Make-up Expiration – The Ew Factor
Our skin, lips, eyes and lashes are full of everyday bacteria but when we add make-up to the factor hundreds of more germs are added. I and many of the friends I know have dressers and bins filled with make-up products. Beauty products have a shelf life.That’s right ladies (and perhaps gents) they expire. Is it bad to share makeup? You can share your secrets, your hopes and your dreams with your friends. However, dermatologists caution, you should never share your makeup. Swapping cosmetics can mean trading germs. Makeup brushes and applicators can easily carry bacteria from one person to another, and moist, dark containers allow such germs to thrive.
Concealer: Up to 12 months.
Powder: 2 years.
Cream & gel cleansers: 1 year.
Eye liner: Should be sharpened regularly. Will last up to 3 years.
Eyeshadow: Will also last up to 3 years.
Brushes: Wash every 2-3 months in a mild detergent.
Sponges Wash weekly & discard monthly.
Foundation: Check the ingredients: A water-based foundation will last up to 12 months, oil-based will last up to 18 months.
Lip liner: Up to 3 years.
Lipstick: Some experts say 1-2 years. Others say up to 4 years. What everyone agrees on is that if it smells rancid, throw it out, it’s spoiled. Extra tip: If you store lipstick in the refrigerator, it will last longer.
Mascara: This product expires the fastest: Throw out after 4 months. Extra tip: If you don’t want your mascara to expire faster than its fresh date, don’t pump the wand in & out, you’re only exposing the product to drying air.
XO Danyelle.
Never settle for anything less
So often we settle for less and rationalize it. We are inches from what we truly want, but we stop and sit, or worse yet, turn back. Some times, I wonder why most women, would want to settle for less, when they can actually get the best out of their relationship if they want. Day in and day out settling for a woman/man who doesnt take the time to ask you “how was your day?” Settling is not the solution. While we appreciate that this new doctrine might make some women think twice about dumping a perfectly nice guy just because he chews with his mouth full or uses words like “irregardless,” no guy wants to be a fallback option. Men and women choose each other for completely different reasons. Women are choosing for longevity (does he treat me right? is he a good worker/provider? is he monogamous?) in the relationship: love based stability. Men choose for propagation of the species: (does she smell lovely so I can get close to her? can I wrap myself around her? will she let me?). The checklist is a remnant of childhood dreams (prince charming) or desire to control future hurts/failure in relationship (impossible, but makes sense). Who cares about the list? Just have the courtesy not to reveal why you don’t want a second date. Don’t try to give it several more dates to find sparks. Most importantly know yourself before trying to know and fall for someone else.
To pop or not to pop, that is the question.
I have always been taught to save yourself for marriage. Well what if I don’t believe in marriage, in lust and all the multi-colored sprinkle people put on having sex. I’m twenty-two years old and have never had intercourse with anyone, I believe in saving it for someone who is worth it. By worth it I mean that person always makes you feel like he is hitting the ball out of the park. Problem is, I don’t think anyone is worth it (so far at least). I invest so much time into who I am to just give it to the next person who makes me smile. Everyone should have to work for it, I don’t care if your homeless or the president. Today, I felt somewhat crappy and left out because all of my friends who ages 20-24 talking about how amazing it is to have their “backs blown out” and how their partner would never leave because of oral. I disagree, he will leave you if he doesn’t want you whole hearted for all the right reasons. I will not give just my physical to anyone when everything beating, thinking and breathing of me is immeasurable when it comes to something as beautiful as love-making. When a gentleman enters you, he is filling something so sacred that no man will ever be able to fill again because every untouched crevice (unless you masterbate or have been fingered) will be first and no one like to be second, and so forth. Also, another friend mentioned the pain she felt while trying to let her boyfriend enter her. She felt he had waited and wanted her long enough so she tried to surpress the pain and take it all in at such a tender age (16). When it’s love, your caught up in that, and nothing else. You will be so dreched in love that nothing can surpass the beauty of THAT moment. So, i’ll wait, but not for marriage. I’ll wait for undying love to declare how much it honors, respects, appreciates, and will tends to all aspects of me. And days after I will still glow because I will not become depressed like my friends with their horror “losing virinity because of everything but love” stories. So toast, to all the girls who popped it when they KNEW they were ready to, or the ones waiting on the moment to BE filled by him (or her). Live by what you know is right, not what you think is right. Ladies, let’s give anyone who intends our cherries a run for it. – Pleasantries, Danyelle
The South
Are you in the south? Are you from the south? If not, this may not be for you. I am a Southern enthusiast. No, not the country where they raise they raise their confederate flags and are active in their local KKK. DA SOUF’. I’ve got nothin’ but love for all things southern. All things ratchet too, G ;) I love the men. I love the accents. I love the attitude. I love the food, the family and the love. I love the immediate comfort you feel in the south, like that’s where you should have been the entire time! Now, what I want to focus on is Southern hip hop/rap. It gets SO much criticism. People create these Hip Hop Hierarchies and think that because SoRap isn’t always “educational” and “deep” and “socially revealing” that it’s not real hip hop but I say, fuck that. All music isn’t going to reveal some heightened sense of awareness. What’s your favorite song? What are the lyrics? Yeah. Thought so. Some artists have what I call Mainstream Mojo. All artists don’t have it. In fact, a lot won’t ever attain it. But that’s a good thing because if no one had it, everyone would be a bunch of underground hyper-hipsters, ya feel me? That’s what I feel like a lot of SoRap is: Mainstream Mojo. These are club jumpers. These are the songs you blast on a night out with the girls. The songs that get the basketball team ready. The songs that’ll hype you up no matter where you’re at. That’s something your ‘hyper-aware hip hop’ is never gonna have. Because different music serves different purposes. Now, do not confuse this for saying that ALL SoRap is empty and simply serves to hype the club because that’s not true. But a lot of the music that gets criticism from NY & West Coast Hip Hop Heads is. I mean we obviously have a lot of talent right out of the center of the south, ATL. All I’m sayin’ is the music that you criticize, that you call weak, empty, etc is the same music that puts Southerners in their own comfort zones. It’s what makes us Southern. We’re possibly some of the hypest people you’ll ever meet and our music reflects that. So I got nothin’ but love for all the artists with Mainstream Mojo. You may not be talkin’ ’bout any “real shit” but I’m loyal regardless. I’ll always buy (or download, you know I’m broke lol) your mixtapes. I’ll always buy your albums because I know it’s what creates the beat that runs from Florida all the way through Texas.
From Your Nearest Closet
Love’s Infectious Disease
What is it men desire? I will tell you, to share love with a woman. I do not care what any guy says about not believing in love, or that he will never settle down because whether he has just settled for a “quick fix” or in a two year relationship with a woman he is searching for the missing piece or himself. No amount of brains or even bravado could hide this.
Men are gentle creatures and there is some natural occurring organism that exists in all women that will latch onto a man’s heart and coat it in her very essence. An organism that leaps from one host to the other and latches onto the new host like a tick that digs its teeth into the flesh of its victim. The small red spot that you receive letting you know you are infected has become the feeling in your chest. A feeling that wasn’t there before and was put there, however unintentional, but you search for more. Some men are more susceptible than others, and some are only “infected” by that one special strain of the “virus.” I use the term virus, not to say that love is a bad thing, but rather to describe it as infectious in how it spreads to every part of the body and felt as deep as the soul. As if you could ball up happiness in keep it in your pocket for when you needed it most. The spread does not come from anything, but a simple glance into the eyes or maybe even the scent as you pass by in the street.
There is no logic in how a man thinks, nor should there be, in our minds. We contract this disease without any thought of recourse because, even if on the most basic level it gives us a “quick fix” because she cures herself of us, we essentially have acquired our basic needs as a man. If on the other hand we find that the two hosts have found a way to harmonize with one another we are left without disappointment.
Do we chase what we can’t have? Men certainly don’t, fact is, men are not intelligent enough to chase. If anything they are tricked into following a maze to no end and for the most part only to find a moldy piece of cheese which we will eat because we are dumb enough to believe that it’s the only choice we have, until finally finding the entrance to the next maze. In this case, I think most will agree that we would be the rats in the maze, rather than mice. Even the best of us choose to be the bad guy.
peace,
The Tom Shaggy
Gone Again
Alright ladies, I think it’s time we set the record straight. As rough and tough as men pretend to be most of the time, there is a side that often times, is not seen by the fairer sex. Now I’ll admit that more often than not men will disappear on women, but every so often us brutes find ourselves alone. Day after day, night after night we spend quality time with someone who means the most to us and then, without warning, there is a sudden “attack of conscious” and we are left alone. There is no rhyme or reason usually, just a need to be alone.
So what happens now? We are told to swallow our pride and forget that whatever had happened before whether it was serious or not and continue on with my life. Whats worse is that our daily/weekly activities that perhaps we had with that person are now things that I should pretend are no longer mine. A feeling of emptiness comes over me every time I step foot into a restaurant that I had eaten at or a song we had listened to or when they wrote about how they I made a new city feel like home. There is a reason that people share interests, moments, and time together. We find people that we understand and can communicate with in an intelligent manner. I enjoy an intelligent conversation and that can handle how much of a nerd I can be while still being able to appreciate all the little things I love about her.
I will never understand the female mind and all it’s needs and wants, but I think that’s what I actually love most. Most of my life I have pursued things I haven’t fully understood to understand them more completely. Each step time I have given myself a bigger challenge. What is it ladies? What is it with the volatile nature of the female mind?
This is the first question of many.
- The Tom Shaggy
Taking your measurements
Growing up for awhile my mother and grandmother brought all my clothes. I can recall one time where my godmother took me shopping and saying “oh your breast are getting so big, we need to go a cup higher.” I had no idea what she meant, and wish back then I would have asked her. Around the age of 16, my body was taking a shape that I was not comfortable with… My hips were starting to attract attention, and especially my breast. I tried to flatten them every day before class. I would use my grandmothers body-shapers (it wasn’t pretty, lol) but I did it because it gave me the affect I wanted. I wasn’t ready for the staresmen were given me, even today I still feel ashamed when I catch them. Around the age of 17 I somewhat started shopping for myself (well, jeans at least) I would just look at a pair and try it on. I never knew that there was a certain number that identified with my body where I didn’t need to go in the dressing room several times. At age 18, me and friends went shopping for homcoming items and I heard them talking about inches about hips, thighs and bust. I felt to embarrassed to ask so I went home and googled it. I went out the next day to a Family Dollar for a measuring tape and measured myself weekly. Keeping up with my body so that I could go in and come out with exactly fits me. No more squeezing into things or guessing my size. I was now aware of the shape and size of my body and more than anything I wish I could have sooner. Also, wrapping a pair of jeans around your neck and it goes all the way around and a little over the button means the jeans fit (YES, without having to try them on.) For the woman on the go, this is amazing. Below I have attached the same steps I took to find out my measurements.
1. Start with your bust. This is taken around the fullest part of your bust. Don’t pull the tape measure too tight – just so it fits snugly.
2. Take your waist measurements. Your waist measurement reflects the narrowest part of your waist. For most women, this is about an inch above your belly button.
3. Take a hip measurement. Your hip measurement, most usually, reflects the fullest part of your hips, so is roughly the area you sit on when you sit down.
- Pleasantries, Danyelle
Is his stick really magic?
The quickest way to bruise a man’s ego is to insult his God given counterpart – his penis. Why? Because we live in a society where bigger is better. A lot of men have developed insecurities directly associated to their penis. While a lot of men are prided on their “skill” women are desperately trying to understand why men would fabricate their endowment.
Could it be that we’ve been brain washed by media? From male enhancement pills to the bulge in the Calvin Klein model’s briefs men and women alike are forced to believe that if you are not a large man you are not a man at all? Is this true?
What does size mean to you, ladies?
-Jungle Justine
Protect Alaska’s Wolves
More than 1,000 wolves have been killed since Alaska reinstated its aerial gunning program.
Each year, the state of Alaska permits private citizens to chase down and kill dozens of wolves using low-flying aircraft and high-powered rifles.
“They are getting riddled with buckshots and not dying, and biting at their back. And there is blood everywhere.”
You can help end the slaughter. Sign this petition: http://bit.ly/mFezy
Here is one of the less graphic videos of how they are killed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr183lk-wQk&feature=channel
The reason I put an actual picture is because I want people to know how real this is. This isn’t any ordinary shooting, it’s usually straight in the gut. But you know what, all those wolves that died ran for their lives until they were exhausted. They put up a fight and for that I honor them. Please sign the petition and spread the word. Every two years this has to be done in order to continue protecting the wolves. I’m # 35,676, what number will you be?
- Danyelle
You know ‘they’ say…
This is a little piece I put on another one of my blogs and I didn’t get the response I expected so I’m hoping a different audience might respond better/differently.
Caution: I know. Pronouns are a bitch. Bear with me though.
WHO IN THE FUCK IS THEY? AND WHERE ARE THEY FROM? AND WHEN DID THEY BECOME SO RELEVANT TO EVERYTHING? Is it this big group of people on studio benches who congregate daily, monthly, yearly? And then decide on cliche statements that apply to everyday life? And then how do we know who they are and what they say? Are they like Big Brother? Because they are always in our conversations and we didn’t even put them there! I’d really like to know who they are and how in the hell I can become a part of that because really they may not say a lot, y’know. I could say something and add “they” say and then all of a sudden I’ve inflicted a new statement on they and they haven’t debated it yet. Because people don’t know the difference anyway because they is so vague and mysterious. Anyone could say anything and just say that they said it and now it’s got some kind of extra truth! And now they is able to go from becoming a plural pronoun to a singular pronoun! They’re bombarding our grammar and intruding our conversations! Down with they!
From Your Nearest Closet
Manners: At the table
“There’s nothing in the world like etiquette, In kingly chambers or imperial halls.”
Growing up in the Bahamas, at a catholic school the first thing I saw was a paddle, this paddle is used on students with the parents consent whenever the child was not polite or forgot their manners. Quite often I was paddled. I remember my mother telling me to kneel and recite various versions of using please, thank you, excuse me, and bless you. I must say that until I came to America, I realized how much Manners are nonexistent. Someone steps on your toes, “My bad”. Going to class while minding your business, someone pushes you running to class, shrugs as if ”My apologies” would poison their tongue. There are so many forms of mannerism and the one I want to emphasize on are Table Manners. I would go to luncheons and students would burp, and itch and fidget so much that I felt it should be illegal. It was amazing to me because so many of them had no knowledge of basic table manners, so I decided to put on a workshop at my school doing mock luncheons. At the worjshop we decided on some of the common table manners people should remember. Pleasantries, xo Danyelle
Table Manner Do’s
- Sit properly (and straight) in your chair
- Place your napkin on your lap
- Wait until everyone is seated before starting to eat
- Say “no thank you” if you don’t want a certain dish or are full
- Hold the door for ladies
- Bring your food to your face, not your face to your food
Table Manner Don’ts
- Chewing with your mouth open (I’m sorry, Who asked to see your teeth?)
- Putting your elbow on the table (Why not just lay across the table, huh?)
- Not excusing yourself at the table (It’s not interrupting, when your excusing)
- Not making conversation (Introduce yourself, Silence isn’t always Golden)
- Excessive swearing and/or use of offensive comments
- Covering your mouth when you sneeze and yawn (not that you should yawn at the table)
- Don’t cross knife and fork after completion of meal, but place them at 45° and parallel to one another
- Don’t fold napkin after use
There are so many, and I just want to remind people that manners cost nothing, use them :)
Welcome To The Pack: Amber
I’m an avid fan of Amber’s writing and she’s everything that a Luxe Lobalita is: fierce, tenacious and not to be fucked with. I think you guys will hella enjoy her posts around this place.
Stay Classy,
Gee
I am a dramatist. I am a musician, a painter, a designer, a seamstress, a writer, a poet, a pseudo-photographer and a lover. I am queer. So entirely queer you can’t even stand it. I love wind in my hair and sand in my feet. That’s a lie. I’m brilliant as fuck and I have no problem letting you know. I don’t step on a pedestal to talk to you but if you insist…I have curly hair, yellow skin, brown eyes and an attitude. I’m 18. I am broadcasting from your nearest closet. I’m here to write.
From Your Nearest Closet
Welcome To The Pack: Danyelle
I spread myself thin sometimes, so I had to re-up the blogging team and add some more lobalitas to the pack. World, meet Danyelle.
Stay Classy,
Gee
I’m Danyelle, 22 year old Floridian with a love for creativity, writing, and impacting others. I’m the Student Government Association, Vice-President at my campus and serve as the District One Coordinator for 1.3 million students. Though my life seems jam packed, I still hunger for more (like a wolf, of course). I adore Aubrey Hepburn because of the elegance and excellence she exudes, I hope to not only match but surpass her influence. I pride myself on being a strong lady who balances her life mentally, socially, spiritually, and physically. Some of my favorite things include: bone structures, pearls, chocolate skin complexions, classic a-line shilouttes, treachcoats, pink cashmere sweaters, and French manicures. Through Luxe Lobalita I hope to clear the fog when it comes to a multitude of areas in womanhood, introduce various musicians, and provide fashion updates. After a woman, I am a reader, I love highlighting, circulating and underlining words, phrases and passages that reflects who I am. Pleasantries. xo
Gunning the Double L
If you’re a Luxe Lobalita, you get this. If not, it’s an L plus the middle finger, because lobalitas just don’t give a fuck. Next time you see a loba, give her the salute.
Stay Classy,
Gee
Au Natural
With this huge movement amongst the Black Community to ‘go natural’, it’s easy to lose yourself. There are those who truly seek to find a more natural version of themselves while others just follow the hype (what can you expect). Some don’t really understand why it’s necessary to be natural to be a proud black woman. Well let me just say, it’s not. I am a strong advocate for natural in every facet as I am a hippie myself but I am an even stronger advocate for the strength and confidence of the women around me. I don’t so much appreciate people trying to balance one woman to the next based on the products she uses or how she styles her hair. It would seem that in all the hype, we’ve reverted to a class system that says this : natural > relaxers. That’s not even remotely fair because the way a woman wears her hair is completely up to her. There are other factors like addiction and dependency and not feeling beautiful naturally, but those are all case-by case judgments. All I’m saying is that instead of telling the next sister why she should “go natural” maybe we should explain why we did it. And if she likes the idea, then sure, but if she likes getting relaxers in her hair, then you shouldn’t look at her any differently.
From Your Nearest Closet
LuxeLobalita.com is finally here
I used to link everything straight to the blog, but now Luxe Lobalita has a fully functioning domain. It’s not much, but it’ll get better with time. It’s wolf season now. Next stop: the store.
Stay Classy,
Gee
Chop Chop
Gunnin’ a double L for Luxe Lobalita.
I’m one of those people that doesn’t like to be stagnant. I’m ever changing and always evolving. I felt like I had been rocking the same ridiculously long weaves, lace fronts and whatever else I could attach to my head for too many years now. I’m completely over having anything but my own hair on top of my head now. So, I decided it was time for a cut. It had been something I had been thinking about for a while, but my last trip to Los Angeles made me seriously go for it. Now the left side of my head gets cold from time to time, but I’m digging it. It’ll grow back out and then I have to figure out something else to do with it, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
-Gee
The Lone Lobo Of The Pack: Bueller
Bueller took the challenge of being the only male voice of Luxe Lobalita. I’m glad he took the chance, because I’ve been thinking about branching out and doing something for the men anyway. This should go well and I hope you guys enjoy my two new bloggers.
-Alpha
Hello, my name is Brandon but the kids are calling me Bueller, so call me what you want. I will be the male voice of Luxe Lobalita. I represent jetsetters, entrepreneurs, fashion lovers, the streets, retailers, aficionados, owners, media, artist, magazines, bloggers, visionaries, people with opinions and black leadership.
The Newest Lobalita Of The Pack: Perla
I needed a little bit of help around the blogging den here and I’ve found some perfect additions. Perla’s fashion forward, witty and everything a Luxe Lobalita should be. I hope you all enjoy her posts as much as I do. I’ll let her tell you a little about herself.
-Alpha
New york city Native, down with my roots and currently having an affair with college. Family, Friends, and cold beer are the three dynamics that persuade me to enjoy life. An eye for fashion, the other for food, this simply equal happiness. I live to inspire and dream aspirations.
Science Lesson: Behavioral Ecology, ALPHA v. omega
in social animals, the alpha is the individual in the community with the highest rank. where one male and one female fulfill this role, they are referred to as the alpha pair (the term varies when several females fulfill this role – it is extremely rare among mammals for several males to fulfill this role with one female). other animals in the same social group may exhibit deference or other symbolic signs of respect particular to their species towards the alpha.
the alpha animals are given preference to be the first to eat and the first to mate, among some species the only animals in the pack allowed to mate. other animals in the community are usually killed or ousted if they violate this rule. the status of the alpha is often achieved by means of superior physical prowess. the individual in the alpha position usually changes when another challenges it to a fight (in some species to the death) and wins. consequently, alphas may have to fight individuals in their own group several times to maintain their position throughout their lifetimes. in species where the fight is to the death, alphas rarely reach old age. in some species, a nomadic individual may approach the alpha, successfully beat him, and thus become the new alpha. when this occurs in lions, the new alpha usually kills the previous alpha’s cubs. in lions, several individuals may share alpha privileges in what is known as a coalition.
the social group usually follows the alpha to the hunt and to new breeding or resting grounds. the alpha is thus sometimes seen as deciding the fate of the group. if two groups of the same species find themselves competing for the same ground, they may let the alphas fight letting the outcome decide which group stays.
now, for the omegas: omega is an antonym used to refer to the lowest caste of the hierarchical society. an omega is subordinated to all others in the community. the omega is commonly the last allowed to eat.
(Via McTruckss)
Failure Is Not An Option
Rule Number One of being a Luxe Lobalita