It's right about the time when we start to notice frost on our cars in the morning or we're not able to go outside in the evening without putting a coat on, that we start to pull out our teapots and packages of hot cocoa more regularly. For most of us, it's because warm drinks are an easy—and tasty—way to take the chill off. But did you know that there are proven health benefits that come with drinking warm (and hot) liquids?
According to one study, habitual tea drinking has a way of improving your brain power. Also, when you drink hot water, it is able to do everything from clearing up nasal congestion and calming your nervous central system to improving blood circulation throughout your body and decreasing your stress levels.
The Best Hot and Warm Beverages for Fall and Winter
That's why, on this very chilly fall (or winter) day, I thought it would be a good idea to give a personal shout-out to some of the warm drinks that not only taste good, they are really good for you too. Oh, and as a bonus, I also included some recipes, just in case you want to go the homemade route on any of them (which will make them taste even better!).
1. Ginger Tea
I'm one of those people who gets motion sick whenever I ride in the backseat of a car, so ginger and I have been rolling deep for many years now. Not only does it help to ease dizziness and an unsettled stomach that is oftentimes associated with motion sickness, ginger also helps to relieve nausea that may come as the result of pregnancy or even chemotherapy. Some other benefits are it reduces blood pressure and blood sugar levels, relieves menstrual cramps and headaches, and strengthens your immune system as well. All of these are solid reasons to drink a cup or two of warm ginger tea, at least a couple of times a week, if you can.
Try This: Immune Boosting Ginger Tea Recipe
2. Lemon Water
Lemons are loaded with vitamin C. And since vitamin C is the ultimate kind of antioxidant, you can understand why lemon water is the ultimate warm drink; especially during cold and flu season. If you're looking to detox your system, improve the quality of your skin, reduce kidney stones, or even simply freshen your breath—warm lemon water is just what your body needs. Some other awesome things about lemon water are the flavonoids in it can increase blood circulation while increasing oxidative stress throughout your body too.
Try This: Hot Lemon Water Recipe
3. Turmeric Latte
When it comes to turmeric, make sure that you get a tea that says it contains curcumin because that is the active ingredient that supplies you with all of the benefits that I'm about to share. Turmeric tea is great because it boosts immunity; protects against liver damage; helps to keep asthma at bay; fights cancer cells, and it also reduces arthritis-related symptoms.
If a part of you is hesitant to give this a try because you're wondering if it's a little too spicy for your taste, all you need to do is add some almond milk and cinnamon and—voila! Now your tea has turned into a latte.
Try This: Turmeric Latte (Golden Milk)
4. Dark Hot Chocolate
If there's a signature drink for the fall and winter seasons, it's got to be hot chocolate. The cacao that is in it is packed with antioxidants. Dark chocolate also improves heart health and cognitive function; is great for maintaining gut health; reduces blood sugar levels; fights off free radicals, and it contains copper, iron and magnesium which is good for your hair and skin. Plus, dark chocolate is also known aphrodisiac (yes!).
Try This: The Best Hot Chocolate from Scratch
5. Chamomile and Lavender Tea
If you've got menstrual cramps, drink some chamomile tea. Want to relieve your cold symptoms? Drink some chamomile tea. If you've been having a hard time falling asleep, drink some chamomile tea. If you've got a stomachache, you're stressed out, or if you want to fight bodily inflammation, drink some chamomile tea. Yeah, chamomile tea is awesome. In fact, the only time you shouldn't drink it is if you've got severe allergies because sometimes it may have pollen in it that could trigger your symptoms.
Also, if you want to take chamomile to another level, add some lavender tea to it. Lavender contains antioxidants and volatile compounds that fight free radicals. Lavender also stimulates the release of certain neurotransmitters in your body so that you're able to feel calm and relaxed. It's the perfect tea to consume right before nighttime.
Try This: Lavender-Chamomile Herbal Tea Recipe
6. Earl Grey Hot Toddy
As someone who is a big fan of tea, I'll be the first to say that Earl Grey is one of the blander ones on the list. Still, it had to be mentioned because it contains the antioxidant catechin to protect your teeth, along with a citrus extract to keep your weight under control and properties that fight depression while giving you an energy boost at the same time. Something else that's cool about Earl Grey is the bergamot that's in it can improve your immune system and also cure a fever (if you happen to have one).
If you add some whiskey (which relieves stress, aids in digestion, and acts as an antiseptic and numbing agent if you've got a sore throat) and honey (which is loaded with antioxidants) to the tea, you've got a hot toddy on your hands that will stop pretty much every beginning stage of a cold in its tracks.
Try This: Earl Grey Hot Toddy Recipe
7. Matcha Tea
You probably already know that green matcha tea is a form of green tea. So, why should you go the matcha route? Basically, it's because one cup of it is the equivalent of ten cups of "regular" green tea. One example of what this means is matcha tea contains 137 times more antioxidants than the standard green tea brand does.
One other benefit worth mentioning is matcha strengthens your immune system. Not only that but, it contains L-theanine to improve your level of concentration; the catechin EGCg (epigallocatechin gallate) that reduces free radicals; contains properties to improve your mood while relaxing your body and, it's also got fiber, chlorophyll, and vitamins in it too.
Try This: Green Matcha Tea Recipe
8. Cinnamon Apple Cider
If you've always wondered what the difference is between apple juice and apple cider, basically cider is the unfiltered version of apple juice. You know what that means, right? When you drink cider, you're able to get more benefits from the apple itself. As far as what those benefits are—apple cider contains flavonoids that fight heart disease; fiber to fight constipation; iron to keep your blood healthy; potassium to strengthen your muscles, and pectin to absorb any bad cholesterol that may be in your system.
If you add a little cinnamon into the mix, its antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties can help to keep cold- and flu-causing germs from getting you sick all fall and winter long.
Try This: Spiced Hot Apple Cider Recipe
9. Vanilla Chai Tea
One of my personal favorite drinks would have to be vanilla chai tea, whether it's hot or cold. This type of tea is good for you because it's also loaded with antioxidants. Some other perks include the fact that vanilla chai tea has the ability to improve digestion, fight anxiety, reduce the risk of diabetes and, it has anti-inflammatory properties as well. Also, if you're someone who likes to get a caffeine fix every morning, but you want to cut back a bit, vanilla chai tea will give you a dose of caffeine, although not nearly as much as a regular cup of java does.
Try This: Vanilla Chai Tea Recipe
10. Mulled Wine
Believe you me, I've read enough comments on the xoNecole platform to know that y'all are big fans of wine; specifically, red wine. That's good to know because red wine contains the polyphenol resveratrol which helps to keep your heart healthy, protect against the development of breast and colon cancer cells and, it can even aid in the prevention of vision loss too. Red wine is also great because it raises the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in your system, improves how your lungs function, it protects your skin from UV sun ray damage (which can happen in hot and cold weather).
And just what turns a glass of wine into a hot cup of mulled wine? Usually some cinnamon, some cloves (cloves promote bone health, fight bacteria, and increase liver health), a little apple cider, and some oranges which are loaded with antioxidants. Maybe a few raisins for garnish as well. Make some tonight or impress some of your friends this weekend by creating a batch. It'll do your body—including your taste buds—a world of good!
Try This: Mulled Wine Recipe
Feature image by Shutterstock
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So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
It’s not like it has to be a bad thing. In fact, studies say that somewhere around 15 percent of engaged couples actually met through a friend. All I’m saying is, before you entertain someone’s “I’ve got someone I want you to meet” invitation, it would benefit you to interview them first — for the sake of all parties involved.
The questions that I recommend asking? The following six are what I think can get everyone on the same page, so that there is more pleasure than regret from the hook-up attempt.
1. Why Are They So Invested?
GiphyTwo things that I recently watched over again are the series Survivor’s Remorse (the writing is so damn good) and a movie called Trapped in Temptation (both are currently on Tubi). Something that both of them made me think about is the fact that motive reveals a lot when it comes to why people say and do the things that they do.
When it comes to the movie, specifically, without giving the film away — let me just say that, if you are in a relationship, be really careful about listening to individuals who try to talk you out of maintaining it. More times than not, the motive is shady as hell. And honestly, sometimes people who are close to obsessed with you being in one deserve a bit of side-eye too.
Now, if it’s someone who loves all things love, they are in love and they want you to experience something similar — that’s sweet. Just make sure that they are approaching the set up from a healthy space. What I mean by that is they don’t see singleness as some sort of relational handicap or they aren’t trying to override what you want for your life as if they somehow know better (there are so many ways to be a control freak, y’all).
Hmph. Now that I think about it — make sure that the set-up crew isn’t trying to use you to “save” some male friend or relative of theirs. I say that because I once knew a mother whose son had — count ‘em — 10 kids and she was FOREVER trying to get me to date him. Girl, that wasn’t for me. She was looking for a Holy Ghost Jr. for that child of hers. I’ll pass. HARD PASS.
Bottom line with this one — if someone wants to set you up with someone else, the first thing to ask is why? Make sure to really listen to what their answer is. Then pay attention to if your mind, body and spirit are at peace with their answer(s).
2. Do They Know What You Want?
GiphyI don’t know about y’all, but the people (and let’s be honest, by far, it’s usually women) who have tried to set me up with someone? They didn’t even know what my preferences or type was. Hell, they didn’t even know my thoughts or timeline as it relates to being in a serious relationship were either. And what that boils down to is they were trying to hook me up based on their agenda, not mine — and that usually meant that the guys who they came up with? Yeah…I was good on them. LOL.
Yeah, if someone wants to hook you up, you definitely should ask them if they know what you are looking for in a guy when it comes to his looks, personality, passions, spirituality, relational desires and goals, location, etc. Because, indeed, what is the point in going out with someone who is fine as hell and yet, you want kids and he doesn’t (or vice versa) or who has a great personality yet he isn’t even in the same ballpark of your spiritual beliefs?
If your friend really wants to help you out, valuing your time should come with that — and that means bringing someone into your life who complements your lifestyle. No wiggle room here.
3. Are They Aware of Your Deal-Breakers?
GiphyLast year, I wrote an article for the platform entitled, “Should Bad Sex Actually Be A Relationship Deal-Breaker?” The thing that I think needs to go on record about deal-breakers is they aren’t exactly standards that you have. No, a deal-breaker is something that can’t be worked out even after trying to negotiate or compromise. When it comes to relationships, a deal-breaker might be how long two people should date before becoming exclusive or getting engaged. Another deal-breaker might be if being religious is more important than being spiritual and how that manifests itself (church or no church, etc.). And yes, another deal-breaker may be what each other’s sexual needs and expectations are.
When someone is setting you up, it is imperative that they know about your standards. For instance, for me, I am not interested in dating a divorced person, pretty much ever (I Corinthians 7:10-11). I’ve had friends who have tried to hook me up with that demographic before and it has always been a moot effort. The fact that some of them have gotten frustrated with my convictions has absolutely nothing to do with me. Some have tried to get me to compromise my deal-breakers too — like a long-distance relationship. Is it a firm “naw”? No. However, it’s not really something that I am interested in, so why not just…recommend someone local?
Yeah, if someone thinks that they know you well enough to hook you up, they absolutely should be well-versed in what your deal-breakers are before they do. And if they’ve never asked, all they are doing is assuming — and we know what that typically means. LOL.
4. What Is Their Track Record?
GiphyIt’s kind of wild that we now live in a time when more couples meet online than they do through “old-fashioned ways” like via their friends (although some reports say that Gen Z is getting back to that) — and yet, here we are. Still, if you are willing to let someone play pseudo matchmaker in your life, you are well within your rights to inquire about their track record in that department. Have they hooked others up, successfully, before? Has any of their “Cupid work” caused both people to get exactly what they wanted out of the situation? If/when things went awry, why was that?
I know someone who is constantly trying to hook people up. Thing is, maybe 10-15 percent (no joke) of their efforts have proven to be positive and fruitful — and we’re talking about close to close to two decades of them doing it. Listen, time is too precious to be out here doing stuff ONLY to please other people. That said, if someone wants you to devote some time to one of their grand ideas, you are well within your rights to ask about their past and current success score when it comes to it.
5. Can They Keep Their Own Feelings Out of It?
GiphyWanna know if someone who is offering to do something for you is actually doing it more for themselves? If they try to make it be about them when things don’t go the way they would like, that is a dead ringer. An example? They post a message about you on social media and then question you about why you didn’t do the same thing in return. Another example? They do something for you and then throw it in your face during an argument. Still another example? They set you up with someone, it doesn’t work out, and suddenly you’ve put them in a weird spot. No dear — you put your own self in that position by trying to hook two people up in the first place.
I promise you, it will spare everyone unnecessary energy spent (or even drama experienced) if, before you agree to be hooked up, you get the matchmaker on record stating that they will keep their emotions out of it as much as possible. MEANING — they will do the introductions and then let the chips fall where they may. If they can’t do this, my two cents (save it or spend it) would be to decline the offer. Because all you need is someone texting you about why you haven’t called their cousin back or having an attitude with you when you break up with some guy at their church who they thought was the perfect catch (P.S. These aren’t hypothetical examples — LOL).
6. Will They Respect Your Boundaries? Start to Finish?
GiphyYeah, this final one is a biggie. Just because someone sets you up with another person, that doesn’t automatically or necessarily mean that they should have the right to the details of the dynamic. I don’t care if it’s the first date or the 10th date. I don’t care if you decide to just be sex buddies or to have a full-blown relationship. I don’t care if you stay together or break-up — it’s your relationship which makes it your business. Whatever you share is privileged data.
Yeah, I would say that probably the most challenging thing about being hooked up by someone you know is they have a tendency to think that they are a part of the relationship too — and that is a lie. If things go well beyond a couple of dates, you and the guy should discuss what you will both share with the person who introduced you and then agree to stick to that boundary, no matter what. It’s a great way to protect the dynamic, to keep “outside voices” from influencing the growth and to navigate how you want to move, moving forward.
Someone who hooked you up for the right reasons and knows how to honor limits? They will understand. Will they ask questions? Absolutely. Will they pry? Nah.
___
Should you sit and let someone hook you up? I mean, you never know how your blessing will come. Just make sure that they are prepared for you to do some digging into their mindset before they start sweetly meddling into your love life.
It’s only fair. Hell, and right. LOL.
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