If you live in or anywhere near Washington DC, you live, eat, and breathe gentrification. Buildings sprout and the names of neighborhoods change over night. 

A few weeks ago, I gave myself the task of creating a fragranced body oil for a friend that only wears one fragrance. I figured I could make her a perfume oil that blended nicely with her favorite scent and set out to visit my local “oil shop”. Oil shops typically only exist in predominantly black neighborhoods, and typically sell the oil version of popular perfumes as well as fragrances only sold in the Middle East. These stores also sell products for hair and body including Shea and cocoa butters, incense, and black soap. Often times the owners of these stores are Muslim and hire black men who are also often Muslim to sell the oils on the street to provide them with an income. 

Since there are three of these stores located on the same street within a mile of each other l figured I would have no problems getting what I needed. I visited the first shop, and they were sold out!! I walked three blocks to the next one, and they had exactly what I needed. On my way to the second shop I couldn’t help but notice a new high end niche fragrance store located right between the first oil shop and the second one.

Of course because I am a fragrance and beauty junkie, I could not help but go in to snoop around. The store was very modern in its look and almost sterile. It was dimly lit, and had a very minimalistic vibe with the decor and even the products offered. There were two sets of all of the fragrances offered located on two sides of the store, then body lotions, body washes, home fragrances, and candles all located on two different sets of shelves. 

Off to the back on the right hand side was a closed off but visible room that looked like a small science lab. When I asked the sales person (who was really nice) what the room was, he explained that the room was where the fragrances are poured and bottled for each and every customer! He further explained that in order for a customer to have the best quality fragrance, the salespeople are trained to follow a formula designed for whatever niche fragrance the customer chooses from the 12 samples on display. Each scent retails for $175, and are housed in decent sized glass bottles. Now back to the oil shop.

The Oil shops which have been in the black communities for years have a very different vibe and decor. Often times they  have a cluttered appearance, the merchandise is strewn about the store anywhere it can fit, and the oils are often stored in hundreds of large glass or metallic bottles on shelves covering every inch of wall space. The labels are large enough for you to see, and if you don’t see what you are looking for you have to ask because they will probably have it! The salespeople tend to be shop owners or their family members and often have little to no customer service skills.

The price of these perfume oils that often outlast any expensive perfume that you buy from a fancy department store or boutique is what really matters! You get to pick the amount of oil and based on the amount, and origin of the oil (the ones imported from the Middle East are more expensive) determines your price. I often purchase oils that are imported (mainly to explore options not common to the general public) I get a one ounce glass bottle, and the price is $20! Now $20 is a far cry from $175, and the process is pretty much the same. The people at the oil shop pour the oil of your choice into a glass container of your choice, and because it is 100% perfume oil the quality is excellent and it lasts forever!!

I love my neighborhood oil shops! I am able to smell like a million bucks for little to nothing and apply quality oils that last forever. I know that with gentrification my beloved oil shops will disappear. I am absolutely positive that the “newer” inhabitants have no clue what these stores are all about because they are not marketed the same way as the cute little over priced niche fragrance store that just opened down the street. 

I am also gonna go on a limb and say that there could also be an intimidation factor in these shops as well. When you think about the rediculous stereotypes associated with Black and Muslim men, I mean forget about it!! The other unfortunate reality is that the closing of these stores will mean that several young black men will no longer have a distribution center to pick up product to sell, deleting a respectable way for them to make money.

What would happen if retail geniuses went into these stores and changed a few elements to make them attractive to the “new” inhabitants? Would these oil shops take the niche fragrance world by storm? I think the answer could be a very loud yes!!! 

Yesterday I woke up to this article posted by a natural brand that I follow on Instagram.  I read a snippet of the article, and my mind started racing. I am already aware of some of the harmful chemicals and food I put in and on my body on a daily basis, and I have plans of gradually phasing out those things, but scientific studies like this really put things into a better perspective and provide a sense of urgency for how fast I eliminate certain foods and products from my life.  Lets talk about a few ingredients in some of our favorite products, discuss why they suck, and look at some great skin care alternatives!(my favorite part)

What are parabens and why does everyone want to know if everything is “paraben free”?

According to Wikipedia.org, parabens are a “class of widely used preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.”  They are mainly used because of their bactericidal and fungicidal properties, and can often be found in shampoos, moisturizers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, makeup, and toothpaste. They are pretty cheap in cost, and have been around for a long time making them an obvious choice for brand manufacturers to throw in a gazillion products. Now for the bad part.  They can cause irritation to skin, contact dermatitis, and rosacea in folks allergic to parabens. Now the even more scary part, they have been linked to cancer in several studies, and have also been proven to promote the over production of estrogen when tested on animals.

Now this should not put you in a product purge frenzy, but this information should make you think carefully about what you use, how much of it you use, and whether or not you can live without it! The amount of parabens put in products is so small that it would take a ridiculous amount to do any damage, but these preservatives are in products that we tend to use on a daily basis.  Because our skin is the largest organ on our body and absorbs what we put on it, this information is important to know.  Lets move on to another ingredient known for giving Americans our pearly whites!

Is fluoride good or bad long term?

When I think of fluoride I think of being a kid and seeing dentists coming into schools and me waiting my turn to have a treatment done where my teeth are funny colored after! I also think about how obsessed I have become recently in regards to dental health and white teeth, and about how many websites I have come across encouraging the use of oils to oil pull, and all natural mouth washes, and tooth paste.  I have also noticed a  major campaign to end the use of fluoride!  Initially I was shocked because up until now I always thought fluoride was to healthy teeth what cows milk was to healthy bones!(I no longer drink cows milk fyi)

According to colgate.com, fluoride is a “natural mineral found throughout the earth’s crust and widely distributed in nature.  It is often added to drinking water to help reduce tooth decay.”Now the ugly information.  One website claimed that “fluoride given to animals at high doses destroys the male reproductive system. It further explained that fluoride damages sperm and increases the rate of infertility in a number of species.”(Ahhh!) There is more.  There have also been studies that show brain interference due to the accumulation of fluoride in the body, Alzheimers anyone? The list unfortunately went on and on. Before this post becomes a phd dissertation let me discuss one last ingredient!

Antiperspirants! Do I really have to give up my favorite Donna Karan Cashmere Mist deodorant/antiperspirant??

I am a trained dancer, have been physically active my whole life, and one rule in the world of all physical activity was to never be caught slipping under the arms!!  Now many of my friends have jumped the antiperspirant ship, but I just cannot seem to ditch my favorite Donna Karan Cashmere Mist antiperspirant. It smells great, and has never left me hanging! Here are my major concerns in regards to antiperspirants.

Antiperspirants reduce sweat by 20 to 30 percent depending on the strength.  The aluminum and zirconium that is found in antiperspirants has been linked to breast cancer.  Researchers have found that both ingredients listed above have been found to enter cells and cause mutations in DNA that “could lead to cancerous growth.” Studies have also shown that aluminum and zirconium may also “disrupt hormone levels.”  Learning this information makes me feel kind of silly about my addiction to one specific product especially knowing the risks of using it.  I am sure that by the end of this year, and perhaps even the summer I will switch over to an all natural deodorant free of aluminum and zirconium!

Way back when Oprah had a talk show on like ABC or a similar station, she would always say at the end of her shows “When you know better, you do better.” You know what Oprah? I hear you loud and clear! Now to my favorite part!! Here are products that are natural alternatives!!

 

 

 

 

 

Last week I happened to notice several “natural” brands promote products on instagram, and as I looked at the products themselves, I couldn’t help but think “Why buy products that I can literally make in my own kitchen?”

I follow one brand, S.W.Basics of Brooklyn, and when I looked at the ingredients for many of their products, which they proudly boast right on the front of their packaging they read like my kitchen and/or bathroom cabinet; shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, witch hazel, tea tree oil, etc… Now all of these ingredients have the word “organic” in front of them, but my question remains, why buy these products when most of us in this day and age have all the ingredients necessary to mix up in our own kitchens?

My answer is packaging, and smart marketing.  There is a major “natural/organic” revolution that is happening in the beauty world.  Ten years ago you would not be able to find one beauty product with less than ten ingredients, most of which you could not pronounce, now there are several brands.  Several studies have shown that ingredients that have been put in products in the past like sulfates and parabens have not been the best for the skin, linked to cancer, etc… Documentaries have pointed many fingers at institutions like the FDA accusing that federal organization of taking bribes in exchange for saying certain ingredients are suitable for cosmetics, prescription drugs, food etc…

In this new age of accessible information, the educated general public has grown very suspicious of cosmetic companies for these reasons and there fore support most brands claiming to have organic/natural ingredients.  Now I too am a sucker for these “all natural/organic” products because I am just a product junkie in general, and recently purchased a rose, coconut oil, and salt scrub from Whole Foods, and was dissatisfied.  I have grown accustomed to making my own body scrubs, and have developed certain preferences.  Not only that, I kinda feel like if I’m not on the farm where the raw ingredients are being grown and harvested, how can I really know if something is truly organic or not? I love shea butter, but I have never been to Burkina Faso where the women and children are cooking the nuts to create the fatty deposits that eventually make the butter that is transported all the way to the oil shop on 7th and Florida where I like to buy it.

Nonetheless, I ended up adding some coffee, and olive oil, to the scrub (which made it awesome) and reminded myself that while there are several folks who do not have the patience, know how, or ingredients to make products themselves prompting them to buy these often over priced “organic” and “all natural” labeled cosmetics, I can do it all by myself with no problem and encourage others to do the same!  Now please believe, I have been strongly considering going into this business because my body scrubs are amazing!!

  
As a former MAC employee, I have to say that I have been pleased with most of the celebrities that MAC has chosen to be spokespeople for their various campaigns. 

RuPaul, a famous drag queen, was selected as their very first Viva Glam MAC AIDS fund spokesperson, which in 1994 was extremely progressive and daring. Even though race relations in the US are not really any different now than they were back in 1994, the fact that a black openly gay male made famous for impersonating a woman was chosen to be the face of a campaign created by the most popular cosmetics brand in the US was a big deal!

Fast forward to 2016, where we all live in the Kardashian/Jenner matrix whether we want to or not!!  Not long ago(cue time travel music) a very young Kim Kardashian did a sex tape with a dude named Ray J (younger brother to Brandy, star of hit sitcom Moesha), Chris Jenner aka the white female version of Don Magic Wand and Kim’s mom turns the tape and Kim into a super star celebrity, brokering that celebrity into a family reality show, clothing stores, endorsement deals, perfume, apps, magazine covers, superstar celebrity status for the rest of the children and one seemingly frustrated Bruce, former husband of Chris aka Don Magic Wand. 

Watching the early episodes of Keeping Up With the Kardashians(yes I am very ashamed), one could easily tell that Bruce really wasn’t sold on the whole “let’s sell our souls to become even richer and more famous” mantra that Chris was mastering. He always seemed to be on the opposite side of the fence when it came to Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe, and especially his own girls Kendall and Kylie. He seemed to always represent the tiny bit of “normalcy” for the family until 2015. 

Bruce a celebrated Olympian married to Chris aka Don Magic Wand decided he was gonna shock the world at 65 years old and do the unthinkable, transition into a woman! Bruce Jenner, the epitome of white male privilege, was gonna become Caitlyn. 

Now I have had the privilege of being close friends with quite a few transgender women. I have also worked with several either as coworkers and/or clients. I have witnessed first hand the discrimination that they face on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. I have seen the nasty looks, heard the loud whispers, and out right disrespectful comments made to my friends, coworkers, and clients to their face. I have also heard the stories of how difficult is it for my friends to obtain simple life necessities like housing, work, bank accounts, good customer service, a cab, etc…Let’s not even talk about dating because that is a whole other can of worms!! Simply put, my friends coworkers, and clients have all had ridiculously challenging lives that some of us would literally not be able to live through. Let’s take Laverne Cox for example.

I am sure Laverne Cox’s journey was/is pretty similar to my trans women coworkers etc…mainly because like them, she transitioned from being a black male(enemy number one/lowest on the western hierarchy of human beings, shot at daily or imprisoned) to a gender often ignored, misunderstood and disrespected by the majority of society. The assumption is that Cox overcame many obstacles to get where she is today which is an excellent actress and brave and eloquent spokesperson for the transgender community. 

While Caitlyn Jenner did transition, I cannot help but ask if her struggle was as difficult? I would be a fool to think that she did not benefit from revenue generated by her wife Chris and her Kardashian/Jenner family and brand. I would also be a fool to not consider all of the endorsements, money from photos, and television show offers that would come her way. 

Transitioning from one gender to another is no easy task, but taking everything that I know as a super inquisitive person that has asked my trans women friends every question imaginable I cannot help but question if choosing Caitlyn Jenner was the best choice to represent a whole entire population of people who more than likely don’t have anything remotely in common with her besides being transgender? Either way, I am pleased that MAC cosmetics has created a special initiative for the transgender community specifically. I just cannot help but wonder if their was someone better for the job of being Spokesperson.