I love getting beauty and style advice from real women.  And I recently received an email from Hot Mama Daily reader Djuana M. Daniel of Naperville, Illinois sharing her anti-acne skin care remedies for women of color.
Djuana, a business school administrator, offers the following tips:
“I’m a 45 year old woman of color and have had challenging skin with frequent acne breakouts since my teenage years. 
Over the years, I have tried everything from over the counter products to dermatologist prescriptions and I have finally found products that for the last few years have made a HUGE difference in my skin – Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure Castile …read more

My Diva Diet and Fitness Challenge is coming along slowly but surely.  I’m still making strides, literally.  After a week of serious effort that included an hour-long walk home over the Brooklyn Bridge several times last week, taking Natren’s Healthy Trinity and Healthy Tummy probiotic supplements, and cutting down on the carbs and sweets, I’ve lost a couple pounds.  
I know, however, that for lasting results I need to pump up the cardio.  And I can look to my own cousin, Janine Norris of Baltimore, for inspiration.
 
 
The busy director of health services and mother of two knew she had to …read more

I expected quirky bird-face “beauty” Allison to walk away the champ of  Cycle 12’s America’s Next Top Model.” But I was pleasantly surprised that goofy, small town New Jersey girl Teyona Anderson worked it out during the final catwalk in Brazil and won.
The stunning 20-year-old with impossibly high-cheek bones couldn’t deliver the easy, breezy, beautiful Cover Girl commercial lines to save her life, but she knows how to smile with her eyes like a pro.  Teyona is my favorite winner since Dani.  I hope she really makes it to the top.
 
Image credit: America’s Next Top Model

Thanks for all of the great entries to Hot Mama Daily’s Worn Free t-shirt giveaway –you made this my most successful giveaway ever and I wish I could pick more than two winners.  But if you didn’t win this time, stay tuned for more beauty and fashion giveaways during the month of May.  
Here are the two Worn Free winners and their responses:
Danielle Lopenski of Norristown, PA: My mom rocks because she is always there for me to lean on. She offers me plenty of advice and is always available to listen to my problems and help in any way she can. …read more

Sometimes Moms want to take their kids someplace that’s just as fun for them as it is for the little ones.  Well, meet Felicia Stevens-Niles, the owner of Nairobi’s Knapsack Toy and Play Gallery, a multi-cultural children’s boutique and play space in Brooklyn.  The gallery carries carefully selected classic and multi-cultural books, toys, and other products designed to inspire learning, curiosity, and creativity.  
Felicia’s love for reading inspired Nairobi’s Knapsack, and she was motivated to start her own business after leaving her corporate job to stay home and care for her two young children.  Brooklyn Moms rule!
 
 
On Mother’s Day the gallery is hosting …read more

I wrote about how I spent less than $5,000 on my wedding last summer for the New York Daily News. Since then I’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response to my budget wedding story and have advised like-minded brides-to-be on how to plan and execute the wedding of their dreams for far less than the national average of $20,000.  
My motto is, “Don’t believe the wedding industry hype.”  You don’t have to spend a fortune, especially on your dress (see a photo of mine below), to look like you did.
 
 
Sonja Romnus also planned her wedding on a shoestring budget and …read more

Tyra says as a top model you should be able to “make sound effects inside yourself” and “smile with your eyes.”  Should you be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound too?  
Well, if you think you have what it takes to be on top — ya know, you’re young (age 18-27), thin, and resemble either an alien or broken-down doll (pretty will do too) — here’s your chance to audition for the next cycle of “America’s Next Top Model.”  
Casting for this next season, however, offers a twist.  The show is looking for women 5′7″ and under.  That’s right …read more

Models aren’t the only fashion-obsessed women strutting their stuff in and out the Tents.  Hot Mama Daily editor Tracy E. Hopkins caught up with a few real life fashionistas who were ready for their close-up.

Nana Brew-Hammond, style editor for Bluefly.com, was out and about covering the shows wearing a vintage leather jumpsuit she purchased in Miami.
 

AOL Black Voices fashion editor Sonya Magget coming from the Heart Truth Red Dress show wearing a fashionable red dress and black pumps.

Stylist Stephanie Redhead is pretty in pink, one of the hottest colors for spring.
(Photo credit: Tracy E. Hopkins)

Did you know that heart disease is the nation’s No. 1 cause of death in women?  According to the American Heart Association (AHA), cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women over age 25, and accounts for death in twice as many women in the United States as breast and all types of cancer. But reportedly only 13 percent of women consider heart disease a threat to their health.
Now that I know more about how heart disease affects women, I want to help raise awareness.  Hot Mama Daily readers can join me and other women across the country by wearing red …read more

 
I know what you’re thinking.  Why is Hot Mama Daily blogging about Jessica Simpson?  No, Jess does not fit the Hot Mama demo (you may have noticed she’s not a woman of color).  But the recent debate over the blonde bombshell’s weight gain is a topic that many women of color, particularly African-American and Hispanic women can relate to.  We generally have healthier body images, which is a good thing since we also tend to have more curves. However, the media and society at large (no pun intended) aren’t always on our side.
(Tennis superstar Serena Williams is extremely comfortable in her …read more