OBAMA!!!

I know this is a makeup blog but I could not help but post his 30 mn prime time ad! He is DEFINATELY the ONE!!!

Now make sure you help him get into the White House on Nov 4th!!!

 

Love & Sympathy to Jennifer Hudson

 

 

All my love and sympathy goes to actress Jennifer Hudson and her sister during this tough time.

Words cannot heal the pain of losing someone dear to you, especially a mother…

May God give them the strength to overcome the pain and bless them always…

eVaDiVa

SKIN BLEACHING/LIGHTENING? YOUR ENNEMY

***WARNING*** WARNING*** DISTURBING PICTURES BELOW

I was watching a documentary that a friend sent me last week and I was horrified by what I found out and saw. I then googled “depigmentation de la peau danger” and almost threw up when I saw the pictures (see below). So I didn’t want this blog to be full of nice and pretty pictures of women with makeup and beautiful skin, I wanted to make sure that beautiful women of color like me and you are aware of the danger of skin lightening.

In Senegal, this practice is called “Khessal” meaning “lightening”. It is done by many women of different social classes. This means that a rich or a poor woman can do it, she will just use different products depending on her budget…In RDC (Republic Democratic of Congo), this has been a practice that even men do… In Gambia, the president Yaya Djame banned it and people are subjected to emprisonment if they are caught bleaching their skin. It is unfortunate that other countries do not apply the same laws knowing that skin bleaching can sometimes kill…

A play Written and performed by Rani Moorthy to raise awareness against skin bleaching

 

Here is an interesting article that I found at: http://www.pressbox.co.uk/detailed/Health/skin_bleaching/_lightening_its_dangers_37431.html that details this phenomenon…

How skin lightening products work

There are two chemicals found in skin lightening products, Hydroquinone or Mercury.

o Hydroquinone (C6H6O2) is a severely toxic and very powerful chemical used in photo processing, the manufacture of rubber and is an active agent in hair dyes.
o Mercury in the form of Mercury Chloride & Ammoniated Mercury is carcinogenic. They appear on the list of toxic substances that can only be purchased via pharmacies with prescribed labels of toxicity.

Both products perform a similar process. In the short term they will initially cause the skin to lighten by inhibiting the production of melanin. Without melanin formation in the basal layer no brown pigmentation will be visible.

The long term effects, however, are those that must be addressed.

The long term effects of using skin lightening products

Hydroquinone or Mercury applied to the skin will react with ultra violet rays and re-oxidise, leading to more pigmentation and premature ageing. More product is then applied in an attempt to correct the darker blotchy appearance.
These are the beginnings of a vicious cycle. By altering the skins natural structure and inhibiting the production of Melanin, it’s natural protection, the skin is more susceptible to skin cancer.

Prolonged use of Hydroquinone will thicken collegen fibres damaging the connective tissues. The result is rough blotchy skin leaving it with a spotty cavier appearance.
Mercury will slowly accumulate within the skin cells striping the skin of it’s natural pigment leaving behind the tell tale signs of gray/ blue pigmentation in the folds of the skin. In the long term the chemical will damage vital organs and lead to liver and kidney failure and mercury poisoning.

 

 

PLEASE DO NOT USE SKIN LIGHTENING PRODUCTS. DO NOT USE ANYTHING THAT CONTAINS ANYTHING HIGHER THAN 2% HYDROQUINONE UNLESS DIRECTED BY A DOCTOR.

FOR ALL MY FRANCOPHONE READERS, READ THIS ARTICLE: http://www.hautcourant.com/Depigmentation-de-la-peau-au-dela,409

Thank you Leyla for sending that…

XoXo

eVaDiVa

I also wanted to give two thumbs up to all these fighting against skin bleaching and that are raising awareness in their communities. For instance, as common as it is here in Senegal, I have not seen one flight attendant from our national airline company using these products…

Beauty of the week ***ROCHELLE AYTES***

You may remember Rochelle if you are a fan of Tyler Perry’s movies. She played the role of the beautiful fiance of very handsome Blair Underwood in Madea’s family Reunion. She also did a lot of commercials for L’Oreal, Coca-Cola, Mc Donalds and Mercedes Benz.

Her look on this picture is very soft and yet, looks very glamour…Here is how you could do this at home:

ALL MAC UNLESS SPECIFIED

FACE

Foundation: Mineralize satin finish liquid

Concealer: Select cover up

Blush: Mineralized blush “Love Thing”

Powder: Lose powder

EYES

Base: Cream color base SHELL

Lid: Retrospeck

Crease: Woodwinked

Highlighter: Shroom

Eyeliner: Fluidline blacktrack on top with brush # 266 and graphblack inner eye rim

Lashes: MAC #7  or just a good curving and thickening masacara like Lancome flextencils

LIPS

Liner: Cork

Lipstick: Honeyflower

Lipgloss: lipgelee Gemshine

 

 

Did you say “charcoal”???

So my mom came back from a very long trip (yes I was counting the days … :o) She showed me a few products that she got… mostly clinique and L’oreal (eVaDiVa’s recommendation…) and I saw a few ORIGINS skincare products…

I always liked ORIGINS products although I never bought any…I tried most of them as I was given free samples at the mall and from a friend who used to work there. My mom bought each and every kind of face cream they have (that’s what she does when experimenting…no wonder where I got it from…lol). Among all the products she got, the CLEAR IMPROVEMENT charcoal mask was the one that really caught my eyes as the product is really dark like charcoal…so I tried it and I have to say that I am just IN LOOOOOVE with it!!! I still love CLINIQUE emergency mask but I have to tell you that this one will give your skin a very soft a clean appearance. Use it once a week after your weekly mini-facial and you will see the results right away if your skin has large pores (oily).

Here is what Origins says about this life saver: Active Charcoal mask to clear pores. Activated charcoal acts like a magnet to draw out deep pore-clogging impurities while White China Clay absorbs environmental toxins to give skin a deep-down cleansing.

Retail Price: $17.50

XoXo

eVaDiVa