Last Friday marked the launch of Reebok Classic and Melody Ehsani’s second sneaker collaboration piece. To celebrate, they had a night of drinks, complimentary nail art, and a live performance by hip hop legend Doug E. Fresh to accompany the sneaker-filled storefront.

Not to be outshined by its predecessor, M.E. made sure these made a bold statement, and if anything close to her last sneaker design, is bound to sell out. She notes that these metallic sneakers are like jewelry; a type of accessory that can work with any outfit be it a black lace dress (like what she was wearing) or denim cutoffs and a tee. The best part about the sneakers she notes is how multifaceted they are and how they do not need to be dressed in a particular way, rather, she loves how different types of girls can wear them to suit their own individuality.

Ehsani stuck with her previous aesthetic of using python printed leather which to her is another strong animal worth paying dues to but not as commonly used as say, leopard or zebra print. To change it up, M.E. used a metallic gold upper embedded with the word “love” across the toes and stud accents all around the back.

The best part about this shoe is the love Melody put into it noted through her philanthropy work. She told us how as part of the Betwixt program, Reebok selected one female designer in each continent. As an ode for the opportunity given to her and the other women, she wanted to empower young girls by donating her designer fee to an all girls school in South Africa. So in case the design itself doesn’t move you enough to get on these sneakers (I surely don’t know how it could not), feel good knowing the eye and heart behind the design has shared her earnings to help the less fortunate.

Melody also notes the signing of a 4 sneaker contract with Reebok for the upcoming year starting with a shoe to be released in February. When asked what to expect in her design, she mentions that the cliche Valentine’s colorway will surprisingly not be one of them. At the rate that she’s going, Melody is bound to make some more heavy hitting sneakers worth collecting. It’s definitely time to break open that piggy bank.

Photos edited by PhayMiss

To say I love eyeliner is an understatement. I collect eyeliner like some people collect postage stamps…wait is that still a thing? At any rate, I’m thinking about finding a storage unit just for my eyeliner pencils.

I have a sickness, I know. So you can understand why I couldn’t walk away from the latest eyeliner pencil by L’Oreal.

L’Oreal Smoldering Eyeliner, available in 3 shades: Black,  Grey and Brown. I went with grey for the days I want a charcoal smoky look.

Here it is swatched on my arm.

On the left, I drew a thick line with the pencil. It’s a great sooty, charcoal color. It’s as if I took the lead of my favorite Ticonderoga #2 pencil and rubbed in on my arm. On the right, I drew another line and then smudged with my finger - it takes on a pretty gray, mushroom taupe shade. What I love about this grey is that it’s a charcoal grey because I have been let down by grey in the past. Sometimes it’s just too light for my skin tone.

If you are in a pinch and would like smoky eyes in an easy 5 minutes this is your pencil.

I would finish with either a black liner on the top lash line and water line or use this same gray pencil and line both areas I just mentioned. Don’t forget to add mascara.

If you have a little more time, you can build upon this look with shadows, lining and a heavier application of mascara. Here’s a smoky navy grey look I’ve been rocking lately.

I used Kamatchka (NARS, navy smoke) on top of the grey pencil, Soba (MAC, gold brown with golden shimmer) in the crease and Foxy (Urban Decay, matte bisque) on the brow bone.

When used on top of good eye primer, expect about 6-7 hours of wear time. I noticed a bit of fading of the liner on my top and bottom lash lines but the good news - no creasing when I used this as a base on my lids. Also, application is easy - the pencil has just enough give. The pencil did not drag but it wasn’t too soft that it smudged and migrated on it’s own within two minutes on my eyes.

I’m very happy with this purchase and even happier that it freshened up my liner collection for less than $10. It also comes with it’s own sharpener - how cool and convenient is that?

L’Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner, $8.99. I purchased this at my local Ulta. This pencil is available at all stores that offer the L’Oreal brand.

If you thought living with a stranger was bad, try living with your ex.

Dear MISSter Simms,

I am currently sharing an apartment with my ex-boyfriend.  Initially I thought it was a terrible idea, but he won me over when he showed me how it could benefit both of us financially.  I said we could try it out and see how things went.  Well, it’s been a month, and something has come to my attention that really bothers me.  He accidentally sent me an email under a fake email account he uses.  The odd thing was, the alias for this account was female.  When I confronted him about it, he claimed it was for junk emails.  I said, “…that’s creepy.”  I’ve got an email account I created specifically for junk emails too, but I’m not pretending to be a guy on it.  He responded by deleting his female account and creating one with a male name.  One of the reasons we broke up was because of his secretiveness and deceptive nature, so am I wrong to find this whole chain of events incredibly weird and to wonder what else he may be hiding?  Am I wrong for thinking we could work as roommates?  Should I even care?  Any help would be appreciated!

Suspicious Roomie

Dear Suspicious Roomie,

Are you wrong for thinking you and your ex could be roommates?  The short answer would be, “yes”.  The long answer: “Does the Pope poop in the woods?”  Living with someone in and of itself is a challenge.  Your roommate might like to cook in their birthday suit.  You might find that unhygienic.  Your roommate might like to listen to Swedish death metal.  You might like the smooth stylings of Hootie and the Blowfish.  Add the baggage that comes along with a broken relationship and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.  If he was just your roommate, you wouldn’t be writing me this letter.  But because he’s your ex first and foremost, there’s subtext to his actions.  Basically you’re still analyzing what he does as if he were your boyfriend when, in fact, that is no longer the case.

I can get why you would live with your ex.  He’s someone you know and trust slightly more than a random stranger (maybe?).  But you also think he’s shady and are already wondering what else he mad be hiding. What’s the point of living with him if it’s just going to drive you crazy?  So you can save money?  So you don’t have to think about looking for a new apartment and roommate?  It’s not worth it.  For the sake of your sanity and any future relationships you may have, hit up Craigslist and find a new place ASAP.

Need relationship advice?  Send your questions over to ronsimmsjr at gmail dot com.

Honey I shrunk the phone

When it comes to modern day smartphones, the thinking seems to be “go big or go home”.  How else can you explain the existence of phones that are too large to comfortably fit in your pants’ pocket?  That’s why HTC’s new One Mini is a breath of fresh air.  On the outside, the One Mini looks almost exactly like its bigger brother, with a few cosmetic differences.  The phone now features a 4.3 inch 720p S-LCD3 screen and smaller Boomsound speakers.  However,the volume control is still on the right side, the micro-USB is still on the bottom, and the micro-SIM is still on the left, and the power button and headphone jack are still located on the top.  It also features the same 4MP UltraPixel camera found on the back HTC One, with a 1.6MP camera up front.  The major differences are under the hood.  The One Mini uses a 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 and 1GB of RAMts (compared with the One’s quad-core Snapdragon 600 and 2GB RAM), and there’s a smaller 1,800mAh battery running the show.  One thing that the Mini and it’s sibling share, though, is that both phones run Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5.0 out of the box.

Look for the HTC One Mini to drop in select markets in August, with global availability starting sometime in September.

Well-behaved women seldom make history. I’m with you Eleanor Roosevelt. Respect for women in the sneaker community is at its peak and Converse is celebrating the women who don’t always play by the rules. For fall, the brand is releasing a collection of Chuck Taylors that are rocked up and rolled out. The releases feature zippers, studs, leather, distressing and just enough of a worn look to give edge without looking filthy.

The sneakers range from  $80-110 and are currently available at all Converse retailers.

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