In a world cluttered by cookie-cutter models and photo-shopped layouts, emerging model Slick Woods is a breath of fresh air.
Her gap-tooth grin, bald head and tattoos serve a new kind of sexy that transcends gender and style preference. This new androgynous archetype is proving that femininity is flexible and defined by the woman herself. Discovered just two years ago, Slick has had a whirlwind career shooting exclusive campaigns for Calvin Klein, gracing the 2018 Pirelli calendar, and making her film debut next year as the star of Vice Film's Goldie. She was also pegged by Vogue as the face of the new American style.
Her latest role tops it all as she's been named the face of Fenty Beauty by Ms. Robyn "Rihanna" Fenty herself. Tonight at midnight, the latest shade from Fenty's matte lip line, Stunna, drops and it's time we honored the fierce woman behind the brand's latest campaign. Slick is leaving her mark in an industry fraught with amorphous stereotypes and we're here for it.
Get to know Slick Woods and thank us later.
1. She Started From the Bottom
"BLEED FOR YOUR F**KING DREAM...," Slick wrote in one Instagram post earlier this month. The 21-year-old says that she couldn't hold a job longer than a week and modeling literally saved her life.
2 years ago I started this journey at 19. I never was prepared for what was to come; adulthood, building a career... a "brand". I could only hold one job longer than a week due to my lack of control over my emotions and PTSD and that was f-ckin footlocker. The pressure crippled me. Modeling saved my life. Modeling took me around the world and introduced me to passion and inspiration. Follow your dreams if it f-cking kills you because the pain of regret is incomparable. My dreams broke me down, built me up, moved me to the other side of the country with not a cent to my name or a friend in my phone book. My dreams gave me crippling anxiety and depression. My dreams broke my skin out from stress and worry but you know what else my dreams did? They gave me the motivation and the passion to overcome the bad that made it not only hard to enjoy, but also aided the block I had on the blessings god was sending.
2. Her Mother Went to Prison When She Was 4 Years Old
Slick was raised by her grandmother while her mother was in jail serving an 18-year sentence for manslaughter. During that time, Slick and her grandmother bounced around between Los Angeles and Minneapolis in perpetual homelessness. Regardless of the hard life she endured, Slick thinks the world of her mother. She told Evening Standard that she was, "the most respected woman I've ever been around."
"I've never met someone as selfless as my mother. My mother gave her life for me."
Her mother will be released next year.
3. She Got Her Nickname From Her Weed Rolling Skills
Slick Woods is not her real name. The model was actually born Simone Thomas. Her nickname she picked up from friends, thanks to her supreme weed-rolling skills. Her public affinity for marijuana has cost her a lot more than it's worth. She told Evening Standardthat posting photos of her smoking pot to Instagram has proven to be costly, "I've lost $125,000 in a day from being myself."
4. She Had Her Heart Broken by Ebonee Davis
A staple member of her modeling cohort, Ebonee Davis, apparently did a little more than just take some incredibly provocative photos with Slick - she also kind of took her heart too.
Slick recently revealed to the Evening Standard that she's currently single after having her heart broken by Ebonee.
'I sent her 16 bouquets of purple roses to say I miss you. She's the one that got away, man.'
5. She Used To Live In A Traphouse And Did Time in Jail for Credit Card Scams
Surviving humble beginnings and being the daughter of a woman who did serious time had a statistically predictable effect on Slick's life. Before hitting it big, she did time in jail herself for credit card scams and bank scams. She told Evening Standard, "'I was in a place where I didn't believe in anything, so I was so susceptible to evil energy. I'm so easily turned."
Although she was living in a drug den just two years ago, she is now ballin' out of control. She revealed, "I went from being homeless to spending $20,000 a week. I was making up for lost time, buying my friends s***, going to $400 dinners. I've always been like, “What if I die tomorrow?" I can't sit on this bread.'
6. She Was Discovered On The Streets By Model Ash Stymest
Sometimes all it takes is that one co-signer to bring someone into the light that otherwise might have gone unnoticed. A chance meeting with British model Ash Stymest who saw her walking down a street in LA led to a friendship that served as her doorway into the modeling industry. Meeting Ash lead to the modeling gig that sent her into orbit - Kanye West's Yeezy lookbook.
7. She Once Told Kanye West, "Pay Me"
Slick gives us a little lesson in knowing your worth - no matter who's asking. After posing for the Yeezy season one lookbook, she was asked back. But apparently Kanye forgot to pay her. "Kanye did not pay me," she told Evening Standard. "I didn't see my money until the next Yeezy job I did. He couldn't book me again without having paid me for the first time."Welp.
Slick Woods has just gotten started, and will be the model to watch in 2018!
Catch her in Rihanna's latest beauty campaign below:
For more from Slick Woods, follow her on Instagram.
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak
“Your circle is everything,” Reginae shares with a smile, and she’s not wrong. She’s all about creating spaces where we can come together, let our hair down, and vibe with like-minded women. “We deserve spaces to meet, uplift, and vibe with each other. BLK is making that happen,” she adds.
A New Era for Friendships—Social Mode Is Here!
Gen Z is all about building meaningful connections, whether it’s with a date or a new brunch buddy. That’s why Social Mode is such a big deal. Research shows that 65% of Gen Z values friendships just as much as romantic relationships. With BLK’s new feature, users can easily toggle between “Dating” and “Social,” opening up a world of platonic connections—no swiping right required.
Bahja Rodriguez, Reginae Carter, Breaunna Womack, Lourdes Rodriguez and Zonnique Pullins attend OMG Girlz "Make A Scene" Single Release & Video Viewing Party at Trap City Cafe on March 27, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia
Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage
Reginae Carter Hosts the Ultimate Girls’ Night In—Powered by BLK Social Mode
What better way to show Social Mode in action than with an exclusive Girls’ Night In, hosted by Reginae? The event brought together top influencers, tastemakers, and press for a night of luxury, self-care, and real talk about love, sex, and relationships. From tarot readings to perfume-making and signature cocktails, the evening embodied the “soft life” vibe that many Black women are embracing in 2025—peaceful, intentional, and full of joy.
Guests mingled, laughed, and bonded over the importance of finding a tribe that supports you. It wasn’t just about fun (although there was plenty of that!)—it was about creating a circle of inspiring, strong women. “We need to stick together. We need to be each other’s village,” Reginae says, emphasizing the power of community over competition.
Sisterhood: The Real MVP
For Reginae, it’s all about friendship—and not just the surface-level kind. “We need friends who keep it real with us. The ones who can tell us when we’re right, when we’re wrong, and when we need to calm down,” she says. As someone who navigates the spotlight, she’s got the best of both worlds: friends who understand the grind and those who can give her an honest, grounded perspective.
Her advice for building strong, intentional friendships? “Be confident in yourself and know your worth,” she explains. “Also, hurt people hurt people, so make sure you’re coming from a good place when you’re building relationships. It’s not always about being nice—sometimes it’s about being real.”
Reginae couldn’t have summed it up better: “When you have the right circle, the right tribe, everything just feels easier. And that’s exactly what BLK is giving us—space to connect, laugh, and grow with each other.”
To learn more about BLK’s Social Mode, download or update the BLK app in the App Store or Google Play Store today. Who knows? You might just find your new bestie or your next brunch crew.
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Feature image by Prince Williams/WireImage