Always bet on Black.... and a nice matte lip

There's a lot of bad going on in the world right now, narrowing it down to North America there is more than enough orange evil to go around. I can't help my brothers and sisters in the States on the ground (a) because I'm Canadian and (b) because I'm not touching the States with a ten foot Canadian flagpole, so I decided to help in another way that is mutually beneficial. Buying Black. This means increasing my purchases within the Black community by buying from Black owned businesses and supporting Black artists and this is actually a lot of fun. It means picking up an Essence magazine with Ava Duvernay on the cover, or scooping up a copy of Ebony with Jurnee Smollett-Bell featured. It also means checking out Canada's only all Black Burlesque Troupe on March 23th in Toronto, lead and founded by Dainty Smith, picking up my peppy single Doo-Wop Days (see what I did there (didn't really do much just plugged myself) see! see!) or purchasing some lovely teas from a socially conscious tea shoppe out of Manitoulin Island. There's so many ways to support the community and one of my current favourites is of course...lipstick (the word is in the blog name people!) Some thrilling, relatively new Black run and founded lip companies that I'm over the moon about include:

The Lip Bar  founded by Melissa Butler after being erroneously shut down on Shark Tank, these lippies are now being worn by the likes of Taraji P Henson and featured in Essence magazine. I, myself can attest to the power of their #BawseLady shade (as seen below) and look forward to trying more shades from them in the future.

ColouredRaine founded by Loraine Roberts Dowdy is an electric brand filled with bright (and dark) colours to ensure you're dropping jaws in every room. My personal favourites are Tootsie and Cherry Blossom. Check out an online vlog review here.

For those with a lusty appetite for the finer things in life (and an obsession with the 90's cult classic 'The Craft'")   Gold Label Cosmetics is here to satisfy your every designer lip need. Lipsticks and Lip Pens even come in bundles according to shades and dark (or light) urges. As well, after my first purchase I was sent a personalized thank you email from the founder Kristen Elise Brown, herself, if that isn't customer service! Check out her story and some lovely lip swatches here.  I'll have more of an update on this once I receive my order of Dark Children and the Bogota Bundle....

Last but certainly not least, Beauty Bakerie a tasty confection of dessert named lippies and highlighters founded by the unsinkable Cashmere Nicole (who is more than a few success stories in her own right). I've yet to purchase any lippies from them but I have my eye on Raspberry Tiramisu, Cranberry Stiletto and She's Just Jelly and I'll let you know when I get my sticky, matte addicted puckers on them. In the meantime here's an online lip swatch to peruse.

Excitingly, along with being Black-Owned and founded, all the brands I've mentioned are cruelty free and/or vegan so no cute little fuzzies were harmed to achieve a higher level of lip-loving existence. If you give any of these brands a try (which I strongly encourage you to) drop me a note and let me know how it goes.

Kisses and Wishes to you,
2017 Me

P.S Click on the links to check out the cosmetics companies and events!

Have no fear, it's Suuuuuupermoon!!!

Well friends, kitten and magical, mystical ones, tonight is the night to get your witches brew out, read your tarot, dust off your spellbooks and make dreams come true. Not much to do but enjoy the magical moon. Watch a few magical movies like The Craft, Peace, Love and Misunderstanding or catch a few episodes of the now defunct Witches of East End.  If you really want to get kinky (and cheesy frankly)  try some Dante's Cove. Tonight is the night that mysteries unfurl as hallowe'en approaches and a Super-Hunter's Moon drops in for a spell. Have a magical, mystical, miraculous week!

KOMAKINO

This is the hour when the mysteries emerge. A strangeness so hard to reflect. A moment so moving, goes straight to your heart, The vision has never been met. The attraction is held like a weight deep inside, Something I'll never forget.

The pattern is set, her reaction will start, Complete but rejected too soon. Looking ahead in the grip of each fear, Recalls the life that we knew. The shadow that stood by the side of the road, Always reminds me of you.

How can I find the right way to control, All the conflict inside, all the problems beside, As the questions arise, and the answers don't fit, Into my way of things, Into my way of things.

JOY DIVISION 

P.S Here's some more weird vibey music for the Super, Hunter's moon. Hope you find what you're looking for!

Alas it is fall,

Did you ever imagine? I didn't, but I live in a dreamworld, what's your excuse? Regardless we are now to be besieged by angry red leaves that refuse to attend their former placements for a moment longer, they will now make a mad dash to the ground as we sip our cinnamon lattes thoughtfully and consider how we will once again pick a terrible last minute costume for an event we knew was going to happen all year. If this is not what you are thinking then I highly recommend thinking it because the alternative, (apocalypse nowish?) is just too unpleasant. Nay, I say, drink your mulled wine and coffee spiked with spiced rum (or chai for you tee-totalers out there) and imagine how you wish things to be, then get off your cute, little, cinnamon butt and go for it. After all if the ol' hourglass has been severely shaken we may as well make the best of the weird and wacky sand we have left, hey?

In keeping with that, here is my new obsession (not really that new, I've been obsessed with scores since I was a wee little peanut as you can see from my former blog on scoring, (I really need to get a handle on my use of parenthesis) I am absolutely desperate about it) hopefully it will motivate you to do something you have always longed to. Take your fears and put them asunder before your vessel lands down under! I mean, that was terrible but whatever, just do it! 

Have a desperately brilliant week!

Just When You Think You've Got it Down.....

You can hear the people peeing upstairs. Ah life! It sure does have a way of upending things and 2016 for absolutely certain. I have thus far been to a funeral, been hit by a car, laid off work and bid farewell to more fantastic artists than I care to mention. It's a doozy this year, and aren't we all just struggling to get out alive while still being clever enough to use the oxford comma?
As a result of the terror this year has rained upon us, I have decided to make this the unequivocal year that I finish and release my EP. I have One and a half songs left and we're nearly there, because while there may be darkness, an absence of liquor and a strange sensation that the robots pressed waaaay too many buttons and switched the matrix from a utopia to a dystopian hell (Aside: I think it's funny that autocorrect doesn't seem to know what dystopian means, in 2016? I mean really), you and I are still here, and so is the music folks, and that at the very least is worth some celebration. So queue up your Netflix, ready your wine and popcorn and watch every damn thing you ever wanted to watch, go outside and run every damn track you wanted to run, or get yourself on a bus and window watch every damn thing you wanted to window watch, paint that painting, finish that book, deck the halls or paint the halls. For God's sakes finish that damned script and tweak that damned novel because now is the time people!!!, and come the end of the year your ears will be very busy.

Peace (where you can find it) Love (within yourself) and Kittens (always kittens I mean, c'mon)!


P.S some pep for your step

La vida es un carnaval....

Okay, it's not but you believed me for a second didn't you? Well at least last night was a carnival because the incredible Sergio Mendes came to thrill Toronto with his incredible music and he played this right off the bat! He was (as expected) incredible, a true MC and he had some incredible back-up (sorry I'm simply gobsmacked) in his band and singers . This was all in support of the PanAm Games closing ceremonies in an event quite accurately dubbed Panamania. Which saw the likes of Mariana's Trench, Tessanne Chin, A Tribe Called Red, Colin James, Jully Black, Wyclef Jean, Serena Ryder, Calypso Rose and Kobo Town and so many more. Impending Panamania includes: Janelle Monae, Jann Arden, A Tribe Called Red, The Roots and many more.

Anyway, as expected I made a playlist in preparation for Sergio Mendes' arrival and it is as exciting as it appears, ladies and gents your Spanish music playlist (okay, the name kinda sucks). I must warn you that as I am now on deezer, as opposed to the newly defunct grooveshark, I don't believe this is viewable on your smart little phones unless you have a deezer account. Therefore, either sign up for deezer or listen on your laptop! Enjoy, beautiful people!!

Uh-oh-ohhhhh

While I haven't got the right stuff yet I do have new playlists but unfortunately they are on deezer and I'm pretty sure you need an account to hear them. Getting back into that gym life myself so if you wanna wanna hear some bitchin' gym tunes, sign up with deezer and clicky-click above so you can get yo' fit on.

In the meantime I'm songwriting and looking for some gigs to book. Wrote a sweet folk-y, country ditty the other day with my friend Rachel E Robinson called "Homewrecker", just kidding. It's called "When You Love Me Like That" and I may one day venture out into the folk-y, country territory and release it on an EP with Cheap Bottle of Wine and No Way Now.

 I do have a sweet spot for country music and my latest crush is on a fabulous singer named Mickey Guyton, all her songs have (quite happily) been in my head for the last week, I sure hope she books a show in the T-dot, as I'd love to see her perform live. Wonderful!

Another current obsession. Nick Jonas' album, don't judge me. Okay, okay judge me, I deserve it but this album is A-freaking-K with me. It's on repeat all day, errrr-day. I highly recommend it, especially in the gym. Speaking of gym-ing, my girl Katrina's instagram account, she is not only fit as *beep* but an incredible make-up artist to boot. If you want that summer body inspiration or tips on how to do a cat-eye then follow her, follow her to the ends of the eaaaaaaarth!!!

Well that's it my peeps, I'm out. I hope you get a deezer account so you can hear my new playlists ( I tried to replicate the Beverly Hills 90210 playlist as best I could) and so you can support the musicians (who apparently weren't getting money for streaming their wares on grooveshark) and I hope you have a faaaaabulous week!!


Ta!

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting launch anti-Harper ad