positive. I know next to nothing about HTML, RSS feeds… so many of the tools and tips a blogger should know to get ahead in the game. And the people at Glam have taken the time to help me, and answer every silly question I’ve ever had. They’ve helped me take this blog from strength to strength. I’m proud to be a member. And I’m super proud to be nominated! If I win, I’m going to New York for the ceremony for sure.

If you’d like to vote for me, click here. I think you have to register with Glam, but it’s quick and painless and would totally make my day. You can vote once a day every day until April 10th!

Back From Hippieville

Wow, wow, wow. That may have been the best birthday ever. I had a blast, and returned from Hippieville to an overflowing inbox of birthday wishes from all of you!! YAY!!! Thank you all so much for making my life richer. Seriously!

I will post so much more about Langerado when I have the energy and time (if you want more right away, read the CrossFade blog written by my homies at the Broward New Times) I just got back last night and I have to hit the salt mines running at top speed. But I will say this for now —

1. PLEASE no spoilers for The Wire yet! I think I already know what happened =(

2. Arrested Development is back, y’all! They put on an incredible show. It was a beautiful moment to be a part of. At the end, Speech declared “17 years of positive hip hop! Please support our new album!” I did, and so should you! They were amazing and I was so proud to be there.

3. The Roots KILLED IT. Oh my goodness. I think that ranks in my top five live music experiences of all time. If you’ve never seen The Roots live, get yourself a ticket the next time they come around your way. You will NOT be disappointed! As soon as those Langerado vids start cropping up on YouTube (and they will), I will try my best to post their performance of The Next Movement. I can’t even describe its awesomeness in words.

I took the above photo on Friday afternoon, which was a gorgeous day at the fest. I asked this beautiful, radiant couple if I could take their photo for my site (didn’t get their names. Thank you for allowing me to photograph you!) Why, you ask? Because they looked so happy, so in love, homegirl’s dress was GORGEOUS, and also because I wanted to prove a point to a friend of mine, who was all like, “don’t you feel weird about going to a white-people hippie festival?” Huh? First of all, hippies come in all colors, believe me. There were lots of brothers and sisters out there moving and grooving amongst the sea of corduroy patchwork and tie-dye. Second of all, NO! I didn’t feel weird at all. I love live music, and I love meeting new people. I refuse to limit myself to attending events based on what I expect the audience will be like. I say go out, have fun, make some new friends, try something different for a change, get out of that ridiculous box you’ve put yourself in.

I got my birthday wishes, and then some! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and I’ll choose Creme of Nature winners ASAP. I’ll hit y’all with a fresh post as soon as I am able! For now, here’s a throwback from 1992. Does that make you feel old? WOW, that feels like a long time ago. But this song has aged like wine, and everybody — I mean EVERYBODY — was singing along at their show. Amazing!

Happy Monday to you all!

** editor’s note — I’m thinking the people who keep asking is the above photo is of me haven’t been regular visitors to the site. This is me. The photo above is NOT me, it was a beautiful couple that allowed me to take their photo. So once again just to clarify, the above photo isn’t me, and that isn’t my husband. But they’re gorgeous, right? Black hippie love. What a beautiful thing.

Meeting Billy B

I’ve been pretty much obsessed with the makeup wizardry of Billy B. since I first saw the video for Lauryn Hill’s Ex-Factor. Or no wait, it was Missy Elliott’s “She’s a Bitch.” Or maybe it was the video for Independent Women by Destiny’s Child. When I was soaking up all that beauty inspiration, I had no idea who Billy B was, of course. I just knew that here were strong, beautiful black women and I wanted to look just as beautiful as they did.

Billy B has been behind the scenes of music videos and television shows, beating the faces of celebs from Sharon Stone and Natalie Maines to Mary J. Blige and Tina Turner. Oh yes. When I interviewed Billy on the phone — he was visiting Miami for The Makeup Show — he had just come from doing Tina Turner’s makeup for her performance of Proud Mary at the Grammys. She looked amazing (aside from her Robocop couture), but still Billy doubted his work. “I would make some different choices after seeing it. I’m not sure about the red mouth in hindsight, not sure about the contour. I was standing there with her, thinking how did this happen? How did I go from Aberdeen Mississippi to doing Tina Turner for the Grammys? There’s still these moments of clarity for me where you’re sort of, how did I get here? And when are they going to figure out that this is the biggest scam ever? This is one of the few living American… not even just American. Icons. Ever. And here I am!” Billy attributes his continued success to humility. He is a very real, very humble kind of guy. “I never fully feel like I deserve to be there. I think that’s what keeps me successful, and I think that’s something new makeup artists can learn from. Most think their s*%t don’t stink, and they’re better than everybody, and they deserve so much more than they already have. The reality is, none of us do.”

Billy has been at the top of the game, and at the bottom of the heap. He has had to eat humble pie quite a few times in the biz. Billy B.’s fairytale life story is well known to anyone who’s obsessed with makeup and music videos — as my homegirl Lianne The Makeup Girl said in her interview with him, “small town boy with big town dreams.” In the Eighties, by day Billy B. worked the makeup counter at Macy’s in Times Square. By night he was cleaning up vomit at nightclubs in New York City. Sick skills and one lucky break led to him making $500 an hour. Now he’s done just about every celebrity you can think of, for print, television, fashion shows, whatever.

I had an great telephone interview with Billy before the show, we chatted at length about his career and his new line of brushes, which are professional quality, and designed especially to avoid the pitfalls Billy has encountered with other brushes. They’re short, light, and very specifically designed for particular tasks. He is especially proud of his eyelash curler ($15, a steal) and he uses brush #9 to build the bottom lashes with mascara. More on that later.

So following a fun phoner, I was ready to meet Billy B. at The Makeup Show Miami. I got to the convention center in the afternoon, an hour or so before he was about to begin his keynote presentation. And excuse me while I gush for a moment, but something quite exciting happened. I got recognized! By a complete stranger! So there I am, walking into the Miami Beach Convention Center, when a lovely bella with adorable twists comes jogging after me. “Excuse me… are you Afrobella?” she asked. Yes I am! OMG YAY! She was super sweet. Her name is Ethanie, she’s a makeup artist from… Philly? And we took a couple of photos together. E mail me, Ethanie! It was a pleasure to meet you.

OK, so then I entered the main atrium and was instantly dazzled. There were booths from product lines I knew well — MAC, Stila, Make Up For Ever. And there were some new niche products there, like Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics which has a great range of loose color, and Big Girl Cosmetics. Lots of you have asked me to specifically highlight products made for women of color by women of color. Look no further! I met Kiley Russell the founder and CEO, and she is a fly and self possessed sista. I got one of their Diva Glosses in my to-go bag, and I LOVE it! Definitely check em out, bellas.

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Photo By Request

So after the Tomoka’s Twists unique chic post, you bellas have made her sales go through the roof! MiMi, the designer behind the unique hair accessories contacted me and said the orders have been rolling in so fast, she’s out of stock on some items. She also wanted to explain how to wear them.

“Everyone wears the TTs differently. They are just that versatile. The beads are so cute and the wire makes it interactive for the wearer. I went to a meet and greet in Raleigh and the ladies would have the same one and say, “Look how I did mine.” Let the ladies know that I am tickled by all the support they have shown. I’m always coming up with new beads and to check Thursdays. I’m a weekend buyer so my beads usually come Wednesday and the site updated by Thursday.”

So there you go, ladies. And by reader request, here’s a pic of me in my living room, wearing my Ivory Tower Tomoka’s Twist. It’s kind of an overflowing puff with the twists to the side. Forgive the MySpace angle. I also took note of the hair products I used and the makeup I’m wearing, because I’ve had readers ask me about that as well! Here goes.

I styled my hair with Dr. Miracle healing leave in conditioner! Shocked? So am I. It’s a long story, so a big ol’ review of this product line is coming up this week. I also used some of the new Creme of Nature organic leave in… why is this product not on their website? OK. Creme of Nature has a new leave in conditioner/creme hairdress that I’m loving. It’s not yet on their website, but hang tight — it will be in my next giveaway!

As far as makeup is concerned, I’ve got on Cover Girl Queen Collection foundation, Booty Parlor Get Flushed blush (more on this fabulous product later), Valana Minerals Sparkie Lips in velvet pomegranate, Milani eyeliner, and Physician’s Formula shimmer strips as eyeshadow. Oh, and Cover Girl Lashblast mascara. And that’s all. Damn, I use a lot of products!

I have a new camera now, so look out for hair and makeup pics of me every now and then. I’m slowly trying to get more confident about putting my pics online, and how better to show you if a hair product works or not, right?

New Year, New Look

Notice anything different? I’ve been dreaming of a new look for a while. It took a lot of searching, but once I found the mastery of Randa Clay and her amazing free templates, I knew I found the right look for Afrobella. So what do you all think? I’m going to be tinkering with fonts and colors and stuff over the next month or so, so bear with me if things change. And even as I look over this post, I realize how much has changed with the new template. Like, look — my links are in alphabetical order now! And they don’t overflow out of some overstuffed category anymore! Fresh, clean, new, fun. I like it. But let me know your thoughts - good, bad, whatever.

So without further ado, let me announce the winners of the Cover Girl Queen Collection giveaway — Paulicia and Neo Sew Mama (who has a pretty cool blog, I might add)!

So lucky ladies, I will be contacting you via e mail. PLEASE write back ASAP, or even better, contact me immediately at bella@afrobella.com with your mailing address. And AHEM, Danielle from Maine — I’m still waiting for you to write back with your contact info for the Salte earrings! I sent two e mails and nada. So holla back!