Hello again ladies,

The judges have spoken again this week. Guest judge is LeAnne Dulce, owner of Naptural Roots Magazine and sponsor of this wonderful challenge. Here is what she and the other judges had to say about your performance of challenge 7 Haute or Not.

LeAnne Dolce owner of Naptural Roots Magazine
My winner is: The Naptural Bill of Rights. She took the challenge and the time constraints and really made great looks with our materials. She embodied our principles in her pictures and I loved the different hairstyles. And she also found something in the magazine that really resonated with he and it resonates with a lot of people. She did a great job!

All the ladies did a great job, but her shoot showed the most creativity to me. The least impressive I would say was Lydia Y because while she is gorgeous and has a lot of hair to play around with, I didn’t feel like she brought that to model feeling. Being a model means you make something out of nothing. She was reading a book that was not my magazine. And she didn’t try to do anything creative with the T-shirt.

Feedback of Dajuan Jones
The competition is getting really tough as the remaining four contestants are so close in style and ability. I’m looking forward to seeing one of them separate themselves from the rest. But at the moment, it’s neck & neck! My top two this week were Lydia Y. & Jayme. They made the most of this weeks challenge. Luds shoot really didn’t impress outside of her hairstyle diversity.

Farah wasn’t able to participate with the products and it’s tough to penalize her without knowing the details (all the girls indicated receiving the products late). Luds would be my unfortunate cut this week as I just don’t think she’ll break her mold in expression going forward. But I can’t help by admit that I’m waiting for one of the contestants to distance themselves from the others.

Lydia Y.
Photos & Interpretation: You took full advantage of this weeks challenge. The diversity of sets and imagery shows how well you interpreted this weeks challenge and played it toward your strengths. My only concern would be the effects on the image which smooths the texture. It’s a love it or hate it. For product highlighting, I’d recommend against it.
Hairstyle: & Write Up: Loved your write up! You took the time to expressed your own story, which was the strength of your write up. We don’t all start off well, but we can all finish well: physically, mentally & spiritually.
Connection: You images this week played well with you communicating well in each setting.

Jayme
Photos & Interpretation: Your product work just may be a strength as you modeled the items very well. I’m a little confused about the interpretation & execution: was the pink scarf and hoop earrings from the sponsor?
Hairstyle & Write Up: After reading all of the write ups, it’s clear that everyone had a challenge receiving their items late in the week. But, you don’t want to spend so much time emphasizing that in your write up.
Connection: Great expression gave me the impression that you were not only comfortable, but even enjoying yourself in spite of the challenges.

Farrah
Photos & Interpretation: Interesting. Aside from the product focus (which is a big deal), your shoot bode well for you with imagery showing nice expression and modeling.
Hairstyle & Write Up: In improvising this week, your write up worked well: “One thing that I wanted to promote was that everyone has a t shirt in their wardrobe in which they can transform into a different style day to day, so it is easily accessible and can look elegant, for a night out, or a seasonal outfit.” “… [turning] what appears to be a regular outfit items (tshirt and earrings) into haute couture clothing!”
Connection: I loved your expression & enthusiasm so visible in your shoot this week.

Luds
Photos & Interpretation: Nice expression in many of your images. Your set comes off less like a product shoot and more like everyday utilization.
Hairstyle & Write Up: Did I see four different hairstyles? I loved the bantu knots! You were the only contestant this week where I felt compelled to mention their hairstyle. Your write up shared the strengths of being natural.
Connection: This wasn’t a strength this week. As much as I loved your hair this week, I was equally lost to find imagery where you connected with me.
 

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Feedback of Michelle George

oh my, they all brought their A game this week…
I said ‘wow’ more than once….
They are all amazing and Im so glad to be a part of this contest with the ladies. At this point Im looking for the ‘it’. The write ups are on point for everyone. The photos/poses and looks are amazing for them all. Now, Im looking for that ‘it’. You are all absolutely stunning, so it’s not about the pretty. Please know that you all are amazing no matter what the outcome.

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Luds:
I love your fro
I love the lighting
I love your determination
I love the Wilma Rudolph reference pic.
I love that you convey that you are an educated black woman that knows who she is.
You did your research and you deserve a 5 star. You have a mature look that will captivate and inspire a wide audience, especially the mature audience looking for validation and confidence in the workplace and beyond.

Farah:
You made me go wow and I know that you would inspire young girls to rock their curls confidently. You got spicy and dicey this week and I loved your color scheme, choice of clothing and variety of poses. Good job! You make me think of ‘Nippy’ the young version of Whitney Houston from my genre as a teen. You definitely have that ‘it’ quality that would make America fall in love with you and watch you.5+ stars

Lydia Young
You and I would be girlfriends. I eat oatmeal everyday and work out at the break of dawn every day at 5am focusing on muscle burning exercises the majority of the week with interval training and bursts of cardio. Great Tips! I like that you shared your tips because so many naturals evolve into a healthier lifestyle and you would be a wonderful motivator with your look and healthy tips. I love the skirt and the diverse look. You would inspire women from all facets to embrace their natural selves! You are rocking those naptural roots for sure! I love your willingness to chane up your look, makeup and level of makeup to show us you at all levels unabashadly. You definitely seem more in your element in this shoot and connecting more with the camera. 4 stars

Jayme
I love each photo and each look. You really mixed it up and I have to take a double take on more than one picture because you look so different. I like the diversity of style and hair and make up. I especially like your long poses and I like how you never seem to give us the same pose. Your look is real and you seem like someone we all know. I like that about you. I’m still looking for a radical change in your makeup. You play it safe and stick with the same eyeliner look frequently. Come out of your comfort zone a little more. I think there’s more to pull out of you and you are used to being in control. To truly unveil your ‘it’ I think you could let go a little more. 4 stars.
 

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My feedback

Lydia Young
Lydia, I really like your work out photos and the write up that goes with it. Food is a challenge in our community and you did very well sharing and picturing your story to inspire others. The light is great and you’re expressive. Shot nr.3 is especially impressive for me because I hate that exercise, lol. Thank you for showing me how to do it in style.

On the other hand I have to agree with LeAnn that the other part of the shoot is not great. I like the last shot with the earrings but the rest of the shots are just too casual in my opinion. I am not fond of the image effect either. Like it the shoot before this one where I commented about the headwrap, the color is missing.

Jayme
O Jayme, I so feel you with the stress of this shoot. Yes, being a model isn’t easy and sometimes it just gets to you. Still, I think you did a good job. My favorite photo is the 3rd one. Wow, you look stunning! Your pose, your head, from the expression on your face to your toes say elegant! No inch of stress, there.

I like your hairstyle with the cornrows too. Suddenly another side of Jayme. It gives you a whole different look and I like that. I love the way you play with the pink scarf as well. Although I think Michelle has a good point that you play it safe with your makeup, I think overall you did a great job!

Farah
Farah! You came out as a diva this week! Your poses are just beautiful and lovely. You show growth as a model and I love that. Too bad you didn’t receive the items in time, I can’t help but wonder what that would have looked like. Still, I think you did more than made the best out of it. There are so many good shots. I love the first one but then I also really like the 3rd smiling shot. What I see is versatility even though you wear the same outfit and that is what modeling is about. Great job!

Lydia
Lydia, great afro shot! Really pretty. So are shot 6 and 9 but the rest of the photos aren’t that impressive to me. I love the way you smile in the shot with the umbrella and your body just looks beautiful but few other photos look disproportional, as if they were resized the wrong way. I agree with Dajuan I don’t see growth or diversity in your expression. In all honesty this is my least favorite shoot of you.

So another tough choice this week. Who stays and who goes home. This is a close call. The fact that the sponsor choose Luds as the winner has saved her from being eliminated but then who comes next? Unfortunately I have to say that it’s the woman with the impressive colorful mane, Lydia Young. I am sorry to see you go lady.