How can you not like Kelly Rowland? She’s just so charming and humble, right?

Well, in a behind-the-scenes video of her photoshoot, the singer showed off that humble side when she was picked as one of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful” individuals in the world and asked to get undressed (makeup wise) for the magazine:

“The first thing that popped in my head when I was asked to be a part of People magazine with no makeup was, “Oh My Gosh. Oh My God, I’m honored. Oh My God, what’s going to happen? [laughs] But I’m feeling very comfortable with my skin and very comfortable to share it with you guys.”

Dressed down in a sweater, a bra, and some light jewelry, Kells showcases her flawless face for the cameras. But like most women, there is a little something something about said face that she’s not always a fan of:

“What I don’t love about my face that gets covered when I wear makeup…is my bags [under my eyes] when I’m really, really tired. But I love that makeup does the trick. [laughs]“

But the stunning singer definitely is comfortable in her skin, something that wasn’t so easy for her to be as a young girl and that she talked about with CNikky.com. But with time (and the help of Tina Knowles), she learned to embrace her looks.

“You just embrace it. You embrace everything that you are as a woman, even your flaws too. And those things that you want to fix too and you work at making them better.”

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A date is a meeting between two individuals who may or may not have been previously acquainted, coming together for the purpose of getting to know each other. Dating is the process of continual encounters between two people for the purpose of furthering their knowledge of one another to see if they are compatible with each other for a potential relationship. These definitions make dates and the whole dating process sound pretty simple, right?  So then why is dating so complicated?

I believe dating is complicated because people don’t have similar goals in mind when going through this process, and people make more of a first date and dating than what it really is–a simple meeting or meetings to get to know someone on a different level. People have the tendency to make more of casual dating than what it really is because some get caught up in focusing on whether or not the person is ‘the one’ and what they can potentially bring to the table, rather than enjoying the person for who they are and enjoying the dating experience as a whole.

Now I know the whole purpose of dating is to get to know someone to see if there is potential there for a relationship, but honestly, when a person is primarily focused on having a relationship, then they make the dating experience complicated for both parties. How and why does this happen? This happens because people miss the steps of effectively communicating about their hopes and expectations and are half scared to come straight out and say that they would like to soon move forward to being involved in an actual monogamous relationship. People often confuse dating and monogamous relationships because during the dating process, many fail to communicate whether or not they are dating each other exclusively, with the purpose of moving forward in monogamy, or if they are dating other people…especially when the dating experience becomes physically or emotionally intense. When two people are involved in a dating relationship and they start feeling each other, they somehow miss the step of both parties agreeing to be exclusive and end up in a semi-relationship without proper communication, and when this happens, individual expectations and goals change for one if not both people, and that’s where things start to get complicated. What people should do when dating someone familiar or new is take their time and enjoy the person for who they are and not focus so much on if they will walk down the aisle with them in holy matrimony.

One should also realize that just because they are dating someone, that does not mean that you are the only person that THAT individual may be dating, especially if the two of you have not mutually agreed to see each other exclusively. Many times when people discover that they really like someone they are dating, they want to pursue a relationship with them, but the other person involved may not want the same thing, thus leading to hurt feelings and bruised emotions-especially if and when things become physical. That’s why when you’re involved in the process of dating, don’t just limit yourself to one person. Dating is a fun experience that should be taken serious, but somewhat lightly at the same time. It is the process of getting to know someone, but it is also a process of elimination, and if you are focusing solely on one person, you have automatically eliminated and alienated yourself from one aspect of dating. Dating is a wonderful thing when mature people have effective communication and truly take the time to get to know each other for who they are for a simple or greater purpose. Take things slow while dating, know what your intentions are with someone, know their intentions with you, be clear about the expectations, explore your options and take your time…

Have you ever confused casual dating for a monogamous relationship?

Liz Lampkin is the Author of Are You a Reflection of the Man You Pray For? Follow her on Twitter @Liz_Lampkin

With iconic wax figure-making Madame Tussauds, a lot of the celebrities that are immortalized in wax can be a huge hit or a miss, but the four new figures made to honor Whitney Houston are all on point. So much so that it’s kind of creepy…

Made in London, the four figures, which cost $1.2 million to make, are all an ode to some of Whitney’s most iconic moments, including her 1991 Super Bowl performance of the national anthem, a version of the singer dressed as she was in the video, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” her role as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard, and a figure that is supposed to be Houston wearing a gold dress for a photo shoot for her final album in 2009. This is the first time in about 200 years that Madame Tussauds has made multiple figures at one time for the same person, and all four of these bad boys are going to different cities.

You can catch Super Bowl Whitney whenever you’re at the Madame Tussauds in Washington D.C., the “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” figure in Las Vegas, Bodyguard Whitney in Hollywood, and Whitney in all her gold sequin glory in New York. They will be doing a big reveal here in NYC today.

In a statement to Madame Tussauds, Whitney’s sister-in-law and manager, Pat Houston, said that the idea to honor Whitney’s career and do so at almost one year since her death was something they knew her fans would appreciate. “We were extremely honored when Madame Tussauds approached us about doing four figures of Whitney from different points in her 30-year career. This is something we are excited to do for the fans.”

So what do you think of the wax figures? I personally think they’re fabulous and spot on, especially the one in the gold dress and Whitney at the Super Bowl, but how about you? Let us know below! And get more information on her figures at Madame Tussauds’ website.

This is just a week of great news now isn’t it? Not just upcoming nuptials but upcoming births too! The Real Housewives of Atlanta star and her good looking hubby told People exclusively that they do indeed have another bun in the oven, the second for the couple, who brought their son Ayden into the world in 2010. She took a picture of her growing baby bump while vacaying in the Bahamas alongside her hubby and with Kandi Burruss and her man Todd, Toya Wright and her man Memphitz, Rasheeda and her man Kirk from Love and Hip Hop Atlanta and more friends and family. After showing off her curves on the show and debuting the fitness DVD Phine Body with Nida, Parks is probably going to take a break from working out that “donkey booty” so hard so that she can sit back and enjoy her pregnancy. And as the picture above shows, she’s glowing already!

And on a random side note, I will say that this pregnancy news isn’t as big of a surprise as I thought it would be for the nosy person in me, seeing as how they’ve received questions about bringing another baby into the world on the show and because while participating in this Bahamian vacation with friends and taking pics (like the one below), I did notice she was hiding in the back of them, and in one she only had her face showing. I thought it was weird, but I didn’t think too deeply into it after the fact. It all makes sense now of course! Well, congratulations are in order for the lovely couple! Phaedra is actually my favorite person on RHOA so I’m glad to see her so happy with her growing family. It’s safe to say that 2013 is going to be an amazing year for them!

Photo courtesy of Phaedra Parks and PEOPLE.

Source: The Jasmine Brand

In another of the many exclusives Evelyn is giving on her divorce from Chad Johnson, the reality TV star had a sit-down with PEOPLE for two pages worth of a chat on the drama that’s come to characterize her existence. Getting a little deeper than the Nightline interview, Evelyn talked about why she’s leaving Chad and what she plans to do now. Here are some snippets from the feature we caught on The Jasmine Brand.

Why she was mad at the condom receipt

“I’m not naïve. I didn’t think he was going to be perfect, but three weeks after we got married? I feel like he wasn’t even trying.”

Sorry, I just have to interject here. This clearly suggests Chad hadn’t tackled his cheating desires before walking down the aisle (probably because he wasn’t asked to) so why would you even marry someone who you knew had likely been creeping right up until the night before the wedding? Would it have been better if the receipt came three months later?

Alright back to our regularly scheduled program.

Source: The Jasmine Brand

What happened the night of the altercation

He flew into a rage, grabbed her face, and head-butted her in the face…Then she went to the hospital for five or six stiches.

“I had blood in my eyes. I was tasting it. I remember realizing, oh my God, the news is going to get out. I was so humiliated.”

Chad’s dark side

“I always knew [to back down] when he got that look in his eye. It was scary.”

Lozada also alludes to past “situations” but won’t elaborate out of respect for Johnson’s four young children.

Whether she was violent with him

“I never once lifted a finger to Chad; not that day, not prior. I never attempted to do anything to him.”

How she feels about Chad now

“I’ll always have love for him…Chad is not a bad person, but he made a bad choice.”

Evelyn’s feature is in the current issue of PEOPLE which hit newsstands today. What do you think about her interview?

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Source: tattletailzz.com

Girls.

No, not underage women, the HBO show. In an interview in People magazine, the hardcore rapper admitted that the show is his secret obsession, saying:

“I don’t know where this girl Lena Dunham came from, but she’s amazing!”

Who would’ve thought?

A lot of people share Nas’ sentiment on the show that’s been pegged as the next coming of “Sex & the City,” although the new series is not without controversy for it’s lack of color. Nassir clearly doesn’t mind.

Check out more of Nas’ revelations from his interview in the clip below he posted on his Tumblr. Do you share Nas’ “Girls” obsession?

Source: Nassays.tumblr.com/

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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I am rarely ever opposed to being vocal about how selfish I believe my younger brother to be. His attitude is self-preservation above all else. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll do the occasional favor or two, but at the end of the day it is all about his wants, his needs, his pleasure, his car, and his girlfriend. But can you really blame him? That seems to be all most guys care about at 19 years old. I on the other hand am the exact opposite. I am always putting others before myself. I live, eat, and breathe with a favor or two, or three on my to-do list. People call on me for all kinds of favors from babysitting to borrowing money and somehow no matter how hectic my life may be at the moment I find it in me to muster up a yes.

But, lately I’ve been pondering why my response is always yes when the majority of the time the person inside of me is screaming “HELL NO!”  While I believe my little brother’s selfishness to be a tad obnoxious, I can’t help but to admit that I secretly admire his ability to say no.  On any given week, I can list at least three to five things that I’ve agreed to do, which I have absolutely no desire to carry out. I often find myself walking away after agreeing to do something asking myself, “Why in the world did I just agree to that?” I mean is it really that difficult to utter one of the shortest words in the English language? It has gotten to the point where I am starting to believe that people have learned to play on my inability to say no. While some would say that I need to just get a backbone and learn to pass on some things, I can’t help but to believe that there’s more to it than that. As time progresses, I am slowly realizing that my inability to say no is unhealthy. It’s very stressful, and of course, enough stress can make you ill. How productive can I actually be to the commitments of my own life when I am constantly carrying out tasks and doing favors assigned (not even “asked” mind you) by others?

After much deliberation, research, and a close analysis of my personal interactions, I have come to realize that my struggle with the word no comes from my desire to not deal with the consequences that could arise after I release my “no” into the atmosphere. I’d much rather inconvenience myself than to disappoint, hurt someone’s feelings, or cause confrontation. Let’s just call it what it is: I’m a people pleaser.

For example, at this very moment that I’m writing this piece, I’m facing the struggle of trying to meet several deadlines for school, six to be exact. At the same time that I am juggling multiple homework assignments from six different classes, I am also babysitting my four-year-old godson. I have an aunt on one line asking if I can babysit my little cousin for a few hours this weekend, a sister on the other line asking if I can keep my niece overnight, another family member asking if I will accompany them to the Department of Motor Vehicles, a few requests from several members of my church, and a cooky cousin clogging my voicemail box asking if I can help her create a Facebook page for the family reunion that she’s planning. *Sighs*

In the midst of my frustrations, I can’t help but to think that my brother would never have this problem. That carefree individual would’ve simply declined and been on his merry way. Actually, people would have known not to ask him for a favor in the first place. I can’t even place the blame on those around me for the millions of favors that I am asked to do on a daily basis. It is my own fault for not being stern enough to say no, and while I don’t believe they’d love me any less if I declined, it still doesn’t take away my desire to refrain from disappointing them.

I find it ironic that as I am facing my demons with the word “no” by writing this article, I am also being brought to a crossroads in my personal life. I can either go left or I can go right. I can appease all of the people around me by granting the requests they’ve made and possibly lose my mind AND miss my school deadlines at the same time, or I can find a no from deep within and put myself first as I should have done a long time ago.

Are you someone who is always doing for others and doesn’t know when and how to say no?

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If you hadn’t heard the story yet, this is how it goes:

Susan Powell is a woman from Utah who went missing in December of 2009. A stock broker, she was reported missing by family members after she failed to show up for work, but not only was she reported missing, so was her husband Josh and her two sons, Braden and Charles. To the surprise of everyone though, her husband Josh and their two children finally came home immediately after the report was filed, and he insisted that he had taken his two young sons on a camping trip, which is why had been out of touch. However, Josh insisted that Susan was left at home and the last time he saw her or talked to her, she was fine. Susan’s belongings, including her keys, her purse, her car and more, were left behind. That was 2009. It is 2012 and no one has seen Susan since she went missing. But since that time, Josh has been the person of interest in her disappearance. Because of that, along with proof that he had child pornography in his possession, temporary custody of his two sons was granted to Susan’s father, Chuck. Joshua was still allowed to see the young boys though, and the last time they were brought to his home was on Sunday, Feb. 5.

On that Sunday, Josh and his two sons were killed when his home in Washington State exploded. It is presumed that the explosion was set off by a gas leak done by Josh, and is now being treated as a murder-suicide. Police believe he may have done it not only because his most recent effort to gain back custody of his sons was denied, but also because 7-year-old Braden (Charles is five) started saying that when they went on that camping trip in 2009, their mother was in the trunk of the car. Josh could have possibly believed that his lies were going to be exposed, and in an effort to stop all that, took his life as well as that of his sons.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Susan’s father, Chuck, said that the family saw this coming and tried to let the authorities know:

“We stated our fear many times, that if he was feeling desperate, that he would possibly kill himself and the boys, that this kind of thing could happen. If he felt there was no way out, that he wouldn’t let anyone else have them. They were possessions to him.”

“They were all aware of our fears – that he would take a cowardly way out.”

When I heard this story late last night, I couldn’t even believe it. If you want to take your own life for in some way hurting the mother of your children, that’s one thing, but to take the children with you? That’s unthinkable and just evil. If Susan’s father and family believed Josh was a threat to himself and the boys, it’s a shame that something couldn’t have been done about it sooner. May both little Braden and Charles rest in peace.

Did you hear about this?

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Whew! Well that was a close one. We, along with several other media outlets, recently reported that the Queen of Soul is getting married.

In an interview with People she made sure to note that her wedding, planned for June or July, is not shotgun.

No kidding, Aretha! But we appreciate the humor.

Get additional wedding details, including where she’s going to get her dress at Your Tango.com.

The holidays are prime time for engagements, and over the weekend John Legend joined the slew of ordinary (engaged) people by popping the question to long-time model girlfriend Chrissy Teigen.

John Legend’s rep, Cindi Berger, told People he asked Chrissy to marry him while they were vacationing in the Maldives over the holidays but she didn’t offer up any details about how he did it.

I’m sure the wedding will be a classy, star-studded affair. Congratulations!

Do you like John and Chrissy together? Did you or any of your friends get engaged over the holidays?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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