I need to have this. I NEED THIS. The only problem is that I just don’t have the $159 to spend on this lovely shirt. Damn you Paul Smith for making the most awesome sh*t while I’m going to school on government loans. If some random money comes my way in the next few weeks, though, the Paul Smith Floral Print Tee Shirt will be MINE. MINE!!!

If you want to purchase the Paul Smith Floral Tee Shit then head over to End Clothing while the sales last!

Check out some more shots of the shirt/fabric:

Anyway, this new installment of the Kobe System Commercials entitled, “Level 6 Beastion,” is hands down the funniest one yet. In fact, this is probably the funniest commercial that I’ve seen in the past year, and I’ve seen some funny commercials. I can’t stop laughing! The dialogue in the Level 6 Beastion commercial is just so cleverly done:

Kanye: How much more do you want from me?
Kobe: More.
Kanye: How much more successful do you want me to be?
Kobe: More successful.
Kanye: How many records can my records break?
Kobe: More records.
Kanye: B-but, I’m the best…
Kobe: But are you a different animal and the same beast?
Kanye: …What the fuck does that mean, Kobe Bryant?
…
Kobe: You’re welcome.
Kanye: What the fuck is he talking about?

LMAO! I love the fact that they both fully grasp how our society views them, and they’re playing off that perfectly. Two egos clash. I mean, imagine Oedipus asking Napoleon for advice or vice versa; it’d lead to a conversation just like this one! I’m pretty sure a lot of laughs were had during the filming of this commercial given how absurd it is!

Best comment on YouTube for this video! It plays off the snippet that Kanye sampled from Will Ferrel and Jon Heder’s “Blades of Glory” for the song “Niggas in Paris”. John Heder says, “I don’t even know what that means!” and Will Ferrel responds, “No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative; it gets the people going!”

And get the people going it does! This Level 6 Beastion commercial has just made me love Kanye West and Kobe Bryant that much more! Despite the nonsense that Kobe Bryant is going through right now, it’s dope to see him still having some fun. Maybe that’s a bad thing? I dunno. Get on the Kobe System!

I love the Freshjive Night Life Crewneck Sweater! I saw this crewneck sweater on PLNDR like last month, and I hesitated to buy it. Why? Because I felt like it would just hang around in my size forever. I don’t know why I didn’t just spend the $20 on this Night Life Crewneck Sweater by Freshjive, but now I’m definitely losing. It’s all sold out in my size, and I can’t seem to find it anywhere at all. This is probably one of the dopest crewnecks I’ve seen this year. Too bad I can’t own it now. Moral of the story? Don’t hesitate when you see something you like that’s in your price range. You’ll regret it later!

How dope is this Gucci iPad 2 sleeve? If you know me at all then you’ll know that I have a soft spot for anything with the classic Gucci monogram print, and this sleeve is no different. The Apple accessory business is booming (believe me, I know), and there are accessories with price ranges that are equal to (or even more than) the price of the Apple device itself! Is this sleeve worth it? Probably not. But if you do have the money to blow then this Gucci rubberized leather iPad 2 sleeve is a fvcking amazing choice. It’s even lined with suede. SUEDE! If you can, treat your iPad to something nice–it deserves it.

The sleeve is priced at $305 … that’s only like half the price of an ipad. NBD.

It may be a little bit late to be blogging about my birthday, but, whatever, it’s an important enough day that it should be subject to being discussed freely at ANY time. Don’t you think the same of your birthday? Anyway, I never got the chance to blog about these Super People Vincenzo Sunglasses that I got as a gift:

It was SUPER warm this past November ... no pun intended!

Dopest gift ever? Most likey! My gf knew I was eying the Vincenzo’s for a while (amongst many other things) and she surprised me with these. They’re AWESOME, and they’re a redesign of RETROSUPERFUTURE’s “People” sunglasses. The Vincenzo boasts gold and puma accents all over the place. The puma and gold is actually what made me fall in love with these sunglasses.

They’re sold out everywhere now, and that kind of makes me happy, haha. I’m honored to be able to say that I own a piece of RETROSUPERFUTURE history! Check out some more shots of these beautiful Limited Edition Super People Vincenzo Sunglasses:

In case you didn’t know (because I just found out myself), Human Made is a new venture of Nigo’s. Who’s Nigo? The owner of A Bathing Ape, BAPE, whatever you want to call it. Basically, Human Made is another exclusive and sometimes unwarrantedly expensive brand just like BAPE. That doesn’t mean that this stuff isn’t fvcking awesome, though! There’s something I REALLY like about this Human Made Monogram Logo T-Shirt. Maybe it’s because it brings me back to my “Mighty Max” childhood days:

I wonder if Nigo was inspired by Mighty Max?

Anyway, the tee shirt boasts a 100% Heavyweight Japanese Cotton Construction, and it’s on sale now at End Clothing for $125. Kind of steep for a tee shirt, I know, but if you’re into that kind of stuff then by all means

Posterior shot:

OXBLOOD EVERYTHING!

There’s nothing like a good loafer to top off (or should I say bottom off?) your formal, semi-formal, casual, or street outfit. Loafers are so versatile, which is what makes them a classic shoe. Oliver Clark presents the Blood “Dad” Loafer, which, as the “Dad” implies, is making note of how classic this shoe is. Basically, it’s something your dad would wear. Well, I’m no one’s dad, but I think these are dope! What’s my favorite part about these? The color! Aside from being a well-built shoe by Oliver Clark, these loafers boast an nubuck/calfskin oxblood exterior. If that’s not smooth then I don’t know what that word even means anymore.

Get them for $300 USD from Oliver Clark NYC while they last!

Even in Hulk mode, Barack Obama still looks calm as fvck!

Something about this just made me laugh. Like, what? I guess if for some strange reason you’ve ever wondered what Barack Obama would look like as The Incredible Hulk, Ron English has put your queries to rest. You know, now that I’ve stared at this picture for long enough, I think there needs to be yet another re-make of The Incredible Hulk, but this time they should cast Barack Obama instead of Ed Norton. Yeah. That’d work.

I love the PLAY line of Comme des Garcons, and they’re back at it again with some new designs for the Spring/Summer 2012 collection. The PLAY line features the stitched heart patch on the upper left breast and an always clean design. I already have one of their popular sailor striped (breton) shirts, and this polka dot t-shirt may be the next thing on my list to purchase.

There are three different colors, what’s you favorite? You can buy these right now at Dover Street Market online store for a decent price!

Magic Shave Shaving Powder

Before I continue any further, I want to make a little disclaimer that I’m not being sponsored by any company or anything like that, I just felt like I needed to clarify this subject since the current information on the internet about black men and beard shaving isn’t too cohesive.

Okay, now let’s get back to Magic Shave. This stuff is dope! For some reason, I was initially hesitant to use this stuff (it was sitting on my shelf for 4 months before I actually used it), but I’m happy that I decided to give it a try 3 weeks ago.

What is Magic Shave?

Normally, you’d cut your hair, which is considered physical hair removal. Magic Shave is a depilatory cream, which means that it works by chemical hair removal. Don’t worry, though, it’s safe. People tend to hear “chemical” and think bad things, but the term chemical doesn’t always have to have a negative connotation.

How does Magic Shave work?

Magic Shave comes in a powder form (gold can) or in cream form (pre-mixed tube). I bought the gold can initially and had success with shaving, but the process of mixing it was very messy and annoying. I ended up going out and buying the cream form thinking it’d be easier since it was pre-mixed. It was easier, but it was SUPER weak, and none of my hair came off. I wasted $5. I suggest buying the gold can since it’s stronger, and if you continue reading, I’ll give you a great technique for mixing it!

What’s the best way to use Magic Shave?

The gold can of magic shave is better than the pre-mixed tube because it is stronger. I found the best way to use this stuff is to follow the directions, but adjust accordingly. What do I mean by this? Well, the directions are a bit vague, which is frustrating, but I found that they were enough to guide me down the right path. Here’s how I feel about each step of the directions, what I feel should be listened to, and what I think should be adjusted:

Don’t forget: DO NOT WASH YOUR FACE BEFORE USING THIS CREAM

1. Mix 2 heaping teaspoons of shaving powder with an equal amount of cool water.
   I don’t know what the hell this really means, but what I do is get a semi-deep jar and dump in two random regular kitchen spoon measurements of the powder. Then I slowly add water while mixing like crazy. Remember that you are trying to make this powder have the consistency of a paste. Don’t use too much water. ADD WATER SLOWLY. Also, I use a semi-deep jar so that I can aggressively mix the stuff with a spoon while avoiding a mess.
2. Apply the creamy (pasty) mixture to beard. Leave on for 5-7 minutes. Remoisten if the mixture dries.
   Okay, this makes sense. I use my fingers to apply the stuff since it allows me to feel the contours of my jaw line and make sure all of the hairs on my face have cream applied to them. The 5-7 minutes thing varies. If you’re hair isn’t super coarse and you have really sensitive skin then I’d say leave it on for 5-7 minutes. Personally, I leave it on somewhere between 12-15 minutes. MAKE SURE YOU DON’T LET THIS STUFF GET DRY. Figure out a creative way to keep it moistened after you’ve applied it to your beard, but make sure that you keep it all on your beard!
3. Remove with spatula. Rinse shaving area thoroughly. Do not wash off with soap.
   They’re not joking about this, but don’t use a spatula. I actually find it easy to use a credit card (clean, of course) or some type of slim/flat object. DON’T SCRAPE YOUR FACE WITH THE FLAT OBJECT. Instead, just glide it on your face and let it take whatever it can off. Get the rest of the hairs off with a damp warm cloth. Rise your face with water after. NO SOAP. After this, though, I would apply that Neutrogena lotion to your face.
4. If any beard remains, wait 36 hours before next Magic Shaving Powder application.
   I’d listen to them, but use your judgement.

Some information about me:

I think it’s important to understand some things about me in order to see that these methods will most likely work. First of all, I’m Nigerian. To reference Lil Wayne’s “A Milli,” there aren’t many things that are “tougher than Nigerian hair”! That being said, I’m sure that I have the curliest/coarsest hair type that you can get, and Magic Shave still works. It should be noted, though, that if your hair isn’t as course as mine, then you should apply less of the Magic Shave/use it for less time.

Post-Magic-Shave Care:

Just because you’ve found a way to get the hairs off your face without irritating your skin doesn’t mean that you still can’t get ingrown hairs/razor bumps! Once I saw that Magic Shave worked for the first time, I was excited and just left it at that. Bad idea. Two days later, I had razor bumps (although not as bad as when I shaved with a razor), and I wondered why. I came to realize that my hair was still growing with its normal super curly pattern, which is what causes it to grow right back into my skin and cause an ingrown hair.

I speculated about the pathology of razor bumps (I know. I’m a dork. I’m in medical school, I can’t help it!), and I decided that it was similar enough to the pathology of acne. I used some of my girlfriend’s Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish Treatment, Clear Skin Cream for a few days and it worked great! I decided to start looking into the major ingredient of most acne creams and I found out that it’s salicylic acid. Ring a bell?

Salicylic acid is basically Aspirin, but it has amazing effects on acne/ingrown hairs. To keep it simple, salicylic acid promotes the sloughing away of dead skin. Why is this important? Because dead skin cells clog your pores and stop your hair from growing freely, which causes your hairs to grow back toward the skin and cause ingrown hairs.

This is STILL not enough to prevent razor bumps, though. I tried using my girlfriend’s cream without anything else and the bumps were still there, although VERY diminished. What I decided to do next was to assist the Neutrogena cream with the sloughing away of my dead skin cells. How did I do this? I bought a face scrub wash that would let me manually scrub away dead skin cells and also give my coarse and curly hairs room to grow. It worked. I ultimately ended up doing a lot of research, and I decided to buy a Neutrogena facial scrub with 2% salicylic acid. I also decided to buy a different cream (my girlfriend’s was good, but I found a better one), which is also made by Neutrogena and also has 2% salicylic acid. See the pattern? Salicylic acid is the key! I’ve had no serious razor bumps since doing all of this, and I thought that was something I’d NEVER be able to say!

Note: YOU HAVE TO WASH YOUR FACE/APPLY THE LOTION AT LEAST TWO TIMES A DAY (I’d suggest morning and night). Honestly, you have to keep up with this. I missed two days of washing my face with the scrub/applying the lotion, and razor bumps started to reappear. Keep up with it, and you won’t have a problem!

Where can you buy all these products?

You can find all of these products in your local CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, Walmart, or any other pharmacy-type store. However, they are more expensive in-store than online, so I’d recommend buying them at Amazon, and if you have an Amazon-prime account, you can also get free 2-day shipping:

Soft Sheen Carson Magic Shaving Powder (Gold Can)

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Stress Control 3-in-1 Hydrating Acne Treatment

Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Power-Clear Scrub

I hope this helps someone because I sure wish I knew all of this before I started growing facial hair. Lastly, check out this little tutorial video some guy made on YouTube. He uses the cream, which I don’t recommend, but all the other procedures are right on!