Just when I was about to toss my gloss, I received a complimentary tube of Smashbox O-Gloss last night. This lipgloss claims to be intuitive and reacts with our personal skin chemistry to transform from clear to our own custom shade of pink. Being the lipgloss addict that you know I am, I was super excited to try it. I really didnt think that it would work, but I was so wrong. After using it, my lips turned my ideal shade of pink that I usually only achieve by applying a mixture of several glosses. Needless to say, Im a fan. Although those darker lipstick shades are tempting, it looks like I still won't be tossing the gloss just yet!


Available at www.nordstrom.com for $22

Have you ever tried this product? I hear that they have a similar formula for cheeks. Would you try either? For one lucky BGG reader, she'll get the chance. Just shoot me an email and the first reader to tell me the year that my favorite TV show "A Different World," aired will win her own tube of Smashbox O-Gloss!

Tags: None Categories: Black Life Beauty Fashion Face & Style Culture & Lifestyle Scoop & Celebrity

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a gloss girl, but this upcoming fall season I want to give my gloss a break and give lipsticks a go! For years I've been applying shiny glosses with a barely-there tint on my lips. This time around I want to vamp it up a bit by trying a few deeper berries, browns and burgundies and possibly even some subdued red shades. My husband thinks that red lips are a no-no for women of all shades, but I'm going to try to prove him wrong! It's going to be hard giving up the gloss, but as I said last week, change is good! If I don't like it, I can always go back to my favorites.

Do you prefer gloss or lipstick? Are you going to wear darker matte hues this fall and winter?

Check out some of these lush lip colors:


Bobbi Brown Lipstick Color Palette available at www.saks.com for $40


Nars Afghan Red available at www.beauty.com for $24


L'Oreal Colour Rich Lipstick in Chocolate Truffle available at www.drugstore.com for $8.06


MAC Viva Glam available at www.nordstrom.com for $14


Clinique High Impact Colour in Red-y To Wear available at www.saks.com for $14


Wise Lip Paint by Peacekeeper available at www.smallflower.com for $14


CoverGirl Continuous Color in Bistro Burgundy available at www.drugstore.com for $5.13

Tags: None Categories: Black Life Beauty Fashion Face & Style Culture & Lifestyle Scoop & Celebrity

Besides the fashions that only fall can bring, new TV lineups are the second best thing that happens during this time of year. Although I havent been watching much TV lately, this past weekend I found myself glued to the tube watching all of last seasons Gossip Girl as if I were an Upper East Side rich teenage girl with a Sidekick in hand! Theres something about that show that is simply addictive. Perhaps, its the fashion and constant pop culture references. Whatever it is that makes it a must-see show, I am now hooked and cant wait until next week when it returns for a second season.

Although I wish there were more shows that featured BGs and guys in the lineup, I am looking forward to watching Tyras antics on her popular reality series, Americas Next Top Model; Vivica Fox's new style competition show, Glam God; fashion journalism reality show Stylista; as well as the new season of Making the Band, which started last week.

Speaking of TV, wasn't Michelle Obama's speech last night at the DNC outstanding?!

Anyway, what are you planning on watching this upcoming fall TV season?


Gossip Girl on The CW


America's Next Top Model Cycle 11 on The CW


Glam God with Vivica A. Fox on VH1


Stylista on The CW


Making the Band Season 4 on MTV

Tags: None Categories: Black Life Beauty Fashion Face & Style Culture & Lifestyle Scoop & Celebrity

We BGs love dressing up and looking as pretty as possible, but let's admit, sometimes our ensembles just don't quite come together the way in which we'd like. That's why it's important to have that one or two absolute fail-proof outfit(s) for those days when we know we'll feel confident and look our best no matter what.

This summer, my fail-proof outfit was a wrinkle-free red, cotton mini dress. It was summery and a bit playful, but could easily be transformed into a more conservative look with a light-weight sweater. I mix and matched it with various accessories and shoes - it was really a great find, plus it was only $23!


I took this photo back in June when my friend AZ came to visit.

Here are a few of my other favorite fail-proof pieces. Hey, bet on black!

Basic Tee - Black (or white) tank available at www.forever21.com for $6.99


Skinny Jeans - J Brand Jeans available at www.shopbop.com for $161


Little Black Dress - Sonia Dress available at www.guess.com

What is your all-time fail-proof outfit/piece? Please share!

Tags: None Categories: Black Life Beauty Fashion Face & Style Culture & Lifestyle Scoop & Celebrity

I think its pretty safe to say that Im completely obsessed with eye lashes! Ive tried just about every popular mascara brand on the market on a quest to create enviable long, luscious lashes. Since Ive tried so many mascaras, I decided to take my lash obsession up a notch - I tried RapidLash.

RapidLash is a popular brand of eye lash renewal serum thats applied like eyeliner to your top lashes. Its supposed to increase the darkness, thickness and length of your lashes within 4 weeks. I used it every night for about 2 weeks and believe it or not, I saw a huge change in my lashes; they seemed longer than ever! However, I read an article about how these formulas in the long-run could result in major eye trauma, which of course scared me to death so I have since stopped using it. But while I did use it, I was pleased with the results.

Would you ever try a lash-lengthening formula? Probably not after reading this, right? LOL


RapidLash available at www.rapidlash.com for $49.95

Tags: None Categories: Black Life Beauty Fashion Face & Style Culture & Lifestyle Scoop & Celebrity