Quote It

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."
Santiago.

Lady Gaga turns 24 as a Music Superstar

Do ever feel like crap when someone your age is just light years ahead of you when it comes to his or her success?

Lady Gaga’s birthday was on the 28th of March. She too was born in 1986.

Sigh.

I love Lady Gaga. I think she is one the most talented artist out in the music industry right now.

She’s really in a league of her own.

So I am in no way jealous of her success. She deserves it.

I’m frustrated at myself because I don’t think I’m doing enough (sad face, another spoon of soy cream).

It can be so disheartening to be doing something you love but not seeing the rewards. Yet.

I am a firm believer in living life doing what you love. If you love doing something, you’ll be good at it just from practicing so much. If you’re good at something, you’ll always find a way to be successful at it.

But then someone like Lady Gaga comes into the mix and reminds a person (that person being me) that 24 is not too young to be on top of the game.

Shits and Giggles Mondays: Parody Gold!

It's an oldie but a goodie : )

This isn't the whole video. Click here! for that.

Oh, and Happy Monday!

Glee + Madonna = Perfection

I. Can. Not. Wait!

How many of you are counting the days till Glee is back on?

Subway Playlist: I Hate You Edition

1. Taylor Swift - You're Not Sorry
2. Soko - I'll Kill Her
3. Lit - Miserable
4. Kelis - Caught Out There
5. The Wreckers - Leave the Pieces
6. Michelle Branch - Are You Happy Now
   
7. Hole - Violet
   
8. Lisa Loeb - How

If you're all filled with lovey dovey feelings, go away.

If you're angry, welcome!

I need help with my "Love Will Make You Miserable" playlist. Any suggestions?

Note: Less "woe is me" and more "grrrrr, I hate you."

Give me your picks for angry songs about love.

Goodbye Izzie Stevens

So it's official.

After all the speculation and the antics and the bitching and moaning, actress Katherine Heigl is free to leave Grey's Anatomy.

I would be more upset if I didn't see this coming. Or if I knew the actress wanted to be there.

She doesn't.

So good luck to you, Mrs. Kelley; I wish you all the best.

I can't say much about Heigl as a person since I don't know her but she's a fantastic actress and Izzie was one of my favorite characters on Grey's Anatomy.

So here are some of my favorite Izzie scenes : )

















Do you have a favorite Izzie scene? Which one is it?

Quote It.

"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."
Arthur Weasley.

Why is a Good Question.

My sister posted a fantastic article on her blog about women in Nigeria getting shit done.

I'd love for you guys to read her post and the article.

You'll be hearing a lot from Shola Ajayi in the future and I'm super proud : )

More to come...

xoxo,

Juwon

Zoe Saldana is Nylon's April Cover Girl

I love Nylon magazine; it's one of my favorites.

And I love them even more that they put Zoe Saldana on the cover of their April issue.

And she looks amazing as usual.

Check out the interview here.

And pick up the April issue of Nylon, it truly is a great magazine.

Jen v.s. Jen: Battle of the Romantic Comedies

They have a lot in common these two and I'm not talking about their personal lives. Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lopez are both sort of queens of romantic comedies.

Baaaad romantic comedies.

Just my opinion...

They both have movies about artificial insemination coming to a theater near you. I'm sure they are just THRILLED about that.

So, if you had to choose, which one would you see?

It's been a long time since I've paid to watch a romantic comedy. They just don't make them like they used to. A person can only take so much cheese and most of the time, the onscreen chemistry between the love interests is not believable at all.

But if I absolutely had to choose between the two Jens, I think I would go with Jennifer Aniston's film. Jason Bateman is consistently funny even when the movie stinks.

Aniston's The Switch should be in theaters by August 20th.

Lopez's The Back-up Plan is in theaters on April 23rd.

Shits and Giggles Mondays

This one is for my fellow Gossip Girl addicts; it's not half as shameful if you embrace your fascination with crap television.

Tune in tonight!

JMO: Health Care Reform Bill Passes

As I watched C-Span with my sister and roommates, I listened as representatives from both parties validated their stance on health care in the United States. I listened; I didn’t snicker, or make snide comments or boo. Granted, I did get a little heated when the representatives snickered, made snide comments and booed.

Really people, how old are you guys?

Anyway, the health care reform bill has been passed. People are happy but a lot of people are very very upset.

I realize the bill isn’t perfect yet. I understand people who have insurance don’t want to lose their doctors. I understand it’s a “democrat bill.” While I won’t pretend to be an authority on this topic, I know this much:
I am an American citizen without health care. I’m not a “lazy American who doesn’t work enough.” I have worked steadily since I was sixteen. Working my way up to better jobs and better pay, I finally worked for a company that provided insurance to their employees. Then I got laid off last February and am once again without insurance because I can’t afford it.

I am one of those people Nancy Pelosi talked about last night; I am afraid to get sick. Luckily, I haven’t been sick but I also haven’t had a regular doctor’s checkup in over a year. Before I worked for a company that provided insurance, I was uninsured for more than five years. I have cavities but I can’t afford to get them filled yet. My glasses need to be replaced with a stronger prescription but I can’t afford to change them. I’ve grown accustomed to doing without when it comes to health care but it would be nice to see a doctor when I need one.

I can’t be the only person who feels this way.

What do you think of the bill being passed?

Just Because

Hey guys!

I wanted to share some extra photos from backstage at the Mackage show and the Arise show.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!!!

Shits and Giggles: Special Wednesday Edition

Love. Makes. You. Do. Stupid. Things.

I originally saw this on Perez Hilton. Now I must run. Have a great Wednesday everyone!!!!

I Like Curls, Curls, Curls, Curls

I’m an obsessive compulsive nerd.

This is charming to most people so it’s okay. But I know how abnormal it is to literally spend hours thinking about the most frivolous, unimportant things. I blame this on an overactive imagination and too much time spent entertaining myself as a child. Yes this is your fault mom and dad.

That was my disclaimer. On to the post!

So as I mentioned earlier, I got to go backstage at the Mackage show for fashion week. It was awesome, I had a great time and I got to interview Tippi Shorter!!!! Yes, I got to interview the lady who gives Alicia Keys every hairstyle I’ve ever coveted.

If you read the interview, you know I told her I was her hair stalker. Well I didn’t include the ten minute badgering that proceeded. I saw Tippi’s head of sexy, structured curls and I. Had. To. Have. Them.

Lucky for me, Tippi is as nice as they come and she answered all my questions about her style secrets. But I wasn’t satisfied. Seeing Tippi’s hair made me miss my curls. I have conveniently forgotten how hard it was to manage them.

All I know is I WANT CURLY HAIR AGAIN. I love curly hair. I do! What can I say? It’s epic. And straight hair is so boring to me now.

Just look at the photo of us above. Tippi: rockstar. Me: yawn.

So now I’m having a curly hair moment. These “moments” occur about every two years for me (last time it was a Josephine Baker moment).

I went home that day and proceeded to create my curly hair box because that’s what I do when I plan; I create virtual boxes. I now have 300 photos of curly haired girls for inspiration and I’m growing my relaxer out (some of the photos below are from the box). I might as well because I don’t trust anyone but my hairdresser in Orlando anyway.

I cannot wait for the weather to stop being a bipolar hot mess so I can premiere my curly hair for my spring/ summer look.

Yes, I have moments and looks.

Don’t judge me.

I’m calling it my Summer2010 Penny Lane Hippie Chic Bohemian African Princess look. Obviously, I’ve put a lot of thought into it.

When I have successfully achieved this look, I’ll share photos.

Vashtie
Yaya
Nicole Fiscella
Penny Lane: my imaginary bestie and style icon for the summer.
Gelila Bekele
Random lady I stopped at an event. Cuz that's how I roll.

Corrine Bailey Rae.

Notice that the look is less fro' and more ringlety? I'm trying to accomplish this with my very thick natural hair. Any suggestions?

Subway Playlist.

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
2. The Sounds- Dorchester Hotel
3. Blondie - Call Me
4. Wheatus - Hump Em and Dump Em
5. Matisyahu - Time of Your Song
6. Regina Spektor - Us
7. Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times
8. Metric - Empty
9. The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What you Want
10. Make Her Say - Kid Cudi
11. Franz Ferdinand - Come on Home
12. The Bravery - Above and Below
13. The Like - Falling Away
14. Santigold - You'll find a way
15. Kid Cudi- That New New
16. Postal Service - Nothing Better
17. Blondie - Maria
18. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
19. Bloc Party - This Modern Love
20. CSS- Off The Hook

Quote It.

"Don't ask permission. If it doesn't work, you can apologize later."
Paulo Coelho.

Word.

New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2010: The Arise Show

Can I just say I was bursting at the seams with African pride when I attended this show? I was lucky enough to attend with my friend Viviam and it was the best hour of my life! It didn't matter that I could hardly see anything or that someone in my vicinity let one rip.

I've seen Oluchi in person!

It's too much (clutches heart and whimpers).

Yeah, I was ecstatic.

Check out my review of the three lines that were shown at the Arise show : )

Arise magazine’s third runway show took place at the giant tent in Bryant Park on Saturday 8:00 p.m. and I was there to see what three of Africa’s talented designers envisioned for A/W 2010.

Black Coffee: At first glance, the statement coats designers Jacques van der Watt and Danica Lepen of Black Coffee sent down the runway looked like outerwear Lady Gaga would don with a veiled turban while vacationing in Moscow. But another look at the South African designers’ work and those coats were looking more fitting for a daring Park Avenue resident than an outrageous pop superstar. Yes, the duo played with shape using exaggerated ruffles, folds and draping in the majority of their coats. But with subdued neutral colors – matched with equally striking but subdued accessories – the pieces are nowhere near eccentric; the volume could have easily gone into sloppy “hobo” territory if not for the slightly boxy structure. All the same, with the attention grabbing design, these coats definitely are not for everyone. But the woman who believes fashion is wearable art will find much to choose from this collection.

Loins Cloths and Ashes: This line, in my opinion, is most likely to do well commercially. Tanzanian designer, Anisa Mapung’s pieces screamed “wearable” as soon as the models came down the runway. With the collection being made up of basics like pants, skirts, dresses and tops, it seems the designer’s pieces have a good chance of transitioning from the runway to the streets. The colors were fall staples: blacks, greys and browns with some silver thrown in. These neutral colors made for a striking contrast against the cobalt blue accessories the designer paired with the clothes. A nice touch was Mapung’s subtle branding; many of the tops are decorated with her motif in the shape of an origami bird, one of the inspirations behind her collection. It’s unique but understated enough for those who aren’t label whores.

Deola Sagoe: Dripping with attitude. Fierce as hell. Sassy and sexy. Kickass in a glam-rock kind of way. These are just a few of the words and phrases that can be used to describe Deola Sagoe’s fall collection. Shown to a very enthusiastic crowd, the Nigerian designer’s line consisted of rompers, evening dresses, structured jackets and pantless looks. While the designer told The Wall Street Journal she was inspired by the military, her collection felt reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s style circa 1982. The use of gold and black gave the already dramatic silhouettes an almost theatrical look that is definitely not ideal for the day. Yet for the rock-star in all of us, Sagoe designed bold looks that will surely make one feel like a celebrity at the VMAs.

New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2010: A Chat with Tippi Shorter

I look forward to New York Fashion Week every year; it releases all of my endorphins, leaving me giddy for weeks afterwards. So when AMBERmag.com sent me to the Mackage show to get the scoop on the latest and greatest in hair and makeup for our readers, I was giddier than Kim Kardashian in a wedding shop! It is, after all, the last time the tents will be at Bryant Park before the shows are moved to the Lincoln Center. It is also more fun than any person should be allowed to have while working!
Trekking slowly through the snow in my ugly but sensible boots, I passed the much braver women in stilettos, entered the backstage area – where makeup artists and hairstylists were primping the already flawless models – and made my way over to Avon stylist and Alicia Keys’ mane lady, Tippi Shorter. After taking a quick coffee break (Tippi showed up for work at 6:00 a.m. this after her flight from the Brazil set of Keys’ new video), the hair genius took some time backstage to talk shop with me.

AMBERmag: What inspired you to go with this?
Tippi Shorter: Well I didn’t do the look. Anthony did the look, he’s right over there. He met with the Mackage team and they decided that the look should be sexy, sophisticated but a little rough so they wanted 2 day old hair or the night or the day after. So the day after a night on the town look.
AM: Okay I like that!
TS: So it’s kind of like the walk of shame, you know the hair was beautiful, looked chic and glamorous and after she just kind of put it in a ponytail to go home. And the Advanced Techniques products are perfect to create this look. We used the anti frizz serum, the holding spray and the shaping gel.
AM: Advanced Techniques?
TS: Yeah Advanced Techniques for Avon. All the products kind of worked in conjunction to give the hair this look … cuz it’s early in the morning and the girls came in this morning with freshly cleaned hair so we used it to give them that day old …
AM: That little messy look?
TS: The done but not too done look.
AM: What about for people like me who’ll want to go home and try to recreate this; what do I need to do to basically get this look?
TS: You need a good flatiron, um a really great brush, a great holding spray and a serum spray; probably gel and… so step by step, is that what you want?
AM: Ofcourse!
TS: You start with a deep side part. So basically you would start from the outer corner of the eyebrow all the way back to the neckline but you’re going diagonally.
AM: Okay.
TS: So you’re basically putting the hair in two totally different sections.
AM: Okay.
TS: So the section that is smaller, the smaller part, you’re gonna secure that into a ponytail on the side where the bangs aren’t. You’re gonna kind of mess it up with your fingers to give it that rough, messy slept in look.
AM: Bed head?
TS: Exactly. And then you’re going to take the second section which is the bangs section and put the hair over one eye and then wrap it around the ponytail and then secure it and then finish it off with some holding spray.
AM: And that’s it?
TS: That’s it.
AM: What happens with women of color with like natural hair? If they flat iron their hair to get a straight look, can they use these products?
TS: Absolutely, you can definitely pull this off with wavy hair; not necessarily with curly hair because the part is too deep but if you hair is flat ironed it can be done.
AM: Alright as far as trends for fall, what do you see happening? What do you think is going to be the “thing” as far as hair goes fall 2010?
TS: You know as far as hair goes everything just gets reinvented like in the spring/summer we saw texture, a lot of updos surprisingly.
AM: Yeah.
TS: Then we saw lots of free flowing, free spirited hair and now we’re going back to more control for fall. It’s a little sleeker, a little chicer, a little smoother, shinier, more control. So I think what we’ll see happening is we’ll have to control some of the free spirit; so the style isn’t too confined. It’s like style the hair and then mess it up.
AM: Okay, a little structure but not a complete control freak look.
TS: I would say style your hair and then I would say mess it up.
AM: Okay.
TS: So the overall look is totally pretty but then it has that roughness to it.
AM: I have a question about your hair now.
TS: Go ahead.
AM: I love your hair, you have no idea. It’s so pretty and I’ve tried replicating it at home but I fail epically every time. What is your secret?
TS: Curling iron.
AM: Curling iron, really? How? I’ve always wanted curls like that but it just never happened for me.
TS: I wish I had that wash and go stuff unfortunately, I do not. I have a wash, dry, curl, go style so!
AM: Well it’s beautiful.
TS: Thank you.
AM: What’s your must have product, like cannot live without?
TS: Serum.
AM: Serum?
TS: Yeah, I’m the fan of a few different brands; I’m not committed to any one brand but there is one that I’m currently using actually Avon has these little capsules. I wish they had them here but they don’t. They literally come in little capsules that look like goldfish, it’s so cute and you break off the tail
AM: And you only need that one?
TS: Yeah, I have a lot of hair and the one really kind of satisfies all my hair.
AM: Okay.
TS: And what’s that called?
AM: Advanced Techniques Anti-frizz capsules serum.
TS: Okay well, thank you! Thank you so much; it’s such an honor meeting you.
AM: You too.


Courtesy of AMBERmag.com

How You Living?

Wassup home skillets!?! What's poppin' lockin'? Yo...
Sigh.
It is so nice to be writing again.
I've been feeling awfully disconnected without putting words down on paper, typing something. It's funny; I never really thought twice about pursuing journalism or any kind of writing career growing up. It was my mom who encouraged me to go this route. I wanted to be a fashion designer!
Anywho, I have to update you guys on the last month. For someone who loves writing so much, I was gone for a while. I hope you’ll bear with me as I play catch up for the next few days. It’s been insane fun for me here in New York. I’m learning a lot at Harper’s Bazaar and I was finally in town for New York Fashion Week! When Fashion Week takes place in the fashion capitals of the world, I am happier than a jock during March madness. I am attached to my computer, constantly refreshing Style.com, Fashionista.com, ANY website with photos of designers’ lines. So I’m going to attach two of the articles I wrote for your reading pleasure. I hope you guys enjoy them : )

Forgive Me : (

I'm so so sorry for the neglect. What can I say? Between fashion week and a dear friend's visit, it's been an insane couple of weeks.

Things are fantastic and I will be sharing some of the exciting things I did in the next few days.

Stay tuned yo.