
These Celeb Beauty Brands Are Giving New Meaning To Having Skin In The Game

Diversifying your brand outside of entertainment is something that a lot of celebrities are taking seriously. We’ve seen it in the early 2000s when rappers began creating clothing lines such as Nelly with Apple Bottom and Jay-Z and Damon Dash with Rocawear, but now it’s all about beauty and skin. With Rihanna seeing massive success with her Fenty Beauty and now Fenty Skin line, other celebrities are looking to get into the health and beauty space as well.
While we love us some RiRi, it is perfectly fine to venture out and see what other Black celeb beauty and skin care lines have to offer. Check them out below:
S'Able Labs by Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba
Hollywood’s sexiest couple Idris Elba and wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba have decided to dip their toes into the skin care world with S’Able Labs. S’Able is Elbas spelled backward and the products are genderless. Sabrina recently talked about her exciting new venture with her husband in Vogue, “We realized quickly that there was no one doing it in the wellness space that looked like, spoke like or felt like us—there was no representation for people of color who wanted to be into wellness and fit in,” she said. “Plus everything was gender-focused—I’d have conversations with my husband on products he didn’t think he could use [due to them being aimed at women], but could.”
Cay Skin by Winnie Harlow
Supermodel Winnie Harlow recently launched Cay Skin, which is a sun and body care brand. As a model, Winnie works long hours and sometimes she’s working those hours in the sun. In an interview with Essence, Winnie recalled suffering from sunburn after modeling in the Bahamas from sun up to sundown. She revealed that no one on the shoot wanted her to reapply sunscreen because “it didn’t look good.”
However, that experience motivated her to develop her skincare line. “I wanted to make sure it was good to use for people who have sensitive skin, who have vitiligo, who are light, dark, any color under the sun,” she said. “I wanted it to be beneficial for everyone because everyone needs sun care and protection from the sun.”
Kinlò by Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka also has a sun care line called Kinlò. The tennis star launched the line in hopes of bringing awareness to skin protection and skin cancer in Black and Brown communities. Naomi opened up about what she learned when developing the line. “I was shocked when I learned about the statistics of skin cancer in communities of color, particularly about how much higher the mortality rate is for those of us who are diagnosed with skin cancer,” she said in an interview with Oprah Daily.
“That really opened my eyes to the fact that protection for melanated skin is a real public health need, and I immediately wanted to facilitate a conversation around that to help debunk the myths about us not needing to wear sunscreen because we have natural melanin. That's not true.”
Humanrace by Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams' skin care line Humanrace is a vegan, eco-friendly and genderless line that he developed with his dermatologist Dr. Elena Jones. The musical genius shared the story behind the brand name Humanrace to High Snobiety. “When we started working on the shoe design [at adidas] we knew it was going to be something for the human race,” he said. “And so that just became the inspo. And here we were, making shoes with these positive affirmations on them and people were paying for them.”
“It was this amazing case study [where] people would pay for something positive coming from me and coming from my group. And there, the Humanrace concept was born. I suppose, everything after it, up until now which is skincare, we've just been literally thinking to ourselves what category makes sense next? For me, any category that we step into we want to make it better than the way we found it.”
SKN by Lori Harvey
Socialite turned beauty entrepreneur Lori Harvey dropped the secrets to her glowing skin with the launch of her five-step skin care system, SKN by LH last year. The clean, vegan, cruelty-free was inspired by Lori's journey to healthy skin after years of not finding products that suited her specific skin issues. She shared the why behind her brand with Vogue, "I have rosacea and would struggle to find the right products to use. Then I got into modeling, and between shoots and backstage at runway shows you have so much makeup being put on your face. My skin was constantly going through it. So after using, like, 20 different products on my face at one time, I felt like there had to be a simpler way for me to get my skin looking the way I wanted it to.”
"I’m someone who has extremely sensitive skin, so I wanted to create an easy, step-by-step routine for all skin types, but one that definitely catered to people with sensitive skin who want to achieve a radiant complexion but don’t know what to use to get it," Lori continued. Vitamin C, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid serve as some of the line's hero ingredients. The core collection was released with much success and sold out in three days of its October launch.
EleVen by Venus Williams
Tennis great Venus Williams also got into the sun care game by adding sun care products to her lifestyle brand EleVen. In an interview with The Cut, Venus admitted that she “wasted the first 35 years of my years in full sun exposure” and now she wants others to not make that same mistake.
“In the beginning, my philosophy for choosing a sunscreen was always: the uglier, the better,” she said. “So if it had a horrible cast on my skin, and wouldn’t blend in, I figured, well, I’m getting even more sun protection … and that’s not necessarily the truth [laughs]. But you know, once you’ve been a deviant for so many years, you’re just trying to make up for lost time.” The champion said that her products won’t leave you with a cast like many well-known products.
Keys Soulcare by Alicia Keys
From soul music to Soulcare, Alicia Keys now can add skin care entrepreneur to her endless list of accomplishments. The mother of two launched Keys Soulcare and it is a “clean” line that aims to go beyond the skin and take care of your mind, body, and spirit. In an interview with Ulta, the singer opened up about why she decided to create the line.
“Personally, I’ve always struggled with my skin and eventually I realized it was because of the energy I was carrying, toxic emotions or relationships that played a big part in how I reflected from the inside out,” she said. “I realize self-care — self-love, really — has always been super important to me. And I know for a fact we aren’t often taught how to access it for ourselves. So, this is a new accessible way to look at the process.”
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Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
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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These 5 Simple Words Changed My Dating Life & Made It Easier To Let Go Of The Wrong Men
Dating in 2025 often feels like meandering through an obscure tropical jungle: It can be beautiful, exciting, and daunting, yet nebulous when you’re in the thick of it. When we can’t see the forest for the trees, we often turn to our closest friends, doting family, and even nosy co-workers for advice. While others can undoubtedly imbue a much-needed fresh perspective, some of the best advice you’re searching for already lies within you.
My dating life has been a whirlwind to put it mildly, and each time I’d heard a questionable response or witnessed an eyebrow-raising action from a potential beau, I’d overanalyze for hours despite the illuminating tug in my spirit or pit of my stomach churning. And then I’d hold a conference call with my trusted friends just to convince myself of an alternative scenario, even though I’d already been supernaturally tipped off that he was not in alignment with me.
Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
As the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Ouch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
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