The Princess of Femme

Siempre Basura (Always Trash)

I have been waiting for Siempre Bruja to air on Netflix, I mean a brown-skinned, Afro-Latina witch; what could be better?!

Before I go into all my feelings about the show, let me first give context. The trailer was released December 11 and featured this beautiful, curly-haired, brown-skin woman walking down the block. Then the actual plot was revealed… An Afro-Latina who uses magic as a lead…

I knew that when I started only buying black, I was going to run into hiccups. Our abilities to acquire wealth, pass the wealth across generations, and build institutions have been systematically destroyed. So that means a lot of small businesses and a lot of recreating the wheel. Though, no experience, no matter how disappointing, was going to stop me from buying black. After finding a new…

Don’t contour with purple eyeshadow!

If you read my last post, then you already know my love for koyVoca. A couple weeks before I wrote that post I went to the company’s IG page and asked if I could interview the owner for MY BLOG. At that moment I discovered that I was talking to Courtney Coates, founder of koyVoca, the entire time AND she said yes! Her Background “I am an adventurous, motivated, native Washingtonian. I hold a…

My shade is NW43, that’s what I knew and loved, but I had already committed to buying black, and my pot of MAC foundation was becoming real empty. Meaning my time was running out.

Side note: I found my products on a site called black-exchange.com. Unfortunately, they are no longer functioning as a website, but their Tumblr page is still up. You can search and scroll through to find a ton of black-owned companies. I was legit on this site every day amazed by all the businesses that were out there.

So boom, I find koyVoca Cosmetics; peep the shade range:

  koyVoca Cosmetics / Via Instagram: @koyvocacosmetics

I’m not worried about if she’ll have my shade, but whether or not I will pick the right shade. So being the fly businesswoman she is, she offers samples of every shade, so you ain’t out here buying full sized products that don’t match yo neck. And she will shade match you via email, so here I go sending emails late at night, and I email her like I’m NW45 at MAC, what shade do you think best matches me? No problem, right, WRONG! She answered Alexandria and offers the sample options, I’m like nah I’m good, I’m just gonna order Alexandria. I pay for it, maybe a week goes by, order processed and sent in a timely fashion. Nice, clean packaging, ready to beat my face the next morning. I look in the mirror, but something feels off.

You already know the end, it’s too dark for me. I’m a little pissed off, and I’m blaming Courtney Coates, the owner, for the nonsense. (Real talk, it wasn’t even that bad, but once I saw the difference I couldn’t unsee it.) I start going back to emails trying to figure out how this could this happen, ready to send my famous disgruntled customer email…

It was all my fault.

Attempt number 2! I got the right shade, Calabar, crisis averted.

With any new product, you have to figure out how it works for you, which brushes to use, which primer to apply, etc. Not all cream products are the same, just like not all primers and setting sprays are the same. After extensive trial and error, and Courtney answering all of my questions privately on Instagram, I resolved that that particular product wasn’t for me. She was even willing to send me another product for free because I didn’t have a pleasant experience. FYI: I didn’t take her up on the offer, but she’s serious about making sure every customer has an excellent experience with every product she creates!

Her About Face Powder Foundation though! This powder is a staple, I don’t imagine any other product ever taking its place. The quality is so high, it’s highly pigmented and long lasting.  Maybe I’ll dedicate a whole other post to this product because it has become that much of a staple.

What I’ve Used: KV Classic Cream-To-Powder Foundation, About Face Powder Foundation, KV Classic Cream Concealer, KV Classic Setting Powder, Ultra Powder, & Make Me Matte Powder

The Royal Jewels: About Face Powder Foundation

Wishlist: The HiLife Highlighter

koyVoca Cosmetics / Via Instagram: @koyvocacosmetics

Overall, koyVoca Cosmetics is amazing, and if you are looking for new makeup brands, especially black-owned, this is a great place to go. Also, I need to add that Courtney Coates launched this company last year and does almost everything by herself; it is unbelievable how much she has been able to achieve in a year’s time!

Dear MAC, New School The months that would become years were filled with sadness and anger. But I had to decide, what’s worse lookin’ sad or angry? Sad or angry? Or like being shamed for my blackness, shamed for my blackness. I’d rather be angry. Anger pushed me to seek happiness in any form. Homecoming The dance is weeks away. My mother and I sifted through racks of dresses, shelves of shoes,…

I’m Back!

I know it’s been a very long time since I’ve posted and I’m sorry for not providing you all an update sooner. I had to step away to focus on school. It is my senior year and I am exciting to end this chapter and move on to a new one.

My goal is to post at least once a week, twice a month if I am struggling for time and content.

It’s been wonderful coming back to an inbox full of sweet and…