This Week in Beauty: Spark a Movement
So many good reads this week.
Hello! A few important announcements from me:
Very happy to introduce you to Beauty IRL’s summer intern Isabel Bekele. Make sure to read her bio and latest dispatch in this week’s newsletter. A big shout out to Fana Yohannes’ Here2Help, which was a resource for me!
Tuesday at 8am PT/11am ET, I’m having another Beauty Headlines. I’ve had amazing experts weigh in, spit game, and bring clarity to some of the biggest conversations in beauty right now.
I started series I’ve been itching to start: Beauty Take. Over the summer and 4 days a week, I’ll feature one beauty Instagram, TikTok, Tweet, image, or video I found while digging, and think you should know about. And with that, here’s Addy_NailedIt’s edition of the Adult Swim trend.
It’s been so impressive watching how this challenge is actually pushing creators to be creative.
PAYING ATTENTION
Nevada has become the twelfth state to pass the CROWN Act, a bill that seeks to end race-based hair discrimination.
Rapper and style-ish icon A$AP Rocky is partnering with Klarna as a part of its new campaign urging customers to ‘‘drop your lockdown look and get smooth again.’’
This campaign comes at a time when Rocky fans are awaiting the rapper’s next album, All Smiles. I always think it’s a good idea to keep an eye on Rocky. He’s dabbled in beauty as the internet’s resident pretty boy and apparent bf to beauty mogul Rihanna. (Also, if he pops out with some sort of beauty brand, don’t say I didn’t warn you.)
True Botanicals has named Rachel Lindsay, the first Black Bachelorette, the new face of its brand. This news comes as longtime Bachelor franchise host Chris Harrison is stepping down after defending a contestant’s racist actions during a February interview with Lindsay on Extra.
A hotel in Harry Style’s hometown of Redditch, Worcestershire has launched spa-day treatments dedicated to the singer. The ‘Watermelon Sugar High Spa Day’ is set to the tune of Style’s top hits.
LVMH has put a €30 million endowment into a global emergency and support fund for its 150,000 employees globally.
Bretman Rock is one of the faces of Nike’s #betrue campaign in honor of Pride Month.
Colgate is sending the first private sector “oral care experiment” into space aboard Space X as it headed to International Space Station for its 22nd resupply mission.
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 🧠⚡️💄
Meet Beauty IRL’s intern: Isabel Bekele
Isabel Bekele is an Ethiopian-American storyteller and journalism student at the S.I. School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. When she’s not reviewing contemporary novels on Instagram @iz.got.books, she’s busy writing stories that tackle the first-generation experience, Gen-Z, wellness, tech, and more.
And with that, here’s a write-up from her this week on a trend she’s intrigued with: hair horns.
If you spend your time listening to 21 Pilots, perusing your local Hot Topic, and perfecting your winged eyeliner, then Tik Tok’s latest beauty trend might be for you. Hair horns, a style created by cutting tiny pieces of hair and styling them upright like devil horns, have been popping up all over the e-girl side of Tik Tok. Dazed spoke with stylist Mischa G., whose client Allison Ponthier, sparked the trend.
In a way, the case can be made that hair horns are e-girl’s answer to indie Tik Tok’s infatuation with mullets. Similar to mullets, it feels like once we’ve seen one video of someone sporting this style, ten more videos pop up in its place. This style is more versatile than it seems. Depending on your hair texture, the ‘‘'horns’’ may be easily blended in with your hair.
To me, this trend is reminiscent of 2014 Tumblr, where the grunge aesthetic, emo wallpapers, and Lana Del Ray prevailed. In other words, it was cool (and trendy) to be dark and twisted.
While this trend isn’t for everyone, it represents another example of Tik Tok being a hub for beauty lovers who want to test out their creativity while trying something new and untraditional.
MEDIA DROPS
Read something and have thoughts? Drop them in the comments section.
How A Rastafarian High School Student in Ghana Sparked a Movement for Black Hair Politics — Joewackle J. Kusi
The DDPro Initiative Is Creating a Safe Space for Transgender and Non-Binary People — Devin-Norelle. Crucial opening excerpt:
For many within the trans and non-binary community, beauty, art, fashion, and creating are integral parts of self-discovery and expression. Some people’s first understanding of their gender is realized through makeup and hair. And for some others, beauty is crucial to survival as it provides an escape from our sometimes undesirable realities.
This Is a Love Letter to Edges — By theeeee Michaela Angela Davis!
Are Natural Deodorants Really Better for You? — Annie Sneed
Why Indie Beauty Brands Are Hopping on Amazon Earlier and Earlier — Rachel Brown
What Does It Really Mean To “Decolonize” Wellness? — Mirel Zaman
Fast Fashion Brands Like Forever 21 and H&M Have Inspired China's Latest Monster Trend — Cheryl Teh
Has Manscaping Gone Mainstream? — Obi Anyanwu