You must dance, dance, dance

Hey Pumpkins,
Smooooch! How are my girls? I'm bursting with all kinds of news and random pop culture musings and other procrastination miscellanea (I SO relate to Jake Gyllenhaal's description of his screenwriter mom in the latest GQ: "I always knew when my mom was writing something when there'd be ten banana breads around. When writer's write, they do everything BUT write"). My mind is such a blur that I have no choice but to break out the bullets:

* Does anyone remember that FANTASTICALLY addictive and poorly acted mid-eighties musical TV show, "Rags to Riches?" It was about the four singing, dancing orphans in the Sixties who were adopted by a very rich Joseph Bologna? Me and my friends were deeply obsessed with this show, and used to tape all the episodes and learn all the dances. I bring this up only to help explain my fascination with J Lo's new MTV show, "Dancelife." These days, each person who enters my apartment is forced to watch me perform Nolan's Janet Jackson tryout routine ("more drama in the face!"). At press time, I'm still working on the little number Sexy-Ass Kenny taught the kids from his Beantown dance studio.

* Guess who's In Touch Weekly's new TV spokesperson? Yep, you'll be seeing me here and there running my mouth about the stuff I know best--beauty, fashion, random celeb goings-on, and the like. Catch me this week on VH1's All Access Celebrity Showdown 3. Deep stuff.

* "SHAKE YOUR BEAUTY" WON THE GLAM NETWORK AWARD FOR BEST VOICE/CREATIVE WRITING!! Actually, I should say "we" won the award, since I clearly owe it all to your much-appreciated votes. Check out the winners showcase slideshow here. Oh, and I'm thrilled to say that one of my favorite blogs, Young Black & Fabulous, won THREE awards: Best Buzz, Best Design, and Best in Celebs & Entertainment. I'm coming for you, Natasha!

* If you girls haven't yet checked out Ambermag.com, you absolutely MUST! Ambermag is the brand-new, heartbreakingly gorgeous new online beauty magazine for scarily smart and cute multi-culti women like us—and it's brought to you by my friend, the glamorous Miss Marcia Cole, a former top editor at Suede and Essence. Oh, and she's assembled a staff of contributing editors that reads like a who's who of magazine publishing...including, ahem, me. Speaking of, if berry-toned lipsticks drive you wild, you probably should read my latest Ambermag product roundup, shouldn't you?

* Go see "Stomp The Yard" if you haven't yet!! It sooo brought me back to the BBS (Black Bus Stop) at UVA, circa 1993. Even though I never did the whole sorority thing, I still got chills when the yummy main guy stood in front of the heritage wall, with all the old pictures of black luminaries and which sorority/frat they belonged to. And where can I buy Megan Good's butt?

* Thank you soooo much for all your sweet compliments about my author photo! Seriously, I'm blushing as I write. I got tons of comments from you ladies, asking me how to get the look...and well, I can take a hint. So here, I've broken it all down. The hair is A LOT easier than it sounds, by the way. Try it and let me know how it goes. Love you so much it's tearing me up inside!

Mwah,
Your Tia


1.) HAIR
I style-jocked this trick from my sister Lauren, when she used to be relaxed. Now she has a head full of natural, unprocessed curls, and can't be bothered with the curling iron. Anyway, for years, this bouncy, spiral-y moment has been my go-to "fancy occassion" look. Here's how to do it: Start with dry, blown-out hair. Pile it all on top of your head, and pull down a one-inch section with your finger. Spray the section with a heat-activated setting lotion...I adore MATRIX BIOLAGE THERMAL ACTIVE SETTING SPRAY ($11.89)...this stuff gives such incredible hold, my curls usually last a whole week. Next, hold the bottom of the section and twirl until it's coiled. Then wrap the coil around the barrel of the curling iron (ie, DON'T OPEN THE CLAMP. Leave it closed, winding the hair around the entire barrel). Hold for ten seconds, then slide it out. Repeat all over, until you have a head full of tight, slightly-crunchy-from-the-setting-spray curls. Resist the urge to shake 'em out...instead, let the curls cool for about twenty minutes without touching them. Then, rub a quarter-size amount of silicone-based shine serum between your hands—I use PHILOSOPHY CURLY HEAD ($11),an excellent frizz-fighter—and vigorously run fingers throughout curls, breaking them up. Voila! You'll have gorgeous, rippling, glossy, waves for days. And Lauren to thank!


2.) SKIN
Sam Fine is all about stick foundation! They totally cover up hyperpigmentation, uneven skintones, and random scars...all in all, sticks give serious coverage, so they're perfect for pictures (remember this, brides-to-be). Sometimes the coverage is so stellar that you won't even need concealer! The downside? Apply too much and you might look like an oil painting (ie, eerily unnatural), so tread lightly. Instead of rubbing the stick directly onto your skin, use a foundation brush to apply, and then blot your face with a tissue for a more luminous--less matte--look. On me, Sam used BLACK OPAL TRUE COLOR CREME STICK FOUNDATION IN HEAVENLY HONEY ($9.95). And then, to add a sun-kissed glow, he then lightly dusted IMAN SHEER FINISH BRONZING POWDER IN SAND ($16) along my forehead, cheekbones, nose bridge and chin. Not bad, right?


3.) EYE
It's actually really easy to achieve this sort of sultry-but-neutral moment. First, apply a matte beige allover lid, then blend a golden-champagne shade along browbone and inner corners of the eye. Next, blend a deep reddish-brown along crease—SMASHBOX EYESHADOW TRIO IN "ON STAGE" ($28) actually has all three colors. Finish up by applying black eyeliner along upper lashline, and coating lashes with LOREAL VOLUMINOUS MASCARA IN BLACK ($6.99), Sam's hands-down favorite volumizing mascara on the planet.


4.) CHEEK
Faithful SYB-ers will know that I'm crazy for orange blush. Years ago, Sam told me that he uses it on all his clients, no matter what their complexion, because you can't beat the results--warm, natural, slightly sun-kissed yumminess. PLEASE trust me. No matter how Crayola-crazy it looks in the packaging, I swear it'll work wonders on your skin. For my author photo, Sam used CARGO BLUSH IN LAGUNA ($22), a lovely, gold-flecked peachy-orange. Look into it, babe.


5.) LIP
I'd asked Sam for a glossy, nude lip, and I was wearing a coral blouse, so when he whipped out MAC LIPSTICK IN HONEYFLOWER ($14), a creamy peachy-caramel shade, I knew the magic was about to happen. Honeyflower has just enough brown in it not to look chalky, which is often the issue with pale lipcolors. To add some extra-sexy oomph, he added on a layer of DIOR ADDICT ULTRA-GLOSS IN BITE OF TOFFEE ($23.50), a sheer, super-shimmery gloss with tons of twinkly gold flecks. If your lips are on the thinner side, like mine, it helps to add some shimmer in pictures--the light reflects off the flecks, making your lips appear fuller.