Everything You Need To Know About ElevateHER Shop
Every day, Black women elevate the world. We are trendsetters and visionaries; the shapeshifters that lead by virtue of presence alone. In a world that sells our identities for consumption, we remind everyone that joy is our birthright and the grace we carry will always be authentic. Our existence is not a social experiment but a crafted emblem of perfection. And for that, we deserve everything good this world has to offer.
With that, xoNecole created the ElevateHER Shop, a here-to-stay online marketplace. For Black women, by Black women. While there are multiple places to shop Black online, which we champion, #ElevateHER provides a way for consumers to directly support small Black Women-Owned businesses! Just in time for Juneteenth, we aim to celebrate not just our joy but our ancestors and kick summer off the right way.
We're launching our first curated iteration "Summertime Joy" to celebrate everything we are and everything we aspire to be. ElevateHER will continue to grow and have iterations reflecting other seasons and life events relevant to us all. We got the range. Everything from beauty (Summertime Fine) to home decor (Dope Abodes), personal development and entertainment (Booked & Boujie) to food and wellness (Guilt-Free Pleasures) to personal style (Here to Slay)—we've got it.
To complement our ElevateHER Shop launch, we're celebrating non-stop with a slew of immersive moments for our audience to share in the Joy. See below for interactive ways to share in the joy and uplift womenpreneurs of color:
Custom AR filter
Wondering what Black-owned product to shop next? No worries, our Instagram AR Filter has you covered! Our filter scrolls through dozens of fabulous products from the ElevateHER Shop randomly landing on a different product each time. So what are you waiting on? Try it out on the @xoNecole Instagram page here and don't forget to tag @xonecole and use #ElevateHER so we can repost you!
Joy Gifting
xoNecole welcomed 50 influential queens to the sunshine season with a special delivery that radiated Black Girl Joy. They were delivered a delicious array of Black-owned summertime joy with a candle on behalf of Collins House Global and the finest of wine made with love by the McBride Sisters. Not to mention stunning floral arrangements from Barbara's Flowers, The Petal Effect and Lemiga Events.
Instagram Guides
We curated 5 user-friendly Instagram Guides that each serve to represent products from every shopping category in the ElevateHER Shop: beauty, style, home, books and wellness. We shared some of our favorites amongst favorites that are worth investing the coins in this summer and beyond, for Black women by Black women.
Editorial Series: Black Woman Owned
This Marketplace was curated not only to shop and support these founders, but also to discover. We've been fortunate enough to get insight into the lives of Black women entrepreneurs who are featured in our shop. Explore the Black Woman-Owned editorial section on the shop homepage to learn more about the brains behind the businesses + brands. These stories are meant to inspire and be of motivation.
The journey of Black entrepreneurship is difficult for many but when we share information while being unafraid to share our stories, we are capable of accomplishing everything we set our minds to! ElevateHER soars by shining a light, a special one, for all of us.
ElevateHER 100
We created Instagrammable graphics for our 100 womenpreneurs who were featured in their audiences to celebrate this notable moment and encourage their followers to bask in the joy.
ElevateHER is for the current and future. To our Summertime Joys and beyond: we will always elevate.
Click here to experience the ElevateHER Shop.
Featured image designed by Kyra James
The Reality Of Living With Severe Asthma – As Told by 2 Women On Their Disease Journey
This post is in partnership with Amgen.
The seemingly simple task of taking a breath is something most of us don’t think twice about. But for people who live with severe asthma, breathing does not always come easily. Asthma, a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs, affects millions of people worldwide – 5-10% of which live with severe asthma. Severe asthma is a chronic and lifelong condition that is unpredictable and can be difficult to manage. Though often invisible to the rest of the world, severe asthma is a not-so-silent companion for those who live with it, often interrupting schedules and impacting day-to-day life.
Among the many individuals who battle severe asthma, Black women face a unique set of challenges. It's not uncommon for us to go years without a proper diagnosis, and finding the right treatment often requires some trial and error. Thankfully, all hope is not lost for those who may be fighting to get their severe asthma under control. We spoke with Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq. and Jania Watson, two inspiring Black women who have been living with severe asthma and have found strength, resilience, and a sense of purpose in their journeys.
Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq.
Juanita Ingram has a resume that would make anyone’s jaw drop. On top of being recently crowned Mrs. Universe, she’s also an accomplished attorney, filmmaker, and philanthropist. From the outside, it seems there’s nothing this talented woman won’t try, and likely succeed at. In her everyday life, however, Juanita exercises a lot more caution. From a young age, Juanita has struggled with severe asthma. Her symptoms were always exacerbated by common illnesses like a cold or flu. “I've heard these stories of my breathing struggles, but I remember distinctly when I was younger not being able to breathe every time I got a virus,” says Ingram. “I remember missing a lot of school and crying a lot because asthma is painful. I [was taken] to see my doctor often if I got sick with anything so I was hypervigilant as a child, and I still am.”
Today, Juanita says her symptoms are best managed when she’s working closely with her care team, avoiding getting sick and staying ahead of any symptoms. Ingram said she’s been blessed with skilled doctors who are just as vigilant of her symptoms as she is. While competing in the Mrs. Universe competition, Juanita took extra care to stay clear of other competitors to ensure she didn’t catch a cold or virus that would trigger her severe asthma. “I would stand off to the side and sometimes that could be taken as ‘oh, she thinks she's better than everybody else.’ But if I get sick during a pageant, I'm done. I had to compete with that in mind because my sickness doesn't look like everybody else's sickness.”
Even when her symptoms are under control, living with severe asthma still presents challenges. Juanita relies on her strong support system to overcome the hurdles caused by a lack of understanding from the public, “I think that there's a lot of lack of awareness about how serious severe asthma is. I would [also] tell women to advocate and to trust their intuition and not to allow someone to dismiss what you're experiencing.”
Jania Watson
Jania, a content creator from Atlanta, Georgia, has been living with severe asthma for many years. Thanks to early testing by asthma specialists, Jania was diagnosed with severe asthma as a child after experiencing frequent flare-ups and challenges in her day-to-day life. “I specifically remember, I was starting school, and we were moving into a new house. One of the triggers for me and my younger sister at the time were certain types of carpets. We had just moved into this new house and within weeks of us being there, my parents literally had to pay for all new carpet in the house.”
As Jania grew older, she was suffering from fewer flare-ups and thought her asthma was well under control. However, a trip back to her doctor during high school revealed that her severe asthma was affecting her more than she realized. “That was the first time in a long time I had to do a breathing test,” she describes. “The doctor had me take a deep breath in and blow into a machine to test my breathing. They told me to blow as hard as I could. And I was doing it. I was giving everything I got. [My dad and the doctor] were looking at me like ‘girl, stop playing.’ And at that point [it confirmed] I still have severe asthma because I've given it all I got. It doesn't really go away, but I just learned how to help manage it better.”
Jania recognizes that people who aren’t living with asthma, may not understand the disease and mistake it for something less serious. Or there could be others who think their symptoms are minor, and not worth bringing up. So, for Jania, communicating with others about her diagnosis is key. “Having severe asthma [flare-ups] in some cases looks very similar to being out of shape,” she said. “But this is a chronic illness that I was born with. This is just something that I live with that I've been dealing with. And I think it's important for people to know because that determines the next steps. [They might ask] ‘Do you need a bottle of water, or do you need an inhaler? Do you need to take a break, or do we need to take you to the hospital?’ So, I think letting the people around you know what's going on, just in case anything were to happen plays a lot into it as well.”
Like Juanita, Jania’s journey has been marked by ups and downs, but she remains an unwavering advocate for asthma awareness and support within the Black community. She hopes that her story can be an inspiration to other women with asthma who may not yet have their symptoms under control. “There's still life to be lived outside of having severe asthma. It is always going to be there, but it's not meant to stop you from living your life. That’s why learning how to manage it and also having that support system around you, is so important.”
By sharing their journeys, Juanita and Jania hope to encourage others to embrace their conditions, obtain a proper management plan from a doctor or asthma specialist like a pulmonologist or allergist, and contribute to the improvement of asthma awareness and support, not only within the Black community, but for all individuals living with severe asthma.
Read more stories from others like Juanita and Jania on Amgen.com, or visit Uncontrolled Asthma In Black Women | BREAK THE CYCLE to find support and resources.
4 Smart And Doable Lifestyle Habits Of Successful Women You Can Emulate Today
Discipline. Routine. Habits. Sometimes, those can seem like curse words, especially in an unpredictable world where any - and everything can happen, and life is often life-ing. But, as the very true cliche goes: Where there's a will, there's a way, and many successful women prove that good lifestyle habits are the foundation to at least alleviating stress, getting a head start on overcoming challenges, and adding a bit of order to the day.
Check out a few of the lifestyle habits of successful women living out their dreams and be inspired by what might be helpful in your day-to-day life:
1. They are lifetime learners who read, read, and read some more.
For Serena Williams, the Bibleis her jam; for a transformative boost, The Alchemist does it for Issa Rae, and Regina Hall has sworn by Freedom In Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lamai. It's clear that no matter what industry or career you choose, reading is more than fundamental: It's a must for inspiration, motivation, and reflection.
And so many successful women are either leaders of expansive book clubs (hello, Oprah Winfrey, Tanya Sam, and Gloria Edim!), and Bookstagram communities filled with amazing, educated, savvy women professionals and entrepreneurs are no longer just a trend. They are the norm.
No matter what career you choose, reading is more than fundamental, it's a must for motivation.
2. They find passive ways to grow their wealth.
While a love of money is the root of evil, financial freedom is a must, and successful women don't play about those finances. For some, following a budget or facing debt can seem like a real headache and really not something we want to spend our Friday nights doing, but the full picture of success includes one's financial security. That being said, think about any woman you admire (or who has the receipts of a successful life), and name one who doesn't have her hands in more than one cookie jar of income.
I'll wait. Yep, all of them.
Even the most successful doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, homemaker, or creative is doing more than one thing to get to the bigger bag, with a good number of them earning passive income.
Some find success via investments (i.e., retirement and/or brokerage accounts, angel investment efforts, real estate, or tax-free savings accounts). If they're not investing, they have side hustles that practically make them money in their sleep or with minimal effort on their part (i.e., through book, course or content publishing, music royalties, voice-only YouTube channels, artwork investments or resales, buying and selling websites---the list goes on and on).
This is not to say you need to be a member of TeamToo-Much--- pushing yourself to the limit toward busted, booked, and busy chasing quantity and not quality. If you can find ways to stretch the value of your time and money, be strategic, match those efforts with your actual passions and skills, and do what works for you.
3. They network across and up, and surround themselves with amazing folk.
Issa Rae took the idea of "networking across" mainstream. If you watch the growth of many of your favorite leaders in their respective fields, you'll notice that there are groups of besties, business partners, and friends who lift one another up as they all climb. From Kandi Burruss and Tameka "Tiny Harris" winning in business, TV production, and music together, to Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah serving as respective powerhouses in Hollywood, to Sherri Shepherd and Niecy Nash holding each other down both personally and professionally, one thing successful women definitely have in common is a good network of friends, associates, and supporters.
Check out the Instagram or TikTok of any successful woman you admire, and you'll probably see some of the same faces at the baby shower, book launch, business opening, conference, or other major event in the photos or videos. They work together on projects, cheer each other on, show up for one another, and are down even in challenging times. They value strong relationships that are balanced, inspiring, and healthy, and they're always thinking about ways to work together for the advancement of their respective groups and those they serve.
Lifting each other up while journeying through success is a common thread shared among successful women.
4. They make mental and physical wellness a No. 1 priority no matter what.
It can seem like we're drilling this into the ground, but prioritizing health and wellness isn't something to take lightly, especially when you're in a glow-up phase or transitioning to ascend to another level in your life and career. You have to be at your best, mentally and physically, to sustain all that comes with being a boss, leading companies, building a business, or giving your best to your job.
Exercise (or some sort of intentional and consistent fitness activity), at least 20 minutes per day, is a common habit among successful CEOs and leaders. Meditation and prayer are also key common activities among successful women who often face quite a few stress triggers throughout their day.
Therapy is also big on the list of habits that boost success, as the practice allows for trauma healing, reflection, emotional release, and simple stress relief.
If you're not into traditional exercise (i.e., pumping up in the gym or running on somebody's treadmill), you can explore other creative ways to incorporate fitness, such as a dance class, walking instead of driving to certain places, taking on Pilates, going for a bike ride, or twisting up in some aerial silks. No matter what size, shape, or lifestyle, adding fitness and wellness habits to your day is a no-brainer when it comes to success.
No matter what walk of life or stage you're in, at least one of these habits could take you that much closer to the life of your dreams. Take a nod from women who have shown that we can continue to be our ancestor's wildest dreams, one step at a time.
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Featured image by alex starnes on Unsplash