Fro Fashion Week – Part 1: The Fro

Hey Divas,

Over the next few days I’m gonna give you a run-down of my experience at Fro Fashion Week 2012 in a three part series I call “The Fro, The Penthouse Party, and The Hotel”. 😀 (an ode to all of my Jodeci fans out there) 🙂

So, without further ado, let’s go right in to it…

Fro Fashion Week ascended upon Atlanta once again for a weekend of fun, fashion, fro’s and fabulousity! Now, if you haven’t heard about Fro Fashion Week because you’ve been away tanning on Mars, not to worry… I will get you up to speed. 😀 Founded by the fabulous Tarin Boone, Fro Fashion Week is the ultimate celebration of the natural woman and features a bevy of interactive consumer and professional workshops, product demonstrations, hairstylist expos, a fashion show, information for and about natural beauty care, natural hair care products, entertainment around natural hair and skincare, and a Penthouse Party, which is hosted by the fabulous Kim Coles. Yep! I will tell you how I “redeemed” myself at this years’ Penthouse Party a little later. 😉

Last year I attended my first Fro Fashion Week event and I must say that afterwards I was hooked! So when I was presented with the opportunity of being one of the Lead Press Supporters for this year’s event I was so overcome with excitement that I could hardly contain my glee. Just like last years’ expo, the event was held at the uber-chic Melia Atlanta Hotel in downtown Atlanta. I decided to stay at the Melia Hotel so that I would be able to attend all the workshops and seminars, and also because I was so drained after all the fun and dancing from last year’s Penthouse Party that I barely made it home that evening. 😀 If you have the opportunity to attend Fro Fashion Week I recommend staying at the host hotel so that you can be close to all the action… and also because you WILL want to be within close proximity to a soft (and comfortable) bed to rest-up afterwards. 😀

 

So upon arrival at the hotel, I headed upstairs to the conference area where the workshops and product demos were being held. My first stop was Kynx Hair Care who had a really cute tropical themed setup. Kynx Hair Care offers a full line of natural hair care products that assist women who are transitioning to kinky hair. Natural Addictees was also there with their haute natural hair t-shirts. The company was formed by Ashley Cannady and Sonya Burks, a mother and daughter team whose vision was to create a brand that embraces Naturalistas. Go girls!

 

Jeannell Darden, CEO of Coco Curls, was also there with her wonderful product that freed my daughter’s hair from “hair imprisonment”. 😛 It’s true, and you can read all about the case of “Frizzy Hair vs CoCo Curls” HERE. And, speaking of setting your hair free from “persecution”, the fabulous Jessica McGuinty was also there with her Jessicurl line of cleansing, styling, and conditioning products which demand that “You have the right to remain curly!” Well ladies, after using these wonderful products my hair has now been permanently placed into the “hair protection” program. 😉

 

Over at the Curls Unleashed Beauty Lounge hosted by Organic Root Stimulator, patrons mixed and mingled over discussions about natural hair care and hair styles, while enjoying snacks and drinks. There were also prizes and giveaways, and we each received fabulous swag bags full of products and other goodies.

 

Next up was the Pampering Room hosted by Shea Moisture. Ladies were treated to a massage and a manicure…two things that go great together… Kinda like air and breathing. 😀 The candle lit setting of the Pampering Room along with the relaxing ambiance made for a Calgon-esque moment for me. I was definitely in “take me away” mode at this point. 😛

 

 

After I begrudgingly pried myself from the Pampering Room I headed over to the Beautiful Textures’ Beauty Lounge being hosted by The Garner Circle PR where celebrity stylist Felicia Leatherwood was conducting a demo on how to use the Beautiful Textures products. Let me tell you, the Beautiful Textures product selection was simply amazing, and we each received a huge bag of Beautiful Textures products and samples. In fact, their parting bags were so full of products that I felt the need to head back over to the Pampering Room for a quick massage touch-up since toting my bag around the event was beginning to put a serious strain on my shoulders. 😀

Even the OMG Booth was there, so you know I had to snap a couple of candid shots since I can’t seem to turn down any opportunity to step in front of a camera. 😀

Next up was the Bloggers, Brands and Brunch hosted by Design Essentials and held atop the 25^th floor of the hotel overlooking an amazing view of downtown Atlanta. This event featured bloggers and social media experts who discussed topics ranging from the impact of social media in today’s market to working with brands.

 

 

The keynote speaker was the fabulous Patrice Yursik, bka Afrobella, who shared her journey and experiences which have lead her to becoming the leading beauty, hair and culture blogger. 60 woman consisting of some of the top natural bloggers, natural hair care industry brand reps, and Naturalistas who are passionate about their natural hair were treated to a wonderful speech. Afrobella spoke about how she networks with major beauty brands and also the importance of being unique and setting yourself apart from others. I love her sincerity, and you can immediately sense that she has a very genuine and inviting spirit. Afrobella explained that she was very nervous and that speaking in front of large crowds is not her thing, but she did a wonderful job of which was met with a rousing applause.

 

 

Attendees networked over an amazing grilled chicken, mixed greens salad, and a tasty cheesecake dessert. After brunch cameras went into overdrive as we all snapped a few pics with the guests speakers and each other to capture the experience.

 

 

 

Tarin Boone, founder and CEO of Fro Fashion Week, expressed how much she was overjoyed and honored by everyone’s presence at Fro Fashion Week, but I must say that I think WE were the lucky ones to be a part of such an incredible event.

These woman are doing IT, and I was gracious and humbled by the experience and their generosity.

 

Well, after all the fun surrounding the day’s events, it was time for me to head back to my room to get a bit of rest, and to also ice-up my calf muscles in preparation for the Penthouse Party later that night hosted by the fab Ms. Kim Coles. 😀 You see, Ms. Coles and I have a dance-off scheduled…well…she doesn’t quite know about it, but I have been practicing my dance moves since the last Fro Fashion Week Penthouse Party a few months back where she broke out with the robot, and I, well, I broke my left hip.  😀

So, stay tuned tomorrow as I explain how THIS time I stayed out of the triage after the party. 😉

Don’t forget to check out
Part 2: The Penthouse Party
Part 3: The Show and Tell

 

Check out more pics from this Fro Fashion Week exclusive event:

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