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Real Talk from #TeamNatural: Fay the Comedian Has All the New Year’s Resolution We Need
Liberian-born Fay Nelson—also known as Fay the Comedian—has a straight-talking, irreverent style and real-life relatability we just can’t get enough of. But as we strut into 2018, this recent video is exactly the spirit we want to take with us.In the clip, Fay recounts conducting a social experiment: daring to hit the streets completely natural—no…
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Last-Minute New Year’s Plans? Resolve to Rock a Look That Works
OK, ladies: It’s T minus 36 hours and counting until the ball drops, and you’ve just decided to rally because you’ve received an invitation you simply can’t refuse. (Or you’ve suddenly decided that Champagne enjoyed alone is just … drinking alone. Suit yourself.) But at first glance, your closet seemingly has other plans. What the…
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Ankara, Ankhs and the Ongoing Appropriation-vs.-Appreciation Argument: Is There a Right Way to Rock African Style?
We’ve been celebrating Kwanzaa Week here at The Root, which, for The Glow Up, also meant thinking up new outfits to wear for each night of the festivities celebrating the seven principles of what many lovingly call “Black Hanukkah.” Fun fact: I love African fashion, iconography and decor; always have. I love wax prints (yes,…
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Indelible Beauty: Makeup Maven Cashmere Nicole Talks Success, Survival and Building a Brand Built to Last
Beauty Bakerie founder and CEO Cashmere Nicole knows about staying power. She’s built a successful and evolving brand that started on the strength of one product: her best-selling “Lip Whip.” Famed for smudge-free saturation in no fewer than 45 shades (and counting), the day-to-night finish is vegan, nontoxic and 100 percent cruelty-free … and so…
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The Illustrator of Curves Is the Instagram That Loves Your Body Unconditionally (and Hopes You Do, Too)
If your holiday season is going anything like mine, you’re already plotting how to take off a few new pounds in the new year. While ’tis the season to shower our family and friends with love, our self-care can unfortunately take a bit of a hit in the process.Since none of us is immune to…
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Queen: CCH Pounder Celebrates the Art of Black Womanhood With an Exhibition at Xavier University
If you watch television, chances are you’ve watched CCH Pounder. Over the past 38 years, the Emmy-winning Guyanese actress—who celebrated her 65th birthday on Christmas Day—has accumulated well over 100 acting credits, including recurring roles in the Avatar franchise, ER, The Shield, Law and Order: SVU, Sons of Anarchy and, currently, NCIS: New Orleans. New…
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#BlackBoyJoy: The #CastMeJCrew Grand Prize Goes to 4-Year-Old Cayden!
Watch out, world! In what might be the best holiday present ever, the dapper and diminutive Cayden (aka @cayden_style on Instagram) beat out all other contenders for the grand prize in J.Crew’s inaugural #CastMeJCrew contest—a campaign notably started by a hashtag from Elle Fashion Features Director Nikki Ogunnaike. Cayden, who just started pre-K this fall,…
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For Colored Girls … Who Need to Talk About Colorism
How do you feel about this film? Or, perhaps a better question is: How does this film make you feel? I’m going to be honest: When I saw this film, Marian Edusei’s Dark Skinned Girls, on Dazed, I felt a mixture of horror, wonder, disappointment, disgust, confusion, intrigue, envy and amusement—perhaps in that order. But,…
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She Got That Glow: Zendaya Is Officially a Black Butterfly
Baby girl. Proving once again that her red-carpet game is ridiculous, Zendaya hit the Australian premiere of her new film, The Greatest Showman (co-starring Hugh Jackman), styled by “image architect” Law Roach into the monarch she is in a stunning Moschino gown. With a gorgeous saffron eye, Stuart Weitzman heels and a subtly finger-waved chignon…
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Diva in Distressed: Beyoncé Just Inspired Our New DIY
If you aren’t a regular on “Beywatch,” you probably missed last weekend’s shocking revelation that she does indeed have her own edges, as revealed by both her mother and herself. Admittedly, we’re quite not sure why that’s news, since not only have we seen them before, but wigs are pretty much the best protective style…
