Love What You've Got on Top!!

The tide is beginning to change and a lot of Fabulous Brown Girls are beginning to change the way they see themselves and the way they see their hair.

A Sesame Street producer has a young adopted African American daughter and when he saw how she was beginning to have a negative view of her hair he

took to his profession and did something about it.

Here is a clip of his story and why he did it.

Locally in Houston, Fabulous Brown Girl, Ashley Small, President of Medley Inc. went on ABC 13 to talk about her views on her hair and how she loves what she has on top!!

It is great to see that as African American women, we have the option of wearing our hair any way we want. We should not let our racial counterparts dictate what looks good on us, especially when it is not how our hair is naturally. Even though transitioning out of relaxed hair can be mentally challenging, the results are immensely rewarding to those who are willing to do so.

If you have gone natural or love wearing your hair however you want and do not care what others think because you know you were created wonderfully then share your comment below!

Oh and Just in case you have yet to see this example of viral self love check it out and make sure you share with everyone young and old!!

Young Hollywood is FEARLESS, FANCY, and FAB!!

Recently, some of Hollywood's Fabulous Brown Girls all got together to do the cover shoot of a new magazine, FEARLESS. Upon seeing this shot, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to see everything that Fabulous Brown Girl represents (sophistication, sassy, smart and fly) all in one shot!

According to MTV.com, this shoot is the FBG answer to Vanity Fair's Young Hollywood cover which ironically, did not include any one women of color. Last time I checked, Hollywood is not monochromatic and only having one color on your cover is not only disheartening, but totally unacceptable. But it seems Vanity Fair must have missed that memo..Their Bad...

The cover features Tia Mowry, Naturi Naughton, Monique Coleman, Jennifer Freeman, Kyla Pratt, Tiffany Hines, Chyna Layne, and Lauren London.

Kudos to FEARLESS magazine for recognizing that there is void of spotlight our FBG working actress and do their part to uplift them by putting them on their inaugural cover.

Keep up the good work Ladies!

Check out some behind the scenes video of the shoot!

Brandy... Is That You?!!?

After picking our jaw up from the floor, we definitely want to give a loud SHOUT OUT to Brandy for this beautiful and artistic photo shoot she did for 160 magazine. It is obvious that Brandy is revamping her image and trying to make a strong and sexy comeback.

Brandy, who normally has a girl next door vibe thats nothing-too-fancy, is now coming out full blast with sexy styling and uber glamorous looks. It looks like RayJ and the rest or the Norwoods are not playing games about this Family Business taking off.

We remember jamming to "I Wanna Be Down" and rocking those braids down our back trying our best to be just like Brandy during the 90s! She was our first FBG that we looked up to and now, in her early 30s, Brandy wants us to know she is still here.

We don't know if we are looking at Brandy or her alter-ego "Bran Nu" , but whom ever it is we love this Fabulous Brown Girl!! We are glad to see Brandy reinventing herself and coming back more FABULOUS than ever!!

Check out the rest of the hot looks below!

STAY FAB!

Essence's Black Hollywood Luncheon

Let's be honest. There is something about black women coming together in beautiful and harmonious pretenses that is so inspiring and humbling. Last week, Essence Magazine, a publication and brand that I totally respect hosted the Black Women Hollywood Luncheon in LA that honored several women in the entertainment industry who have contributed to the positive imagery of black women over all.

Now you know, here at Fabulous Brown Girl, that is are overall mission and passion and whenever we see this idea being carried out and positive role models acknowledge for their inspiration we can't help but to capture it in a post.


The Luncheon Honorees were:

• Gabby Sidibe (Best Breakthrough Performance)
  
• Zoe Saldana (Star to Watch Award)
  
• Queen Latifah (Power Award)
  
• Mary J Blige (Songtress of the Year)
  
• Cicely Tyson (Legend Award)
  

Here are a few pictures of some Fabulous Brown Girls who attended the function! They are by far too lovely for words, but we did what we could. Check it out!

An all time FAVORITE, the beautiful, Nia Long

The Queen, MJB.. she never half steps and I love it!!

Tennis Great, Serena Williams, Common, and Vivica A. Fox

Hometown chick, LaToya Luckett, looks popped in the coral dress!

Tichina Arnold looking ravishing in her early spring white cocktail dress

Uber talented singer/songwriter Keri Hilson

Taraji P. Henson and Vivica A. Fox

Keke Palmer, little sister in my head :)

Tatiana Ali

Jada Pinkett Smith

Tia and Tamera Mowry

Precious break out star and Honoree, Gabby Sidibe

Avatar actress and Honoree, Zoe Saldana

If you want to check out over a 100 photos of the ESSENCE event CLICK HERE

Some of our Favorite Quotes...

During the month of February, Fabulous Brown Girl tweeted inspirational quotes from famous women of color everyday to celebrate Black History Month.

As you know, the main mission of this blog is to shower one another with positive displays of black women and uplift and inspire young professionals to be the FABULOUS women that we all are destined to be!

Check out some of our favorite quotes that we found and shared on our Twitter...

• "No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow & be perceived as fully blossomed as you are intended." - Alice Walker

• "If there is a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it." -Toni Morrison

• "The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within -- strength, courage, dignity. " - Ruby Dee

• "Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him. " - Sojourner Truth

• "Where there is woman there is magic." - Ntozake Shange

• "Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others. " -Rosa Parks

• "It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. " - Lena Horne

• "Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough." - Mary McLeod Bethune

I hope you discovered a quote that you can use to inspire you and motivate you to be the most beautiful woman you can be!

Be blessed and have a great day!

We are FABULOUS: 41st NAACP Image Awards!

Last night the 41st NAACP Image Awards took place to celebrate and reward the accomplishments of people who the organization believes have successfully advanced people of color.

We love anything that celebrates us as a people, puts us in a positive light, and of course gives us a reason to dress up and look FABULOUS as well as support one another.

If you tuned in last night, what was your favorite moment during the awards? We thought they were overall wonderful minus director Lee Daniels acceptance speech... lol.. but what can you do?

Another site said that the awards was definitely a night for the ladies because they were the ones cleaning up and bringing home all the awards. That is what we like to hear!! Let's continue with that trend and BEING FABULOUS!!


Take a look at some of the snapshots of the FABULOUS BROWN GIRLS who attended the awards!

The wonderful and uber talented cast of PRECIOUS!

Always classy Anika Noni Rose who was the Co-host of the Image Awards

Fabulous Brown Girls: Taraji P. Henson, Gabby S., and Raven Simone

Keisha Knight Pulliam showing off her gorgeous gown after winning Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Paula Patton who looks great preggo by the way! She stays glowing!

Some of our favs Keri Hilson and Co-Host Hill Harper took a picture together !

Beautiful FBGs Tichina Arnold and Journee Smollett

BET Honors: This is What Extraordinary Looks Like

So last night BET outdid themselves with this year's broadcast of their 3rd annual BET Honors which took place in Washington, DC. The BET Honors recognized the achievements of fellow Howard Bison, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Queen Latifah, Dr. Keith Black, Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, and Whitney Houston.



Hosted by FBG Gabriel Union, several artists performed to honor them musically with uplifting songs to show them their love and appreciation.

My favorite tributes were Diddy's with Mary J Blige showing love to her "big brother" with a lot of hits they made together; as well as, Kim Burrell and Jennifer Hudson's tribute to Whitney Houston. Those ladies sang their hearts out to Whitney who was not afraid to "show" her gratitude for them while they performed. I didn't mind Whitney's antics because she made it clear, its better to be judged by your triumphs than by your flaws... Only if everyone thought like that!



Check out the tear jerking tribute Kim Burrell performed with her rendition of "I Believe in You and Me". This rendition encompasses how Fabulous Brown Girls everywhere should feel about one another. Thank You Kim and Whitney for that moment and thank you BET. We needed that.

A Little Positivity Goes A Long Way

We just want to tell you Fabulous Brown Girls that now is the time to believe in YOU!

Instead of playing the victim on the bad deck of cards you have been dealt, LET IT GO!

There are always people who are going through far worst life altering events than you are at any given moment.

When you change your mind frame and become a more positive person, then that positivity will shine on to others. Once your positivity shines on others they will more than likely give you that same positive energy.

Forgive those who have done you wrong. You dont have to allow them back in your life, but holding grudges gives THEM power over you that they DO NOT deserve.

Here is a FBG challenge:

Make a pact with yourself to compliment someone at least once everyday on a random thing.

You never know how far a simple "I like your earrings" or "This is delicious" will go and make someone feel for the rest of the day.

I want to challenge you Fabulous Brown Girls to be the Happy, Grateful, and Inspiring women we were all meant to be.

Remember: Energy is real... Positive energy attracts more positive energy. It is like a beautiful cycle that spreads out at any given moment

Visualize Your Dreams and Never Give Up On Them!

I just want to share something that has been on my mind with all of you Fabulous Brown Girls. It is something you hear so many times, that you sometimes become numb to it . The adage

NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!

Yes, I know it is said all the time, but I just feel like I should reiterate it because it is the plain and simple TRUTH!

I have seen many of my friends and family reach goals that were merely ideas years ago! A lot of us now have our degrees, are obtaining masters and PhD's, are in medical schools, law schools, working for various Fortune 500 companies, launching our own businesses, and buying homes and real estate! All because we had a VISION for our lives and set goals to reach them!

I am a HUGE proponent of writing down your goals and making them HIGHLY visual. An example of this is through a vision board, which is simply a poster that has visual images and phrases of the goals you wish to obtain. Because I am a PowerPoint connoisseur I made a PowerPoint slide show as my vision board instead of a poster board when I came up with the idea of FABULOUS BROWN GIRL, and when I recently looked back over it not too long ago, I can honestly say, and i mean HONESTLY, that all of the goals surrounding my blog FBG have been met or are currently underway!!

I had an idea that came to my mind, which then turned into a goal, as well as a passion. I took the time to craft out specific details about this goal and made a visually appealing map of sorts to look at and remind myself of where I want to be and how I want to get there! I definitely intend on doing the same thing for the other passions and future goals that I have in my life!

Don't let anyone deter you or tell you when and how your goal needs to happen because everyone is different and what they may not have the ability to do, you may very well be able to succeed at the highest level.

So Fabulous Brown Girls, whatever your passion is, what ever you see your self in a certain amount of time doing.. write it down and visualize the process it will take to get there and don't neglect to ask for help or a mentor (which I strongly believe all of us should have at least one at this stage) Don't let go of your dream and I promise you will be FABULOUS!

Notice Anything New?! 2010 is our BREAKTHOUGH year!

Happy New Year!!!

Wow ! 2009 was a great year! It was the year Fabulous Brown Girl came to me as an idea in the middle of the night and became a reality. I had several AHA moments as many scholarly folks would like to call it in 2009 which I am grateful for and it will only keep growing from here. It was a year of growth, change, and humility for me and 2010 will be the year where my thoughts and ideas actualize and become reality! 2010 will be in one simple word a.. BREAKTHROUGH!

With that we decided to change our look a bit! Do you like?! I hope you do, because this new format will be around for a while. Evolution is very necessary and is a great thing to realize and be a part of!

Fabulous Brown Girl will continue to evolve into greatness and I can't wait to see where this journey of female empowerment, inspiration, community involvement, and social sophistication takes us!

I have noticed that many of my young professional peers have a great anticipation about 2010! I think we for the most part we are growing into our own and I am happy and extremely proud to see these changes of mind frame coming about?

So to all my Fabulous Brown Girls, how did you bring in the New Year and what are you looking forward to doing differently in 2010?