Justin Bieber

Every once in a Friday, my mom will call me at work and ask if I'd like to see a movie with her. One Friday (February 25th to be exact), she asked me to go to the movies and I accepted before finding out she wanted to see Justin Bieber's concert movie "Never Say Never" in 3D. Despite me asking her "Justin Bieber mom!?!?!" we went. As soon as the movie started I began to enjoy it =D. I am a BIG BIG BIIIIG fan of dance flicks no matter how cheesy the story lines; I've seen all the Step Up movies and all the Stomp the Yard movies etc. so when I saw 2 stars of the latest Step Up 3D movie - I was thrilled and squeeled like a little girl. Then when I saw the caption at the end I rolled my eyes and busted out laughing.

See for yourself...

Why do people judge this boy so harshly? Truth is - I had N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, O-Town, 5ive and countless others to listen to when I was growing up. Who did teen girls today have to crush on before Justin B.?

Justin and his team know how to put a show on! There are so many good moments that I didn't capture because I was too busy singing along (DON'T JUDGE ME!!!) or I didn't start recording fast enough so it would make sense: Justin Bieber and his friends pranking each other, road/concert staff and Sean Kingston, Justin joking around / performing with Usher. Then there was my personal fave part and one of the cutest moments in the movie - Justin was sick and unable to sing or perform and his vocal coach warned him that he needed to take care of himself. Despite being against cancelling any of his scheduled appearances, he eventually listened and was lying on a couch resting. Justin tweeted something from his phone like "Thanks for sticking by me..." or some other thing to his fans and hundreds/thousands? of his fans responded with get well wishes and videos (singing, skits, holding up posters). Sooooo adorable! The movie was partially highlighting the importance and impact of Social media in today's world and for this part, 1 twitter response ballooned into more and more and more responses to Justin's 1 tweet until the entire screen was filled with them and they had to keep zooming out until none were at viewing distance. 

I am glad I went, I would venture to call the movie amazing. Honestly, some big blockbuster movies don't get me to respond in the way I responded to Never say Never. I left the theatre feeling warm and fuzzy inside and singing U Smile (while randomly smiling at strangers).

  

Summer Heat + Humidity = BIG 4B HAIR !!!

I twisted my hair with Cantu Shea Butter daily moisturizer and some Amla Oil. Both products were put on each section before combing through and twisting into about 3 or 4. When I took the twists out while getting ready for an afternoon of shopping yesterday, I decided not to separate the twists any more than just undoing them. Usually I would separate each twist into about 4 for fullness and to avoid the ramen noodle look, but since the twists were fairly small, I got a nice shape going without doing too much. When I saw myself in the window of the bus I waited for outide for no more than 5 minutes, I was shocked! My hair kept growing, and growing, and growing!

By the end of the day my hair looked like this...

I love my big poofy hair!

Re: Why Black Women Rock! - Psychology Today article by Dr. Phoenyx Austin just makes me shake my head...

I haven't been following and reading news/blogs for about a week so I missed this particular article in Psychology Today and it has since been pulled (big surprise). From what I've gathered - this is another article explaining why black women are such unattractive people. *sigh* Isn't it enough that we are 1) visible minorities and 2) women?

There are so many black women hate videos/comments/posts on sites like yahoo answers and youtube that I try HARD not to even venture off my page when researching something specific on one of those sites. No matter how kind the women in my family/my friends are, no matter how successful, no matter how intelligent, things like this keep popping up over and over again. I will never understand why this continues to happen and don't know how it will ever stop.

Read this article and tell me what you think.
Curly Nikki Natural Hair Styles and Curly Hair Care: Why Black Women Rock!: "Why Black Women Rock! My Thoughts That Crazy Psychology Today Article By Dr. Phoenyx Austin In case you missed it, the now infamous arti..."

Floral Nails

I should start by apologizing for the horrible picture quality.

I promise to limit these camera phone pictures to 'every once in a while'!

I love Color, so this is my take on Black Nail Polish.

Out and about I see floral everything all day, every day.

Why not floral nails?

This look inspired by Moptop Maven's Betsey Johnson Mani.



Black Men - and Black Women with Natural Hair

Do men like natural hair on black women?

It is my opinion that natural hair, excuse me, especially kinky type 4 hair will attract less men because North Americans were conditioned to straighten their hair - no matter what race they happen to belong to.

In high school and then more recently at work I met Indian girls who both straightened their hair ALL the time. I only found out about their curls because they each happened to leave their hair alone to be on time on an off day. Their curls were thick, lush, juicy, bouncy and soft. When I asked them why they hid their curls, they couldn't really give good answers. "I hate it" and "I can't do anything with it"...WHAT? They don't know how much women pay for Virgin Indian Body Wave, or Deep Indian Curly???? Apparently not. Crazy world...

It is also my honest opinion that women need all the filters we can get. So if I can walk around with an afro and reduce the amount of 'holla'ing I get, then so be it.

I started searching on youtube because I wanted guy's perspectives of women with natural hair.

The guys I know give me love for my hair, but that might just be because they knew me first - then watched me cut it off.

I wanted to hear opinions from guys who were un-biased and unfamiliar.

This first video was from the account mymanemoves on youtube. It sure got a couple of out-loud laughs from me. Enjoy!

Notice the younger guys like it straight? Oh boy... lol

In this next vid, this guy talks about actually having encouraged his girlfriend LuvinNappy from YouTube to go natural.

Cute eh?

Rod Stewart with Stevie Nicks Concert

Yes - I went to see Rod Stewart perform; Opening act - Stevie Nicks. Don't judge. I'm young and listen to ALL types of stuff.


I went with my mom and had a great time, although I didn't know all the songs they performed.
We're making concerts our thing since we both love all types of music and go around belting out songs every chance we get - even sometimes while the other is on the phone or watching the television etc.


I decided to straighten my hair and wore a simple pink top with dark jeans and brown high sandals; mom wore a gorgeous blue printed maxi dress and flat sandals.


You know you look great when both men AND women look at you, right? Well, either that - or you have something on your face, or attached to your shoe... Mom and I felt the first reason was the cause for all the attention and I got back home feeling like a million bucks.

I was particularly pleased with my hair. In the past, I flat ironed with heat protectant in my hair without any other prep but a condition. Last night I put some straightening serum, chi silk infusion, biosilk silk therapy (all in tiny amounts) and blow dried my hair before straightening. Usually when I straighten, my hair gets poofy as soon as I step outside and my ends feel icky, but last night - while it still had a little poof - it stayed in the shape I put it in (if that makes sense?) and it felt smooth all the way to the ends. It looked healthy, had shine, bounced when I walked and the section that fell over my face stayed flipped the way I did it with the flatiron until I made it back home.  

*Edited to add picture, April 25, 2011 at 9:52 pm. 

This was a pic of myself I snapped with my phone on my way home from the concert.

I would go natural if my hair looked like yours ...

Most people would probably take this compliment and run with it, but I've always been very analytical in my thinking ... Why? WHY would someone say this? "I would go natural if my hair looked like yours ..."

What we're talking about is something that's attached to your scalp, your head, YOU!

I understand that not everyone is the same, and that some hair types might be more difficult to handle / frustrating than others - ESPECIALLY in the beginning when the hair is shorter and you don't have lots of any experience dealing with it, but from the beginning I'd decided I would embrace my napps no matter what size my coils turned out to be. I had my hair relaxed in basic school (In the Caribbean, Basic schools [or kindergarten] come before prep school, and I started prep school at age 6 in the 2nd grade), so I had NO memory of my hair in its natural state.

- And there lies another problem. So many little girls in this race get relaxers at an early age and never learn to do their own hair and because they never learned...they don't know how to do their daughter's hair... and their daughters don't know how to do their daughters' hair...and their daughters' daughters don't know how to do their daughters' hair - but that is another post all together, uhhh probably more than just 1 - 

ANYWAY

It is just so hard for me to hear the people around me say things like their hair isn't good enough for them to be natural. 

It makes no sense - you can't be natural because your hair isn't...right? Is it wrong then?

It takes a lot for me not to just start preaching, beseeching and teaching every time someone makes comments like this.  

If people would say 'they just prefer relaxing', I'd accept that without another thought, but them saying their hair isn't good enough is just sad.

I know the world won't change overnight, but I have to hope that sometime soon other members in this race of mine will stop devaluing what makes us unique. 

*None of the following pics were taken by me or are of people I know, they were taken from different websites and saved in a " Beautiful Hair " folder.


VEER:

A GAP ad in their window at Metrotown mall that made me stop and stare:

H&M ads that made me smile in their store:

and this one below I didn't see in the stores at Coquitlam Centre Mall or at Pacific Centre, but it is gorg!

And Lastly, random pics found via GOOGLE

Below: Model Sabina Karlsson

 

EcoStyler

 I had sworn never to use Gels in my hair because I thought all Gels made hair look tacky and left residue. I have about 3 different textures on my head and I was pleased to see that using a gel made my hair noticeably more unified. My curls were bouncy afterwards and my Mom, who always tells me my hair looks dry (even when it has a healthy sheen), commented that I should not leave my hair wet (after it was completely dry). I guess that's a good ting - the "wet" look.

After hearing about EcoStyler from pretty much every natural I've come across on the BlackHairMedia Forum and on Youtube, I decided to try it myself. Here is what my hair looked like fully dried after co-washing with some Suave Naturals (Coconut) conditioner, detangling for 5 minutes with the Tangle Teezer, moisturizing with Castor Oil, Cantu Shea Butter and Amla Oil (All in tiny amounts) and following up with EcoStyler.

EcoStyler made curls SHINE.

 

EcoStyler gave curls DEFINITION.

EcoStyler ELONGATED curls.

EcoStyler did not make curls SMELL funky.



Mi ago KEEP usin' EcoStyler fi mi curl dem.

Earrings!

If you love Unique, Funky Earrings, check out this Video by YouTuber Toni Daley.

I'm gonna be visiting some of the sites she mentioned in this Video since I like the brighter / more colorful looks.

Tangle Teezer

I bought the Purple Tangle Teezer on Saturday at Sally's by Bellis Fair Mall.

It literally took me 15 minutes to detangle my entire head of hair! My hair was soaked in amla oil in about 10 sections and dry. I lost about half the hair I would have lost while trying to dry twist using a comb to detangle each section. I've read on curly Nikki that she felt the tangle teezer might be responsible for some split ends, so I plan to tread carefully.

I'll update if I discover something else. 

For now - I LOVE =)

*EDITED to add* - April 10, 2011 at 11:43 pm
For the 1st time since I've been natural I detangled and was able to see myself manipulating my hair.
After brushing, my hair was a cloud of softness. Usually when I detangle with my wide tooth shower comb, my hair still clumps together so I tend to leave it alone so I don't lose the curls. This time - I started playing with my hair and ended up with a Fro-hawk. MY 1st FROHAWK! WHOOOP WHOOOOOOP! I've seen so many people do amazing things to their hair and I've done nothing but wash-and-gos and more recently, ponytail puffs.
Because of the amount of shrinkage I get, I forget how long my hair has gotten.

I will post pics soon showing my attempts at hairstyling - so excited =) 

British Columbia vs. The United States

Anyone ever feel like where they live isn't the place for them? Like there's a 'thing' that's missing?

Canada is beautiful. Truly beautiful. The people in British Columbia are friendly and culturally, British Columbia is a real melting pot. There are East Indians, Japanese, Fijian, Chinese, Caribbean, African, Malaysian, Iranian - you name it.

Depending on the street/city you're in, you could be in any part of the world. I've been on road trips, but here's what my immediate area looks like:

Whistler Blackcomb - Ski resort town

BC Natural Parks

Historic Gastown

Now what about one of my favorite things - shopping?!

There are many great shops and cool spots to get clothing. BUT British Columbia is no Toronto. I can't help but feel like people here all look the same. If I had an abundance of cash then I could afford the overpriced signature pieces every girl needs. Since I have a budget, I venture across the border to Seattle when I can to get things that are more unique and jeans that FIT my...shape. Seattle is MUCH closer than Toronto is to me.

I might be generalizing here, but from my visits to places like Florida and Atlanta, I see a trend in the U.S. where people there are more - should I say - R A C I S T,,,shhhh. I'm not saying that people were using different bathrooms or anything, but I saw far more segregation there than I do in Canada. I felt like a minority in the U.S., here in Canada, minorities are what build each community so you don't have time to feel different. In Florida, the black people stared at my mother and I as we walked through the malls. I asked my Aunt who lives in Florida why that was and she said simply "You look different". So, I started to look for differences.

I carried an Abercrombie shopping bag and was dressed in a floral skirt and bright colored tank; Girls my age in Florida had Ecko shopping bags and wore jeans and hoodies from Coogi and Fubu...FUBU? I didn't know people still wore that brand! My hair was devoid of any type of extension, whereas girls in Florida wore their hair in long braid, synthetic and human hair extensions. Did those things make me THAT different? I mean, I wear extensions too from time to time. I started to notice speech differences too - I started to understand what some black people were talking about when they went on talk shows to speak out about being teased for sounding 'white'. I sounded more like a white American compared to the black Americans in Florida and Atlanta. If I had grown up in America would I have been teased too? If I decided to have children in America and trained them like my mother trained me in Jamaica would they?

What are the benefits to living in the U.S.?

• Well there's the fact that you can (according to shows on HGTV like "Property Virgins") buy a decent HOUSE for $200,000.00. In Canada, a starter CONDO sells for an average of $345,000.00. You can also rent an apt. for $400 a month in the US? In Canada, you'd be living in someones basement for that price. 

• Food is WAAAAAAAY cheaper...like really. Target and Kroger had me dropping my jaw when I saw all the deals.

• Hair Salons!!!

• Sally's Beauty Supply...heck - ANY beauty supply

• MACY'S!!!

• Jeans for my...Shape

What are the benefits to living in B.C.?

• Downtown Vancouver

• FREE Health care! Walk in - Get 30 tests - Walk Out...Oh, say thank you before you leave!

• Lots of Natural Land

• Multiculturalism

• Green Living. I appreciate that everyone tries to recycle / bike to work etc.

• SHORT Winters! One year we saw 2 days of snow. Usually there are about 8 - 10 snow days a year in the Lower Mainland and most of those days start with snow, but by the end of the day the snow melts.

• Beautiful Summers with Caribbean events

I think I need to live somewhere for 6 months - 1 year, then go somewhere else. Has anyone else ever felt like they need to move around to feel fulfilled?

Lil' Jon in Vancouver at Caprice

When my girlfriend told me Lil' Jon was coming to Vancouver and asked if I'd like to go, I said "Sure - Let's get CRUNK" haha Why not? How often am I gonna get the opportunity to party with a 'rockstar' right? I found a decent dress at Forever 21 and decided to wear leggings since it's still cold outside and freezing club goer is NOT a good look on me.

Dress was gold/black Leopard print, paired with dark Leggings and a black leather jacket. I wore 1 gold cuff on each wrist and gold leaf earrings with aqua accents. Twist-out on dry hair. Nails were painted aqua. Black leather booties on my feet-ies.

My girlfriend asked if she could bring another girl over to my house so we could all get ready together with the intention of everyone returning to my apartment afterwards. My thoughts were - The more the merrier!!! (plus I'd met this particular girl about 4/5 years prior and hit it off with her) So OK - the girls came over and we got dolled up and left in high spirits.

Outside the club my girlfriend saw a couple ex-classmates sitting on a bench, so we stopped to chat and make introductions. Both girls were supposed to be part of a larger group already inside the club; Turns out, one of the girls was denied access to the club because she was drunk. They say first impressions last right? This particular drunk chick was so gone she could barely speak, said chick proceeds to pee on herself while sitting on the bench (Don't sit on public benches! I don't) Aside from being grossed out - I was SAD.
Women, NO L-A-D-Y should have to go through that. Period.

We called drunk chick's boyfriend and he came and got her before all 4 of us went inside. We met the rest of the ladies inside and we danced a little, drank a little and saaang a little before we got the first glimpse of Lil' Jon. At first, I didn't know it was actually him. Lil' Jon is literally a Lil' man. lol. Really...
They parted the crowd for him to walk through and he disappeared. Poof. Who would'a thunk it?

Lil' Jon was - AMAZING! He wasn't performing, he was spinning beats, and the beats were en pointe. Me, My Girlfriend and her Girlfriend were at the front of the DJ booth for awhile until the competition for space became too much. At one point a girl behind me said she couldn't see over my afro, and she was sweet about it so I ducked down so she could get a couple pics. People kept trying to push their way to the front and at one point there was a pushing/kicking match that led to a bottle being thrown into the crowd a few people away from where we were. Needless to say, we HAD to get out of there.

We grabbed a seat to catch our breath and continued to rock to the beat when a girl from the larger group asked the 3 of us to come over to where she was. Now, I realized that the area where she was was elevated, but I had no idea that it was actually the VIP area of the club. Anyway we go to the entrance and a bouncer tried to stop me. I thought he must be kidding, but I wasn't about to argue my way anywhere since I was alright where I was. I ended up walking past him with the girl from the larger group holding my hand pulling me in (who happens to be mixed with curls and cute as a lamb) and when we get to the roped off area the bouncer there flat out got in front of me to keep me out. I was - MORTIFIED.
Now y'all KNOW everyone be looking at me like damn she got rejected.

It was actually my friend's girlfriend who was pissed, which surprised me. I didn't know how to react or how to feel, but I already knew I would lose NO sleep because I wasn't hot enough to make it into the VIP. lol!!! Maybe it was the kinks in my hair? Maybe it was the not showing enough skin? In any case - we went back to our original spot on the dance floor and had a great time until we had to leave to catch the night-bus back to my place.

I got approached a couple of times, so my ego wasn't hurt toooooo much =P