La La Anthony On Her Self-Care Routine And The One Person She Calls For Advice
La La Anthony knows all too well how important having a self-care routine is and it’s all thanks to her bestie Kelly Rowland. The BMF actress has always been admired for her beauty but that doesn’t mean she took the time to invest in her skincare routine. Not until she became friends with the “Coffee” singer.
"She's obsessed with skincare and making sure all of us take care of our skin and our bodies,” La La said of Kelly in an interview with PEOPLE. “She's always sending tips on what to do. So if you're friends with her, she's going to make sure your skin is on point – no matter what. She's all about taking care of yourself and doing things to continue to nourish mind, body and soul. So when I have questions or need advice when it comes to those things, she's definitely who I call."
While she has become "more conscious of taking care of my skin and doing a daily and nightly routine," it’s more than that for the mother of one.
"You only get one face – you don't want to mess it up!"
She continued, "You want to look your best so you can feel your best, whatever that is. It's important to take care of yourself so that you can perform in whatever you're doing at the highest level."
Self-care is important to the 40-year-old actress especially after experiencing a health scare last year. In an August 2021 interview with SELF magazine, La La revealed that she was rushed to the hospital after her heart began racing and she was feeling lightheaded. She ended up having emergency heart surgery performed.
"There were a lot of scary moments,” she said. “They would wake me up during the procedure and say, ‘We’re going to speed your heart up now…. Just take deep breaths. Those doctors were just so incredible [...] But it was a terrifying experience.”
In 2019, the former MTV VJ was diagnosed with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), which are extra heartbeats that cause an abnormal heartbeat. The health scare taught her to listen to her body and take better care of herself.
“This made me reprioritize myself because it’s always about everyone else and work and this and that,” Anthony says. “And it’s like, if I’m not good, I’m not gonna be good for anyone.”
Those same sentiments are echoed in her recent PEOPLE interview. She encouraged everyone to enjoy life but also take time for themselves whenever life gets to be too much.
"We're reminded constantly how life is short so it's important to feel good and enjoy it while we're living it," she said. "Otherwise, you're just running, running, running until you eventually just run yourself in the ground – no one wants to get to that point."
Featured image by Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for Fendi
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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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images