straight natural

I just realized that I never did a natural hair post on here. Could be because everyone and their momma has a natural hair post or a whole blog dedicated to natural hair transitions, hairstyles, products, personal stories, how-to vids, etc. It’s really too much yet, here I am, adding my 10cents.

I went natural in 2001 over Thanksgiving break during my junior year of college. After thinking about it for about a year and one prior attempt to abandon my relaxed strands (I grew my hair out then succumbed to a perm last minute) I found myself alone in my apartment with nothing to do… nothing to do except cut off my hair. I hopped in the car and headed to the salon. Closed. I had the option of waiting a couple of days for them to open but I knew that I had to get my hair cut right then or I wouldn’t do it at all. I drove around and found a new salon, walked in and asked to get my hair cut. The stylist asked if I was sure. At the time, my hair was pretty good looking and just grazed my shoulders. Black women don’t go around cutting off hair like that,  so this stylist just wanted to make sure I didn’t wild out on her later. “Yes, cut it off,” I told her. She did. She cut my hair down to about two inches. When it was all said and done, I liked it. It was new and my head felt so light. I was a little bit nervous about how people would take it but there was no turning back.

Good or bad, everyone had an opinion about my hair. One guy friend stopped me on campus and asked me why I didn’t tell him first so that he could have stopped me. He said guys didn’t like women with hair that short and he could’ve saved me from that mistake. Ugh. He was halfway right. Some people were obviously turned off by my short, kinky ‘do but others who wouldn’t have looked twice were now attracted to me. One guy I met at a party told me he came to talk to me because of my haircut. He figured that I had to be quite a confident person to do it, plus it showed off my features. Sweet. While I haven’t relaxed my hair since ’01, I have gone through quite a few styling changes and constantly fight the urge to just slop some of that creamy white goo on my head.

Hair Story

Most blog entries entitled “Hair Story” are about women trying to grow their hair or women making the transition from relaxed to natural. This is not that. This is about hair other than on your head. BODY HAIR. I knew I had to go ahead and write this because I’ve been thinking about this topic for a few days. Then, out of the blue, a friend asked me if she had too much hair on her face and arms. “I was just about to blog about that!” I said.

Hair removal is part of my basic beauty regimen. I regularly remove hair from my legs, my bikini area and my armpits. I use a razor on my underarms and sometimes on my legs, but I prefer to use a depilatory on my legs and bikini. Once upon a time I got waxed, but that’s an expense that I cannot keep up at this time. (Aside: First time I got a Brazilian wax, I went to my auntie’s house and I was wearing a skirt. I lifted the skirt up and showed her my fresh wax. She laughed and said, “It looks just like when you were a baby and I changed your diapers!” LOL /End Aside).

360 Waves

I might be in the minority of women when I say this, but I do not think 360 waves on men is cute. I say minority because I imagine someone must like it or else dudes wouldn’t put so much effort into doing it. Unless they do it for each other and not for us, which would be pretty ghey, right? For the uninitiated, here are some examples of 360 waves:

The name obvy comes from the fact that the waves are continuous around the head. Using a brush, some type of pomade and a stocking cap/doo rag, dudes are “spinning” with these pronounced waves in their head. Now, I can appreciate a nice haircut. I think taking care of your hair as a man is important. I’m not even hating on waves altogether. It’s just those EXTRA ass waves that get me. How much time are dudes putting into that? How much vanity is involved? I’ll tell you, so much so that they have a whole message board and books devoted to this mess! Wild, right? I can’t take them seriously and have never dated a guy who rocked that look. The whole thing makes me seasick! LOL

Peep this “tutorial” then save a youth:

Make-under

“Throwin’ out her blush stick and makeup/ Cuz she don’t need it anyway/ Silk skin, pretty face…”
– Blu & Exile, No Greater Love

It’s about that time to change my makeup routine. Mainly I’m talking about foundation. I usually wear a lightweight makeup on a daily basis. Light coverage because my goal is not to cover up, but to even out what I perceive to be redness on certain parts of my face. I also have yellow undertones and I think that tends to make me appear sallow and splotchy. I have freckles as well, so I don’t want to cover those up. Just make everything nice and neat, ya know? At the moment I use Prescriptives Virtually Fresh makeup in Antelope.

The pros to my makeup: It gives that lightweight coverage I want and provides SPF protection. The cons: Washing it off every night, it costs about $30 and as the weather changes, my skincare needs change. Lately, I feel like my makeup looks a bit off color. This happens when your skin color changes due to tanning or lack thereof.

Luckily, I’m not one of those people who MUST wear makeup to leave the house. It’s mostly habit, but not a necessity. I generally have good skin that is even in texture and without blemishes (until that time of the month, when I can expect two to three pimples to pop up).

Luckily, I’ve found a new product that I’m falling in love with: Philosophy’s The Present. Billing itself as “clear makeup”, The Present provides moisture and an airbrushed appearance. Oh, and it made my skin feel super soft.

Not that it costs much less than what I’ve been using, but it feels good on my face and helps control the oiliness of my skin. I think it’ll make a nice addition to my makeup bag for the times when I’d rather do without the “real” makeup.

I’ll still be rocking my bronzer (although I’m thinking of going more pink for fall), mascara  and light lips on the daily, adding in shadow and liner when I want my eyes to pop.

In case you’re wondering what else Bourgie uses, check out my makeup bag’s most used items:

Prescriptives Sunsheen Bronzer in Medium
Clinique Cream Liner in True Black
Benefit Bad Gal Lash in Black (although I’m dying to try it in plum!)
Clinique Blushing Blush in Iced Lotus (used as an eyeshadow)
Clinique Eye Shadow Duo in Strawberry Fudge
Benefit Silky Finish Lipstick in Sugar Rush
Clinique Soft Shine Lipstick in Honey Gloss
Nars Semi-Matte Lipstick in Pigalle

Obvy I like pinkish colors. They help me not to feel overdone. However, you can overdo pink and come out looking like a baby hooker. Not a good look.

DILFs

In honor of Father’s day, I present DILFs.

– The Short List –

Will Smith

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Lenny Kravitz

Denzel Washington

LL Cool J

Eddie George

Andre “3000” Benjamin

Marlon Wayans

Boris Kodjoe

Common

No disrespect to my girl ‘Chelle, Ok. I couldn’t resist! LOL!!!

Love Potion #420

I have always been a fan of Fresh products. I’ve used their sugar products and been amazed. I also suggest the milk products. Shout out to my bourgie guy pal who knows all about the Fresh soap. But now… NOW they’ve gone and done it. They’ve combined one of my favorite fragrances, rose, with a fragrance that speaks to a lot of men – weed.

Fresh’s Lev Glazman, mated rose to pot – not pot smoke but the ultrarich, resiny scent of its dried leaves. The resulting perfume is insanely good, essentially perfect on every level: a darkly mesmerizing scent, technically excellent and beautifully structured. Glazman has taken rose, viscerally reinvented it and aimed it at the reptilian brain.” – NYT Magazine

For real, folks, I’m going to spray this shit on and CLEAN UP this summer. Don’t believe me? Have you ever been in a club or other crowded place and thought you smelled marijuana? Just the slightest inkling that there may be weed being smoked in your immediate vicinity causes you to look all around, sniffing and searching for the source. Even if you don’t smoke you want to know where the hell that is coming from.

Now, I’m sure the fragrance doesn’t smell like weed. Most of us try to avoid smelling like marijuana when we go out in public, especially to school or work. People try to cover up the distinct smell of weed with incense, perfume, Febreeze, anything! I imagine this Fresh Cannabis Rose to pick up the positive notes in marijuana. Those undertones that tell you you’re smelling something familiar and, since you don’t immediately know what, causes you to lean in closer for a better whiff.

Apparently, the products contain cannabis seed oil obtained from the seeds of the cannabis sativa plant. This oil is full of fatty acids which are great for the skin.

I can’t wait to buy it. I think it’ll be just what I was looking for in a summer scent. Along with other fragrances, the perfume includes my favorites – italian bergamot and jasmine.

Oh yeah, I’m going to CLEAN UP! HOLLAAAAAAA!!

Thanks to Elle for the heads up!

“Eyebrow?”

This is the one-word question usually posed to me as I wait to get serviced at the local nail salon. I’ll be sitting there, waiting to get my eyebrows arched/waxed and some employee will come to me, gesturing to the chair in the back saying, “eyebrow?” I nod. I go.

I started getting my eyebrows done back in high school. One of my best friend’s mom owned a beauty salon. Not only did we stay getting our hair did, but we were introduced to eyebrow arching. Diane, the mom, waxed on occasion but usually razored our brows. Back then, we used to wear them really thin. Not off and drawn on type thin, but just thinner than I wear ’em now. We all did it. My grandfather thought I was a certified nutjob. “Leave those eyebrows ALONE!” he’d scold. He told me it looked silly and that men don’t like women with those skinny old eyebrows. My grandpa’s barometer for what men liked was based on what HE liked. I, however, wasn’t about to listen to him. He was old! He was my grandpa! My friends and I knew what was hot. We were getting our eyebrows done.

I introduced my best friend in college to eyebrow arching. When done correctly, it’s really a great way to brighten up your face. When done incorrectly, well you better just hope that your brows grow back quickly.

I remember a horror story from high school. A girl came in one day with NO BROWS AT ALL. Apparently, she pissed off her little brother (who are known to have a short fuse) and he shaved off her eyebrows in her sleep. Clearly she was a hard sleeper. Poor thing. Had she been famous, she could have been featured on a site like Hot Chicks With No Eyebrows. Silly. Go there and find women who are almost universally deemed hot and decide if they’re still all that without any eyebrows.

So, was grandpa right or wrong?

Oh you modelin’ ma? – Canvas Soup

I spent my Sunday afternoon getting made up, coiffed and photographed. A friend of mine is getting her side hustle on, selling lace wigs. You know, the kind Beyonce and ‘nem wear. Apparently, they’re all the rage and are the wig of choice for women who like that kind of thing and have a little money to spare for quality. My girl asked me to model some wigs for her and told me she had set up the shoot with Canvas Soup.

I now ♥ Canvas Soup! Canvas Soup is a collaborative effort between photographer Joshua Black (Black Eyed Soup) and makeup artist Bridget Cunningham (Canvas Cosmetics). The space is comfortable and inviting. I met esthetician/makeup artist Kim there and she did me UP! Then, after getting my wig applied I headed upstairs to the photo studio which is located in a bright, spacious loft space. Joshua was great at directing me and, as you can tell from my numerous self-portraits, I’m a ham for the camera.

It was SO much fun. I put to use all of my America’s Next Top Model lessons. Thanks Tyra!!

The really cool thing about Canvas Soup is that since they’re a one stop shop of sorts, they offer “parties” where you and a group can get hair and makeup done, then head upstairs to get professional photos taken. They’ll even have a caterer come in and provide lunch. How about some champagne while you get that foot soak and facial? I had an opportunity to check out some of Josh’s work and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to see how the pictures from today came out. When I get a peek, I’ll post them up here.

Until then, please take a look at Canvas Soup. You can also check out the write-up on CS in the Philadelphia Daily News. If you’re in Philly and want to pamper yourself (or your girl) give them a call. Located in Germantown and Black-owned, it’s a great new place run by a fabulous team.