Great Gift Ideas for Dad!

Since Father’s Day is right around the corner, it’s time to surf the web and buy a gift or two for the most special guy in your life. Although showing love and respect for your father doesn’t cost a thing, you can still make him smile with a great gift. Whether he’s a gadget-guy, bonafide movie buff or knows his way around the grill, BGG gives you ideas for them all.

What makes your dad special? Please share!

**I’m posting this today since tomorrow is the last day for some online stores to ensure delivery by June 15th.


Leather Inlay Money Clip (can be monogrammed) available at www.redenvelope.com from $20-$25


Chornograph Black Dial Watch available at www.fossil.com for $125


Mio c230 GPS system available at www.bestbuy.com for $199


Year’s subscription to Netflix available at www.netflix.com


Mr. Bar-b-que Premium Stainless Steel Barbecue Set available at www.target.com for $39


Apple 8G iTouch available at www.apple.com for $299


Boxer Gift Set (can be monogrammed) available at www.redenvelope.com from $34-$39


Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Sterling Pocket Tool available at www.nordstrom.com for $140

GObama!


Ok, I know I typically don’t discuss politics on BGG besides the time I posted something about Michelle Obama and Obama t-shirts :-), but I had to write something about Sen. Barack Obama making history as the presumptive first African-American Democratic presidential nominee!!!

I’m so happy and can not believe that we’re all witnessing history right before our eyes. How does this make you feel? Please share your thoughts.

Oh, I did my usual post below on Dr. Miracle’s products, so please still scroll down today! You know I love your comments!

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Some women might hope for a miracle when it comes to their hair. Luckily, for those who are not pleased with the condition of their tresses, Dr. Miracle’s hair care products are the answer! I suffer from extra dull and extremely dry hair due to my relaxer; so when I have the opportunity to try something that claims to put an end to my despair, I’m all for it.

Recently, I tried Dr. Miracle’s Oil Sheen spray and the Intensive Healing Oil treatment. I was pleased with both products! Although both worked wonders, I’d have to say that my favorite was the Oil Sheen. It gave my hair a fabulous sheen, without leaving it feeling heavy or greasy. Plus, it didn’t have a super fragrant smell, which is always good since a lot of their other products have an intense smell.

I know that there are so many hair care products out there so when I find something good, I must share it with you guys! Have you ever tried any of Dr. Miracle’s products? If so, what do you think of them?


Oil Sheen Spray available at drugstores nationwide for $7.99


Intensive Healing Oil Treatment available at drugstores nationwide for $8.99

Banish Oily Skin on the Blot!

We have all heard about having a nice dewy glow, but there’s a big difference between looking like you just returned from the beach with glistening, sun-kissed skin and just being plain and simple – oily!

I don’t know about you, but my skin can become quite “dewy” throughout the day, especially, during the warmer months.

That’s why I NEVER leave home without blotting papers. You can dab these tiny, oil-absorbing tissues on your face for an instant matte-finish while leaving your makeup intact and complexion flawless! Plus, they can easily fit into your purse or desk drawer for easy touch-ups.

There are some things that a girl can’t live without and for me blotting papers are definitely one of them!

Do you use any products to control unwanted shine?

Check out some of these cute oil-blotting packages:


Too Faced Re-Fresh Oil-Blotting Papers available at www.sephora.com for $12


Rose Blotting Papers by Nurturing Force (29 feet) available at www.smallflower.com for $13.99


Boujois Anti-Shine Blotting Sheets available at www.sephora.com for $13.50


MAC Blot Film (30 Sheets) available at www.maccosmetics.com for $12.50


Rice Paper Powdered Blotting Tissues available at www.sallybeauty.com for $3.99


Paul & Joe Blotting Paper available at www.asos.com for $21.63


Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets (50) available at www.drugstore.com for $5.29


Chidoriya Japanese Oil-Blotting Face Paper (30 sheets) available at www.beautyhabit.com for $7.00


Boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens (100 sheets) available at www.drugstore.com for $10

Taking it to the Max!

This season the maxi dress is the perfect piece to add to your summer wardrobe. These fabulous, free-flowing frocks can create long & lean silhouettes, which I’m sure many BGs can appreciate. Who doesn’t want to look chic and elongated?

These popular, Grecian-like styles can be worn on cool days at the beach; or if paired with the right accessories can even be worn for a fun summer night out on the town!

I haven’t actually bought one of these dresses yet, but I know that I’ll eventually get one before the summer is over.

Will you wear a maxi dress this season?

Check out some of these styles:


Cotton Jersey Maxi Dress available at www.victoriassecret.com for $65


Floral Kaleidoscope Silk Dress by Hale Bob available at www.edressme.com for $305


Oasis Kenya Maxi Dress available at www.asos.com for $130.86


Day Berger Et Mikkelsen Mosaic Maxi Dress available at www.netaporter.com for $308


Abstract Print Pocketed Maxi Dress available at www.bebe.com for $90.99


French Connection Radical Rays Beach available at www.asos.com for $87.24


Armani Exchange Dip-Dyed Maxi Dress available at www.armaniexchange.com for $98


Chaudry Black & White Maxi Dress available at www.edressme.com for $120


Women’s Printed Maxi Tube Dress available at www.oldnavy.com for $19.99


Custo Barcelona Maxi Dress available at www.custobarcelona.com for $275

BGG Chats with Actor/Author Hill Harper


When I first heard that actor/author Hill Harper was coming out with, “Letters to a Young Sister: Define Your Destiny,” an uplifting, encouraging and inspirational book for young African-American women, I knew that I had to interview him for BGG! In case you guys didn’t already know, Hill is an excellent actor who has played in dozens of movies and TV shows, most recently, CBS’s CSI: New York.

He became a published author in 2006 with the release of his first book, “Letters to a Young Brother: Manifest Your Destiny,” which received rave reviews. His new book which has a foreward written by one of our favorite BGs, Gabrielle Union, is the perfect gift for your sister, niece, cousin, mentee, or maybe even for yourself. It would really make a a great gift for that special graduate in your life!

Check out our Q&A:

BGG: Did you ever think that you’d write a book for young women such as, “Letters to a Young Sister?

Hill Harper: Certainly I thought about the fact that women come to my talks and book signings, but that wasn’t what I was thinking necessarily. I actually was thinking that the next thing was going to be a (book) for everybody – men and women. But it became very clear to me the issues our young women are facing and some of the questions that I got from them, made me think that I should really do this book and I’m very happy that I did.

BGG: How did you go about asking the women like Michelle Obama, Eve, Ciara, Angela Bassett and others to be a part of your book? Were you pretty confident that they would be happy to be a part of your journey?

Hill Harper: Well I wasn’t necessarily super confident, but I have relationships with all of those women and I know them all to a certain degree. I figured they know who I am and what I’m about. Also, the first book helps. So when they see your level of quality and dedication behind it, they’re like, “Oh yeah, I can be a part of this.” I was blown away by the response. To have people like Ruby Dee, Michelle Obama, Gabrielle, Ciara, Alfre Woodard…and to have guys like Tavis (Smiley) and Blair Underwood…it’s just wonderful.

BGG: What did you learn about young women from writing this book?

Hill Harper: Wow, you know what? I learned a lot about differences between men and women. Maybe I had a sense of it before, but I never realized it particularly in young men and young women. It was very interesting and it became very clear to me that young women are much more complex than young men.

What I mean by that is that a lot of the young men that I met (during his first book tour) they were kind of black and white. Meaning, either they were doing well in most areas of their lives or not doing well AT ALL in most areas of their lives. With young women I have found that some of them were doing well in one area of their lives, but really bad in others. Their self-esteem could be good, but they could be doing horribly in school. Or she could be doing great in school, but have real issues with friendships or issues with boys. So there’s a level of complexity that young women have that young men don’t have. With guys you can get them revved up and they’re ready to go, but with women it’s like, “Well…let me think…” That’s why this book is longer, has more contributors and is basically more in-depth.

BGG: I know you speak a lot about the strength of the Black women in your life while you were growing up, do you think that we as a community lack positive role models?

Hill Harper: YES!! We lack them in a big way! That’s the reason why I wrote the book. We need mentors and we need role models. We definitely need people to step up.

BGG: What do you hope young women gain from reading this book?

Hill Harper: First and foremost, the most important thing is to deal with self-esteem and self-worth issues. If you don’t deal with these issues first, all of the secondary ones such as education, financial literacy, teen pregnancy prevention and others will fall on deaf ears. So I want young women to think of themselves as F.I.N.E as I put it in the book as being, “Fantastic,” “Interesting,” “Necessary” and “Exceptional.” If they think of themselves as that and let that resonate into their subconscious, they’ll be able to look in the mirror and say, “Yes, I am fine!” and when they look in there, they’ll believe it. That’s the first step in the reprogramming; then we can talk about all of the other things in the book, from dating, to boys, to depression and other areas.

BGG: What do you think is the main reason why many young ethnic women suffer from low self-esteem?

Hill Harper: It’s mainly because they’re bombarded everyday by this culture of knocking down their self-worth. It’s no wonder that their subconscious gets affected when you turn on the music and all you hear is the “b” word or the “h” word. Or when you see a music video or video game and the only women who are considered “attractive” dress and act a certain way and you say, “that’s not me” and think, “Am I not attractive?”

Then you have guys who come at you a certain way because they’ve been misinformed of what a real positive relationship with a woman is because he ends up viewing young women as only one thing – a sexual conquest. That’s why I wrote this book to help counteract a lot of that. It’s a platonic love on paper from a male. There’s no sexual agenda…you’re beautiful because you’re beautiful, you’re wonderful because you’re wonderful. It’s a hug on paper.

BGG: Do you ever aspire to open a youth center of some sort since you have such a deep and powerful connection with young people?

Hill Harper: Actually, I have a foundation called Manifest Your Destiny. Our mission is online mentoring, but we also use scholarships. I’m also a part of the Big Brother, Big Sister program and I actually do work as a spokesperson for that. We have a wait list of kids who have signed up to be mentored, but we can’t fill because there haven’t been enough people who have signed up to become mentors. There should be a wait list of people who want to be a Big Brother or a Big Sister – not the other way around. It’s a shame. So many of our young people are being raised by single mothers. Where are the men? What are we doing? How are we going to step up? So it’s incumbent upon me that what’s the purpose of having any level of celebrity or having any type of money if you’re not going to use it to do some type of good or to effect some type of change?

BGG: What did you find to be the most challenging topic to speak about to young women in the book?

Hill Harper: Dating and sex and all of those things. I say that because I had a really strong point of view about us (men) and how we treat our women. I think those chapters were some of the most valuable. I just really wanted to get it right. There are other things that I didn’t have as much insight into that are facing young sisters, that’s where the surrogate sisters come in. I had them come in and write about body issues, health…

BGG: I know that in the book you joke about all of the texting, blogging, IMing lingo that young people do, out of curiosity, do you frequently read blogs or find yourself sending abbreviated text messages?

Hill Harper: I don’t do it as much. Sometimes I’ll go on, but if someone sends one to me, I’ll read it. Like when a certain website said that I was dating Gabrielle (Union), someone sent it to me, which was totally FALSE! The good thing about blogs is that it allows others to check each other, which I think is good. But at the same time, if it’s just going to be all about gossip or hating on people, then it’s not good. I actually have a chapter in the book that talks about gossip and it’s real. Some of the stuff out there is completely made up!

BGG: What’s next for you? We know that we can find you on CSI: New York, but are there any new projects you’re working on?

Hill Harper: I’ll be on my book tour. Check out www.manifestyourdestiny.org for dates/cities. Come out and see me! I’m going to be on hiatus from CSI: New York until August. I’ll be going on an HBCU tour in September through the fall talking to students about financial literacy. Then I have a movie coming out with Ciara called, Mama, I Want to Sing, where I play her manager and she’s an aspiring singer. That comes out in October or November. The goal is to have a book for young African-American to come out as a best-seller! You can pre-order your book at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

The book will officially be released on June 3rd. If you’re in the NYC area, he will be conducting a book signing on Tuesday, June 3rd at 7:00 PM:

Hue Man Books
2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd
New York, NY 10027
(212) 665-7400

Sun-kissed

Now that summer is almost here, our days of having fun in the sun are on the rise. But before you head outdoors, be sure to lather on sunscreen.

Picnics in the park and lounging on the beach are fun, but can cause major skin damage if you’re not protected with sunscreen. Contrary to what many BGs think, we are susceptible to skin cancer due to sun exposure just like our fairer counterparts.

So while you’re packing your totes with magazines, snacks and cool drinks, be sure to toss in an extra bottle of sunscreen too. The best accessory this summer is healthy skin!

Here are a few sunscreen tips from renowned African-American dermatologist, Dr. Susan Taylor:

• All women with brown skin should use sunscreen daily
• Always apply sunscreen 20 minutes before you’re exposed to the sun to allow your skin to absorb the product and create a protective shield.
• Use sunscreen generously on all exposed skin—face, neck and hands. Apply at least a shot-glass full (about one ounce).
• Sunscreen in foundation wears off after only a couple of hours so it’s best to apply sunscreen separately, under makeup, or in moisturizers that say SPF 15 on the label.

Do you use sunscreen?

Check out some of these products:


Sephora Sun Safety Kit available at www.sephora.com for $25


Burt’s Bees Natural Suncare Chemical-free Sunscreen SPF 15 available at www.walgreens.com for $12.99


Carol’s Daughter Gelee de Soleil SPF 15 Tanning Oil available at www.sephora.com for $14


Murad Oil-free Sunblock SPF 30 available at www.sephora.com for $30


Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 85 available at www.walgreens.com for $10.99


Ole Henriksen Herbal Day Creme SPF 15 available at www.sephora.com for $35


Bliss “The Big Sunscreen” SPF 30 available at www.blissworld.com for $30