2012: A visual retrospective on this awesome year

As I looked back on the previous year, I realized: "DAMN! A lot has happened". Not only I believe I've grown TREMENDOUSLY (I believe this past year was one of my most significative years in terms of personal growth), but I also met amazing people, ate great food and traveled to cool places. Here are a few highlights from this past year in Sassou's life :)

Oh and before you look at the pics, you can click here to see my 12 positive things about 2012! I would also like to point out that I am writing this post from Miami and although I love my city, I wouldn't mind staying a few more....years. Lol.  Bye! Happy new year!

xoxo

Sass

JANUARY

I met Idris Elba! And finally got my name on a plate at Buona Notte :D
(well..more like my initials. Next to my not so hot cat drawing. Lol)

Short hair update: 2 months

Can you believe it's already been just a bit over two months since I big chopped my hair?

My hair is about 1.5 inches long, I usually flatten the curls with gel

Up to now, here's what I've learned:

-I need to wet my hair like, all of the time. It LOVES moisture
-I LOVE henna. I buy the one from Lush. I also love ghassoul clay.
-I am a product junkie
-The hair DOES grow. And the more it grows, the more I am loving the curls.
-I still do not want to use heat on my hair.
-EcoStyler gel is my best friend
-People do look at me differently
-My eyebrows need to be on point all of the time. Same thing for my makeup *sigh*
-I cannot compare my hair to anyone's. It is my own. And I think I may have 3 "textures": 3c, 4a, 4b
-The more natural the product is, the better. My faves up to now: Extra virgin coconut oil, olive oil, Jamaican Black Castor oil, Curl Junkie Rehab deep conditioner.

Check out a few more pics & my complete regimen after the jump! And follow me on Tumblr for more pics!

My 5 favorite products/items this summer

I get a lot of questions about this! I could go on forever about my new/old favorite products but decided to limit this article to my top 5.

Check out my faves this summer:

1. Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner

Dude. This works like MAGIC! Not too long ago, I heard about this thing called Co-Washing (washing your hair only with conditioner, it really works) and I tried tons of conditioners and was not impressed...I also wasn't down to pay more than 10$ for a conditioner I would be using almost every single day. After reading this article on CurlyNikki, I decided to try the HEHH and was pleasantly surprised! It's super cheap (about 6$ for the biggest size) and worked wonderfully on my short hair. It moisturizes my hair completely, makes it a bit too easy to detangle and also works well as a deep conditioner. I strongly suggest it. 

Available at pharmacies, Wal-Mart etc.

2. MAC Girl About Town super bright pink lipstick

Again, something I discovered by accident. Those girls at MAC are really good at making you buy a dozen articles when you only came for two! I love this lipstick & think I will be re-purchasing it, especially since it adds the perfect punch to any simple outfit. Oh, and Beyoncé wears it so it's obviously awesome. Hehehe...

Available at MAC Stores

Bold? Courageous? Yep! I cut my hair

Remember my previous post where I explained why I decided to go natural? Remember when I said that I would do a long-term transition and let my hair grow to a reasonable lenght THEN cut it?

Well...

See...


Things didn't quite go the way I planned.

 I got fed up of dealing with the two textures and my relaxed hair was starting to break at the demarcation line (the point between your natural hair and natural hair). So after much complaining, deep thoughts, reconsideration and advice from my loved ones including my hairdresser, I decided to just chop it off and start over! I didn't do the chop for the "style", more for the sake of healthy hair and actually ended up liking it! I was scared to lose some of my femininity and had no idea how it would look like on me but at the same time, I was willing to take the risk and didn't give a damn what others would say. So on July 5th, I did it. Check out some more pictures after the break + the video of my transition + big chop :) You can see more pics/posts of this journey  + the progression and growth on my Tumblr page! 

xoxo

Sass

Because Black is Beautiful (updated!)

This post comes from the heart as I am experiencing a good feeling I have never felt. I have never been prouder of my roots...

**Many changes occured since this article! Check out the updates in an article below (07-31-2012)**

It's interesting how recently, I've noticed how many black women in my entourage have reverted back to their natural hair. I am a bit ashamed to say that I was often annoyed when people would seem practically OBSESSED with their natural hair, often putting #naturalhair or #teamnatural as a description under their Instagram pics or Tweets. Why was I annoyed? Why didn't I quickly see the positive side of this? These are questions I have been asking myself lately as I am experiencing this particular "going natural" transition in my life.

Why is does it seem like there is a "problem" with being black in our society? Yes, Montreal is diverse. Yes, Martin Luther King made his speech and made a difference. Yes, supposedly we live in a multi-cultural country. Etc. Etc. The truth is harsh but we cannot hide the fact that racism still exists and discrimination is oftentimes indirect. Mind you, this article and the opinions raised in this article are the results of my personal opinions and things I have noticed around me. I was born and raised in Montreal and I do not have an accent but I did experience some forms of racism many times and not only from other nationalities...Too often, I've experienced racism within my own culture.

I remember those days

Some of the comments I have gotten from black people include things like "Ouh girl it's about time you get a perm", "You have really nice features, you must be mixed! Oh you're not? Are your parents mixed then? You have those good genes" or the comment I hate the most: "You're pretty for a dark skinned girl". Wtf is that supposed to mean? As if the "darker" girls were less beautiful and it was some sort of "blessing" for me to be part of the better looking ones? Or when it comes to hair, getting 1 cm of coarser hair meant that I needed to rush to the hair salon to get rid of it chemically in order to have a more Europeean look? As if sikly hair is how hair "should" be. And because I have uncommon facial features (my nose, in particular), it's almost certain that I have genes from another nationality, one excluding black people? Sad, sad...sad. The ashaming part about it is that