But reality is stranger than fiction and at this year’s AFI Film festival, it was all about “Precious,” the harrowing story adapted from the novel, “Push,” by Sapphire, about Claireece Precious Jones, a 16-year-old pregnant teenager who is trapped in a world of abuse and is given a chance to learn to read and write at an alternative school. It even has Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry on board to help promote the film…not that it needs any at this point, because the work stands on its own.

The grim description of the film does little justice to the sense of hope that the characters bring to the film, especially from newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, as well as from Mariah Carey playing a supporting role as a jaded social worker. Carey was told to come to the set with zero makeup, no car service, and not even a hint of blush. The R&B superstar is barely recognizable, but is being lauded by critics for giving the performance of her career. And let’s not forget Mo’Nique who is known for her bawdy humor on comedy shows, but morphs into a monster of abuse onscreen. Talk about acting chops.

Lee Daniels, the director of “Precious” tells the NYTimes that, “‘Precious’ is so not Obama. ‘Precious’ is so not P.C. What I learned from doing the film is that even though I am black, I’m prejudiced. I’m prejudiced against people who are darker than me. When I was young, I went to a church where the lighter-skinned you were, the closer you sat to the altar. Anybody that’s heavy like Precious — I thought they were dirty and not very smart. Making this movie changed my heart. I’ll never look at a fat girl walking down the street the same way again.”

Halloween Edition: Scary Homemade Prosthetics from twirlittv on Vimeo.

So I did. This balm nourishes & repairs dry, stressed hair and was also the winner of Allure Magazine’s “2007 Reader’s Choice Award”. It is also said to: “… deeply replenish hair with the basic elements needed to moisturize and restructure. It’s formula combines pure botanical extracts of Rosemary and Golden Seal with deep conditioners that rejuvenate dry, damaged hair. Hair recovers its natural shine, silkiness, softness.”

Usually this type of marketing is what every hair care brand puts in their pretty colorful bottle, but Biolage is the real deal. After I started using this product, my hair not only stopped being unruly and tangled, but it started looking healthier and softer, without adding tons of other products, too. As of now, I usually buy an inexpensive shampoo and use it in conjunction with Biolage conditioning balm, and the results are fantastic.

This product may be very goopy or thick to some of you out there, and if you fall into that category, I recommend that you only use it 3-4 times per week. Application is similar to other conditioners in that you leave it in for 1-3 minutes after shampooing your hair. Then, once you rinse it out and start to style, you’ll definitely notice the lack of tangles and how much softer your hair is to touch.

I’m a fan for life, as anything that can calm my crazy hair down will be in my shower stall forever.

“Cause Its My Birthday”

by Sloane Berrent

It all started with a crazy idea. Take the concept of a birthday week, universally celebrated by women everywhere with a myriad of activities, brunches and nights on the town, and turn it into an act of giving instead of getting. Use birthdays as a platform for social change. The nonprofit of choice? Netting Nations. Add in social media and two friend’s desire to inspire people around the country and you have Cause It’s My Birthday, a seven-day, seven-city, seven-party tour to raise money for malaria nets, with 100% of the proceeds going to the nets.

So that’s we did. Me, Sloane Berrent of TheCausemopolitan fame, but also a woman on a year-long journey to give back, which included the recent completion of a Kiva fellowship (featured on Twirlit here), and my good friend Doug Campbell (of Mindshare LA and the Tuxedo Travels). One day we were all together and realized we were turning 30 within days of each other and wanted to do something spectacular, but wanted it all to be about giving back. Because really when it comes down to it, there is nothing better than inspiring others to know how easy it can be to get involved with nonprofits or a fundraiser.

To put the wheels in motion, we first chose our cities: New York City for the kickoff on October 3, followed by Miami, New Orleans, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and for the finale Los Angeles. Some of those cities we had strong networks, but some of them we did not. We decided to crowd source the planning and logistics of the events. Crowd sourcing? This basically meant we found a few people in each city to champion our cause. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, where we had a strong network already, this wasn’t too hard. We simply sent out a few emails and the ball was rolling. But for a few of the other cities, we barely knew anyone at all. We looked to social networks like Twitter and Facebook to connect with people who lived in those cities and get them involved. The Seattle party was a particular highlight. We had never even met any of the hosts before the night of the event. One was an avid reader of my blog who got a few friends together and planned the whole thing.

We turned the donations into a competition with each city battling against each other for the most donations. Within one week we raised over $14,000! We decided to keep the main donation tab open through October 31, 2009, because people are still finding out about the campaign and making donations, and each one takes us one step closer to our $20,000 goal. In fact, as of today we’re at $18,742, which means we have until the weekend to get that last $1200!

Malaria kills one child every 30 seconds, or 3,000 children every day. The malaria mosquitoes only come out at night, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., so having a bed net drastically decreases someone’s chances of infection. The total cost of a malaria net is $5, which is a Starbucks to you and me, but means everything to people in a developing country who live off of $1-2 dollars a day.

Each party had attendance of approximately 75 people with a $15 donation at the door while the website has had over 450 people donate from over 35 states and four countries with amounts ranging from $5 to $500. The idea is to start small, start anywhere. The response we received was incredible. The campaign runs through October 31, 2009. Won’t you join us with your donation and feel inspired to make an upcoming celebration in your household about giving? You’ll be glad you did.

Once again, here’s the link to “Cause Its My Birthday.” Thanks again for getting involved!

Halloween Edition: Fun With Blood In Under A Minute from twirlittv on Vimeo.

In our most recent Twirlit Giveaway Wednesday, we featured the Fluxus brand, an All-American brand that incorporates simple but tactile materials such as jersey cotton, tri-blend and the signature hand of the burnout in avant-garde shapes.

We were lucky enough to give away the following items:

A Burn Pocket Tee – This popular tee consists of a cotton/polyester fabric drapes nicely for a comfortable feel.
(Retails for $57)
A Fluxus Burnout Scarf – Made of super-soft fabric, this scarf is available in white and black burnout, and goes perfectly with a white t-shirt and some fitted jeans. (Retails for $39)

And the Winners of each of these items who answered the question, “Which celeb has the best casual style?”

1) Ashley who says, “I love Alexa Chung’s casual style, she really knows how to play with proportions and layers!”

2)Jenny who says, “I adore Jennifer Anistons style — so simple and classic ”

Thanks for entering and we’ll be in contact with the winners soon!

Recently, the health food company, Navitas Naturals, sent over their Organic Acai Powder for me to review and I was, well, super happy. They informed me that they actually transport the Acai berries immediately after harvesting where it is then hand-inspected for quality. The whole berries are then freeze-dried and low temperature milled to ensure maximum nutrient content. The Acai organic powder is also certified kosher and vegan and without any fillers.  

Well, the first thing I did was take a small spoonful of this powder and proceed to eat it, which was NOT a good idea. This is powerful superfood at its finest and, therefore, I should’ve just added it to my morning smoothie, but I was just too excited. 

I do not recommend eating this plain because it’s quite strong, but I did try it with a smoothie that tasted amazing. The recipe:

Acai Berry and Banana Smoothie

1 cup Almond milk

1 scoop of Navitas Naturals Organic Acai Powder

1 banana

Handful of ice cubes

I downed this smoothie in less than two minutes and it left me wanting more. Was it the strong, berry-like taste of the Acai powder mixed with the creaminess of the almond milk? Probably.

Did I mention that you can also mix this powder with Greek yogurt to make another berrylicious snack that is loaded with antioxidants and vitamins? You know … I’m actually craving another smoothie now.

Who doesn’t love Boston Market, what with their delicious rotisserie chicken, creamy mashed potatoes and buttery cornbread? Furthermore, who doesn’t love paying $1 for an entire meal? Yes, you heard that right. Boston Market is offering quarter white meat or 3-piece dark meat chicken along with mashed potatoes and cornbread for one whole dollar. All you need to do is GO TO THIS LINK, print out the coupon, and take it to your local participating Boston Market restaurant.

The offer begins today, Tuesday October 27, 2009, and ends on November 1, 2009. In these recessionary times, its always great to be able to take advantage of offers such as this where you could actually feed a family of four for $4. Seriously.

For a fashion designer, Savannah Auger is refreshingly down-to-earth and humble. Not to mention that she also manages to be the lead singer of a band called the Oblivion Express. Recently she sat down with us to discuss following your goals and, yes, Savannah actually started off selling her designs from her car. No joke.

And check out Savannah and her band, Oblivion Express:

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED!

Twirlit Giveaway Wednesday loves clothing, especially when we can give it away to our readers! This week, we’re featuring Fluxus Brand Clothing, a Los Angeles brand that is a favorite of celebrities, including Jessica Alba, Megan Fox and LC Conrad. Fluxus is an All-American brand that incorporates simple but tactile materials such as jersey cotton, tri-blend and the signature hand of the burnout in avant-garde shapes.

And we’re giving away two sets of prizes that consist of:

A Burn Pocket Tee – This popular tee consists of a cotton/polyester fabric drapes nicely for a comfortable feel.
(Retails for $57)

A Fluxus Burnout Scarf – Made of super-soft fabric, this scarf is available in white and black burnout, and goes perfectly with a white t-shirt and some fitted jeans. (Retails for $39)

Here’s how to enter:

The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

Note: Please use a valid e-mail address.

Two winners will be chosen randomly. Giveaway ends Wednesday 10/28/09. Winners will be reached by email, and announced on the blog on 10/28/09.

Good luck!

My favorites were the women’s maxi-dresses and sweaters along with the men’s zippered shirts and sweaters. The easy breezy vibe of the entire fashion show, along with the quality pieces, made me want to chill out at the beach. (Even though it’s October!)

Check out the slideshow of the images below! And stay tuned for our video interview with Lani Lupton, one of Sjobeck’s designers, who spoke with us about the importance of quality, especially in these Recessionary times and … why you shouldn’t be a starving artist.