j. hud @ clive davis' pre-grammy gala.

so judging from the comments i've read on other sites about jennifer hudson's pre-grammy gala dress, folks ain't feeling it. not one bit.
and of course, i love it! what?! purple. leather. exagerrated shoulders. loving it! i'd rock the heck out of it - minus the shoes; i'd have to make another shoe choice.
anywho, lots of outfits to marvel at on celebs last night at davis' annual pre-gala. check out concreteloop.com for more.

indian princess blouse by miss pretty perfect.

when designer, latoya stevens, posted her latest creation from her miss pretty perfect line on facebook this evening, i quickly gave my thumbs up which translates to clicking "like." if facebook had a "love" option, i would have clicked on that.

is this beautiful or what? the details: she'll custom create it based on your own measurements and color requests. it's made of traditional indian saree fabrics and satin. i was blown away when i first thought the belt was leather but i think it's actually satin. still so eclectic and flyy.

and um, i want it. it's $145. my birthday is next thursday. and i strongly believe in treating yourself on special occasions. don't you?
check out her etsy shop to see the rest of her goodies (makeup pouches and bags - you must check out the tani bag): missprettyperfect.etsy.com

vintage music saturday: dwyck.

no drawn out story behind this one ... this was my ISH. classic. and once upon a time the official party anthem.
gang starr + nice & smooth. 1992.
lemonade was a popular drink and it still is ...

and i still want to know what dwyck is?

amber goes grrrr.

photographer: austin powers

bow driving gloves.

faux leather fingerless gloves, $12.99, hottopic.com

mark twain said.

"clothes make the man. naked people have little or no influence on society."

-mark twain

giuseppe zanotti boots.

conversation piece.

$1,250, giuseppezanottidesign.com

take 3: the return of sgb.

soon and very soon ...

http://www.sgboutique.com

frederick g. banting said.

"no one ever has an idea in a dress suit."

-frederick g. banting

the many faces of twiggy.

alexander wang boots.

leather laced zip boot stiletto, alexanderwang.com, $675


leather laced zip flat boot, alexanderwang.com, $595

"rev his engine."

according to the winter 2010 issue of the nest, these 9 scents are sure to turn your boo on, or as they say "rev his engine." lol. their words, not mine.

popcorn

lavendar

vanilla

cinnamon

black licorice

pumpkin pie

orange

frankincense

donut

so there you have it, ladies. thank goodness for yankee candle, huh?

remember when we used to rock: jean nate.

yes, i know it's been a minute since the last we used to rock post but it's back! had to keep it coming - these posts are my favorite.

please tell me yawl remember jean nate'. you don't? man, jean nate' was the staple fragrance of the late 80s/early 90s. if i close my eyes and concentrate i can still smell the scent.






so here's the story because you know i always have a story with the we used to rock posts. i was in 7th grade and mrs. something - i can't remember her name but she used to wear a jheri curl - used to wear it faithfully. she was the assistant softball coach and yes i played (i.e. warmed the bench) for about a week. i couldn't figure out if she was heavy-handed with it or if it was just that strong but i loved it. i asked her what she wore, she answered jean nate' and i went straight home and asked my mom if she could buy me some.

so mom bought me some eventually and i wore my jean nate' after bath splash daily. it's absolutely funny to me now because if i was to smell it today, the scent would irritate the heck out of me.

of course i had to google it and see if they still sell the stuff. and they do. all over the place. same bottle, same logo. it can be all yours for less than 10 bucks.

at last, i've found my favorite lipstick color.

well, well, well. look who's become a lil' ole' make-up junkie. moi. i went from barely touching the stuff (aside from concealer and some kind of lip stuff) to never leaving home without it. i loves it. i'm like a little girl in the candy store when i go make-up shopping now.

so yesterday i was up and at the mall by 10. i did a little ski-trip shopping and finally made my way to the main event: the mac counter.

i was a little too hype that i've finally found my absolute favorite lipstick color.

it's called just brew. it's a nude color for us chocolate mamis and still has a slight pop so it doesn't look too blah like other nude colors. i love it. did i tell you how much i love it? i wore it to church today and it's such a perfect every day color that i need to go snag another tube.

i also grabbed:

lipliner in cork

lip gloss in star nova. can you believe i went to mac and didn't buy oh baby? next time.

tequila cupcakes.

so when a girl friend texted me yesterday to tell me she made patron cupcakes and they were good i had to get to googling to find a good recipe for my ski trip next week. i found this one on ehow.com but the patron will definitely have to be replaced with don julio:

what you need:
cupcake liners
1-1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup soft butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp orange liqueur (definitely grand marnier)
2 tbsp tequila (don julio)
fresh squeezed lime juice
buttercream or vanilla frosting (+ tsp of lime juice, grand marnier and don julio for frosting)

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. prepare your cupcake pan with the liners
3. in a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients first: flour, salt, sugar, baking powder
4. add the wet ingredients: egg, butter, milk, lime juice, grand marnier, don julio
5. blend well by hand or mixer (on low speed) and add batter to cupcake pan. bake until cupcakes appear brown or toothpick comes out clean - about 15-20 minutes. do not overcook.
6. add lime juice, grand marnier and don julio to ready-made buttercream or vanilla frosting. spread frosting after cupcakes have cooled.

sounds interesting, huh? no. it actually sounds kinda gross. i need to find a pina coloda cupcake recipe or something. that sounds a whole lot better than some tequila. but i may just give it a try and see what everyone thinks. you can also check out another patron cupcake recipe over at fiercefoodie.com.

eat and be merry.

treat her like a lady.

yup. the temptations. that good music. you won't find this on 93.9 or 95.5. turn further around the dial to 96.3 or 102.3.
love this right here. 1985 ...

leather biker hat.

-david samuel menkes, $125

not hardly a hat girl but this is kinda cute. you think?

james h. boren said.

"a dress that zips up in the back will bring a husband and wife together."

-james h. borden

and what.

kanye and amber were out and about in paris checking out the louis vuitton menswear show. full length furred down. peta who?

lace-front ridiculousneess.

i've remained silent on these lace-fronts. but i was too-through when i saw this recent flick of everyone's idol:

disappointed. like really, nicki minaj?

lace-front wigs are so ridiculously strange-looking. they are not the business. they just aren't.


let's back up. the lace-front wig creates a new hairline so that the wig hair looks more natural - like it's growing out of your scalp.

someone, somwhere can toss the mess out of a lace-front wig. i imagine that these have the potential to look very pretty. some get it right.

unfortunately, too many get it way wrong.

evvvverybody wants one now. but it's like champagne on a corona budget. if you can't pay to get it done right, why bother? furthermore, if the trina's, b's, tyra's and nicki's of the world aren't getting it quite right, then ma, you probably aren't either. and i can only imagine how damaging they are.

every new thing isn't for everyone. take it back to the glue-in or the sew-in, if you must. i'd bet blindly that it looks a helluva lot better than a lace-font.

rant over. i still love you.

on to the next one.

yes, i'm one of those girls. i go through so many changes with my face care regimen. i've done proactiv. i've done noxema. most recently, i was doing a cocoa butter bar:

... knowing good and well i had no business using this soap on my face. and don't get me wrong, it works for some. for me though, my skin just needs a little more tlc.

so i'm on to the next one ...


... mary kay! and i love it. i use the ultimate miracle set that includes everything pictured above - cleanser, moisturizer, a day and a night solution - plus a microdermabrasion set, the eye creme and foundation. all of their sets come with foundation and i give them kudos for having excellent color matches.

so yeh, this is my new new. so far, so good. i've been using it consistently since christmas. my skin looks brighter. and clearer.

oh and don't sleep on their make-up either. i bought some fabulous mascara for 10 bucks.

you can check out all their products or even host facials for you and your girls by clicking on http://www.marykay.com/dhwhitby

edna woolman chase said.

"fashion can be bought. style one must possess."

-edna woolman chase

kelly rowland in front of d. blanks' lens.

kelly looks amazing. derek blanks' has been amazing with that camera.

b does allure.

feb.

throwback movie idea: set it off.

make it a day on.

there are soooo many volunteer opportunities in your own neighborhood that are available on monday, in observance of martin luther king and his legacy. just google it.

so you can still sleep in ... but then make it a day on and donate a little of your time.

rock the boat.

aalyah would have been 31 today.

back in the day.

it's vintage music saturday! and as i thought about what i wanted to hear this morning, i noticed that my niece was singing this on her fb status: back in the day, when i was young, i'm not a kid anymore, but some days i sit and wish i was a kid again.
yeh, niece, i'm feeling this one. this used to be my song. i did a little digging and found out this one isn't as old as i thought. i was thinking junior high. no. more like 10th grade, 1994, by one hit wonder, ahmad.
ahmad was straight out of the west coast, rhyming nostalgically about his teenage years.
and lastly, this song is well fitting this week because it features a sample from my hometown great, the late teddy p., love tko. enjoy ... oh and the annoying tag in the middle of the video will go away ...

good looking out.

my first task of the day was to order some of this stuff:

ahh make-up. had to re-up on the essentials like make-up remover and a cosmetic bag and the fun stuff like glosses and shadows. no mac for me today. i did my damage at eyeslipsface.com (like a true recession'ista) and managed to stay under $20 thanks to this coupon code:

CAROLINA

plug it in and get 50% off (up to $15) off your order. go get to shopping ... and make sure you stop back by and tell me what you bought!
ciao!

come go with me.

peacefully rest, teddy p. the sensual crooner ...

rihanna does w.

"hottest bitch in heels right here ..."

- rihanna "so hard"

prayers to haiti.

wanna help?

text 'yele' from your phone to 501501 and $5 will automatically be charged to your phone bill. all proceeds will go to relief efforts to help haiti deal with the aftermath of this horrible earthquake that has claimed so many lives.

yele is wyclef's organization. you can visit the site at yele.org

barnes & noble nook.

so i've heard so much about these ebook readers, i had to read up and see what all the talk is about.
the nook is by barnes & noble. it must be living up to its hype because their website says that it's temporarily out of stock until next month.
this style allows you to choose from a million titles and access 1,500 books, newspapers and magazines. they come with pretty cute cases, too.
personally, i like my books the old school way - 2 covers and pages in the middle. i understand the convenience but i'm thinking my mom may appreciate this even more than i would. i just may have a mother's day idea already.
check it out here. it goes for $259.

alexander wang.

i'm loving this mr. wang.
cutout sweatshirt dress with leather shoulders, $625

kelis channels her inner phyllis hyman.

am i the only one who saw this picture and immediately thought of phyllis hyman? it's definitely the fur hat.

we see you kelis ... out and about in london in your fur and your louboutins.

she's so sui generis ... and that's just why we love her.

fantasia for real.

while you're sucking your teeth at the thought of yet another reality show, i'm excited that there's a new show to entertain me on monday nights. yup. i still love reality shows. i watch monica's faithfully, every tuesday night. and now i'll be watching fantasia's. fantasia for real airs tonight at 10 on vh-1.

furthermore, i'm surely getting old. because these gimmick over-night celebrities and these tired existing stars (um, beyonce), hardly excite me. i'm looking forward to monica and tasia coming back with some real singing. how about you? we shall see ...

dsquared hiking pump.

so from the front it looks like you're about to go for a run; and from the back it looks like you're somewhere asking him to buy you a drink. ha!
i could do something with these.
dsquared, $766

farewell, ms. eunice johnson.

maybe my blogging rights should be revoked because i'm a week late on this. pardon me.

eunice johnson passed away last sunday at the age of 93. co-founder of ebony magazine (which she started with her husband, john johnson who passed in '05) she was the creator of the ebony fashion fair, a yearly country-wide fashion tour that helped give exposure to black designers and models and raised a lot of money for many civil rights efforts. she was also one of the first to market cosmetics for black women through her line - fashion fair cosmetics.

ms. johnson with yves saint laurent

renee.

lost boyz had a nice little run, didn't they? this is definitely my favorite from them ... 1996's renee. the lyrics were tight and everyone used to wonder if it was a true story ...

rest in peace, freaky tah.

h&m, you can't be serious.

shame on h&m and walmart. according to the new york times, cynthia magnus, a graduate student, found bags of unworn and purposely destroyed clothing that had been discarded by h&m in the back of their store on west 35th street in ny. she also found clothes from walmart in the same condition.

photo from new york times

you mean to tell me someone, anyone, thought it was better to discard unworn clothing that hadn't been sold, rather than donate or recycle it?

nicole christie, a spokeswoman for the store says: "it will not happen again. we are committed 100% to make sure this practice is not happening anywhere else, as it is not our standard practice."

never mind the huge go-green iniative of practically the whole country. it's just dumb. if they're embarrassed, they should be.

read the full story over at newyorktimes.com.

givenchy spring/summer '10 kicks.

what's your dude (or maybe you) gonna do with these?