Mr. or Mrs. Right may be waiting for you at the W Hoboken…are you just going to leave them hangin’? Here’s what you need to know…
What: Purple Lab’s Guinness World Record Speed Dating event
When: Friday, January 29th
Where: W Hoboken
Peep the invite below! Oh, and just to boost your chances of finding your Luvah, you get a SWAG bag full of the essentials for snagging your man/woman…Check it out!
Plug my own daughter! As a parent, I stand behind my daughter 100%, right now her heart’s desire is to be a singer and so I give her my full support! With that being said, I proudly present to you a slide show presentation of 14 year old Taylor Ivana singing her debut single I’m Over You!
I received numerous emails asking me questions about acne. I know that it’s a big deal for people (present company included); I will be turning 27 this year (again:-) and still have to use acne products to prevent breakouts so I can totally relate. First let’s dispel a few myths out there regarding acne shall we?
It’s OK to eat chocolate! Contrary to popular belief, your diet does not cause acne; numerous studies have been done and not one was able to show a connection between diet and acne breakouts. Not pizza, chocolate, french fries or any other food.
You CANNOT wash acne away! Acne really has nothing to do with how clean you may or may not be. In fact, washing your face more often will probably make things worse because you can irritate your skin- so let’s not add insult to injury and try to scrub away the problem!
You must treat Acne for it to go away! Unfortunately acne is not one of those things that will “run its course” and go away- no my friend, acne is with you for the long haul. It ranges in severity and can either be treated by OTC treatments or you may need to get oral antibiotics from a derm. Info courtesy of AAD
Ok so now that we took care of that, do you want to know what acne really is? There are four main culprits that contribute to acne- clogged pores, bacteria (p. acne), inflammation and surplus of sebum. Sebum is oil produced by our bodies to keep our skin moisturized- it’s a good thing. But as the saying goes, too much of a good thing is not good and this definitely applies to too much sebum. So this surplus of sebum has nowhere to go and so it remains stuck in our pores can causes blockage (clogging). Everyone has p. acne on their skin but now that there is a swimming pool full of the “good stuff” (to p. acne, sebum is the “good stuff”) and are multiplying at a crazy rate causing inflammation. A side effect of too much sebum is it’s really easy for dead skin cells to mix with the sebum and cause a larger jam so it’s also important to make sure that dead skin is gently exfoliated.
How your skin becomes inflamed determines what type of acne you’ll have. Sebum that’s blocked close to the surface with a little inflammation results in whiteheads (no exposure to air) and blackheads (open and exposed to air); these are commonly called comedones. If the blockage is a little deeper then papules or pimples form. Deeper inflammation results in pustules or pimples filled with pus. The deepest and most painful acne is a nodule or cyst.
Why did I spend so much time dwelling on how acne is formed? The more you know about how it’s formed, the better chance you have of treating it! Get it! Now you know that inflammation is a big factor, you should look for acne treatments with anti-inflammatory ingredients. I’ll cover ingredients and products in Part 2!
Good morning B. spot! I know I said that we will discuss acne and we will get into that this week. I just wanted to address something that is pure worldwide ridiculousness…smh…it’s sad that in this day and age we still have to deal with this issue but this series of ads from Pond’s India just goes to show how far we really have to go. Don’t get me wrong, this issue goes far beyond beauty and people are treated as inferiors solely due to the color of their skin. I know, I know, this is a beauty blog and we’re not supposed to get this deep and trust me- we are not! But since Pond’s is a beauty company I couldn’t just ignore it. Check out these ads and then you’ll see exactly what I mean…
Not finished yet…
There is more…
The saga continues…
The sad happy climax…
Do you see what I mean? Many of us would say, “forget about that loser, he is so not worth it!” That was my first thought! Being a Black woman in America, I think I can understand her situation a little better than others. But for all of the racism and prejudice that still exists here in America, we have definitely come a long way and I don’t feel inferior to anyone. Yes, I do buy bleaching/fade creams because being a Black woman I have to deal with hyperpigmentation (there is nothing cute about that) so those products help to even out my skin tone- not create a new lighter tone! I love the skin that I am in and I pray that one day everyone else will feel the same way and will be accepted (or rejected) because of their character not color.
Choreographer extraordinaire, Laurie Ann Gibson, is making major moves! If you don’t know her name- you certainly know her work! Season five of So You Think You Can Dance–Brandon and Jeanine’s explosive dance to Battlefield was courtesy of Ms Gibson. Can anyone guess who choreographed the Jo Bros (Jonas Brothers) concerts in 2008 and 2009- Boom Kack- you’ve got it! Last one, here’s the hint…”Ra-Ra-ah-ah- ah ~ Roma-roma-mamaa ~ Ga-ga- ooh-la-la ~ Want your bad romance”…yes that video- and poker face and paparazzi- is the work of Laurie Ann Gibson (fyi, she’s doing Gaga’s tour as well).
So now that I’ve introduced you properly to Boom Kack, let’s talk about her skin care. Let’s face it, life on the go can be hectic. I don’t care if you are a superstar choreographer, a mom working full time inside of the home or outside, a student pulling full time creds and a full time job or a woman sans little ones with a career grinding hard day and night–we all have a hectic life now and it shows up on our skin!!!!
I spoke with Laurie Ann about her skin; she was very candid which made me love her even more. Her main skin issue is hyperpigmentation- those d#@ned dark marks on your skin that appear if you look at your skin the wrong way. Laurie Ann’s skin is prone to breakouts and being under those hot lights dancing behind Janet Jackson at the VMA’s can be stressing to pores already clogged and screaming for relief. So what does the fab Laurie Ann use to keep her breakouts at bay?
A great facial, Proactiv Solution and Palmer’s Cocoa Butter!
Proactiv is an acne treatment based on benzoyl peroxide. The core system is an exfoliating cleanser, toner and lotion. The good thing about the system is that the chemists behind the system (you all know that Drs Rodan and Fields weren’t in the lab mixing this stuff up) used the lowest level of benzoyl peroxide allowed by the FDA without sacrificing the efficacy. Benzoyl peroxide can be irritating to the skin and some people can have a reaction to it. But those of you who have used benzoyl peroxide products before (clearasil and oxy10) should be able to handle the system.
I think that I’ll go into a deeper acne discussion in my next post. There is a lot of confusion out there about comedogenicity, facial oils and what not- let’s talk about it!
HAPPY NEW YEAR B. SPOT!!!!! I HOPE THIS NEW YEAR BRINGS YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES LOVE, PEACE AND HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!! I have a lot of plans for the B. spot this year so stay tuned and enjoy!
~It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas~ ev’rywhere you go~ and unfortunately it’s beginning to feel like it too. Yes, I know what kind of weather to expect this time of year especially since I’ve been living on the east coast for a majority of my life- but that doesn’t stop my yearning for warmer weather???? Anyhoo, this is also the season for holiday gatherings and swank parties so I found a great video to help create a smoky eye. This is a look that I am constantly trying to create but can never get it quite right. I have a confession for you- I am a converted tomboy and have not mastered the art of make up application so I find videos like this very useful. So for all of you who are slow in the make up department- this vid’s for you! Enjoy!
Wow, can you believe that Thanksgiving has already passed (I hope that you had an enjoyable holiday), before you know it Christmas will be here and then we’ll be celebrating a new year. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun right! We all know that this time of the year is definitely the season to be jolly and for many of us that means holiday parties. So how do we get our skin in check for all of the holiday photo ops- – let’s face it, we don’t want to have to untag all of the pics on facebook so over the next few weeks I’ll be highlighting products that I have been playing with to get my skin in picture perfect shape.
I received the Brazilian Peel kit from AHA (Advanced Home Actives)- have you ever heard of it? Since I’m a sucker for packaging, I couldn’t wait to try the dual chamber syringe applicator to apply the peel. The Brazilian Peel is a 30% glycolic acid peel that is self neutralizing; after 10 minutes it “shuts” off and you can rinse and go without worrying about overprocessing your skin. You all know by now that I am a die hard chemical peeler and I love–no, my skin craves good exfoliation on a regular basis. I felt absolutely nothing with this peel- not a slight sting, tingle, itch, absolutely nothing- but that is a very good thing and after I rinsed my skin was noticeably smoother! Since this is a weekly peel, it is my new maintenance product between my regular higher intensity peels and for those of you who have more sensitive skin and had trouble using any peel- you may want to give the Brazilian a try.
Science Behind It:
In order for chemical peels to be effective the pH has to be on the acidic side typically between 2-2.5 (medical) to 3.5-4 (store brands). The lower the pH the more effective the peel but it also is more damaging therefore it applied by a professional. Brazilian Peel has the same pH as a medical grade peel but is formulated with a specialized glycolic acid blend that is complexed with an amino acid making it less irritating. The self neutralization step that AHA uses in the Brazilian Peel is so simple yet no one else had the creativity to use it! It basically works the same way that an antacid works in the stomach. The antacid reduces the acidity of stomach acid by bringing the pH or “neutralizing” the acid. AHA, the makers of Brazilian Peel figured out how long the peel needed to be on your skin to be effective and then calculated how much of the “antacid” would be needed to neutralize the acid in that amount of time. Of course, the peel and antacid can’t mixed beforehand or the peel would be neutralized before it hit your skin thus the use of the dual chamber syringe. I love it when companies are creative and take simple well known concepts and turn them into innovative new products. Kudos to you AHA!
*** Just as a sidebar- The Brazilian Peel left no signs of irritation (redness or peeling). I attended an event after applying the peel and only used a powder for a flawless finish. FYI, if you haven’t tried L’Oreal HIP Chrome Eye Liners- please tell me what in the world you are waiting for? They glide on smoothly with great payoff- the colors are so vivid and intense- I’m hooked…seriously!
OMG! I just realized that the B. spot is one year old today! Woo hoo, we made it through a year! Thanks for all of your support and hopefully we’ll have many more! I have a special new feature that I’m working on for the B. spot that I hope everyone will enjoy. Look out for the first installment in January.
But my heart don’t know the truth ~ I don’t understand why things have to be this way ~ when it doesn’t work why does it take so long to go away????
Hey B. spot, I know this is a blog about beauty but you have to check out this talented young artist! Her name is Taylor Ivana and she is definitely one to look out for in the future and I’m not just saying that because she’s my daughter:-)
Introducing Taylor Ivana
Seriously though, she really is talented and worked tirelessly in her room recording a demo with my hubby- check it out and let me know what you think!
So this post isn’t totally self serving, Taylor’s make up for this shoot was done by the FAB-U-LOUS Roberto Gonzalez. He only used one foundation to match her complexion–no mixing, no shade matching– it was perfect! And you know that is not an easy feat for chocolate mochalattes…What did he use? Ben Nye Matte Foundation FT-11 Olive Sable- whew what a mouthful! FT stands for Film + Television so that should give you a clue that this is not your regular everyday makeup. With that being said, if you use it only on the needed areas and follow it up with powder then viola- you have a picture perfect finish…I’m ready for my close up:)
