This Influencer Shares Her Investment Skincare Routine
In About Face, xoNecole gets the 411 on IGers who give us #skincaregoals on the daily. Here they break down their beauty routines on the inside and out, as well as the highly coveted products that grace their shelves and their skin.
Natacha John, or Tacha, is a 24-year-old beauty and lifestyle content creator. The DMV native came on my radar after a viral photo of her made its way to my Explore page on Instagram. The rest is history.
Last month, she revealed to her followers that she was officially taking the leap into full-time entrepreneurship, having grown an impressive following of 40,000 followers and counting. As a creative who earns her living by literally doing her. "I get to be myself for a living," she tells xoNecole. "I get to share my interests, exercise my creativity, and connect with women. Those are definitely my favorites parts!"
In the process, she is also putting us on to her favorite beauty finds and it's nothing short of amazing. Although I live for her aesthetic and her thought-provoking questions, I am also an admirer of her glowing, radiant skin. That being said, I had to know what her beauty arsenal consisted of.
Below, Tacha shares with us the products she swears by and how she achieves beauty from the outside in.
My morning routine looks like...
"I'm still trying to establish a consistent morning routine but usually it starts off with taking care of my puppy and straightening up my apartment while I make a cup of tea. Then I'm usually checking emails and reviewing my to-do list for the day. Some mornings, I'll toss in journaling and meditation. Those two things always make me feel level-headed but I'll admit I'm bad at making consistent time for them."
For my skincare routine in the AM...
"I keep it ultra simple in the morning. I don't cleanse, I just rinse my face with water and sometimes, depending on my skins condition, I'll tone either using Goode Skin's two hundred dollar water micellar cleanser or Thayers Witch Hazel. Then I moisturize with a facial oil, like Aura Cacia Jojoba Oil, and top it off with my favorite SPF, La Roche-Posay's Anthelios Clear Skin Sunscreen."
And for my skincare routine in the PM...
"Things are more extensive in the evenings. I always start off by double cleansing. Face wash is the one thing in my routine that I'm constantly switching out but I'm currently enjoying the Farmacy's Clean Bee cleanser and Neutrogena's Hydro Boost cleanser. Once or twice a week, I'll add in exfoliation using Lush's Dark Angels [or their] Herbalism [herbal wash], or Goode Skin's SKINZYME. And follow up with First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Liquid Recovery. That's become one of my favorite steps! The liquid recovery goes onto your skin like water and is so soothing and calming, I can't get enough. Then, I moisturize with an oil again. About 2 or 3 times a week I'll apply a face mask, I like Farmacy's Bright On mask."
How I approach skincare on-the-go...
"When I'm on-the-go, I have to have products that I know work for me so if my skin starts to act crazy, I'm ready! You'll usually catch me with a mask that's good for breakouts, either my Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment Mask or Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Mud Mask. And something that's good for dry/dull skin like my Origins' Drink Up Intensive Overnight Hydrating Mask."
My go-to makeup look consists of...
"I'm a natural makeup kind of girl. On a day-to-day basis, I'll be bare-faced or maybe have on some concealer or tinted moisturizer, blush, and mascara. Lately, I've been reaching for my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer (in Almond), Glossier Cloud Paint, and my trusty L'Oreal Telescopic mascara. I like to keep things pretty low-maintenance but if I have to be in front of the camera or have an event to attend, I'll go all in."
How I approach beauty from the inside-out...
"Something as small as starting my day with a cup of hot lemon water and half an hour of uninterrupted alone time helps me to feel refreshed and ready to put forth my best self throughout the day. I get pulled in a lot of different directions and it's easy to feel overwhelmed when you're a one woman team, so taking that time to level myself out really helps me to feel more at peace."
What self-care looks like to me...
"To be completely transparent, I don't make a ton of time to unwind. It's something I'm really working on though! Usually I'm working well into the evening, and when I finally unplug, all I have time for is a hot shower before I crawl into bed. But I value that time and make the most with what I have. While I'm getting ready for bed, I usually play a good podcast or Audiobook and add a few drops of essential oil to my shower to make things extra relaxing."
For more of Tacha, follow her on Instagram.
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Featured image via Tacha/Instagram
The Reality Of Living With Severe Asthma – As Told by 2 Women On Their Disease Journey
This post is in partnership with Amgen.
The seemingly simple task of taking a breath is something most of us don’t think twice about. But for people who live with severe asthma, breathing does not always come easily. Asthma, a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs, affects millions of people worldwide – 5-10% of which live with severe asthma. Severe asthma is a chronic and lifelong condition that is unpredictable and can be difficult to manage. Though often invisible to the rest of the world, severe asthma is a not-so-silent companion for those who live with it, often interrupting schedules and impacting day-to-day life.
Among the many individuals who battle severe asthma, Black women face a unique set of challenges. It's not uncommon for us to go years without a proper diagnosis, and finding the right treatment often requires some trial and error. Thankfully, all hope is not lost for those who may be fighting to get their severe asthma under control. We spoke with Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq. and Jania Watson, two inspiring Black women who have been living with severe asthma and have found strength, resilience, and a sense of purpose in their journeys.
Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq.
Juanita Ingram has a resume that would make anyone’s jaw drop. On top of being recently crowned Mrs. Universe, she’s also an accomplished attorney, filmmaker, and philanthropist. From the outside, it seems there’s nothing this talented woman won’t try, and likely succeed at. In her everyday life, however, Juanita exercises a lot more caution. From a young age, Juanita has struggled with severe asthma. Her symptoms were always exacerbated by common illnesses like a cold or flu. “I've heard these stories of my breathing struggles, but I remember distinctly when I was younger not being able to breathe every time I got a virus,” says Ingram. “I remember missing a lot of school and crying a lot because asthma is painful. I [was taken] to see my doctor often if I got sick with anything so I was hypervigilant as a child, and I still am.”
Today, Juanita says her symptoms are best managed when she’s working closely with her care team, avoiding getting sick and staying ahead of any symptoms. Ingram said she’s been blessed with skilled doctors who are just as vigilant of her symptoms as she is. While competing in the Mrs. Universe competition, Juanita took extra care to stay clear of other competitors to ensure she didn’t catch a cold or virus that would trigger her severe asthma. “I would stand off to the side and sometimes that could be taken as ‘oh, she thinks she's better than everybody else.’ But if I get sick during a pageant, I'm done. I had to compete with that in mind because my sickness doesn't look like everybody else's sickness.”
Even when her symptoms are under control, living with severe asthma still presents challenges. Juanita relies on her strong support system to overcome the hurdles caused by a lack of understanding from the public, “I think that there's a lot of lack of awareness about how serious severe asthma is. I would [also] tell women to advocate and to trust their intuition and not to allow someone to dismiss what you're experiencing.”
Jania Watson
Jania, a content creator from Atlanta, Georgia, has been living with severe asthma for many years. Thanks to early testing by asthma specialists, Jania was diagnosed with severe asthma as a child after experiencing frequent flare-ups and challenges in her day-to-day life. “I specifically remember, I was starting school, and we were moving into a new house. One of the triggers for me and my younger sister at the time were certain types of carpets. We had just moved into this new house and within weeks of us being there, my parents literally had to pay for all new carpet in the house.”
As Jania grew older, she was suffering from fewer flare-ups and thought her asthma was well under control. However, a trip back to her doctor during high school revealed that her severe asthma was affecting her more than she realized. “That was the first time in a long time I had to do a breathing test,” she describes. “The doctor had me take a deep breath in and blow into a machine to test my breathing. They told me to blow as hard as I could. And I was doing it. I was giving everything I got. [My dad and the doctor] were looking at me like ‘girl, stop playing.’ And at that point [it confirmed] I still have severe asthma because I've given it all I got. It doesn't really go away, but I just learned how to help manage it better.”
Jania recognizes that people who aren’t living with asthma, may not understand the disease and mistake it for something less serious. Or there could be others who think their symptoms are minor, and not worth bringing up. So, for Jania, communicating with others about her diagnosis is key. “Having severe asthma [flare-ups] in some cases looks very similar to being out of shape,” she said. “But this is a chronic illness that I was born with. This is just something that I live with that I've been dealing with. And I think it's important for people to know because that determines the next steps. [They might ask] ‘Do you need a bottle of water, or do you need an inhaler? Do you need to take a break, or do we need to take you to the hospital?’ So, I think letting the people around you know what's going on, just in case anything were to happen plays a lot into it as well.”
Like Juanita, Jania’s journey has been marked by ups and downs, but she remains an unwavering advocate for asthma awareness and support within the Black community. She hopes that her story can be an inspiration to other women with asthma who may not yet have their symptoms under control. “There's still life to be lived outside of having severe asthma. It is always going to be there, but it's not meant to stop you from living your life. That’s why learning how to manage it and also having that support system around you, is so important.”
By sharing their journeys, Juanita and Jania hope to encourage others to embrace their conditions, obtain a proper management plan from a doctor or asthma specialist like a pulmonologist or allergist, and contribute to the improvement of asthma awareness and support, not only within the Black community, but for all individuals living with severe asthma.
Read more stories from others like Juanita and Jania on Amgen.com, or visit Uncontrolled Asthma In Black Women | BREAK THE CYCLE to find support and resources.
Crown Too Heavy: The Pressure Of Being Dubbed 'The Next Beyoncé'
"I don't have to prove anything to anyone. I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world. I run my world." – Beyoncé
As someone who has followed the arc of Beyoncé’s career since I was 10 years old and saw the excitement my brother and his best friend expressed in seeing Destiny’s Child perform at Alabama A&M in 1998, I’ve always known in my heart Beyoncé was destined for greatness. We’ve all watched her evolve as an artist, woman, wife, and mother, but we often forget the major steps she had to take in order to gain control of her career and life.
Beginning in 2010, Beyoncé launched Parkwood Entertainment, a film and production company, record label, and management firm. Then, in 2011, she decided to end her management arrangement with her father Mathew Knowles. She’s limited the number of interviews she does and has taken full control of her life’s narrative and her art through the various documentaries she's released via Parkwood.
As we all watch in awe, Beyoncé continues to break records: the most awarded singer in Grammy history, headlining one of the highest-grossing tours of all-time, and most recent Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, the film documenting her latest world tour, became the first film in 20 years to cross the $20 million mark on its opening weekend following Thanksgiving.
#RENAISSANCETHEFILM debuts at the domestic box office with a $21M opening weekend and a 100% on @RottenTomatoes. pic.twitter.com/NyG8MdyrU2
— BEYONCÉ LEGION (@BeyLegion) December 3, 2023
As Beyoncé raises the bar higher and higher, there is much conversation centered around who “the next Beyoncé” will be. Some have proclaimed it’s Victoria Monét, others believe it will be Normani, and many have stated Chloe Bailey is next in line to take the crown.
These conversations of “who’s the next….” aren’t new; even when Beyoncé first launched her solo career in 2003 with the album Dangerously in Love, people said she was the next Michael Jackson or Tina Turner.
Victoria Monet is giving next big thing after Beyoncé. I see it. I said it.
— The Purse Dealer ✨💕 (@hausofsyy) December 3, 2023
This mindset begs the question: do we value individuality in artistry, or do we simply want to recreate clones of the artist we already love? How can we expect artists to keep the integrity of their work when labels, managers, and the public want to pigeonhole them into a space they deem appropriate?
When we center our expectations to juxtapose someone else’s success, we are inevitably setting up and coming artists like Victoria, Normani, and Chloe to fail. This by no means is taking away from the clear talent each of these singers has, but it’s boxing them into a space where their opportunity for personal and creative growth is stifled.
Let’s be real she the only new girl that *really* gives Beyoncé pic.twitter.com/ZwlF8znrsE
— B•R•I 💜🎄 (@chloverview) December 12, 2023
Additionally, when we take a further step back and look at the music industry from a bird’s eye view, we see how Black artists have been confined to the musical genres of R&B, gospel, and hip-hop, which further limits their space for growth and crossover success.
The systemic racism in the music industry caters more toward white artists and limits the exposure of Black artists, especially in predominantly white genres. We consistently see white artists given the space and opportunity to explore a variety of musical genres, while Black artists are expected to stay true to one genre for the entirety of their career.
It’s been five years can we get a vowel?
— Hi Im Ry (@WhateverDoja) May 30, 2023
This generation tends to want artists to produce quality music at a rapid pace, but then mercilessly judges when it isn’t what we want or expect it to be. An example of this would be both Chloe and Normani’s debut as solo artists.
As I mentioned both these artists have been deemed “the next Beyoncé” at one point or another in their career, and the parallels are obvious. They were both in groups prior, Chloe with her sister Halle and Normani with Fifth Harmony. They’re both talented performers and beautiful young women, and they both very evidently have the “It factor.”
Chloe’s first album, In Pieces, was released in March 2023 and had only sold 10,000 copies as of April 10, 2023. Many fans called the album "a flop" and even DJ Envy suggested it was Beyoncé's fault for the low sales as Chloe is an artist on her label. Beyoncé once said, “The reality is, sometimes you lose. And you're never too good to lose. You're never too big to lose. You're never too smart to lose. It happens."
Chloe must have taken these words to heart because despite the negative feedback she received, she took everything in stride and proved critics and fans wrong by selling out shows in the following months.
The music industry is gonna have to create a new way of counting album sales and streams. Like @ChloeBailey’s album was chefs kiss but because her “sales” were low people consider it a flop. However if her streams were counted. I’m sure it’ll be very different.
— Madam Chrome❄️✨ (@DaisysSentamint) April 30, 2023
Something to understand and consider is that artists like Chloe have a younger fan base who are less likely to buy albums and more likely to listen to their favorite artist’s music on a streaming service, which does impact sales. Though streaming numbers are included in album sales, it doesn’t consider the à la carte nature of the process and how hard it is to reach one album sold. Success for artists likely Chloe is going to look very different than her mentor Beyoncé, and as the music industry evolves these young artists are having to adapt to that evolution in real time.
in pieces was about letting go & trusting myself. i’ve enjoyed every moment of it and i love everyone who listened to it. tour starts tomorrow in chicago and im so ready to perform these songs for yall ❤️🔥
— Chlöe (@ChloeBailey) April 10, 2023
Normani on the other hand has taken her time with the release of her debut album, which many fans have been waiting on since the release of her single “Motivation” in 2019. Some fans have even gone to Twitter to share their thoughts about the delayed album, with opinions echoing the sentiment that she’s lost her passion and motivation to create music. Normani responded to these claims with a very clear, “Just shut the f— up.” She also shared in an interview with Bustle, that had she rushed to release an album in 2019, “I would’ve put out a body of work that I wasn’t confident in.”
Despite the negativity these two artists have had to endure in the shadows of Beyoncé, they’ve both taken a page from her book by staying true to themselves and the music they want to produce. Upon the release of her album, Chloe tweeted, “In pieces was about letting go & trusting myself. i’ve enjoyed every moment of it and i love everyone who listened to it.” Normani also shared, “I’m very, very prideful of what I do and the art. It means a lot to me and I’m heavily involved in literally every single aspect.”
just shut the fuck up https://t.co/puMktqrUNR
— Normani (@Normani) August 9, 2022
Though the vast majority of us love and sit in awe of Beyoncé, we must also question why we feel the need to place other Black women artists in her shadow to recreate a career that she’s uniquely shaped for herself.
There is a subconscious bias many of us have fed into that tells us, Black women in music can only be seen and digested in a certain way, and because of this, we project that onto newer artists such as Victoria, Normani, Chloe, and others.
Even Beyoncé, though she always pays homage to her predecessors such as Jackson and Turner, has been very clear on the reality that she’s not trying to be anyone other than herself in her music or life. Her success has been based on the fact that she does things her way, and because of this, it uniquely penetrates millions of people’s hearts around the globe.
It also goes back to the reality that she’s taken full control of her career and holds her destiny in her own hands. This same autonomy should be given to the young women who follow in her footsteps.
"Do what you were born to do. You just have to trust yourself." – Beyoncé
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