The night before

The big day is approaching fast. I am very nervous. This is the first big event that I have done PR work for and I want Pink Diamond to be represented well. I have packed all of my clothes, my hair is done and I am looking more beautiful than ever. (Thank you Christina!)

This is going to be a big weekend, full of parties, celebrities and high profile individuals. I am very anxious. I have never been a PR/Media Escort for an awards show before, so I am not quite sure what to expect. Tomorrow is the orientation and I am so excited.

Right before I went to sleep, I received a text message from my buddy Mimi who I met in LA. She's done a bit of PR work for BET, so she knows the ropes. (I actually got all of my BET connections from her - Thank you Mimi) She was letting me know that her flight from Baltimore will be leaving for Atlanta soon and to make sure that I call her as soon as I get there. She was trying to find a way for us to get tickets for Celeb parties. I was not worried about getting into parties, my girl Evitacamela (www.myspace.com/evitacamela) has been in some of the hottest videos, so I knew she had the party game on lock.

Clutch Magazine

I have spent so much time focusing on my clothes, my hair, my makeup and all that material stuff, that I lost track of the important meetings that I have while I am in Atlanta.

A few weeks back, I was browsing on one of my favorite websites - Mediabistro (http://www.mediabistro.com/) and ended up meeting a woman in Atlanta, who owns her own magazine called Clutch. Clutch is an electronic magazine focused on fashion, culture, beauty & life. I reviewed the press kit for clutch - and let me tell you, you are going to LOVE this magazine. I cannot wait until it re-launches June 2007.

I reached out to Deanna because my writing skills need a bit of work (trust me I know - its no secret!). I also wanted to network with her because she seems to have the same drive and determination that I have. Both of us are young African-American women in the Public Relations industry, and I felt that I could learn a lot from her.

When I got in contact with her, she was soooooo happy to help me! She told me about some of the things that she is involved in and gave me a lot of insight about the PR Industry. I told her that I was coming to Atlanta for the weekend and that I wanted to meet her and her friend Kayla Calloway who is a Publicist as well (http://www.kaylacallowaypr.com/). There is no way that I can miss the opportunity to network these ladies. Any one who is serious about their career understands that the industry is all about "who you know".

Now What??

I began to pack all of my things for the Hip Hop awards. I am so excited, yet nervous at the same time. I ended up getting in contact with my friend Evitacamela and she gave me the scoop on all the parties and events, so it is officially on.

I am getting a bit frustrated because I am having a hard time finding the right accessories to go with my clothes. I spent quite a bit of money on my attire, and I cannot mess up all of my hard work with some hideous accessories. To be honest, the accessories are the most important part of an outfit - to me, so I probably should have taken care of that at the same time that I bought my clothes. Now what?

What am I going to wear?

Okay so - the BET awards are coming up in 5 days.

I know I waited a while - but it is time for shopping. Shut-up, I know I should have done that a long time ago, but I didn't have the money. Okay, I am lying. I did have it, I just wanted to wait until I dropped a few more lbs.

Over the summer, I went to LA with my girl Juanita who lives in Florida. We just needed a good summer getaway vacation, so we decided to go to the BET Awards show and to visit her boyfriend at the time - who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers (can't tell you who :). Since I live in Ohio, we don't have the glorious fashion boutiques that LA has. I was in awe of the beautiful styles of clothing that they had and I was inspired by it.

I decided that I wanted to have a LA girl type look. Especially, since I am a Publicist - its important that I look fabulous and trendy. I searched for boutiques in Columbus to see what they had and to my surprise I found some.

I completely forgot about all the designers and retail shops that participated in Showcolumbus. I ran across one in particular, whom I felt has the style and expression that I love. Its called Rowe. (http://www.shoprowe.com/) The store is owned by ex-Fashion Publicist Maren Rowe. I could not believe all the beautiful designs that I saw and decided that this is where I am going to shop!

In addition to that, I happen to love the House of Dereon line as well - http://www.houseofdereon.com/.

Countdown to BET Awards

One week left before the Hip-Hop Awards. I am a major procrastinator - so of course I have not completed my image make-over. I am so excited and yet so depressed because I have not done one thing I said I was going to do. Today is the day that I take control.

I created a list a couple of weeks back, that I need to do in order to look my best. The first thing was my hair - that's accomplished, next thing that's important is my makeup. First let me say, that I LOVE makeup. Especially make-up with tons of color. I am a fun, friendly & flirty type girl so I need a lot of color to promote my image (as well as my business).

I asked my buddy Destiny, who is make-up artist for Henri Bendel, what products I should use to give me the look that I want. Ladies - take note. Normally, I do not provide my secret beauty tips. However, since Thanksgiving is coming up, I am in a pretty good mood. So what the hell?

(1.) The key to having a perfectly made up face is having a clean face. (DUH!!!) I take a lot of time to clean my face every day and night so that my make-up looks vivid. Of course different products work for different people, so here is my regimen:

• I use a brown sugar scrub on my face twice a week. I mix a teaspoon of brown sugar with 1 teaspoon of honey and apple cider vinegar. I scrub my face - very gently for about five minutes.
• After the brown sugar scrub, I use egg whites as a mask. I take the egg whites and put them on my face and leave it for about 30 minutes. It will begin to turn into a hard crusty substance.
• After 30 minutes, I take a warm, steamed wash rag and put it on my face to scrub off the egg. You should notice that your skin tone will be a lot brighter and appear cleaner.
• Next, I use Dove cleaner to wash my face and remove whatever existing products remain on my face.
• Next, I follow up the cleansing with a moisturizing toner with cotton pads.
• Finally, I moisturize my face with Dove moisturizer.

*** I also use a tooth whitener while I am cleansing my face - twice a day***

(2.) Application of makeup - now this will depend on heavy you want your make-up to be. Since I take good care of my skin, I don't need heavy make-up. :). Here is the application process that my good friend Destiny recommends:

• Use concealer on any blemishes that you may have on your face first. Destiny recommends concealer from Mac. However, you can buy concealer at a drug store and it works just the same
• Powder- I use powder on my face. Some prefer liquid. I use Mac foundation on my face with a brush. Ladies - use a brush- you will notice the difference of how your makeup looks when it is applied with a brush.
• Cheeks - I like skinshimmer by Mac or Flirt shimmering powder by Estee Lauder. I think it is really pretty and it brings out the glow in my face.
• Eyes - I love eyeliner. It brings a sexiness to my eyes that I love. I also happen to love my eyes and this is where I want most of the attention to be. I cannot suggest a good eyeliner, because frankly, I have not found one that I really like. The colors I like to use are blue, black and brown. I also use different color eye-shadows, however the color of my eyeshadow depends on what I am wearing.
• Mascara - Okay. I just realized that I have pretty decent eyelashes. So its important that my eyelashes look perfect. Destiny recommends Bad Girl Lash from Benefit. That $18.00 bucks bit me, but I have to say that it is worth it.
• Lips - I love Lip glass by Mac. I usually choose subtle lip colors, because I love eyeshadow so much and I want the attention to go to my eyes. I also like the lip colors by Flirt.

(3.) Now that you have my make-up tips, don't forget to wash your make-up off with a good make-up remover. My favorite remover is from Mary Kay. Mary Kay also has excellent cleansing and makeup products.

Hair - Part II

Now I am getting plain lazy. There is a week and a half left before the Hip-Hop Awards and I still have not completed my image makeover. Since I cut my carbs, I lost 3 lbs, so that made me feel pretty good.

I decided on a hairstyle for the event, however, I needed to buy some good hair. I called around and asked some of my wig & weave wearing friends and they all told me to use the typical brands, my hair, milky way, etc.

I did not want to take any chances of buying a product that was crap. Lets be real - (1) I am going to Atlanta, (2) I am going to Atlanta for the 1st annual Hip Hop Awards Show and (3) I am a trendsetter, I am not going to be caught dead with a nappy shedding weave in front of celebrities.

I decided to email my girl Joia Mercedes. Joia is a celebrity hair stylist in Los Angeles who is the key hair stylist for many celebrities including Katt Williams, Stacy Dash, Ester Baxter, Vanessa Simmons and many more (www.joiamercedes.com). She was the host of the show Remixed on BET and has done work for some of the most fabulous commercials, music videos, magazines, even fashion shows. I knew that if noone knew about the best hair to use - Joia would.

I emailed Joia and asked her - what is the best type of hair to buy to get that celebrity/video girl look. Lets face it - I am an up and coming Publicist - translation - I am broke. So I asked her - what kind of hair can I get for under $30.00 a bag. Here is her response:

Hey girl....getting the best hair for $30 is like saying you wanna go to a really nice restaurant but you only wanna spend $5...you're getting McDonald's. Or like saying you want a really nice pair of shoes for $15...you're going to Payless. A really GOOD car for $500....you're getting a hoopty. You get what you pay for, Plain and simple. The best hair to buy is Indian hair. It's tangle free and worry free. That's how you get that sexy Celebrity/video girl look. You will never catch anybody in the industry with a bag of $9.99 hair! It's a dead give away that "Your not one of us" in Hollywood, like an elite club of lace front wig and Indian hair wearing Divas. And even though the price is an investment, you can reuse the hair over and over for more than a year. That's better then buying cheap beauty supply hair that will tangle and matt up on you in a day or two with a rats nest ball at the nape, which is what always happened to me when I wore Milky Way, Beverly Johnson, Rodeo, Zury....so called "expensive grade brands in the Korean Store."

So for something just to get you through this weekend, try US Hair on Broad St. in Town and Country. I used to go there a lot when I lived in Columbus. They can probably put you in something for under $30. But when you're ready to upgrade, let me know. I'll work you out a deal where I'll get you the Indian hair at the wholesale cost (depending on the length you want) if you agree to pass out my cards for my hair website in Columbus. I get the hair straight from India so allow about a week for delivery. Please log onto my website at http://www.hollywoodhairandwigs.com/ Have fun in the A!!!!!!

Dreams of making it

Two weeks until the BET Hip-Hop Awards. I cannot believe that it is coming this fast. I feel so unprepared. I have not completed half of my image makeover and I am getting fatter as the days approach. I have been dieting - but I have not stepped foot in the gym. Just Fat? Fat, Fat, Fat. I decided to quit punishing myself and do something about my weight issue. I flicked through the channels so that I could find the FIT network. They have a Hip-Hop and Indian exercise dance session that I love to do. I was not going to take this anymore. My new goal is to exercise one hour each day until the event. As I am scrolling through the channels, I stop at BET to watch Rap City. I see Ludacris, talking about the Hip-Hop Awards and I begin to panic. While in the midst of my panic mode the new Nelly Video comes on - titled Pimp your Pro with Ali & Gipp. I paid close attention to the models in the video to see their hair, clothes, shoes - everything. As I am watching, I noticed an old friend in the video Evita Camela. I could not believe it. We lost contact for a long time and I had no idea that she became a model. She moved to Atlanta two years ago and I did not know what she had been up to. I was so excited - I jumped on the Internet to see if she had a myspace page - which of course she did. I was amazed at her modeling resume and her portraits. It felt so good to see someone trying to reach their dreams. I knew that she always wanted to be an actress and I was happy to see her pursuing it.

What's next?

So, I decided to take a break from my much needed image makeover project and focus on new ideas for my business. I decided that my company Pink Diamond PR & Image Consulting is not going to be the traditional, corporate PR company. I want my company's focus to be on branding & image. I like the press work - the marketing, promotions and media aspect of PR - but I want my business to be focused on branding. In order for me to do that, I have to find a way to make my business different than the others. I was looking around on the Internet, just to see what types of businesses are out there - just to get a taste of what potential clients I would like my company to represent. Then I ran into this website - this is the funniest thing ever - Tuna Safe Thongs. What? Yes - that's exactly what I thought. I proceeded to read about the "Tuna Safe thongs" to see what the product was about. Here is the story: A guy by the name of Cristian was up one morning fixing a glass of water when he smelled a funky aroma - it was the garbage. He laughed in reminisce of his prom date - whom apparently smelled like the garbage. Not just garbage - fish. The smell was from a can of Star-kist tuna that was in the garbage. That's when the light bulb went off - He decided to make a thong with a tuna safe/fresh seal mood indicator - so that the persons mate would know that their "stuff" is fresh. He packaged it in a tin can that resembles Star-Kist tuna and labeled it Tuna Safe (hint: fishy smell safe). This was my laugh of the day. Not only is it creative, the packaging was a great branding idea. After finding this website - I decided that my company would be the company to help promote and brand unique businesses such as Tuna Safe. I want Pink Diamond PR & Image Consulting to be a fun & flirty type business. One that would market and brand unique, creative & fun ideas.

Hair Do's & Don't's

The most important part of my image - besides my clothes is my hair. I knew that my hair would make me or break me - so to speak.

I looked around in some magazines and tried to find some hairstyles that I liked. I don't know if it just me - but the hair season is so boring to me right now. I always try to be innovative with the hair -do's, but sometimes, they end up being hair don'ts. I work in a corporate atmosphere, so I knew that having an extremely hood or to creative of a hairstyle was not going to work out. I could not figure this hair thing out on my own.

I decided to call my hair stylist & client Christina Beharry at Salon Be (Columbus, Ohio). She has a great reputation for keeping your hair healthy, while giving you great styles. Which is very important to me. I consider myself to be a trendsetter, so I cannot be caught dead in the same boring hairstyles all the time. I asked her for her advice and she told me that she thought I would look great, with soft Cassie curls. She advised me that with my face being wide, it would be a great way to make it appear slimmer. She sent me a picture of the style and I absolutely loved it. Christina always knows the how to make me look like a star.

Keep on moving

After Showcolumbus turned out to be such a great success. I ran into a stumbling block. I could not figure out what project I wanted to venture out to next. I wanted to do something big, something exciting, something that is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I started to brainstorm, and then a bright light came on. I decided that I wanted to do PR work for the BET Hip Hop Awards.

Luckily, your girl has connections. (Just no PR job) I contacted my PR mentor over at BET, and let her know that I was interested. She sent me the materials that I needed to be a volunteer, and that was it. I sent in my application, my photos and my resume. Two weeks later, I got the confirmation that I was selected. I was heading to Atlanta to be a PR escort for the awards. I was so excited!

Ready...... Set.....GO!!!!

So I decided that since I cannot seem to find a PR job anywhere, I am going to become a freelance publicist. One of the first things I decided to do was to find volunteer opportunities. Since, I LOVE fashion, art & music, I volunteered to be the premier PR specialist for Showcolumbus.

As many of you know, I live in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is a great city for those who like the settled family life. The crime rate is not high, the people are really friendly and the cost of living is reasonable.

HOWEVER, for those of us who crave fashion, love art and like to kick it - Columbus is probably not the best choice.

Showcolumbus was created to change that. It was designed to showcase the talent of local designers, artists and musicians. There are so many talented people here, and no place to show their talent.

One of the first things that I did, was meet with the creators of Showcolumbus. We discussed how to obtain sponsorships, how to get the word out and how to get the Press(Media) there.

Suddenly it hit me, there were only four weeks before the event. So I quickly created an intense time line. I contacted all of my PR mentors to assist me with contacting reporters & journalists. I created an email and sent a mass forward to all my family and closest friends. I used all of my connections to spread the word as quickly as possible.

Finally, the event came. It turned out to be great!! The clothes were fabulous, the art was very creative and the music was something that I never heard before. I had such a good time and I cannot wait until next year comes! Feel free to click on the link to see a clip of the show.

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2785073

The Makings of Me

What would we do without our friends?

Throughout the years, I have heard many women say - I don't like girls, they are too petty, too insecure, too-whatever.

I feel sorry for those who can not find true friendships. I would not know what to do without my girls. They are always there when I need them. They are there to listen to my crazy dreams, my deepest secrets and share my greatest joys.

Having female friendships are vital to our health. They buffer the hardships of life, keeps our blood pressure low, boosts immunity and promotes healing. Our friends provide a unique support that we cannot receive from our families or children. They care about us as individuals and they care about our opinions and our feelings. They also enhance how we feel about ourselves.

This posting is dedicated to all my friends who helped make me. Including my mother - my best friend, my aunts, my cousins, my sisters and my niece.

Remember : Friends are the family that our hearts choose.

Diamond in the rough

Ever since I graduated from college last year, I have been trying to pursue my dream of becoming a Fashion & Entertainment Publicist and opening my own global PR & Image Consulting Firm.

I decided to name my company Pink Diamond PR & Image Consulting. I came up with the name Pink Diamond because my nickname is "Pink" and I am a "Diamond". For those of you who don't know - the definition of a diamond is a rock that that has been cut and polished and valued as a precious gem. According to my boyfriend (whom I adore and will help me with building my business) A pink diamond is rare, classy, unique & in high demand.

Therefore, a pink diamond represents me, represents my life and represents who I will become.

This blog is a documentary of my successes, my failures, my good times, my bad times = MY LIFE.