Model Noémie Abigaïl for L'OFFICIEL PARIS APRIL 2016

I'm loving all of the editorials featuring Afro hairstyles in all sizes and shapes and this time L'Officiel Paris presents readers with a menswear inspired editorial. Photographer Nik Hartley captured model Noémie Abigaïl perfectly.  Stylist Vanessa Cocchiaro retained her femininity with just the perfect hint of masculinity and I love every last look!

 

Gaga For Yaya: Actress Yaya DaCosta for Chicago Splash Magazine

Actress Yaya DaCosta has us all going gaga for her latest editorial for Chicago Splash Magazine.
Not only is this beauty a talented actress, but most of us know her as one bad azz model too!

Photographer: Maria Ponce

Stylist: FAVIA, Ford Artists

Makeup: Rachel Spicer

Hair: Chelsea Woods, Mario Tricoci Hair Salon & Day Spa, 900 N. Michigan; Tricoci.com

Shoot Producer: Katerina Bizios

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA FOR LADIES HOME JOURNAL DEC 2013/Jan 2014

As 2013 comes to an end we will have the opportunity to see the last of what some may deem as being iconic magazine covers. Some have been great covers featuring a plethora of beauty this year, while others have been repeat covers featuring the same old celebrities and models. Either way, the First Lady's December cover is glamorous and perfect for the holiday season. First Lady Michelle Obama sat down with Ladies Home Journal E-I-C, Sally Lee for an interview in September 2013 for this issue to discuss the Obama's Christmas traditions. Read it all in the December issue of Ladies Home Journal, either online or in your favorite store. "It pays to subscribe digitally."

CHRISTMAS AT THE WHITE HOUSE:

The FLOTUS with LHJ's E-I-C, Sally Lee.

First Lady Michelle Obama

Photos: Alexei Hay

In The Pink | Mélodie Monrose | Harper's Bazaar | November 2013

The gorgeously beautiful Mélodie Monrose is in the pink of things in this simple, but pretty editorial for Harper's Bazaar's November Issue.

Photos: Dan Forbes

One To Watch: Actress Lupita Nyong'o

Actress Lupita Nyong'o

Leave it to the mainstream media to introduce to the world the type of beauty that often travels underneath the obscurity of the Afro-American media. I have been seeing this beautiful newcomer by the name of Lupita Nyong'o in almost every mainstream magazine and website promoting her latest movie, "Twelve Years A Slave," which she co-stars in with actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and others, everywhere.

Lupita Nyong'o was born in Mexico, to Kenyan parents and raised in Kenya much of her life. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama's Acting program. This marks Lupita's film debut in a major movie role and she's receiving the well-deserved accolades.

Rant: I've witnessed these type of incidents so many times, so I'm not surprised at all because of the lack of support she hasn't received from the black media and they, just like every one else promotes who they want to promote. As usual they won't write anything about her until there's a buzz just like many did with the actors of 'Fruitvale Station,' which I also saw all over the place during the international film festivals before the buzz hit the black press.

As I've wrote in many comment sections: It is the job of the Afro-American media to promote our people even when they're not popular and not be considered as an afterthought once the mainstream media promotes them. It's hypocritical to cry about exclusion when many of you practice the same exclusionary practices as those you whine about.

I'm not saying that I visit every niche website, but I do tend to read the so-called popular ones from time to to time and this has been on my mind for quite some, so I had to call them out for their hypocrisy and failure to set the tone and promotion of the diversity of black beauty.

 "Twelve Years A Slave" is directed by Steve McQueen and is based on the life of Solomon Northup and hits theaters 18 October 2013.

Photos: Getty Images

ESSENCE MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013: Actresses Viola Davis and Danai Gurira Wow!

I feel like I've been down this path before writing about some of my favorite magazine issues, either way, it's something that I love to do. I've got to celebrate our beauty whenever I find it.

Actress Viola Davis looks beautiful on the cover of the October issue of Essence Magazine and the inside of the issue is chock full of several goodies for the eyes, complete with outstanding editorials that beg to be read.

Lets get back to Viola...all I can think of is, wow!!! She nailed this cover which was photographed by Nino Muñoz. The jewel colors look so elegant and radiant against her richly hued skin.

It pays to subscribe to your favorite magazines and my digital issue arrived in time. 

I almost died and went to beauty heaven when I clicked on the editorial featuring another beauty that I admire, actress, Danai Gurira.

They're right when the titled this: "Nobdy Can Danai" 

"Only fools attempt to deny our true beauty."

Danai rocked what appears to be sumptuous leathers with just the right amount of styling by, Jason Rembert, without the overkill as in  previous editorials that I've seen. Her beauty was captured by Gomillion and Leupold.

"It's all about self-love and the right to walk in this world the way we were created."

~ Actress Danai Gurira

Photos/Viola Davis: Nino Muñoz

Styling: Robert Behar

Photos/Danai Gurira: Gomillion and Leupold

Styling: Jason Rembert

I know that I didn't photograph these photos, but if you're going to take them, at least credit the source where you got them from.

The Best of The September Issues: /Actress Yaya (DaCosta) Alafia for InStyle Magazine September 2013

Some things are worth the wait and it seems that digital magazines are beginning to get a lot like the mail when it comes to delivering them, but this fabulous editorial featuring Yaya (DaCosta) Alafia in the September issue of InStyle Magazine certainly makes up for it. I've seen several September issues and many have not lived up to the hype of their previous September issues. I have to give InStyle an A+ for theirs because everything looks better than their competitor's, to include content and editorials.

Photos: Dusan Reljin

Styling By: Joane Blades

Lee Daniels' The Butler Hits Theaters Today!

Frotabulous: Oprah Winfrey-O Magazine September 2013

Let's Talk About Hair: Oprah Winfrey's September 2013 issue of O Magazine, is probably going to be one of the most talked about September issues.

Check out Miss Winfrey's stunning cover.




This issue hits newsstands on Tuesday, August 13 and I hope digital subscribers get it earlier than that.

Photos: O Magazine/Ruven Afandor