10 Summer Activities To Do With Your Girls
Sponsored By BIC® Soleil
Summer means a celebration of hot weather with bright colors, fewer clothes, hints and glimpses of gorgeous skin, glorious beaches, and lots and lots of fun. It’s the time of year where work-life balance receives a little more attention as you make time for play and travel with your best girlfriends. Even though summer might be winding down, there are still quite a few ways to make the most fun under the sun with your girls. Being summertime fine isn’t just limited to the beach. Take you and your girls on a day hike, sunbathing by the pool, riding on bikes in the park underneath the setting sun, or getting lost while hitting the road.
Summer summer summertime.
We teamed up with BIC® Soleil Shine® Razors to provide you with an ultimate list of summer activities that will make you and your girl’s #squadgoals:
Turn Up with a Banging Playlist
The soundtrack of your summer is essential to your summer activities. It not only creates the mood, but it also sets the tone of what kind of summer you want to have – that goes double for summer nights. Check out our upbeat and aspirational playlist with BIC® Soleil Shine® Razors for the perfect soundtrack for your night out on the town or even your day out on the road.
They don’t say “turn up” for no reason.
Be the Author of Your Journey
Make this the most optimistic summer ever by investing in a journal. You can use the journal to write your daily thoughts and your summer adventures. Write down your travel plans and/or your must-do summer activities on the first page and make it a point to check all of the items off one by one. Journals are also a great way to help you remember all the summer memories that you have with your girls. Write down everything and add photos to make the memories you girls create even more vivid.
Glow Up
There’s nothing quite like smooth and radiant summer skin – especially on the legs. Take care of your usual grooming, but take extra time out during your daily hygiene rituals to include time with BIC® Soleil Shine® Razors. The blades provide a close shave that leaves legs smooth to the touch. Afterward, use a body brush to dry brush circular motions along your skin to help remove dead skin. To seal the deal with your hydrated look, use a body lotion to seal in the moisture from your shower.
Be About that Sun Life
A very inexpensive way to enjoy the great outdoors is by going to parks and beaches. Parks are a good everyday option where you can indulge in nature and people-watching while resting out on a blanket with snacks and some cold beverages, or even grabbing some bikes to be active while indulging in the peace and quiet of nature. The beach is a great day trip for most people. Grab your hottest swimsuit, a cooler, some brews, and towels, and prepare to ride the waves the beach provides. Just make sure before you indulge in the sun to put on a full spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Keep that melanin fleeky.
[Tweet "Keep that melanin fleeky."]
Pose for the Camera – Click, Click, Click
We live in an Insta generation where nothing happens unless it’s documented. And a camera (either your phone or your DSLR) is a great way to capture the memories you’re making with your girls over the summer, particularly in the visual sense. Take turns taking #ootds for one another and #squad photos together as a group where y’all pose with similar hand gestures or facial expressions. #summer2k17, anyone?
Work, Work, Work, Work, Work
Stay on top of your fitness by maintaining an active lifestyle throughout the summer. It is not only good for your mental, emotional, and physical health, but it also ensures that your confidence stays on 10. Switch up your routine by taking a new class with your girlfriends where you can try pole dancing or kickboxing for the first time.
Get Your Nails Done, Hair Done, Everything Did
Doing your nails is the perfect way to wave hello to the summer - literally. Turn your weekly mani/pedi self-care session into a time of catch-up and gossip with your girlfriends. Save some extra dollars by creating a DIY spa day from the comforts of home accompanied with mimosas. The hair salon is not only a place where you get a hair glo’ up, it’s also a place to socialize, so why not take that a step further by inviting one of your girls and make getting your hair done a day date? 8 hours of getting braids can go by pretty quickly when you have company to talk and laugh with.
Shady Boots
Channel your inner glam goddess by donning your own statement shades throughout the season. It’s a great way to add a layer of mystery and chicness while protecting your eyes from the blazing sun. Invest in some oversized, cat-eye, or aviator frames when you hit the town this summer.
Bag Lady
Round out your summertime style with a statement bag or purse. Go compact and on-trend with a cross-bodybag that is functional while being fashionable. Choose a purse or bag that is a loud primary color like canary yellow, crimson red, or canary blue. Structured totes are a great option to hold all of your accessories and essentials, but so is a more casual canvas tote with the wording of your choice on its side.
What are some must-haves on your checklist to keep you summertime fine when hanging out with your friends? Share with us below!
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Robyn Dixon Confirms She Will Not Be Returning To 'The Real Housewives Of Potomac' After 8 Seasons
Robyn Dixon has officially confirmed the rumors of her exit from The Real Housewives of Potomac after eight seasons.
In the most recent episode of her podcast Reasonably Shady with co-host and her now former RHOP castmate and best friend Gizelle Bryant, Robyn revealed to listeners that Bravo did not ask her back. "It's reality. I was fired, for lack of better words," she said.
"And I will not sugarcoat the situation and say, 'Oh I am walking away' and this is a break or anything like this. This was a network decision. And, you know, I'm okay with it because nothing lasts forever."
News of Robyn's exit first made headlines in late March, as reported by The Jasmine Brand. On the Monday, April 15 episode of the Reasonably Shady podcast, Robyn explained the reason behind her decision to wait to confirm her departure now versus then. "I wanted to speak my own business, my own life, my own news, my own life, my own news, and I wanted to share it out of my own mouth when the time was appropriate.
"And I felt like the appropriate time would be once season 8 of The Real Housewives of Potomac was finished airing, which it is. now finished airing; the last reunion episode just went off last night. And I wanted to respect the network and respect the show and wait until the season ended, which I think makes sense," she continued.
Robyn's announcement comes shortly after news of Candiace Dillard Bassett's decision to 'take a break' from the franchise which came during the airing of the eighth season's three-part reunion special. Robyn has been a part of the Maryland version of The Real Housewives franchise since the beginning with viewers being privy to a lot of the series' vet's highs and lows, including her tax issues in season five where the reality star owed close to $90,000 in back taxes, and her engagement and subsequent remarriage with on-again-off-again partner turned husband Juan Dixon.
Some of the pair's trials as a couple became the center of controversy when cheating rumors swirled and the Dixons maintained a united front with both of them vehemently denying any outside affairs. In a slightly controversial move in 2023 following a season of denials of Juan's alleged infidelities, Robyn placed her transparency behind a podcast paywall instead of airing it out on the show, a decision that might have been seen as the beginning of the end for the 45-year-old.
The Real Housewives of Potomac has sparked much criticism over the years, largely stemming from viewers feeling as though the reality show suffers from colorism and perceived favoritism shown to particular cast members depending on skin tone and the emphasis on "fake" storylines instead of focusing on what is real amongst the group of women.
Some of those pain points were explored during the latest season's reunions with the cast members not getting very far in understanding their colorism experiences. "There's no better group of Black women on the Bravo network to talk about that than us," fellow housewife Karen Huger said in the explosive conversation in the second part of the reunion special.
"No, actually, that's very incorrect," Wendy Osefo interjected at the time, "because if you want to talk about colorism, then you need to have the range to talk about it. And a lot of people on this couch, whether you want to admit it or not, do not have the range."
Candiace has been very vocal about her perspective on colorism as it relates to the cast and it is speculated that that as well as favoritism played a part in the reason she announced her own departure from the Bravo series on March 25 after six seasons. Though she emphasized it was "not a farewell," but a "'see you later.'"
The 37-year-old singer told PEOPLE exclusively, "As I embark on a new chapter after six remarkable years with The Real Housewives of Potomac, I am filled with gratitude for the enriching friendships, personal growth, and moments of introspection that have defined this journey."
She continued, "With a whirlwind of new opportunities and responsibilities on my plate, I have decided to take a break from RHOP."
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Featured image by Mindy Small/Getty Images
