Pretty Dope Sh*t: BEAUTY: @GlamorousChicksCosmetics

All I needed in this world was a spa day. I was done with the week --the weekend, too for that matter. Part of me hated that I was out of my bed and on a train headed somewhere in *ugh* Jersey but as we rode --even through the most distraught scenes of Newark --the sunlight somehow found it's way into the darkest of corners and I realized it was the beginning of a beautiful day.

I've just begun pretending as if I have a "spa day" every weekend --fake it till I make it?-- but March 17th was the first day I took part in one deserving of me --and myself deserving of it. I walked into the Glamorous Chicks Cosmetics launch celebration at Pooka Boutique being the hot mess I usually am --semi-brushed tresses under a hat, sunglasses kissing its brim. It's my famous/incognito look. Everyone has their "look". I like to look too famous to give a damn. Purchased myself a Nikon last week and I've been dying to try it out. I was full-blown reporter mode & mid-tweet when , Shana, CEO & founder, moves like summer wind-- OK. I know that sounds cheesy, but she does --her movements and her demeanor are smooth and sweet. All you want is for her to sit next to you and smile. And let you play with her make-up!

I was in full-blown reporter mode--mid tweet & trying to get the pink shadow to sparkle juuust right -- when Shana, CEO & founder suddenly appeared next to me and smiled a sweet hello. Shana moves like summer wind-- OK. I know that sounds cheesy, but she does --her movements and her demeanor are smooth and sweet. All you want is for her to sit next to you and smile. And to let you play with her make-up! "Ella?" she asked. "Shana. I recognize you from your videos." Little does Shana know, every time someone mentions my videos, my stomach sinks. Now I was embarrassed for two reasons: She'd seen what a hot mess I am in private, and I had no idea who she was. Perhaps it's safe to say now, that I had forgotten to do my homework --not completely though. I had read through her bio, but hadn't thought to pay attention to who she was. *shrugs* Not out of disregard for her, but out of respect for her product. There was a part of me who couldn't care less about who founded the company. I wanted to know what the product was. After I met Shana, though --and realized that she, just like me, is a real person --I felt okay about caring about her product because she lights up when she talks about hers.

"You fall in love with the company," Nikkia explained. Before I had the chance to actually sit down with Shana, Nikkia did. Her. Job. I had asked Nikkia why anyone should choose Glamorous Chicks Cosmetics over the next brand and she explained that once you understand what the company is, what it stands for the quality of product it delivers, you want to buy from them just because... you should. (Insert my *shrug* here). If there is anyone you want handling the marketing and PR of your business, it better be someone who loves it. "My favorite is..." Nikkia interrupted herself. She was searching for her favorite lipgloss --something like when a dog is digging a hole. You can try to get it to do something else, but until it finds its bone, it's not moving. "This one!" she said when she'd found it. Holding it up like a trophy with a glittering smile to match. It was called Baby... something. I wish I could remember --the names the company has chosen for it's products are as well thought out and entertaining as the shades they represent. Speaking of shades...

"It just goes so well with my skin," Nikkia explained without having to. As a woman of color myself, I can't help but to worry when I wear a product created for women of pale complexions --leaving mine to fall second. "I wanted colors that work well on our skin," Shana reiterated later. "You can used this product on any skin tone," she stressed, "but it works very well on ours." She spoke with me about introducing her line to the woman of her home -- Dominica. She said that not only has the product been received well, the the requests have been to mount and she hopes to open a boutique on the island. There is nothing more beautiful than bring beauty back home. & You know what... I like to be the reason behind the product. I like to feel like a product was made for me. Nikkia took me through the products the way I wish sales people would --with a marketing flair :) She went into detail about the products themselves, their uses, their benefits (we skipped weaknesses as any business person would), even down to the packaging including the new addition to pink stickers to the glossy black Glam Chick casing.

Glamorous Chicks Cosmetics makes sure to cater to its buyer --even if they don't buy. The Spa Day at Pooka was... fabulous. I walked into the smell of honey, red velvet cupcakes, cheese, crackers and grapes, pretty women in pretty shoes, chilled moscato and conversations about Jamaica vs Cabo. now, I didn't know not one of the women in here, but I didn't mind being in a room with them, I must say :) The room was filled of women of all ages and skin tones floating around like bees would in a place like Pooka --it smells delicious in there. The company describes its clientele as "independent, classy and trendy women on the go" and I can attest to that first hand. Because then, I got a make over --by my new fav make-up artist: Chanel (and you know I skipped the line). "Ready to be a glam girl?!" she asked as I positioned myself on her stool. Chanel and I, we connected --as Chanels and I usually do. I allowed her to play a little bit on me --Seeing how it was 4pm and the sun was still shining, I needed day-time make-up... but I needed it to transition to night time. On top of that, there's pink glitter eyeshadow. Obviously, I need that. As Chanel dipped into her stash of brushes and went straight to work, she talked through everything she was doing --from the brush to use to the way to use it to how to dip it in the shadow and make sure you dust it off before you apply ---I listened ;)

Glam Chicks doesn't jerk you when it comes to providing assistance. Chanel (there were two on staff but I only spoke with Candy, unfortunately, but the other girl was fab as well) works with Neonfix and has been doing make-up for 6 years. In her make-up classes, she uses her stash of Glamorous Chick Cosmetics --familiarizing herself with the product on & off the job. I appreciated them having someone so familiar with the product on staff. The company has done an amazing job with making their product both easy to use (watch how-to videos on their lifestyle blog) and convenience. The eyeshadows can be used 7 (yes, SEVEN) different ways: eyeshadow, lipgloss, mascara, nail polish, eye liner, blush, bronzer. But they forgot brow pencil! Because Chanel sure did use the black as my shadow, liner & blush. She used a bronze shadow as a highliter & mixed it in with clear lipgloss for my lip color. Listen, when I walked out of there... I looked so good I had to make plans.

"You better go out tonight!" the glam girls cheered on my ego as I silently told it to relax. That's the thing about make-up, it doesn't make you a different person, but it makes you really like what you look like. Chanel made me (seemingly) flawless. Even the next day, as a few sparkles lingered in my eyes & looked at my profile pressed onto my white pillow case (smh), it didn't matter to me because it just made me look like a princess & no matter the story CinderELLA always has fun at the ball. The reason my ego took most hold wasn't necessarily because of what I looked like, but because I was confident that no matter how pretty I get on the outside, my insides are much more beautiful.

The dopest thing about Shana is her work ethic. As we chatted quietly she explained to me that she only has two classes left of her Master's program and "then the PH.D. and that's it!" she said. It's amazing with is "it" to some people. "Sometimes I want to quit," she admitted. "But I love the beauty business," she smiled. As a woman getting grounding of my own, I asked her how hard it was to manage a company as well as her own life. You don't realize that people are regular people until you try to do something close to what they have done. "I see the light at the end of the tunnel she said," Shana went on. She's not quitting until she's done everything she needs to do. The brand plans to expand to include We were sitting next to the window closer to the back of the boutique, where the sun was shining through to a table littered with Dawn Fitch's awards ranging from 2006 to early this year. I wondered how many more awards are coming her way? I wondered if Dawn would get a bookshelf. I want a bookshelf. From the look in her eyes, I'm sure Shana wants a bookshelf, as did many -if not all- of the women in that room. It was a card-exchange fest & if you're living in the business world at all, you know how good it feels when your Twitter follower count grows. Everyone was working towards something, doing something. It was a fabulous crowd. It's a beautiful thing to see the light.

Some companies give you good product, others provide and unmatched experience. I'd go anywhere Glamorous Chicks Cosmetics wanted to me to as I know it'd be a pretty, classy affair--and I'd wear their make up there, too!Keep your eyes & ears open for Glamorous Chick Cosmetics lines everywhere near you. When you love what you do, there are no bounds. Shana & the whole of Glamorous chicks cosmetics are an example of that.