Black in Style: Will the next celebrity makeup line be SZA’s?

This week in style, Edward Enniful’s impactful farewell, Cardi B’s Super Bowl beauty debut, and Beyoncé commits to cowboy-core.

From your playlist to your makeup bag, SZA may soon be planning to make her debut in the beauty industry. Before walking away with three Grammys last weekend, SZA attended Billboard’s annual Power 100 celebration. As the singer was presented with the Clive Davis Visionary Award, she revealed she was wearing products from her own collection via an Instagram story. Reposting a photo of herself from the event’s red carpet, she added the caption, “Also wearing all my own lip products down to the liner,” according to Harper’s Bazaar. 

Though the singer has not revealed further details about if or when she will ever release the aforementioned products, SZA, birth name Solána Imani Rowe, is no stranger to the beauty industry. Before reaching stardom, she worked at Sephora, where she picked up a number of skincare and beauty tips.

“I used to work in the skincare department, So I know for a fact that everyone’s skin is different. Consistency and simplification is key. I can’t try a whole bunch of different s—t that I’ve seen,” SZA told Refinery29 while shouting out some of her beauty favs. “I love MAC. Pat McGrath? Come on, son. She’s Black and killing it […] For foundation, I like Hourglass. It’s vegan and cruelty-free, and it works for Black skin. I️t vanishes everything, and it’s buildable. I sleep in this s—t, and I got bad skin.” 

No doubt SZA’s followers are clamoring to see a cosmetics line will be her next release.

Oprah Winfrey, Naomi Campbell, Serena Williams and more come together for Edward Enninful’s final British Vogue cover

When Edward Enninful, the first-ever Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue, sat down to devise his final cover, which features 40 boundary-pushing superstar women who graced covers during his tenure, he knew the issue would be dedicated to women. 

“Women have shaped British Vogue for close to 108 years now and have certainly informed every moment of my six-and-a-half-year tenure here, to say nothing of leading and guiding me through my entire life,” he wrote in an editor’s letter about the March issue for the publication. 

Enninful and his team quickly realized there wasn’t a single woman who could fully capture the essence of his tenure, which has been marked by many groundbreaking, diverse covers. “What we needed was a group,” he explained — and what a group he got. 

The cover features women who have all graced covers of British Vogue under Enninful’s leadership, including Oprah Winfrey, Naomi Campbell, Serena Williams, Jane Fonda, and more. The group also includes legendary models like Iman and newer faces like Paloma Elsesser and Precious Lee. 

In June, it was announced that Enniful is leaving his position as British Vogue’s editor-in-chief to take on the role of global creative and cultural adviser of Vogue within British Vogue’s parent company, Conde Nast. Befitting his support of women, longtime Vogue editor Chioma Nnadi will be his successor.

Of his final cover shoot, Enniful said, “It has been a truly magnificent chapter for me personally here at British Vogue, but it was apparent on set that day that it was the togetherness, community and teamwork that we cherished the most. And now? Well, it’s the excitement of whatever this thrilling and unchartered decade has in store next, isn’t it? For all of us.”

Cardi B’s first beauty collaboration is “Super” big 

Despite being known for glamorous and chameleonic beauty looks, Cardi B has never had an official partnership with a beauty brand –– until recently. This week, the rapper teased a new partnership with NYX Cosmetics. 

“NYX is a brand that I’ve used since high school, and that’s why it’s so special to partner with them for this campaign,” she said in a press release, per Marie Claire. “NYX has always made the best, affordable products, and that’s why I still use them today. We had a lot of fun making this over-the-top, hilarious commercial, and I can’t wait for everyone to see.”

Scheduled to debut during the Super Bowl, the collaborators released a 15-second teaser ahead of the big game. Promoting NYX Cosmetics’ “Duck Plump High Pigment Plumping Lip Gloss,” the video shows the award-winning rapper applying the product and saying one of her viral phrases, “That’s suspicious. That’s weird. Freaky.” A first for both Cardi B and NYX, the Super Bowl commercial and celebrity partnership is part of the brand’s 25th-anniversary celebration. 

“We’ve gone big,” said Denée Pearson, global brand president of NYX Cosmetics. “Creating the ultimate entertainment content made to be bold, colorful, and fun while celebrating powerful women.” 

Catch the full commercial during the second half of Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11.

Hip-hop and luxury fashion duet in Roc Nation and Versace’s new partnership

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is teaming up with Versace for a special partnership. This week, the Italian luxury brand and music label announced a multi-year deal designed to collaborate on “cause-focused initiatives” and high-profile event sponsorships, as well as scholarships for the Roc Nation School of Music, Sport, and Entertainment at Long Island University.

“Central to both Versace and Roc Nation is human capital and a commitment to creative empowerment, celebrating individuality and fuelling positive change,” Roc Nation shared in a press release, per Complex. “Championing artists across music, entertainment, and broader cultural landscapes will be underscored through the partnership.” 

Working in tandem with Roc Nation’s longtime partnership with the National Football League (NFL), the entertainment giant and luxury fashion brand plan to launch their alliance during Roc Nation Sports’ 2024 Super Bowl event.

Yara Shahidi’s favorite scent? Food

As the face of Jean Paul Gaultier’s newest women’s fragrance, Gaultier Divine, one would think Yara Shahidi most prefers sultry floral scents. However, the actress, model, Harvard graduate, and activist surprisingly gravitates toward savory scents just as much as more sensual ones. 

Speaking about her involvement in the campaign, which originally dropped in September, Shahidi recently told Fashionista her earliest scent memories are of food. In particular, she noted how garlic and peppermint are scents she associates with home and growing up in an African-American and Iranian household. 

Regarding which scents she finds most romantic, despite her love of the savory, Shahidi does favor a time-honored classic. 

“The most romantic scent, if I weren’t to say garlic — because somebody’s cooking me a good dinner — but just a straight-up scent… I love jasmine,” she said. “I think partially because growing up, jasmine is never really something people plant, but it just kind of grows in certain parts. And I just have such vivid memories of knowing exactly what that smell was. Going on a walk outside somewhere and being like, ‘Oohh, what is that?’ There’s something so natural and light and beautiful.” 

Small Black businesses won big during the 15 Percent Pledge’s 3rd annual gala

Last Saturday in Hollywood, the fashion industry and high-profile politicians alike joined forces for the 15 Percent Pledge’s 3rd annual gala, which raised nearly $400,000 for small Black businesses. The star-studded event featured a black tie and Black designer dress code and took place on a backlot of Paramount Studios fashioned to look like Brooklyn, New York. 

According to a release, Hanahana Beauty was the winner of this year’s Achievement Award and a $200,000 grant. The perfume and wellness brand Brown Girl Jane received Sephora’s inaugural beauty grant of $100,000. Shoe brand Blackstock & Weber received $35,000, and Soap Distillery received $15,000. Actress and Pattern Beauty founder Tracee Ellis Ross was honored with the event’s Trailblazer Award. 

Some of the event’s other esteemed guests included Jordan Woods, Yvonne Orji, Sabrina Elba, Queen Latifah, and First Lady Jill Biden, who Vogue reported was met with a standing ovation and a hug from Latifah after delivering a speech advocating for “meaningful action over rhetoric.”

Beyoncé commits to cowboy-core with a “Renaissance”-esque rodeo look at the Grammys   

From Barbiecore to Balletcore, fashion has experienced a number of “core” trends. Now, this year, “cowboy-core” promises to be one of the hottest trends on the fashion streets – as confirmed by Houston’s most famous native at the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony. While Jay-Z accepted his Dr. Dre Global Impact award onstage, all eyes were on Beyoncé in the crowd, awaiting her reaction to her husband’s bold speech and admiring her cowboy-inspired look. In a custom leather studded two-piece set from Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton’s Fall 2024 menswear collection, the star served both ”Renaissance” and rodeo chic as she accessorized the look with a pair of pointed-toe pumps and a classic Stetson cowboy hat and bolo tie. 

Beyoncé isn’t the first Black star we’ve seen appreciate Black Western folklore in their fashion as of late. Williams, Dapper Dan, Lil Nas X and more have drawn sartorial inspiration from the wild, wild West. Now that Beyoncé has given her stamp of approval, the Beyhive will likely be trading their silver Renaissance cowboy hats for Stetson’s classic “Shasta” model in “Mist Gray” — currently retailing for a semi-accessible $440.   

Adidas and local sneaker retailers team up to honor Black women community leaders 

In honor of Black History Month, Adidas has collaborated with a curated group of sneaker retailers to celebrate local Black women making impactful contributions within their communities. Through its retailer-focused initiative Adidas Cornerstone Community, which is dedicated to bolstering BIPOC-owned businesses, the brand has joined forces with Sneex and Clicks in Milwaukee, Premium Goods in Houston, Wish ATL in Atlanta, Ldrs 1354 in Chicago, and GBNY in Queens, N.Y.

Each partnering retailer will collaborate with Adidas to create content or host community-centered events spotlighting the remarkable achievements of the women they’ve chosen to honor. These individuals will be recognized through Adidas’ Honoring Black Excellence (HBE) initiative, an ongoing commitment to acknowledging the exceptional accomplishments of Black individuals, communities, and culture throughout the year.

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