This Week In Beauty: I Kind Of Want To Talk About Scrunchies
BEAUTY IRL is a newsletter that covers beauty at the intersection of politics and pop culture.
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Hi! I have a lot of subscribers from this live updated post on Tessica Brown. Hello! Basically, BEAUTY IRL is a newsletter for people who are very into beauty and not into beauty at all. I discuss topics around beauty that you don’t realize you have an opinion on (like the Gorilla Glue saga) and show how beauty can infiltrate our lives. If you know someone who may enjoy the newsletter, share it with them. — @darian
A quick update on Tessica Brown’s story since last Wednesday, when she received a treatment that released her hair from the hold of Gorilla Glue. Despite TMZ’s initial report, she is not suing Gorilla Glue. She released a merch line of shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants. She is also donating the money she received from a GoFundMe to a reconstructive surgery organization.
The latest update: she has received a haircut.
Here is just a media read on all the confusing stuff we’re now seeing all at once: The moment I saw she had an agent (she put the contact bio last Monday), that she was heading to Beverly Hills (not LA!) for her treatment and that TMZ was receiving exclusives, I knew what time it was. Suddenly, Brown was thrown into this attention-crazed world as a person who doesn’t navigate the media world as part of her own career, beyond consuming it. So yes, a business called Famous Hollywood Car Rentals was going to provide her a car during her time in the city. The merch was never not going be more than a few pieces that continue to meme her. And at this point, she will infact need the management team that now represents her.
PAYING ATTENTION
I’ve been toying with the name of this section, formerly called EXTRA EXTRA. These are quick updates, so how do I decide what to include? There are a lot of updates across business, politics, and pop culture when it comes to beauty, and deciphering what stories are a product of PR and/or part of a positioning strategy and what is actual news worth mentioning can be tough, tbh. Despite it all, this section is filled with stories I think are worth paying attention to, no matter where they come from, because they point toward bigger conversations or trends. So pay attention.
There was a lot of talk this weekend about Drake’s not yet released album ‘Certified Lover Boy.’ After announcing in January that he was delaying the drop of CLB, people were sure he’d drop it during Valentine’s Day weekend. Instead, he continues to promote his upcoming album with The Haircut:
People are loving First Lady Jill Biden’s scrunchie. Scrunchies are one of the time-tested hair accessories. Even if scrunchies are not your thing, you appreciate them. This photo, I think, is a good example of “image-making.” Looking at this photo (I am no expert), I would say my eye is drawn toward the crown of her head and the ponytail, as light is reflecting off it. The silhouette of her coats gives this traditional “first lady” look associated with Jackie Kennedy, and she is picking up… treats! It doesn’t hurt that scrunchies are having a revived moment.
And let’s not forget U.S. Virgin Islands delegate and impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett caught attention for wearing this cape-life dressing during impeachment proceedings. The story behind the dress: She tells ABC News that her girlfriends helped her put together an entire wardrobe for the week.
Yelp says searches for Black-owned service businesses increased 2,400 percent in 2020. Yelp breaks it down by service and city here.
The Lip Bar is now carried at Wal Mart. The line has been carried in Target since 2018.
Ciara announced on Instagram live with Allure that she is coming out with a beauty brand, and it sounds like it’ll be skincare. And — I did not know this — but Ciara and her husband Russell Wilson have a fragrance together.
After joining the 15 Percent Pledge to commit 15% of its shelf space to Black-owned beauty brands, Sephora has relaunched its incubator program “with a new focus on elevating BIPOC-owned prestige beauty brands.” Here is the press release and recipients list.
MEDIA DROPS
Simply the best
Written by me! I had a lot of fun writing about why Tina Turner is my beauty icon for ELLE’s State of Black Beauty, Part II.
Do Men Self-Care? — Sandra Garcia interviews Pharrell and others for this one. (If you are not following Sandra, she is a staff writer for the Time’s Styles section. Her bylines are so interesting.)
Cosmetic formulator Stephen Alain Ko (@kindofstephen on IG) been posting these really informative posts, oftentimes containing historical facts, and I like this one about sunscreen shaming:
Black Women Gamers Talk Beauty, Opportunities and Challenges — Jennifer Well
I have pivoted back to scrunchies in the past year. Thank you for highlighting perhaps the most important accessory in my life.