By Dana Oliver

Posted January 29th 2012

Last month, when I was invited by Pantene to an unveiling of their new celebrity spokeswoman who has “ethnic hair,” I could barely contain my excitement. Someone who looked like me would finally front the brand. After exchanging countless guesses with other beauty editors, my girl crush Sanaa Lathan appeared looking stunning as usual.

The 40-year-old actress, whose breakout role was a tomboy turned bombshell in the romantic drama “Love & Basketball,” has been named the face of Pantene Pro-V’s Nature Fusion Moisture Balance Collection.

“It was instilled in me at a young age, how you treat your body is really important,” said Lathan. “We had an aloe vera plant in the house, and if I’d get a cut or scrape my mother would cut off a piece and apply the aloe. I saw firsthand how these things really work. Now we’re at a time where we have Whole Foods, everything is green and everyone is going organic. So, I’m glad Pantene is incorporating natural ingredients into their products.”

Scroll down as Lathan dishes on her hair care regimen, bold red lipstick and the secret to her gorgeous gams.

On maintaining her thick hair:
I always deep condition. It’s really important to keep my hair moisturized, not put too much heat on it and keep the ends trimmed. Also, I like to rotate my hairstyles. I’ll do straight and then when I’m in-between, I’ll wear my natural texture.

On hair extensions:
I’ll wear pieces and weaves in movies, but I’m loving my own hair especially because I’ve been taking good care of it and can go without [extensions]. I like wearing it in a cool chignon or really wild.

On her favorite Pantene products:
I love the NatureFusion Moisture Balance shampoo and conditioner and the Relaxed & Natural daily oil cream moisturizer.

On her sexy red pout:
It’s MAC Ruby Woo. I love the matte finish and it looks different on so many skin tones. Part of the fun in being an actress is that I can have so many personas. I think every woman should be that way. Yet, when it comes to my makeup, there’s been two go-tos: the dark eye with nude lips or a red lipstick.

On her flawless complexion:
For my skin, I like using organic because it goes straight into your bloodstream. It’s like putting something into your mouth.

On staying in shape:
I have one of those mini trampolines that you can get from WalMart. I jump on that for about 30 minutes while watching soap operas.

Posted December 31st 2011

Michael Jordan is engaged to longtime girlfriend Yvette Prieto, a Cuban-American model he’s been dating for three years.

Publicist Estee Portnoy confirmed the news, first reported by WCNC in Charlotte, on Thursday.

Prieto, 32, was spotted sitting courtside at a Charlotte Bobcats game Monday with Jordan’s friend and New York Yankees star Derek Jeter.

The Bobcats owner got engaged over the Christmas weekend. No wedding date has been set.

This will be Jordan’s second marriage. He married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989, and they divorced in 2006. They have two sons, Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, and a daughter, Jasmine.

By Rafael Abreu

Posted December 28th 2011

On Christmas Eve, the impressive residence of Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra and his wife, Nora Vega, became the setting for a surprise holiday wedding, according to People en Español.

Amelia Vega Polanco, who at 18 was the youngest Miss Universe in 2003 and niece of Guerra and his wife, Nora Vega, married in such a way that might be described as one of the best-kept celebrity secrets. Polanco and her new husband, Atlanta Hawks center and power forward Al Horford, managed to maintain their romance and subsequent wedding out of the public eye entirely.

The news not only surprised the worlds of sports and entertainment, but also the select guests who were invited. The event was planned in such tight-lipped fashion that guests gathered at the Dominican singer’s house for what they presumed would be a traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

The select group of guests never imagined the night would be one in which they would watch a romance reach its pinnacle second by second as it was revealed through marriage vows that came unexpected even to them.

In a very simple, yet emotional, ceremony, the bride’s parents, uncles, grandparents, and the couple’s close friends, were the only ones to witness the union between the NBA star and the singer of ‘Pasa Un Segundito’ (A Second Passes), according People en Español.

By Phil Trexler, Beacon Journal Staff Writer

Posted December 8th 2011

(PHOTO: BOBBI SMITH OWNER,  A BEAUTIFUL YOU HAIR STUDIO)

People usually leave Bobbi Smith’s hair salon in Highland Square looking and feeling a little better.

But the message Smith found on the glass door leading inside A Beautiful You Hair Salon was anything but pretty to the business owner.

Someone scrawled a 2-inch swastika in black marker at eye level onto the door. It appeared sometime after she closed her shop Monday night inside the Highland Square Apartments complex at 733 W. Market St.

When she returned about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Nazi symbol of white supremacy was there. Akron police are investigating the graffiti as a hate crime. The department’s gang unit is leading the investigation.

“We take all these serious. I can understand how Mrs. Smith feels,” police Lt. Rick Edwards said. “We take all of these types of offenses serious and we’re certainly going to take this incident serious.”

Smith, who is black, has operated the shop for 13 years, catering to all races. She said she cried when she saw the symbol.

“I’m very offended,” she said. “It’s also sad. As long as I’ve been here, I’ve felt safe. I’ve heard stories from my ancestors, but I never thought in 2011 I would see something like this. I cried, actually.”

The management company that runs the complex, which includes residential as well as business owners, sent a note to tenants Tuesday alerting them of the marking and denouncing its message.

“ … we do NOT tolerate this behavior,” the note read, in part.

Akron police detectives do not have any suspects.

Smith, a mother of two and whose husband works for the city, said she doesn’t know anyone who might want to hurt her or her business. She said she had never experienced any problems since opening the salon.

“This is my livelihood,” said Smith, 47. “I want to feel safe. I want my clients to feel safe. I think that’s what hurts me so much is that I don’t know why.”

Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.

By Jeff Mays, DNA Info Reporter/Producer

Posted December 7th 2011

(PHOTO: ROCHELLE WALTERS, OWNER HAIR ON MADISON)

HARLEM — As a hairdresser for the past 23 years, Rochelle Walters often develops very personal relationships with her clients. That’s why she has no problems dishing out warnings about safe sex or the prospects of becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.

Now Walters is going to use her chair at Hair on Madison to officially spread information about HIV/AIDS as part of the Hairdressers Against AIDS campaign.

The program, sponsored by the L’Oreal Fondation D’ Entreprise in conjunction with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is designed to help hairdressers speak to their clients about the disease.

“We become their confidants,” said Walters. “They know we are not going to steer them wrong. We become the other doctor, giving them prescriptions of life knowledge.”

Walters and other participating hairdressers will soon be handing out pamphlets with detailed information about prevention and testing.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn joined Assemblymen Robert Rodriguez, celebrity hairstylists and AIDS activists in Harlem for Worlds AIDS Day, to kick off the advocacy campaign’s second year.

“We see our hairdressers more than anyone else. They know about our families, the birth of a child, our deepest, darkest secrets,” said Christine Schuster, U.S. chair of Hairdressers Against AIDS.

Harlem Councilwoman Inez Dickens said she visits her hairdresser every 10 days but only sees her primary care doctor once per year. “They are our therapists. I talk to my hairdresser much more than I should,” said Dickens.

Celebrity hairdresser Kimmi Hendrix, whose clients include Jennifer Hudson, Adam Sandler and Queen Latifah, said she’s had both a client and close friend pass away from AIDS.

And when she told a friend and fellow stylist that she was participating in this initiative, the stylist told her for the first time that they had been living with HIV for 20 years.

“There is a regular dialogue about these issues that needs to take place and the salon is the best place for this conversation because when people walk out of the salon, the conversation continues,” said Hendrix.

More than 1.2 million Americans have HIV/AIDS and about 20 percent of those infected are unaware of it. In the African-American community AIDS is the leading cause of death for women ages 25 to 34 years old.

Even as talk of a vaccine or cure increases, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is still wreaking havoc among black women. While women account for 1 of 4 new infections overall, African-American women make up two-thirds of new infections among women.

“It’s the ‘Not Me’ syndrome,” said Deborah Levine, vice president of community development for the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc. “A lot of women think AIDS doesn’t look like me or sound like me. I’m a better judge of character.”

For Maria Davis, 51, a hip-hop promoter and HIV/AIDS activist who contracted the HIV virus 16 years ago from a heterosexual relationship, the campaign will address what she calls the “mental thing” surrounding HIV/AIDS.

“We have to get into their heads and figure out why they think HIV/AIDS is a disease they can’t get or that they don’t need to talk about,” said Davis, who fell victim to the idea that she couldn’t get the disease because she wasn’t gay or an IV drug user.

“People need to understand that you don’t have to be infected to be affected by this disease,” said Davis.

By Marielle Bingham

Posted November 21st 2011

Evidence has confirmed what women have already known for years: uber-high heels are not only painful to wear, but also a hazard to your health. In other news, the sky is still blue.

A recent survey of 1,000 women done by the shoe company MBT found that more than 40% of the high-heel wearers have suffered an accident in them — most often from falling over, according to the Guardian.

In addition to injuries due to clumsiness, Luisa Dillner writes in the Guardian that heels over three inches carry a health risk. Three inches?! That’s what we call a kitten heel.

According to Dillner, heels surpassing the three-inch mark can “seriously increase the pressure on the ball of your foot (up to seven times with heels over 3in high) and affect pretty much every part of your lower body as you walk.”

The uneven weight distribution from high heels results in a shorter calf muscle and a thicker Achilles tendon. This makes it extra painful when the foot is flat on the ground and results in sore and inflamed tendons, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Biology. Bunions and hammer toes are some of the other painful effects from heels.

Previous studies have also proven the inconvenient truths of stilettos, as a similar study out of Harvard found an increased risk for arthritis in one’s knees from reckless heel-wearing.

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? And here’s the kicker: the guy you’re trying to impress with those sexy heels isn’t even noticing. Another study showed that men don’t even take note when women wear those sky-high pumps.

In conclusion… we will continue to wear high heels.

Read more at Guardian.co.uk.

Posted November 8th 2011

LONDON — A human resources graduate from Venezuela, whose ambition is to work with children, was crowned Miss World 2011 at a glittering beauty pageant in London on Sunday.

Ivian Sarcos, 21, took the ultimate beauty accolade at Earls Court in London, the city where the first Miss World was staged in 1951.

Outside the venue, a small feminist demonstration took place, protesting at what they said was an “appalling offence against women’s equality.”

The beauty contest was broadcast live to more than 150 countries and was watched by a billion viewers, organisers said.

The competition has drawn criticism in recent years for being outdated and little more than a chance to look good in swimwear.

But of the 122 contestants whom Sarcos beat, a quarter are graduates and more than half speak three or more languages.

Sarcos, who currently works for a broadcasting company, said her future ambition was to work with non-governmental organisations and children, according to the Miss World web site.

She has already created her own foundation to help youngsters.

Her hobbies include volleyball, mountaineering and trekking.

One of 13 children, Sarcos said her proudest moment was “when I did my Communion.”

Next year’s Miss World will be held in China’s Inner Mongolia.

By Ned Martel

Posted October 18th 2011

First Lady Michelle Obama chose an ultra-violet, ultra-cool gown by Korean-American designer Doo-Ri Chung to wear alongside her Korean guests of honor at Thursday’s state dinner. And in doing so, she provided a highly-coveted laurel for a highly delighted self-starter’s fashion career.

Chung did not know her gown was officially chosen until a call from the Washington Post confirmed her dream project Thursday night. “I wasn’t sure,” she said, reached on her way to a store opening in New York. The gown’s time in the spotlight was the culmination of weeks of work.

“We were contacted after our spring show,” Chung recalled. The first lady’s office told her that “they really loved the strapless purple gown.” But all parties both knew there were some modifications that needed to happen. “What we showed was a lot more risqué than what the First Lady could wear. Obviously a thigh-high slit would not work.” (**Updated, 11 p.m.: State dinner fashion; what the guests wore)

A more modest slit remained, leading up to a high-waisted belt. Chung noted that she accommodated a usual Michelle Obama accessory, while the First Lady respected the fabric choice that the designer favors. “Jersey, of course. Signature to the house!” she said with a laugh. “I appreciate the dress she asked for doesn’t veer off what I usually do.”

Why jersey? “I feel jersey is very comfortable.” Easier for dancing to Janelle Monáe? “Yes! I think so.”

The attached belt was made of crystals wrapped in chiffon and, of course, jersey, which played off the color that Chung said was a deep hue that changes in various light. “I wanted something with a little bit of an embellishment but it’s still very demure,” Chung explained. She did all the work without actually meeting the president’s wife, but worked carefully with her measurements. “We tried to keep it very close to the specs,” Chung said.

The First Lady has made a point of showcasing fashion upstarts and emperors alike, and Chung was enthused to be among them. “I love that she wears Isabel Toledo, Azzedine Alaia, Maria Cornejo,” she noted. “I love that she supports young designers.”

Five years ago, Chung won the Fashion Fund award for fresh talent, given by Council of Fashion Designers of America. In an earlier year, when she was finalist, her design process was captured by documentary cameras as she reverse-commuted from New York to her parents’ dry-cleaning facility in New Jersey. Their extra square-footage served as welcome studio space for a designer still building a following—and a revenue base.

Chung’s parents have been kept in the dark about the secret project for the First Lady. “I didn’t want to get their hopes up,” Chung confessed, though she knew they were keenly aware of the South Korean state visit. “They’re retired now. They come to all my shows.” But they would respect that their daughter had a few more stops in her busy day before she filled them in on her latest success.

“I will call them when I get home,” she said.

Posted October 16th 2011

Following a two-year analysis of 100 U.S. cities, the American Mustache Institute (AMI) today released a new White Papernaming Chicago as “America’s Most ‘Mustache-Friendly’ City.”

As a result, Chicago will play host to AMI’s annual ‘Stache Bash 2011 charitable benefit on Friday, October 28. The event will serve as the Chicagoland kick-off event for Movember, the global moustache-growing charity campaign raising awareness and funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

In determining America’s most Mustache-Friendly cities, AMI researchers interviewed two hundred Mustached Americans in each of 100 high-performing U.S. municipalities to determine what makes their municipal region a flavor saving destination based on five key indicators: Employment, Transportation, Entertainment/Sport, Culinary, and Education.

Researchers asked participants to freely respond to open-ended questions about their lifestyle and spending habits. Qualitative data received during this study shed light on to why these cities received high AMI City Index scores.

Following Chicago in the top 10 Mustache-Friendly cities were: Houston;, Pittsburgh; Oklahoma City; Detroit; Milwaukee; Cleveland;  New York;  Huntsville, Ala.; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

“It’s important to document these unique enclaves of mustached culture in America,” noted AMI historian Samuel Glasscock, Jr. “Each city contributes its own unique piece to a rich tapestry of American upper-lip hair.”

By Rafael Abreu

Posted September 16th 2011

Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes’s reign was questioned Wednesday, after allegations that false documentation was used to help her earn her participation in the prestigious pageant.

The press office of Donald Trump’s Miss Universe Organization denied that anyone by the name of Charles Mukano was involved in the alleged forgery of documentation that allowed Leila Lopes to participate and win Miss Angola UK, which would’ve effectively elevated her to the Miss Universe pageant.
According to Argentine daily Infobae on Tuesday, the organizer of the the pageant that crowned her Miss Angola in her home country, a man by the name of Charles Mukano, apparently falsified the beauty’s documentation so that she could participate in the Miss Universe pageant.

The Infobae report went on to say that Mukano helped Lopes reach the Miss Angola UK pageant, in which only Angolan women who live in Great Britain participate, in spite of the fact that Lopes presumably lived in Angola.

The report also said that Mukano allegedly obtained false documentation that said Lopes is a business administration student in Great Britain. Infobae‘s report also said that in 2009, Mukano was questioned about false documents he obtained after a Cape Verde citizen came close to winning Miss Angola.

The Miss Universe Organization also acknowledged a rumor that Lopes is of Cuban ancestry and speaks Spanish.

So far, Leila Lopes has not responded to the allegations. However, the Miss Universe Organization said in the Thursday email to AOL Latino that, “We also heard the rumor that her parents were from Cuba and [that] she speaks Spanish, which is false.” The email went on to say that, “We have never heard of [Charles Mukano]. The national director who ran the Miss Angola pageant is Renato Guttler.”