Cassie Credits Alkaline Shower Filters & ‘Minding Her Business’ For Youthful Skin
Cassie Ventura--actress, singer, wife, mother, legend, and friend--has removed herself from the industry’s chaos in the best way. She packed her bags, married her bae, Alex Fine, who she shares two beautiful daughters with, and threw the deuces up at whatever was no longer serving her. Cassie and Alex, who wed in September 2019, welcomed daughters Frankie Stone in December 2019 and Sunny Cinco in March 2021.
Since, the beauty icon has kept a somewhat low profile, focusing on her family and a less indulgent lifestyle, even recently making a rare appearance opposite Chris Brown in his "Psychic" video. Despite opting for a quieter lifestyle, Cassie is always on board to chat about beauty, which thankfully, The Cut caught up with the singer to discuss all things from home life, advice she would give to herself, and her skincare routine. Keep reading for more.
Cassie on her morning routine:
Cassie has morning rituals that she sticks with, which include meditating and starting her morning with a cup of peppermint tea. “It calms my stomach, and it helps me recenter before the day starts. I’m also a huge water drinker. I have alkaline filters throughout our house. My favorite is the one in the shower, which has helped with the health of my skin and hair so much.”
Game changer?
Cassie also indulges in daily quiet time as a personal reboot. “Even if I only get three minutes to just be quiet, I believe in it. I think it’s important for my sanity.”
On motherhood:
“I actually repetitively remind myself to stay present. I never did that before,” she tells the mag. “I had a moment the other day where one of my daughters was on a rampage and I got really frustrated. My older daughter, Frankie, said, ‘Mommy, don’t forget to breathe.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ When you give them certain things, they give them back to you. It was wonderful to feel that from her. We sat, and she helped me breathe, and then I calmed down and I was fine.”
On advice to her younger self:
“Don’t worry so much because everything works itself out, and if you place yourself where you feel like you’re supposed to be, you’ll be fine. Doing things outside of your comfort zone is important, but doing things that aren’t right isn’t.”
On how she preserves her youthfulness:
“By minding [my] business. I don’t pass judgment on what people choose to do for themselves. I feel like there’s a lot to be said about people that live their lives and not everyone else’s.”
Cassie’s Skincare Routine:
Summer Fridays Super Amino Gel Cleanser, $35
Cassie always starts her morning with a double cleanse. She goes in with Summer Fridays’ restorative gel cleanser, an amino-acid blend that replenishes and protects the skin. “It’s really helped keep my skin clean without feeling overly dry,” she told The Cut.
Youth to the People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser, From $12
The next cleanser is her favorite, Youth to the People’s superfood cleanser, a gel with nourishing ingredients such as spinach, kale, and green tea, which soothe the skin while fighting signs of aging. On days when she’s rushing and doesn’t have time to double cleanse, this is the one cleanser she uses.
Buttah Skin Aloe Rose Refreshing Face Mist, $19
Cassie is not huge on using toner but is looking to work it into her routine with the help of Buttah's founder. The balancing spray acts as a toner by hydrating the skin with aloe vera and rosewater.
Ustawi Vitamin C Antioxidant Serum, $45
Next up is Ustawi serum, which is one she refuses to skip. “The products are made for melanin skin, and I’m obsessed,” she says. The oil-and-water-gel serum brightens the complexion and restores the skin’s natural glow.
Mario Badescu Herbal Hydrating Serum, $30
Cassie likes using hyaluronic acid–based serums like this one from Mario Badescu. It’s super-hydrating and boosts the skin’s production of collagen for a healthy glow.
Starface Hydro-Stars Party Pack - 32-Count, $11
When the inevitable breakout happens, Cassie busts out Starface pimple patches, which are dermatologist tested and absorb fluid from pimples to expedite the skin’s healing process. “Pimples are the absolute worst, and we’re all trying to get rid of them, but it’s okay to embrace them too,” she says.
Ustawi Baobab Fruit Ultra-Nourishing Moisturizer, $37
The final step in keeping her skin looking luminous is applying the Ustawi Baobab Fruit Ultra-Nourishing Moisturizer. Baobab is a natural African fruit that detoxifies and nourishes the skin. It leaves the complexion cushiony-smooth and targets hyperpigmentation.
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Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
Exclusive: Melanie Fiona On Making High-Vibrational Music & Saying Yes To Partnership
Melanie Fiona is back! After taking a little more than a decade-long hiatus, she has officially made her return to music and blessed us with two singles, “Say Yes” and “I Choose You.” While both singles are very different from each other, they both reflect who she is today and the type of music she wants to make. In our conversation, the mom of two expressed what she learned during her time away.
“It's interesting, even when I said it is like coming back, I don't ever feel like I really left because I was always still performing. I've still been public. It's not like I went into being this recluse person or version of myself, but the thing that I really learned in this process is that I think things take time,” Melanie says in a xoNecole exclusive.
“I think often we're so caught up in it, being on the timing of demand or popularity, or, like, striking while the iron is hot and the thing that I've learned is that everything is on God's time. That's it. Every time I thought I would have been ready, or, like, things were taking too long, I had to reship some things, personally, professionally, in my life. I also gave myself permission to make a living, not just make a living, but make a life for myself.”
Making a life for herself included getting married to Grammy-nominated songwriter Jared Cotter, starting a family, and embracing new landscapes, such as podcasting as a co-host of The Mama’s Den podcast. She also began doing more spiritual work and self-care practices like meditation, sound healing, Reiki, acupuncture, and boundary setting, which allowed her to get in touch with her inner voice.
“I wasn't putting out music, and I wasn't experiencing a number one record, but I was being a number one mom,” she says.
“I was experiencing things that were allowing me to heal and get in touch with myself so that I could make new music from a space of joy and freedom, and excitement again because I definitely feel like I did lose some excitement because of just politics and industry and what it can do to your mental health and even your physical health. So giving myself the space to really just say, ‘Hey, it's okay. Everything's right on time.’”
The joy and excitement are felt in one of two new singles, “I Choose You,” which is more of a lovers rock vibe, a tribute to Melanie’s Caribbean roots. While the Grammy award-winner is known for ballads like “It Kills Me” and “Fool For You,” she is becoming more intentional about the music she makes, calling it high-vibrational music. She says her music is a “reflection of my life,” as it captures every facet, from hanging out with friends to riding around in her car.
“Say Yes” has the classic R&B vibe Melanie is known for. However, both songs are inspired by her relationship. Melanie and Jared got married in December 2020, and the Toronto-bred artist dished on their relationship. Fun fact: he is featured in the “Say Yes” music video.
“When we first started dating, I had come into that relationship post a lot of self-work. I had gotten out of a long-term relationship, I had a year and a half to date and be by myself and do a lot of work on myself alone. And when we met, I remember feeling like this has to be my person because I feel it,” she says.
“And so when we went into that relationship, and we started dating, I was very clear. I was like, I know what I want. I'm very clear on what I need, and I'm not going to withhold my truth about myself in this process because of pride or fear of rejection. I know you love me, but I'm coming with my heart in my hand to let you know that if we're gonna get there, we have to put fear aside and say yes. So that was kind of like my open letter to him, which is why the video is us having a conversation.”
Melanie also shares that saying yes to her partner has empowered her in many ways, including motherhood and showing up for herself. Her new EP, also titled Say Yes, will be available at the top of 2025.
Check out the full interview below.
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The 'Success' Salary: Is $588,000 Per Year Reasonable For Black Women?
According to a recent survey by Empower, a financial services company, many Americans say a yearly salary of $270,214 means you’ve made it. It’s the kind of earnings that reflect success. That sum, which is three times more than the median household income, accounts for just 10% of U.S. households that earned more than $234,900 last year, according to CNBC. When broken down by age, millennials (ages 28 to 43) set their “success” salary at $180,865, while Gen Z (ages 18 to 27) set their expectations even higher. They said it would take $587,797 to be successful, according to the Empower findings.
The research also found that 49% of Americans feel “less financially successful than others,” which is “part of the reason they say they’d need such a high salary to feel accomplished, " Rebecca Rickert, head of communications at Empower, told CNBC.
In terms of overall net worth that defines a “successful” life, Gen Z noted the average at more than $9.4 million, while millennials noted more than $5.6 million. The numbers reflect unreasonable, pie-in-the-sky notions about success, with 47% indicating that “they’ll never achieve the level of success they’re seeking” and 42% of women considering themselves financially successful right now.
Black Women and the Wealth Disparity
Black women professionals, in particular, face a major challenge to this perception of a successful salary in the form of the wealth gap, earning 66 cents for every dollar white males make and earning $96 for every dollar their Black full-time counterparts make.
Black women's weekly median earnings were $935 in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is more than $44,800 gross yearly. Elder millennial women (ages 35 and older), as a whole, earned median weekly earnings of $1,160, which is more than $55,600 yearly. Gen Zers ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median weekly earnings at $720 (or more than $34,500 per year).
And of course, the salary increases based on education and experience, but numbers still did not reach the “success” salaries of respondents in the Empower survey.
Alternate Pathways to Wealth
For Black women, the traditional path of just keeping a “good job” for 30 years doesn’t align with the “success” notions from the Empower findings, however, there are other paths to wealth building. Based on the success of high-net-worth Black women, the common themes are ownership, investing, and entrepreneurship. Women like Oprah Winfrey, Sheila Johnson, Rihanna, Serena Williams, Emma Grede, Fawn Weaver, Iman Abuzeid, and several others, all have those three things in common.
While there are still very real barriers to Black women reaching a multi-million-dollar net worth (and the aforementioned women are indeed outliers), investing in stocks, real estate, art, and other methods of making your money work for you are ways to increase one’s income as a full-time employee. And, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, home equity has accounted for the largest share of Black wealth since the start of the 20th century.
Starting a lucrative side hustle, launching businesses, buying into a franchise, or owning a proprietary trademarked process or service can also be a great way to double or even triple your net worth.
Redefining Definitions of Success
While it is great to strive for wealth or riches, the way you define success is directly connected to your worldview and values. Not all of us link an abundance of money to success. The same respondents from the Empower research said their personal definition of success is “often at odds with what society prizes,” with 43% defining financial success as “having a certain amount of money or assets.”
Only 27% ranked “wealth” as the “highest measure of financial success,” with 59% stating that “happiness” is the most important benchmark (i.e., having the ability to spend money on the things and experiences that bring the most joy, doing what you love.) Thirty-five percent indicated success is defined by “the luxury of free time to pursue personal passions.”
If there's a yearly salary that denotes success, what happens if, when you finally achieve it, you can't really enjoy it? What do you think the salary of a "successful" person is? Is "success" truly defined by how much money you earn? The jury is out on that one.
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