Introduction:
Since I turned twenty-two this year, i’ve really been paying attention to all of my habits. As a birthday resolution I decided to rid myself of 1 bad habit and create 3 new positive ones: workout six days a week, learn how to play the guitar, and learn four new yoga poses per week. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about yoga when I first started, but since I’ve been getting my stretch-on. I feel better than ever! Thus, I decided to dive deeper into the practice and learn about the roots. What I found really surprised me!

History of Yoga:
For those of you who have never heard of Yoga, or for those of you who want to know more, it is defined as a physical, mental, and spiritual practice linked with Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain schools. Yoga presumably began in South India and has been mentioned in various vedic texts, the Hindu Upinishads, and the Pali Canon.

Yoga is popular among both men and women, and across all ages. It can be done outside, indoors, in a car, with weights or without.
Yoga has clearly been around for milleniums, even in the western world. Yoga gurus (instructors of the yoga practice) from India introduced their skills in the 19th and 20th centuries and is now a popular and effective form of physical exercise.
(For more info on the history of yoga, check out YogaJournal)

Benefits of Yoga:
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA)  says yoga is a “healing system of theory and practice”. Dr. Natalie Nevins (DO, board-certified osteopathic family physician) lists several benefits of yoga:

1. Increased flexibility, muscle strength, and tone
2. Improved respiration, energy, and vitality
3. A more balanced metabolism leading to weight loss
4. more

Goal of Yoga: 
People do yoga for a multitude of reasons: to lose weight, to achieve peace, to stretch after a workout, or just to try something new. The origins of yoga stem from the need to achieve “moksha“, the Sanskrit word for “liberation”. The way one applies moksha to the practice of yoga really depends on your own philosophy, be it religious or not.  All I know is, practicing yoga every day has allowed me to feel more free than I ever have before.

Yoga Resources:

1. YogaJournal - the #1 authority on Yoga and the Yoga Lifestyle; It is helpful for all kinds of practicers, beginners and advanced. They have their own magazine too!

2. Yoga U Online – Yoga “University” for aches and pains, chronic diseases, emotional health, wellness, and longevity.

3. Instagram – surprisingly, Instagram is the social media home to real-life yogis all over the world! My favorite page is one by a 20 year old self-taught yogi, Aly. She completed the famous Kayla Itsines workout regimen and decided to teach herself the art of yoga. I love following Aly because not only is she a brown babe with some amazing moves, her leggings and sports bras are cuter than ever. Some of her photos are below!

A Brief History:
The debate about the veiling of women has been ongoing for decades now. Many believe that the veil is symbol of women’s oppression; a marker of a woman’s “second class status”. However, there is also a great magnitude of people who believe that the veil is not a symbol of injustice, but a shield against possible objectification. A great pool of women choose to wear a hijab, burqa, niqab, etc. voluntarily as a sign of their personal freedom.

What is the hijab? A Hijab is only one kind of headcovering that is worn by muslim women all over the world. It is an Arabic word meaning “cover” and there are many different forms, colors, patterns, styles, etc. Some Christian and Jewish women in certain traditions also sport a headscarf for cultural practices of modesty. The garment holds different legal statuses all accross the world. Especially in many parts of Asia and Africa, it is common to see the head-covering tradition. Modest fashion is also becoming widespread across the West, believe it or not.

This being said, at Cinnamon Spirit we value the power of choice. Whether women are wearing head coverings or not, we know that these women are beautiful inside and out, covered or not – and we have provided some excellent fashion tips and tricks for a modest outfit regardless of culture or religion.

Level One: Short Shorts
On a cold day in Amsterdam, this brown beauty keeps her outfit warm and appropriate by pairing pleather leggings and denim shorts with ultra-blue high heels. She has accented her shoes with a collared shirt under her tweed sweater. Her white blouse that is tucked into her shorts is buttoned high for a prim and very proper look.

Level Two: Just a simple scarf
Dark skinned and just oh-so-darling! This woman is dressed very stylishly and modestly. Her over-the-knee suede boots are paired with black leggings and an over-sized t-shirt. Everything is pretty neutral until BAM! A vibrant head-scarf is wrapped around her hair bringing the outfit together!

Here is another example of a more structured outfit paired with a textured hair-wrap.  A military-style white jacket with black buttons is on top of what looks like a white t-shirt and casual skinny dark-wash blue jeans. Her brown leather briefcase and peach watch work great with her skin. The burgundy lipstick really warms up the look as well! This gorgeous woman is just glowing in the streets of New York City. There’s much to be said about her poise and beauty.

Level 3: More traditional
Here, this woman brings her culture into her day to day style. she is captured wearing a long-sleeved casual Anarkali (Indian-style dress that is paired with skinny cotton pants) with fabulous geometric print on the bust. She is able to draw attention to her small frame by her bold style. Her skin is radiant while surrounded by the canary-yellow veil she is wearing. The golden chain head-band makes this woman look like a princess!

Wow right?

What makes model turned actress, Mugdha Godse so irresistible?Maybe it’s her deep set eyes, or those full pouty lips – no it’s definitely that dark brown skin!

Mugdha is a 28 year old model and former semi-finalist at the Miss India 2004 competition. Towering at 5ft 9, she was one of the tallest contestants in history! There is so much of her to love!

She came from a modeling background and wanted to fill her hands with a new project: acting. When Priyanka Chopra burst into the limelight as one of the darker skinned women of Bollywood, it soon marked a path for Mugdha to follow. In 2008, Bollywood released a film produced by Madhur Bhandarkar called Fashion. It flew under the radar for a bit, but she and Priyanka became great friends. Mugdha played a supporting role playing a model herself – I suppose it wasn’t actually acting. She impressed several audiences and since then has been seeking the right next new role.

Mugdha says she has been offered countless acting roles but is waiting for the right time and opportunity to strike again. She says her journey has been “great – no, fantastic!” and is so thankful for Madhur Bhandarkar’s film and all her fashion education for giving her this start, but is in no rush to become the next it-girl.

On being darker than the average bollywood queen, Mugdha says she’s been very appreciative of her skin color. She doesn’t however draw attention to this “breaking of convention”. She doesn’t believe she is a dusky outsider, but just another actress. A gorgeous one at that!

It’s Holiday Season again! All around the world people will be celebrating winter holidays like Pongal, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Thaipusam, and of course, bringing in the New Year (Jan 1st, 2015). If you’re searching for the perfect dress to show off your beautiful brown skin tone, what better way to sparkle than wear sequins!

Mindy Kaling – writer, comedian, star of her hit show The Mindy Project, and absolutely fabulous brown skinned fashionista embraces sequins as well as chunky jewelry and bright colors. Where many women of color will shy away from these kinds of bold moves, at Cinnamon Spirit we think you should be the shining star of the party!  Mindy agrees “I wear all of those things, because I like looking at it. It makes me feel happy and excited to wear it.” In the photo below, she wears a beautiful dress and skirt combination. This scene was from the Pilot Episode of The Mindy Project, and to be honest she looks gorgeous! I love that the kind of sequin pattern on top is so much different than the metallic embellishment on her skirt. From far away, it looks like a dress, but when you look closely we find that Mindy has connected the 60s disco-ball and the Victorian Era in the best of ways. While Mindy’s outfit does technically break the mixing-prints rule in fashion, it is a definitely haute look that I think any brown woman could pull off. 

Anouksha, 21 fashion blogger from the United Kingdom has found a way to glitter during finals week. Here, she wears a black bomber jacket from H&M, black stockings, and casual tan booties from MissGuided. Paired with her gorgeous vintage flapper, and stuffed bagpack, she get’s an A+ for style. 

I found another stunning gold and black sequin dress from BeBe while looking for my own sequined New-Years-Me Dress. I can’t tell what is more radiant, the model’s deep brown skin or her dress. I’m too focused on how happy she looks while twirling around in it!

So maybe, you’re working for the holidays. You can still bring your briefcase of glitter with you! Katerina L., a 27 year old from Voronezh, Russia wears her sequins subtly. This outfit is a perfect day to night outfit that can be worn at lunch with friends, and then again at office party. Her sweater is also from H&M and her skirt is from Mango. She and her skirt, look delicious.My personal favorite is an Etsy Legend worn by a beautiful Indian Model, Menaka Iyer. She is 23 and from Toronto, Canada. I’m sure once you see this dress, you’ll be dying to have it.  She wore this vintage, one of a kind dress to New York City for the first time. “I had my first mimosa in NYC – Dream come true!” Menaka says excitedly. Although I couldn’t find the dress’s link, I did find that her feather earrings are from Spring and her muted (but also black sparkly heels) are from Nine West. Obviously not many of us can afford to splurge and spend thousands of dollars on a holiday dress (we’re too busy getting presents for our friends and family), so I’ve compiled a few under $50 options:

Stay tuned to see what sparkles I picked for my holiday dress! Stay warm this season my brown-skinned beauties!

I was doing my laundry the other day at the Laundromat – just the every-week routine of separating my darks, lights, whites, and delicates. As I stuffed my various underwear into my laundry bag, my essential nude bra dropped on the floor. As I reached to pick it up, a young lady about my age with red hair and fair, freckly, pink skin laughed and said “oh wow! I have the same bra!” After quickly regrouping I chuckled and said “everyone need’s a nude bra!” It hit me a few minutes after this incident that it was odd that she and I had the same colored bra when I am a totally different color than she is. Her essential nude bra and mine were the same shade of beige-tan when our skin colors definitely were not. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice to have a nude bra that actually matched my skin?

Looks like Ade Hassan, the founder of Nubian Skin, had the same idea. After years of not being able to find skin-color-appropriate nude underwear, she decided to empower women of all colors to redefine “nude”. In October 2014, she launched Nubian Skin , a line of lingerie and hosiery for women of darker complexions. She says “when you want to put on the perfect outfit – but your only option for tights is black, it completely ruins it…it’s incredibly frustrating.” This is why she created the line – to provide women of color personalized personals. With the help of Eunice W. Johnson and super model, Iman (founder and CEO of IMAN Cosmetics, Skincare and Fragrances for women of color) the first Nubian Skin store was launched in London, England.

What I love the most about Nubian Skin (besides the international shipping and moderate prices) are that these nude bras are more than just your everyday bras and underwear. These are the panties your granny wishes she wears! Sure, the basics for everyday wear are available, but the line also offers fabulous push-up and lace options as well. With names like “Cinnamon”, “Caramel”, “berry” and “Café Au Lait”, it’s hard not to drool over these fashions.

If you’re interested, which I’m sure you are, check out the site at https://www.nubianskin.com/ or connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter.

The holidays are coming up, and i’m sure i’m not the only one looking forward to the Turkey, gingerbread cookies, and cranberry sauce! Oh and of course the being-surrounded-by-family-and-friends part is fun too.

One dish that comes as a side to this season is always a serving of sweet potatoes. They come in pie form, melted among marshmallows, crispy wedges or condensed into soup form.  Whether you like sweet-potatoes or not, there’s no stopping these shape-shifting vegetables from entering your home on Thanksgiving. In light of the sweet potato’s inevitable upcoming appearance on your plate, I’ve decided to  write an article entirely about its skin enhancing benefits. I’m sure there are other ways to make your brown skin glow this season, but I can’t think of a better way to do that right now than eating a big heaping of sweet potato fries.

I first learned about the sweet potato’s skin enhancing benefits from an article on Everyday Health about ten foods that are actually good for your skin. Sweet Potatoes was one of them. When added to a healthy diet, sweet potatoes give you a boost of vitamin A. According to WebMD, people commonly take vitamin A as “treatments for acne and other skin conditions, including wrinkles” (1). After looking into this further, I found  Jenné Claiborne of Sweet Potato Soul, an online vegan workshop that provides you with diet plans and so many delicious recipes, many of which are based on sweet potatoes. Jenné Claiborne has been featured in Reader’s Digest,  Vegetarian Times, Shape, and many other publications. She is a beautiful dark skinned woman who works in New York City as a professional chef. She creates recipes, videos, and spreads her passion for a healthy lifestyle. She is a certified holistic health counselor having earned her title from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in 2012.

Jenné says if you want beautiful skin – who doesn’t – it all must begin at your plate. She says you do not have to eat exotic “super-foods” to feel the beautification. In fact she reccomends sweet potatoes, broccoli, almonds, and avocados. She developed her love of sweet potatoes when she was growing up in Atlanta, Georgia. She considers them her soul food. On her website, she has numerous recipes dedicated to sweet potatos, some of which are listed below.

Maybe you can incorporate one of these into your Thanksgiving meal this year:
1. Sweet Potato Burgers with Green Tahini - feeling all-american? try this twist on the traditional beef burger.

2. Sweet Potato Hummus with Fennel Seeds and Smoked Salt - maybe you want to add some mediterranean into your Thanksgiving, just make sure to bring the drinks to match, Opa!

3. Creamy Sweet Potato Portabella Pasta – Nothing says Thanksgiving like a big Italian family. Maybe you can squeeze in room at your table for a sweet potato, or a few.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Remember to stay radiant and be thankful for your gorgeous brown skin!

(As a reminder, we are not doctors here at Cinnamon Spirit. Therefore we do NOT recommend starting any treatment without consulting an appropriate medical professional first. )

Written by : I. Ella Noor

Happy Wednesday everyone! If you haven’t seen 12 Years a Slave yet, consider it your homework assignment for the week. Whether you watch it to immerse yourself in some American history or for the heart-touching story of a black man’s kidnapping into slavery, there’s one character who will undoubtedly captivate you. Lupita Nyong’o, the radiant woman whom this post is about, plays Patsey, a 23 year old slave who becomes subject to her master’s disgusting commands. Patsey endures whipping, sexual misconduct, and some of the worst forms of degradation by her master and remains in the hearts of the audience long after the ending credits. Lupita’s performance as Patsey was so commendable that it earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress! This breakout film has earned her more than just a few awards (about 30 in fact); the spotlight is on this brown-beauty all over Hollywood and here at Cinnamon Spirit.

Lupita Nyong’o (now 30 years old) graduated Yale Drama School only after playing Patsey in 12 Years a Slave. She was cast three weeks before graduation and insists she had “imposter’s syndrome” until she actually landed in Louisiana. She and her parents are of Kenyan descent although she was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1983.  At the time of Lupita’s birth, her parents were politically exiled and unable to return to Kenya. Therefore, her parents paved their own way – her mother became a leader of the Africa Cancer Foundation! Before Yale, she attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and earned her bachelors degree in film in 2003.

In an interview with Ellen Degeneres (2/21/14) Lupita enters wearing a fabulous minimalist, all white double breasted vest and shorts outfit and subtle earrings. She is immediately greeted by the host and the audience; and her humble personality shines right on through. She says she had never even seen her face on The New Yorker or any other of the numerous magazines she’s been featured in. Lupita is thrilled to be kick starting her acting career as she looks forward to the Oscar Awards coming up.

Some fun facts about Lupita Nyong’o:
1. She loves Scandal – Lupita even says that some of her style is copied from fellow dark-skinned darling, Kerry Washington.
2. She wanted to be an actress after watching Stephen Spielberg’s The Color Purple.
3. She once had a horrible braiding experience in New York – therefore she learned how to do it herself. She can cornrow, box braid, and more!

Below is a photo of Lupita Nyong is in a stunning gown by Gucci at the annual SAG Awards (1/18). Her eye make-up speaks for itself. I am personally obsessed with the gold and blue making her features pop.

Get the look for less!

Name: Ishra Ella Noor, “Ella”
Age: 21 years
Heritage: Indian
Occupation: Full time student studying Environmental Geoscience and Political Science at Purdue University and Barista at Starbucks

Why did you decide to join the Cinnamon Spirit team? Cinnamon Spirit finally highlights a beautiful asset that I’ve known exists my whole life – dark skin. As soon as I heard about this initiative I just knew I had to be a part of it.

How would you like to help Cinnamon Spirit?
I’ll be routinely posting tips and tricks for beauty, fashion, recipes, and tailoring them specifically to highlight the beauty of dark-skinned women. After all, the fact that we can actually pull off mustard-yellow is a feat on its own.

 Who are some of your style icons? In terms of fashion, I have to say I’m a huge fan of Giuliana Rancic. I love how classy she is but still has a razor sharp edge to her style, and a killer smile to sport around with that dark golden skin matches every outfit.

Plans for the future? “I really want to help people. I’d love to incorporate what I’ve been studying in college to do this. I would love to pursue Natural Disaster Recovery or Hazard Mitigation. I’d also be really excited to have my own art gallery one day!”

Welcome aboard, Ella! We’re glad to have you here at Cinnamon Spirit!