Products for Little Black Princesses

From the minute Disney announced the first African American princess movie, 'The Princess and the Frog,' the buzz has been building. And so has the concern.

Disney's history of racial sensitivity in their cartoons caused eyebrows to be raised early on, and with good reason -- having waited this long to produce a film starring an African American princess, the pressure was on Disney to come correct. Every little detail of this particular princess will be analyzed, criticized, and committed to history. The film will open for an advance special engagement in New York and Los Angeles from November 25 to December 13 (click here for those special tickets), and will open nationwide December 11. I'm going to reserve judgment until I've seen the film itself. So in the meantime, allow me to unabashedly gush about what Disney's already done right.

For super special 'The Princess and The Frog' merchandise, Disney's teamed with one of my favorite brands, Carol's Daughter for a truly magical beauty collection.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Carol's Daughter creator Lisa Price to get her feelings about this inspiring awesomeness. It was so inspiring to hear how this came about, and how this little company that could has managed to become part of Disney history. And to find out straight from Lisa herself that her mother's parents were from Trinidad? This island bella felt very proud all around.

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The College Survival Guide

A Fridge
Regardless of whether you have a wonderful sized meal plan, your fridge may come in handy with leftovers or when you feel like stocking it with bottled drinks.

Computer
The convenience of a computer is essential when sending your kids off to college. Forget the hike to the computer lab across campus students need a computer in the comfort of their room. A printer comes in handy as well. Depending on whether your child plans to carry his laptop around campus, you might opt for a desk top since they're lighter on the pockets.

Snacks
You will surely survive with off of a meal plan but it doesn't hurt to stock up on snacks when you don't feel like leaving your dorm room. Bottled water, pop corn, cereal and Ramen noodles are all low budget snacks to stock up on. Just be weary of the freshman 15.

Things from home
Some college students suffer from homesickness the first year. It's best to surround yourself with things like photos of the family, pillows or even stuffed animals. Anything that reminds your child of home.

MP3 Player
With all the stress that comes from school and exams, sometimes it's nice to block out the chaos in your life and even your roommate with music. It's nearly impossible to find students walking to class who aren't jamming to tunes.

Budget
Students who enter college often come in at the ripening age of 18. A great time for credit cards. Parents beware, your child may end up ruining their credit at a young age

Alarm Clock
When you're in college you don't have the luxury of getting awaken by your parents. It's now your responsibility to get to class on time so alarm clocks are a must. But keep your roommate in mind. You shouldn't wake him up ever morning with a blow horn alarm.

Cleaning supplies
Now you don't necessarily need to bring in the rubber gloves, mop and gas mask but it doesn't hurt to bring along Clorox all purpose wipes for spills or dust. Vacuums and brooms come in handy too depending if you have a carpeted dorm.

Bedding
What most parents aren't aware of is that most college beds are twin sized but extra long and require special sheets. When shopping keep your eye open for sheets that clearly state 'extra long' or else your child may come up short.

Shower shoes
You really don't know what some people do in the shower these days. College showers are known to be creeping with germs so spare yourself the fungus and purchase flip flops for the shower. You'll thank us later!

How crazy has it been for Price to go from making beauty products in her kitchen, to the shelves at Sephora, and now to doing official products for Disney's first African American princess?

"Well, it was a big deal to hear that there was going to be an African American princess, period. And then to hear we were in the running to create products to go with the film, it's like almost more than you want to think about," she said. "Then there was so much work to do, you're just focused on the work. Coming up with the fragrances and the design and making sure everything's perfect... It wasn't until I saw the labels on a board here at the office that it hit me - Disney and Carol's Daughter. It would have brought tears to my eyes just to see an African American Disney princess, but then to be part of this, it's been amazing."

Lisa was particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity, because Disney had been a part of her life as a child. She knew and understood the significance of Princess Tianna to future generations of little black girls.

"Being someone who grew up with Disney movies, who loved Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, I loved the stories and the animation, but I didn't know how to identify with them. I remember asking Santa to bring me long blonde hair like Cinderella's. It wasn't that I didn't like myself, but I believed that that was what beauty was. That's what a princess looked like. So its nice to know that little girls don't have to feel that way if thy don't look that way," she said.

And Lisa took the time to set me straight on an assumption I'd made from seeing the early sketches -- "Tiana's hair is actually textured - it s not straight. They have to be careful as well, with that particular depiction."

Appropriately, the Carol's Daughter products for The Princess and The Frog are beauty staples Princess Tiana would most likely use. "The Beauty Within" shampoo includes aloe leaf juice, "Inner Shine" conditioner uses sunflower seed, olive, and sweet almond oils. The "Dream Big" hair detangler is my favorite -- glycerine, aloe, and castor oil would give my hair supreme slickability, and the "sharing means caring" bubble bath offers a delicious water lily-scented afternoon of decadence. But I struggled. Do I use this stuff, or do I keep the bottles in tact? The packaging is so adorable!

I shared my struggle with Lisa -- to open or not to open? She didn't make my decision any easier. "Well, its a beautiful bottle you want to keep and save because it's a collectors item, but then when you get past that it's a product that performs. We tested them, not just on kids, but on adults, and these are pediatrician-tested products that don't include harsh detergents. We used a water-lily accord fragrance, not too overpowering. So
if mom wants to feel like a princess along with her daughter, she'll like these products as well."

The Magical Beauty Collection ranges from $8 to $62 and is available on CarolsDaughter.com.