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Pretty Hurts: The Insidious Side of Insta-Beauty
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Self-proclaimed “makeup enthusiast” and Instagram beauty Victoria Katei (@vicxkat) learned this the hard way when she was brave enough to get real with her over-50,000 followers, showing herself with and without makeup. The comments weren’t universally kind—not by a long shot. Commenters accused Victoria of “catfishing”…
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Because Being a Woman Isn’t Scary Enough: Now Your Birth Control Could Cause Breast Cancer
Have breasts? Trying not to get pregnant? A new study from Denmark has revealed that hormonal birth control of all types can raise your risk of developing breast cancer, which is frightening news to the legions of women who choose these methods to prevent conception. This new research expanded beyond high-dose birth control pills studied…
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She’s Your Queen-to-Be: @Krissychula Stays Saying What We’re All Thinking
Fun fact—or, in this case, funny fact, for a beauty vertical: I first fell for YouTuber @krissychula on a bad hair day in 2012. It was a really bad hair day, to hear her tell it: Since being “pissed off” at her hair (and who here can’t relate?), @krissychula, also known as Krystal, has elevated…
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The Purple One Would Approve: Pantone Finally Gets It Right With 2018’s Color of the Year
Full disclosure: I’m a Minnesota native. Minneapolis, to be exact. I’m also a black woman, and a musician who counts among her first musical memories seeing the Purple Rain tour live at the Humphrey dome in 1984. Suffice to say, last year I didn’t take Prince’s passing well … But while it may feel a…
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If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late: An Insomniac’s Lament
I do my best writing at 4 a.m. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself, night after night, when I start writing after hours of tossing and turning. I remind myself that studies say that smart people are typically night owls (as well as messy and profane—don’t judge me). By that logic, I must…
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Lupita Back on the Cover of Vogue Is All the ‘New Year, New You’ We Need
In #Faves news: She’s beautiful, she’s black, and this January, she’s back on the cover of American Vogue! Lupita Nyong’o is ushering us into 2018 with Little Mermaid-after-she-made-the-trade realness (The Root staff has been lobbying for her to star in a live-action remake of the animated classic, and we won’t let it go). This marks…
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The Cover That Time Forgot: Why We’re Placing #MeToo’s Tarana Burke Front and Center
News that the #MeToo movement had been named Time magazine’s coveted 2017 Person of the Year confirmed a truly watershed moment in American history: one in which victims of sexual violence—in this case, predominantly women—refused to be shamed or intimidated into silence, while predators would (finally) be held accountable. The nonprofit and accompanying campaign, created…
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Former President Barack Obama and Recent Data Suggest That Women Make Better Leaders, and Water Is Wet
At an invitation-only event in Paris Saturday, former President Barack Obama urged attendees to consider “the importance of more focus on putting women in power, because men seem to be having some problems these days.” Umm …. ya think? Obama cited our “socialization” as the likely reason for women’s capacity to be better leaders. While…
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The Real MVPs: My #Faves From Fenty Beauty (Hint: It’s Not the Foundation)
I have a confession to make. I’m not a fan of Fenty foundation. *Ducks.* Don’t get me wrong: I’m enthralled by the range of shades, the marketing, beautiful packaging and even the specially trained Fenty specialists who color-matched me in Sephora. But after three tries, I had to accept that this foundation and I just…
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Bad and British: We Showed Up and Out at the British Fashion Awards 2017—Including The Glow Up’s Veronica Webb
Last night, our very own editor and supermodel Veronica Webb took to the stage of the British Fashion Awards 2017 to honor her mentor and friend, iconic fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa, who died suddenly last month at the age of 77. Dressed in—of course—Alaïa, she was joined by both fashion-industry friends and fellow models and…
