This is what I’m fighting against
One place you probably will not find elegance is on reality television. Exhibit A, to your left, is one of the reasons why.
Meet Tiffany, aka, “New York” from the utterly embarrassing “Flavor of Love.” FOL is VH1’s most popular offering to the reality tv gods. The premise is that Flava Flav, formerly of Public Enemy, puts a bevy of broads through the ropes to find a partner.
New York made her debut during season one. With her terrible weave and her foul mouth, she probably put your local gospel choir’s drag queen (oh come on, you know there is one in every black church) to shame.
She did such a good job that the producers brought her back for season two. So, why am I putting this woman on the hot plate? Well, for a number of reasons:
1. According to her My Space page (which I refuse to link to), she is highly educated and comes from a solid background
2. She also purports on her site to be a classy woman who likes the finer things in life
3. She is on national tv and supposedly represents elegance
That last one really gets to me. Even though they probably should not, teens, and most likely, black teenage girls watch this program. They see Tiffany acting like this (even if it is just a put on) and think “Hey, maybe that is what I have to do to get on the air” (or get those clothes or get a guy or whatever).
Ladies and gentlemen, New York does not represent class, and she certainly does not represent elegance. Click the thumbnail to see her in action.
She represents and affirms the stereotype that so many have of young black women today. May New York, FOL and the rest of the women who have belittled themselves for a few bucks pass out from nail glue.
Pantene Relaxed and Natural line
I discovered Pantene’s Relaxed and Natural line during a visit home. My friends raved about it so I decided to give three products from the line a try. Pantene’s Relaxed and Natural products are dedicated to “women of color” so they *must* be good for my hair, right? Wrong.
I wanted to like the line. I really, really wanted to like it. But, after using the line’s Intensive Moisturizing Shampoo, Intensive Moisturizing Conditioner and the Daily Oil Cream Moisturizer, my hair felt hard and dry.
I used the shampoo and conditioner once every two weeks. At first, the results were fine. Then, everything went downhill. Even though the products smelled great, the results were horrible. I was shocked each time I washed the conditioner out because my hair would feel “scratchy.” This was not normal for my hair.
I used the oil moisturizer every day. Some days I wet my hair and applied it, on others I applied it on dry hair. The results were the same. Right when I put it on, my hair felt soft. By the end of the day though, my hair felt hard. Again, I thought it was just me.
During the test, I even isolated the products and used one without the other. For example, I followed up the shampoo with a different conditioner and vice versa. Same problem: dry, crunchy hair. I even applied the oil conditioner after using totally different products from another line and even used a clarifyer thinking I had a problem with buildup and had the same results.
Perhaps this line is only geared towards those who have relaxers. I’ve also read rave reviews on other forums from women who do not have kinky textured hair (white, Asian, etc). Maybe it works for them.
Also, I think I almost psyched myself into liking this line. When I first started using it, I made comments to the effect that my hair felt soft. No it didn’t. It was all in my head. Now that I look back on it and think about comments from my husband my hair wasn’t soft. I wanted so badly for this line of products to work that I didn’t judge it with the same intensity as I judged others.
In any case, if you wear your hair in its natural state, think twice before using Pantene’s Relaxed and Natural line.
All products around US$8.50, EUR 8.50.
Taking a week off
Hi everyone,
The mountains are calling so I’m taking a break. I’ll be back this weekend.
Beyonce is bouncing all over
Just in time for the release of her latest album “B-Day,” Beyonce is all over the place, literally: last week, the MTV Video Awards in New York, this week concerts in Japan.
On 29 September, B is putting on her fashion designer hat for a trip to The Windy City. W reports that she and “momanager” Tina will be honorary chairs for Macy’s Glamorama at the Chicago Theatre. Not only will Beyonce perform a benefit concert for the Art Institute of Chicago, she’ll also debut her (and mom’s) clothing label, House of Dereon, on the runway. The mag quotes Tina as saying that “there would be something wrong with me if I wasn’t a little nervous.” For tickets, go to the Chicago Theatre’s site.
I checked out the selection on the House of Dereon website. Hmmm…uh…yikes. It’s not exactly my style, but if you’re into shiny, tight-fitting items, you’ll jump for joy.