My Person of the Week

One of the reasons I started this blog is because I wanted to profile women who I think are exceptional. I am hoping to do this every week (but truth-be-told Dominican_Enigma’s schedule does get little nuts so it may be every other week or every other month lol).

The woman I want to profile is owner of my favorite salon Reaction. Her name is Chela Polanco. One of the reasons I wanted to profile her is I know that many of us women, go to the salons and beyond getting our hair done we never get to know the person behind our “do." Chela’s story truly fascinated me.

Chela came to the United States at sixteen years old from the Dominican Republic. Upon her arrival, she knew she wanted a better life for herself and for her
family than the Bronx apt they lived in. She quickly learned English and after high school enrolled in NYC’s Baruch College-graduating with a Bachelors in Computer Science. Upon graduating, she became a computer programmer working in upstate New York.

However, at this time Chela had gotten married and was working very far from her home in the Bronx, and the money as a programmer wasn’t that great. She quit the computer programmer job hoping to start her own restaurant or software company. (Don’t you love an ambitious woman?) But alas, both plans fell through. Then her sister who was a hairdresser told her that she needed to sell her fledgling salon and Chela quickly took over. She quickly changed everything in the salon around, from the decorum, adding flat screen televisions and a sectional couch to removing the cheap damaging products and adding proven quality ones. If you go to Chela’s salon, you will notice all of her products are pretty high-end. You see Chela says that she doesn’t want to just “do” your hair; she wants to make sure your hair is 100% healthy so that you can come back and bring your friends. When Chela does something, she makes sure she does it right.

Chela says that one misconception that many people have is that the blow-dryer can damage the hair. She claims that is false. She believes that the blow-dryer combined with the right products can lead to much healthier and longer hair.

One of the reasons I love Chela’s salon is because many of my friends do not use a relaxer on their hair and I’ve seen many other Dominican salons refuse to work on them. Not so at Chela’s salon. She welcomes everyone, and they all leave-incredibly satisfied.

Chela Polanco -my Person of the Week.

Foundation

Although I do love make-up, I am not the type to pound it on. I don’t believe in waking up looking like The Dominica Enigma and after applying my makeup resembling Krusty the Clown. I tried to keep my makeup incredibly subtle and natural looking. Many times people can’t even tell I’m wearing any.

Now my love for Revlon Colorstay in caramel started around 2 ½ years ago when I first began dating my honey bunn. I was captivated by him and tried to make a huge impression. So on one of our first dates, I made sure I looked perfect. I put on a sexy Betsey Johnson Black dress, some gold 3 inch stiletto heels and a perfectly made-up face (or so I thought).

Now at the time I was using another foundation, and after a wonderful evening of a Broadway play (Julius Ceasar with Denzel Washington) and a romantic dinner (Tao NY), we walked to his car. Before we got in, he reached over to me and gave me the tightest and biggest hug ever. It was amazing. My face was pressed against his perfect white shirt. I was in heaven inhaling his delicious masculine scent, and holding him so close. When we parted, I immediately stared into his gorgeous brown eyes and smiled. But then, my eyes wandered down to his white shirt. OH MY GOD, I WAS MORTIFIED!! There was a brown imprint of my face on his shirt. Literally he had hugged me and my runny foundation had left a HUGE stamp of me on his shirt!! Seriously, I was so freaking embarrassed that I was about to just take my shoes off, turn the opposite direction and begin running. But he just laughed and said it wasn’t a big deal. The next day I threw out that foundation and looked for one that wouldn’t leave traces of me when I held him again.

I found Colorstay with Softflex and have never looked back. Hands down Colorstay is the best foundation ever. I’ve used them all i.e., NARS, Armani’s (which I did love too), YSL, and Macs. However, Colorstay works for me like no other. First off when I put this on, it looks incredibly natural. I am plagued with an oily t-zone but dry everywhere else. There are two types of Colorstay; one for combination and the other for dry skin. I use the one for combination and my skin loves it. Second, this does not come off. If I apply it on in the morning, when I look in the mirror at night my skin still looks flawless. Third I am prone to breakouts but NOT WITH THIS. This does not irritate my skin at all. I love this stuff.

Loving this

The Dominican Enigma has been extremely tired lately with school and trying to take over the world so she has not had a chance to post (why the hell am I writing in the third person-ok back to the real me). Anyway, I got a really cute e-mail from someone asking me why I don’t post about any beauty products i.e., lip-gloss, eye-shadow, or blush. That’s actually interesting-considering I love them all. So I will begin posting about my favorite make-up as of next week. But as you know, I love hair stuff. I def agree with Martin Luther when he said:

“The hair is the richest ornament of women’

I wanted to share some great shampoos and conditioner that I’ve been using. The Giovanni 50/50 Shampoo and conditioner.

Giovanni 50/50 Shampoo

Giovanni 50/50 Conditioner.

I first saw the wonders of these products on my friend Kim’s hair. Kim (who reads my blog and knows that I am writing this) had a hair of unhealthy, dry, no-shine, thin, and split-end mousy brown hair. (Kim you know I love you to death.) I often recommended products to her but she would never use them. Then one day I met up with Kim at my favorite restaurant (Tao in NY) and was flabbergasted. Kim’s once fried looking red hair, looked out of this world. Full of luster, shine and volume I was in shock. She told me her boyfriend’s mother had recommended these products. Well, ever since that night, I have used these products on a consistent basis. My hair loves this stuff. I love the smell too although I can’t put my finger on what it is. Again, it has no Sulfates, which I prefer. Everything in this line is organic and natural-no silicones or chemicals in it. It’s worth the buy. www.vitacost.com sells it for a steal.

Save your money and buy some shoes!

When I think about all the money I spent on products that promised they would make my skin look like a baby’s bottom and instead I ended up with more pimples or just irritated skin-I get soooo annoyed. Now or days, most of those products are on my dresser, half-used with dust on top of them. I can’t bear to throw out a $195.00 skin cream (Do you think there’s a market on eBay for half-used stuff?) One of them was Crème de La-Mer, which I found out was ineffecitve anyway: Here is an excerpt from Paula Begoun’s site www.cosmeticcop.com:

"The reality is that this very basic, and I mean really basic, cream doesn't contain anything particularly extraordinary or unique, unless you want to believe that seaweed extract (sort of like seaweed tea) can somehow be worth this much money, or that it can in some way heal burns and scars. According to Susan Brawley, professor of plant biology at the University of Maine, "seaweed extract isn't a rare, exotic, or expensive ingredient. Seaweed extract is readily available and used in everything from cosmetics to food products and medical applications." Creme de la Mer contains mostly seaweed extract, mineral oil, petrolatum (similar to Vaseline), glycerin, waxlike thickening agents, plant oils, plant seeds, minerals, vitamins, more thickeners, and preservatives. How expensive can it be to stick some seaweed and vitamins in a cosmetic? According to the cosmetics chemists I've interviewed, it costs pennies, not hundreds of dollars.”

Now that I gave up my job to pursue my dreams, before I buy anything, I thoroughly research it. A girl does not have money to waste. So I wanted to introduce you to my Holy Grail moisturizer.



This moisturizer is incredible. Although I often saw Aveeno in drugstores, I never gave it any mind. Then I started reading about it in books recommended by many dermatologists. The Skin Type Solution written by Leslie Bauman M.D. highly recommends this. Then when Paula Begoun’s book, Don’t Go To the Cosmetic Counter Without Me, highly recommended it, I knew I had to try it. I have never looked at another moisturizer since. First off this moisturizer has what many of the high-end one’s don’t-SPF. Secondly it contains retinol, soy and Vitamin C which are three proven anti-aging ingredients. Soy is also effective with the removal of dark marks.
My best friend swears by the Aveeno Clear complexion. You decide.

Beauty for less

So yesterday I was in Sephora, with a good girlfriend of my mine who was complaining about the after-effect of her pimples (dark marks) and she insisted on getting Peter Thomas Roth’s 10% glycolic acid for $45.00. She claims that she heard it works wonders. I immediately advised her to step away from the product, took her to the nearest drugstore and showed her a product that was better for way less: The Alpha Hydrox 12% Glycolic Souffle.




I first heard about this product from reading Paula Begoun’s Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me. This book discusses beauty products in detail and debunks all the fabulous claims of the many brands by examining their ingredients. A lot of products that claim they will "change your life," are usually ineffective, or just “nothing special” products with a beautiful packaging on them. Not so with this product. She highly recommended this. First of all, The Alpha Hydrox Soffle has 12% Alpa Hydroxy Acid (which may be a bit strong for some, so you might want to use it every other day or even twice a week). Please note: In Paula Begoun’s Beauty Bible she states that Alpha Hydroxy in percentages of 4%-10% are not effective for inhibiting melanin production and thereby will NOT lighten skin discolorations. Luckily the soufflé has a 12% of AHA. It also has a PH of 4


Now, about two years ago, after I really started my beauty regimen (nutritional supplements, moisturizer and sunscreen), my pimples were gone but the dark marks remained (brown skin women know what I’m talking about). These marks were more annoying than the pimples themselves. I was getting very frustrated, and not to mention depressed (my cheeks were covered in them). My Dermatologist was recommending hydroquinone which for some reason lightened my surrounding skin and not the dark marks (go figure). After trying the hydroquinone, and trying everything under my kitchen sink, and still having no results, desperate for change, I grabbed Paula’s book and read about this product. Well the results are nothing short of amazing. You must understand, my cheeks were covered by dark spots. I would wash my face; put the Alpha Hydrox Souffle on, let it set for about 5 minutes, and then put my moisturizer on after and of course my SPF30. After about a month, most of the marks on my face had lightened to the point where they were hardly visible, plus my skin glowed. This product is incredible, and although I don’t use it as often as I used to (every other day) I would recommend this. Only $14.99 in Drugstores, as I’ve said before, Beauty does not have to be expensive.

Well i told you about Coconut Oil

Avocado oil is supposed to be excellent as well according to this Ford Model:



I told you Beauty doesn't have to be expensive.

Mixed Reviews

So lately I've become obsessed with the plight of Afghan Women since reading this book called A Thousand Splendid Suns-a definite must read. I picked up a book last night from my library called Kabul Beauty School and spent my Friday night engrossed in it. I really did enjoy it. The book is basically about an American beautician who goes to Afghanistan to start a beauty school. Through the relationships that she cultivates with these women, you learn so much about the Afghan culture and the way women are treated there (not great at all). An example was when she went to visit the women's prison and she found women that were jailed because they had been raped. That broke my heart. Not only had these women been through the horrific experience of rape, torture and abuse (many times from their own husbands) but they were now being punished for it. Many times the women had their children in jail with them. It really saddened me. Needless to say I couldn't put the book down.

However, this morning I wanted to do further research on the book's author, to find out a little about her. I must say, finding out about her, broke my heart more than the book. The Afghan women that were featured in this book are now being threatened with their lives. They claim that the author Deborah Rodriguez promised them that if they allowed her to tell their story, she would get them out of Afghanistan-well not so. The women are still in Afghanistan;the book has been published and the women are now not only disgraces to their family but are pariahs in Afghanistan.

The author claims that the women "misunderstood" her. She claims only that she would give them proceeds from the book, and now that the movie rights have been bought, she claims she will give them 5% of the profit. I find this really sad. This woman tricked these poor Afghan women (who already have been through so much oppression with the Taliban,Mujadeen and horrible husbands) and because they confided in her, it is possible that they will now be murdered.

Ms. Rodriguez has said she will not be returning to Afghanistan. These poor women have no choice but to stay, and live in fear for their lives.
I wonder how Ms. Rodriguez feels knowing the damage that her book has caused. I wonder if she even cares now that she is a millionaire.

After reading that, I regretted ever picking this book up and my prayers are with those women.

Driving lessons

This has nothing to do with beauty but if anyone needs a Great driving instructor, you have to use Alfredo from Ferrari driving school in Queens. i have taken so many lessons with other people but I admit I get so nervous behind that wheel. Anyway for the past months i've been taking lessons with him and literally I am like a damn expert on the wheel. He is the BEST!!

LOVING IT

I am in love with the whole Aubrey Organics line. Lately, I've been trying to use shampoos that don't contain Sodium laryl Sulfate. I've read through various websites that SLS is a detergent-like substance that is inexpensive and is the reason why shampoos lather so quickly. i don't know about you but putting a detergent-like substance on my mane is not cool. That's where the Aubrey Organics line comes in. This company's products are all organic and all natural. I mean literally i love all of their items. But my absolute faves are the following:

After using this conditioner, my hair felt like silk, but the shine it emitted afterwards was downright insane. I also love knowing that my hair will not suffer later damage from using this. A lot of shampoos now are not only infused with SLS but with silicones as well which could be incredibly drying as well. The ingredients to this conditioner are so simple too: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rosa Mosqueta, Rose Hip Seed Oil, Extracts Of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile, Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Angelica, Forsythia, Honeysuckle Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamin A, C and E)

Next product;

My Friend Tanika is a super hot beauty. However, her relaxed hair never shines. And i mean the girl has spend 1000's of dollars on products trying to get that hair to be glam. Her birthday was 2 weeks ago, and I went to The Vitamin Shoppe and picked up a basket of goodies from the Aubrey line. i must mention, Tanika is a bit of a product snob. She thinks spending 100's of dollars on products equates to quality. i've told her often "it aint so" but she only recently believed me after she saw what the conditioner i got for her did to her luscious mane. She advised me that she went to the salon and gave them the conditioner, however she still used her Kerastaste as a shampoo (said she couldn't bear to not use one expensive product on her head). Anyway, the product i gave her was:



Well after they blew out her roller set, Tanika called me in tears. She was so happy. There was finally shine to her hair. For years she had used other lines as well as the Kerastase and didn't get shine but she told me and these are her exact words "holy crap my hair is gleaming." Needless to say Tanika is a new customer. The ingredients to Island Naturals Conditioner are as follows:
Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Wheat Germ Oil, Almond Protein; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile and Yarrow; Organic Coconut Milk, Jojoba Butter, Organic Shea Butter, Horsetail Extract, Coltsfoot Extract, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E), Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Rosemary Oil, Pimenta Leaf Oil, Allspice Powder, Organic Sage Oil, Carrot Oil.

Your hair needs protein. Thats for sure. Your hair is made of protein and using a protein treatment at least once a month followed by a moisturizing conditioner is essential for maintaining a healthy head of hair. This is probably my fave product from the Aubrey Line. i am in love with their GPB Conditioner. First, it smells like a dream, and what it does to your hair is downright mind-boggling. i use it as a deep conditioner then use the honeysuckle. i've noticed that my hair has much less breakage, amazing length, and looks so healthy:


here are the ingredients:
INGREDIENTS: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Wheat Germ Oil, Lactalbumin, Organic Rosemary Oil, Organic Sage Oil, Horsetail Extract, Coltsfoot Extract, Nettle Extract, Amino Acid Complex (Cysteine, Methionine), Glycoprotein (from oyster shells), Balsam Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

You'll love this stuff

The Miracles of Coconut Oil

Around two years ago, I was walking through Central Park when i spotted this lovely young lady with the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. After walking directly behind her for 5 minutes mesmerized by the shine and luster of her mane (yes i will become a stalker for beauty), I decided to approach her before she turned around and slugged me. So I asked her what it was she put on those beautiful locks. She advised me that she used Coconut Oil on her hair. She told me that she applied it on her hair (not too much though) used it, left it on her hair for the day and washed it out. Me being the beauty-eager woman that I am, quickly ran to Whole Foods and purchased a bottle of Spectrum Coconut Oil:



I went home and boiled some water and placed the bottle of oil inside. Coconut oil comes in a very hard consistency and the only way to turn it into a liquid is to heat it. After it was liquid, I placed it on my hair, and put my hair in a ponytail. The next morning, I trooped to my salon, they washed it out and woooooooooooooooooooh, my hair looked amazing (i think even better than the girl who gave me the suggestion). lol

On the website: http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/14/two-natural-oils-that-make-your-hair-shiny-and-strong/

They state that there have actually been scientific studies on Coconut Oil showing that it is one of the few oils that penetrate the hair and actually will make hair stronger.

I definitely have noticed the difference.