Shondaland will be a little lonelier this fall after we've said au revoir to our fictional friends in the White House. Despite the unfortunate ending of the the 7-season ABC series, Scandal, Kerry Washington has our fall beauty routine "handled" with her latest collaboration with Neutrogena. Kerry's new beauty line, Force Of Nature, will be her second makeup release with the industry giant, and has a price point that won't break the bank.
Like her previous collection, this line was developed to accentuate the natural beauty of all shades of women. She told Allure:
"The first palettes that we did last season were essentials. It was the anti-stress palette with everything you need. But I feel our girls deserve a bit of drama as well, and I wanted to give them that this time around. I'm so inspired by our consumers; by all the multitasking, badass women who are courageously driving toward their dreams. I wanted to create a palette to acknowledge that power in our consumer — and I mean both men and women."
The Force of Nature Lip Palette features shade names like Soul, Heat, and Untamed, and Kerry's personal favorite, Rapture; all of which contribute to her overall message that we are all wildly beautiful in our own ways, even without makeup. She continued:
"One of the things I was thinking a lot about with the shade names for these palettes is the commitment to the whole system — not just beauty but also health and wellbeing. We shouldn't be wearing makeup because we feel less-than, but to enhance our natural beauty and our natural strength. Makeup is a tool that helps you to be the best version of yourself. It's about how you take control of your body as a beautiful work of art."
Despite the fact that many beauty companies are focusing their efforts on improving pigment, Kerry and Neutrogena have been working intensely to diversify shade range and promoting skin health through the use of products like hyaluronic acid, which in the past, was only used in luxury skincare products.
Kerry says that she takes her new position as Creator-In-Chief so seriously because she believes that wearing makeup should be a form of self-love, not self-loathing, and her mission is to share that message with the world.
"Part of it is taking a philosophical approach. I try not to wake up in the morning and say, 'I need to put on makeup because I can't let people see the real me.' I try to do it with the approach of self-love; that philosophy of 'I am enough, I am beautiful, and I don't need to do anything other than to be me and walk out the door.' When I choose products, I'm doing it for me and the benefits they'll give my skin as opposed to feeling like I won't be attractive without them."
"I love that we're playing on that idea that you can turn up the volume on what is natural."
Click through the slides below to get the details on both of Kerry's collections, available for purchase today!
Featured image by Walter McBride/WireImage
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To help you better understand why this was such a mental awakening for me, I first need to give a bit of my backstory. I’m in my late thirties. I’m an attorneyand a journalist. I own a home and have traveled the world extensively. Essentially, I’ve done everything in life I set out to do. However, when it comes to dating, I struggle. Not because there is anything wrong with me per se, but because my career and “lifestyle” often create problems in my romantic relationships.
View from my hotel room
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I’ve been told everything from, ‘I can’t continue to date you because you seem to choose your career over wanting to settle down and have kids’ by a man after only the second date to ‘Maybe if you just sat down somewhere for a while, I’d actually wife you’ by someone who has honestly never proven themselves to be the settle down type. And these are only a handful of the things I’ve been told over the years.
It’s been frustrating, to say the least, and there have even been seasons where I purposely dimmed my light in hopes that my career wouldn’t push away potential suitors. I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, why would you even consider that? If they’re for you, it won’t matter what you do.” Hey, don’t judge me, but also, I one hundred percent agree.
My hotel bathroom
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That’s why this recent moment in Switzerland was right on time. When I first walked into the hotel to check in, I was blown away by the surrounding beauty. It was a five-star property with one of the world’s most famous thermal bathhouses. Yet, it was something about seeing that 90% of the hotel’s guests were couples, that forced me to sit back for a bit of introspection—while soaking in the thermal spa, of course.
As I went through the mental conversation, there was a battle of sorts. On one hand, I knew that being able to partake in experiences like the one I was having at that moment was important to me. I knew that, at times I actually love being able to dabble in the finer things—after all, I’ve worked hard to be able to afford them. On the other hand, and sadly, I knew that sometimes being a single Black woman that publicly showcases her “luxurious” habits can intimidate men and even scare them off from pursuing you under the guise of them feeling like they “can’t do anything for you, because you have everything.”
My hotel room
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So, what is a girl to do?
Do I minimize/hide the life and experiences that I have? Do I play down the hard work I’ve put in to get where I am professionally? Or, do I risk being single in exchange for being able to have said life, without backlash?
Luckily, the joy that I felt while being at this property won. There was something about taking a full day to simply pamper myself at the bathhouse and in my in-room steam shower and soaker tub, indulging in cuisine from a 2-star Michelin restaurant and doing all of this while surrounded by an amazing group of Black women that reminded me—this is certainly the life I was meant to live and that I deserve. Even if it means that right now, I’ll just have to provide it for myself until the right partner comes along. And honestly, I’m okay with that.
Restaurant at 7132 hotel
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