black beauty
-
The Glow Up Gaze: Seynabou Cissé Is the Real-Talking ‘Real Woman’ We’ve Been Waiting For
Model Seynabou Cissé—Seyna, for short—quietly rocked our worlds when she visited our offices in her signature unapologetic, pared-down, woman-conquers-menswear style. We fell in love at first sight with the 23-year old Senegalese JAG Model and her tailored separates, naturally chic cadence and glowing—SO GLOWING—skin. But mostly, we fell for her straight-talking style—is there anything more…
-
Traveling Light, Part 2: Yes, You Can Fit a Full Face Into Minimal Space
This is my toiletry case. It doesn’t have a name, though it probably should, since we’ve traveled the world together for years. For now, let’s call her Clare—probably Clare the Eighth, at this point. But she’s always a simple, clear bucket case measuring approximately 4 by 5 by 8 inches, with a double-zip top, maximizing…
-
The Hair Hits the Tour: Behind the Velvet Rope With Cassidy Blaine
“I’m like—that’s Janet Jackson! I do the cabbage patch and everything every time I see her!” So says Cassidy Blaine, who’s been turning out sick-ass hairstyles for Miss Jackson (if you’re nasty) and her touring crew for the last decade. And we can’t blame her; Jackson is indisputably an icon. You know it, and we…
-
Wonder Woman: Happy Birthday, Flo-Jo!
The track and field and fashion phenomenon Florence Griffith Joyner—fondly known as Flo-Jo—would have been 58 years strong today, and undoubtedly still slaying us with her inimitable style. Long before Serena Williams stunned in her on-court ensembles or Ibtihaj Muhammad stayed true to herself and her sport in hijab, Flo-Jo was showing the world what…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
Saving Face: Winning the Battle Against Adult Acne
Something interesting has been happening to me lately: People have actually been commenting on how good my skin looks. I’m not saying this to gloat; not in any way. In fact, I’ve been struggling with acne for the majority of my life. And as a soon-to-be a member of the Jackie Robinson Club (read: turning…
-
Amazing Grace: The Glow Up Talks to Greenleaf’s Merle Dandridge
There’s an innate groundedness, a humility, about actress and singer Merle Dandridge. It’s a quality that’s immediately calming to the listener and connects you with her. The Glow Up had the pleasure of catching up with Dandridge during her current run on Broadway as Papa Ge—a riff on the Haitian Creole god Guédé—in the revival…
-
Mahalo for the Holidays! Sephora Features Its 1st Afro-Hawaiian Beauty … and So, So Much More
That skin. That glow. That hair. Sephora’s 2017 holiday campaign features a new crop of models—freshly plucked from their very own stores. We got hip to this via Anne Branigin, The Root’s news fellow, and instantly fell in love with Afro-Hawaiian curve-tastic beauty Taíja, giving us urban-Moana realness. (Yes, we know the character Moana isn’t…