A Diva State of Mind

Up until two years ago, I either wore a French manicure or a pearl white nail color when I went to a nail salon no matter if it was Spring, Summer or Fall. Boring right??  I slowly began trying colors, first experimenting with different dark hues for the Fall & Winter season. Now that Spring is here and Summer is right around the corner, it is time to try a bright color for the season!

On a random trip to CVS last month, I passed by the Sally Hansen display and noticed a gorgeous color called “Kook-A-Mango.” It is a nice blend of orange and coral. Since I’ve vowed to spice things up and try a bright nail color, I purchased the polish and recently got a mani and pedi to see if I’d really like it on (sometimes colors can look fabulous in the bottle and not so fabulous once you try it on your nails).

The verdit???

I absolutely LOVE the color!!! It’s bright without being obnoxious! This is one color I think will look great against a variety of skin tones.

If you’re one that doesn’t usually experiment with nail color, I challenge you to switch it up this Summer season and try something bright. With so many options available, you’ll definitely find something that compliments you! We are all about adding vibrant colors to our wardrobe why not have some fun and add a little color to our nails too?

For those of you who currently wear bright nail colors, what are some of your favorite hues?

Last Wednesday, personal stylist Rachel Tapper & Danielle Brower hosted their first annual Charity Fashion Swap For A Cause to benefit FashionEastA, a non-profit styling organization designed to support East Africa.  The event took place at Floriana Restaurant in Dupont Circle.

The Fashion Swap featured racks, tables and bins full of donated items from local consignment shops and boutiques. 30 fashionistas enjoyed complimentary appetizers, wine and gift bags. The event was $15 and shoppers were able to pick three items of their choice. Any additional items were $5 each.  Thanks to everyone that attended the event, Rachel & Danielle were able to raise over $400 for FashionEastA!!!

Of course I did the most and ended up purchasing 6 items Check out pictures below!

My purchases - 6 items for $30!

Rachel & Danielle are working on another fabulous fashion swap event this Fall. In the meantime, check out their personal styling companies: FashionEastA & Style Soigne.

Please join my good friend Lourdes Laguna as she hosts A Toast To Diabetes happy hour on Wednesday, May 25th from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Vinoteca Wine Bar & Bistro (1940 11th Street NW, Washington DC). Proceeds from the happy hour will support Lourdes as she travels to the Dominican Republic in June with the American Youth Understanding Diabetes Abroad (AYUDA).

As a Type 1 diabetic, Lourdes understands how important it is to be educated about the condition and to be surrounded by a strong support system of family, friends and other Type 1 diabetics who can relate to what it is like to live with diabetes everyday. That is why she is so passionate about traveling with AYUDA to help other families and youth understand Type 1 diabetes and provide them with the knowledge and support they need.

AYUDA works with local organizations in Latin American countries to support families and youth living with Type 1 Diabetes, as well as provide them with a week long camp called “Campo Amigo” (Camp Friend).   Empowerment through education is the ultimate premise of AYUDA, in efforts to motivate youth living with Type 1 Diabetes to live healthier and happier lives. At Campo Amigo, campers will become empowered by new friendships with other Type 1 diabetics and their newfound wealth of knowledge about their condition.

Ticket prices are $20, $40 or $60. All donors will enjoy extended happy hour specials and outdoor patio seating.  Most of us make plans to attend a happy hour during the week, so why not stop by Vinoteca Wine Bar & Bistro, enjoy great drinks/appetizers and also support a great cause!  To purchase a ticket please click here.

You can learn more about Lourdes’ commitment to AYUDA and Type 1 Diabetes here.

Beyonce FINALLY release the video for her new single “Run The World (Girls).” For the past couple weeks she released teaser videos to get us all excited for the new video and what we can expect to be a summer full of Beyonce!! 

I finally watched the video this morning.   The choreography is HOT and the outfits are FIERCE, but due to a lack luster song, I won’t be rushing to dance in front of my television every time the video comes on like I would for “Single Ladies,” “Ego” and “Get Me Bodied.” 

While I’m not a huge fan of this single, I am looking forward to her upcoming album. After all, it is Beyonce and she doesn’t ever really disappoint.  Who knows, maybe “Run The World (Girls)” will grow on me. In the meantime, I’m anxious to hear other singles from the album. There has to be at least one song that will make my list of 2011 summer anthems!



Beyonce’s fourth studio album 4 is set to be released on June 28th. 

What do you think of “Run The World (Girls)”?

One of my friends posted this video on Facebook last night.  I thought about giving a synopsis of what happens in the video, but I’ll just let you check it out All I’ll say is that the marriage proposal is very creative; this guy definitely set the bar high!

Love it!!

The fabulous Kelly Rowland recently released a new video for another single off her upcoming album Here I Am. The new single “What A Feeling” is a pop dance track that I can definitely see getting a lot of play in clubs, especially overseas.  She is definitely creating more music that has given her the opportunity to cross over into various genres and expand her fan base, something we’ve seen other R&B artist recently do like Chris Brown (“Beautiful People,” “Yeah 3x”) and Usher (“OMG”).

Kelly Rowland is one underrated artist and with the success of “Motivation” on the R&B charts and a new pop single that will surely give her a lot of love in dance clubs and overseas, I really hope she FINALLY gets the recognition in the music industry she deserves.  When I first saw this new video, I really liked it. It is a fun video and I loved the choreography. I love the song “Motivation” and with an upbeat single like “What A Feeling,” I think I may have to check out her new album when it’s released this fall.

Designer Derek Lam has partnered with eBay to create an exclusive collection for the online marketplace.   He designed an assortment of iconic dresses he envisioned for every woman’s wardrobe.  In order to create the five dresses for the exclusive limited-edition collection, Lam allowed customers to vote online for the five winning looks. According to Lam,

“Having a direct and immediate dialogue with the online audience is what makes fashion exciting and relevant in this moment. eBay’s technology offers me a unique and innovative opportunity to reach new and existing customers directly and to create fashion they desire”

The limited edition collection is currently available at http://dereklam.ebay.com Check out the five looks below:

If the limited edition Derek Lam + eBay collection is successful on the site, I would not be surprised if we begin to see other designers partner with eBay. We’ve already seen a number of designers join forces with mainstream retailers like Macys, Target and Kohls via less expensive collections (i.e. Rachel Rachel Ray, Simply Vera Vera Wang) in order to expand their consumer base.  I’m glad to see more high end designers joining forces with a variety of retailers, making their designs more accessible for fashionistas like you and me!

What do you think about the Derek Lam dresses? Are there any designers you’d like to see partner with eBay?

On Wednesday, May 18th from 7-10pm at Floriana Restaurant, Style Soige and FashionEastA will host the first annual Charity Fashion Swap For A Cause.

I’m sure you’re wondering “how does this work?” No worries, I was wondering the same thing! For only $15, attendees will receive 3 fashion items of their choice. Designers include 7 Jeans, Betsy Johnson, Romeo & Juliet, Banana Republic and many more!

Proceeds will benefit FashionEastA, a non profit styling organization designed to support East Africa. Founded by Danielle Brower, FashionEastA donates 100% of its proceeds to East African orphanages.

Each fashionista will receive a fabulous gift bag full of coupons and other fun items. There will also be a raffle for an iPod nano and $50 gift certificate to Current Boutique!

I highly recommend all fashionistas attend this event on Wednesday.  I’ll definitely be in attendance! Who wouldn’t want to spend ONLY $15 to receive a few designer pieces? And it all goes to charity.  If that isn’t a great deal, than I don’t know what is!

The event coordinators are still accepting donations! For a donation pick up or to RSVP to this event email Rachael at [email protected].

Sponsored by Mosaic Love & Martin’s Lounge, Art is Life brings together fashion, art and music all under one roof.  Art is Life was created by Ara Renada Whiting, a DC area artist who prides herself on creative skills and giving back to the community.

The event will take place on Sunday, May 15, 2011 at THEARC Theatre (1901 Mississippi Ave SE, Washington, DC) hosted by Honeycomb Set CEO Sherrella La Bella and WPGC’s DJ Heat will be spinning. Guests will enjoy live musical performances by Bear Witnez, David Correy and many more as well as live body painting provided by The Artist Ed of Miskeen.

Fashions will be presented by:

• Rapteez
• Euro
• Victoir C
• Angels& Dimes Luxury
• L Wear
• Renee France Designs
• K White Collection
• Demeanor
• Demarco Solar
• Greatness + Wealth
• Nayaricci
• Aleeka DeMorris
• AMA Fashions
• Ara Renada Whiting’s own Pynk Leopard.

From 3-5pm, guests will enjoy a trunk show and art gallery. The fashion show will begin promptly at 5pm.  The after party will be held at Martin’s Lounge from 9pm to 1am, 1919 9^th Street NW Washington, DC.

With a huge focus on giving back and making a difference, Art is Life will donate proceeds from the show to Face Up 2 Cancer & to the Corcoran Art Gallery located in Washington, DC. To purchase tickets visit http://artislifemovement3.eventbrite.com.