Everything You Need To Know About Reflect Beauty Awards: The Celebration Created For Us By Us
This post is in partnership with Reflect Beauty.
The Inaugural Reflect Beauty Awards 2019youtu.be
#RepresentationInBeautyMatters and we all deserve an equal opportunity to not only embrace and find confidence in the hair and skin we're in, but to see ourselves reflected in popular media. And while we've witnessed an explosion in available makeup shades, and products for a variety of hair textures and skin needs, there's still work to be done, progress to be made, and real, lasting beauty inclusivity to be achieved.
Change is not an option here, it's a necessity-- for our quality of life, and for the benefit of the world.
A Seat at the Table
They say the most effective way for a woman of color to affect change, is to not just secure a seat at the table, but to build her own table! And the inaugural Reflect Beauty Awards is such a table--built for us, by us, to achieve real, lasting beauty equity worldwide. We are a force: unapologetically showing up as our authentic selves, drinking our water, eating healthy, not skipping leg day, reading our books, and loving ourselves. We are making the shift from being part of a collective beauty standard to realizing that we are our own beauty standard.
We are YOU. And the Reflect Beauty Awards is our table, so pull up a chair!
The Reflect Beauty Awards
During the next four weeks, we'll be honoring the very best in makeup, hair, and skin products catering to the diversity of pigments, textures, and tones that accurately reflect our inner and outer beauty.
We're celebrating the brands that celebrate us!
Our Reflect Beauty influencers and editors will be tackling our biggest beauty-related issues and discussing the most effective solutions and winning products to get the job done. The best part? Our influencers are choosing and sharing only the products THEY love! This is not a drill! This is not a pay-to-play situation. This is an educational tool, a platform for each of us to learn, and share our experiences, frustrations, and triumphs of being our naturally gorgeous selves!
In addition to having some of the biggest voices in beauty joining the conversation, like Jessica Pettway, Leslie Alvarado, and Sandy Lin, and top publishers on board like us, xoNecole, HypeHair, and 50 Shades of Snail driving the message, partner brands like Clinique and UOMA, are collectively helping to pave the road to inclusive beauty for all!
Stay Tuned!
We've planned a fun, fabulous and educational month for you, and we truly hope you'll join us. Please stay tuned for plenty of amazing tutorials, wholly relevant articles, weekly beauty box giveaways, and even a few special guests!
First up, Makeup Week!
#RepresentationInBeautyMatters #PullUpAChair #ReflectBeautyAwards
Featured image via Reflect Beauty
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Rihanna Talks Shedding Expectations And Finding Balance As A Mother
Since becoming a mother in 2022, Rihanna has defined parenthood by her terms and hopes to pass that sense of autonomy on to her children.
For Vogue China’s April cover story, Rihanna shared her perspective on raising her two sons with A$AP Rocky, and how she hopes to preserve her children’s uniqueness, devoid of societal expectations.
"The most beautiful thing...is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity,” she told the publication. “Which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group."
The “Work” artist, known for her trendsetting style and captivating persona, expressed her desire to support children in fully embracing their individuality and encouraging them to be whoever they want to be. "It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be,” she says.
She continues, “They should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way."
From shattering music charts to shaking up the beauty industry, Rihanna has forged a path that has since created the “dream” life we see today. One that she says has made her parents proud of.
“I’m living my dream,” she continued. “My parents were very proud of that because they just wanted me to be happy and successful. So, I think the key thing is to find some kind of balance. Yes, balance is important. Do this and you get the best of both worlds. You can write your own life the way you want, and it will be beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everyone’s expectations and start living your own story.”
Rihanna, who shares sons, RZA, 23 months, and Riot, 8 months, with rapper A$AP Rocky, recently shared her vision for expanding her family in the future in Interview Magazine.
When stylist Mel Ottenberg asked about the number of additional children she hoped to have, Rihanna replied, "As many as God wants me to have.”
"I don't know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl,” she adds. “But of course, if it's another boy, it's another boy."
Featured image by Neil MockfordWireImage
