This Week in Beauty: Bald Baddies!
"What Makes a Black Woman Real?" "The Face Changing TikTok Skin Care"
BEAUTY IRL is a newsletter run by @darian that covers beauty at the intersection of politics and pop culture. If you’re passionate about this world, consider a yearly or monthly subscription to support the everyday operation of this newsletter 🧠⚡️💄
My latest story is on Bephie’s Beauty Supply founder Beth Birkett for Los Angeles Times’ culture mag Image. I cover streetwear and beauty all of the time in this newsletter so it was nice to write something and define it the way I see it; not by streetwear brand collabs or makeup drops on StockX. You can buy an issue here. Cover photos for newspaper mags are not always picked in advance, which leaves room for a beautiful decision based on the moment, and I’m glad they chose this photo by Nailah Howze. The hands: Makeup by Deena Renee, hair banger by Miles Jeffries!
I also wrote about the Black Market Flea; it’s a dispatch into every feeling you feel while being there.
First, I want to talk about the Met Gala, NYFW, the VMAs because we have to process this! There are always ripple effects.
The clash of NYFW and then The Met had me so excited. On Instagram, I explained how I loved following all the different versions of NYFW depending on who' you tap into; editors, influencers, BTS folx and the party girls. For pop culture and internet junkies like me, I always feel like I see an underlayer. I think I got about three points in me:
The MET theme, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, really seemed to cloud our perception of what an on-par dressed celebrity looks like because the definition of American fashion and what that entails is muddled with individual feelings on the America we encounter every day, the literal state of our world, and how that contributes to our feeling on uh… America. It definitely clouded my judgment on what a “good,” on-theme MET moment was supposed to look like. This is where the (free) exhibit comes into play. I did some read things that gave what is American fashion? vibes. But I’m over people telling me what’s what about fashion. Maybe that’s the point. Feeling and experiencing the exhibit in person feels like an education. Read the exhibit overview, and 'I’m hoping there will be some fun digital experiences soon. NYT has some good pics, and so does Avenue Mag.
With the demise of the celebrity as it was presented to me at a very young age — as in all of my life — I was keeping an eye on a new school of celebrities at both the VMAs and MET gala. I read observances that the celebrity is dead and that celebrities are boring. Well… you are looking at the wrong people. NYFW was like the first day of school, or like a premier, for many influencers who were invited and got famous on the internet over quarantine. They’re not “up and coming.” They are here. It all just depends on who you’re paying attention to and who you think is relevant.
AOC dress: so much talk about what that dress. What it did, what didn’t do, the circumstances under which it was made, and who designed it. Here’s a PR read I found quite interesting as someone not in the world of the publicity world, but is often treated as a tool for their bottom line. I was appreciative of the various takes I read. But it quickly showed me that we are sick and tired of having to intellectually one-up each other. We are exhausted from being the right one, or the upright one. I find myself drawn toward people who are calling in self-reflection around their own presence at an event such the Met Gala:
Actor and voice Indya Moore thanked YSL and Vogue, and went into her reflection. Here is an excerpt but I implore you to read it all:
I had to really think about if it is truly in alignment with what I care about becauseI I think it is possible to be an artist and a creative and simeltaneously not invest in make-believe during a time make believe is weaponzed against the truth, during a time where honesty and transparency is more important than ever. Being at the Met this year was cognitive dissonance. I entered and left feeling confused. But before that I felt clear. Grounded. People were protesting and arrested in the name of what so many of us who attended, care deeply about. They were arrested most likely because they were percieved as a threat to those of us who were there.
I don't know if we know what we are doing, beyond what we are told. I wonder is there is a way to expand on how we collect amongst one another?
via Instagram
You don’t have to be standing at the MET, or be Indya Moore in order to feel her words. Still: your presence, your existence, on a red carpet hits different when you know that your life is on the line and not feeling safe is only a step and repeat away.
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The News
Red Table Talk hosts Jada Pinkett-Smith and Willow Smith talk about their choice to go bald and being bald. Tiffany Haddish and Yvonne Orji joined to give their accounts as well. I have a good write-up on RTT in me. I really take this show seriously because it doesn't meme my experience as a Black woman at every opportunistic chance it gets. In fact I often watch the internet do that to them, and I think it’s distracted some people from understanding the true essence of the show.
Oh my god. Disgraced Sagittarius Nicki Minaj. If you are confused about how she went from boldly suggesting that her cousin’s friend’s testicles became swollen due to a COVID vaccine to the Trinidad & Tobago Health Minister denouncing her, to Tucker Carlson praising her, read this wild timeline by Hunter Harris at Hung Up. Deleted and re-wrote so many sentences with my opinion on Nicki, because again, I have so many strong opinions about Ms. Minaj that would have to be fleshed out and explained.
Mexico becomes the first North American country to ban cosmetic animal testing. It was sponsored by “Unilever, P&G, L’Oreal, Avon, LUSH, and more.” — The Beet
More: Europe edges closer to banning animal testing. Important info to keep in mind via WWD:
The EU Cosmetics Regulation bans on animal testing — whereby ingredients cannot be used in cosmetics products if they have been tested on animals anywhere in the world — were fully put into force in March 2013. Today, beauty companies largely test their cosmetics on laboratory-grown reconstructed skin.
However, in August 2020, the European Chemicals Agency, or ECHA, announced that some substances must be tested on animals even if they are just destined for use in cosmetics. The ECHA argued that an assessment is needed if there is a risk for workers in factories while the products are made.
Interesting study: Researchers defeated advanced facial recognition tech using makeup. “A new study used digitally and physically applied makeup to test the limits of state-of-the-art facial recognition software.” — VICE. Want to dig deeper? Here is the research and here is the video:
Did you make it to Cosmoprof North America in Las Vegas? These were the 8 most interesting brands according to New Beauty.
Wellness brand The Nue Co. expands to Sephora U.S. as it preps for global expansion.
Hopefully we’re all taking note of how Sephora has started selling supplements, powders, and ingestible over the past few years. I was just in Sephora, and it’s starting to give me: we are trying to be the hall of fame of the best beauty brands and faces. I guess being an authority in a quickly changing landscape and with more competitors will leave you out here trying to prove yourself all of the time.
There is something about beauty pageants that really fascinates me and it’s why I put them in my newsletter. LOL. The reasons why people enlist are endless and interesting to read. Ms. Great Britain contestant to compete make-up free. Update: Eden McAllister has been crowned Miss Great Britain.
NAACP and Lancôme announced their joint Write Her Future Scholarship Fund.
Glossier announced the next class of its Glossier Grantees.
Hairstylist Cyndia Harvey is a winner of the BFC Changemakers Prize in Partnership with Swarovski.
Today: Ulta announced #MUSE100, “a celebration of 100 inspirational Black voices making beauty in our world possible” in makeup, hair, style, wellness storytelling, culture, and leadership.
And I just need yall to know that I received a few holiday sale/holiday product PR emails today. It started last week.
Celebz & Collabz:
So amused by this VERY REAL framing of celebrity beauty brands as a version of… merch by Glossy reporter Liz Flora. Like t-shirts and mugs at a tour stop in Buffalo, New York. Well, that’s how I read it 😩 Let’s get into it:
What we know so far about Ariana Grande's R.E.M. beauty brand. “She also confirmed that product lines from R.E.M. will arrive in a series of "drops" akin to Supreme clothing or a Beyoncé album.” — Allure
Naomi Osaka launched a skincare line KINLÒ with A-Frame Brands. Just saw her on a billboard for Sweetgreen.
Saweetie is MAC's new global ambassador is. You may have missed this in midst of the Hidden Valley Ranch x Crocs collaboration drop. I almost did! Earlier this year Saweetie collaborated with Revon-owned nail polish brand Sinful colors.
NikkieTutorials is launching her own beauty brand.
Rihanna dropped a lawsuit against her father for name misuse. “She had sued Ronald Fenty and his business partner for misrepresenting themselves through a company called Fenty Entertainment” — Pitchfork
A reminder that Fenty is not a nickname, stage name, or moniker. It is her actual last name, carried down through her family. And it is the name of her beauty brand, skincare brand, and former luxury clothing brand.
More Rih: Rihanna dressed like a blunt and holding a business briefcase is a big mood. Big, big mood.
If you aren’t reading the work of Durga Chew-Bose, make sure you dig into the story, not only the photography. It does not seem she even spoke to Rihanna for this feature, and she didn’t need to. She nails it:
“[Rihanna] will design a perfume with notes of rose and tangerine and house it in a rich, amber bottle, but nobody will bother to talk about rose and tangerine. Her smell. Her tang. That’s the premise.”
DISPATCH:
I attended the Daytime Beauty Awards, or the Hollywood Beauty Awards, which I did not know was a thing. If I could quickly set the scene: A mix of the Hollywood crowd along with doctors, scientists, and beauty executives who have been in the industry for years. Lots of oversized suits, but it’s been quite a year. There are so many different worlds in beauty, and I’m often only exposed to the brand-facing ones. There was very minimal press (I didn’t see anyone there I knew, but met great people.) I was surprised I didn’t know about the Daytime Beauty Awards but delighted that I was invited by my friend Bianca Monica to attend. One thing about me is that I’m always where I need to be.
And I was definitely supposed to be here. Pure Beauty won The Zen Award. It was awesome to meet two of the co-founders Imelda Walavalkar and Tracy Anderson. Walavalkar gave a wonderful speech; the founders thanked the DBA for seeing cannabis’ contribution to beauty and wellness.
Also, Regina Hall gave an ICONIC, funny speech for Beautyblender CEO Rea Ann Silva who she has known for many years. They both came dresses in hot pink, and Silva won the Tool of the Year Award. If you don’t know the backstory on the beauty blender, I talked about it a bit in this profile I wrote on Tracee Ellis Ross; Silva used to be the head makeup artist on Girlfriends. Honestly? If you haven’t watched a Regina Hall movie (I know there are a lot of white people who subscribe to this newsletter who have watched very few movies with Black leads): get your life together and familiarize yourself with the brilliance that is Regina Lee Hall. We stan.
I need to host this award show next year; had a great time.
MEDIA DROPS
What Makes a Black Woman Real? — Hannah Giorgis. [An absolute required read about our fixation on botched surgeries among Black women although “white women remain the demographic most likely to seek cosmetic procedures.” And if you are not familiar with Hannah’s work… again. Get your life together!]
What Spiritual Baths Mean for Black Wellness — Shamira Ibrahim [this feels particularly relevant considering all of the debate around showers and cleanliness.]
TS Madison Steals the Spotlight — Sandra Garcia [If you’ve seen Zola the movie, you know that movie is not complete without TS Madison.]
The Face Changing TikTok Skin Care — Rachel Strugatz [Charlotte Palermino! I swear, the recording time extension on TikTok were made for this girl and rightfully so.]
Filipino Beauty Queens: A New Weapon in War on Communism — Geela Garcia [Geela is a freelance multimedia journalist and peasant advocate based in Manila, Philippines. She’s a storyteller in pursuit of liberation. Follow her work on Instagram.]
In Defense of the Meaty Tuck — Tre’vell Anderson
No One Is Doing Y2K Beauty Right Now Better Than K-Pop Stars — Devon Abelman
TreasureTress Study Tracks Black Shoppers’ Buying Habits — James Mansa
People With Anxiety Explain The Soothing Powers Of Online Makeup Tutorials —Vartika Puranik [Helpful.]