The greatest joy about indulging in our favorite television show is following the characters on their journey—seeing them as actors/actresses in beginning roles to stardom. Week after week, we can’t help but invite them into our living rooms for enjoyment. Whether we’re sitting down watching their antics or casually hearing their voice in the background, they naturally become characters in our everyday lives.
However, like life, each character must grow into the human they’re meant to be. And we, as viewers, have to come to terms with this.
One actress growing up in front of our eyes is Marsai Martin. At one point, she was a young girl who dominated our television screens and immediately stole our hearts through her role in Black-ish. Now, our princess-turned-queen is officially the big 2-0! Our girl is all grown up. In honor of her special day, we’ve come up with our favorite beauty looks from her throughout the years.
1.Fresh Faced Queen
Makeup where? Martin proves her face card never declines with this casual bare-faced selfie. Fresh box braids allow the actress to show off her healthy eyebrows and cute dimples!
2.Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.
The actress is dripped in diamonds while promoting her nail line Mari by Marsai. Although the nails are on point, can we also take a moment to appreciate this soft glam look? Martin is wearing latte makeup with a hint of old Hollywood vibes. Seriously, Marilyn Monroe would be proud.
3.'90s Kind of World
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Don't call it a throwback. During the 2022 BET Awards, Marsai rocked a mocha-colored lipgloss and 90s-style lip liner. The glam look was also tied together with a sweetheart cat-eye that made her side-eye game sharp. A golden bronzer followed to seal this makeup moment together.
4.The Blueprint
Body snatched and face beat, Marsai posed in a series of photos featuring her on a balcony wearing a blue form-fitting dress with hair and full glam to match. Sis isn't playing fair, we fear.
5.Smokey-Eyed Gaze
Arnold Turner/Getty Images for NAACP
Getting ready for a night on the town with the NAACP Awards, Martin sported a smokey eye. The navy blue base is outside of her typical neutral eye. And just when you think the glam stops there, BOOM! Insert lashes! Diva-style lashes lay across the actress’s eye, enhancing her smoky makeup and taking things to new heights.
6.New Hair Who Dis?
Hair truly brings a beautiful look together. Martin’s captivating red hair is a perfect example! We are obsessed with the way her deep red hair complements her neutral pink lip.
7.Hater Blockers
We have to give it up to this cool accessory. The glasses (pictured above in slide 2) are making this glam look out of this world. They cover the actress's entire face, leaving nothing to see but a girl's greatest beauty asset—a smile.
8.Just Peachy
If this sweet pic doesn’t warm your heart, we don’t know what else will. Martin gives us a light peachy moment when showing off her fresh cut. Sun-kissed blushes and a simple lip are the touches that make this selfie too sweet.
9.That Girl Always
Well, you know what they say: blondes have more fun! And this stands true with her latest look. Martin wore blonde boho braids, a red dress, and a beat face. Happy belated birthday to a true queen of glam.
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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