30 Days of Pinspiration: Day 13

Day 13: Black women that rock BRIGHT RED lipstick.

Check out my explanation here: 30 Days of Pinspiration: Day 13

Source: ivillage.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I love y'all for free,
nNb ♥

Frugal Fashion Tip #1: Multi-Purposing Old Skirts

"People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile"

~Lee Mildon

Hey everyone!

As you all know, I love to save money (and sometimes pay nothing at all, lol!) on new outfits. In the past, I spent so much on new clothes not realizing that with some creativity, I could create my own stunning looks for a fraction of the cost. It is for this reason that I had decided to start a new segment on my site. Introducing *insert drumroll here*...

FRUGAL FASHION TIPS

*insert roaring crowd applause here* These tips will offer nice little tidbits about looking runway chic on a minuscule budget. The first edition of this series involves me taking some old school dresses, and converting them into beautiful summer dresses. This method works out well and definitely reduces the stress that women that with the "more to love" body type have to deal with when finding nice summer attire.  In true naturalNaijabeauty fashion, I've decided to introduce this segment with a video:

Tips for finding the perfect skirts:

• Belts are completely optional for these dresses, but since I have such a large chest, they help give the dresses a nice shape (skirts with elastic waists are the cash cow for women with larger chests). 
• Go to your local Goodwill, Salvation Army or consignment shop and look around for creative print skirts for great prices. 
• Make sure to wear a pair of heels and bring a couple of belts (different colors) so that you can test out the dresses before you buy them. 
• Be as creative as possible with these dresses and don't shy away from a particular pattern because it "doesn't look flattering". Step outside of your comfort zone because you never know what gems you'll find while out and about. 

Peace & blessings,

nNb :)

DIY Fashion Tips for the Frugal Fashionista!!!!

"Fashion is an art. You express who you are through what you're wearing."

~Daniele Donato

Hey ladies!

During my favorite pasttime of watching YouTube videos, I came across a few videos with some great Do-It-Yourself tips for the fashionista on a super tight budget. All of these tips are super quick and involves NO SEWING OR CUTTING (added plus for me, because I can't sew because I don't want to ruin any of my clothes, lol!). All you need are some rubber bands, safety pins, a little time and you create a gorgeous outfit for pennies or less!

Take a look y'all!

Create a fashionable handbag using a tank top:

Making a skirt out of a long sleeve shirt:

Turning pajama pants into shorts (too cute!)

Create a dress out of an oversized tank top:

Turn a long sleeve shirt into a tank top:

16 ways to wear a sweater:

Enjoy divas!

nNb <3

naturalNaijabeauty's 1st Thrifting Haul!

"Fashions fade, style is eternal."

~ Yves St. Laurent

Hey everyone! 


I got the opportunity to go thrift store shopping with one of my good friends last Sunday. Check out the gems that I cam home with! :)

Peace & love,

nNb <3

Satisfying the Economical Fashionista in YOU!

"A girl should always be two things: classy and fabulous."

~Coco Chanel

Hey lovelies!

As summer draws nearer, people are starting to replace the sweaters with summer tops. As I start to configure my summer wardrobe, I want to make sure that I get the most bang for my buck. In order to do this, I decided to check out some online sources for designer fashions. I came across a few websites:

599fashion.com and  15dollarfashion.com. Both of these websites carry very nice, good quality clothing at VERY affordable prices. 

Ok, so the first thing that you might think is that the websites might be kinda sketch if they are selling clothes for that cheap. I had this same thought too, so I looked up YouTube reviews to make sure that the sites were legit. You can see one of my favorite review videos for 599fashion here: http://youtu.be/LVfUToVMa3I. 

Make sure you all check out the websites and look at YouTube for more reviews on both of the websites. As soon as I order from the sites, I will post a review about my experience. 

Happy shopping fashionistas,

nNb :)

Natural Hair Challenge!!

"Everything that God created is GOOD...and my kinky hair is no exception!"

~Cherie King

Hey divas/divos!

If you're anything like me, you may get stuck in a hair rut every once in a while...sure the occasional updo is executed, but normally your hairstyle repertoire consists of wash-n-gos and two-strand twists... In order to escape the notorious hair rut, I usually get my hair braided. While braided, I research and finds TONS of cute styles. However, after the braids are removed, I go back to my mundane routine of wash-n-gos and two-strand twists. The sad part is that I encounter natural beauties everywhere I go and I simply LOVE their uniqueness in hairstyling.

I have decided that this madness must END! So...I'm instituting a NATURAL HAIR CHALLENGE FOR 60 DAYS! I will try different hairstyles and upload in a special group on Facebook so that you all can see the styles that I'm rocking...The catch is, I can only wear each style for 2 days (this will help me learn how to protect the styles at night). Hopefully after this challenge, I will no longer be stuck in the funky little hairstyle rut that I'm in and I can finally learn to style my locks!

Here is a website that I will use for inspiration: http://bglhonline.com/gallery-2/

And of course ya gotta accessorize: http://rachelstewart.bigcartel.com/

Anyone is more than welcome to join me in this endeavor. I will post the logistics for the challenge later. As it stands right now, I will create a group on Facebook for anyone that will be interested to participate and share their stories...The challenge will start in about 2 weeks, I'm still gonna rock these braids for a few more weeks...lol!

love -n- peace,

nNb :)

*Artist Spotlight* --> Janelle Monae

"I feel like Harriet Tubman, except I am trying to free people through underground music, to free themselves creatively and inspirationally.” -Janelle Monae

Hey y'all!

After listening to some of my favorite Janelle Monae songs on Pandora Radio, I decided that I wanted to do this edition of Artist Spotlight on the brilliant songstress. Enjoy lovelies!

Janelle Monae Robinson was born on Decemeber 1, 1985 (she is currently 24 years old), in Kansas City, Kansas. She studied theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. Later on, she moved to Atlanta, GA. where she met up with Big Boi from the group OutKast and founded the Wondaland Arts Society with other young artists.

In the year 2007, Monae released first solo album (which is part of a concept album of four parts or suites) entitled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase), which was later renamed Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition), following her collaboration with P. Diddy. The album was well-received and led to a Grammy nomination for her single Many Moons as well as opportunities to open for bands.

Her newest album, entitled The ArchAndroid was recently released on May 18th of this year. Both the 2nd and 3rd suites of the Metropolis concept are combined into this full-length release album (which is SUPER AWESOME, btw!). Here is the main concept for the Metropolis series (from Wikipedia.com):

Monáe's alter-ego, Cindi Mayweather—also the protagonist of Metropolis: The Chase Suite— becomes a messiah-esque figure to the android community of Metropolis. Monáe noted that she plans to shoot a video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create a movie, as well as create a graphic novel for it.

The Metropolis concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical, cinematic and other sources, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K. Dick. However, the series puts Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis, which Monáe referred to as "the godfather of science-fiction movies," in special regard. Aside from sharing a name, they also share visual styles (the cover for The ArchAndroid is inspired by the iconic poster for Metropolis), conceptual themes and political goals, using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explode contemporary ideas of prejudice and class.

Monae does not associate with just one genre of music. Here is what she thinks about the categorization of her music:

"It's the things that you don't do that makes you who you are.”, “Don't put a label on your art, let others decide what they think it is, and while they are deciding or trying to figure out what to call your art and name it, you just continue to do more art.” -Andy Warhol. This quote got to me because as an Artist, people always want to categorize you and say oh, you are in this category, but there is nothing that I limit myself to doing. Categorizing myself will only limit my growth."

To get an idea of her musical style, she is a mix of pretty much afro-punk, funk, dance-punk, Indiie pop, pop, soul and much, much more! Below is a video of my favorite song from her first album Many Moons:

Check her out y'all!

Stay blessed,

nNb Y

Fashion Accessories--> Creating Your Own Flower Hair Accessories

"A person is only beautiful, when their own beauty, is reflecting on to others."

- Tara Grady

Hey lovelies!

While I was on one my FAVORITE natural hair blog sites CurlyNikki, I came across a video from one of her users that showed how to make flower accessories. Now if you know me, you'd probably guess that I screamed and became really excited after seeing this video. Since I am both thrifty and fashionable, this video was perfect for me! I often find it hard to find flowers that match the outfits that I wear. Now I can just hop in the car and go to the local fabric store and MAKE MY OWN! YAY! Here's the vid:

Stay Fabulous!

nNb Y