InAbout Face, xoNecole gets the 411 on IGers who give us #skincaregoals on a daily. Here they break down their beauty routines on the inside and out, as well as the highly coveted products that grace their shelves and their skin.
Brianna Ellis captured our hearts with her witty humor and endless love for travel. Her energy captivated 20,000 viewers while sharing her outlook on life. Today, we get to know her views on beauty, which are entirely left-field from what she typically shares online. Ellis arrives on the Zoom call, like how she shows up on her socials, fresh-faced with a smile. The content creator radiates as she opens up about navigating the world of beauty. “My relationship with makeup especially hasn’t always been the best,” shares Ellis.
As a child, Ellis was active in the dance community. She was often performing in shows and competitions. The dance world required Ellis to wear makeup at an early age. A full face became a part of Ellis's beauty routine, causing her to rebel against makeup altogether. In her charm and wit, she describes the frustration of feeling heavy makeup on her skin. The dance community's views on beauty differed from those she was raised in childhood. Ellis says, “My mom always told me I was beautiful just the way I was, so it was hard to hear that and have to wear a full face of makeup.” Still, Ellis sat in the chair and watched as a makeup artist corrected the parts of her skin that she viewed as perfection.
Ellis’s conflicting views on beauty continued in her college years. Women seemed to prioritize physical appearance more than mental presence in their classes. These stigmas often made Ellis feel she wanted to be “one of the girls,” but not to the degree they presented at the time. Her adolescence became triggered with curiosity. At the same time, her inner child reminds her of what she once experienced. Constantly trying to decide between inner beauty or outer beauty, but never feeling like both could coexist. These are the internal conflicts women face daily due to the conditionings of society.
In a world of intense beauty routines, content creator Brianna Ellis believes less is more. Courtesy
Keeping things simple in her adult years has become a silent pushback towards the beauty standards that were placed upon her childhood essence. In a world of intense beauty routines, Ellis believes less is more. Opting for lighter makeup looks over full coverage and consistently keeping her skin together with her mother's teachings: drinking lemon water, using tea tree oil, and going to church on Sundays. She is learning that women can indeed have both. We can be the makeup aesthetic of our choosing and opt for a fresh face while out with friends.
"We are all beautiful just the way we are, so we don't need much."
Ellis teaches us that women's beauty doesn’t lie within products but the wisdom of what it truly means to be a woman. “We are all beautiful just the way we are, so we don’t need much. This how I was raised to view beauty and will always continue to view it as such,” says Ellis. As a beauty writer of several years, I am moved by Ellis's rebellious stance on beauty. Her skincare routine stands true to her to the teachings she preaches. I listened in awe as she shared the details of her skincare routine - simple, refreshing, and daringly forward.
Keep scrolling for more insight into Brianna Ellis's morning and night skincare routines.
Her Morning Skincare Routine:
Tea Tree Oil
Maple Holistics Pure Tea Tree Oil Natural Essential Oil
Amazon
“I love using this because it smells great and clears my skincare,” says Ellis. Always remember to dilute tea tree oil before putting it on your skin.
Good Molecules Lightweight Daily Moisturizer
Good Molecules Lightweight Daily Moisturizer
Amazon
“It has the best cooling feeling when you put it on your face. I love it!”
Her Nighttime Skincare Routine:
Alcohol
Amazon Basics Alcohol
Amazon
“My mom uses this, and so do I. We love it because it cleans the skin after a long day.”
Kiehl's Under Eye Cream
Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye
Kiehl's
“This helps with undereye bags.”
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RELATED
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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What Is a Praise Kink?
The concept of praise kinks isn't new, but thanks to TikTok, a lot of people are now realizing they might identify as praise kinksters. Currently, the hashtag #praisek1nk is trending with 568.9 million views, with tons of creators posting about their love for compliments and words of affirmation during sex. I, too, love a good compliment during sex. I once had a lover sing my praises about how good I was at a certain bedroom activity. His affirmations gave me WAP, but does that categorize me as having a praise kink?
How To Know if You Have a Praise Kink
Just because you love receiving praise doesn’t mean you have a praise kink. Someone with a praise kink experiences an intense level of sexual excitement from being praised or verbally affirmed by their partner during sex. You might have a praise kink if hearing your partner tell you how pretty you are makes you cum or if the thing that makes sex go from good to great is hearing your partner's thoughts about how good you are at giving head. And if, during solo play, the thing that gets you all hot and bothered is recalling the times your partner called you a good girl, it’s probably a praise kink.
Generally, a kink is a sexual activity that is needed for someone to enjoy sex. When it comes specifically to praise kinks, if you need reassurance from your partner that you're sexy, or good in bed in order to orgasm, you have a praise kink.
filadendron/Getty Images
Examples of Praise Kink Phrases To Try With Your Partner
If you’re new to the term and looking to explore, you probably have questions about what phrases to use. It may take a lot of communication and some trial and error to figure out what phrases work best for you and your partner. Ultimately, the best phrases to use vary from person to person and are based on what sex acts you and your partner enjoy, or what parts of their body they like complimented.
To get you started, here are some generic praise kink examples to try out with your partner:
Praise Kink Examples:
- You're such a good girl/boy.
- You're so good at [insert skill].
- You look so hot when you [insert activity].
- Your [insert body part] is irresistible.
- You taste so good. I can't get enough of you.
- You just have the perfect [body part].
- Just like that… you’re doing so good.
- Who taught you how to be so good at [something?]
While many examples of praise kink involve specific verbal affirmations, praise can also come in the form of brief words or phrases like “yes,” “keep going,” or simply a moan. No matter what type you prefer, praise kink is all about finding what feels good and exciting, and turns you and your partner on the most.
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Originally published on November 4, 2022