Qhemet Biologics NOW @ HoneyFig Retail!

I am excited to announce that HoneyFig retail is now carrying select Qhemet Biologics products (Amla & Oilve Heavy Cream, Burdock Root Butter Cream, and the Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee). This is amazing, I am so happy! Anyone else who is a Qhem Fanatic like myself will understand!

If you want to see more product selection from Qhemet Biologics at HoneyFig retail please let this be known at :

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Qhemet Biologics
10006 Cross Creek Blvd. #439
Tampa, Florida 33647

ContactUs@QhemetBiologics.com or QhemetBio@aol.com

AND

HoneyFig

4967 Yonge Street

Toronto, ON M2N 5N6 Canada

(416) 226-2100 or 1 888 82 HONEY

email@HoneyFig.com

Wish List: Prescriptives

Prescriptives Flawless Face Primer

Flawless Face Primer gives your skin the smoothest, most even texture possible, so makeup looks absolutely seamless and stays on even longer. Creates a silky canvas for ultra-smooth foundation application. Helps diminish the appearance of large pores, lines and wrinkles, while simultaneously helping to reduce the appearance of redness and discoloration. Visibly calms and soothes the skin, while reducing excess oil. Leaves skin looking clearer, less lined, and super-smooth.

Oil-free. Non-acnegenic. Ophthalmologist/Dermatologist-tested.

Prescriptives Illuminating Liquid Potion in Translucent

The Magic: Instantly imparts an image of perfection. This liquid illusion with three-dimensional holographic pigments plays with light to create flawless looking skin.

The Secret: Simply apply Illuminating Liquid Potion Translucent evenly all over face. Wear under or over Prescriptives foundation to enhance the illusion.

Oil-free. Non-acnegenic. Ophthalmologist-tested. Dermatologist-tested.

Prescriptives Traceless Skin Responsive Tint SPF 8

Traceless Skin Responsive Tint keeps skin looking natural, in any light. For positively luminous, perfected skin. A smooth, undetectable finish with the light-adjusting powers of Prescriptives moisture-filled tint. Soft vision prisms optically airbrush skin, diminishing the look of lines, pores and wrinkles.

SPF 8 provides added protection from the sun.

{All descriptions from prescriptives.com}

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Recently I went into Holt Renfew and got some Prescriptives cosmetics and I am very impressed. I love my Flawless Skin Total Protection Makeup SPF 15 in Sienna (57), All Skins Mineral Makeup SPF 15 in Level 5 Cool, and the Limited-Edition Mineral Color Making Faces Cool Kit which includes TerraStone - 02 Mineral Cheek Color and Warm Medium Deep - 02 Mineral Color Loose Lighting Powder and a small application brush. I use the Loose Lighting Powder as a natural bronzer/ highlighter and I love the results.

Laura Izibor

Laura Izibor is a Irish born R&B singer. Born May 13th, 1987 in Dublin, Ireland she focused on her dream and never looked back. She has opened for Aretha Franklin, India.Arie, Estelle and John Legend. Her debut album "Let The Truth Be Told" will be released June of this year in the U.S. and Canada and is already noted to much acclaim. She is definitely an artist I will be watching and ofcourse I love her CURLS!

Visit Laura Izibor here

Teyana Taylor Photoshoot

Teyana Taylor recently was out at Venice Beach for a photoshoot. She is fierce, fab and beautiful, I love her style!

Alexander McQueen Pelle Leather Sandal

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If you feel BADDDD try these, Alexander McQueen Pelle Leather Sandal design. The detail is emaculate. The description is as follows:

Enticingly evil. Vex yourself with villainous vice! Wake your wicked ways and rouse your rebel nature with these sinfully satisfying shoes by Alexander McQueen™!

These beauties boast 4 3/4" stiletto heels, leather sole and lining, and made in Italy, what more can a girl want!

Click here for more details.

Toronto Natural Bellas Gathering: Thank You!

From left to right: Nicole, Zakiyyah, myself (Natalie), Faith, Mona, Tiffany, Sandra, and Lori.

The gathering was a blast. I loved the company of these women and we are already thinking about the second Natural Bellas Gathering! Ofcourse within the next few months I will post the details when they become available so that anyone who couldn't attend the first gathering can make plans for the second.

Thank you everyone that attended and thank you Mona for organizing this event, it was much appreciated.

Time: The Meaning Of Michelle

Michelle Obama graces the cover of the June issue of Time Magazine. Her interview touches on everything of importance, her new chapter as First Lady, the family's adjustment from living in a Chicago suburb to now living in the White House and so much more, available on news stands this week.

What Is Beauty?

What is beauty? This question came to me after meeting up with seven beautiful natural women this past weekend. This question has stayed with me and I do feel it is an important one. The subject of hair of course was our main discussion and within that subject we discussed how kinky or curly our hair is and the obstacles/challenges that are presented when styling it each morning to face the world. Beauty to me is subjective, intangible and fluid. It cannot be caught and bottled and than pulled out to measure someone's beauty whether it be by hair or other physical features like skin tone, lips, breasts, etc.
I have seen couples together and thought "wow, how did they meet," and what were the dynamics of their relationship. I don't want to come across as superficial, looks are not the only things that count but I know we have all seen a man and woman walking together and taken a double take to confirm their pairing.

I view myself as beautiful, inside and outside and no one can take that from me. I look at my hair and see beauty, this did not happen over night, it was a process from the unknown to the known. I cannot tell you the date I saw my hair and loved everything about it but I will say I and my hair grew together, through trial and tribulation. Their are women who "get it" early in life and that manifest into sex appeal, a "je ne c'est quoi." I applaud the mothers that instill love of self within their daughters, from the crowns of their heads to the souls of their feet they are taught that they are beautiful, they are loved and it must be guarded as sacred. I think it is safe to say that we have all met someone when upon first glance we were not attracted to them but their 'swagger' caught us and than we learned a few things about life.

We all come in layers, we all grow and yield fruit that others see as attractive. Beauty just is, the word holds so many meanings. One of which for me is beauty translates into love of self, and when we love our selves nothing can tell us differently, how we feel about ourselves becomes unchanging when we get to that place of acceptance, isn't that what beauty is?

Beyonce - EGO

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I love this song and her big curls! Enjoy the video and have a safe weekend!

Toronto Natural Bellas Gathering

We are meeting up to eat good food, talk hair and beauty and much more. If you want to swap/giveaway/sell products bring your goody bag!

Toronto Natural Bellas Gathering
Saturday May 23rd @ 6.30 PM
Pickle Barrel Grand Restaurant @ Yorkdale Mall

For more info and to have your name noted for reservations contact Mo: mona27lisa@hotmail.com
For those that aren't familiar with Yordale Mall I've attached a link from MapQuest here.

E mail mona27lisa@hotmail.com for name of reservation.

Karen's Body Beautiful Divine Duo

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This ultra nourishing shampoo and conditioner duo is the solution for hair that is prone to dryness. Own this set for $20 with a purchase of $50 ($28 value) and free shipping with a purchase of $75 or more, just enter the coupon code "divine" at check out. Visit Karen's Body Beautiful here.

Expires May 25th, 2009.

8020 Molly Open Toe Heel Wedge

I would rock these hard! They are 'personal' if you know what I mean. They can be mixed with jeans, skirts and shorts for the spring/summer trends. The 8020 Molly Open Toe Heal Wedge comes in black, sunshine, natural and navy. It is made of canvas with leather trim, rubber soles and has a hidden wedge of approximately 3". Visit REVOLVEclothing.com for more info.

Push:Based On A Novel By Sapphire (Repost)

Push: Based On A Novel By Sapphire was a winner of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Gabourey Sidibe who plays the main character Clareece Precious Jones has gained acclaim for her raw talent of taking on such a tortured character that has endured physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her mother who is played by Mo'nique and sexual abuse by her father who she is pregnant by for the second time. Precious is over weight, illiterate and because of years of molestation and abuse has little if any self esteem. The amazing part about this is this is Sidibe's first time acting and she brings a story that many would avoid because of its deep and dark topics to a place of hope and redemption.
Lee Daniels is the director and he is most noted for producing the movie Monster's Ball. The cast also includes Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, Sherri Sheppard and Lenny Kravitz.
This film is for anyone and everyone that knows someone that was abused, or they themselves were abused. Unfortunately, that is the majority of people. The movie is poignant and devastatingly honest, it is a story that must be told for all those that have no voice or who stand the shadows because of shame.

Originally Posted on February 6th, 2009

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

Musician Lenny Kravitz joins actresses Paula Patton, Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe and Mariah Carey pose for a pic at the ‘Precious’ Photocall held at the Hotel 314 during the 62nd International Cannes Film Festival on Friday May 15th in Cannes, France.

Toronto Natural Bellas Gathering

I'm excited to announce the Toronto Natural Bellas Gathering!

We are meeting up to eat good food, talk hair and beauty and much more. If you want to swap/giveaway/sell products bring your goody bag!

Toronto Natural Bellas Gathering

Saturday May 23rd @ 6.30 PM

Pickle Barrel Grand Restaurant @ Yorkdale Mall

For more info and to have your name noted for reservations contact Mo: mona27lisa@hotmail.com

For those that aren't familiar with Yordale Mall I've attached a link from MapQuest here.

What Is Good Hair?

Today Tyra Banks' episode What is Good Hair? aired today at 1 PM. I was unable to watch the full episode but I did watch the preview and I must say I was very concerned with the comments and actions of the guests on the show. Unfortunately, in 2009 some women of African descent are unapologetic when making ignorant comments that are not based in reality. I am open to comments if you saw the show and what do you think of the preview video, thanks.

Model Moment: Atong Arjok

Atong Arjok born October 5th, 1985 is a Sudanese beauty who was discovered in Los Angeles. She has been likened to Alek Wek with her stunning features. Currently she is signed to Trump Model Management and has a lengthy resume that proves she has what it takes to be a super model. She has walked the runway for Phillip Lim, Diane von Furstenberg, Custo Barcelona, Lacoste and Heatherette to name a few. She was featured in Vogue Italia, Russian Vogue, Teen Vogue, Allure, Trace and Glamour. Her campaign ads include Target, Diesel, Patricia Fields, Destination Style New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Estee Lauder and Sephora. She is a natural beauty that I look forward to seeing more of.

To All Curl Junkies

Excerpt from curljunkie.com:

Lots of exciting things are happening here! We are finally taking some baby steps and are beginning to offer our products through local retailers. Here are the new locations:

New York - Brooklyn Back to the Land Natural Foods 142 7th AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11215 (718) 768-5654 (Limited Selection - Expected in stock May 9th, 2009)

Texas - Lin's Beauty Supply 407 W Eldorado Pkwy # 130 Little Elm, TX 75068 (469) 362-4940

Ontario - Canada HoneyFig 4967 Yonge Street Toronto, ON M2N 5N6 Canada (416) 226-2100 (Expected in stock May 11th, 2009)

Want to see Curl Junkie Products at your local salon/beauty store? If you would like your local store to carry Curl Junkie products, ask them to carry the line so you can save on shipping costs!
Customer demand influences decisions for stores to carry the products, so every request counts. :-) Show your love for Curl Junkie and vote for us in Naturallycurly.com's Best of the Best 2009 survey!


Curl Junkie has begun to offer their products at retailers. Thankfully one of the locations is HoneyFig, right here in Toronto. You won't have to pay for shipping any longer!

Random

Over the past few weeks I've noticed that when doing business or out running errands both men and women tend to push the boundaries.

What I mean by that is certain attitudes that they had toward me would be suppressed or not as boldly displayed if a man was in my company. The first example is I called an agency for a fax number which is public knowledge since they are a government organization. I wasn't close to a computer so the next best thing was to call them up. The lady I was speaking to refused to give me the number because she wanted to review all the details on my account first and threatened to transfer me back into the queue because I didn't want her to put me on hold so that she could "look for it." I explained to her that by law if a client doesn't want to be placed on hold than she is not suppose to and furthermore cannot threaten to transfer a client back into the queue because of my request. I was in a public place and a gentleman over heard my conversation and yelled toward my phone "just give her the number." The woman over heard him and amazingly backed off and gave the number, she even had the nerve to ask me "if that was all for today."

My second incident was at the gas station. The pump I was using didn't have a stable lever so after a while of pressing it, it released its pressure and the gas stopped flowing. I dealt with a 'gas Nazi' since after changing pumps this crazed employee came out telling me I had no right to change pumps and he had the nerve to shut down my pump! It gets more crazy... I had to go into the store which was packed and tell him to open my pump and that the original pump I was at wasn't working properly and that's why I moved to another pump. He of course hesitated, the store was filled with men and they started making noise and he finally said "alright I'll let you pump your gas."

I give these two stories because it seems when I encounter strangers in business or while doing errands those that assume that I am single take a more harsh approach toward me, and that is a definite no no! I do not tolerate foolishness at all. If these men were not present I may of had to fight harder for what I knew was right but because men were present it seemed that the person in opposition backed down much more quickly. When I have a steady boyfriend I don't have these situations arise. It's about respect, when I walk with my man I feel a weight lift off of my shoulders, if an issue arises I know he will handle it. It's crazy but that's the world we live in.

Clarifying Our Hair and Scalp

Clarifying our hair is important to prevent build up and to encourage strong, shiny, and healthy hair. Clarifying cleansers and rinses do not have moisturizing properties in them and can be highly acidic so following up with your favourite deep conditioner is important.

Clarifying cleansers that contain sulfates rid the hair and scalp of silicones and petro-chemicals. That said, I have talked about my search for an all natural clarifying cleanser and I am intrigued with the Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying Shampoo. Currently I am using Organic Black Soap by Eli which is in liquid form. I picked this up from my local flea market and I am not disappointed. I have realized that my hair responds well to black soap as appose to castille soap. I wash my hair with the Organic Black Soap by Eli and than follow with rinsing my hair and scalp with Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water (half & half). I have gotten good results without my hair feeling stripped.

I like to think of clarifying cleansers as a reviver for hair. They bring the pH balance back to a normal level and promote clean scalp which assist in growth. Keeping our hair and scalp clean is a must if we want to prevent breakage and knotting. Sometimes the residue of products is what is causing the hair to feel rough and look dull which if this is also true for the ends of the hair strand that translates into knotting and breakage. Try clarifying whether it be once a week, every two weeks or once a month, your hair will tell you what it needs.

Nneka

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Nneka born in 1981 as Nneka Egbuna in Warri, Nigeria is a Nigerian artist that has been compared to Lauryn Hill and her most recent album has been pronounced by critics as good as The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. That aside she is a force to be reckoned with that sings boldly about oppression in her native Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Her debut album Victim of Truth holds one of my favourite songs "Africans". I am so thankful to see her fearlessness and boldness. She is currently on tour promoting her latest album No Longer at Ease. You can visit her at her MySpace page here and purchase her albums from Amazon.com. Enjoy!

Giuseppe Zanotti Design

These beauties are Giuseppe Zanotti Design, with a 4 1/4 heel and 100% italian leather they are keepers. visit couture.zappos for more deatils.

Naturally Loved: Part Seven

I am so excited about the progress being made with many men and women embracing their natural hair. whether it be loose or loc'ed I am amazed at the page we are turning in our community. I do hope that it last and we can learn to love every aspect of our "Blackness." Black is beautiful, unique ... It is worth loving you and not loving what people view you as. Their is an emerging transformation taking hold throughout the African diaspora.

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Hair is huge within the black community, black women spend more money and time on our tresses then any other demographic. Our hair is our crown and rightfully so. We are able to intrigue others with our hair, it is versatile, their is a wide variety of textures and the soft to the touch feel. We are blessed and the sooner we realize it, we will be able to heal issues that for so long has created barriers. Some women fear what their hair will look like, they fear handling their natural hair on a daily basis. I constantly see comments in articles, on blogs and forums of women stating that "natural hair isn't for me," I do find these comments frustrating since what other race would say such a thing ... none! Imaging a white women or Hispanic woman coming across an article with this type of statement? I would find it quite weird to be honest and would see a glimpse of self-hate.

Men and women around me for the most part have supported me in embracing my natural hair. I don't find it difficult to date with my natural hair and I do not run into any negative situations at my place of employment. I bring these two points up because many women use these arguments to discourage themselves from embracing their natural hair. The words "professional looking" and "acceptable" come to mind. I recently saw a woman in a nation wide broadcast on naturally kinky, coily and curly hair state that relaxed hair looks "professional." She was eluding to the belief that natural hair isn't professional and therefore a hindrance in the corporate environment.

The statement above is hogwash to be polite, don't believe the lies. Get up and love yourself. Education is important when faced with ignorant comments. Products are becoming easier and easier to find, alternatives are available to harsh styling products that are natural and/or organic. Products like shea butter, coconut oil, and castile soaps are easy to find if you look. Don't be discourage, what doesn't break you will make you stronger.

Happy Growing,

Natalie