Purple flower photoshoot, Bria Murphy

This is a still from Bria Murphy's Dark N Lovely endorsement video. Bria Murphy (Eddie Murphy's daughter) looks absolutely gorg! I'm STILL wanting to do something like this. It's 2011... I need to get on it!

Happy Saturday! What do you have lined up for this weekend?

Get your Hair-o-scope!

Your 2011 Hair-o-Scope

What celebrity hairstyle is in your future this year? Find out

This is a TotalBeauty.com hairstyles article It may sound wacky, but one clever way to go about deciding on a hairstyle is to consult your horoscope. Each zodiac sign has its own traits and personalities associated with it and they're easily adapted to hairstyles -- no joke. See yours

My new nails: Charcoal Gray/Black with Silver Glitter Acrylic

Despite going to the nail shop with Nubar's Knight Armor in hand or eyeballing Milani's Silver Dazzle polish (which I still secretly want), I was persuaded into getting the acrylic version of these polishes.

The no chip, eternal shine properties of this acrylic glitter was very enticing. (Women love this so much they get it on their toes. -__- Uh, no acrylic on my toes...) Knock on wood, I've never had a broken nail with this type of acrylic. Remember I've had this before. Twice actually.

Not as bright, but I feel like I'm wearing MJ's socks, lol.

In different lighting, it leans very blue.

What's up with the big thumb sized nails?! Argh

All in all, I like it. Next go round, I'll be back to my regular polishes, I think hehe. I have way too many to not wear. Thinking of Valentine's Day nails...

Burt's Bees Radiance Daily Cleanser Product Review

Burt's Bees Radiance Daily Cleanser with royal jelly is one of the last products that I've used all up and want to review. I first began with the Burt's Bees line of products with the lip balm and fell in love with their toner (which I can never find in the drugstore anymore). When looking for a facial cleanser to try, I decided on the Radiance Daily Cleanser with royal jelly as Burt's Bee's natural skin care is always a safe bet.

I was totally pleased with the cleanser, especially during these dry winter months:
-Gentle on my skin.
-Cleaned without stripping my skin of all oils.
-No strong smells.
-Skin was soft and supple after cleansing.
-Hard to remove makeup needs pre-clean sing, but that's not a problem for me.

There was one thing, a bit unnerving...
THE FOLLOWING STORY IS RATED PG-13/R for suggestive subject matter.... lol

I was at a friend's house where I used the bathroom and noticed she used the same facial cleanser. So I decided to ask her about it, since I was loving it, but with one concern.
Me: "I see you use the Burt's Bees facial cleanser. How do you like it?"
Friend: "Oh, it's good. I don't have a problem with it."
Me: "I like it a lot, but do you ever feel like you're washing your face with... s.emen? Maybe the soap plus royal jelly gives me that idea.""
Friend: "No, different color and texture."
Me: ...
Considering I can forget my pill for days at a time, I'll take her word for it!

Overall, I like this facial wash and will be repurchasing. $10, sold at most mass retailers.

Sisters Night Out with MAC Mickey Contractor

This weekend, my sisters and I (all four of us!) were headed out to my cousins bday party. The crazy chaos that ensued with us trying to get ready, I actually enjoyed. I threw in some MAC Mickey Contractor for the night.

I wasn't the photog here, so I had to take what pics were available. This is the closest I could get for an 'fotd' shot.

FACE
MAC Mineralized Foundation SPF 15 (cream compact)
Cajun Powder from the Villainous Villains collection
Raizin blush

EYES
Mickey Contractor Athma palette
Soft Ochre paint pot to base
Jaan e/s on lid
Folie and Soft Brown e/s in crease
Carbon on outer v
Vivah on the bottom lid
Revlon liquid liner to line top lid
Light soft shimmer shadow on inner corner
UD Zero liner on waterline
MAC Studio finish concealer
Maybelline Falsies waterproof mascara
MAC #35 lashes-- they are still my bff's

LIPS
Petite Four lipglass (Yes it's super old, but it's from one of my favorite collections! Shopping my stash y'all!)

I'm still so stuck on neutrals! It's hard for me to part from them, even on a night out (Blame it on Bridal Beauty). I'd rather switch up my blush or lip color.

Speaking of blush... I love Raizin. I used to hate it because it was the abused and typical blush by MAC for women of color. I decided that it has its reputation for good reason, so I needed it for my brown beauties. I tried it on myself. LOVE. I love Canteloupe blush, but Raizin is the deeper, mature cousin. It's the powder version of what I wanted my MUFE HD blush #10 to be.

My sister, Toni P/DarbyGirl Online came from far away, wonderland VA from work to attend the party with us and didn't feel jazzy. I suggested Siahi or Ivy fluidlines to spice up her look. I chose Ivy as the best pick. I love it on her. You might have to click on the pic to enlarge it to see it better.

We had an awesome night out together.... I mean, we always do! I love having time with them!

Hope you had a great weekend! What did you do? Anything makeup related?

My bride was featured on BlackBridalBliss.com!

One of my favorite brides (Dee) was featured on one of my favorite Black wedding sites/blogs (BlackBridalBliss.com)! Please visit the site and read Dee and Tori's story. You then might understand why I feel so honored to be a part of their special day! Just beautiful!

Of course one of our favorite photographers captured the magic!

My latest beauty indulgence: Beauty Podcasts!

Downloading beauty chat to hear when I'm commuting or on the go, is sooo refreshing! It definitely gives me more stimulation than the 5 records that are abused on public radio (or the same 200+ songs on my iPod). I love uploading fresh content from iTunes when I need something new! Yes, free beauty chat from experts and industry insiders when I want! It's fab! You can listen to recorded shows right from the blogtalk radio site or my favorite, a podcast from iTunes.

Downside: Illusions Beauty creators Janice and Denise are the only ones I've found, really talking BEAUTY! If you guys know of any more, please let me know. One more thing, the topics get interesting and you can't comment or join in the discussion, LOL!

How to download podcasts to your iPod.

Do you download podcasts? Which shows?

P.s. Can I be real with you guys? When you get into the podcasts, don't just listen to the interviews and chats with big names like Sam Fine and Valente Frazier. You truly learn from all of the chats. So one by one, click and listen!

MAC Mickey Contractor Collection... My Take

(Image Source)
Swatches from Karla Sugar
Some collection details...

I was pretty excited about this collection. Anything especially produced for women of color piques my interest. A small collection, but interesting nonetheless.

My haul:
Athma (I keep trying to call this an asthma palette, lol)
Siahi and Ivy fluidlines
(A small and modest haul.)

Collectors- Don't get yourselves in a tussy about this one because we definitely either have the items (2 permanent shadows in the quad) or something similar. It's a small collection and only sold in 22 stores or something like that. Surprisingly, it's still online! DC area peeps, Georgetown has the collex.
Artists/Consumers- The correctors and additional shades of Fix Fluid are good to have. Worth checking out.
Quad collectors- I call this one for the win.
Must haves: If you aren't on a neutral kick like me, but like gel liners... the fluidlines are absolutely bea-uuuu-tiful!


I'm always on the hunt for some noteworthy neutrals. "... and baby when I tell you!" -in my Messy Mya voice (RIP), that the Athma quad gave me some life. It did. The lightest color, Jaan, has a peach tone to it with a bit of sparkle. Fab. Folie, a reddish brown is always good to have. In my palette, Carbon didn't appear to be its rich, velvety self, but it's okay. It will serve it's purpose. Shocker of the day: Vivah! A golden shimmered brown. Don't be afraid of these shimmers. They are pretty slight, no nighttime disco club fever, but a bit to add some richness to the colors. Thank you MAC for balancing out a quad with matte colors and shimmery shades!

This quad makes a stand next to Urban Decay's Naked palette. Hot!

I skipped the other items because:
-I have waaaayyy too many neutral lippies as is
-Scuurrred Sur blush was going to look just like Darkly My Dear blush from the Villainous Villains collection.
-Gana is quite a few highlighters that I already own, but in its own pan. What came to mind right away was the split pan sculpt and shape duos that MAC released. Maybe. The lighter/highlighter side in my duo gave me the perfect, non chalky sheen.

What did you get from the collection? What did you think of it?

How to Apply False Lashes

How to Apply False Eyelashes

Get the scoop on choosing and applying the right false lashes for you with this guide

This is a TotalBeauty.com makeup tutorial article OK, so you've had some bad experiences applying falsies before with the glue getting everywhere or the lashes falling off -- but never again. All you need is this quick tutorial on applying falsies like a pro … Get tips

Buds at the end of my locs!

Hair irritation #1 right now (oh besides the moisture battle): buds straggling at the ends of my locs. See above there is a thin area between the bud at the end of my loc and the rest of my loc? Ugh! Before I found these, the ends of my hair were thick coils from when i started my locs with comb coils. I went to a hair stylist and she pretty much cut all of them off as they were making my hair way too bulky.

Now that I find quite a few buds at the ends of my locs, I cut them off. For more maintenance on my hair, I cut down thicker, spongier buds along my locs to keep heft out of my hair.

Visit Brittany's hair blog where she talks buds and locs!
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Check this out! Angela and Vanessa Cover FashizBlack Mag

OK so I'm strolling TheYBF... I see some new stuff from some of my fave chicks Angela and Vanessa, sister duo and swaying to the Rihanna in background when I hit the 00:34 mark.....




....then the 00:46 mark hits and I scream!

Who's doing their 'celebrity makeup' artistry but Miss Risa! Check out our pic together here from The Makeup Show 2010. How cool is that? I love recognizing people, knowing people in the 'industry' and know that they are real artists with a passion for their craft doing what they love. Seeing that makes me feel like a part of me made it too...

Edit: Well, I checked her blog and she tells you all about the experience! Risa's Blog

Happy New Year!

I hope you guys started your year wonderfully and enjoyed a safe and fun New Year celebration some where. I went out with my besssties... the sisters and had a blast. I didn't get to go all out with special makeup (I made sure to add lashes, tho) but I did put that Milani Gems polish to work and made a sparkalicious mani.

Happy New Year 2011 Mani recipe:

1 coat, black polish

1 coat of NYX Asphalt (one of my top 5 polishes)

Milani Gems glitter polish dragged from tip to mid nail or so for a gradient like effect

(Milani Gems polish is Asphalt on crack without the black jelly!)

(Karaoke Starzzzzz; Destiny's Child for a night!)

Ok, almost licking each other doesn't look as funny as it was when the pic was snapped, lol!

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"What hair products do you use for moisture?"

@Avartsy asked via Twitter
-Dr. Miracle Oil Sheen spray
-A mango leave-in conditioner
-Natural Oasis oil spray
....and I recently have been showing love to the L'oreal Ever Pure mositurizing shampoo!

I like these products but retaining moisture and sheen is an on-going battle for.


What products are you using?
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