Book review: The Essentials of Fabulous

The Essentials of Fabulous

Author: Ellen Lubin-Sherman with illustrations by Susan Sugar

I’m not going to lie to you—I wanted to read this book for the simple fact that I thought the title sounded kinda fun and kooky.  As frivolous as it may be, it’s the truth! : )

Although the winsome title suggests a book that unearths the hidden secrets to being oh-so-fabulous—to me, if you dig a little deeper you will find out that this book provides the reader with uncomplicated tools needed to be successful (in your professional or personal life), as well as being a well rounded fab individual.

Unbeknownst to the author, Ellen Lubin-Sherman, this book came into my willing hands on a day that I really needed it.  I was feeling a little un-fabulous, so this lil pick me up totally helped.

The Essentials of Fabulous is compactly comprised of 159 pages and is divided into 11 chapters.  Each chapter reveals how you can differentiate yourself from everyone else and embrace your fabulousness.  This can be done by having impeccable manners (read: holding eye contact with someone that you are speaking with instead of looking over their shoulder to talk to someone more interesting) to delivering on your promises.

All of the chapters give you an essence of what it's like to be fabulous instead of fading into the night. (Fabulous people are passionate about life, Fabulous people are competent, Fabulous people are delightfully authentic etc).  One of the chapters I enjoyed the most was the chapter called: Fabulous people have flair (yes, I know it sounds trivial, but it was quite interesting!). 

This chapter spoke about how your clothes make you stand out.  You don’t need to wear designer duds or trendy pieces—you can wear basics, but you must make it your own! It could be done with jewellery, a beat up leather jacket or whatever piece of clothing you like.  The author firmly believes that everyone who wants to be fab must wear clothes that fit and look good, as it shows that you care and take pride in what you look like.  Even if you are running out to grocery shop, a fabulous person always looks good.  Reading this chapter was similar to watching an episode of What Not To Wear.  Perhaps that’s why I liked it sooo much!  : )

I will admit that I liked this book. It was a short easy read that dispensed good advice on what you can do to set yourself apart from others.  I did promise myself to do a few things that the author suggested. One thing that I will definitely do is put my cell away when spending time with friends. (pssst, I am ashamedly guilty of texting while out with friends).   I will stop....I promise!

About the Author

Ellen Lubin-Sherman

After earning her undergraduate degree in communications and then a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL), Ellen went to work for some of NYC’s top communications firms, advising top tier brands including The Gap, Perrier Water, and Martha Stewart. In 1998 Ellen started her own company, specializing in brand awareness for lifestyle and beauty products.

Four years later Ellen repositioned her eponymous company to become LAUNCH, a coaching and consulting firm for business leaders and corporations who need to craft the visuals and the messages that will burnish their reputation as leaders and differentiate them in the marketplace.

Today, in addition to executive coaching and consulting, Ellen is a sought-after speaker for companies and groups that are desperate to know how they can become fabulous.

Michelle

Keep the Faith by Faith Evans with Aliya S. King

I received Faith Evans’ new book Keep the Faith a while ago, and my first thought was “I hope that she’s not exploiting the death of her late husband, Biggie Smalls with this book.” There have been several articles and movies written about his untimely death, and I was hoping that this wasn’t one more thing to add to the conspiracy surrounding his unsolved murder. After reading a couple of the chapters, I was pleasantly surprised so see that her book wasn’t solely about his murder; she chronicles her life as an up and coming R&B singer, as well, she talks about her family, her poor relationship choices, and her struggle to balance pursing her career as a single mother and a widow.

I will admit, the beginning of this book was a little boring. It recalls Faith’s childhood and her traumatic move from Florida to New Jersey. She was uprooted from her mom (she unfortunately never had the chance to meet her father but only knew that he was an Italian-American man) and was made to live with her grandparents. Some of this information didn’t seem interesting, but in the back of my mind, I kinda knew that there would be more salacious stories in the upcoming pages.

According to the book, the young Faith Evans was pretty much a typical teenager. She was boy crazy, rebellious and hung around the wrong crowd. Basically, she searched for anything that remotely looked dangerous, which usually meant hooking up with the wrong guys. I couldn’t help put want to shake her and talk some sense into her every time she spoke about a guy that did her wrong. (Believe me, there were tons of instances!)

Even though her personal life was in shambles, she still had a deep appreciation for music. She adored gospel music and eventually became a part of a group. It was also at this time that she broke from the group and chose to follow her passion and pursue music fulltime.

The book quickly and concisely recounts her entrance into the music biz and details how singing for Puffy changed her life. After meeting him, her dream of becoming a recording star became to take form.

Mid way through the book, things started to pick up. This is when Faith started speaking about her roller coater like relationship with Notorious B.I.G—a rapper who at the time, was minutes away from fame. Being a friend of Puffy, Biggie would always be in the studio so he and Faith would bump into each other from time to time.

I particularly loved how he courted her in the beginning. He saw her in the studio, was interested, went over and just kicked it to her. Biggie would never ask her out on a traditional date, he would simply say, “Where we eating at tonight?” That was his way of saying that he wanted to spend some time with her. I thought that was sweet in a high school way.

The majority of the book talks about their fast courtship and their even quicker trip down the aisle. They got married after knowing each other for only 2 months! Faith openly discusses how happy she was in the early stages of her marriage, and how depressed and angry she felt when she knew that it was falling apart due to Biggie’s penchant for creeping. (his most notorious mistress was rapper Kimberly Jones a.k.a Lil Kim).

A couple of my favourite things about this book is that Faith divulges a lot of info. She candidly sets the record straight about the “supposed” affair with Tupac and how the deaths of Tupac and her husband affected her personally and professionally. Being the nosy sista that I am, I liked how she openly exposes her petty beefs with the then unknown performers (she actually had beef with Mary J. Blige and Missy).

Overall, Keep the Faith was a good read. Faith was able to tell her side of the story as the way she saw it. She didn’t paint herself as an angel, but spoke about the traumatic things going on in her life thus far.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loved the hip hop and R&B of the mid-90s and especially to anyone who actually remembers the East Coast/West Coast beef.

Check out the book!

-michelle