The ladies of Miss Lily’s are featured in T-Magazine for a beauty and fashion spread.  The happening restaurant is home to Caribbean cuisine, which includes a juice bar and authentic Caribbean ambiance. Not hip to Miss Lily’s? Checkout out LargeUp’s interview with the owners talking about how they came up with the idea for the restaurant.

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Singer Melanie Fiona will cover the next issue of Rolling Out Magazine . Check out this behind the scenes video where she talks about her upbringing with hard working parents, her take on love and how it affects her music.

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Spice up your nails for the holiday! I’ve actually had these for a while, but with the holiday upon us, these Sally Hansen Salon Effects were the perfect opportunity add a little glam to my nails. Appropriately titled “Misbehaved” (have you been naughty or nice this year?) with a black and gold lace design, the nail strips were slightly labor intensive to put on, but definitely worth the results. It was like placing a sticker and your nails and removing the excess with the nail file. I did have to use the orange stick to smooth out a few air bubbles between my actual nail and the strip once I place on top of the nail.

What I liked about the nail strips were that they didn’t chip and I removed after about 12 days only because they had grown out. It’s a great alternative to a minx manicure, which can cost $40-50. If you get a manicure weekly, it would give you an extra week or so at roughly the same price as a manicure.

Tip: Make sure your nails are completely clean and buffed before applying or else it won’t stick to the nail. Also, start from the pinky and work your way inward to the thumbs.

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Stylist June Ambrose is bound to become a household name after her reality show airs early in 2012. We all know her for styling the likes Jay-Z and Kanye West, but I had no idea she started out styling for Hip-Hop trio TLC. In a recent interview with Avenue Magazine she touched on her upbringing and how she jumped from investment banker to style maven to the stars.

The philosopy behind Ambrose’s business stems from all the elements of her history. From her brief childhood in Antigua, watching her mother craft “carnival queen dresses,” to her days commuting from the Bronx to her performing arts school, Talent Unlimited High School – every step was in the direction of success. (Read more at Avenue Magazine)

First spotted on Coco + Creme

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Rihanna covers the November issue of Esquire Magazine. The magazine dubbed her the sexiest woman alive. Check out the video from the shoot. (Sidenote: I wonder if this will sell more than their Halle Berry cover a few years back. )

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Olivia recently performed at the Apple Store in Soho for Black Music Month. First spotted at Concrete Loop

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I recently came across Shea Moisture while browsing in Target. I actually first spotted Kinky Curly in the aisle, but Shea Moisture’s Curl Enhancing Smoothie’s nicely design label caught my attention. I started reading the ingredients, check out the price ($9.99), which wasn’t bad in comparison to a lot of curly hair products, and decided to try.

We curly girls know that our hair tends to get dry, but too much product weighs the hair down. I found the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie a little heavy upon first touch, but I applied a small amount directly on my ends after slightly re-wetting my hair and as it dried my ends felt really soft. Not to mention is smells amazing! I continued to use daily and found it to be a great moisturizer. Because I don’t use a lot, it should last a while, which I’m happy about.

I recently got my hair cut (I usually get a cut every 2 months, my hair loses it’s shape quickly) after a using Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie for a few weeks and my stylist raved about how great my ends looked, definitely attributing to my new moiturizer! I also bought the Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque, but I haven’t used it yet. Review on that coming later.

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I bought this Cover Girl Tropical Fusion palette before I went on my trip to Jamaica. I wore it down when I went out an loved the look enough to do my first make-up review!

I used a small amount of primer before applying the coral color over the entire lid. It’s not as orange as it appears and has a nice shimmer to it (all the colors do actually).

This electric blue on the outer half of the lid.

The green/blue on the inner half.

Here’s the look, pre-blended.

And the finished look.

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I discovered Dominican salons in college (up until that point I always did my hair myself and had only been to the hair dresser twice before then) I grew tired of the long process it took to do my hair when someone told me I could get it done for 20-25 dollars. At first I was skeptical, but said to myself I have nothing to lose, if I didn’t like the outcome I could do it up myself and only waste of $25. To my surprise I loved the outcome! The results were the same as when I did my hair, with and extra bounce. It took about the about the same time excluding the wait in between, but with less hassle. We had a good relationship … until I grew out my relaxer.

Fast forward years later, I’ve tried at least 15 salons since, the techniques is the same; prices vary, depending on which borough/state you’re in, and the service is what I expect for $25-$40, more or less I come out satisfied with the outcome especially for the price I paid. I’ve priced black and visited salons before, but the cost is double so I can only visit occasionally.

Now when I walk in with my natural hair I received distain looks for how thick my hair is, they’re always trying to convince me my hair is dry when it’s not and continuously offer to put a relaxer in it.

Over the years I’ve heard comments like, “Mami, you need a relaxer, your hair is too thick” “Mami, you should comb your hair out before next time”, “Why do you want to want to cut, don’t need a cut, just trim”. I could go on.

I know your suppose to be an expert and all, but shouldn’t I know a little something about the hair on my head that I’ve live with my whole life? Here’s the outcome when I wash and style myself.

I totally get that my hair is thick and looks very intimidating but I think it’s rude to walk into a salon that I’m spending my money at to talk to me this way, regardless of how much the service costs.

I now have a regular stylist, but I only have her cut and occasionally treat my hair. I will be doing it myself in between for the time being. Let me be clear, this is my experience and it is not a generalization of all Dominican salons, but even upon good recommendation I highly doubt I’ll be venturing to a salon near me any time soon and when I do, I’ll go back to the only places where I know service is at least mediocre … even if it’s a whole in the wall.

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I’m feeling everything purple right now! I just bought this new N.Y.C. Plaza Plumberry nail polish, it’s my first time using this brand. I love the color, but it started chipping the next day! Maybe I’ll try with a different top coat, I wasn’t a huge fan of the clear.

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