How-To: Happy Halloween!

Like every glamazon on the planet, I was obsessed with Miss B's make-up in the Kitty Kat video. Call it fierce ambition, but my girls and I were determined to re-create the look for my Halloween costume, Cat Woman.  The process ended up being simpler and shorter than we ever anticipated! Even the most uninitiated beauty girl (like myself) can achieve this look by mastering three easy steps, so graciously outlined by my cousin, Tish and executed by none other than Beautylicious.

1 -  Apply gold pigment powder (on top of a matching cream shadow) to the crease of the eye, the eyelid and below the eyebrow as your base color. L'Oreal has an amazing pigment powder that looks beautiful against any complexion!

2 -  Use fluid black liner, like Revlon's Colorstay Liquid Liner, to draw small C's (some forward, some backward) and D's a similar length apart. *TIP: Remember it doesn't have to be perfect! The look is funky and fierce, not polished. A little variety in size and shape goes a long way.

3 -  Shade within the C's and D's with mahogany brown shadow. 

Voila! Instant glamourization.  

The finished product:

Love it!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Kisses,

Coutura

Fashion Scoop: African Vogue and Diddy buys Enyce

Hope you all had a GLAM weekend! I floated from every bar (Hookah!) to industry event (Mont Blanc! Commes Des Garcons for H&M!) in the city and here are the scoops I got along the way...

African Vogue?

The geniuses behind this year's wildly popular "all-black" Vogue Italia are planning to launch an issue dedicated to Africa for L'Uomo Vogue. I, for one, am ecstatic! There has always been a hungry audience for beautiful black models and designers, and it's about time the industry caught up. The best part? They're donating half of ad profits to African charities. 

Franca Sozzani who created July's "all-black" issue of Vogue Italia, which addressed the lack of black models in fashion has another groundbreaking idea for the November issue of L'Uomo Vogue, of which she is also the editor: The magazine will be dedicated to Africa , and half of the advertising revenue will be donated to Africa-related charities, reports Robin Givhan for the Washington Post.

http://jezebel.com/5069202/italian-fashion-editor-follows-up-black-issue-with-africa-concept

GLAM!

Next, Diddy, who owns Sean John and Zac Posen just bought the struggling fashion brand, Enyce from Liz Claiborne for $20 million according to the New York Herald. 

“Enyce is a brand that I have always admired, and they have been a very important player in the young men’s sportswear arena for over a decade. I am really excited to bring it into our portfolio of brands that already includes Sean John and Zac Posen. Given our track record of success in marketing products such as Ciroc Vodka, Unforgivable by Sean John, and all of our television titles, I look forward to adding our expertise to an already hot fashion line. Our long-term plan is to grow the Enyce brand through innovative marketing, expansion of the menswear and boy’s lines, and launching into new licensing categories. The current economic climate may be challenging, but we believe it is also an opportunity, and we are really excited to add Enyce to our lineup.” - the world according to Sean

Umm...the last time I took the bus to Broad and Market Street (in Newark, NJ) and shelled out two weeks worth of Aldo store paychecks for a tacky bright orange Enyce top and skirt with the logo so un-fashionably sewn across the front was 2001. I've since graduated from high school and college and moved out of my parent's house...

(Shudders)

Yet I have faith that Diddy will do something exciting with the brand, I just pray he doesn't publicity-whore out all 6 of his children (or himself) in the ads. 

Glamazons, are you even excited to see this come back?! Which leads me to my next question, if you could resurrect any defunct fashion brand, which one would you choose? I personally think Eve's Fetish could have been so much more, but Mecca (remember that?!) should stay dead and buried.

Kisses,

Coutura

Photos: Vogue. Sean John. Enyce.

9-11 Memorial Tattoos

To The Heroes and the Victims of 9-11-01 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Fooled job seekers stuck with face tattoos

These two Indonesian job seekers were fooled into having their faces tattooed in order to receive non-existent government jobs.

The pair had their faces permanently tattooed  after their village chief Sawiyono told them he had received a text message from a government official offering them work as Jakarta intelligence officers. Only to find out the job offer was a hoax, now they have to live with these for the rest of their lives.

Can Someone Tell Me.....

why these Real Housewives of Atlanta ladies can't afford good weave?! I mean, one would think that with all the money and connections they claim to have that their weaves would not be looking a hot mess, right?!
During a rare moment of downtime, I finally had the chance to watch the Bravo show...the episode about the birthday party that Nene (pictured below) did not get in. How tragic. What do you think?

xo
Ferocia



Kim Zolciak....the wanna be country singer/single mom who lives off of her sugar daddy that she so fondly calls 'Big Poppa.'
Can you tell where her real hair ends and the weave begins?


Nene Leakes...that's a wig, right? Either way it's still a sizzling, burning, electrifying mess.

Would you wear...

...Marc Jacobs' gravity-defying pumps?

By now we've all seen the inverted heels that were the talk of Fall Fashion Week.

They're innovative, allegedly comfortable and Posh-approved, but would you wear these in public?

Even if Zappos.com was selling a version for $194.

I Like:

Lilia by Pour La Victoire

Ellen Pompei would.

As for me, I admit they're surreal, creative and one-of-a-kind (<--- that could be my label whore tendencies talking) but my ankle hurts just looking at them. 

I'd imagine stepping off the sidewalk onto a NYC street becomes a death-defying feat in these shoes. And landing on my butt in a pool of murky water or a pile of litter, to the amusement of cab drivers and the delight of thirsty men (Hey shorty, if I help you up, can I get your number?), is not the way I want to spend my morning commute.

Amusing, perhaps, but ultimately they're just impractical and strange. Thoughts?

Kisses,

Coutura

P.S. Even Berardi is jumping on the heelless trend with these 5 1/2 inch precarious platforms. 

He told London's Daily Mail, "When you walk, it's almost on tiptoe. You look really dainty." Yes, dainty is exactly the word I'd use to describe me flying headfirst down a flight of stairs. 

Apparently, the world loves them...or atleast England. They have to be ordered up to five weeks in advance at Browns stores in London. Huh? Discuss.

Style and Error

At the mag, our EIC (editor-in-chief) sends out emails to the entire staff from our readers, who are by far, the funniest people in the world. One letter that stands out is a ranting from a perturbed reader who infamously begged our Beauty Director to give Star Jones and Jennifer Hudson a makeover, covering up their "cow titties." Yes, cruel and crazy.

Eccentricities aside, sometimes our readers have a point: too many celebs are missing the mark and are in need of some professional makeover magic. Maybe because Halloween's approaching, or there could just be something in the water, but this week more than ever, celebs came out looking a burning, flaming, sizzling, oxidizing, hot mess. 

So here are the looks the glamazons could have done without this week. In between laughing and sharing with your co-workers, please say a quick prayer for them...

Mel B., who is fly under most any other circumstance, is dressed like a video girl from outerspace. Her outdated updo makes her appear all the more extraterrestial; it looks as if something is growing out of her head. And why the hood and the low-cut neckline? Your head is cold, but your boobs aren't? I'm confused.

Mmmm...this is an infection waiting to happen. Everyone knows leggings are tight but balance it out with a loose-fitting top, I beg of you. The leather corset and stilettos make 'Tasia look like she should be strutting down Hunt's Point like it's for sale and the rent was due yesterday (a la Miss J). This season's sexy is understated, subtle and mysterious, not out there for the world to see. And speaking of visibility, take a seat and that camel toe is going to be on full display. Are you gagging yet (cause I am)?

This is seven types of wrong. Clunky boots, booty shorts, baggy halter, bra peeking out, no, no, no! Shar is a beautiful girl with an amazing shape. And though this outfit highlights her killer legs, the shorts and sagging top make her look even more top-heavy and bottomless. Plus the fabric is cheap and the shoes are two sizes too big (that space between your heel and the back of the shoe? It's telling on you, Shar). 

Ugh. 

Golden Brooks, three words: Covergirl Queen Collection. There is a foundation for your shade. And while you're buying it at Target, get an iron for that cover-up that looks like you slept in it overnight. Furthermore, the lace* and sleepwear trends shouldn't look like you threw on some jeans and came outside in your pajamas. 

*Sidenote to black women everywhere, lingerie "nude" is not our nude. When in doubt, black undergarments are the way to go. 

Smh. 

Ladies, not everybody can be Rih Rih or Posh, I know. And even glamazons have bad days. But what you've just witnessed is a week of foolishness. And like our readers say, they're in need of makeovers and prayers.

Kisses,

Coutura