Sheep, Goats and Alpaca... Beware

St. Valentines Day is gone and the weather seems to be breaking.  Spring is in my heart but a cruel fact of nature is...it's still winter.  In my part of the country, we can realistically expect snow until early April.  Hats, scarfs, gloves and coats are on standby.

The sun shining but the air is cold and wool is on the attack.  Wool comes from the hair of sheep, goats, muskoxen (?), alpaca, camels and rabbits.  It's  formal names are cashmere, mohair (goats), and angora (rabbits).  According to Essence Beauty Basics and Beyond, wool causes hair loss at the hair line and at the nape of the neck (in the kitchen).

Be your own valentine and buy a new, a wool free hat and scarf set,  you might even catch them on sale.  You deserve something new to inspire through the remainder of winter and help you get your sexy back, because ..."It Ain't Over".

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Monkeys in a Barrel - Updated

Folks in New York Riding riding around on the train without pants are crazy.  Why would people do a thing like that? It must be a fundraiser, right?  I guess it’s fun to stand next to people with the same sense of humor. Riding on a train without pants is a sad way to have fun. My mother used to say, “misery loves company,” which meant if someone is sad they want to make others sad.

Sad people are not fun to be around, all they want to talk about is the blues. When they get tired of being sad and want a solution. They look up, no more conversations with the down and out. They want to know where the happy people are. They're looking to make a bee-line to someone who can help them get through the misery.

My mother would beat me unconscious if she thought I was crazy enough to ride on a train with a bunch of monkeys without their pants.  Oprah says, “You are as sick as your secrets,” maybe she should say, “You are as sick as your friends riding on the train.” 

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Smiley Miley Smoking the Bong

I can just see, Miley Cirus at a party trying to fit in saying, " No, No, I'm just like you Guys..." She's laughing too hard at jokes and talking too loud.   Then someone passes her the bong, she grabs it quickly and takes a smoke and doesn't hesitate just to fit in.

Miley Cirus ain't cool.  Cool people act angry and don't show excitment unless something is bad or dangerous.  They seem old before their time and act as if they've seen it all.  There is no Easter Bunny, no Santa Claus and no such thing as true love.

Miley has the best of both worlds her youth and millions of dollars.  Her persona is happy and she has a  infectious smile to top it off. Can't you just imagine her being good, nice, and friendly. 

I wish Miley Cirus would stop working too hard to be grown up, because wearing sexy clothes and singing sexy songs don't make a person mature.  Maybe she should go to college.

I believe in happy times and happy people. I understand that life has it's challenges but love will conquer.  God bless Smiley Miley keep her from the road of Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

Money Can Cure Ugly

When Chris Rock first started on Saturday Night Live he looked like Predator. He had huge slippery yellow teeth, 3 different hair styles a box, a Jheri curl and a Michael Jackson pompadour and he was hungry-for-real, skinny. I guess he was funny but my nose always drew up when I saw him on the screen. Recently, I saw a commercial announcing Chris Rock to host an awards show and he looked great, truth is, he has for a long time. He had 1 hair style, Malcolm X inspired horn rimmed glasses and donned a tuxedo and if he falls short on the night of the show the producer will use the trusty air brush.

Money can cure ugly. Chris moved to Hollywood, the glam culture, began using high end beauty products, a beauty regime that defies blemishes, acne, psoriasis, pimples and break outs is all the brother needed, right? Wrong, some people swear by brands Olay, Mary Kay, Lancome, Fashion Fair but beauty is not in the bottle but a daily fought battle.

Skin care is what a person does daily to take care of their skin. According to Debra Evans, author of Beauty and the Best, soap is soap, exfoliant is scrub and moisturizer is lotion. The trick is to buy products according to your individual skin type; dry, oily, combination and clean, exfoliate and moisturizes on a regular schedule. Discontinue to use the product if soreness, redness or more breakouts occur.


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Naughty & Nothing Nice

Yesterday, I spotted “Old Grand Candy” doing her thing as a retail clerk. You may have seen her too; jet black rooster hair-cut, sky scraping eyelashes, black slacks 2 sizes too small and a pair of classic white Reboks. Old Grand Candy this blog is for you.

Dear Old Grand Candy:

Congratulations, on your efforts to look good. I am inspired by your never ending interest in fashion and beauty. But I would like to reveal a secret, “40 is NOT the new 20”?

Just as anyone can spot an old daisy from a fresh rose others realize you are not dressing your age and assume you are not too smart. Man up and wear your size 14, 16, etc. Your size will lie flat (not baggy) on your hips and thighs, in the future avoid clothes intended for teens.

Realize your fashion potential and pick sophisticated colors and dabble in classic pieces. Show the world 40 is a new opportunity to have fun with style. Because everybody knows a 40-something woman with hurting feet and too tight pants…ain’t nothing nice.

Sincerely,

Sarobi

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Santa Claus is a Fashionista

Santa Claus is coming to town. When I was a little kid I could get holy ghost happy singing, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, Santa was the bOOm-bOOm.

Dressed in my favorite color, red, with matching hat, his accessories were classical perfection. The thick black belt was figure flattering and caused him to have an hour glass shape, even though we know Santa had a lot of cream filling. The knee boots in neutral black made Santa appear long even if he wasn’t lean.

Take a tip from Santa this season. Chose a matching hat and coat. Consider scale when picking accessories. If you are statuesque pick boots and a bag that covers some real-estate avoid the shameless “pop” of color and DO IT BIG.

Santa made the outfit. Can you imagine what he is wearing underneath. Perhaps a black tuxedo and tails perfect for the New Years Gala.

Beautiful N Our Own Time

The Webster’s New World Dictionary describes spa as a commercial establishment with exercise rooms and sauna baths. A spa day is the perfect way to treat yourself on a paid day off. Mark your calendar and plan your personal day.

Start a crock pot dinner so at the end of the day, everyone is happy. Exercise 1 hour on a treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical machine for cardio. Do 30 minutes of abdominal exercises. Treat yourself to a long bath, wash your hair and let it air dry. Find the long lost facial kit or do a home facial (look on internet for ideas). Moisturize your skin with a good body lotion. Then remove hand and toenail polish while having your coffee. Brush and floss your teeth and use the 'water pic' for a good once over. Watch a favorite DVD while completing a fresh pedicure and manicure.

Drink 8 glasses of water throughout the day. Have a light lunch and take a good nap. GOD has made us all beautiful in our own time. Use a spa day to enhance your natural beauty.

Time 2 Quit Trippin'

What time is it? Morris Day of the Time yelled, and Jerome ran out, wiped his face and gave him the time. America is at war in the middle east and one of the biggest imports from India is human hair. I say it's time to quit...trippin.

Weaves and wigs are wonderful. If your hair doesn't grow you ought to have options. Beyounce ought to have the privilege of using big unbelievable hair as a prop in her concert. Chaka Khan and Diana Ross did it, so why limit her?

Either local beauticians are not really skilled in weave installation or it isn't worth the money. It seems by the time I see a Sista wearing it in the grocery store it looks like a couple of rags attached to a mop head. Between the money she spent and political implications it seems like Sista been bamboozled.

Natural beauty may be played out. But hair weave and those sky scraping eyelashes make a Sista look like she need a watch. Where is Jerome? Maybe he can run from behind a bush, cut them lashes down and give Sista a fedora.

Humps, Bumps, and Dimples Beware

There used to be laws that prohibited women from wearing pants. I am by no means wishing to be restricted from wearing pants. But there is a power, strength and truth that illuminates from a woman wearing a good-looking dress. It is perfect advertising that does not reveal the product. Soulfulness is revealed in a woman wearing a good dress.

Power dressing is wearing an outfit or an item of clothing that would make you stand out as a leader. In the 90's men wore a business suit worn with a red tie. According to John T. Molloy author of “Dress for Success” the suit was a must have.

I would like to give a shout out to the…dress. It is the go-to piece for most occasions. A woman can wear a dress to a funeral, dinner party, business meeting, formal or informal. It makes a good impression on folks you know and those you don’t. The “little black dress” is a superstar in it’s own rite. Coco Chanel is credited with it's original design but it was worn before then.

A good dress has a focal point and structure. Simply chose a single feature you want to highlight. Look for dress in a quality fabric with or without a lining. If you see humps, bumps or dimples size-up or move on. The goal is a smooth presentation. You don’t have to wait until you loose or gain weight. A good dress represents you wherever you are. I think God blessed the….dress.

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Swoosh Swoosh

Five or 6 years ago I fell in love with a warm-up suit, soft and stretchable “Juicy Couture” look-a-like. I felt “bootylicious” even if it the words weren’t written across the rear. I’ll tell the truth and shame the devil. It was at least 2 sizes too small. I was in a fashion trance. The soft warm fabric hugging me and keeping me warm I loved my “dream-clothes”.

When you’re in love something always happens. A bleach stain, food stain, or oil stain comes along and you’re never the same. A replacement may be found but it’s not the same. The love affair with the little gray warm-up suit ended. I gave away the jacket but I couldn’t part with the pants, “I still got ‘em Yall”. They have become my stay in the house weekend pants.

Fashionista’s like Rachel Zoe, Charla Krupp and Brenda Kinsel all recommend that you constantly edit, upgrade and purge your closet. I say, don’t be selfish. Last weekend I saw 2 Grandma’s walking. One was wearing a hot-pink soft juicy look-a-like warm-up the other obviously her mother was wearing a 1990, nylon, parachute warm-up. When she walked it sounded like…Swoosh, Swoosh.

If your Grandmother or Great Grandmother is walking around making all that noise bless her with a new and improve warm- up. They say, “You’re never to old to fall in love”.