A Diva State of Mind

Here’s one more reason to love Halle Berry. Ms. Berry graces the cover of the 2010 September VOGUE issue.  She is the first black woman to be featured on the September issue since 1989.  In this issue that hit stands during the first week of August, Berry covers the pages of Vogue in a short bob and opens up about motherhood, relationships and marriage. 

While Berry has been on the cover of VOGUE before, December 2002, the September issue of the year for the magazine.

Talk about a true DIVA!! I hope to look that good when I’m 44 years old!

A few months ago I introduced you to Instructions Apparel, a fashion resource for men both in and out of the workplace. Founded in 2008, Instructions Apparel not only offers great ties and shirts for men, but tips on the art of dressing well. 
 
In anticipation of the release of their Fall Collection, Instructions Apparel is hosting The Art of Dressing Well Fall Fashion Preview Happy Hour on Thursday, August 12th.

Located at Ping Pong Dim Sum Restaurant in Chinatown, DC, the Happy Hour event will include:

• Fall Collection Preview
• Knotting Demonstrations
• Complimentary Shoe Shines
• $5 Windsor Knot drinks

Happy Hour is from 6:30-8:30pm and a $10 donation is suggested.  Proceeds will benefit The Institute for Responsible Citizenship, a leadership program for America’s best and brightest African-American male college students.  This is a great organization and I encourage all of you to make the donation! For more information on IRC, visit www.i4rc.org.
 
Please RSVP by Tuesday, August 10th to theartofdressingwellevents@gmail.com.  All of those in attendance will also receive a swag bag!
 
For more information on Instructions Apparel, please visit www.theartofdressingwell.com and follow on twitter @getinstructions.
 
I look forward to seeing all of you on August 12th!

I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday about friends with benefits. He didn’t understand why a situation like that could get tricky.  So I started thinking, do friends with benefits relationships really work?

A lot of people at this time in their life are not looking to settle down in serious relationships, but at the same time they have needs that need to be met, so they opt for friends with benefits relationships instead.  Believe me, I understand why. As Queen Latifah said in Brown Sugar, “You get the buddy and the booty.” Who wouldn’t love that? No serious commitment and you don’t have to answer to anyone, allowing you to technically still be single.  Now there isn’t anything wrong with the friends with benefits situation as long as both parties are on the same page, but after being in that situation for months, do the friends with benefits relationships continue to work?

I’m sure most of you know what friends with benefits means, but for those of you who don’t, let me briefly clarify. Those who engage in friends with benefits relationships are currently friends; they chat often through various forms of communication (bbm, gchat, text), they hang out together and in group settings and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. The benefits portion of that relationship would include engaging in physical activities (use your imagination and you’ll get the point) without being emotionally involved.  All of this takes place, but they are NOT in a relationship.

I know a few friends who have jumped into “friends with benefits” situations and while they start off innocent, someone ends up catching feelings.  Now when this occurs, what do you do? The arrangement was to be friends and physical when you wanted to, but the agreement didn’t include catching feelings and actually wanted to be more than friends.

Those who jump into these “relationships” always say “I won’t catch feelings, it’s purely innocent.” But it never fails, someone ends up catching feelings. How can you not? You hang out with them frequently and you get physical. Over time it’s only natural that feelings develop and the nature of the friendship isn’t ever really the same.

I’ll admit I found myself in an unspoken friends with benefits situation in the past and one of us caught feelings. As guarded and hard core as I may come across sometimes, I’m not sure if I could ever agree to be in that type of “relationships” because I don’t want to be the fool that ends up wanting more out of the situation. So I ask all of you, can friends with benefits really work? Is it even worth entertaining this type of relationships to meet a physical need, knowing that the situation could get tricky over time?

This summer has been hot, humid and muggy.  With these weather conditions, the last thing you want to do is pile on make-up only for you to sweat it off your face during the day.  And honestly, during the day, it’s really too hot to have all of that STUFF on your face anyway (foundation, concealer, powder, blush…….)

So what is a girl to do when you want a great daytime look without having to pile on a lot of make-up?Cream bronzer is your life saver!! Two weeks ago I headed down to Miami for vacation and during the day I wanted to wear something that would give me a great glow without having to cake on multiple layers of make-up.  I tried the MAC Beach Bronze Cream Bronzer. It gave me a nice glow for the beach and it could not only be used on my face, but on my body as well (you can add bronzer to your arms, legs and cleavage for a litte extra glow). A cream bronzer is a must have summer alternative for make-up during the day.

For a nice daytime look, apply cream bronzer on your checks and t-zone.  Highlight your eyes with natural hues like L’Oreal High Intensity Pigments (HIP) and finish the look with a subtle sheen lip gloss. 

L'Oreal HIP Bustling 864

C-Thru MAC Lipglass

When a man does a woman wrong, she is scorned. She either seeks revenge or moves on and allows karma to take its course. Marsha Ambrosius’ (from Floetry) latest single “Hope He Cheats On You (with A Basketball Player)”, may be the next anthem for every woman who has ever been done wrong by their significant other.  She holds nothing back with this single, letting us know how she, and every woman done wrong, REALLY feels!

I listened to the song a few times and the more I listened to it, the catchier the song becomes. I know a few people that are going to LOVE this one!

The single is the first off of Ambrosius’ debut album Late Nights & Early Morning that will be released this fall.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW SINGLE???

Source: Essence Magazine

A nice summer breeze on the beach; lounging in a beach chair under an umbrella with a drink in your right hand and the book Platinum in your left.

Last month blogs and magazines were going crazy with anticipation for Aliya S King’s new book Platinum.  So of course I wanted to see what the hype was all about and I purchased the book as my vacation book to read while traveling to and from Miami.

Let me tell you, if I could sit for a whole day to read the book, I would’ve finished it in one day. Once you pick up the book, you won’t want to put it down. King doesn’t give you time to get bored; drama begins in the first chapter and there is never a dull moment moving forward.

Although Platinum is a fictional novel, there is an eerie resemblance to Hip-Hop and R&B artists as well as video vixens that actually exist in the music industry today.  I often found myself wondering, do those in the industry really live like this? Do the wives and girlfriends really go through this?

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot so all I can do is recommend that you purchase Platinum if you’re looking for a great book to read this summer.  For those of you who participate in book clubs, Platinum is an excellent choice! You’ll definitely have a lot talk about with this one!

Would anyone recommend any other books to read? The summer is a great time to catch up on some fictional reading!