The Trove: Erin Robinson July 23, 2011

With schoolgirls in Banda Village, Rwanda. Erin Robinson loves summer thunderstorms and she got one as we chatted in her childhood home in Washington, DC over the July Fourth weekend, her sweeping gestures and sound effects underscored by the distant thunder and gentle rain. We noshed on fresh fruit and spoke of mutual travel glories: [...]

The Trove: Anu Prestonia June 16, 2011

Advancing the acceptance of natural beauty, the radiant hair care icon. So certain that their first-born child would be a boy, Barbra Jean and Preston Newsome awaited son Preston, Jr. When their Aries daughter arrived, they named her Prestonia and called her “Toni.” She would one day become “a new” Prestonia when spirit would dictate [...]

The Trove: Shalea Walker January 28, 2011

A glowing Shalea Walker at her spa. Nestled on a quiet block near Jersey City’s Grove Street Path Station, Walker’s Apothecary is a “beauty haven designed to relax and enlighten.”  I went recently to visit the visionary proprietor Shalea Walker and marveled over her radiant skin as a nail technician completed her manicure. We spoke [...]

The Trove: Lloyd Boston September 9, 2010

LB, unbuttoned elegance.  Become a fan on Facebook.  Photo: Robert Tardio Sure he’s poised, handsomely photogenic and genially telegenic, delivering doses of friendly, practical style advice to the masses, but it’s not just fashion knowledge Lloyd Boston is dropping, it’s the well-timed bons mots that get me every time (and I’ve worked with him on [...]

The Trove: PJ Cobbs September 2, 2010

Patricia Jacobs has the sun-kissed glow of a traveler and more than a few stamps in her passport.  A former journalist, the Jamaican-Brit artist and adventurer known as PJ Cobbs could publish her own guide to global travel delights, embracing both the pinnacle of luxury and the down-n-dirty with equal aplomb. In fact, she has [...]

The Trove: harriette cole July 2, 2010

One of my favorite photos of harriette. I met the multi-hyphenate harriette cole just weeks before her 1993 wedding to photographer, George Chinsee. Upon meeting, the first thing I noticed about her was an easy grace.  Gliding into the conference room of Essence magazine dressed in billowing layers (likely Flyte Ostell),  she interviewed me for [...]

Africa in the Picture IV May 18, 2010

Niece of Nigerian highlife star Victor Olaiya, Wunmi Olaiya has music in her blood.  With her fierce style (she designs under the Wumnigirl label) and high-0ctane performances she has built a devoted following.  Her supporters rallied to assist her when in November she made a request on Kickstarter for donations to fund her sophomore solo [...]

Beauty in Full: Roxanna Floyd February 8, 2010

The varied stuff of life has, thus far, prevented posting to pendulum in this new decade of the 21st century.  The glory of watching the magnificent Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on the very first day of the year went unacknowledged; feeling the personal seismic shift of caring for an ailing parent and receiving the [...]

Fine: The Basics of Beauty December 14, 2009

There are still a few days left to make an Amazon.com purchase in time for Christmas. If you are a woman of color or are shopping for one, a sure-fire hit is Fine: The Basics of Beauty, the first instructional DVD by celebrity makeup artist, Sam Fine.  Following-up his bestselling book, Fine Beauty: Beauty Basics [...]

Women in the Cut December 14, 2009

At this time of year, I find myself reminiscing about the childhood joy of taking a pristine sheet of white paper and with a few folds, strategic snips, the gingerly opening of the cut form, et voilà, snowflake! My paper cutting dexterity ends right about there, so I have considerable admiration for those gifted with [...]