the best piece of advice chris rock ever received.

" if they can't beat your ass, and they don't pay your bills, why do you care what they think?"

chris rock's answer when elle asked him what is the best piece of advice he'd ever received. it came from his momma, by the way.

not bad jessica simpson, not bad.

suede boots, $149, jessicasimpsoncollection.com

say what's up to our guest blogger, da lipstick bandit, again.

Hello Lovelies,
Its been a long time, shouldn't have left you without a dope beauty secret to stick to...so here it is.
First Base
A lot of the times before I begin to work on a face, before foundation is slathered on or eyeshadow is swiped, I ask a few questions. The first question I ask is...what is your skin type.
Skin type is germane to flawless make-up coverage and maintaining that flawless look. It all starts with a base. Base make-up or primer, as it is called, helps to fill wrinkles, prevent creasing and smooth out the outer layer of the skin for a seamless application. If you have dry skin, the primer you would use would be a moisturizer. If you have oily skin, it would be a mattifying primer that reduces oil production. Questions about your skin type? Go here, here, or here.
Moving along, eyeshadow primers help to bring out the color of the shadow, make it last longer and also prevents creasing. I used to be a little weary of having to put on a product before putting on a product. I totally bought into the conspiracy theory of the make-up industry trying to make you buy unnecessary products but I use an eyeshadow primer (I have a few) every day. Find some reviews on primers here and here.
The bottom line when it comes to any aspect of your look is knowing what you have and working with it.
That's the best ip that I can give anyone, ya dig!
(Stalk me on my blog while you wait for my next installment of Beauty Basics. Thank you to Halimah for letting me rant in her space once again!)
Ciao Bellas!
DLB

that's what i believe.

donnie mcclurkin, that's what i believe ...

truly fabulous people never get dressed before lunch.

hand poured, inked and finished resin reproduction scrimshaw bangles (yeh, whatever that is), $130, jessicakagancushman.com

la.di.da.

so a week away from my wedding and i'm somewhere between a sleep deprived frantic bride-to-be and just a sleep deprived bride to be. i swear i could curl up and go to sleep. right here. right now. but i'm still smiling! enjoying it all.
last weekend i was border line frantic. ok, sheesh. i was frantic. bridezilla, like. frantically trying to get my wedding favors finalized. i enlisted the help of a graphic designer and worried her crazy between saturday and sunday. she was so sweet and calm. in the end, after a few unexpected tweaks, it all worked out and i slowed down enough to recognize her blogspot at the end of her email messages.
you know we like creativity. and you know we like diy. that's what melina has going on over there so check it out: http://m-la-di-da.blogspot.com/
p.s.
shout out to my maid of honor who helped me with this after realizing how crazy it was making me. she's the best. she's my momma.

o what a night.

me and tye should duplicate this wedding picture of the obamas.
like forreal i may even send it to my wedding photographer.

stunning selita ebanks.

ms. ebanks got everything right at the new yorkers for children fall gala at cipriani's the other night.

real house-haters of atlanta.

while i don't have a lot of time for anything unrelated to weddings these days, i still found time to watch real house-haters, o i mean housewives, of atlanta.

i'm pretty addicted to the show. but it is a clear indication of how chicks, not all chicks, secretly and not-so-secretly can't bring themselves to support the chicks that they call friends. with friends like that who needs enemies, right? these chicks hate all day long. especially that nene. fabulous, she is. fabulously hateful. kim is just a mess. a comedic mess. sheree is just sheree. she cracks me up too. lisa just gets in where she fits in. kandi is really the only one who doesn't seem phony. good or bad, the ladies are go-getters and determined to ride the mess out of this 5 minutes of fame. and i'm not mad at that at all.

anyway, entertaining it is. here are there alter ego shots from the last episode. who's do you like the best?

countdown: 2 weeks to go.

do you miss me? awww, i miss you too. i can't believe i let a whole week go by without one post. but yawl know the situation. yawl know i'm a little preoccupied right now but real life will soon return ... say about mid october.

it's saturday, the 19th, and i have exactly 2 weeks until my wedding. wow. so naturally, i am a wreck right about now but doing a damn good job of not showing it. kinda. i'm still trying to figure out how i missed my post-alterations appointment with the bridal shop. oops.

i have lots of posts in my head and after i come back from buying my wedding vip's their little thank you gifts and other errands, i just may sit down and get to writing!

l8r.

my favorite couple of the moment.

kanye and amber at swaggmedia's persona magazine launch the other night in new york. i can do without the halloween contacts but i'll let her slide.

j's 9.11 benefit concert.

jay z. friends. packed room. madison square garden. if anyone has anything negative to say about it; they're haters. we watched it here in the living room and both agreed we would have paid some change to be there. it was a hot concert. and even hotter that it benefited 9.11 widows/widowers.

the best picture of the night:

gotta love b's mom throwing up the roc sign.

rih rih hit the stage. as did b, mary, swizz beats, pharell, john mayer, memphis bleek, kanye ... and i may be forgetting a few others. catch the repeat some time this weekend on fuse.

physical.

yawl gonna get me for this one. physical. olivia newton john. 1981. you know you love it. you can admit it.

Olivia Newton John - Physical
by virago80

dc sample sale.

for my local shopaholics. the district sample sale goes down on wednesday, september 16 in georgetown. and to remove that guilt you may feel as you swipe that credit card, do know that proceeds will support the rachel women's center.

perks: for a small entry fee, 80% off some of the best dc boutiques and finger foods and adult beverages from some of the best dc restaurants. sounds like a win-win to me. check out their site for the details.

no, you won't see me down there because i'm trying to be ridiculously good as i prepare for this wedding stuff. but i'll daydream about all the hot deals.

something about those sequins.

i didn't realize i liked sequins so much until i started seeing them everywhere! i bought a huge sequins bag last year and when the money is right i've got my eyes on a a cute little sequin dress. or shirt. like this:

phillip lim, $525

i'd rock it with some cute jeans and some subtly-fierce pumps or booties.

elizabeth & james fall 09.

i think i put a bug in your ear about the olsen twins' new shoe line a little bit ago. well, they're now available for pre-order at stores like bergdorf and sak's and as i expected, they're pretty hot.

thank God steve madden makes a pretty mean knock-off. (don't judge. a chick got some things to do with her hard earned dough, right now). but you ballers can these at sak's:

$465

$325

$395

$375

classy.

brian atwood, $524, nordstrom's

died and went to shoe heaven.

my God. she's beautiful.
diego dolcini, $1,140

janet does bazaar.

how to be a hepburn in a hilton world.

i swear i have no time to read for fun these days. but as soon as i do, (honeymoon, on a foreign beach, pina coloda in one hand, this book in the other, perhaps) i'm copping this book by jordan christy. in it christy dishes old-school advise from a present perspective and addresses how some good ole class can make a comeback in a world of thongs, bad-girl behavior, rehab and all that other nonsense that has us reading tmz and other gossip blogs excessively. yes, youngsters, once upon a time, class trumped raunchy.

our mothers would be proud.

would you rock these?

pricetag aside, would you rock these gucci leather and suede oxford booties?


i don't think i could do much with these, personally, but i'm sure one of your fierce mamas out there could. and would.
there $850, by the way.

bespoke by ReneeQ.

a couple weeks ago i was reading ope's blog and i spotted this:

instant fan. who makes this? i had to look her up. so i did. and the designer graciously agreed to answer some questions for me and allow me to share her hotness with my readers.

her name is ReneeQ and her line of tees, bespoke, incorporate beautiful african fabrics. she kinda does the accessorizing for you. her tees are dope. i'm on them hard.

me: tell us about your line.
her: RenẻeQ bespoke is an afro chic and culturally inspired line of tee shirts embellished with african print fabric, crystal, beads, trimmings and sometimes, hand-painted. it brings the evolution of the afro diva! sizes range from an UK 8-18.

me: how did you get started in designing?
her: i have always designed accessories and clothes for myself from quite a young age but more so by customising things i bought...i started designing accessories formally as a business in 2007; i saw a niche in the ghanaian market for colourful, stylish, good quality accessories to match our local fabrics and seized the opportunity to provide an alternative to jewellery other than silver or gold....the make up and my clothing line followed naturally....

me: who or what inspires your line?
her: i love unique things; things that aren't common and are different from the norm....i guess i'm inspired to create such pieces....

me: if you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
her: :o) oprah winfrey

me: what's next for you?
her: i will be showing at Fashion Fights Poverty in DC on the 25th of september....working on penetrating the international market so currently talking to a few shop owners who want to stock my line. i also have a few exciting projects coming up but won't want to say as yet so keep watching this space ;o)

there's no doubt in my mind that miss ReneeQ will not only lunch with oprah one day but also be sitting next to her in her studio in front of an audience. and when she does, remember you heard about her here, first.

for more info, check her out at ReneeQ.com.

who says you can't wear white after labor day?

guess leather sandals, $110

you tell me: do you wear white after labor day?

yes OR no?

michael kors, fall 09.

bad!

and i don't even wear sneaks.

but i really dig these.

steve aoki signature model, strapped, wildlife

$140 at factory413.com

i think they're for him but you know the deal ... go 2 sizes down and you can rock them too.

sgb: everything must go sale!

name your price and it's pretty much yours! click here to shop.

and everyone wants to know what's up with this everything must go sale. is sgb closing for good? nope. just working on our reinvention. part deuce. we thought we had it this time around but being the perfectionists we are, we still need to make it right.

our new approach is on somewhat of a hiatus until i get pass the wedding but soon and very soon we'll be back in motion.

take advantage. shop the store. make your best offer and it's yours.

casanova.

taking it back to 1987 with levert. my mom used to love this song and i was only 10 but i did too. hard to believe that 2/3 of the members have passed on ... so untimely. but they left some great music with them.

it's been a long time. i shouldn't have left you.

i took a little blog break for my bride-to-be festivities last weekend. since then posts have been slow. i've been so busy!

but i'm back. well almost. a couple of weekend posts. maybe. and then monday, it's back to business as usual.

and then things will probably slow down again. and again. but just temporarily until i get pass this wedding hype.

how you been? ready for fall?

ttys.

mrs. beckham does elle.

forever my lady.

i know posts have been super slow this week. i've been super busy. posts will probably be slow for the next few weeks as i prepare to say "i do."

so what do you do when you have no time to put any reasonable thought into a post? you post a video.

this morning on the radio they said that it was jo-jo's of jodeci birthday. or maybe they said k-ci. well jo-jo, k-ci, whatever, it's somebody's birthday. so i figure i'd post on of their throwbacks. the year was 1991 and if you're 30 and over you were somewhere bumping this, i'm sure.