![Quantcast](http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-GS-HF4BKvzCmv.gif)
![Why You Shouldn't Have To Apologize For Looking Like Yourself](https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMjU2Nzg4NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTc0OTMyODA1Mn0.P7MzYTgx9qeFjwrJGktD4bJ-lIhc8QVwk_IJLbfV8_4/img.jpg?width=980&quality=90)
Why You Shouldn't Have To Apologize For Looking Like Yourself
Since when did looking like ourselves start being considered a hot mess?
In a day and age where the "natural" look includes contoured cheeks and eyebrows on fleek, it's easy to forget that there was once a time where makeup didn't rule a good part of our lives (and time for that matter). Once reserved for special events and date nights, the art of having a "beat face" is pretty standard these days, with most of us refusing to step out the house if our selfie game ain't strong or if our highlight isn't right.
Social media has us putting on for the gram and snapchat and now everyone is a critic. So it was no shock to see people weigh in on Keke Palmer's choice of not wearing makeup after posting this image to her SnapChat.
Of course people had negative things to say, but it was amazing to see the support of other women and celebrities encouraging Keke's look.
Even K. Michelle weighed in.
It's soo powerful to see other women stand up for one another instead of tearing each other down!
Teen star Zendaya did the same when she rushed to the defense of a Youtube star last year who posted a before and after makeup picture of herself after a Twitter troll took jabs at the girl. Zendaya's classy 140 character clapback included a photo of herself sans makeup as she gave the commenter a side eye. But it wasn't the first or the last time Zendaya went bare faced. She posted a video early last year encouraging young girls to be happy with themselves saying:
“Not trying to have a preach moment, but it should not be a phenomenon if a girl decides to—or not to—wear makeup. If you want to beat that face down, then beat it down. If you want to go natural, then go natural. Do you, booboo. Be happy.”
Keri Hilson also touched on something similar a while back after posting a photo of herself in high school. She wrote:
"10th grade Keri. ? Ohh, you young girls don't know how lucky you are in the fight against puberty these days. Yall have lashes, weaves, make-up counters, brow appointments, contouring, youtube beauty tutorials...WE had to figure that sh-t out. I didn't even have foundation. All I had was lip-liner & roll-on gloss. ☝️This is a tomboy trying. #braceface #ididmyownhair #stayedupallnite #sleptlikereginakingonfriday"
Preach Keri! Times are different and there's nothing wrong with wanting to have a beat face, just like there's nothing wrong with walking out without one. True beauty lies within.
[Tweet "There's nothing wrong with a beat face and there's nothing wrong not having one."]
In a Youtube video comedian, motivational speaker and YouTube star Lilly "Superwoman" Singh (makeup-free and all) vowed to never apologize again in the event that she is caught slipping. It all started when she caught herself having a busy day of meetings that left no room to get her face "beat," which led to her apologizing for wearing her natural face. The 26-year-old (who has a whopping 5 million followers on YouTube and 2 million followers on Instagram) admitted that although she loves makeup, there is nothing wrong with going a day or two without it and in the event that we do- we should offer up zero apologies.
Besides, we woke up like this, right? Flawless!
Today I was really busy running around, doing a bunch of things and I had two meetings. So before the meetings, I had no time to get ready like I usually would and I found myself texting the people I was having a meeting with, who are also my friends like 'Hey, just a heads up, I look like a mess. Sorry, don't judge me.' And I did that twice. And that's because I was dressed like [in a hoodie], but moreso, I didn't have any makeup on my face and I have dark circles under my eyes and I have a whole bunch of acne and and I have half an eyebrow or sometimes one eyebrow. But a few hours after my meetings when I calmed down a a little bit and gathered my thoughts, it really hit me that I actually apologized to people for looking like a mess and not wearing makeup.And I was like 'Girl!' Did I really just apologize for not wearing makeup? And then I yelled at myself like- since when do I have to apologize for looking like myself? And since when did looking like myself considered 'a mess'? And I really, really and truly mean this. I love makeup and I love the way it makes me feel and when I go out, I enjoy putting on makeup and it does give me a sense of confidence but since when do I have to feel bad when I don't wear makeup? And I feel like I don't just do this because I know a lot of my other girlfriends message me and say 'Hey, I look like a mess. I'm not wearing makeup, don't judge me.'
Why do we do that? That is not okay! Looking like yourself is not something you need to be sorry for. And I feel like I just had the greatest realization of life today. And I mean this in the most humble way. I try to be a really nice person and really kind to people and just humble and honest and that's what makes me pretty. Not the makeup on my face.
And when I see other people and what draws me to other people is how they make me feel. Not the makeup on their face.
She ended the video with this encouragement to young girls:
So I just really wanted to remind all of you girls, especially if you are younger, you don't need to wear makeup. You can and there is nothing wrong with it, it's awesome but if you don't, you're still awesome!
Yes!!!
Peep Lilly's (aka Superwoman) powerful PSA on the next page.
What do you think of people feeling like celebrities should always have a beat face?
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.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image courtesy
Megan Thee Stallion On Artistic Freedom, Nicki Minaj & No Longer Looking For Black Men To Protect Her
With the chart success of her first album as an independent artist and her third album Megan, a triumphant headlining tour debut with Hot Girl Summer, a bevy of lucrative brand partnerships, and a tequila brand called Chicas Divertidas underway, Megan Thee Stallion is proving she's the moment. Not only that, but sis gets money. Plus, she's a star.
Megan Thee Stallion is hosting the forthcoming 2024 MTV Video Music Awards for the first time and will be acting as a host, a performer, and possibly an award recipient as the Houston Hottie is nominated for seven awards in various categories. It all goes down on September 11. But preceding those festivities, the "Hiss" rapper has managed to stun in other ways, one of them is gracing the cover of Billboard's September issue.
Read on for some noteworthy gems from her cover story.
On being her own boss as an independent artist:
"Being independent is hard. When you got a label that does everything for you, all you got to do is wake up and be the celebrity. That’s a very easy life. I have to do s–t other people aren’t doing. I do work as my own label. I do fund a lot of my own things. There’s a lot of things I’m still learning as I go. The s–t is not just handed to me in my lap — I really got to go figure out, 'Okay, now I’m doing it by myself.'
"Not that I’m doing it only by myself, but I’m in a position to be my own boss, so I got to figure out how to be the boss and how to be the employee. It’s tough, but I like figuring it out. I like doing things on my own. I like working. I’m not going to stop. The more I know, the better I’ll get."
On what owning her masters means to her:
"I’ve been fighting for my freedom my whole rap career. I just couldn’t take no for an answer. I don’t ever want to be in a situation where somebody got their foot on my neck ever again. You got to do things to make yourself be your own boss."
On that seemingly one-sided beef with Nicki Minaj:
"I still to this day don’t know what the problem is. I don’t even know what could be reconciled because I, to this day, don’t know what the problem is."
On no longer needing others to feel safe and happy:
"At this point in life, I really don’t care. Maybe if you would’ve asked me this last year or two years ago, I would’ve wished I had more Black people in general in my corner. It would’ve felt nice to be protected by some Black men in this instance, but the more I wasn’t getting it, the more and more I realized I wasn’t going to get it. Who should feel safe and important at the end of the day is me, and I was going to have to make myself feel that way. I wasn’t going to find it in people I don’t know at all. Now I don’t care. As long as I make myself feel happy, then that’s what matters to me."
"Who should feel safe and important at the end of the day is me, and I was going to have to make myself feel that way. I wasn’t going to find it in people I don’t know at all. Now I don’t care. As long as I make myself feel happy, then that’s what matters to me."
On the difference between Megan and Megan Thee Stallion:
"I feel like Megan and Megan Thee Stallion are the same person. When I’m Megan Thee Stallion, I’m having to wear armor. I definitely got to go on stage and get in that mode, but I’m still the same person. Just when I’m not in public, I can really decompress and slouch, and I could watch anime all I want. I can play with my puppies, I can talk on the phone with my cousin, I could be with my best friends in peace. I don’t have to worry about being too strong. I could just be me."
Read the full cover story on Billboard.com.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Theo Wargo/WireImage