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8 Lip Products You Need To Cop If You Haven't Already
There are so many new beauty releases being pushed to us it can be hard to figure out what product actually works and what’s worth spending the coins on. I’ve been on the hunt for quality lip care products, from lip care to makeup. I was determined to build a lip collection that nourishes, enhances, and looks good on my lips.
When it comes to lip care, your best lips start with a simple but effective routine in place. Our lip care isn’t synonymous with our skincare routine. If you think about it, our lips are exposed to just as much if not more, and have the thinnest layer of skin, requiring a little extra attention. A good foundation is important with anything, and I find that the better you treat and care for your lips, the better your glosses and lipsticks look.
Some of us underestimate the importance of healthy smooth lips or just don’t know what products to use to achieve it. Don’t worry, though, we got you! We created this list of products with everything from lip scrubs to lip glosses to help build a lip care routine that will keep your lips hydrated, smooth, and beautiful. Here are eight lip care products you need to try now:
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask Intense Hydration with Vitamin C
If you’re in need of an intense lip moisturizing treatment, an overnight mask may do the trick. One of the biggest benefits of overnight treatments is that it allows you to dedicate uninterrupted time to restore moisture and hydration back into your lips. Studies also show that our skin cells rebalance during the night, making moisture retention more ideal. Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask works and does just that by transforming dry or cracked lips while you sleep.
The overnight treatment is packed with antioxidants, berry fruit complex, murumuru seed, and shea butter to create smoother, softer lips. You simply just apply at night before bed and wipe off the excess in the morning. How often you should use it depends on you; it can be a consistent part of your nighttime beauty routine or something to do once in a while when your lips need a little extra TLC.
La Mer The Lip Polish
La Mer
If you’re looking for a two-in-one scrub, La Mer's Lip Polish is exactly what you need. The scrub act as both a moisturizer and exfoliator with a balm-like feel. It comes with a two-sided applicator: one smooth end to apply to your lips and the other to massage and increase circulation. La Mer’s Lip Polish helps remove dead skin, soften lip texture, and hydrate. It’s free of parabens and sulfates and uses its signature miracle broth which is a blend of sea kelp and various vitamins and minerals to nourish your lips.
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil
Lip oils are a great bonus product for smooth and hydrated lips. They are designed to not only add shine but also nourish, soften, and protect your lips from dehydration. Rare Beauty makes a great collection of tinted lip oils that combine skincare and makeup. With up to eight different shades, all you need is the tinted oil and liner, and you’re good to go!
Ami Colé Lip Treatment Oil
Ami Colé
This is another great lip oil if you don’t want the vibrancy of the Rare Beauty oil. If you’re more of a gloss girl but still want to get into lip oils, Ami Colé is the way to go. Each oil is made with baobab seed oil and camellia oil to nourish lips and add lasting shine without any stickiness. As far as shade options, Ami Colé offers five different lip shades – Excellence, Reflection, Smitten, Bliss, and 5/17.
Although each oil shade has its own tint, it still incorporates a sheer and natural gloss-like finish to fit every skin tone. I think a good way to use lip oils is to layer it on top of your chapstick or lip ointment for double hydration and long-lasting moisture.
Aquaphor Lip Repair
Aquaphor
Finding the right lip balm can be a job in itself. I’ve tried almost every stick, balm, and ointment there is, and the only one I seemed to be satisfied with is the Aquaphor Lip Repair. It treats, shines, and adds long-lasting moisture to dry lips. It’s free of harmful preservatives and fragrances and made for those who are more on the sensitive side. You can also get this same ointment with SPF 30, so you can protect your lips from sun damage and signs of aging.
Fenty Beauty Fenty Icon Velvet Liquid Lipstick
Fenty Beauty
I don’t know about y’all, but one of my favorite moments of the 2023 Super Bowl was that red lip – it was bold, pigmented, and stunning, so you know we had to add it to the list. Fenty’s Velvet Liquid Lipstick is a creamy lip color with long-lasting wear. The velvet finish is a great option if you’re not necessarily a matte or glossy kind of girl. The Fenty Icon comes in five different shades – H.B.I.C., Bread Winn'r, C-Suite'Heart, RiRi, and The MVP. For $29, it will give you a bold, comfortable, and long-lasting wear.
Juvia's Place The Coffee Shop Luxe Lipliners
Juvia's Place
Juvia’s Place products are known for their rich and pigmented colors, especially for dark skin. I’ve personally had a hard time finding a bold brown lipliner that doesn’t blend in. If you’re having the same issue, I highly recommend grabbing one of these. For one, it comes in three different brown shades – Cocoa Latte, Coffee Bean, and Espresso. The liners are just $10 for a smooth application that adds both pigment and definition to your lips. For the price, it’s definitely a steal.
Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer
Fenty Beauty
I really wanted to give y’all a range of products and brands without repeating brands on this list, but Fenty Beauty really came into the game killing it. It would be a disservice to leave their collection of glosses off the list. The Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer is a must-have for your gloss collection. I’m personally a fan of the Fenty Glow, but it has six other shades – FU$Y, Diamond Milk, Glass Slipper, $weetmouth, Hot Chocolit, and Riri.
In my opinion, because it conditions so well, you can use this as a lip oil too. Now I know Fenty sells lip oils too, but if you’ve tried both already, it basically has the same feel and effects in a bigger bottle.
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Freelance writer, content creator, and traveler. She enjoys the beauty of simplicity, a peaceful life, and a big curly fro. Connect with Krissy on social media @iamkrissylewis or check out her blog at www.krissylewis.com.
This Black Woman-Owned Creative Agency Shows Us The Art Of Rebranding
Rebranding is an intricate process and very important to the success of businesses that want to change. However, before a business owner makes this decision, they should determine whether it's a rebrand or an evolution.
That's where people like Lola Adewuya come in. Lola is the founder and CEO of The Brand Doula, a brand development studio with a multidisciplinary approach to branding, social media, marketing, and design.
While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
Feature image courtesy
The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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50 Cent Is Celibate And Might Be Open To Marriage In The Future
50 Cent wears many hats. He's a rapper, actor, executive producer of the very successful Power franchise, author, and father. With such a hectic lifestyle, the "21 Questions" artist has also decided to vow celibacy. He first revealed that he was celibate in a New Year's post in January.
"My new idea is so big, I don’t have time to be distracted I’m practicing abstinence, I have been meditating and focusing on my goals. I hope this New Year helps you excel to the next level," he wrote.
And he elaborated on his decision during his recent visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "Listen, when you calm down you can focus," the 49-year-old mogul said. "I've been good to me."
He also explained how his financial status can complicate things and being celibate helps him see things clearer.
"[Money is] when things start getting complicated, things start getting confusing cause people come in for different reasons," he said. "If you go on a date but you have no interest in anything, I can see you now. I said, ‘God damn, girl, you fine, but you ain’t got nothing going on."
When Stephen asked if The Accomplice author has ever been married, he responded with, "I am safe. I’m not a happy hostage. I’m here. I’m free. I made some mistakes, just not that one."
Later on in the interview, 50 clarified that he still wants a romantic relationship and possible marriage down the line, but that's not his focus at the moment. "I want someone I can love in my life too, just not right now. I’m fine."
50 has had a lot of high-profile relationships, from Vivica A. Fox to Ciara. Here's a look back at his relationships below.
Shaniqua Tompkins
Before 50 became famous, he was dating Shaniqua Tompkins and they share a child, 27-year-old Marquise Jackson. For years, the former couple have been involved in a back-and-forth over their son and eventually, the rapper's relationship with Marquise turned sour.
Meagan Good
Meagan Good confirmed in a Hollywood Unlock interview that she and the Queens-bred rapper did date in the past. They reportedly dated from 2002 to 2003, and she starred in his music video for "21 Questions."
“Just to bring clarity on that, that was over a decade ago, and it was for about a year. … I kept it under the radar intentionally because…at that time in my career, I’d just come off of Biker Boyz, I’d just done the music video, and my career was going in a really great way," she explained. "And what I didn’t want was my connection to him to be the catalyst in any type of success that I had."
Vivica A. Fox
Photo by KMazur/WireImage
50's relationship with Vivica A. Fox might be his most memorable one yet. After publicly complimenting her on her dress at the 2003 BET Awards, they showed up at the MTV VMAs together later that year. Their love affair was brief, but their public feud lasted years. Two decades later, they seem to have both put the petty past behind them.
Joy Bryant
Joy Bryant and the "In da Club" rapper reportedly dated from 2005 to 2006. The two were co-stars in Get Rich or Die Tryin' and had impeccable chemistry. However, it seems they couldn't replicate that chemistry offscreen.
Ciara
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage
The "Can't Leave Him Alone" collaborators dated from 2007 to 2010. In 2012, Ciara revealed why they ultimately called it quits during an interview with the Ricky Smiley Morning Show. “He’s obviously far from afraid of anything that he can control. But at the same time — him not being afraid of anything in that way — the one thing he is afraid of is love," she said. "And with that being said, in a sense, he’s afraid of me.”
Chelsea Handler
The couple that surprised everyone the most was 50 Cent and Chelsea Handler. The comedian called the mogul her favorite ex. “I love 50 Cent, he was fun. He was just a sweetheart, and he was fun to be around,” Chelsea told Entertainment Tonight in January 2023. “My friends loved hanging out with him. I loved hanging out with him. It was a pretty short-lived romance. It was only two months. But yeah, I mean, If I saw him, I’d definitely have a drink with him.”
Daphne Joy
50 dated model Daphne Joy from 2011-2012, and they share a 12-year-old son, Sire. The Grammy award-winning artist is currently suing his ex for defamation after she accused him of rape. This accusation came after 50 asked for sole custody of their son following Lil Rod's sex abuse lawsuit against Diddy, which alleged that Daphne was a longtime sex worker. The model has also accused her ex of abuse in the past.
Jamira "Cuban Link" Haines
Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images
Jamira Haines, known on social media as Cuban Link, and 50 began dating in 2019. Since then, they have made many public appearances together and have been posted on each other's social media pages. However, it appears the law school student and the rapper are no longer together. While neither party has confirmed the breakup, Jamira has scraped her social media with any traces of 50.