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Beauty And Fashion Influencer Candace Marie Shows Us How To Turn Braids Into A Work Of Art


"Episode 1 Hair Me Out"

This post is in partnership with Ulta Beauty.

Candace Marie, like many Black women, has been on a journey with her hair. From hot combs to cornrows, she’s tried and done it all. As fate would have it, hair has become her signature ingredient, and if you follow her, you know her style switch-ups are anything but basic (trust me, she never disappoints!)


During the very first episode of our “Beautiful Soul” series in partnership with Ulta Beauty, xoNecole founder Necole Kane sat down with Candace as she puts a sweet spin on her cornrows. Before braiding the top of her braids into a heart pattern, Candace shows us how she preps her hair, adding a surge of moisture and scalp protection. Once the braids are complete, she’ll then walk us through how she maintains and wraps her hair to keep the style protected and looking fresh.

The social media consultant and influencer has an impressive career in luxury fashion, having lent her talents to big brands like Prada, Parkwood, and Barney’s New York. She eventually took a leap of faith and became an entrepreneur, launching her own brand. She’s also giving back through her organization Black In Corporate, which aims to create a safe space for Black women and men who seek relief, support, and a sense of community within their jobs. Candace is one of Ulta Beauty’s MUSE 100 honorees, which celebrates 100 inspiring Black voices in beauty. Ulta Beauty recognizes Candace as a luminous leader. She’s taking her years of experience in corporate luxury fashion and sharing it to help other Black creatives succeed.

Watch as Necole and Candace chat through their most cherished hair memories and can’t-live-without routine in this fun “Get Ready With Me” segment.

Scroll through the gallery below to shop the Ulta Beauty products Candace’s used in her tutorial.

Extreme Anti-Snap Anti-Breakage Conditioner

Redken's Extreme Anti-Snap Anti-Breakage Leave-In Conditioner is a leave-in hair treatment that smooths the cuticle and helps fortify damaged or brittle hair that is prone to breakage. This professional product leaves hair healthy, shiny, and resilient.

Redken
$27

Jojoba Oil Serum

Ulta Beauty

Smelling like heaven, PATTERN's Jojoba Oil Hair Serum helps to create a sacred space for your scalp. It's a super lightweight, residue-free blend of beautiful oils like Safflower Oil, Jojoba Oil, Rosehip Oil, Olive Oil & Lavender Oil.

Pattern Beauty
$25

Soft Hair, Don't Care Haitian Moringa Oil Sleek + Chic Edge Gel

Soft Hair, Don't Care Haitian Moringa Oil Sleek + Chic Edge Gel

Kreyòl Essence's Soft Hair, Don't Care Haitian Moringa Oil Sleek + Chic Edge Gel helps to "lay your edges" without flakiness and drying agents that damage the delicate hairs at the temple.

Kreyol Essence
$22

Edge Tool

Ulta Beauty

Pattern Beauty Edge Tool

Super solid yet perfectly delicate, the PATTERN Edge Tool is the new essential to add to your routine for endless swoops and swirls.

Pattern Beauty
$12

Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment

Briogeo's Scalp Revival Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment Serum is a soothing and detoxifying scalp treatment clinically shown to increase scalp hydration by up to 142%.

Briogeo
$32

Mousse + Volumizing Foam

Nexxus Mousse+ Volumizing Foam helps to maintain full-bodied styles, lifts fine hair and retains hair's natural movement.

Nexxus
$16.99

Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend

This non-greasy, lightweight formula by Melanin Haircare is designed to soften, nourish and seal your hair in the seemingly violent heat. These oils were specifically curated because of their ability to penetrate the hair shaft in order to nourish and rebuild.

Melanin Haircare
$18

Biolage All-In-One Coconut Infusion Multi-Benefit Spray

All-In-One Coconut Infusion Multi-Benefit Spray

Biolage All-In-One Multi-Benefit Spray infused with coconut oil is for everyone, everywhere, and every time. No matter the hair texture or hair moment, this multi-tasking spray is your new go to for controlled, healthy looking hair.

Biolage
$22

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Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Relationship Timeline

Sterling K. Brown and Ryan Michelle Bathe are one of our favorite Hollywood couples. We can't get over their adorable moments together on the red carpet and on social media. While they're both from St. Louis, they didn't meet until college, which they both attended Stanford. And the rest is as they say, history. Read below as we dive into their decades-long relationship.

Mid to Late1990s: Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Meet

Sterling and Ryan met as freshmen at Stanford University. "We were in the same dorm freshman year...that's kind of how we met," Ryan said in an interview with ET. "I was mesmerized," she said after watching him audition for the school play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Sterling revealed that The First Wives Club star was dating someone else, so they started off as friends.

"She got cast in the play as well, and we would ride bikes to rehearsal, and we would just talk. We found out that we were both from St. Louis. We didn't know that we were both from St. Louis, like, our parents went to rival high schools. We were born in the same hospital. Like, we were friends," he said.

The first few years of their relationship involved many breakups and makeups. However, they ended up graduating and attended NYU's Tisch Grad Acting Program together.

Early 2000s: Sterling K. Brown Tells Ryan Michelle Bathe She's 'The Love Of My Life'

The Paradise star opened up about telling Ryan that she was the one. "We broke up for three and a half years before we came back into each other's lives," he said. "She was on the treadmill working out, and I had this epiphany, 'I have to go tell this woman she's the love of my life.'"

"I go to her apartment, I tell her, and she's like, 'Well, I'm working out right now,' and I was like, 'No, I can see that—I'll just talk to you while you're on the treadmill,' and she's like, 'Well, I feel like going outside. So I'm gonna go on a run,'" he continued. "So I'm like dressed [in a suit], and she starts running through Koreatown, and I start running along with her. Brother had to work, but it was well worthwhile."

2006: Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Tie The Knot

The St. Louis natives eloped in 2006 and a year later held a larger ceremony. According to the bride, the best part of their wedding was the food. "The best thing about it was the food," she told ET.

"Can I just say, sometimes you go to weddings, and you get the winner-winner chicken dinner and you're like, 'I pay. OK, it's fine.' But I wanted people to remember their experience -- their culinary experience. So I was happy about that. The food was good."

2011: Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Welcome Their First Child

In 2011, Sterling and The Endgame actress welcomed their first son, Andrew. In a 2017 tweet, Sterling revealed they had a home birth. "An unexpected home delivery is something my wife and I went through ourselves with our first born, so this was round 2 for me!" he wrote while referring to a scene involving his character Randall, in This Is Us.

2012: Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Appear On-screen Together

A year later, the couple acted together on the Lifetime series Army Wives.

2015: Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Welcome Their Second Child

In 2015, Sterling and Ryan welcomed another son, Amaré. Sterling shared an Instagram post about their latest addition to the family. "1st post. 2nd child. All good! #imoninstagram," the Atlas star wrote.

2016: Ryan Michelle Bathe Joins Sterling K. Brown On 'This Is Us'

Ryan guest appears on her hubby's show, This Is Us.

Sterling K. Brown Reveals Ryan Michelle Bathe's Mother Didn't Like Him At First

During their sit-down interview for the Black Love series, Sterling revealed that Ryan's mother wasn't a fan of him, which caused friction in their relationship.

2024: Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Explain How Jennifer Lopez Once Broke Them Up

While visiting The Jennifer Hudson Show, Sterling and Ryan share their hilarious Jennifer Lopez break-up story. "We had just gone out, we were living in New York City, we were in grad school, and we had gone to see a Broadway play and we came back to my place and my roommate was playing the ["Love Don't Cost A Thing"] video on MTV," Sterling said.

"Now I'm a fan of Jennifer Lopez's dancing, and I was watching the video and I knew my young...21, 22-year-old girlfriend was looking at me watch the video. And I know I'm not supposed to have a reaction. In trying NOT to have a reaction, what had happened was, my eyes began to water."

Ryan jumped in, "Otherwise known as, TEARS! I turn around and my boyfriend is weeping, tears like big fat [tears]. And I'm looking and she's just a shakin' and a shimming, and he's just crying. I said 'Oh no, I got to go.' "

2024: Sterling K. Brown & Ryan Michelle Bathe Launch Their Podcast, We Don't Always Agree

The couple launched their podcast, We Don't Always Agree, where they disclose more intimate details about their love story.

Feature image by Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

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