Studio 189 Pop up Shop

Uncategorized

While I was in East Hampton, my cousin Leah told me about this pop up shop in Montauk that she was working with over the weekend. Founded by Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, Studio 189 is a collective of people from diverse creative backgrounds that provide a fashion platform for African and African-inspired designs.

Studio 189 has special fashion collection that is produced exclusively by artisans in Africa, called Fashion Rising. The goal behind Studio 189 and the Fashion Rising collection is to provide education, economic opportunity, and a feeling of empowerment for women in Africa.

The patterns and colors on these clothes and accessories blew me away. Many of the patterns are inspired by traditional West African symbols. My personal favorite pattern is of the symbol for cooperation and interdependence, and it translates into, “Help me and let me help you.”

However, my heart skipped a beat at the price. The price for a dress was $175, a vegan leather tote bag was $250, and scarves were about $390. The prices are understandable considering the motive behind the brand and what Studio 189 is trying to accomplish. Everything is handmade by talented African artisans, and every piece is impeccably designed.

Festival Makeup

Beauty, Makeup, Uncategorized

First off, I have to say that I am extremely apologetic for my long hiatus in blogging. I have been working on this huge project for my job called Photoville, which is a photo festival in Brooklyn that turns shipping containers into photography galleries. But this post is not about Photoville (even though its an awesome even and you should go next year!), this post is about the products I used during Photoville to keep myself looking fresh and feeling clean. These are the products I would recommend for anyone attending an outdoor festival or possibly traveling during the summer.

Photoville is an outdoor event with some pretty warm days, and then include running around like crazy therefore I ended up sweating a little bit. It’s inevitable, just accept it and deal with it and move on. I like to use body wipes during the day to wipe sweat off and keep my clothes from smelling. I prefer to use Ban Cooling Cloths because they have a nice cooling sensation that is relieving during very hot weather and they have a nice scent. However, they don’t come in nice travel-sized individual packets so I sometimes use Crystal Body Deodorant Towelettes, Solos.

I know everyone tries not to wear making up those really hot and sweaty events, like a music festival. But come on girls, we all do a little bit! When it’s hot out, I like to use Murad Skin Clearing Concealer. It helps keep my skin clear if I do end up sweating with makeup on. I also try to use lighter makeup, like Becca Blotting Powder Perfecter. It’s a lite, oil free, blotting powder that has shear coverage that you can reapply throughout the day if needed.