Fashion Figures: Bien Roule' & Giveaway Contest

 I am thrilled to announce the Life & Style Of CrystalChanel giveaway contest for a $40 gift certificate to Bien Roule' !!!

There were many personal frustrations for creator and designer Jessica Golden when searching for stylish plus size clothing options. Jessica decided to launch her own company, Bien Roule' which translates to curvaious in French.  The brand is vibrant, stylish and bold which any fashion-forward diva will be sure to love.  Check out www.bienroule.com for the items below plus more.

Official Contest Rules

1) Follow @CrystalChanel on Twitter.

2) "Like" CrystalChanel on Facebook.

3) "Like" Bien Roule' on Facebook.

4) Follow Life & Style of CrystalChanel  on Blogger.

5) Tweet the following: "I just entered @CrystalChanel @BienRoule giveaway. Follow @CrystalChanel & visit crystalchanel.com for your chance to win!"

6) Leave a comment stating you done the above and include your e-mail address.

I will choose ONE Divadoll at random! You must follow all rules in order to be eligible. One entry per person. Duplicate entries will be removed and disqualified. The contest ends Friday, September 21, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST Winner will be contacted via e-mail for shipping details.  Good luck Divas! 

I Got The JUICE

There seems to be a huge push right now in the "Get Fit" movement.  Now, more than ever before, celebrities like Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, Khloe Kardashian and Ravin Symone to name a few have been leading the way with shedding the pounds and living healthier lifestyles.  Social media like Instagram, Facebook and different blogs showcase "normal" people dropping weight.  Morbid obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or above.  To find out your BMI click here.  As a clinical defined morbid obese African-American woman, I am a horrible statistic.  According to the U.S. Office of Minority Health, four in five African-American woman are obese or overweight!  The extra weight and extra abdominal fat causes severe risks such as death from heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

Now of course the idea of me being slimmer and more comfortable with my body image is at the top of my wish list, but living longer with less health complications seems much more important.  The bottom line is I must do different things to have different results.  I am learning I cannot continue to yoyo diet or try impractical temporary solutions to a long term want.  I want permanent results so I must make permanent changes. 

One of the permanent changes I made to my personal diet came about after watching a documentary on Netflix called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.  I've heard of juicing but dismissed the idea of drinking celery, beet, or carrot juice but after watching the movie my opinion changed.  The documentary was amazing and motivating.  I bought a $35 Black & Decker juicer from WalMart and filled my buggy full of fruits and veggies.  With little research and much ambition I started a 15 day juice fast.  I juiced random combinations of 50% vegetables like kale or spinach and 50% fruit like kiwi, apples, or pineapples.  I drank three large glasses of juice each day as meal replacements and plenty of water between meals.  Surprisingly, I had enough energy to even workout 30 minutes twice during the fast.

After six days I ended my 15 day fast.  For all those that wonder if I lost any weight, yes I dropped 13 pounds (which may have just been water weight).   I did not feel 100% confident I was doing the fast correctly and decided to research more to mentally prepare before starting the next fast.  My objective is to find different drink combinations, workouts, and supplements like fiber or flax seeds to aid with my fast.  I learned there are best practices like cleaning my food in baking soda and vinegar before juicing or buying organic food.  A better understanding of juicing is needed instead of winging it day by day.  My main goal for fasting is detoxing my body and boosting my vegetable and fruit intake. I know only better eating habits and normal exercise can get me in better shape.

I realize I cannot only juice for the rest of my life so I decided I will detox the five days of every month and continue to juice once a day as a tasty treat for my body's nourishment.

This is my first permanent step to life long changes and it feels good!  Care to join me?

Lady Loving The Blues

Hey Divadolls!  I know I have been missing in action for a while.  There has been a lot going on in my world between updates to the new Shop Crystal boutique and also with my weightloss journey, updates coming up for both!!  Yesterday, I celebrated my boo's birthday. We had sushi and went to see Sparkle.  The spotlight was on me with my shinny lustrous leggings from Forever 21.  They are a comfy dupe for American Apparel leggings and very affordable.  Anytime I am unsure of what to wear with a color I stick with black and white.  Here I have a sleeveless top worn as a vest along with black cap toe heels which makes you look twice as a dupe for Christian Louboutin Un Bout Pumps topped off with gold accessories.  Definitely, I'm ready for fall so I rocked my Rebel MAC lip color and my black Maisey Tory Burch fall bag.  With a funky twist out I enjoyed my night and completed my look.

source

What I Wore

Top- Forever 21

Shoes- Go Jane

Leggings- Forever 21

Necklace- H&M

Purse- Tory Burch

Lip Color- MAC Rebel

NYX Lippy Love

Go in the beauty supply store for ONE item and leave with many?! LOL, I know I can't be the only that gets lured in to spend more than I plan to spend.  I popped in the hair beauty supply store for $0.99 wig clips (for an upcoming hair venture) and leave with $40 wort of stuff.  I wondered down the make up aisle and behold the NYX brand display.  Each color looks rich and deep and prices are very low at $7 per item.  SCORE!  The colors are true to color and apply very thick.  It is recommend to apply a lip conditioner to prevent cracking.  The color can also look dry if lip conditioner is not used.  All in all, these colors are bright and vivid and very good coverage.  I do not like how they can crack or look dry or stain my lips but I still recommend NYX lipsticks and will be grabbing more.

Shocking Pink NYX Matte with and without a flash

Beauty Supply Haul

Butter with and without flash// All three colors

Pale Pink NYX Matte, with and without a flash