Saturday, June 30, 2012

Local love

Shout-outs to some of the businesses that I patronize:



Tuesday, June 26, 2012

5 Biggest Black Beauty Myths

Featuring advice from MUA @AshuntaSheriff.
See the 5 black beauty myths you have to read to believe

5 Biggest Black Beauty Myths
This is a TotalBeauty.com African-American hairstyles article
From not needing sunscreen to not being able to pull off blonde hair, African-American women get a lot of bad beauty messages. To put an end to the lies that are still being told, we talked to beauty experts and asked them to debunk the biggest African-American beauty myths. Finally, the truth is here.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Female jazz vocal compilations #MusicMonday

It all started with a TV commercial for the 2-CD set Lady Sings The Blues of songs performed by female pop and jazz vocalists.  Perhaps Capital Records was trying to, er, capitalize on the success of Norah Jones (Norah is signed with Capital subsidiary Blue Note and her cover of Roxy Music's More Than This is featured on the CD set).  Curious, I purchased the 2-CD set, and I was hooked.  I began buying similar CD compilations from places as diverse as The Sharper Image (before it closed its brick-and-mortar stores), Bed Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods Market, and my local Hallmark store.  Here's a list of some CD compilations of songs recorded by female pop and jazz artists:

In upcoming weeks, I'll feature videos of Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" #MusicMonday

Can you tell that I'm a fan of Leonard Cohen?  An inductee into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, he was most recently awarded the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize.  Love this: one great Canadian artist wins a prize named in the memory of another great Canadian artist.

Leonard Cohen's song "Suzanne" has been covered by many artists, but "Bird on a Wire" and, of course, "Hallelujah" are his most popular songs.

Here is the earliest recording (1966) Of "Suzanne," by the folk group The Stormy Clovers. The video comprises photos of The Stormy Clovers, Leonard himself, and the Montreal waterfront.



And here is Leonard performing "Suzanne" with Judy Collins, who brought his songs to the attention of the broader listening public:



In an upcoming #MusicMonday post, I'll feature Nina Simone's unique styling of "Suzanne."

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Blast from the past: 60s #cosmetics ads

When I was a kid, I hung out with my next door neighbor, who was two years older than me.  I liked her company more than that of her sister, who was only a couple of months older than me.  Gayle and I might have been young, but we were precocious in our fondness for clothes and cosmetics.

Here are a couple of items we coveted, but our mothers wouldn't let us buy:


Source: flickr.com via STYLE on Pinterest


Lipshine from Helena Rubinstein's Lightworks collection featured a "Splitstick" that was gloss on one side, color on the other, packed in a graphic black and white tube.

I love those swingy, pleated tent dresses!


Body Paint by Coty Originals has to be one of the most unusual cosmetics I've seen.  It came in a paint bucket complete with paint roller and pan.  Shades were blue, green, and mauve.  There were also four flesh tones.

This ad was scanned from the July 1967 issue of Seventeen.  The dress is by Betsey Johnson.  Can you believe that she's been around this long?

Monday, June 11, 2012

The beauties of 60s folk music #MusicMonday

Fashion magazines love to do stories on 60s style "icons."  They've overlooked the beauties of 60s folk music.  With their long hair and acoustic guitars, they had a style all their own.  View this list to see pictures of them and the men who loved them: