Skin Care

This is my last post for the day and then I am out of here people! As you can see, I am on a role today where skin and women are concerned. I just think it is a shame when we are not enhancing our most beautiful selves. You can be gorgeous but bad skin will make you look and feel horrible.

I will refrain from getting mad because sometimes, it really is not our fault that we cannot get a good handle on our skin issues, especially acne. I do not have bad acne, shoot, I do not have acne at all, but I get the occasional pimple and black/whiteheads.

Like many women, I have tried it all: the Clinique three-step skin care process, Neutragena, Clean and Clear, Biore, etc. Been there, done that. I am no doctor, but here are a few things I have learned about caring for my skin. It is not flawless, but it is rather close. This is not me bragging, just imparting some tricks and tips I learned on my way to loving the skin I am in.

• If you need to go to a dermatologist to get a handle on your acne, do so. Do not cover it up with make-up, that will only make it worse.

• Find out what your skin-type is. Are you oily? Dry? Combination? This is key because it will determine what kind of moisturizer you should use. Moisturizer is the key to healthy skin so finding the right one is important. Oily and combination skin-types should steer away from oil-based products.

• Popping blackheads and pimples are the devil! If your skin is like mine, they leave marks, which are ridiculously hard to get rid of. Try using a clay-based mask about twice a week and that should help with your blackheads. It will not only get rid of the ones you have, but also help in preventing them. Once you have contained and controlled your blackheads, use the mask once a week.
  

• Beware of the salicylic acid and other chemicals you cannot pronounce. Sometimes, no all the time, natural is the way to go. Drink as much water as you can. That will not only clean out your system, but it will do wonders for your skin. Olive oil is a great natural moisturizer and aloe is great for evening out your skin tone. Eat avocados, take care of your body. What you eat will show itself on your skin.
  

These are little things that I have tried and found to be more than effective. Do what works for you. Eat right. Exercise. Drink water. Plenty of water. Treat your body like a temple... after all, that is what it is.

Make-Up

For those of you who think your lip gloss is popping, or that your lip gloss is cool, chances are it might not be. This post is for the many women (and a few men) out there who have not fully grasped the concept of make-up. Hold on people because this is going to be a long one!

Here's why I'm mad:

Make-up should enhance your beauty, not cover it up. I am tired of walking down the street, feeling like I got a front row ticket to the circus because you women decided to look like CLOWNS!

I love make-up. Ask my friends who have seen my master kit. I wear Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancome, MAC occasionally, and a few cheaper products sprinkled in there: Maybelline, Revlon, etc.

My most favorite make-up product is eye shadow. Playing with the different colors and shades bring me great joy. Sometimes I do pink and green, brown and pink, different shades of purples, blues, and my absolute favorite- the smokey eye! Each woman has something that she MUST wear. For some women it is lip gloss, others it is mascara. Whatever it is, all I ask is that you do it right. Here are a few tips.

If you wear concealer, it should be a shade LIGHTER than your regular complexion. Your foundation and powder however should be as close to your skin color as possible. When it is too light or too dark, you run the risk, a HUGE risk, of looking two-toned. Use your neck as your guide; if you can see where your face ends and your neck begins, you have on too much make-up or the color is not right for you.

There are three products women must have: lip gloss/lip stick, eye liner and mascara. Women equally talk with their mouth and their eyes. Especially since we bat our eyes a lot, we should make sure they always look fabulous. Wearing mascara and eye liner not only make your eyes pop, but they also make you look more awake, especially after you have just spent a night out on the town.

If you have acne, please, please, PLEASE take care of that first before you wear make-up. Foundation and such will cake up around problem areas and will actually make your acne look worse. Wearing make-up over zits does not hide, but actually highlights them. It also causes irritation and will lead to more break outs.

Like finding the perfect foundation and powder, finding the right shade of blush is just as important. This will further increase the clown effect if you do not find the right hue. The lighter you are, the lighter your blush should be. Your cheeks should look rosy, not red. A good indicator is what your cheeks look like after they have been pinched or the blood as rushed to your face.

Bronzer is a great highlighter because it makes your skin look sun-kissed and should be applied on your T-zone- cheeks, temples, nose and chin. It is especially good for the lighter and pale colored skin because it gives you a healthy glow. The darker you are, the darker your bronzer should be.

Every woman should have red lipstick. Red is the color of passion and love. On a woman's lips, it is bold, daring and eye-catching. Be advised- red is not for every woman. That should not be a deterrent, however. What is equally awesome about the color red is that it comes in many different shades, so find the shade that fits you- I guarantee you, it is out there. Because red is such a bold color, the rest of your make-up should be minimal. No need for blush, maybe a little bronzer, eye-liner, mascara and VOILA!

I have a lot more tips, but this post is getting to be too long. Feel free to leave comments and ideas to share with other women. If you have any questions, just ask.

The most important thing about make-up is being the best woman you can be. Do not hide your beauty under loads of make-up because you end up looking the fool. Put your most natural and fresh face forward and I promise you, you will not go wrong!

Keep this in mind: "Maybe she's born with it; maybe it's Maybelline"- people should not be able to tell the difference.

Measuring Up

For those of you who helped me with this, but did not really know what you were helping me with, thanks!

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine. We were driving in my car and the issue of height came up. When I asked him how tall he was, he said 5'11 and 7/8. We immediately got into a debate about men and their height issues.

Here's why I'm mad:

I noticed something about men which puzzles, yet amuses me at the same time. Men who are shorter than 6 feet tend to do one of two things: be vague about their height or give you additional info to make them seem that much taller, hence the 7/8.

In writing this post, I received a lot of answers to prove my point. My guy friends that were over 6 feet said 6'4, 6', 6'3, etc.

My friends who were under 6ft:
"like 5'8"
"5'9, 5'10" on a good day"
"5'10 1/2"
and my absolute favorite "6ish"

I explained to my friend that women do not really have that issue. They just say the immediate number and that is it. When I asked my girlfriends, NONE of them gave me additional information, save for one who told me she was 4'11 and a half. I guess women under 5 feet have to fight for their inches lol- love you girl!!

Most women have height requirements. If you are too tall or too short, they are not going to make exceptions because of your 3/4, so please stop using it as a bargaining tool. No one cares about your 3/4 and the additional 1/2 of an inch is not going to get you anywhere, so take my advice and just leave it be.

Bag-of-sh*t

I know I said I would do one post per week, but this was too good to pass up. As many of you know, or should know at least, Governor Rod Blagojevich, aka Rod Big-bag-o-sh*t as I prefer to call him, tried to sell the newly vacant Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama. As Governor, Blagojevich has the sole right to appoint someone to this position, but decided instead to give the seat to the highest bidder. In his own words, "I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden, and I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing. I'm not gonna do it."

If Governor Blagojevich is stupid enough to bid the vacated Senate seat, that is his problem. If someone is stupid enough to buy the vacated Senate seat, that is their problem. Although sad and pathetic, that, however is not the worst of it.

Here's why I'm mad:

After all the drama and controversy, Blagojevich went ahead and appointed a new Senator. Talk about big cajones! Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris to serve as Senator to represent the state of Illinois. Now, that is sticking your middle finger to the law. I have nothing against Roland Burris, who has been a public servant for twenty years and was also the attorney general for the state of Illinois. What I do have is no respect for a man who was under FBI investigation, voted (almost) unanimously to be impeached by the Illinois House, asked to resign, yet still made his appointment.

What adds insult to injury is his attitude towards all this. Blagojevich, feels he did nothing wrong and thinks it is absolutely absurd for him to step down. He made this statement and has vowed to fight his impeachment all the way.

Politicians have always had an air of entitlement. They feel because of their service to their state/county/city/town, they deserve special treatment. Please remember that we the people did not ASK you to take office. The only part we have in that process is to elect you, which happens only after you decide to run. As an elected official, you felt the need to defend the laws of the land and took an oath to do your best to serve your constituents. The job of a public servant is to put the needs of the people he/she represents before their own. Clearly, that was lost on Gov. Big-bag-of-sh*t.

School Days

It's that time again!! If you are a parent, you were more than delighted to ship your kids back to school first thing Monday morning. Parents must have breathed a sigh of relief, as they are tired of dealing with them for a whole week (two weeks in some cases).

Amongst the many kids that went back to school at the end of the holidays, and the beginning of the new year, were a cute set of young girls that the United States seems to be enamored with.

Here's why I'm mad:

Sasha and Malia Barack started school this year at Sidwell Friends School. Big whoop. The media here in Washington, D.C. has had a field day reporting on where the kids will go to school. Public? Private? Private. Sidwell? Georgetown? Sidwell. Now that the President-Elect and Mom-in-Chief have decided to ship their kids off to the elite Sidwell private school, the news should have died down.

It has not.

I woke up Monday morning readying myself for work and on the morning news was a broadcast of the kids first day of school. They followed the kids to school!! How absurd is that? I understand that they are apart of the first family, but give them some space. To boot, the news reporter seemed upset that she did not get a close-up of little miss Malia or Sasha except to see them through the window of the car. Get a grip!

And if that was not enough, a parent complained that no note was sent home to alert the parents that the girls were starting school this week. REALLY?! Everyone decided to stick their nose into a very private matter- deciding where one's child should start school. Now, you also feel the need to be in on WHEN the child should start school? The only people that need to know that information are the parents and the school staff.

The President can, and should be, sifted with a fine-tooth comb. Not his children. Allow them to be kids, go to school, enjoy the little freedoms they have, and stop breathing down their necks. I wonder what would happen if people paid this much attention to their own kids... hmmm.

Happy Holidays... or is it?

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since I have aired my grievances to my internet family! Well the displeased diva is back and I have LOTS to talk about! In order to keep things fresh and not overload you (or my brain), I am going to try to stick to one post per week and double up if necessary.

I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year!! I hope your holidays were blessed and cheerful. My holidays were swell. The food was amazing and the company was... well it was ok. It is family- what do you expect?! You know, as well as I do, that as much as you anticipate their arrival, you breathe a sigh of relief when they leave!

Which brings me to the point of this post.

Here's why I'm mad:

Why do relatives overstay their welcome?! There is Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day. After that, we are not obliged to deal with you anymore. Period! The general rule is for your first visit, you are a guest. After the third time, you are officially a resident. I will not "hand" you a glass, or "dish out" a plate for you. Stop acting like you are brand new and you do not know where everything is.

Once you have officially become a resident, you will be treated as such. That means you also have to help with the clean up. That's right; I said it. You helped eat the food, you can help clear the table, wash the dishes, clean the stove, mop the floor, etc. Do not drink up all the alcohol and eat up all the turkey and not expect to help out in the kitchen. If you would like to be invited again next year, act like you know.

Get some gloves, pick up a sponge, grab a mop and get to work. If not, do not expect to come again next year.

Bah Humbug!

Most Influential

As 2008 comes to a close, a lot of websites, magazines, newspapers, TV shows, etc., will be reminiscing about the fantastic year that was 2008. And it was a fantastic year, well for the most part. The presidential race was electrifying, the Beijing Olympics was stunning, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first historically black Greek letter sorority, celebrated 100 years, and J.Jack* turned 25. That is a pretty good year.

Time magazine just named President-Elect Barack Obama person of the year and rightly so. I may be a bit biased... okay I am biased, but no one else deserves the title. President-Elect Obama, whether you like him or not, took the world by storm with his presidential campaign. The only person who came close was Sarah Palin, but her domination was on a national level, not a global one, unless we count Russia of course, and she was only in the forefront for two months of our lives then faded into obscurity. Definitely not enough credentials to be person of the year.

MSNBC just released their list for the most influential men and women of 2008 and for the most part I agree with the list- Barack and Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Tina Fey, Usain Bolt, and Michael Phelps just to name a few. You can view the full list here.

Here's why I'm mad:

Miley Cyrus? Huh? Did I miss something here? Miley Cyrus did manage to build an empire with her Hannah Montana brand (do not ask me how she did this), but is that enough to make her one of the most influential women of 2008? Who did she influence? As I read the article, I was left wondering what mark did she leave on the world, besides a blond wig and a host of screaming pre-teen fans. Cyrus, as talent-less as she may be, is a very smart girl who is one of the richest teenagers in America. But she is just that- a girl. If this list was produced by Nickelodeon, I would have no qualms whatsoever, however it is not. This is MSNBC and they could have done better. They could have done LOADS better- Nancy Pelosi, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, or J.K. Rowling better.

To boot, they added the Jonas Brothers, another Nickelodeon alum to the list. I am not so angry about them because they used their celebrity status to bring more awareness to diabetes and they also have a fund that donates to 5 charities. HOWEVER, I am pretty sure MSNBC could have done better there too. Al Gore, Vladimir Putin or Muntadar al-Zaidi could have easily graced the list.

When talking about people who are influential, you mention men and women who made or are making a substantial impact for better or for worst. Not Miley Cyrus. Besides turning little girls' and parents' world upside down and being slightly schizo, she does not deserve to be on this list. Forbe's list? Yes. People's hottest 25 under 25? Sure. MSNBC's most influential? Not so much.

*personal plug