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The Perfect Galentine’s Day Gift Guide, According To A Shopping Expert
Lover girls, tap in. Galentine’s Day season has officially arrived.
Traditionally, February marks a time of year that’s been reserved for romantic love and those who are in committed relationships — but single girls need love too. Gathering the girls on or before Valentine’s Day takes a spin on the holiday’s conventions, providing a space for women to come together in celebration of sisterhood and friendship; no matter their relationship status.
Hosting your girlfriends for brunch, a 90’s rom-com marathon, with (lots of) wine, is a special way to celebrate the ladies that have held you through thick and thin.
And no need to come empty-handed. To help, we’ve tapped Marissa Kearney, creator of the viral social platforms, TargetWhileBlack and RetailWhileBlack for her top recommendation on gifts for your gals this Galentine’s Day.
Courtesy of Marissa Kearney
Since 2020, retail shopping expert Marissa Kearney has been bridging the gap between retailers and consumers through her viral social platforms, TargetWhileBlack and RetailWhileBlack. Dedicated to highlighting the best Black-owned and Black-founded brands from big-box retailers, including Target, Nordstorm, HomeGoods, Walmart, JCPenney, and more, Marrisa has garnered a community of over 550k followers and counting.
Understanding the importance of representation in the retail space, Marrisa shares how “Buying Black” is one of the greatest acts of love we can show each other. “It’s been so refreshing to walk into stores like Target and see items that reflect who we are and what we love,” she tells xoNecole. “It makes you feel like you're finally getting a regular shopping experience; like you don't have to go digging to find things that look like you.”
Ready to spread the love? Here, Marissa drops her favorite Black-owned products to make your Galentine’s Day one to remember.
Love Jones Candle
Frères Branchiaux
Love Jones Candle
Want to light up the night and set the vibe? Marrissa recommends this soy candle from Frères Branchiaux to do the trick.
Galentine’s Gift Bag
Black Paper Party
Galentine's Bag
Bag secured. Black Paper Party’s decorative designs are the perfect way to pack your gifts and deliver them in style.
Rose & Geranium Sea Salt Bar Soap
Iyoba
Rose & Geranium Sea Salt Bar Soap
As Marissa mentions, every woman deserved to be pampered. Grab a bar of Iyoba’s calming sea salt soap as a treat to your girlfriends or yourself.
Faux Mink Lashes
Luna Magic
Faux Mink Lashes
Marissa says these lashes from Luna Magic are “the perfect present” for a friend who likes to keep their face beat. Pick up a pair—or two—to make their look complete.
Vegan Sweet & Salty Organic Popcorn
Tabitha Brown For Target
Vegan Sweet & Salty Organic Popcorn
Our fairy god-auntie, Tabitha Brown, just dropped the tastiest (vegan!) snacks to hit the shelves. Add a bag to your charcuterie spread; the ladies won’t be able to put them down.
'Shine' Pillow Pink
Pillowscript
'Shine' Pillow Pink
What woman doesn’t love words of affirmation? This accent pillow from Pillowscript is not only adorable but will give your bestie the perfect pop of color and positivity to her living space.
Hella Awkward Card Game
Hella Awkward Card Game
Turn your Galentine’s into a game night. Put the phones away and break the ice with the new card game, Hella Awkward.
"Black Plum" by Craig
Puzzles of Color
"Black Plum" by Craig
We may live in a digital world, but the joy that comes from analog play never goes out of style. Pick up the pieces of this puzzle and gift it to your gal who loves a good challenge.
Casablanca Eau de Parfum
Brown Girl Jane
Casablanca Eau de Parfum
There’s no better way to say, “I love you, girl,” than through the gift of scent. Brown Girl Jane’s Casablanca fragrance is the perfect way to show your bestie that she deserves all the finer things in life; and more.
Black Girl Magic Rosé Wine
McBride Sisters Black Girl Magic
Black Girl Magic Rosé Wine
To Marissa, the perfect girl's night is not complete without a glass of wine (or two). Keep the libation in rotation and sip slow with the crowd-favorite Black Girl Magic Rosé Wine.
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Featured image by Prostock-Studio/Getty Images
Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
How This New Bond Repair Line Transformed One Mother's Postpartum Shedding Into The Ultimate Curl Comeback
This article is in partnership with SheaMoisture
For Crystal Obasanya, her wash day woes came shortly after her son did. The beauty and lifestyle content creator had been natural for years, but during postpartum, she quickly learned about one reality many mothers can relate to experiencing: postpartum hair loss. “Sis had thinning hair. Sis had split ends,” she shared about her hair changes in a Reel via xoNecole.
Over a year into her postpartum journey, Crystal explained she also had dry, brittle hair, noting that keeping it hydrated before pregnancy had already been “a task.” The 4C natural recalled going from thick hair during pregnancy to a thin hairline due to postpartum shedding as “devastating.” When it came to strengthening and revitalizing her hair, the new SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection was just the thing she needed to elevate her damaged coils to revive and thrive status and get them poppin' again.
SheaMoisture is providing us with the cheat code for transforming dry and damaged strands into thriving and deeply nourished crowns. By unveiling their 4-step hair system, the SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection is equipping you with the tools to reverse signs of hair damage caused by protective styling, heat, and color and is uniquely formulated for Type 3 and 4 hair textures.
The haircare system revives damaged natural hair by repairing and rebuilding broken hair bonds through a game-changing combination of HydroPlex Technology and AminoBlend Complex, a unique blend of fortifying amino acids formulated specifically for curly and coily hair. Scientifically proven to reduce breakage by 84% and make your hair six times stronger (vs. non-conditioning shampoo), the collection infuses your hair with the nourishment it craves and the strength it deserves.
All five products of the SheaMoisture Bond Collection are infused with natural strengthening ingredients like Amla Oil and fair-trade shea butter. The collection consists of the 4-step breakage-fighting Bond Repair system, as well as the Bonding Oil.
“When trying it out, I quickly noticed that my hair felt revived and renewed, and my curls were so hydrated,” Crystal said while using the Amla-infused Bond Repair Leave-In Conditioner. “I also felt my hair strands were stronger.” So much so that the influencer felt brave enough to get her hair braided shortly thereafter. “I can definitely say that I will be keeping it in my hair wash routine,” she added in the caption of her Reel about her positive experience using the products.
SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection is making bond-building a key player in your wash day routines and the purveyor of life for thirsty manes. Because who doesn't want stronger, shinier, happier hair?
Step One: Bond Repair Collection Shampoo
Rejuvenate your hair with SheaMoisture Bond Repair Shampoo, your go-to solution for luscious locks. Packed with hella hydration power, this shampoo adds moisture by 60% while removing buildup without stripping your strands. This shampoo gently cleanses impurities while significantly enhancing shine, smoothness, and softness.
The Bond Repair Collection Shampoo is the first step in the 4-step Bond Repair system, all of which are powered by the uniquely formulated AminoBlend, and HydroPlex, SheaMoisture’s technology that rebuilds hair strength at its core.
Step Two: Bond Repair Collection Conditioner
Tailored to repair styling damage, this creamy conditioner locks in 12x more moisture than standard non-conditioning shampoos, boosting damaged hair strength by 1.5x with significantly less breakage. The creamy SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection Conditioner deeply hydrates, enhances manageability, and leaves your hair looking healthier and shinier.
Step Three: Bond Repair Collection Masque
This Ultra Moisturizing reparative masque is a moisture-rich game-changer for those dealing with the aftermath of hair damage caused by styling. The SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection Masque delivers 13 times more moisture compared to non-conditioning shampoos, ensuring your hair feels nourished and soft. Designed to repair and rejuvenate, this masque significantly strengthens damaged hair — making it twice as strong while reducing breakage.
Step Four: Bond Repair Collection Leave-In Conditioner
Elevate your curl game with SheaMoisture’s Bond Repair Collection Leave-In Conditioner. Lightweight and hydrating, the Bond Repair Leave-In Conditioner provides 12x more moisture than non-conditioning shampoos and tames frizz with 24-hour humidity control. Designed to define curls and coils, the leave-in conditioner enhances softness and shine allowing you to detangle effortlessly.
Bonding Oil
The SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection Bonding Oil is a multitasking all-in-one formula that acts as a heat protectant and provides the hair with moisture, strength, shine, damage protection, and intense nourishment. This lightweight oil not only offers 24-hour frizz and humidity control but also fortifies your tresses, making them up to 5 times stronger with significantly less breakage.
Featured image courtesy
Looking for ways to level up your solo sex sessions or your partnered sex play? Entering the wonderful world of arousal oils might be exactly what the doctor ordered. As its name suggests, arousal oil arouses. And they might very well be the pleasurable vessel through which your mind-blowing orgasms can be beckoned. Specifically, arousal oils are a pleasure-enhancing sex lubricant intended to increase the sensitivity to your nipples, your vulva, or your clitoris, just to start.
With an ingredient list that can include the likes of CBD, ashwagandha, and essential oils, arousal oils act as an aphrodisiac in a bottle, maximizing intensity and heightening the levels of pleasure you feel, thereby making your climax that much more attainable.
Keep reading for our selection of some of the best arousal oils in the game right now.
Bloomi Luxe Arousal Oil
Described as a "sensual pleasure oil," the Luxe Arousal Oil by Bloomi is clean with plant-derived organic ingredients. With 2-4 pumps, a gentle massage with this oil-based intimacy oil is formulated to intensify pleasure to your clitoris, your vulva, your thighs, or anywhere else you care to use it, before and during the act.
Foria Awaken Arousal Oil
Not only do reviewers rave about the "incredible o's" from Awaken Arousal Oil, but this best-seller is also known for its sensuous aroma, slip, and feel. With the uncanny ability to enhance sensations, users of the product have reported reinvigorated orgasms and renewed sex lives. And all we have to say is, say less.
Mood Maker Pleasure-Enhancing Intimacy Oil for Couples
Amazon
The Mood Maker had us at hello. Christina Aguilera's sex oil is where luxury and intimacy meet. Thanks to the relaxation facilitated by magic mushrooms and pleasure-enhancing adaptogens, the Mood Maker lays the groundwork for easeful foreplay, sex, and even an encore. With its texture like silk and warm scent, the oil effortlessly sets the perfect mood for pleasure play and allows your body to follow suit.
Lure Deluxe Intimacy Oil
Sultry, clean, and moisturizing are the cornerstones of this intimacy oil. The oil is formulated with organic ingredients like MCT coconut oil and CBD, so there is no need to worry about throwing off your pH balance or leaving behind a sticky residue when using it for intimate moments. The silky texture provides a sensual slip that is all gas no brakes, creating a slip n' slide glide during partner play, as well as solo play.
Bonus points: since it's all-natural, it's also oral-friendly. So Deluxe Intimacy Oil is queening-approved.
Green Compass Intimacy Oil
Green Compass
Entice and awaken your pleasure and your senses with the Intimacy Oil by Green Compass. An intimacy oil made for every body, this oil is fragrance-free, paraben-free, and silicone-free and formulated with plant-based and organic ingredients. With ingredients like organic hemp flower extract, coconut oil, and jojoba oil, the pleasure felt and experienced in intimate areas becomes even more intense upon application.
FOCL CBD Arousal Oil
Loved by users for its "perfect texture," its "warm wonderful feeling," and the fact that it's "non-irritating," the CBD Arousal Oil by FOCL is definitely worthy of a spot in your tox boy. Like other CBD oils, the hemp-derived product is said to ease tension and promote blood flow, which are major keys to enhancing and maximizing your sexual pleasure.
Sensuva On Arousal Oil
Amazon
Looks like we saved the best for last. Available in Lite, Original, and Ultra to give you the ability to choose the intensity that suits your intimate moments best, the On Arousal Oil by Sensuva is said to be one of the most powerful arousal oils on the market with good reason. With a "unique, buzzing vibration sensation on the clitoris," in 1-2 drops, On Arousal delivers more sensation during sex, helps women achieve orgasms quicker and more intensely, and can also help curb any issues with vaginal dryness.
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