Breezy Beauties

Embrace your beauty on your own terms

Bri Fitzpatrick

Red Lipsticks For Dark Skin

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black

Red Lipstick In American Culture

Red lips are iconic. Throughout modern American history, they have come to symbolize power, femininity, and sensuality. For many women, red lipstick is a tool that helps them tap into their strengths and tackle the world with confidence and poise.

I’ve had seasons of being intimidated by red lippies. Why? Negative messaging in media and culture. Growing up, some would say that red was unflattering next to deep brown- clownish even. I’ve heard it be referred to as loud, garish and even promiscuous.  Interestingly enough, these sentiments were only expressed when the bold color was worn by black women. Let’s pretend to be shocked. 

Rejecting Stereotypes About Red Lipstick

Throughout my twenties, I’ve been intentional about rejecting those ideas. Deep brown beauties can wear any color with style and grace. Let me tell you, I’ve seen some black and brown girls wear the heck out of a red lipstick. If you’ve been toying with the idea of going for a bold red, this is your sign to just go for it. 

Red Lipstick Inspiration

On the fence? Check out some amazing looks featuring red on women of color. PS. I threw in a personal example – plus a quick tutorial to help you achieve my favorite red combo! You can also get inspiration from this list of iconic red lipsticks from Harper’s Bazaar!

Rihanna

Rihanna stuns wearing a red lipstick from her brand Fenty Beauty

Janelle Monae

Janelle Monae stands out with a red lip at the Met Gala

Lupita N’gyong

Lupita plays with color wearing a bright red lip and powder blue suit

Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana holds an award on the red carpet- wearing a sporty black dress and a red lip

Brianna (@thatbreezybeauty)


My Favorite Red Lipstick Combo

I’m wearing my favorite red lipstick combo. I’ve been obsessed with lining my lips with Beauty Bakerie’s Bite Sized Lip Whip, in the shade Truffle. It’s a rich, deep brown. Then I fill in my lips with Beauty Bakerie’s Cake Pop Lippie in the shade Apple Acai. The result is gorgeous and really complements my skintone.

Do you have a favorite red lipstick?

5 Powerful Affirmations to Help You Build a Beautiful Mindset

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Image of Woman Relaxing/ Meditating/ Affirming Her Beauty

What is an affirmation?

Many believe in the power of positive affirmations. An affirmation is a statement repeated until the message resonates. In other words, we repeat the message until we believe it. Once we truly believe it, we operate differently and we see results.

The Power of Mindset

 Speaking positivity can be powerful. What we focus on has a tendency to magnify. Our words matter.  As Proverbs 18:21 says, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits”. It’s important to be intentional about our words. 

Build confidence with a beautiful mindset

Confidence has more to do with how we feel than how we look. Breezy Beauties’ goal is to help women embrace beauty on their own terms. Primping by doing your hair and makeup can be fun, but it doesn’t make someone beautiful. With confidence, you’ll feel like a million bucks with or without a full face. 

Your value is not connected to your beauty. These affirmations are here to remind you that your character, intellect and personality make you special. Being pretty is just a bonus. 

Use these reminders daily to work on your mindset and feel beautiful and confident. 

  1. I am radiant. Others see my joy and confidence.  
  2. I love howI look-the way I walk,talk, think, act.
  3. I embody beauty and grace. 
  4. I am loved , valued, and respected. 
  5. Beauty is my name. 

What do you think of these affirmations?

Hair Dye Without Damage- Easy Temporary Hair Color Tutorial

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I dyed my hair a bold green shade without any dryness or damage. You can too.

I know you’re here for the hair story, but first I have to share a quick life update.

We made it to 2022. It’s a big deal. 2 years into this panorama. It’s wild . I’m honestly so grateful. Everyday is a blessing. Tomorrow isn’t promised. My goal is to live my best life now by living life on purpose.

I’m excited to use this platform to do just that. This year, in addition to beauty inspiration – you can expect even more self care, mindset and motivational content. After all, feeling beautiful starts on the inside with confidence and boldness.

I’m excited, I hope you are!

While we’re talking about being excited…

I forgot to share some amazing news. As of December 2021, I am a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. I’m honored to be a part of the oldest Black sorority because of it’s amazing legacy of supreme service to all mankind.

That also means that on January 15th I celebrated my first Founders’ Day. If you’re a regular reader of Breezy Beauties you probably know how much I love going all out, so it shouldn’t be very surprising to hear that I did a hair and makeup look for J15.

What I used: 

Poise N Ivy Green hair wax

Clinique Even Better Foundation 

Dose of Color – Pretty Cool Eyeshadow Palette

Beauty Bakerie 👩🏾‍🍳-Do It For the Graham palette

Beauty Bakerie 👩🏾‍🍳 -Brownie Bar palette 

M.A.C.  lipstick – shade Sultry Move

NYX Lip liner- shade Downtown Beauty 

Farmasi – Satin Pink Lip Gloss

Tag a friend who’s a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Coily Hair Essentials – 3 Must Have Products

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Check out my list of must-haves for textured haired beauties. 

As you beauties know, I have short to medium length kinky curly locks. Kinky, curly, and coily hair is gorgeous, but it requires a little more TLC than our straight-haired friends. Kinky and coily hair (my hair type) is considered the most fragile. Each curl on the strand is weaker and thus more vulnerable to breakage. If you’ve ever seen a strand of coily hair up close, you know that there’s a lot of opportunity for it to snap off. It’s very tightly curled – hence the term coily. 

I’ve been embracing my natural texture since 2012- that’s nearly a decade. I’ve tried many techniques, hair styles and special tools over the years. These are my favorites that leave my hair feeling soft, moisturized and ultra-defined!

  1. Silk bonnet and pillow case. 

You need both. This might seem a bit excessive but hear me out. The purpose of using a silk or satin head covering or pillow case is to protect you strands. Silk and satin materials are gentle on hair and help decrease breakage. Unless you sleep like a princess (ie. no tossing, turning, rolling, etc.) it’s a good idea to use both. I sleep on a silk pillow case and have a silk turban styled bonnet for bed time. This means that if the bonnet comes off OR if I roll off my pillow- I’m covered. Silk and satin pillowcases are also linked to better skin.

  • Eco Style Gel

Most naturally curlies are familiar with this brand. I always emphasize the fact the no 1 product is great for EVERYONE. That said, this is hands down the best gel out there for my curls. Eco style gel is thick with a medium to hard hold. My hair does not respond well to light weight gels. This product consistently gives me my most defined wash and goes, twist outs and braid outs. I use the original, Argan oil and flaxseed versions of the product. Flaxseed and Argan oil are tied on my favorite list.

  • Micro Fiber Towels

Microfiber towels are worth all of the hype! I’ve used regular old bath towels (the standard method) and the trend of using an old t-shirt. The microfiber towel wins- hands down. Microfiber is less likely to snag your hair, compared to a traditional cotton towel. When I use microfiber, I experience less frizz and a faster drying time. So many brands sell them nowadays! I highly suggest grabbing one ASAP and introducing it into your wash day routine.

Hey Naturals! Y’all still greasing y’all scalps?

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Real question to my fellow black girls, naturalistas and kinky, curly and or coily baes. I’d like to get a consensus. Do you still use the old school hair-care technique of greasing your scalp?

For those of you who didn’t live a 1990s black American childhood, it used to be common practice to use hair grease on one’s scalp. I’d dare say every black household had at least one jar of Blue Magic at all times. Whether the style was twisted pig tails with barrettes and knockers or a cute braided hairdo with beads your mom would slather grease on your parts.

As a teenager, I moved away from these traditions. I processed my hair and there is a whole other set of rules to caring for relaxed strands (which I don’t recommend – but alas it’s your life, girl). During my freshman year of college, I transitioned to my natural texture and wore it out – AS IS- for the first time ever. 

I discovered the natural hair movement and an entirely different set of haircare mores and paradigms. I think I’ve tried every mainstream curly hair technique out there. From shingling to plopping (which is an utter flop on type 4 hair), following the curly girl method, and even being the girl buying up most of the produce section to make homemade deep conditioners. The mineral oil laden grease was not a major player in this movement that inspired black women to embrace the hair that grows out of their scalp. 

Almost 10 years later, I’m a little less radical about my hair. I still believe you should be at peace with your natural God given appearance. I think chemicals are crazy harmful and the practice of hair straightening can be damaging to our psyches when it becomes a beauty standard. I love variety, so I’m the type of natural who switches textures via wig. All the fun, none of the commitment- or heat damage. I guess you could say that I’ve mellowed in my “old age”. 

Despite having seasons of being extremely meticulous about my hair, I have yet to see long hair. Mid back length (when stretched) is my goal. I’m revisiting some of the methods I’ve tried over the years to find what works and omit what is taking too much time and yielding minimal results. For the past month or so, Blue Magic has been back in the mix. In addition, I’m using a hair steamer to make sure moisture can penetrate the shaft of my low porosity strands I’m also using a method I read about years ago but didn’t have the guts to do until now.

I guess my approach is “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”. We’re committed to the cause forreal, forreal ✊🏾😂

I want to hear your thoughts on using hair grease vs natural oils and butters. Are you team old school or new school or are you taking a hybrid approach?

Bright and Vibrant Sunflower Inspired Makeup Tutorial

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Affiliate disclosure

See how my summer’s going (quick life update) plus a fun tutorial to help you create a vibrant Sunflower inspired makeup look.

“Me: Hey beauties. What’s up?

You: So, are we gonna pretend like you haven’t ghosted us for the last 3 months…

Me: See, what had happened was…”

Yeah, so about that; I’m so sorry. I’ve been MIA for the past few months. Life has been a complete whirlwind. It’s still kinda crazy but it’s mostly a positive kind of crazy at this point and I’m embracing it and adding blogging back into my crazy life. I’ve missed you guys so much, so I thought I’d take a little time to catch up with you and give a summer 2021 life update. I’m also sharing a bold and vibrant sunflower makeup look(full tutorial), because those are the vibes we need as we head into August.

—–Keep reading for my life update, or skip ahead to the sunflowers—

SO- this whole year has been crazy. I mean truly NUTS.  I lost one of my grandmother’s in November of 2020. My other grandmother passed in March. Needless to say, it was a bit overwhelming and I chose to take a step back from blogging so I could focus on keeping everything else in my life together. 

A lot happened during my blogging break. My sister had my nephew in late May. He’s such a handsome little guy. He’s brought so much joy into my family’s life.  After a sad period of time, it’s so great to have something positive to focus on. So grateful! I’m in love. Of course, my nieces are still auntie’s little princesses / diva’s in training. 

In June, I started a new job. It’s a new exciting position with lots of opportunity for growth. I feel so blessed and fortunate. The company is amazing. Of course, with any job, there’s a learning curve. I’ve been devoting a lot of time and energy into my work and developing my skills as a professional. So much of my free time is spent listening to audio books on sales, leadership and business. Applied knowledge is power and I for one am trying to APPLY PRESSURE… OKAY. 

In July I took a few days off for a family wedding and mini vacation. We stayed in a gorgeous luxury cabin in Hocking Hills, Ohio for 5 days. 20 plus family members, many of whom I just met recently. I literally gain 6 (I’m counting their significant others) DOPE cousins. It was such a good time. I even played Spades for the first time. It’s an experience that I would not trade for anything but it also left me playing catch up the rest of the month. 

  • Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills, Ohio
  • Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills, Ohio



I’m hyper aware that thirty is right around the corner. At 28- almost 29, I have roughly a year and a half to achieve my flirty thirty goals. There are so many things I want to accomplish. I know I don’t have to have everything in place, but I want to have the ground work laid. These years are foundational. I’m really working to elevate myself both spiritually, mentally and financially so that I can be a better person for myself and my future family. I don’t want to be one small emergency away from stress and struggle, so I’m sucking it up. I’m learning how to adult in hopes of rewarding myself with mimosas on the beach once the world is fully reopened. 

One thing I have been extremely consistent about these last few months is my exercise routine. I think it’s kept me grounded and given me a sense of control. If you’re following me on IG, you’ve seen some of my post workout selfies. It’s nothing too complicated but I’m thinking of sharing some breezy workouts on the blog. After all, looking good and feeling good go hand in hand. I’m down to share anything that makes stuff that’s typically daunting, overwhelming and difficult feel breezy and approachable, so I‘M DEF HERE FOR IT.

Let me know what you think and what YOU want to see more of. My goal is always to make content that enriches this community. Just ask, and I most likely GOT YOU. The goal is to finish the rest of this year out strong. If you’re not already doing so, please take a moment to join my email list. You’ll get beauty inspo, updates and other cool tings. Anddddd, you’ll never miss a makeup challenge, product review or giveaway.  

I think I got most of the life ramblings out of the way. Thanks for “listening”. I know that a lot of you are going through strange seasons of life as well. Believe it or not, makeup is an artistic escape for me. I find it extremely relaxing. It helps me decompress. You would not believe how often I put on a full face, BEAT TO THE HEAVENS at 10 pm, snap a few pics and proceed to wash my face and throw on my bonnet. They say practice makes perfect. Because it is my go to way to destress, I can honestly say I get plenty of practice. It’s crazy to see my growth in skills –even compared to summer 2020. 


Okay, enough about me and life and goals. Let’s talk about sunflower vibes. It’s giving us- “we’re literally outside”, glow from within, skip through a field ENERGY. Like sis, ISSA VIBE. Almost as much of a vibe as Issa Rae eloping with her boo in Southern France.

What I love about this look is how forgiving it is. It’s very easy to correct mistakes. If you decide to attempt this look –1. TAG ME. 2. Blend, blend and blend some more. Going back to your transition shades (I used Mango Pudding and Warm Cocoa from my Proof Is in the Pudding Beauty Bakerie palette) if you over do a bright shade or if it looks too harsh will be incredibly helpful.

One tip that I did not use, but HIGHKEY wish I did was using tape. A lot of makeup wearers will use a piece of clear tape- think Scotch or 3M to tape off the outer corner of their eye to their temple. Once they’re done applying shadow they remove the tape and have a cleaner more polished look. Definitely not a necessity but oh so helpful.


Tell me what you think of this radiant look!  I challenge you to recreate this look. Post it using the hashtag #breezybeautysunflower. I’ll share it on my IG (@thatbreezybeauty)!

Ready to recreate this fire look and play hide and seek in a field of sunflowers? Of course, you are. Checkout my YouTube video to see exactly how I did it.


Full Product List:
Primer- Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF Primer (A radiant sunflower glow starts with sun protection!)

Foundation-IL Makiage Woke Up Like This Foundation

Concealer-IL Makiage F*#% I’m Flawless Concealer, Beauty Bakerie Aquaglass Concealer

Eyeshadow Palettes- Beauty Bakerie- Proof Is In The Puddin’ palette (shades Mango Pudding, Bread Pudding and Rice Pudding), Beauty Bakerie – Sugar Cookies Palette (shade name Dip Baby Dip), E.L.F- Hot Jalapeño palette (yellow shimmer … no cutesy name for this one).

Lashes- Magnetic lashes from OpulenceMD Beauty*. Style- Unicorn. Used with magnetic liner from OpulenceMD Beauty*

Eye Liner- IL Makiage Ink Liner

Lips- The Lip Bar- Savage and Heartbreaker

Blush/Bronzer/Contour- Beauty Bakerie Brownie Bar

Setting Powder: Beauty Bakerie Flour Setting Powder– Shade Caramel/Plantain


I hope the rest of your summer is a vibrant as my eyeshadow!

XOXO,

Bri

*denotes affiliate relationship