

Will Smith finally dropped the trailer for the much-talked-about series Bel-Air, which is a reimagining of the family sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Talks of the ‘90s hit show receiving a reimagining began in 2019 after up-and-coming film director Morgan Cooper created a fan trailer with a dramatic take on the beloved sitcom.
After the trailer went viral, Will took notice and acquired the show as part of his Westbrook Productions and is co-executive producing it with some of the show’s original producers such as Quincy Jones and Benny Medina.
Morgan serves as the creator and an executive producer as well. As fans gear up for the premiere in February on Peacock, here’s what we know.
The New Will Has a Similar Story to Will Smith
Bel-Air’s Will, played by newcomer Jabari Banks, is also a West Philly native like Smith.
Another fun fact is that while Jabari was in high school, he and his friends dressed up like Smith and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast.
Rounding out the Bel-Aircast is Adrian Holmes who plays Philip “Uncle Phil” Banks, Cassandra Freeman who plays Vivian Banks, Olly Sholotan who plays Carlton Banks, former Disney star Coco Jones who plays Hilary Banks, Captain Marvel’s Akira Akbar who plays Ashley Banks and Jordan L. Jones who plays Jazz.
The Storyline is the Same, but Not Really
Like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s theme song notes, Will ends up leaving his hometown of Philadelphia to live with his aunt and uncle in Bel-Air after he gets into trouble with some local gangsters.
The same goes for Will in Bel-Air, however, it’s a little deeper. After getting into a squabble on the basketball court in Philly, Will pulls out a gun and shoots it in the air when the police arrive which gets him into trouble with the law.
Will has tension with both Carlton and Uncle Phil
Peacock
Also in the trailer, we see the tension between Will and Carlton as they both vie for power at their high school.
Carlton, who appears to be the king of the school, seemingly tries to take Will under his wing, but the Fresh Prince does the opposite of what Carlton says, which makes him an outcast.
However, he appears to find his footing and wins over his classmates, which threatens Carlton’s position at the school. While Uncle Phil agreed to take Will in, he doesn’t seem too thrilled to have his nephew around. In the trailer, Uncle Phil advises Will to keep his head down after he pulled strings to get him out of trouble.
Peacock ordered two seasons of the show after a bidding war with HBO and Netflix. Bel-Air will premiere on February 13 right after the Super Bowl.
The first three episodes will be available to stream during the premiere. After that, new episodes will be available for streaming weekly.
Featured image courtesy of Peacock
On her debut album,CTRL,SZA crooned about her desire to be a “Normal Girl.” Now, nearly eight years since its release, her Not Beauty line represents her commitment to existing outside of traditional beauty norms.
The singer whose real name is Solána Imani Rowe first teased the idea of a lip gloss line during Super Bowl LIX in February, noting that the release would be happening “very shortly.” Not Beauty debuted simultaneously with the Grand National Tour, which she co-headlines with Kendrick Lamar, in Minneapolis on April 19.
Each Not Beauty pop-up would offer fans the opportunity to purchase the glosses, learn more about the brand, and have the opportunity to meet the superstar in the flesh regardless of their ticket status.
During the Los Angeles tour stop, which spanned three dates on May 21, May 23, with the finale on May 24, xoNecole had the opportunity to test out the glosses included in this soft launch, as SZA revealed in a statement that "this is just the start of other lip products, including plans to launch stains, liners, and creams all inspired by SZA's “infamous layered lip combinations.”
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So, what is included in the first Not Beauty launch?
The current Not Beauty products available are lip glosses that come in three shades: In the Flesh, Strawberry Jelly, and Quartz.
During my visit to the first LA Not Beauty pop-up activation, I not only had the chance to purchase all three glosses but also took a peek inside the blow-up log tent. Inside, fans got to experience SZA’s love for nature and her fascination with bugs, which are prominently featured in her performances for this tour. At one point, she even had human preying mantis prancing across the stage y'all.
There were blow-up photos of the beauty that is SZA for fans (myself included) to take photos, but in wooden-like tree trunks were a deeper dive into some of the ingredients featured in her products and their benefits.
For example, the glosses feature Hi-Shine Lip Jelly and Shea Butter as key ingredients and some of the listed benefits included are:
- Shea Butter - “A powerhouse ingredient, offering both functional and nourishing benefits.”
- Hi-Shine Lip Jelly (featured in the In the Flesh shade) - “Formula glides on with perfect adhesion to the lips without stickiness).
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What are in the products?
Featured in an orange package, with images of a bug and flower on the side, the back of the box reads: “It’s NOT BEAUTY, it just works. Developed by Solána “SZA” Rowe.
As someone who never leaves home without a good lip gloss, I loved how compact the wood panel packaging is. Perfect to slip into my purse, or in the case of the show at SoFi Stadium, into my pocket when I’m not carrying a bag.
Because I’m a sucker for a good black and brown lip liner and clear gloss combo, I decided to wear the Quartz flavor on night one of the Grand National Tour LA stop, and it did not disappoint. I’ll admit, it’s light weight feel made me nervous because it felt like there was nothing on my lips. However, when I checked my lips in my compact mirror several times throughout the night, I was shocked to find that my gloss was still intact. I only reapplied once out of the habit of looking cute and applying my gloss, but not necessity.
Here are some of the ingredients featured, but not limited to, in the Quartz flavor.
- Polyisoubutene
- Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea)Butter
- Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil
- Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
- Tocopherol
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Lip prep
I’m a simple girl who loves to stay true to her roots. So ahead of the show, I stopped by a local Inglewood Beauty Supply store and grabbed a Black and Brown shade lip pencil for just under $2 a piece.
Shading the outline of my lips with the black pencil first, I used the brown to lightly fill the inside of my lips before applying my Quartz Not Beauty shade gloss.
How to apply
There’s truly no right or wrong way to apply lip gloss (in my opinion), with this being a brush applicator sort of product, I simply untwisted the top and swiped the gloss around my top and bottom lip generously.
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Results
Again, my Not Beauty Quartz product stayed on my lips from the start of the show, which began with a fire DJ set from LA’s very own, Mustard, to the conclusion when Kendrick and SZA reunited on stage to send us home to their duet, “luther,” featured on the rapper's GNX album.
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This Journaling Technique Is Designed To Help You Manifest the Life You Want
These days, journaling and I go together real bad. And while audio journaling will still be my go-to when I have to process something heavy, there’s another journaling technique that has quickly become a fave: best-case scenario journaling.
Like its name suggests, best-case scenario journaling is a form of journaling that asks you to focus on what you do want instead of what you don’t want, and by doing so, you set the tone for your day and lay fertile groundwork for manifestation. I first came across it while listening to an episode of She’s So Lucky (formerly Balanced Black Girl).
In the solo episode, host Les Alfred walked us through the practice that changed her life, and I must say, as a chronic overthinker and someone who tends to lead with her worries, especially as I process, best-case scenario journaling has opened me up in my life in ways I didn’t imagine.
It was author Joe Dispenza who once said, "Most people spend 70% of their life living in survival and living in stress, so they're always anticipating the worst-case scenario based on a past experience and they're literally, out of the infinite potentials in the quantum field, they're selecting the worst possible outcome and they're beginning to emotionally embrace it with fear." I don't know about you, but I've definitely been that person. Hell, I can still be that person. It's easy to spiral into what can go wrong in your life versus what could go right.
Joe has also said, "The best way to predict your future is to create it." And that is a sentiment that both Les and I can agree with. Because that is what best-case scenario journaling is about.
What Is Best-Case Scenario Journaling?
Now, instead of shutting down or crashing out when I’m overwhelmed or anxious, I choose not to feed the spiral. I let my desires script what’s possible instead. Not from fear, but from faith. The scenario where the story I pitched resonates with our readers. Where unexpected money finds its way to me. Where someone I’ve been thinking about calls. Where I feel completely at peace, exactly where I am, just as I am.
Best-case scenario journaling isn’t about ignoring the reality of your current circumstances; it’s more about calling in the most aligned version of your life through reallocating that energy into believing in a different story instead of the one shrouded in doubt, fear, survival, complaints, or disbelief. And more often than not, the energy I write in becomes the energy I attract. That’s when everything shifts.
So, how do you actually start this practice? Let's break it down.
How To Try Best-Case Scenario Journaling
As with any form of journaling, there's no one "right" way to go about it. This in part is what makes journaling such a gentle and intuitive practice. You can start with a simple prompt like, "What's the best possible version of the situation I am worried about?" Or even, "If all goes well today, what would my day look and feel like?" Allow yourself to lean into ease and expansion not by forcing positivity, but by rewiring your mind to imagine possibility. To believe in the other side of the coin when it comes to 50/50 chances.
In an interview with The Skinny Confidential podcast, Les Alfred shared how she incorporates best-case scenario journaling in her mornings:
"It's where I will write out either how I want the day to go, assuming all best-case scenarios, or if there's something that I'm worried about, that's stressing me out, that's on my mind, I will write out what I think the best-case scenario of that situation is. I'll do that in detail."
The She's So Lucky host continued, "Let's say I have a day where I'm doing a bunch of back to back podcast recordings and maybe I feel nervous about it, I will write out in detail exactly how I want it to go. Like, 'Me and this guest vibe so well, I get them to admit things they've never admitted on air before. The audience loves this episode. Like, I will write out what I want all of the outcomes to be for the day ahead." Her approach is a great reminder that abundant living lives in the details so script your days like you mean it.
Why Best-Case Scenario Journaling Works
There's something especially powerful about choosing to tell yourself a different story, regardless of your present circumstances, and your mind's default of filling any blanks with fear. Best-case scenario journaling gives the mind a new script, and as you intentionally focusing on what could go right, you're effectively doing the work to retrain your nervous system as well.
As a mindset shift, best-case scenario journaling allows you to build a new habit, one that feeds hope in your life more than trepidation. As a manifestation technique, it facilitates a shift in your frequency, one that allows you to better align with outcomes you actually want to attract.
As a grounding practice, it supports your mental health by acting as an anchor, one that gifts you with self-regulation, gratitude, and a deeper connection to your inner self. So at the end of the day, you're not just feeding your delulu, you're nurturing your well-being, your energy, and your ability to believe that there is always better because in life there's always more.
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Featured image by Shutterstock