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
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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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