Is 'light skin the right skin' Dark Girls - thoughts on the documentary

So I'm watching Dark Girls a documentary that looks at colourism within the African-American community. Watching the doc I am surprised by some of the comments;  I wasn't aware that some black women hated themselves because they are dark or believed no one would love them. I'm a dark girl NW45 if that means something to you and I have never had that problem. Growing up people have said to me your pretty for a dark girl and my friend's step dad loved to call me black, but it never affected me in that way. I've never felt that I'm unattractive because of my complexion; I've never wanted to be lighter - my sister is fair and both my parents are lighter than me. I did think why am I darker but not because I disliked being dark it just seemed weird;  especially when you're only 5 years old and DNA or regressive genes are outside of your thought process.

As I said I was shocked and surprised by some of the content of the doc, although I know some people dislike their skin tone and others try to change it by bleaching I didn't realise that it had such a profound affect on some people. All I can say is wow! Let me share some of the comments/scenes that stood out to me from the film :

'I felt like someone took a dagger to my heart when my friend said 'I'm glad the baby didnt come out dark''

'It's taboo for a dark skin man and woman to be together' - really!!

'Dark women are meaner because they've had to deal with more than white/lighter skin women.'

A woman saying they hated their father because their skin tone was inherited from him.

A young child picked the good looking and smart child because she is white and said the dark child is ugly and unintelligent.

I found this particularly sad;  we need to ensure we are promoting self-love within our children.

Even Viola Davies shared that she has used therapy to deal with childhood taunts about her tone.

Do watch the show you can catch it on Mr World Premiere. I would really love to hear your thoughts and what stood out for you. If you haven't got a spare hour you can watch the trailer to find out more about the documentary. 

Until next time
Nadie x

Summer time shoes

So summer is here which means a few key things for me:

Regular pedicures -as the toes are exposed

New sandals - which I've been delaying buying because it's not hot enough

Strappy heels - to offset the shorts.

For some people summer shoes equal blisters but I'm lucky enough that I hardly ever have that problem but when I have I've found blister plasters a godsend. I recently got sent a box of Compeed's Blister plasters which included some that are specifically for high heels and sit right on the heel - which is such a painful place to get a blister and a normal blister plaster Compeed Blister Medium.

Although I haven't had an opportunity to use them I really like the packaging of the heel plasters - it's something you can keep in your female essentials bag (I have a make up bag with a comb, brush, hairbands etc in) and use when necessary, hobbling down the street due to blister pain is never a good look. What I like most about these plasters are that they are transparent and cushioned so they are far less obvious than a traditional plaster.  I always look at people who have skin tone plasters on their feet and think who does that lol; it's like socks and sandals if you ask me!

Need somewhere to go, in need of something to do

I'm always looking for new and different things to do so when details of the We love the 90s film fest were shared with me I was excited as I love the 90s and I love films.

The festival runs over four days and gives movie-goers the opportunity to watch some of the 90s cult classic at the Portabello pop up cinema. Organised by Tees and Cees, each film is introduced by a creative.  The film fest runs from the 25-28 July, with a movie being shown each night and  films include Poetic Justice, Clueless, White Men Can't Jump and House Party.  You can find out more at http://www.teesandcees.org/welovethe90sfilmfest/.

Tickets are only £5 which is a bargain. Ive got mine although I still need to decide if I'm turning up in full 90s gear.

New music from Daley

Yes new music from Daley, who I'm a fan of. If like me you were late to the party then please do check out his previous work, my personal favourite song is Game Over although I also love his duet with Marsha Ambrosious. Do check out his latest single on his website where you can also sign up to receive his new EP for free.

Another artist that I'm feeling at the moment is part of Neyo's Compound camp Ravaughn and since hearing her song Best Friend being played on Love & Hip Hop Atlanta I'm totally in love. Love her voice and the song, it's been on serious replay for the last two weeks, at home work and on my travels #obsessed, will be checking out the album when it drops.

Moving towards your target customer

So I'm not sure if I've ever shared this on the blog but I work in marketing and have done so since I left uni, many moons ago. Working in the industry I look at advertising differently then most other consumers; so when I watch an advert on tv I don't just think about is it entertaining or would I buy that product, I actually look at what is the underlying message they were trying to convey or who is the advert targeted at (yes, watching tv with me can be rather boring).

This morning I woke up to read two moans from two different sources about two completely different ways that a company/brand  (different organisations) had chosen to proceed and it riled me up enough to write a post. The first of these was on The Daily Mail online (which I'm addicted to reading even though I'm bound to find at least one article that makes my blood boil); a response to Marks & Sparks new lingerie line.  Now we all know that M&S is a British institution but if I'm honest I haven't bought anything in there for the last 5 years that wasn't food or a card.So this morning when I saw the new lingerie range I was kind of excited, excited enough to contemplate actually venturing to M&S on my lunch break (not today but in the near future) to check it out. The clothes side of the business is declining so I'm sure they would love to get me (and others like me) in their doors, for a number of reasons:

I'm totally addicted to shopping and shop regularly. I buy on sight - if I want it I'm buying it, life is too short to be weighing up if I need it.

I have money to spend. 

So when I see articles complaining that most M&S shoppers in their 60s want comfy knickers and not the uncomfortable new collection it gets my goat because what the author fails to realise is that the range isn't aimed at the traditional customer but at me who may just purchase on a whim and isn't wearing those undies for comfort!! What really annoys me is that I have little faith that M&S will wholeheartedly follow through with this strategy -one season I'll see some really cool stuff and the next it's back to good old M&S basics. But consistency is key if they are really focused on getting Nadie and her fellow shopaholics through the door and if they want to see long term growth rather than short term profit.

The second example is a response to Nike's We Own the Night women's only race and womens races in general. Although I didn't attend or race,  I have been to a few Nike Training Club events which I've really enjoyed. The general feedback on the event was that it was a great but slightly tacky and too focused on an image of women that could be seen as frivalous (post race manicures etc). Again when I read the post on Spikes and Heels I thought yes it does sound a bit OTT and slighly passe but I'm sure the event wasn't aimed at running enthusiasts but at those women who want to get fitter, have never ever entered a race or signed up because a friend was doing it ie me if I ever signed up to a race. Would I want to get a manicure post race probably not but pre race when I'm thinking why the hell have I signed up to do this especially as I haven't done a lot of training; yes please as a distraction from the regret I would be feeling. The motivation signs during the course sound like real motivators to run even faster to pass them as quickly as possible

So you are probably wondering what is the point of this post as I dont actually disagree with some of the viewpoints and I guess its to say although the customer is always right, the truth of the matter is that you may not actually be the customer that the product is aimed at and just like a tv show we don't like (switch it off) we have the choice to shop somewhere else or not 'buy' the product. But I also wanted to send a big blog hug to my fellow marketers everyone thinks we have amazing jobs (and personally I think we do) but sometimes feedback can be hard to take - I feel their pain.