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A Month of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex: Is It Too Soon to Slam Her Royal Style?
Tuesday marked a month since Meghan Markle married into the British royal family, effectively becoming Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. And since the date of her wedding to Prince Harry, eyes around the world have been watching to witness—and critique—the former actress’s royal style. The duchess got off to a great start; her wedding dress, designed…
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Dream Team: Tracee Ellis Ross Wants to Appear in Rihanna’s Next Video
We’re always happy to see Tracee Ellis Ross. Our current favorite TV mom and best friend in our head is always good for a laugh, a brilliant quip or a fashion statement. But now she’s put an image in our heads that we simply can’t shake—that is, unless it happens. In an irreverent new interview…
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Ms. Jackson if You’re Happy: Janet Jackson Shares Her Journey to Joy in Essence’s Happiness Issue
She may have taught us all the “pleasure principle,” but beloved icon Janet Jackson’s happiness didn’t come as easily as a song and dance. In an exclusive essay and cover story for Essence magazine’s first-ever Happiness issue, the living legend—who will also headline the 2018 Essence Festival on Sunday, July 8—writes readers a deeply empathetic…
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Did Dior Backstage Do Right by Its Darker-Skinned Clientele? Beauty Blogger Nyma Tang Reviews
In the now-heated rush for every cosmetics brand to come to market with at least 40 shades of foundation (thanks, Fenty), there’s still a question of how truly inclusive their shade ranges are. Whether it’s an issue of the majority of shades still falling firmly in the “beige” category, or undertones not being correctly addressed,…
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The Love Below: Jada Pinkett Smith and Mom Talk Vaginal Rejuvenation in Red Table Talk
Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk—her hit Facebook series featuring herself, daughter Willow and mother Adrienne Banfield-Jones—has provided us with no end of topics to cover. In the month since its debut, the series has explored a number of intimate matters, including blended families, body issues, “mean girls,” hair loss and the challenges of being…
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Way of the Warrior: Danai Gurira Tells Us How She Stays So Strong and Sexy in Women’s Health
Just when we’d decided that the beach was gonna get whatever body we decided to give it this year, here comes Danai Gurira on the cover of the July/August issue of Women’s Health, reminding us that we could probably do better. Not that we hope to reach Gurira-level fitness; the actress, playwright and activist works…
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Serving Face—and Tribute: Lena Waithe Honors the Trailblazing Legacy of Paris Is Burning
Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the “unbought and unbossed” Shirley Chisholm to Saturday night’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, Trailblazer Award honoree Lena Waithe proved that she will always use her platform to elevate the marginalized, transforming her moment at the podium into a tribute to the gay and transgender icons and culture immortalized in…
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Freedom Over Fear: Janelle Monáe Covers Allure’s Freedom Issue
You strip away the makeup, the costumes and everything you know about Janelle Monáe the artist, and I’m still the African-American, queer woman who grew up with poor, working-class parents. When I walk off a stage, I have to deal with these confrontations. I have to deal with being afraid for my family. The artist…
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Amandla Stenberg Makes It Official: She Is a Black Gay Woman
We long for the day when no one feels compelled to “come out”—or for straight folks to feel equally compelled. Ideally, sexuality should just be considered another natural and accepted part of identity—but then again, so should blackness. But if you do feel so compelled, there’s likely no better month to declare pride in who…
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She Got That Glow: How Zendaya Got Slick for the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards
“Whenever I’m doing Zendaya’s hair, it’s always a collaborative effort between her, her stylist Law Roach and myself,” says celebrity hairstylist (and The Glow Up fave) Ursula Stephen. The hair aficionado has made a name for herself teasing the tresses of some of the best-known beauties around, including Rihanna, Kerry Washington, Nia Long, Laverne Cox…

