
This Former Flight Attendant’s Daughter Inspired Her to Create An Upscale Spa and Party Planning Company

Many people decide to go the entrepreneur route for a number of reasons, whether they have a very lucrative idea or they have a passion for something. For Jean Noisette, her decision to pursue entrepreneurship was all thanks to her 12-year-old daughter, the driving force behind her creating Dazzle Me Parties, a popular event space for young girls and teens.
After noticing her daughter's lack of confidence, Jean developed Dazzle Me Parties as a way for girls to come together in a fun environment while learning team-building exercises that boost self-esteem.
Since 2012, Dazzle Me Parties have been taking over the Atlanta area with their girl-power-themed parties that leave girls feeling beautiful and confident. Jean recently took the time to chat with xoNecole and open up about her mommy/daughter business and personal relationship, as well as the importance of empowering girls at a young age.
How did you come up with the concept for Dazzle Me Parties?
Having my daughter. I noticed her interaction [with others]. It wasn't what I was used to; she was very quiet and just stayed to herself. So, when she started transitioning into the school system after moving from Ohio to here (Atlanta), I noticed she was being held back, and it was just that confidence wasn't there. It rang a bell to put her into a [different] environment.'
I looked all over and searched and couldn't find anything and I just felt really compelled to start something on my own, something where girls can come and unwind, learn, and do things in a more fun-filled way [and] seeing beauty stemming from the inside out. I always wanted to open up something on my own, as well as for my daughter. She was my inspiration.
What was the transition like from being a flight attendant to a business owner?
It was very hard. For so long, I was afraid of sharing my story because I never wanted to make it seem easy [because] it takes a lot. I never wanted to go into something where I made a lot of money, which I know sounds weird, but I wanted to do something that I loved and [that] made it a lot easier. It takes a lot of passion, a lot of missing events, a lot of time away from your family. That was the most challenging, learning how to balance home and family life and my work.
"That was the most challenging, learning how to balance home and family life and my work."
How does your daughter like working with you?
She loves it. Believe [it] or not, she can run this place with her eyes closed. She's really good with the children. We have Dazzle Me Dolls and with the Dazzle Me Dolls, they do a lot of mentorship programs with her as well as other children, so she is very involved. She was just telling me, "Mom, what about the tomboys? Everything is pink and girly, you need to do something like this." So she's really our go-to whenever we want to get new ideas and stay current in what's going on with the pre-teens.
What is a typical day like for you at Dazzle Me Parties?
Even if we are slow, it's never slow in my life. Before anything, I'm a mom and I have a lot of things going on in my life with my children and different activities, but a normal day for me is constantly looking for ways to grow the business. I'm researching, I'm networking, and I'm going to areas looking for different businesses to see how we can collaborate. I take all of my own phone calls so whenever we're not here, it's always transferred to my cell phone so we're at arms' reach constantly.
Answering my phone calls, booking, scheduling, payroll, we do it all. But that's another thing, I don't think that's a good thing. In having a business, you need to know how to let go and hire the right people and let them do their job so that's another thing that we're working on. I have a phenomenal manager, so a lot of things I'm learning to be freed from.
How do you incorporate girl empowerment with your parties?
To be honest with you, that's our first priority, and I know a lot of people say that but we live by that. I know they say not to mix business and pleasure, but I believe in that to a certain extent. We're a family, and we build each other up and a lot of things that I've learned in building the business, I like to know what are their dreams. What are their goals? And with that, I am able to build them up and girls are telling me, "Hey Ms. Jean, next year I want to do this." We make sure that we help them work towards that and, no matter what, we're learning from one another.
What do you want your daughter to take away from her experience working with you?
I just want her to see that we're living in an era where, and I really hate to say this because we're really hard on the millennials, but like instant gratification—that was one of my problems because you can't get it instantly. I want her to see that she needs to work hard for what she wants.
"I want her to see that she needs to work hard for what she wants."
Nothing is gonna come easy and I'm a tough-love type of person so I want to show her if you work hard, this is what you're gonna get and when you don't work hard, you're not. So taking away from that, I want her to build self-esteem and feel confident in herself and to know that anything she chases, she can have and I know it sounds cliché, but it's not as easy as it sounds. I don't think people understand the work that goes into being successful and I want to show her that.
*Some answers have been edited and condensed for clarity
For more about Jean and Dazzle Me Parties, follow her @dazzlemeparties or book an upcoming event at Dazzlemeparties.com.
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London Alexaundria is the contributing editor for xoNecole. She is an alum of Clark Atlanta University, where she majored in Mass Media Arts and has worked in journalism for over ten years. You can follow her on Instagram and TikTok @theselfcarewriter
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Tracee Ellis Ross Is Still Living A 'Robust' Life Despite Sometimes Grieving Not Being Partnered
Tracee Ellis Ross sat down with former first lady Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson for their IMO podcast to have a candid discussion about dating, marriage, and family. At 52, the beloved actress is single, but is still open to finding her person. However, she realizes that she has to navigate dating differently, describing herself as a "unicorn."
“I’m a very unique sort of unicorn of a woman, so it's gonna take a unique person,” she explained. "And in the meantime, I've really learned how to live my life and enjoy it and not sit around waiting."
Calling herself a "choiceful woman," she has had to push against culture norms and found that many of her experiences with men around her age were challenging due to the toxic masculinity they had been raised in. Many of their views about relationships conflicts with how she lives her life, so she tends to date younger.
“It's not just that I'm older. I’m also very embodied. I am a full, very whole person who knows myself, who is in charge of my life and who lives a very full, just robust life," she said.
Regardless if they're younger or older, Tracee has made it clear that she isn't settling and won't be in a relationship for the sake of having a partner. Even when loneliness creeps.
“As much as grief does surface for me around not having children and not having a partner, I still wouldn’t want the wrong partner. At all, I’m not interested in that. You have to make my life better, it can’t just be ‘I’m in a relationship just to be in a relationship,” she said.
Fans have watched pieces of Tracee's life played out on social media and TV. Just one look at her Instagram, you see that the black-ish star lives her life to fullest and it's filled with fashion, family, and all-round fabulousness.
"Even though the grief does emerge, and that comes, and I hold that, I think of what I’ve done. I think I woke up every morning trying to do my best. I didn’t wake up one morning and be like I’m gonna mess this day up. So I must be where I’m supposed to be.”
She added, “And sometimes I think of all of the things I’ve done—the courage that I’ve had to have, what I had to learn to how to navigate as a single person with no one to hide behind. It's built a really beautiful experience around me and I have incredible friends."
The Black Mirror actress has spoken about dating before and has always stated that she doesn't allow singleness stop her from living her best life.
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