Spice Mas Camp Review...

After waiting all night and for most of the day for Spice's website to come up, I made my way to the mas camp yesterday after work.

There were not many people at the time that I visited.

I like the new location as well as the layout of the new mas camp. When I arrived, there was only a handful of persons at the mas camp, including band leader Anya Elias.

Anya herself greeted me and told me that if I had any questions I could ask her.

There are no male or frontline costumes up at the mas camp and while I understand the constraints of the space, I would have still loved to see one or two frontlines on display.

I took in the costumes one by one, saving my very favorite for last, I didn't even want to look in the direction of it!

After seeing the costumes up close and personal I have to say that my thoughts from Spice's Launch haven't changed that much if at all.

My least favorites have remained the same: China, Merchants of Venice (which looks more and more like Silver Mess cousin...what does this designer have with furry type elements?) and Ratpnapurta.

Gates of Petra has moved up my list a bit. I like the shade of pink and the gems on it are less pink than I thought at first. I also think is is TRES skimpy. Bring yuh bess body and come with that one.

Rubies of Mumbai both backline and frontline are beautiful costumes with just enough detail.

While the bra for Rome is very dark, it's an iridescent colour and I like the overall look of this costume.

Caspian Sea backline seems kind of dull and a bit dinged to me, but it may have just been the lighting or because it was used at the launch. It is still very nicely detailed.

I love the shade of purple used in Greece, and I could just picture this gorgeous frontline on the road.

I wish Adulis had a frontline or individual option. I love the combination of colours on this costume. This costume and a pair of bronze boots? Simple but fabulous.

I like the shade of orange in Moroccan Heat as well as the design headpiece.

My top three favorite costumes are now Ceylon Pearls, Thailand and Isis.

The detail on these three is simply amazing. Love the pearls on Ceylon Pearls, love the belt on

Thailand, love the Isis bling!

The mas camp is very nicely decorated. There are boots on display which I was advised would only be available in-house and would be with a flat heel instead of the high heel. The cost will be $350.00.

With regard to the costume prices I think that the costumes are expensive yes, but masqueraders have kept asking for more...more feathers, more bling, more ting...so that is what you are paying for. As always, the choice is yours and know yuh budget!

Overall after visiting the mas camp yesterday I was very pleased with Spice and after doing a lot of obsessing over my top three favorites I think I have finally come to a decision on my costume of choice.

A word of advice to Spice however.
You guys seriously need to improve on dissemination of information. Sending out an email about the delay of the website after 8:00pm yesterday when people were expecting it to be up at midday cannot cut it.

I'm a member of the Facebook group because I want to get info from YOU. Facebook is not there fuh style. I rather be killed with info than left in the dark.

As of this post (6:15pm) there is not a picture, price or video posted by the admins of the FB group. Dat eh cutting it.

As for the whole "bra issue"...I will have to save that for another post.

Spice Mas Camp Pics...

Review to come, check out more pics HERE...

Spice Mas Camp Opens Monday...

Spice's mas camp is scheduled to open on Monday and I am very excited to see my costume faves up close and personal.

The mas camp has moved, and are located at the corner of Robert and Rosalino Street...yuh cyar miss de big boat out in front!

Look out for my pics and review!

The Spice Route - The Spicey Aftermath...

Who: Spice
What: Band Launch - The Spice Route
When: Sunday 19th July 2009
Where: Zen

Touted as the band to watch out for in 2010 all eyes were on Spice on Sunday night.
And I mean all! From the TRIBE crew to the left of the stage to the Island People peeps scattered around Zen and everybody in between, they all came out to see if Spice would bring it. And bring it they did!

This rounds I headed to Spice solo as I only happened by one ticket thanks to my bro (but really thanks to me cause I gave him the answers to the questions which allowed him to win said ticket). On reaching the venue I was honestly taken aback by the number of vehicles on the road for the "upstart of a band", as some in the industry were referring to them (not me eh!).

I did not find a park easily and the only thing dem Zen people on the road was good for was nuttin. While I was parking I got a text from The Sauce asking where I was, I replied to her text and she told me she was saving a space for me stage front. SWEET! After FINALLY getting a park, I made my way to the entrance and inside around 8:55pm. The show was scheduled to begin at 9:00pm.

Taking up my saved position to the front of the stage (thanks Sauce!), I took a look around at the decor with the ladders draped from the upstairs area to the downstairs area (people coming down from there or what?) and the big Spice boat on stage. I later found out those were just props cause nobody came down said ladders, anyhoo...

I eagerly awaited the start of the show, cause last year I know they were on time! This year they weren't. The show started at 9:40pm and were heard a narrative about the origin of the theme. Lovely, but let's see some costumes!

Now I telling allyuh up front I not going into no setta detail and ting eh, the pics of the costumes speak for themselves and I will probably give a further review after visting the mascamp and seeing the costumes up close and personal and examining every little detail.

I liked the majority of the costumes and loved quite a few. Everytime one came out I kept saying "Ohgooooodddd, I like dat! Das meh section!" LOL.

On a closer review of my pics, the sections that are just nice enough but doh really drive me wild are the pink section Gates of Petra, the black section Ratnapurta, and the two green sections Merchants of Venice and China. The last two of which I think have the worst male costumes of the lot.



My list of the sections that I like but I would not necessarily play in starts with the burgundy section Rome. I like the frontline headpiece but that colour is just too dark for my liking and I thought it could have been a bit richer. The curtain on the back of the male costume needs to go.



Rubies of Mumbai, again GORGEOUS, but I wouldn't play in it. But that headpiece is to die for! This is also one of my favorite male costumes and I love that necklace for the men.


Ceylon Pearls is absolutely fan-ta-bu-lous. The model seemed to be having difficulty with the headpiece, something which I hoped is remedied for the road. And it was confirmed that this section has no backline, so just imagine this section on the road!


North Star is an Individual costume that again looked difficult to carry, but I love the sheer arm pieces and the leg pieces as well.


One of the first sections to make my pores raise was the bronze section Adulis. That headpiece is GORGEOUS (reminded me of Chutney from R&C), and the beads have that "whip whap" that I love.

Next was Caspian Sea, LOVE LOVE the frontline, and oh my wow that belt skimpy! Love the varying shades of blue.

A next heart stopper was Thailand. Both the backline and the frontline are beyond fabulous and detailed. The super explosive headpiece is to DIE for!

Right after came the next heartstopper and my personal fave Wings of Isis.
A teal costume with a sexy backline and even sexier frontline...look at those beads!! LOOK AT THAT HEADPIECE!!! (I personally would want to do a lil cut a paste here though, give me the backline bikini with the frontline headpiece please and thanks).


But wait doh stop there...kill meh now cause up next is Greece!!
From backline to frontline to Individual (male AND female eh!). The only thing is, I wanted to be on stage to trip Soowan Bramble...where she feel she going with that ridiculous body moggling my costume? Eh?!


Up next was some Moroccan Heat.
I loved this orange costume...matter of fact I love oragne costumes. This section had a lovely backline and frontline. I really like the headpiece detail on the backline, but I could leave or take the frontline backpack.


Make sure and get a FABULOUS pair of shades for the road because these costumes have enough sparkle and bling to blind you.
I enjoyed the varying variations of the liked the variations of the monokini/bonokini/chronokini/whateverkinis.

Some (not the majority) of the models looked very uncomfortable in their costumes especially with the oversized souped up headpieces which hinted at possible issues on the road, or maybe they were just a bit uncomfortable in the high heeled boots. I loved that they modelled the costume in boots and not the usual high heels, I thought this added to the overall costume presentation.

I enjoyed the launch for the most part, but I did not enjoy some of those models. Half of the models did not spend enough time posing and the end of the runway for photographers to take pics and the next half like they were not feeling the Carnival vibe. Put me in a costume in the middle of July and I would throw waist like the world was ending tomorrow. Smile nah man moggles...is Carnival!!

Overall, until I see the costumes up close and personal at the mas camp, I give Spice’s costumes an 8 out of 10.